Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

What Li Guanqi, Ye Feng, and the others saw next was a staggering number of alchemists, enough to leave an impression that would last a lifetime. They could hardly travel any distance without encountering several of them. Some stood frowning in deep thought, while others hurriedly teleported toward the volcanoes.

None of them paid the slightest attention to Gu Changsheng’s presence, and Gu Li seemed so accustomed to the scene that he found nothing odd about it.

Li Guanqi leaned close to Meng Wanshu and asked quietly, “Are you feeling unwell?”

Meng Wanshu’s hands were cool. She shook her head slightly and said softly, “I’m fine.”

Li Guanqi wrapped a layer of vital force around her as a shield.

Xiao Chen and the others looked around with great interest. A domain like this was a rare sight, after all. Only Cao Yan was completely at ease, more comfortable than he had ever been. Back at Daxia Sword Sect, he had spent nearly all his days at Pill Peak, which was why he and Sun Miao got along so well.

Sun Miao, for his part, was murmuring to himself like a child seeing the world for the first time. “Tier six, tier six… and this one’s… tier seven? Ss… Tier six, peak tier five, tier five… Ahem, finally a tier four. Wait… he’s nineteen?”

Old as he was, Sun Miao was nearly moved to tears, his feelings too tangled to put into words. He had devoted his whole life to the alchemy dao, after all.

His gaze shifted to Li Guanqi, filled with gratitude. If he hadn’t taken Gu Yan’s advice and joined the Daxia Sword Sect as an alchemist all those years ago, this tremendous opportunity might have passed him by.

In truth, simply gaining the Lightning Dragon Flame as his companion flame had already left him deeply satisfied. It couldn’t compare to the renowned earth fires, but a heavenly flame’s companion flame was still far more powerful than an ordinary beast flame.Before long, an imposing family hall came into view, ringed by mountains, along with an unbroken chain of pavilions and towers. Dozens of flame pillars soared into the sky from the volcanoes on every side, making the hall look all the more majestic. It was only a building, yet it was somehow intimidating.

Li Guanqi also sensed several powerful cultivators concealed within the Gu clan’s domain. Some of those presences didn’t quite feel like Gu clan members.

Sensing what Li Guanqi was thinking, Gu Li explained, “Our family has extraordinary flames, so many alchemists visit us.”

Visiting, of course, meant borrowing the power of the flames, and the price was no small thing. But these alchemists were all wealthy and didn’t care about the cost. What they cared about was the quality and nature of the flames.

The hall’s deep-red stone pillars were engraved with dense clusters of talisman runes, though none of them served any particular purpose. Gu Li scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed. “Those are all from when I was still in diapers, just doodling for fun.”

The corner of Li Guanqi’s mouth twitched. He knew of no one else who could draw talisman runes with genuine spiritual potency while still in diapers.

The hall doors swung open, releasing a rich medicinal fragrance and a current of pure, refreshing air. With a single breath, Li Guanqi felt his vital force swell.

There were no candles or illumination stones inside the hall—it needed none, because floating overhead were ninety-nine tier-eight pills.

Each pill radiated a soft, luminous glow. Some gleamed like polished mirrors, while others were covered in dense patterns. The light of many even assumed the forms of rare and exotic beasts, making them seem almost sentient.

Sun Miao’s jaw dropped. The craftsmanship of every single pill was beyond anything he could comprehend.

Gu Changsheng smiled quietly. “It’s a Gu clan tradition. Whenever one of our tier-eight alchemists refines a pill that meets the required standard, it replaces one of these. These ninety-nine tier-eight pills are, well, something of a display for visitors. Haha.”

Once everyone had taken their seats, Gu Changsheng settled into the seat of honor and smiled. “I’ll be frank with you. The tier-eight pill recipe Young Friend Li gave me is immensely valuable. So I’ve decided that whatever pills you young friends need to break through to the Combined Body Realm will be entirely on me. You needn’t worry about the resources.”

Ye Feng and the others rose quickly and bowed. “Thank you, Senior Gu.”

Gu Changsheng waved it off. He was clearly in excellent spirits and thought nothing of it.

For an ordinary cultivator at the Illusory Refinement Realm, a single Combined Body Pill might cost a thousand years’ worth of savings, and even then, it wasn’t guaranteed. Such a pill was worth tens of millions of spirit stones at minimum; some couldn’t be bought for even a hundred million. But if there was one thing Gu Changsheng didn’t lack, it was pills.

Gu Changsheng then looked at Sun Miao and smiled. “You may study and exchange knowledge alongside our disciples.”

Sun Miao shot to his feet and dropped to his knees before him. Li Guanqi made no move to stop the old man. This was a blessing Gu Changsheng had bestowed out of respect for him, and Sun Miao had to receive it himself.

“This humble one, Sun Miao, thanks Senior Gu for his great generosity. I will devote myself wholeheartedly to my studies.”

What surprised Li Guanqi was that Gu Changsheng made no mention of Cao Yan.

Gu Li gave Li Guanqi a meaningful wink. “Relax. My dad’s crafty. He’s definitely got something else in mind. If I had to guess, his next move is taking Cao Yan on a tour of the peaks.”

Li Guanqi found this rather amusing, and sure enough, Gu Changsheng spoke at once. “Why don’t you all rest for a bit? I’ll have someone arrange your individual cultivation rooms. Cao Yan, is it? Would you like to take a look at our Gu family’s thirty Pill Peaks and experience these flames up close?”

Gu Changsheng beamed at him, his voice gentle beyond all reason.

The corner of Ye Feng’s mouth twitched. He sent Li Guanqi a voice transmission. “Big Brother… isn’t he making his ulterior motives a little too obvious?”

Li Guanqi smiled. “It’s fine. This is a good opportunity for Third Brother as well.”

Naturally, Cao Yan had no reason to refuse. He rose, bowed, and smiled. “I’ll leave everything to you, Senior Gu.”

Everyone got to their feet, and Xiao Chen scurried along at Ye Feng’s heels. With his mutated Wind-Fire Dual Spirit Root, Xiao Chen was completely in his element in the Gu family’s domain, every bit as comfortable as Cao Yan.

Ye Feng shook off his hand and said coldly, “Get away from me, you fence-sitter!”

“Oh, come on, Second Brother. What did I do?” Xiao Chen shamelessly pressed closer and pulled out a flask. “Look, your little brother even brought you some good wine from his private stash!”

Ye Feng’s nostrils twitched, and he smacked his lips.

Meng Wanshu smiled. “The lot of you really are something. Ye Feng has changed quite a bit.”

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