BOOM!
A golden spear pierced through the void, hurtling toward Xiao Chen like a harbinger of world annihilation.
His body was pinned in place, feeling as though it would be torn to shreds.
Yet at that very instant, a ruthless glint flashed in Xiao Chen's eyes. Gripping the She Shen Spear, he thrust it outward with everything he had!
Long Hou’s voice drifted in, slow and measured: "Heh, not bad. At least you've got balls."
"I'm taking him."
Whoosh!
Xiao Chen vanished on the spot, without even having the chance to say a single word of farewell.
Li Guanqi clasped his fists and bowed toward the west.
Watching Xiang Huaizhi and Long Hou appear and depart one after the other, Gu Li felt his mouth go dry.
"Um... Big Brother, who am I rolling with?"
The corner of Li Guanqi's mouth curled up. Suddenly, Gu Li felt the hair all over his body stand on end!
A faint breath seemed to brush against his right ear, and a figure cloaked entirely in shadow leaned close, murmuring:
"You're coming with me."
Li Guanqi said softly, "Of the Eight Generals: Wu Mian."
"Since you can't get the hang of weapons, you might as well learn how to flee and assassinate."
Li Guanqi and Wu Mian traded glances for a brief instant. Gu Li rose, bowing deeply to Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu.
"Your Sixth Brother takes his leave! Big Brother, Sister-in-law, take care!"
"When we meet again, it shall be atop the highest peaks under heaven!"
Gu Li laughed heartily, shouting the moment the shadows enveloped him, "Dad! Your son is leaving! Don't miss me too much!"
Gu Changsheng stared in utter bewilderment as a dark silhouette whisked Gu Li away. He instantly unleashed a torrential surge of heavenly flame, sealing off the domain!
He had noticed when Long Hou struck earlier, but why did his son's situation look suspiciously like a kidnapping?
Wu Mian gave a faint smile. Taking Gu Li with him, he dove straight into the sea of flames unleashed by Gu Changsheng, vanishing without a trace from the domain.
With an unsightly expression, Gu Changsheng hovered in the void before flickering down to stand before Li Guanqi.
"Who was that just now?"
Li Guanqi comforted him, "Wu Mian, the one in charge of assassination among the Eight Generals. I felt Gu Li needed some means of saving his own life."
Gu Changsheng gave Li Guanqi a deep, searching look and murmured, "Kid, that's thoughtful of you."
Gu Changsheng then departed.
Only Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu remained in the courtyard.
Pengluo crawled out and sat quietly on the stone table without making a sound.
Suddenly, a wave of exhaustion and emptiness washed over Li Guanqi.
Bracing his hands on his knees, he sat down upon a stone stool, picked up the wine cup before him, and tilted his head back to drain it.
Looking around, the surrounding stone stools were completely empty.
Having entrusted his brothers into capable hands, Li Guanqi felt a weight lift from his heart, yet an unusual hollow ache lingered.
Seeing that Li Guanqi had finished his wine, Pengluo immediately hoisted the jar and poured him another cup.
Meng Wanshu gazed into Li Guanqi's eyes for a long time. After hesitating, she finally spoke.
"I plan to enter the mortal world to temper myself as well. I might head to the Ethereal Immortal Domain."
Li Guanqi was taken aback; he had not expected her to say this.
Yet he quickly understood, saying softly, "Wanshu, you really don't have to push yourself like this."
Meng Wanshu smiled beautifully, her eyes curving gently as she said in a soft voice, "I certainly don't want to be a mere decorative vase."
Li Guanqi gave a wry smile. If someone of Meng Wanshu's strength counted as a vase, then Xiao Chen and the others would not even qualify as broken shards.
"I know the Ethereal Immortal Domain is boundless and vast. In its northern reaches lies an expansive glacier of the northern lands."
"That place is far better suited for my training."
Li Guanqi frowned slightly. "The Beiming Glaciers?"
Meng Wanshu leaned forward slowly, cupping Li Guanqi's cheeks in her hands, and murmured, "I know you feel burdened. Alone, you are more like a wandering rogue of the jianghu."
"Being able to stay by your side all this time has already brought me immense happiness."
"I also want to step into the Mahayana Realm as soon as possible."
"Yet we both know how difficult it is to reach the realm of our fathers' generation. Even for you and me... stagnating for a century is entirely normal."
Li Guanqi felt a tremor in his heart. He knew this truth all too well.
Otherwise, parting with Cao Yan and the others would not have weighed so heavily on him.
With this farewell, there was no telling what the world would look like the next time they met. A century could pass in the snap of a finger.
Meng Wanshu said with a smile, "Gu Li put it well: when we meet again, it shall be atop the highest peaks under heaven!"
"It is a grand aspiration. But if I stay by your side, even a century from now, I won't step into that realm."
"Brother Qi, let us carry our longing and part ways for a time."
As she spoke, her warm breath brushed across his lips, and the two shared a lingering embrace.
Meng Wanshu's cheeks were flushed crimson, her entire body burning hot. Just as she was about to pull away and say something, an overbearing force pulled her tightly into his arms. Immediately afterward, a terrifying domain of lightning expanded, sealing them off from the outside world.
Pengluo hovered sneakily near the edge of the lightning domain, catching only the occasional muffled gasp or passionate cry.
Curling its lip, Pengluo sat back at the table and poured itself a cup of wine.
Gulp, gulp.
"The Mahayana realm... how could it ever be so simple?"
"Could the realm of withered bones just be an idle joke among thousands of cultivators?"
"How many enter secluded cultivation to the death, only to end up as withered bones, discovered only centuries or millennia later when descendants unseal the chamber?"
"And how many withered bones sit buried in secret rooms, forever unknown to the world?"
Before it realized it, Pengluo had drunk too much. Clutching a wine bottle, it threw a drunken fit across the courtyard.
It mumbled endlessly to itself, or perhaps, in this solitary hour, drank a farewell toast to Cao Yan and the others.
Yet it was the only one drinking this farewell wine.
"Part for a hundred years to meet again, old friends weep with red-rimmed eyes..."
"Heh heh, as long as our reunion is assured, what matter the long months and years?!"
After an unknown span of time, the stars grew sparse under the bright moon, and the night sky faded into the pre-dawn hush.
Pengluo lay sprawled on the roof of Gu Li's courtyard, clutching the wine bottle and snoring soundly.
Li Guanqi held Meng Wanshu by the waist, lowered his head, and kissed her brow. Embracing the woman in his arms, he whispered softly, "Be careful in all things. Once I break through, I'll definitely come looking for you as soon as I can!"
Her hair was now slightly disheveled and her dress crumpled. Resting limply against Li Guanqi's chest, Meng Wanshu nodded softly.
"Mm... whew..."
"Alright, I'm going."
Watching her float away toward the grand hall in the distance, Li Guanqi could not help but sigh.
Glancing back at the big radish on the roof, which was peeking with one eye open, he smiled faintly.
Bringing out some more wine, he murmured under his breath, "Even though I anticipated parting, I never imagined it would come so quickly..."
A flash of light appeared in his palm. Looking at the Profound Origin Sacred Soul Pill resting there, Li Guanqi drifted into thought.
Looking toward the cultivation chamber in Gu Li's backyard, Li Guanqi raised the wine jar, drank every last drop, and shattered the jar against the ground.
His gaze hardened with unwavering resolve, and he strode toward the backyard meditation room!
Pengluo scrambled up, quickly leaping onto his shoulder, grinning widely. "I can help."
Li Guanqi smiled, rubbing its head gently. "Alright. Thank you for your trouble, then."
Perched atop Li Guanqi's head, Pengluo chuckled foolishly, "Heh heh, no trouble at all. My craving's kicked in!"
Li Guanqi set down the array plates for both a spirit-gathering array and a mind-calming array, retrieving a hundred thousand spirit stones to cover the entire floor of the chamber.
Taking a deep breath, he slapped a mind-calming inscribed talisman onto himself, looked at the pill in his hand, and swallowed it in a single gulp.
Chapter 989