Chapter 1043 - I Gave You a Chance

The man said quietly, “My name is Shen Feng. I’m the tower lord of the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion’s Purple Tower. If I’m not mistaken... you’re about to be replaced, aren’t you?”

Tu Kui’s eyes widened.

Shen Feng continued with a smile, “The disciple you were proudest of defected from the sect and became Lu Tian’s left protector. Hahahaha! What a joke.”

Tu Kui’s expression darkened, and he snapped, “That’s none of your business!”

Shen Feng turned to look down at Tu Kui and said with a smile, “Let’s make a deal. I’ll find a way to get you to the Illusory Refinement Realm. In return, you only need to do me a few small favors. Don’t worry. No one will know we met today. Even if something happens later, no one will know you had anything to do with it.”

Tu Kui began to waver. Hidden nearby, Li Guanqi watched it all and heard every word of their secret exchange. He was deeply disappointed. He’d never imagined that an elder he once respected would let power cloud his judgment.

Li Guanqi remained in the void, his gaze somber. Gradually, his gaze grew cold. Everyone had to make their own choices.

Li Guanqi studied Shen Feng, suppressing his aura as much as he could. He didn’t dare extend his divine consciousness at all. The sealing barrier Shen Feng had erected was just three cun from his body. The slightest movement could give him away and undo all his efforts.

The conversation didn’t last long. Shen Feng dissolved into a wisp of silver light and vanished from the sealed room. Tu Kui had completely recovered from Shen Feng’s attack and was back to normal.

Shen Feng had left him several precious pills that could strengthen his cultivation. Tu Kui stared at the pills in his hand, deeply conflicted. He stood, gritted his teeth, and strode to the door.

A gleam flashed in Li Guanqi’s eyes. Is he coming to find me?

If Tu Kui sought him out, it would mean he was still the same man at heart. They could still work everything out. But as soon as Tu Kui touched the door, he hesitated. His eyes betrayed his conflict. His face reddened, and veins bulged along his neck. An unreadable gleam flickered in his shifting gaze as he struggled fiercely to decide.

At last, Tu Kui slowly lowered his hand. He turned back, sat within the Spirit-Gathering Array, and held a pill between his fingers. Li Guanqi stood just three chi behind him, his presence undetectable to Tu Kui. He looked at Tu Kui’s hand with sadness in his eyes.

Shen Feng’s pills were precious indeed. The pill in Tu Kui’s hand could grant him the equivalent of two hundred years of arduous cultivation. But it contained poison that would give the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion control over his life.

Did Tu Kui know? He did. Yet, the lure of power and status had led him to abandon his principles.

Li Guanqi closed his eyes, a pained expression on his face. What made power and position matter so much to people? He couldn’t understand it. He’d heard rumors of changes among the seven peak masters, but he’d hardly thought about it.

Li Guanqi couldn’t bear to let it happen. He quietly released a sliver of power, activating the poison in the pill. A wisp of green qi flickered across its lustrous surface and vanished.

Tu Kui’s expression changed abruptly, but Li Guanqi’s intervention made no difference. Tu Kui stared at the pill, gritted his teeth, and swallowed it.

There was pain and resolve in his eyes, as though he’d swallowed his conscience and principles along with the pill. From the moment he chose to take it, he’d already lost a great deal.

Li Guanqi sighed helplessly and burned several talismans. Specks of spirit light silently settled on Tu Kui’s body and vanished from sight. As he turned to leave, he murmured, “I gave you a chance...”

Boom!

Tu Kui’s aura surged, and immense power flooded his body. A crazed grin spread across his face. He clenched his fists, savoring his newfound strength. “Hahahaha! The late Divine Transformation Realm! Just one pill brought me to the late Divine Transformation Realm! The pills he gave me are enough to get me to the half-step Illusory Refinement Realm!”

Tu Kui dropped to one knee and planted his palms on the ground. His eyes were full of madness. “All I have to do is pass along some information. I don’t have to tell them everything! Once I reach the Illusory Refinement Realm, I’ll find a way to rid myself of the poison. I’m still me! I’m still Tu Kui, peak master of Heavenly Metal Peak!”

He suddenly began gasping violently as an eerie green vein spread along his neck toward his heart. He curled up on the ground, screaming in excruciating pain, but his cries never escaped the room. Unable to control his limbs, he convulsed as his joints twisted. Drool and snot smeared his face, and his bloodshot eyes bulged.

Half an hour passed before Tu Kui collapsed onto the floor, completely spent. He looked thinner, and a large puddle had spread beneath him. His disheveled hair clung to his face as if he had just been pulled from a pool of water.

Li Guanqi hadn’t stayed to watch. He knew this was inevitable. Shen Feng would never let Tu Kui act as he pleased. The moment Tu Kui swallowed the pill, he became a pawn of the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion. If the pavilion wanted him dead, he would have no choice but to die.

Was Li Guanqi heartless? Perhaps.

After returning to the Guanyun Pavilion, Li Guanqi asked quietly, “Where will the auction be held?”

Qian Qiusui’s voice soon reached his ears. “Flying Cloud City, at the Yunding Auction House! Also, the entire city is already under our control.”

Li Guanqi nodded. “Good. Got it.”

He raised his hand, and spirit light gathered beside him, forming an identical clone. He left the clone in the Guanyun Domain to manage affairs, then stepped out and vanished from the Daxia Sword Sect.

Li Guanqi had no intention of telling anyone about Tu Kui, not even Wu Bing. He wasn’t sure Wu Bing would have it in him to kill Tu Kui if he knew what had happened.

With that, Li Guanqi flew toward the Yunding Auction House.