Li Guanqi looked toward the two figures in the distance, then at Ye Feng beside him, and quietly sighed. “When will it be done?”

Sword Spirit looked up in thought, then reached out and tapped Li Guanqi’s forehead with a slender finger. She said softly, “Go have that old man inscribe this array. It’s the array I’ll need. The rest of the time, it can also serve as the Daxia Sword Sect’s spirit-void-opening array.”

Li Guanqi’s eyes lit up, and he looked at Sword Spirit with a foolish grin. He said softly, “Sword Spirit... Do you really think I can help you?”

Sword Spirit turned to him, a faint smile on her lips. “I wandered the boundless void of the Primordial Era for a very long time and met many heaven-defying geniuses along the way. But you... I think you’re the one most likely to achieve it. Because... you’re very similar to him.”

Quick-witted as ever, Li Guanqi furrowed his brow and asked directly, “Him? Do you mean your master?”

Sword Spirit’s smile brightened, and she laughed. “That’s right. He was a true man who stood tall between heaven and earth, carried justice for all in his heart, and raised his sword to challenge the world. No one could match him.”

A strange feeling stirred in Li Guanqi as he watched the light in Sword Spirit’s eyes, one he couldn’t quite name. Something like the prickle of jealousy.

There were only three swords sealed within Li Guanqi’s sword coffin. He had always wanted to see Sword Spirit’s true form, and had imagined ascending to the Immortal World with her in hand. But now, seeing how she lit up as she spoke of all this, an inexplicable jealousy welled up inside him.

He turned away with a cold laugh. “Hmph! One day, I will surpass him!”

Sword Spirit’s beautiful eyes shimmered. She gave him a deep, lingering look and smiled. “I look forward to that day. I look forward... to you taking me with you and making our names echo throughout the nine heavens of the Immortal World.”

With that, Sword Spirit's figure slowly faded away, and Li Guanqi looked over at Ye Feng.

He stood up, laid layer upon layer of seals around Ye Feng, and walked out of the Purple Spirit Paradise Realm, sending out a quiet voice transmission. “Senior Xi, where are you?”

Xi Yunhuai was always busy. The trans-territory transport array between the Daxia Sword Sect and the Six Gates Holy Sect was only one last section short of completion.

Yet the moment the old man heard Li Guanqi’s transmission, he set down his array-inscribing brush and said solemnly, “Pavilion Master, I’m in the sect’s domain. Do you need something?”

“Yes, come over.”

Xi Yunhuai dropped what he was doing without a word and left at once. The dozen or so assistant array masters he left behind exchanged bewildered looks before setting their work aside as well. Without Xi Yunhuai, none of them could do a thing.

At the summit of ‌Jade Teapot Peak, Xi Yunhuai stood frozen, his legs like lead and his eyes blank and vacant. A full half-hour passed before his eyes came back into focus.

He swallowed hard and stared at Li Guanqi in shock. “Pavilion Master... this array... where did you get it? Could it be...”

Xi Yunhuai pointed at the sky, a flicker of alarm in his eyes. He lowered his voice and sent a voice transmission. “Could it be... something that drifted down from up there?”

Li Guanqi neither confirmed nor denied it. He said plainly, “Can you inscribe it, Elder Xi?”

Xi Yunhuai rubbed his chin and hesitated for a moment before speaking. “Pavilion Master, since you know where this array comes from, can you tell me what it’s for? I’ll be honest—this array is far too profound and complex. Even I can only understand a fraction of it.”

Li Guanqi frowned. He hadn’t expected the array to be so complex. Sword Spirit had casually come up with it, yet even Xi Yunhuai couldn’t fully understand it.

Li Guanqi asked, “Can’t you just inscribe it exactly as it’s laid out?”

Xi Yunhuai’s face twisted with pain. “Well... if an array master doesn’t understand the purpose and underlying principles of the array they’re inscribing, there’s a good chance it won’t work.”

Li Guanqi rubbed his brow in frustration and called out inwardly, “Sword Spirit, is there a way...”

Sword Spirit was a bit at a loss as well. In her eyes, she had already simplified it several times over. She thought a moment, then gave him an idea.

The idea made Li Guanqi’s mouth twitch. He looked at the old man and said tentatively, “Senior Xi... if I told you I could give you a great epiphany of fortune, would you think I’d lost my mind?”

Xi Yunhuai’s eyes practically gleamed with greed. Rather than question it, he dropped to his knees with a heavy thud. “Thank you, Pavilion Master!”

He knew exactly how terrifying the array was. If Li Guanqi could truly gift him a great epiphany of fortune, then once he comprehended the array, his strength would likely soar tremendously.

Li Guanqi dropped all pretense at the sight of the old man’s reaction and raised an invisible barrier to shut out the outside world. For appearances’ sake, he had Xi Yunhuai sit cross-legged in front of him.

Once the old man’s breathing had steadied and he’d settled into stillness, Sword Spirit’s figure slowly materialized, her gaze as proud and indifferent as ever. A mass of spirit light gathered in her pale white palm, and she slapped the old man hard on the forehead.

Smack!

That slap nearly sent the old man tumbling head over heels.

Xi Yunhuai felt an irresistible force crash into his sea of consciousness. What followed was an epiphany of fortune that truly deserved to be called a gift from the heavens.

Li Guanqi watched Sword Spirit frown faintly as she wiped her hand. He couldn’t help but find it rather funny. Every time she gave him something, she would gently press a finger to his forehead. And then there was Xi Yunhuai... 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Sword Spirit said with exasperation, “I’m leaving. Don’t disturb me unless it’s urgent. That old man’s head was drenched in sweat and smelled awful. Disgusting!”

Having merged with the Spiritfish Clan’s bone sword, Sword Spirit had taken on a semi-physical form and was no longer so ethereal. Though others couldn’t see her, she could still perceive a fair amount.

Once this was done, a strange look came over Li Guanqi, and his gaze shifted suddenly toward a certain stretch of the void. A four-chi longsword appeared in his hand. The Lock Moon Sword let out a clear, crisp sword cry.

Li Guanqi sent a voice transmission to Lu Kangnian. “Sect Master, I’m heading out for a bit! Raise the protective array, and don’t open it until I return.”

He reached out to Ji Yuchuan as well. “Brother Ji, help me keep watch over the sect.”

Ji Yuchuan’s expression turned grave as he gazed into the distance. He responded solemnly, “Yes, Pavilion Master. If you’re going over there, be careful. A battle on that scale isn’t one either of us can afford to get drawn into.”

Li Guanqi said nothing. But just as he was about to leave, the void behind him twisted faintly.

Ye Feng had finished refining the power and arrived with Cao Yan and Xiao Chen. Even Nine Heavens emerged from the Purple Spirit Paradise Realm.

Nine Heavens’ massive frame swept down to Li Guanqi’s side and let out a disgruntled roar, as if demanding to know why it was being left behind.

Cao Yan looked at Li Guanqi and said, “Boss, stop trying to shoulder everything alone. You can’t keep this up. Do you even see us as brothers?”