Xi Yunhuai glanced calmly at the stele. “Family Head Tang, move this aside. In the future... we probably won’t need it anymore.”

Tang Wei frowned slightly, but he still raised a hand and sent several streams of spirit light flying out. The jade pendant at his waist shot forward and pressed itself against the stele.

Buzz!

A powerful spatial fluctuation rippled outward, waves of force surging through the air and whipping the three men’s robes. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Li Guanqi frowned. This aura... the demonic qi is heavy.

Buzz!

The stele rose dozens of zhang into the air. Beneath it lay countless intricate runic arrays, radiating waves of golden light that suppressed the pitch-black abyss below.

What lay within the abyss made their hearts tremble. Inside the ten-zhang-wide crack, dense masses of shadowy demons repeatedly slammed against the array patterns. Their black demonic qi surged, eroding the runes. The spirit light on the array flickered on and off, clearly on the verge of collapse.

This was precisely why Tang Wei had been so troubled.

Bang! Bang bang bang!

The rapid impacts sounded like countless moths battering a paper window.

Xi Yunhuai snorted coldly. A vast pressure burst out, freezing the surrounding space. With a flash, a one-chi-long golden array brush appeared in his hand.

At his level, forming arrays in midair came effortlessly. But because he was sealing the Abyssal-Sealing Lands, he approached the task with the utmost seriousness.

Holding the golden brush, Xi Yunhuai soared above the Abyssal-Sealing Lands’ crack. Vital force surged through him as the brush flew, inscribing golden runes one after another. Each symbol landed upon the original sealing array. As the two overlapped, the seal’s fluctuations steadily grew stronger, and the sounds of the Abyssal Demons crashing below faded.

Tang Wei finally let out a sigh of relief. Li Guanqi smiled faintly and turned to him. “Uncle Tang, now that everything here is settled, I’ll go find Tang Ru.”

Tang Wei quickly cupped his hands. “Please go ahead. I’ll send him a message shortly as well.”

He hesitated, then sent Li Guanqi a voice transmission. “Also... I’ll restrain my other two sons. If they act out of line and offend you, I hope, for my sake, you won’t take their lives.”

Li Guanqi gave Tang Wei a long look, then nodded with a smile. “As long as they don’t cross my bottom line or slaughter innocent people indiscriminately, I’ll spare them.”

Tang Wei cupped his hands again, gratitude clear on his face. His resolve to stand firmly with Li Guanqi hardened.

After leaving the Tang family’s domain, Li Guanqi headed straight for Wuzi City in the Southern Territory.

Buzz!

Li Guanqi emerged from the void. He looked down at the brightly lit, bustling Wuzi City and was momentarily stunned.

Has Wuzi City grown three times larger since I was last here? And that towering structure in the center... is that the Hundred Treasures Pavilion?

Looking at the pavilions bathed in sunset glow, Li Guanqi was genuinely taken aback. He had not anticipated that Tang Ru would expand the Hundred Treasures Pavilion so much in just a few years.

A glint flashed in Li Guanqi’s eyes. In truth, he wanted to pull Tang Ru away from pure commerce. Tang Ru’s strength and talent were far from bad, so spending all his time immersed in business was a bit of a waste. Besides, Qian Qiusui had quite the talent for business. With Tang Ru’s guidance, she’d pick things up quickly.

Buzz!

Whoosh!

Li Guanqi arrived at the entrance of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion in a single step. A beautiful woman stepped forward to greet him.

Her forearms swung gently as she walked, a warm, inviting smile gracing her lips. Her narrow waist and full hips swayed with each step, exuding a graceful charm.

She stopped in front of Li Guanqi and bowed. “Good evening, honored guest. My name is Diehua. If there’s anything you need, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

Li Guanqi smiled faintly, hands clasped behind his back as he gazed at the pavilion bathed in golden light. “I am here to see Tang Ru.”

Diehua froze for a moment. Not far off, a young man with a folded fan sneered. “Bold words. Coming here and demanding to see Pavilion Master Tang. You don’t know your place.”

Li Guanqi cast him a sideways glance, and the young man’s face went pale as paper. He felt as if he were surrounded by mountains of corpses and rivers of blood, countless twisted faces reaching out at him from the carnage. Bloody, mangled hands clung together in sticky masses, and he shuddered from the grotesque sensation.

He collapsed with a thud, soiling himself in terror.

Li Guanqi withdrew his gaze. “Fatty... a friend comes to visit, and you don’t even come out to greet me?”

Buzz!

The entire Hundred Treasures Pavilion erupted with dazzling light. Beneath the golden glow staining the sky, a plump young man jogged out from the pavilion.

Dressed in luxurious clothing, the fat young man spotted Li Guanqi at the base of the steps, and his eyes lit up. His smile was so wide that his eyes nearly disappeared.

Tang Ru waved excitedly. “Hahahahaha, Brother Li!”

Tang Ru, now the head of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion in Wuzi City, dashed forward without concern for his stature or dignity. Even the cultivators at the gate froze in shock.

As Tang Ru excitedly approached, Li Guanqi quickly raised a finger. “Don’t hug me! I’m afraid you’ll squash me.”

Tang Ru scratched his head awkwardly and laughed. “What are you doing here? I knew you’d be back soon! Hahaha, come on, let’s go inside and talk.”

Seeing that Tang Ru had gotten chubbier, Li Guanqi couldn’t help but tease him. “Can’t you lose some weight? Look at you now.”

Tang Ru let out a silly laugh, hands cradling his belly. “Sigh. Every day, I’ve got a mountain of annoying crap to deal with, and I just sit around without moving. Come on, let’s head inside.”

Li Guanqi smiled faintly, amused. “Alright, let’s talk inside. I’ll be leaving soon anyway.”

Under everyone’s astonished gazes, Li Guanqi followed Tang Ru into the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

All the attendants and housekeepers lined the sides, bowing deeply. “Greetings, Pavilion Master! Greetings, Yanluo Sword Sovereign!”

Only then did many realize the figure in white robes was Li Guanqi.

Word spread quickly through Wuzi City, and the cultivators flocked to the pavilion. In no time at all, sales at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion had shot up by an astonishing seventy percent. However, no one managed to catch a glimpse of Li Guanqi.

Inside the study, Li Guanqi laid out everything he needed. Tang Ru leaped to his feet, and Li Guanqi looked at him, puzzled.

Tang Ru was practically bouncing with excitement. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go! Hahaha, I’m finally free!”

Li Guanqi’s lips twitched. Rushing over to ask Tang Wei for this favor now felt completely unnecessary. He could’ve just gone straight to Wuzi City and dragged Tang Ru away himself.

Buzz!

—Guanqi, if you’re done there, get ready to come back. The recall ceremony is tomorrow!

Lu Kangnian’s voice came through Li Guanqi’s jade slip. He set it down, smiling faintly.

Tang Ru’s eyes glimmered. He leaned closer, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Be honest with me. That super-powerful Guanyun Pavilion people have been talking about lately... is it yours?”

Li Guanqi nodded and smiled. “That’s correct. And once you join me, you will take full responsibility for all the business affairs of the Guanyun Pavilion.”