Ye Feng was still in a daze, having followed Li Guanqi out of the Sword Sect without knowing that Li Guanqi had left behind a Qi Refining Eleventh Layer technique in the sect.
Li Guanqi put down the jade slip in his hand and leaned against the stone wall, pondering for a long time.
Ye Feng and Cao Yan stood silently by his side, not daring to disturb him.
After a while, Li Guanqi spoke in a deep voice through a sound transmission.
“Master, let me handle this matter!”
“I have Ye Feng with me, and another young brother. That should be enough.”
“The Great Xia Sword Sect’s announcement of a three-year seclusion has already drawn a lot of attention.”
“Many people are curious about why we chose to go into seclusion. If we let the elders come out now, it will attract even more attention. If they dig into Changfeng Manor and discover something, it will be problematic.”
Li Nanting and a group of elders sat in the grand hall, silent after hearing the voice from the jade slip.
Lu Kangnian pondered for a long time before speaking softly.
“Li Guanqi has sacrificed a lot for the sect.”
“His words are not without reason. You all know how many people are watching us with greedy eyes every day outside the sect.”
“Interrogate that disciple. Without killing him, find out everything about Changfeng Manor and report it to Li Guanqi!”
“Additionally…”
Soon, the elders of the Great Xia Sword Sect left the grand hall, except for Qin Xian, who was called away by Lu Kangnian.
In the cave, Ye Feng complained, “Boss, why are you still hiding things from me?”
Seeing Ye Feng’s aggrieved expression, Li Guanqi helplessly set up a barrier of purple lightning Primordial Energy around them.
Then he said in a deep voice, “My grandfather gave me a technique before. I left it for the sect.”
Ye Feng’s eyes widened. “Don’t tell me the sect declared a three-year seclusion because of that technique!”
“What kind of technique is so terrifying?”
Li Guanqi shrugged and said, “A Qi Refining Eleventh Layer technique.”
Ye Feng and Cao Yan nodded, murmuring, “Hmm… a Qi Refining technique, Eleventh Layer.”
“Huh? What did you say? Eleventh Layer?”
Seeing Li Guanqi’s calm expression, Ye Feng lunged and hugged his leg. “Boss! Is there really an Eleventh Layer?”
After Li Guanqi explained, Ye Feng’s eyes became even more aggrieved.
Suddenly!
Cao Yan’s gaze snapped to the cave entrance. Li Guanqi instantly retracted the barrier, and the three of them concealed their auras.
Two sounds of something cutting through the air came from outside the cave.
Fortunately, they had hidden their auras and concealed the cave entrance.
After the two auras moved away, the three of them finally relaxed a bit.
At this moment, the jade slips of Li Guanqi and Ye Feng both lit up slightly.
Ye Feng took out his jade slip, and Tu Kui’s voice came through.
“Be careful!”
Li Guanqi’s jade slip also transmitted Li Nanting’s voice.
“We pried open that disciple’s mouth. Changfeng Manor has five Golden Elixir stage cultivators!”
“Two in the early stage, two in the mid-stage, and the Manor Lord’s realm is unknown.”
“He might be at the peak of the mid-stage or a late-stage Golden Elixir expert!”
“One of the early-stage Golden Elixir cultivators is an elder named Li, responsible for protecting the Manor Lord’s son, Fang Hao.”
The voice in the jade slip paused slightly, then continued with a hint of apology.
“Guanqi, many people are watching us outside the sect.”
“This time, you might have to rely on yourself!”
“Remember, your safety is the top priority. Do you hear me?”
Cao Yan, seeing Ye Feng about to cry, couldn’t help but comfort him.
“Second Brother, don’t cry. Your master is probably not good with words.”
“Wow—”
Cao Yan’s words made Ye Feng cry even more, highlighting the difference between their masters.
After replying to the old man, Li Guanqi put down the jade slip and said in a deep voice.
“Senior Brother Zhao Yang, we must find a way to rescue him!”
“Let’s sort out the situation.”
Hearing this, Ye Feng stopped crying, and Cao Yan listened intently.
“That young man earlier should be Fang Hao, the young master of Changfeng Manor.”
“In other words, without external help, Changfeng Manor has at least four Golden Elixir stage cultivators, and the number of Foundation Establishment cultivators is unknown.”
“But with four Golden Elixir stage cultivators, there will definitely be more Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators below them.”
“Moreover, Fang Hao’s father, Fang Yishan’s strength is unknown. Let’s assume the worst-case scenario, late-stage Golden Elixir!”
Hearing this, Ye Feng couldn’t help but swallow hard.
A late-stage Golden Elixir cultivator was two minor realms higher than them.
Such a cultivator was beyond Ye Feng’s ability to resist.
Perhaps only Li Guanqi could fight him for a while, but he couldn’t kill him.
At the Golden Elixir stage, the difference in strength between each minor realm was significant.
Li Guanqi understood this, so he turned to Cao Yan.
With a serious expression, he said, “Cao Yan, this matter is ultimately an internal affair of our sect. It’s best if you don’t…”
“Brother Li, I want to be involved!”
Before Li Guanqi could finish, Cao Yan interrupted him firmly.
“Why draw lines between brothers? Shouldn’t we share both joy and hardship?”
“Besides, give me some time, and I can break through to the Golden Elixir stage!”
“No matter what, I can help!”
A look of surprise flashed in Li Guanqi’s eyes. He looked deeply at Cao Yan before saying in a deep voice.
“Alright! Then the three of us brothers will do this together!”
“But… our primary goal this time is to rescue Zhao Yang, not to kill!”
Then Li Guanqi looked at Cao Yan and said in a deep voice.
“Three days!”
“Can you break through in three days?”
Cao Yan pondered for a moment, then looked at Li Guanqi and said as if making a promise.
“I can!”
Li Guanqi then turned to Ye Feng and said, “Your task for the next three days is to guard Cao Yan while he breaks through!”
“We’ll leave here tonight and find a hidden place five hundred miles away for Cao Yan to go into seclusion.”
Ye Feng frowned and asked, “Boss, what about you?”
Li Guanqi’s eyes flashed with a cold light. “Me? I’ll be scouting out Changfeng Manor!”
“Our appearances have been exposed. I remember there were hidden recording stones at the dock entrance, so I’ll see if I can find some human skin masks.”
The three of them then left the mountain range under the cover of night, flying north for several hundred miles before stopping.
In a valley on a desolate mountain, they dug a cave.
Li Guanqi tossed out over a thousand low-grade Spirit Stones and ten mid-grade Spirit Stones to Cao Yan.
“Do you need me to go to the Treasure Pavilion to buy a Realm-Breaking Pill?”
Cao Yan grinned and said, “Boss, using a pill to break through would be too embarrassing for you.”
Li Guanqi smiled faintly at his words.
Despite his slender build, Cao Yan’s weapon of choice was a pair of arm guards, a stark contrast to his refined demeanor.
After arranging everything, Li Guanqi nodded to Ye Feng and left the valley alone.