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"Guanqi! Guanqi!! What happened to you??"
"I heard from Xiao Ran that you went to the cliff behind the mountain?"
"Where are you? Don't do anything foolish!! If you're unsatisfied with anything, just talk to your master!"
Creak~
Li Guanqi, with a sheepish smile, pushed open the door and said, "Well… Master, it's nothing. I just went to the back mountain to throw away some trash."
"Brat! Who are you calling trash?!"
Li Guanqi's smile froze as he hadn't expected the Sword Spirit's voice to suddenly echo in his mind!
The Old Man quickly moved to his side, channeling Primordial Energy to examine his internal condition.
Finding nothing unusual, just a slightly weaker aura than before, he was relieved.
Li Nanting noticed his slightly weakened aura and assumed he had been cultivating too hastily.
He couldn't help but remind him.
"You shouldn't be too tense in your daily cultivation."
"Your cultivation speed since you started has been no less than that of core disciples from some powerful forces."
"Cultivation is a long journey; don't be too hasty."
Li Guanqi nodded with a smile, "Understood, Master."
Only then did Li Nanting relax, chuckling softly, "If there's nothing urgent in a couple of days, you could also go to the mission hall to take on some tasks."
"It would be good to go down the mountain to broaden your horizons."
After the Old Man left, Li Guanqi also breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn't know what it would be like if he really had a setback in his cultivation.
His master would definitely be worried to death.
At that moment, the Sword Spirit's voice slowly rang in his mind.
"Now that you and I are bound together, I will help you improve your strength with all my might."
"Try sensing the Sword Box with your Divine Sense; there's a special space inside."
Li Guanqi's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but ask, "What kind of space? A storage space?"
The Sword Spirit snorted with laughter, "Storage space?"
"Do you think too little of me?"
Li Guanqi didn't argue with her and probed the Sword Box with a slight movement of his Divine Sense.
As usual, he couldn't feel anything about the inside of the Sword Box, as if his Divine Sense was blocked.
But this time, he did sense the space mentioned by the Sword Spirit.
Buzz!
A mysterious fluctuation came through, and Li Guanqi's figure suddenly vanished from the room!
Thud!
The Sword Box fell onto the blue bricks with a dull sound.
Li Guanqi looked around at the flickering Spirit Light and the ancient altar beneath his feet, about ten feet in size, feeling somewhat shocked.
"What is this?"
The Sword Spirit also slowly appeared above the altar, speaking softly, "Try embedding Spirit Stones into the formation."
Li Guanqi looked at a raised stone slab on the altar with ten slots.
He placed ten low-grade Spirit Stones in them, and suddenly countless mysterious patterns appeared on the stone slab.
Buzz!!
The pitch-black Void trembled slightly, and the altar beneath him burst into a dazzling silver light.
But then nothing happened, which left Li Guanqi somewhat confused.
And the Spirit Stones on the altar were being consumed at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Li Guanqi couldn't help but say, "That's it?"
The Sword Spirit pursed her lips and said, "Now, the time flow rate between the altar space and the outside world is two to one."
Li Guanqi frowned slightly and cautiously asked, "The kind of two to one I'm thinking of?"
"That's right."
"Holy crap!!"
"This… different time flow rates!! Is that even possible?!"
The Sword Spirit looked up at the altar and spoke softly, "What's impossible about it?"
"It's just… ten low-grade Spirit Stones can only last for two hours before they're completely consumed."
"If they were mid-grade Spirit Stones, they could last for a day, and high-grade Spirit Stones could last for a month."
Although Li Guanqi felt the pinch, he also knew.
Such a thing was too fantastical to even imagine!!
Such a capability was too heaven-defying; he must not let anyone know about it!
But then, Li Guanqi's expression soured as he watched the Spirit Stones already one-fifth depleted and quickly removed them.
"It's good… but it consumes too many Spirit Stones."
Watching Li Guanqi's pained expression, the Sword Spirit rolled her eyes and then disappeared above the altar.
"You still need to cultivate diligently, striving to reach Foundation Establishment soon."
"When you break through to the Golden Elixir Realm, you can wield the first sword in the Sword Box."
Li Guanqi pursed his lips, his mind now preoccupied with making money.
Swoosh!
Li Guanqi's figure reappeared in the room, hefted the Sword Box on his back, and ran towards the Meditation Room in the backyard.
Upon reaching the Meditation Room, he counted his Spirit Stones, which were still plentiful.
He took out about a hundred Spirit Stones, lit a sandalwood incense as thick as a finger in the Meditation Room, and then entered the Sword Box space.
The next evening.
Li Guanqi flashed back into the Meditation Room, looking at the half-burned sandalwood incense.
His heart was incredibly excited!!
The time flow rate was indeed different!!
He had cultivated for two whole days on the altar, but only one day had passed in the outside world!
Li Guanqi clenched his fists and murmured, "This thing is too terrifying."
"I must not let anyone know about the Sword Box's ability!!"
Feeling good, he went out to wash up, ready to attend a class at Heavenly Gold Peak.
Today, an Elder of Heavenly Gold Peak would explain a basic set of sword techniques, and he wanted to listen.
Just as he stepped out, he ran into Yu Sui'an holding a bundle of steamed buns, who jogged over to Li Guanqi upon seeing him.
"Hey! Blind, where are you off to?"
"I haven't seen you for several days."
Li Guanqi smiled and ruffled her hair, naturally earning a roll of her eyes.
"Little Bun, how can you be so carefree every day?"
Yu Sui'an frowned upon hearing this.
She said very seriously, "Shouldn't it be this way?"
"Grandpa once told me something."
"What did he say?"
Yu Sui'an immediately put her hands behind her back, imitating Li Nanting's mannerisms and pacing slightly.
Her expression was comically imitated, but the words that followed made Li Guanqi pause.
"Even if the waves crash over your head, just smile and have no worries!"
After speaking, Yu Sui'an turned her head with a smug look, "How about that? Did I do it well?"
Li Guanqi was slightly moved, feeling that his master's words made a lot of sense.
"Yes, why should a young boy wear a frown?"
"Having buns to eat every day is the happiest thing; what's there to worry about?"
Yu Sui'an scrunched up her face and said, "There is!"
"Oh? What could possibly worry you?"
Li Guanqi asked curiously.
But who knew Yu Sui'an would seriously say, "Whenever I can't grab a bun, I worry about what to eat!"
"Hahaha! Want to come with me to Heavenly Gold Peak?"
"Yay! Let's go, I want to ride a big horse."
The two figures, one big and one small, ran like the wind towards Heavenly Gold Peak.