Chapter 977 - Returning to the Divine Treasure Territory

The Qilin ruins gradually faded, and Li Guanqi clearly felt the power sustaining the secret realm weakening.

Li Guanqi turned to look at Nine Heavens, who was still immersed in comprehension, then took a deep breath and said softly, “Let’s go. It’s time for us to leave too.”

Suddenly, a Qilin jade seal wreathed in lightning slowly condensed before him. As Li Guanqi looked at the palm-sized seal, he froze for a moment.

An ancient voice echoed in his mind. “The Qilin race acknowledges you!”

Immediately afterward, a spirit light containing terrifying power shot into Li Guanqi’s body.

Qilin Transformation? This is... a body cultivation technique?

Li Guanqi’s expression changed slightly, and a hint of delight flashed in his eyes.

Boom!

The world around them shattered, leaving Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu standing in the silent, peaceful void, looking at each other.

Li Guanqi frowned, unsure of what had just happened. He took out a jade slip and sent a message. “Xuan Lin, how did you obtain that Qilin jade seal back then?”

Xuan Lin was drinking with Ling Daoyan in the rear mountains. At the sound of Li Guanqi’s voice, he paused briefly and asked in confusion, “Uh... did you see that stone door? Didn’t a spirit light float out as soon as you stood in front of it?”

Li Guanqi gritted his teeth so hard his molars nearly cracked. He had assumed Xuan Lin wouldn’t be able to pass the trials, but it had never occurred to him that Xuan Lin might be chosen outright. In other words, Xuan Lin’s bloodline was perfectly compatible with the Fire Qilin lineage, so the Qilin’s spirit had blessed him without him even needing to step through the stone door.

After a long silence from Li Guanqi, something seemed to occur to Xuan Lin. The corner of Xuan Lin’s mouth twitched as he held the jade slip. “Don’t tell me... that stone door actually opens?”

Li Guanqi replied irritably, “Forget it. It’s nothing important.”

Li Guanqi put the jade slip away. Beside him, Meng Wanshu couldn’t help but smile. “Xuan Lin really must be exceptionally talented. The Fire Qilin clan actually gifted him the Qiyin so he could complete his bloodline transformation.”

Li Guanqi shook his head, then looked at the jade slip in his hand as it flashed again and again.

—You brat, are you insane?! The fire mark is down to one third already! ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

—Li Guanqi! What are you doing?! It’s down to one quarter! Did you run into some kind of danger?

—You damn brat! Tell me where you are right now! I’m coming over immediately!

Li Guanqi looked helplessly at the green jade slip in his hand as Meng Jiangchu’s furious roars came through it. He held it out to Meng Wanshu. “Uh... Wanshu, why don’t you explain things to your father?”

Meng Wanshu covered her mouth and laughed softly. “No. You tell him yourself. You deserve to be scolded.”

Li Guanqi had no choice but to brace himself and explain everything that had happened to Meng Jiangchu.

—What?! You found the Seven-Colored Glass Flower and the Qilin soul?! Good, good, good! You and Wanshu, don’t come home yet. Hurry and come to the Gu clan’s domain!

Li Guanqi hesitated for a moment before replying seriously. “Father-in-law, I’ll take Wanshu home for a couple of days first, then go.”

Meng Jiangchu understood what Li Guanqi was implying. Something must have happened, or he would not have been so determined to take Meng Wanshu home first. After a moment of silence, Meng Jiangchu replied through the jade slip.

—Fine. As it happens, we’re still waiting for Xiang Huaizhi to arrive here. Go home and stay for two days, then come over immediately.

Meng Wanshu had been walking ahead the entire time. Hearing Li Guanqi’s voice, she pursed her lips and smiled.

Li Guanqi put away the jade slip and finally let out a sigh of relief. He then took out a purple jade slip and contacted Lu Kangnian. “Sect Master, I have gathered all the materials needed to repair my incomplete divine soul. Has anything happened in the sect recently? How are Cao Yan and the others?”

Soon, Lu Kangnian emerged from his cultivation, and Li Guanqi heard his voice through the jade slip.

—You found everything? Excellent! Don’t worry. Nothing has happened in the sect. You don’t need to worry about it. The Spiritfish Clan and the Fire-Eyed Demon Fox Clan are getting along very well. The demon foxes now have their own separate domain where they can recover and develop. Like the Spiritfish Clan, they voluntarily signed a racial contract with me.

Li Guanqi smiled faintly. It seemed the leader of the Fire-Eyed Demon Fox Clan knew how the world worked.

The Daxia Sword Sect was one thing. But Lu Kangnian... he was the sect itself.

Lu Kangnian’s voice turned solemn.

—Cao Yan and the others have mostly recovered from their injuries. After Cao Yan woke up, he threw himself into training. He keeps heading out, then returning every few days to cultivate some more.

—After Xiao Chen woke up, he visited the Ye family. He looked troubled when he came back, but they didn’t seem to have given him any trouble. Perhaps he simply felt uncomfortable.

—As for Gu Li, he spends every day holed up on your Jade Teapot Peak, drawing talismans and muttering under his breath. The disciples who passed by all said he’s been acting strangely. He looks at everyone as though they’re thieves.

Li Guanqi’s expression changed slightly. What had happened to Ye Feng seemed to have hit them all hard, leaving each of them brimming with determination but lacking an opportunity to act.

As for Gu Li’s behavior... it was easy to understand. The battle with Sha had depleted his stockpile of talismans.

Li Guanqi’s voice softened. “Please help guide them, Sect Master. Don’t let them go to extremes. I’ll need some more time before returning. When I come back, I’ll take them away for a while.”

Lu Kangnian gave Li Guanqi a few more reminders before putting away the jade slip. He gazed around his cultivation chamber, where spirit light flickered, with a hint of helplessness in his eyes. Perhaps he would have to remain sect master for a very long time.

Li Guanqi put away his jade slip without contacting anyone else. Cao Yan and the others were unlikely to listen to anyone at a time like this.

Perhaps sensing that something was troubling Li Guanqi, Meng Wanshu took his hand and stayed quietly beside him, as if to reassure him that he had nothing to fear. Whatever happened, she would face it with him.

Li Guanqi smiled.

Lying on Li Guanqi’s shoulder, Peng Luo used a strand of vital force to pull Nine Heavens along by his neck. He muttered, “Tsk, I’ve walked dogs before, but walking a dragon is a first. Hehe.”

Peng Luo felt as though he had been reborn. He had always been carefree, but now he felt even freer.

Li Guanqi sped toward the Divine Treasure Territory with Meng Wanshu. Along the way, he shared his insights on how to increase his speed.

The more he taught her, the more astonished he became. Her comprehension and aptitude were every bit as impressive as his own.

In only a few hours, she managed to integrate the power of her spirit comprehension into her sprint technique. Although her spirit comprehension was less advanced than Li Guanqi’s, her speed had still increased by a full thirty percent.

Seeing Meng Wanshu’s delighted smile, Li Guanqi gave a knowing smile of his own, then sighed softly. There’s still so much left to do... Still, no matter how long the road is, I’ll reach the end if I keep walking. However difficult the task, I can accomplish it if I keep working at it.