Chapter 1035 - Life Divine Soul, Subduing Yu Hua

Li Guanqi frowned and narrowed his eyes. “That’s all?”

Yu Hua’s expression stiffened. She pressed her lips together, met his eyes, and finally gritted her teeth. “That bastard touched me! I couldn’t stand it!”

The corner of Li Guanqi’s mouth twitched. “Tell me what you really think. My patience is limited.”

Yu Hua sighed helplessly and shrugged. “Three years ago, I watched from a distant hiding place as everyone joined forces to hunt down Lu Tian. The Xiaoxiang Palace has a long history. We don’t know much about the Seventh Territory, but we know it exists. We also know about its Eight Generals.”

She paused, her foxlike eyes fixed on the space between Li Guanqi’s brows. “You have close ties to the Eight Generals. From that moment on, I knew I could never afford to make an enemy of you.”

She let out a breath while Li Guanqi studied her. Her state of mind had remained steady as she answered. Could she really lie so convincingly while he deliberately disturbed her mind? He doubted it. But the longer he considered what she had done, the stranger it seemed.

After joining the attack on the Daxia Sword Sect, Yu Hua had turned to an enemy for help. She had offered her companions’ lives to prove her sincerity and struck them down without hesitation, all without knowing whether Li Guanqi would save her. Had he refused, Lu Tian’s control would have doomed her, body and soul. She had staked everything, hoping Li Guanqi would have too many questions to turn her away.

Li Guanqi felt somewhat helpless.

Yu Hua asked softly, “Is there anything else you wish to ask, Young Master Li?”

He narrowed his eyes. Yu Hua smiled and sat cross-legged, then shrugged helplessly. “I know you can use Soul Search. Go ahead.”

Li Guanqi did not stand on ceremony. He placed a hand on her head before murmuring, “Soul Search.”

Buzz!

Her divine soul was torn from her body. Li Guanqi meticulously guided his divine consciousness through her memories. Her account was true. Before going to Blood Blade Hall, she hadn’t known Zhao Pei was working for Lu Tian. Guan Xing and the others hadn’t known either. By the time they discovered the truth, Lu Tian had already appeared, leaving them no choice but to agree.

Buzz!

Yu Hua opened her eyes, her face pale. “You can believe me now, right?”

Li Guanqi raised a hand and tore apart the surrounding array barriers. “You can leave.”

He turned away, but Yu Hua hurried after him, staying a step behind. “I... I have nowhere to go. Xiaoxiang Palace is gone.”

Li Guanqi frowned. He hadn’t expected her faction to be completely gone.

There was no mistaking the sorrow in her eyes as she spoke of the palace. He understood what she wanted from him, but answered with a question of his own. “What does that have to do with me?”

Yu Hua gritted her teeth and blurted out, “I know Lu Tian is controlling your sworn brother, and I know you’ll never settle your feud with him! So... I want to join the Daxia Sword Sect and take revenge!”

Li Guanqi stopped and slowly turned back to her. “The Seventh Territory is the Seventh Territory. The Eight Generals are the Eight Generals. I’m just me. Do you still want to join?”

Yu Hua froze. Anyone else would have flaunted their ties to the Eight Generals, but Li Guanqi had distanced himself from them. She thought over his words and understood the question. Was she joining the Daxia Sword Sect for him or for the power she imagined stood behind him? He might consider accepting her for the first reason. For the second, she could forget it. Li Guanqi was willing to consider accepting Yu Hua because he had his own plans.

After a long pause, Yu Hua drew a deep breath. “I’ve thought it through. I want to join because of you, Young Master Li. Your connections are part of it, but what matters most is that we share an enemy!”

Li Guanqi gave Yu Hua a long, searching look. He could sense the sorrow she kept buried behind her eyes. As the master of Xiaoxiang Palace, she had watched Lu Tian turn every disciple under her command into a demonic cultivator. Even she herself had been forced to resort to desperate measures just to escape his control.

Li Guanqi sighed inwardly. It was hard to fathom the depth of pressure, grief, and anger she was shouldering. Her seemingly carefree demeanor was merely a mask for her sorrow.

She could have explained herself and gone elsewhere. Since she was in the late Combined Body Realm, she would have been an honored guest in any sect or clan. Instead, she was willing to swallow her pride and seek a place in the Daxia Sword Sect for the chance to avenge Xiaoxiang Palace’s disciples and elders.

Seeing the determination in her eyes, Li Guanqi said softly, “Give me a reason to trust you completely.”

Yu Hua closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Without the slightest hesitation, she extracted a wisp of her ?divine soul and sealed it inside a jade slip.

With her shoulders trembling slightly, she held the jade slip out to him. Looking him straight in the eye, she asked solemnly, “Is this enough?”

Li Guanqi accepted the jade slip, shaken inside. She had essentially placed her life in his hands.

He gave her a long look, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes. With a turn of his hand, he put the jade slip away and then tossed her a high-grade healing pill. “Welcome to the Guanyun Pavilion.”

Yu Hua froze for a moment. After a moment, her expression softened, and a radiant smile spread across her face. “Understood, Pavilion Master.”

Li Guanqi had lowered his guard enough to treat her as one of his own. Had she joined the Daxia Sword Sect, she would have been no more than a guest elder. The Guanyun Pavilion, however, belonged to Li Guanqi himself.

Li Guanqi took out a jade slip and quietly sent Ji Yuchuan a message along with the aura of Yu Hua’s divine soul.

Before long, Ji Yuchuan’s reply came through.

—She can be trusted. Don’t bother me!

Li Guanqi rubbed his nose awkwardly, then flew toward the Guanyun Pavilion with Yu Hua.