Chapter 956: Everything Has Changed

Li Guanqi had no idea that news of Pan Yi’s death had already reached the powerful clan standing behind him, but even if he had known, he wouldn’t have cared. He had dared to kill an immortal’s projection. Why would he fear a mere cultivator from the Pan clan? What Li Guanqi hadn’t actually expected was that Pan Yi had kept his eyes fixed on him until his very last breath.

Xue Gui stared down at the devastated ruins of Qixia City beneath his feet, scarcely daring to breathe.

He had been busy with his own breakthrough when he sensed an immortal’s overwhelming pressure. The next instant, he had blacked out. Everything after that was a complete blank. He didn’t even know when he had been moved into the domain.

As he looked at the sword qi that had split the entire city in two, he could still faintly sense Li Guanqi’s aura lingering upon it. The sight shook him to his core. Whenever Li Guanqi spoke to him, all he could do was nod.

The group headed to the manor. Outside, the mortals stared at the rubble that had once been their homes, unable to suppress their rising fear. The young man in white they had cursed moments earlier seemed to be one of the ‘immortals’ they so revered. Had someone of his stature chosen to be petty about it, they would already have dropped dead where they stood.

Only after leaving the domain did they fully regain their senses. At that moment, quite a few of them also caught sight of what had become of Qixia Academy. The entire academy had become little more than ruins.

More than a hundred academy cultivators had been reduced to pools of mangled flesh and blood. The surviving disciples stood frozen, their eyes vacant, too traumatized to speak. They had only just learned part of the truth about Qixia Academy.

One young disciple looked down at his academy robes, now stained with blood and scraps of flesh. He tore them off in a panicked frenzy, leaving himself clad only in his undergarments, then stumbled away in a daze, muttering, “Monsters… They’re all monsters…”

Once one had done it, a second naturally followed. Little by little, every surviving disciple of Qixia Academy stripped off the robes they had once worn with pride and walked away, their faces numb.

Word soon spread of the immortal’s blessing in Qixia City, of Li Guanqi cutting down an immortal’s projection, and of the blessing’s true nature as a faith parasite.

The entire cultivation world was shaken to its core, leaving everyone who heard the news utterly stunned.

Yet, many found the whole event highly questionable. If the immortal’s blessing truly occurred once a decade, why had no one beyond Qixia City, not even those living nearby, ever heard of it?

Xue Gui stood respectfully before Li Guanqi as a thin crimson thread slowly emerged from the center of his forehead. The instant he saw the parasite, his pupils dilated and shook violently. He stood motionless, brows furrowed, staring at the parasite in stunned silence.

Seeing his reaction, even Li Guanqi looked puzzled.

Nearby, Peng Luo curled his lip as he munched on a spirit fruit. “It was all that immortal’s doing. No one could see what happened inside the barrier he put up. Whenever he was about to descend, the memories buried in everyone’s minds would awaken, and the grand sacrificial ceremony would begin. Normally, though, they couldn’t remember any of it. At most, they had a few vague impressions.”

Li Guanqi frowned. “That doesn’t make sense. Li Erniu clearly remembered previous ceremonies.”

Peng Luo chuckled. “Those memories are all fake. The faith parasite inside him fabricated them. You didn’t use soul-searching techniques back then because you were worried about alerting the enemy, right? The memories you later saw in Liu Qin’s mind were fake too.”

Li Guanqi let out a long breath. “What an inconceivable method...”

Peng Luo merely pursed his lips, still in an exceptionally good mood. Glancing at Nine Heavens coiled around his neck, he generously snapped off another finger and fed it to the dragon.

***

Xue Gui kept his head bowed and hesitantly said, “Pavilion Master, this radish spirit lord… is entirely correct. I’m only now realizing that my memories are in complete disarray.”

He gritted his teeth and continued, “Would you like to inspect my memories?”

Li Guanqi waved him off. None of this interested him, and since Peng Luo had already explained it all, he couldn’t be bothered to look. Now that he had shattered the Qixian Tower, it would be no easy matter for Cizhi to come down again.

Li Guanqi looked toward Xue Gui. “City Lord Xue, you may leave. You still need to oversee the city’s affairs. People from the Guanyun Pavilion will arrive shortly.”

Xue Gui hurriedly bowed and excused himself. The room was simply too oppressive. Even that giant white radish was a Combined Body Realm spirit, and he had a true dragon coiled around his neck.

His heart pounded like a war drum. Merely standing there alone had left him trembling.

***

After Xue Gui departed, Li Guanqi brought Xuan Lin out. Peng Luo immediately snapped off another finger and stuffed it into Xuan Lin’s mouth.

Xuan Lin had only just reached the Illusory Refinement Realm. From the looks of it, the disaster probably happened right after his breakthrough. Though… if Li Guanqi remembered correctly, Xuan Lin was already over a thousand years old.

Peng Luo’s power now was beyond anything ordinary natural treasures could match. Once that piece of finger went down, the injuries inside Xuan Lin’s body began to heal rapidly. His tongue regenerated almost instantly, and his limbs also reformed quickly.

Li Guanqi draped a fresh set of robes over him. As Xuan Lin slowly opened his eyes and saw Li Guanqi standing before him, tears welled up in his eyes.

Thud!

He dropped to his knees.

Bang!

Li Guanqi hurriedly stepped aside. The power of space lifted Xuan Lin back onto his feet.

His voice turned solemn. “Xuan Lin. What are you doing?”

Standing once more, Xuan Lin wore an expression of profound sorrow. His voice trembled. “Li Guanqi… Thank you. If you hadn’t stepped in today, I’m afraid I would have died, and no one would have ever known.”

Li Guanqi sighed inwardly. He had never imagined that his reunion with his old rival would take place under such circumstances. Without another word, he sent a stream of pure vital force through Xuan Lin’s body, clearing his blocked meridians.

Xuan Lin’s eyes brimmed with emotion. His lips parted, but no sound emerged from his unbearably hoarse throat. He had so much he wanted to say, yet he could not utter a word.

Seeing him like this, Li Guanqi said nothing more. He took out a jar of strong liquor and handed it over. The spirit wine would help Xuan Lin heal faster, and more importantly… it was strong enough to numb the pain.

Xuan Lin slapped the clay seal off, tipped his head back, and poured the fiery liquor down his throat.

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