Gliding through the air, Li Guanqi observed his surroundings with extreme caution.
He had heard from his grandfather about the Mo family's lineage, so he dared not take it lightly.
Though the Mo family had declined for who knows how many years, such a vast relic could not be underestimated.
Even if it wasn't the main branch, it was still a formidable offshoot.
However, as Li Guanqi passed by a grand mansion, he sensed a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy.
Darting into the mansion, he followed the weak signal until he found a hidden chamber.
The only problem was that the chamber's entrance had three differently shaped slots.
Unwilling to waste time searching, he exhaled and with three swift strikes as fast as lightning, he hit the slots.
Yet, the stone door in front of him remained unmoved. Recalling the hesitation he felt during his swordplay,
Li Guanqi pursed his lips, realizing his right hand's sword strikes were insufficient to trigger the chamber's mechanism due to the long intervals.
Switching the sword to his left hand, his eyes grew sharp.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The slots beneath the grooves were instantly activated, and with a rumbling sound, the heavy stone door slowly opened.
On the racks were numerous crossbows and mechanisms, but the bowstrings were broken, and the wood was rotten.
However, on the top shelf lay an item emitting a faint glow.
Li Guanqi picked it up and examined it closely, murmuring in surprise, "A sleeve arrow?"
The sleeve arrow, only half the size of a palm, filled his eyes with astonishment.
It was exquisitely made, its surface shimmering with a metallic sheen and cast in bronze.
There were two silver arrows on the sleeve arrow, each only as long as a pinky finger, with bowstrings of an unknown material.
Worn on the wrist, it felt like nothing, not hindering the wrist's movement at all.
With a thought, Li Guanqi flicked his wrist.
Bang!!
A silver streak shot out silently in an instant, and ten meters away, the stone wall exploded on impact!
The arrowhead burst upon contact with the wall.
Staring at the collapsed wall, Li Guanqi swallowed hard.
"This power… If hit at close range, even someone at the late Foundation Establishment stage couldn't withstand it."
"The energy barrier of a Foundation Establishment cultivator couldn't block this at all!"
"Tsks, what a treasure."
However, after searching the entire chamber, he found no additional arrows.
Just as he was about to leave, his Divine Sense, out of habit, detected a diamond-shaped object hidden behind the shelf.
Picking it up, he found it cool to the touch, with a 'Earth' character engraved on the front and an openwork gear on the back.
He slipped it into his storage ring and swiftly left the place.
After an unknown amount of time, Li Guanqi finally neared the towering city.
But what puzzled him was that he hadn't encountered a single person along the way, not even a shout.
This extreme silence made him instinctively alert.
"What's going on? Even if this relic is huge, it's impossible not to meet a single person…"
Looking up, the terrifying mechanism that sealed the entire relic underground, now silent, still sent shivers down his spine.
The towering city walls, even from a distance, radiated a cold metallic luster.
And the height of the walls was at least two hundred forty meters!
What did that mean? Li Guanqi, nearly six feet tall and considered tall among adults, could barely see the top of the wall when standing in front of it.
Touching the wall, Li Guanqi suddenly felt a slight vibration.
He swiftly retreated as the smooth wall suddenly revealed hundreds of slots!
Out of the slots extended wooden sticks that, with clicking sounds, transformed into massive crossbows in the blink of an eye!
The crossbows, adjusting their angles, fired at Li Guanqi!
Arrow after arrow, gleaming with a cold light, flew towards his position.
Clang, clang, clang!
Li Guanqi's form was swift as the wind, dodging around the distant mountains.
Boom!!
An arrow, thick as two fingers, pierced through the stone wall in front of him.
Moments later, the crossbows retracted into the wall, and Li Guanqi, pale-faced, swallowed hard.
His entire right arm trembled slightly, with minor cuts that turned black.
Without hesitation, he dug out the tainted flesh!
With a grave expression, he stared at the city ahead.
"How many more traps are there…"
"If it weren't for my experience in the illusion, I would have surely died under these dense arrows!"
He had barely touched the wall and almost met his end!
Suddenly, Li Guanqi turned to look at a spot on another street thirty meters away.
His brow furrowed as he caught a faint whiff of blood in the air.
With a slight movement of his feet, he leaped into the Void and saw a collapsed house on another street!
Seeing the silent young man below, Li Guanqi's expression changed.
The dead man was a disciple of the Great Xia Sword Sect, seemingly from the Heavenly Earth Peak.
He had entered the sect two years earlier than Li Guanqi and had crossed paths with him at the Heavenly Pillar Peak mission hall.
But now, a blood dart was lodged in the man's collapsed chest!
There was also a vague footprint on his clothes, likely from a kick after the dart got stuck in the ribs!
Li Guanqi crouched down, extended his Divine Sense, but found no clues nearby.
He measured the footprint, estimating the assailant's height to be at least equal to his own.
Looking at the sole of his shoe, he grew more puzzled.
The pattern on the shoe was that of the Great Xia Sword Sect's standard issue.
Li Guanqi closed the man's eyes and stored the body in his storage ring.
Holding the blood dart, he murmured, "Could it be infighting among sect disciples over some treasure?"
"Normally, disciples of our sect would never do this!"
"It must be either a temptation too great from a discovered treasure, or…"
This made him recall several mysterious figures from days past.
Stowing the blood dart, Li Guanqi's expression turned cold, and with narrowed eyes, he whispered, "I hope I don't catch you."
He then moved towards the city's western entrance.