Before them, the academy square was covered in lush green grass and vibrant blossoms, presenting a scene bursting with life.
Yet wisps of green smoke drifted all around, and plumes from burning sticks of various kinds of sandalwood hovered over the academy.
Right in the center of the square stood a pitch-black tower at least ten stories high.
The tall tower rested atop a formation platform carved and forged from spirit stones. The more Li Guanqi looked at it, the more he felt something was off.
It was not unusual for an academy in the mortal realm to house cultivators, but why did this forged formation platform look somewhat like a sacrificial altar?
Moreover, the stones resembling white jade were no ordinary items. Beside him, Meng Wanshu murmured, "This tower is no simple matter."
Li Guanqi nodded silently, his brows furrowed.
He had just discovered that his divine sense could not penetrate the black tower before him.
That was rather bizarre. After all, Li Guanqi was currently in the middle stage of the Body Integration Realm.
As one's cultivation realm advanced, the sea of consciousness expanded accordingly.
His current reserve of divine sense was not the least bit inferior to that of an accomplished alchemist.
Whatever material this black tower was made of, it managed to shut out both his and Meng Wanshu's divine sense entirely...
The sword spirit remained silent, quietly waiting for what would unfold next.
Moments later, Li Guanqi saw a procession of about a hundred people slowly emerge from the academy.
At the head of the procession was the elderly man who had spoken earlier.
Beside him walked three others; all four old men were in the early stage of the Soul Formation Realm.
However, their innate talent was meager; no matter how they cultivated, they would never break through to the Void Refining Realm in this lifetime.
Suddenly!
The old man with dark patches on his face cast his gaze across the crowd, sweeping past Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu.
Li Guanqi quickly tugged Meng Wanshu, and the two bowed their heads, putting on an appearance of utmost piety.
Only then did the old man look away without suspecting anything.
There were quite a few cultivators among the crowd, and many like Li Guanqi were blending in.
Meng Wanshu sent a voice transmission: "If things go wrong and we have to fight, I'll shift everyone into my domain."
Li Guanqi squeezed her hand, signaling that he understood.
Soon, the two ceremonial processions completed some sort of mysterious handover.
The old man with the dark patches on his face possessed the strongest aura of them all and was also the presider of the entire ceremony.
With an expression of solemn reverence, he held a foot-long green jade slip in both hands and stepped forward toward the tall tower with profound, mystical footwork!
Chanting ancient words under his breath, he produced a hazy, indistinct murmur audible only to himself.
As the old man chanted, the vast Qixia City fell entirely silent.
Only the occasional whinny or squawk from domestic animals broke the stillness, sounding somewhat restless and uneasy.
Wuu—!!
A massive horn blast resounded through the clouds, and every commoner and cultivator bowed their heads in that moment.
Li Guanqi feigned bowing his head while quietly spreading his boundless divine sense across a ten-li radius.
Hum—!
Mystical ripples radiated from the old man's body, and the spiritual energy within several dozen li surged toward him.
Treading on empty air, the old man slowly ascended until he reached the very top of the tower, where he dropped to his knees.
Prostrating midair, he kowtowed with every step. The sight of him prostrating with all five limbs pressed against empty air looked somewhat comical, yet no one dared to laugh.
"Liu Qin, Dean of Qixia Academy, respectfully welcomes the immortal's descent to bestow blessings!"
The old man's voice and expression were devout to the extreme. From beginning to end, he remained prostrate in midair, holding the jade slip high with both hands.
Reaching the very spire of the tower, he lay flat in midair and slowly inserted the jade slip into the black tower with both hands!
Buzz—!!
A thick pillar of golden light shot straight into the clouds!
Rays of luminous multicolored light washed across the sky, and the spiritual energy within several dozen li violently erupted into turmoil!
However, ordinary mortals could not perceive this violent fluctuation of spiritual energy in the slightest.
As the phenomenon of heaven and earth emerged, the soaring pillar of light coalesced into a fireball hundreds of zhang wide across the firmament!
Its dazzling brilliance even outshone the warm, gentle sunlight, yet the glow was not scorching—it actually felt exceptionally warm.
Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. Around him, the crowd suddenly dropped to their knees with a rustle.
Elderly women and men all knelt devoutly on the ground, ceaselessly kowtowing while murmuring about the immortal's blessings.
Li Guanqi's brows knit tight. He could not shake the feeling that something was amiss.
If an immortal truly descended to the mortal world, wouldn't some word of it have spread no matter what?
Although this place was far from the Great Xia Sword Sect, not a whisper of news had reached them.
Li Guanqi noticed the expressions of many cultivators shift slightly. Confused, they glanced at the common folk kneeling on the ground and began to stoop down as well.
Yet Li Guanqi straightened his spine, standing where he was with a furrowed brow.
Meng Wanshu could not help asking, "Not hiding anymore? Should we also..."
Li Guanqi rested one hand behind his back and said softly, "No need. We'll know soon enough whether it's human or ghost. There's no need to bow down for a so-called immortal. Neither of us is incapable of ascending."
Meng Wanshu smiled gently and said no more, standing tall and straight beside him.
Across the immense square, people were packed shoulder to shoulder, yet within three feet of Li Guanqi, no one encroached.
A few white-bearded elders found it strange, but no matter how they tried, they simply could not squeeze into the space around him.
Seeing Li Guanqi standing right at the front without bowing, the few hundred cultivators hesitated for a moment, then straightened their postures as well.
Buzz—!!
Suddenly, a pitch-black rift split open in the sky, exuding a terrifying aura.
Immediately after, a colossal bolt of lightning crashed out of the rift, striking a mountain peak on the ground directly.
The mountain was cleaved in two in an instant, sending clouds of dust and shattered boulders flying into the air.
Illuminated by the lightning, an enormous dark shadow appeared in the sky.
A thousand zhang tall, its body radiated an overwhelming aura that sent chills down one's spine.
It was a monstrous demonic beast, its body covered in black scales that gleamed with a metallic sheen.
Its wings spanned several thousand zhang, cloaked in a layer of black flames.
Its eyes glowed red, resembling two massive lanterns.
Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes and murmured in shock, "What on earth is that?"
Just then, within the void interlayer where Pengluo and Jiuxiao were hiding, Pengluo desperately held back Jiuxiao, speaking at breakneck speed.
"Brother Jiu, Brother Jiu, hold back! Brother Jiu, stop shoving me..."
Then he sent a voice transmission to Li Guanqi: "That's a bastard descendant of a hou! Hou prey on dragons, and even in the Immortal Realm, they're extraordinarily powerful great demons!"
Following the demon beast's appearance, endless dark clouds instantly gathered across the sky, crackling with thunder and lightning as fierce gales howled.
On the earth below, countless living beings began to flee in terror, sensing an unprecedented, dread-inducing aura.
Under the demonic beast's oppressive might, all the cultivators who were standing suddenly buckled and slammed to their knees with loud thuds!
The tremendous force shattered their kneecaps on impact, and the bluestone pavement burst apart with loud cracks!
In an instant, the cultivators' expressions changed drastically, their pale faces drenched in cold sweat.
Li Guanqi let out a cold snort and forcefully withstood the crushing pressure, slowly raising his head!
His sharp gaze swept toward the heavens, where the phantom silhouette of a man shrouded in golden light stood with his foot planted atop the great demon's head, looking down upon all mortal life.
"So this is... an immortal?"
Li Guanqi's expression did not waver as he murmured in a calm voice.
Chapter 946