Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

After a moment’s thought, Li Guanqi accepted. With this, he would have three Profound Origin Sacred Soul Pills in total.

He had no intention of selling this pill. Just as Xiang Huaizhi had said, it might prove invaluable one day. Besides, with the Guanyun Pavilion and the Daxia Sword Sect behind him, he hardly lacked cultivation resources. Something so precious was better saved for a future trade than exchanged for spirit stones.

Swish!

“Young Friend Li, my name is Zhong Sen. I wish to purchase one of your pills. Name your price.”

“Me too! Me too!”

“Whatever they offer, I’ll pay double!”

Li Guanqi’s head began to throb. Ultimately, he had to clarify that he had no intention of selling any of the pills. Only then did everyone drop the subject.

Even so, he came away with at least a dozen jade slips. Every alchemist qualified to approach him and offer one was at least a tier-seven alchemist, and any of them would be considered a major figure in the outside world. Even Mahayana Realm forces and clans would not casually offend them. Though none of them had reached the eighth tier, their networks of connections were staggering.

Li Guanqi accepted their jade slips partly out of courtesy and partly to build rapport, hoping to introduce them to the Guanyun Pavilion and open the door to mutually beneficial partnerships. More importantly, he wanted to leverage their connections to search for Ye Feng.

Quite a few people also approached Gu Changsheng, hoping to see the pills for themselves. Gu Changsheng glared at them, but their persistence eventually wore him down. He had no choice but to place a restrictive seal around his pill and let the alchemists obsessed with the pill Dao examine it.Gu Changsheng had not seen Gu Li in ages. He threw an arm around him and squinted at him. “Why do I get the feeling you’ve grown stronger, kid?”

The corner of Gu Li’s mouth twitched. “You’d get stronger too if you had to refine eight hundred to a thousand batches of pills every day.”

Gu Changsheng roared with laughter, clearly in an excellent mood. “Everyone, let’s head to the great hall and rest for a while. I’ll have a feast prepared at once!”

Meanwhile, Gu Li walked over to Li Guanqi. “Hey, feeling better?”

Li Guanqi glanced at him and sent him a voice transmission. “A crack appeared in Second Brother’s life jade slip earlier.”

Gu Li’s eyes widened ever so slightly, but he didn’t show any outward emotion. He continued standing calmly beside Li Guanqi and replied via voice transmission. “Is he in danger?”

“The crack has healed, but demonic qi has spread across thirty percent of his life jade slip…” Li Guanqi said.

Gu Li frowned. “Then his divine soul has probably been tainted by some extremely pure demonic qi.”

“Don’t tell those two,” Li Guanqi said softly. “By the way, why didn’t Tang Ru come with you? How are his injuries?”

Gu Li’s expression turned serious. “About that… Ji Yuchuan, the former vice pavilion master you dismissed, took him away. He was far stronger than me, and I was alone at the time. I couldn’t stop him!”

Li Guanqi froze for a moment before looking at Gu Li. “All right, I understand. Don’t tell anyone else about this. I’ll find a chance to speak with the rest of you in private.”

Xiang Huaizhi appeared beside Li Guanqi and said quietly, “I want to take Cao Yan and leave right now.”

Li Guanqi paused mid-step. He remained silent for a moment, then said, “Give me an hour. I need to explain a few things to them.”

Xiang Huaizhi nodded, though he was clearly anxious to leave. Seeing this, Li Guanqi asked, “Has something happened in the Seventh Territory recently?”

Xiang Huaizhi blinked and smacked his lips before answering uncertainly, “I think… the Seventh Territory should be quiet for a while? They were injured pretty badly, though, so they’ll need some time to recover.”

Li Guanqi relaxed a little. “Senior Xiang, Cao Yan is my sworn brother, but I’m not trying to pressure you into accepting him as your disciple. If anything, I hope you’ll be stricter with him. My brothers aren’t afraid of hardship… Well, except Xiao Chen. But in any case, I sincerely hope you’ll take Cao Yan as your disciple.”

Xiang Huaizhi’s lips curved into a faint smile. “Heh. That depends on whether he proves himself. Let me warn you first. The only thing I can guarantee is that he’ll stay alive. He should expect a few broken arms and legs along the way. And after I take him away… don’t expect to be able to find him.”

Something flickered in his eyes. After a brief pause, he continued, “You should know that each of us Eight Generals has reserve candidates. Those candidates will all share the same ambitions.”

Li Guanqi nodded. “I know. I’ve met Senior Nangong’s reserve candidate for the Sword Commandant position, Qin Wushang. That man is powerful. I haven’t met the other candidates, but I know they must be powerful too.”

A mysterious light gleamed in Li Guanqi’s eyes. “Even so… I firmly believe my brothers are every bit their equal!”

Gu Li watched from the side as Li Guanqi did everything in his power for his brothers. Gu Li pursed his lips.

After Xiang Huaizhi left, Gu Li fell into step beside Li Guanqi and asked softly, “Do those two know about the decisions you’ve been making?”

Li Guanqi remained silent, and Gu Li didn’t press him further. He never imagined that Li Guanqi would continue looking out for everyone around him while shouldering so many burdens of his own. If Gu Li’s guess was correct, Li Guanqi would already have set out to find Nangong Xuandu if Ye Feng had not been captured.

While the others headed to the great hall, Gu Li brought Li Guanqi to his small courtyard. Xiao Chen and Cao Yan hovered cross-legged in the air, carried there by Li Guanqi’s power.

Gu Li frowned at Meng Wanshu and Li Guanqi. “What have you two been doing? It’s only been a few days, but I can barely gauge your strength anymore…”

Meng Wanshu smiled and lightly tapped the air with one finger. More than a hundred crystalline ice spikes immediately materialized.

Gu Li’s pupils trembled. Frowning, he reached out and touched one of the spikes. A chill washed over him, and he felt as though the spike could freeze his divine soul solid.

“The second level of the Spirit Comprehension Stage? And your understanding of its essence seems deeper too.”

Meng Wanshu nodded without denying it. “Once Guanqi finishes explaining everything, ask him to help you too.”

Gu Li’s eyes lit up, and he nodded like a chick pecking at grain.

He glanced at Xiao Chen and Cao Yan. “Should we wake them?”

Li Guanqi raised a finger to his lips. “Let them be. It’s been a long time since Cao Yan last experienced enlightenment in the pill Dao. Let him remain immersed in it and savor the experience. And Xiao Chen… he’s worked hard too.”

Gu Li nodded. He slid a storage ring off his finger and handed it to Li Guanqi. “Here, Eldest Brother. I prepared this for you. It’s filled with all kinds of talismans. I know you’ll leave after mending your divine soul, so consider it a little something from your sixth brother.”

Li Guanqi scanned the ring with his divine consciousness, and his face twitched. “Good grief. Your idea of ‘a little something’ is three hundred thousand talismans?”