Chapter 269: Chapter 269

The moment Li Guanqi left, the trio rushed after him. His eyes narrowed with anger. He did not believe for a moment that they had come with innocent intentions.

He had no wish to involve himself, so he stopped running, turned, and fixed the three of them with a gaze full of killing intent.

His sheer killing intent stunned them for a moment. The man—their leader—looked up at Li Guanqi and pleaded, “Senior, I beg you. I’ll give you everything I have. Just help us, please.”

The two women broke into sobs as they begged as well. The one who was mostly unscathed looked at him with a touch of seduction. Whether by accident or not, her silk dress had slipped from her shoulder, revealing a stretch of snow-white skin. She pursed her lips pitifully and said, “If… if you protect us for just one night, you… you can do whatever you want.”

As she spoke, tears streamed down her cheeks, and her shoulders trembled. In the moonlight, her beauty looked especially pitiful.

But Li Guanqi’s will was firm.

He found Sword Spirit attractive and enjoyed spending time with women in brothels, but when faced with potential danger, he knew better than to get involved.

He glared at them coldly. “I don’t care why you’re here. I won’t help you. If you dare follow me again, I’ll kill you.”

When his pure white eyes locked on them and his killing intent rang clear in his voice, their hearts clenched in terror. Then Li Guanqi turned and walked away.

The man’s expression shifted—fear, hesitation, then grim resolve. He clenched his teeth, pulled the most valuable item from his storage pouch, and strode forward.

A flash of purple light.

His large head flew high into the air, his body still clutching the storage pouch. Blood sprayed across the women’s faces. They turned pale and screamed.

A ghastly voice rang in their ears. “I’ll only say this once. Do not test my patience.”

The voice faded into the distance. The two women stared at one another, horror mirrored in each other’s eyes. Without even collecting their companion’s body, they grabbed the storage pouch and sprinted madly, attempting to escape the mountains.

Li Guanqi hid in the shadows and soon noticed a group of people approaching. Six Golden Core Realm cultivators, two of them at the late stage. One look told him they were the trio’s enemies.

Li Guanqi smirked coldly and ignored them. Then, he turned and sprinted out of the region. It was nothing more than a minor incident to him.

He was near the tier-five demonic beast zone. He had already killed every demonic beast in the area, and the heavy stench of blood kept the other beasts at bay, even when he dared to light a fire.

Anyone who could set a fire in the Hell Mountains was far more dangerous than the beasts. He had not expected a few desperate people to try to use him.

During his time in the mountains, he had seen countless betrayals and treacherous acts among cultivators. Nearly every day, he saw someone kill another for their treasures. Even members of the same hunting party could not be trusted.

As Li Guanqi walked, he felt changes stirring in his dantian. He knew he was close to breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm.

Time slipped by quickly when cultivating. He was about to turn seventeen. Stroking the fuzz growing above his lips, he couldn’t help but smile. Not bad at all. Nascent Soul Realm at seventeen? I bet only a handful of disciples in the sect’s entire history have pulled that off.

I wonder how Brother Ye and Brother Cao are doing… I hope they’re well.

He journeyed onward, lost in thought. By the time the sun was at its peak, he reached the outskirts of the Hell Mountains. The instant he arrived, he let out a long sigh.

The constant life-or-death struggles had taken their toll on him. He turned back toward the mountains, which loomed as a dark mass of trees echoing with the constant cries of beasts.

Recalling all he had endured, he felt a deep sense of reverence for those terrifying mountains. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✶𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✶𝓷𝓮𝓽

Thankfully, the demonic beasts were fiercely territorial and rarely strayed from their domains. Otherwise, the noise of his battles would long since have drawn tier-five beasts, which could’ve killed him without even leaving a corpse behind.

Looking back, he knew the risk he had taken was immense. With so little lifespan left, he couldn’t rely on Sword Spirit either.

But fortune had favored him. He had gathered the most important herbs needed to refine Longevity Pills, and he had plundered plenty of treasures from raiding caves belonging to demonic beasts.

It had been a fruitful trip indeed.

Killing that powerful Divine Transformation cultivator had awakened his sword intent. He also stabilized his cultivation and got closer to breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm. He was far stronger than when he had entered.

Much of the credit belonged to Sword Spirit. Her guidance in both cultivation and swordsmanship had been invaluable.

He took a few deep breaths.

Holding a high-grade spirit stone, he pulled on a hooded black cloak and launched forward. With a single step, he covered hundreds of zhang, leaving an afterimage behind. His speed had increased by at least thirty percent.

As he soared through the air, he closed his eyes and unfolded a map within his sea of consciousness to locate the nearest city. What he wanted most was a good inn and a long bath.

Cultivation required both effort and rest. Without balance, many lost their minds and strayed from the proper path.

The reason great sects constructed such beautiful grounds was to help their disciples relax and find inner peace.

Li Guanqi glanced at the sky. He would not reach the nearest city, Nanze City, until nightfall. He decided to quicken his pace.

High above, a sophisticated cloud boat soared swiftly through the skies. Suddenly, a youth in fine white robes pointed into the distance, his throat bobbing as he swallowed hard.

Staring wide-eyed at the old man beside him, he cried, “G-grandfather! That person… he’s flying as fast as the cloud boat!”