News of the Qilin Soul!

The liquor flowed down his throat and burned like fire in his chest as tears slipped from the corners of his eyes. All his life, Xuan Lin had grown up sheltered under the wings of his clan's elders. Even though he had cultivated for more than a thousand years, he had never once thought of himself as a decrepit old man. He had always preferred wandering the mountains and rivers of the Six Domains alone, taking in the beauty of the mortal world and feeling the fierce rivalry among young geniuses. Yet now... In a single night, everything was gone. *Gulp, gulp.* In just two or three breaths, Xuan Lin drained the entire jar of fiery liquor. Before he could say a word, Li Guanqi handed him a second jar. Xuan Lin took it and kept drinking. Glistening tears spilled down his cheeks, mingling so thoroughly with the alcohol that it was impossible to tell which was which. After a long while, Xuan Lin lowered the jar, his cheeks flushed crimson. Li Guanqi said softly, "My condolences." Xuan Lin's body stiffened, and he gave a faint murmur of acknowledgment. Li Guanqi spoke candidly. "Originally, Wanshu and I intended to seek you out in the Shenbao Domain. We never expected the world to be so unpredictable, or that a twist of fate would bring us together like this." Xuan Lin fought down his grief and rasped, "Look for me? "The way you are now... what do you need me for?" Li Guanqi did not hide the truth; his own situation was hardly any better than Xuan Lin's. He pointed to the center of his forehead. "Do you see this flame mark? "Something has gone wrong with my divine soul. For now, I can only suppress it for three months at most. "I need the Qilin Soul!" Xuan Lin had been thoroughly bewildered by the first two sentences, but the moment Li Guanqi uttered the words "Qilin Soul," his pupils contracted to needlepoints! Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes slightly. It seemed Xuan Lin truly did possess information regarding the Qilin Soul. Xuan Lin lowered his head and fell silent. After a long time, he let out a heavy sigh and murmured, "At first, I thought... those people behind this were targeting my Qilin bloodline. "It wasn't until I was shoved into that beast's belly that I realized they never cared about obtaining the bloodline at all. They just wanted me dead." Overwhelmed by emotion, Xuan Lin could not stop his mind from flashing back to the scene of his clan being slaughtered... His eyes turned bloodshot. Scorching flame energy surged around him, and a muffled roar of fury tore from his throat. Yet he knew that no matter how hysterically he screamed, nothing could undo what had already transpired. He looked up at Li Guanqi, reached his hand into the void, and pulled out a palm-sized Qilin jade seal! He then took a blank jade slip and imprinted a very peculiar set of spatial coordinates into it. Standing up, he looked at Li Guanqi and said softly, "Within this jade slip is the location where I encountered that Void Divine Temple back then. Whether you can find it will depend on your luck." Li Guanqi accepted both items and said softly, "Thank you." Xuan Lin waved a hand and sighed. "Don't mention it. You saved my life. "If anyone should be offering thanks, it's me." Seeing Xuan Lin's desolate figure, Li Guanqi sighed and said gently, "If you have nowhere else to go, head to the Great Xia Sword Sect. "Live as an idle wanderer; no one will bother you, and you can keep an eye on the sect for me while you're there. "There are plenty of quiet spots in the back mountain where no one will disturb you." Xuan Lin looked at Li Guanqi with reddened eyes, his lips trembling slightly as gratitude showed on his face. Tightening his clothes around himself, he said in a hoarse voice, "All right." With that, Li Guanqi produced a teleportation scroll and crushed it with a sharp pop. Watching the solitary back step into the curtain of light, Li Guanqi could not help but sigh. "Fate truly plays cruel tricks on people..." Meng Wanshu was equally moved. Seeing a favored child of heaven who had once rivaled Li Guanqi reduced to such a state was truly heartbreaking. Looking at the jade seal in Li Guanqi's hand, Meng Wanshu said softly, "Let me see." The jade seal felt warm and smooth to the touch, fiery red throughout, with a layer of crimson spiritual radiance lingering endlessly over its surface. After examining it, Meng Wanshu murmured, "This material... I can't quite tell what it is, but it's remarkably hard." When Jiuxiao caught sight of the qilin shape, he let out a snort from his nose, his gaze brimming with disdain. Li Guanqi smiled at the sight. Legends held that the qilin belonged to the Yinglong lineage and was not of the same clan as true dragons. It was only natural that Jiuxiao would look down on a qilin. Looking at the seal in his hand, Li Guanqi finally breathed a sigh of relief. "How about... we set off as well? No need to waste any more time. "We can leave the cleanup here to Guanyun Pavilion and Xue Gui." Meng Wanshu nodded. Her injuries were not severe, and by now she had mostly recovered. Pengluo leaped onto Li Guanqi's shoulder, wrapped its arms around his neck, and pumped a fist with a laugh. "Let's go, let's go! "Time to mend master's divine soul!!" Seeing Pengluo so excited, Jiuxiao said nothing. He merely closed his eyes slightly and entered a state of cultivation. Li Guanqi smiled, took Meng Wanshu by the hand, and vanished from the spot. Shortly after Li Guanqi departed, Qianqiusui arrived with Gu Chuan of the Cloud Shadow Guards. News of Qixia City had already spread throughout the Six Domains. Many cultivators eager for excitement flocked over, hoping to see what this so-called immortal blessing had really been about. Yet within Qixia City, the common folk kept their mouths firmly shut! The immortals they had once revered had proved to be monsters, and discovering the truth had shattered their faith entirely. For a time, many citizens found their illnesses worsening, largely brought on by the anxiety and despair in their hearts. Li Guanqi paid no heed to those matters, and Qianqiusui quickly sought out Xue Gui. Looking at the stunning woman before him, Xue Gui kept his thoughts entirely clear. He knew full well the kind of standing this woman possessed within Guanyun Pavilion, despite her seemingly modest cultivation realm! Beside her stood a solemn-faced man whose aura was as deep and unfathomable as an abyss—plainly a powerhouse whose strength far eclipsed his own. Meanwhile, Li Guanqi transmitted a message through a jade slip: "Sect Master, a fellow named Xuan Lin will be coming to the sect. "His family suffered a tragedy. Find an idle position for him, or if he doesn't want one, let him pick a spot in the back mountain to live in seclusion." On the other end, Lu Kangnian listened to Li Guanqi's words, entirely unable to muster any joy. The man snapped in exasperation, "Good grief, another one! "I barely just settled the Huojing demon fox clan—and you're the one who insisted they shouldn't be exposed to the outside world! "Now the Ye family is in the sect, the Xiao clan is here, along with the Spirit Fish Clan, the Huojing demon foxes, and now Xuan Lin. "Brat, do you just haul back everything you come across out there?!" Li Guanqi scratched his head and could not resist saying, "That guy carries the Qilin bloodline. If he hits it off with one of our Great Xia Sword Sect's female disciples, he might just leave behind a Qilin bloodline for us..." Lu Kangnian barked, "Get lost! "Hurry up and tend to your own affairs. Just take care of yourself! "And another thing... from now on, try to provoke people from the Immortal Realm as little as possible. You haven't even ascended yet, and you've already made enemies up there!" Li Guanqi smiled and agreed. Putting away the jade slip, he took Meng Wanshu's hand, and together the group sped through the void toward the spatial coordinates left behind by Xuan Lin.