Ye Feng and Li Guanqi flew for several hundred li before stopping on a remote, empty mountain. Li Guanqi sensed no demonic beasts nearby, so it was safe enough to rest. He led Ye Feng to a shadowed spot at the back of the mountain, and the two of them sat down on the ground.
Neither began cultivating right away, as they were both very worried. Ye Feng opened his mouth, only to swallow his words.
Li Guanqi raised his head. “Just say it.”
Ye Feng let out a sigh. “It’s nothing… I’m just worried about Big Head. We haven’t known each other long, but Cao Yan’s a good person. He’s sensitive, always afraid of burdening us.”
Li Guanqi nodded. He wasn’t sure whether Cao Yan had always been so sensitive or if his years as a blood slave had left him like that. Either way, Cao Yan treated them with genuine respect. Timid as he might be, when they fought the elder of the Great Wind Mountain Residence, he hadn’t held back at all.
He struck with absolute decisiveness—something many disciples of great sects couldn’t achieve. He knew exactly when to advance and when to pull back.
Li Guanqi sighed and murmured, “Cao Yan… Who is he, really? And who’s trying to kill him? What could he possibly carry that would make a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator personally come after him?”
The questions hung over him like heavy clouds. Though Sword Spirit had warned that Cao Yan came with a lot of baggage, he hadn’t expected their first brush with it to be a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.
Among tens of Golden Core Realm cultivators, only one would ever step into the Nascent Soul Realm. Breaking through meant truly setting foot on the road to immortality.
Golden Core Realm cultivators only lived a few centuries, but Nascent Soul Realm cultivators could endure for a thousand years.
Neither Ye Feng nor Li Guanqi cultivated, still deep in thought. They both understood that Cao Yan would probably die. With their current strength, they were helpless.
In a straight fight, that person could have killed Ye Feng instantly. If Li Guanqi had not been there, Ye Feng would have died a long time ago. And even then, Li Guanqi’s only edge was the speed granted by his Thunder Wings.
The gulf between their cultivation realms was an abyss.
Cao Yan had carried a dozen transporter talismans. Beyond that fleeting instant when he drew the attacker’s attention, even Li Guanqi and Ye Feng couldn’t sense where he had gone. All they could do was wait, hoping he would reach out once he was safe.
Soon, one day passed.
Neither spoke until night fell. At last, Li Guanqi turned to Ye Feng. “Stabilize your cultivation first. I believe the heavens will look after Cao Yan.”
Li Guanqi’s eyes widened. He pulled a jade slip from his storage pouch and infused it with a wisp of vital force.
A a woman’s voice rang out. It was Qian Qiusui.
—He’s alive. But from this day on, Yunding has nothing more to do with you. His identity is… special, and I can’t reveal it. My advice: leave him behind. Otherwise, you’ll be hunted without end, and the enemies will only grow stronger.
The voice vanished, and the jade slip cracked.
Qian Qiusui clearly wanted nothing more to do with them.
Li Guanqi looked up at Ye Feng. Neither of them cared that she cut them off. They broke into relieved smiles.
Ye Feng said, “Hehe. It’s good he’s not dead. Big Head is always making us worry! I need to stabilize my cultivation as soon as possible. It feels horrible.”
With a relieved sigh, he sat down on a boulder and began cultivating.
Li Guanqi smiled faintly, looking at the broken jade slip. He had never intended to rely on Qian Qiusui anyway. Real power came from within, not from others.
He closed his eyes and began to stabilize his cultivation. He’s alive… That’s good… If he isn’t dead, then anything is possible.
Their feelings about Cao Yan’s departure were mixed. They had no idea how he’d escaped or when they might see him again. But for the time being, simply knowing he was alive was enough.
Li Guanqi knew that with his current strength he would struggle even against Fang Yishan, who stood half a step into the Nascent Soul Realm. Against a true Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, he would die without question.
This was sobering. Once, at Foundation Building Realm, he had felt no fear facing Golden Core Realm opponents. Now, the gap between realms was too big.
Fancy techniques and swordplay were nothing against absolute power.
The desire to grow stronger began to burn in his chest.
If the pursuer hadn’t been focused on Cao Yan, both he and Ye Feng would have died. He couldn’t bear to experience that helplessness again. To unleash everything he had against an enemy only to barely leave a mark was suffocating.
Gradually, he calmed down.
At that moment, Sword Spirit was not in her usual slumber. She gazed at the three spirit runes circling above her head, eyes narrowing, and murmured, “So you still chose not to act. You trusted he could survive. Or… did you think the threat he faced wasn’t as dangerous as I am?”
The runes drifted silently. Newest update provıded by 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢•𝓷𝓮𝓽
She looked up, and Li Guanqi’s silhouette shimmered in her beautiful eyes.
“He really does have a good mindset,” she murmured. “Not bad. Hah… looks like I can’t just leave him alone. If he dies, I’ll be forced back into deep sleep again.”
Li Guanqi sat cross-legged, stabilizing his cultivation and replaying every moment in his mind.
If only he had made better use of his allies. Perhaps he should have asked Qian Qiusui to escort them personally, although that would still have been relying on someone else’s power.
If only he could find a way to raise his own strength.
For now, one problem mattered more than any other: his lifespan.
He only had three years left, and he looked terrible.