*Rumble!!*
*Bang! Bang! Bang!!*
Without warning, all of Dikun City began to shake violently.
Shattered stone rained continuously from the dome above.
Massive boulders and all manner of metal parts tumbled down in a relentless cascade.
The mechanism trapping Zhou Zhi disengaged, and behind him, the barrier protecting the Great Xia Sword Sect disciples shattered with a deafening roar.
Only the barrier over the Thousand Mechanism Formation Plate still held, though it rippled ceaselessly under the barrage of falling stone.
In an instant, all the disciples swept into the formation, gathering closely around Li Guanqi to protect him.
Jiang Su's face was still somewhat pale, but the rest of her injuries had largely healed.
Darting forward, she gathered Zhou Zhi into her arms, letting him lean against her.
Zhou Zhi said in a faint, raspy whisper, "Send a few people to look for an exit. The others, check if the jade slips are working."
"If they work, contact the disciples in the city immediately and tell them to gather here."
"Everyone else, guard Junior Brother Li while he breaks through!"
As his voice fell, the group responded in unison and began moving in an orderly fashion.
At this moment, Li Guanqi was completely oblivious to the outside world.
The sword spirit, who had been suppressed all this time, finally awoke as well.
Her voice rang out in his mind, filled with utter astonishment: "You... you actually swallowed a segment of Star Pivot Thunder Vine?!"
Li Guanqi's anxious voice suddenly snapped back, "Stop standing there gaping! Any longer and this thing is going to blow me apart!!"
In just a few short breaths, the origin qi within Li Guanqi's dantian Dao platform had condensed to a terrifying degree.
The speed at which his cultivation technique refined it could not begin to keep pace with the sheer volume of spiritual energy unleashing from the Star Pivot Thunder Vine!
The sword spirit licked her crimson lips and whispered softly, "You could never absorb this much heaven and earth spiritual energy on your own. Give it to me."
Li Guanqi was in no position to ponder anything else. He yelled, "Take it! Take it!! Just hurry up and help me!!"
The corners of the sword spirit's lips curved upward into a satisfied smile.
With one hand, she formed a hand seal. Immediately, Li Guanqi's swollen belly shrank visibly at a rapid pace.
The spiritual energy that had nearly ruptured his dantian Dao platform was gradually siphoned away by the sword spirit.
As the agonizing pressure receded, he let out a slight breath of relief.
The sword spirit murmured, "To stumble upon this kind of natural treasure... you really struck dog-shit luck, kid."
"What kind of dog-shit luck? More like absolute bullshit. I almost blew myself up," Li Guanqi grumbled under his breath, lingering dread still gripping his chest.
The sword spirit shook her head without denying it, then guided the energy with a flick of her hand.
Deep below in his dantian, the Star Pivot Thunder Vine began to slowly drift upward toward his spiritual terrace.
Gradually, Li Guanqi's state of mind settled into tranquility. None of the rumbling or shaking around him could disturb him any longer.
His breathing grew deep, even, and strong, and his entire demeanor began to undergo an earth-shattering transformation.
His saint-grade spiritual root, which had already set its form, actually ascended in quality once more upon fusing with the Star Pivot Thunder Vine!
Moreover, he could sense a faint trace of thunderous power coursing through the origin energy in his dantian.
Li Guanqi frantically circulated his technique, refining the spiritual energy.
The aura around his body surged and fluctuated with immense violent intensity.
Suddenly!
He felt as though his entire being had been submerged in a thunder pool; the piercing pain and numbing shock brought sheer agony.
The sword spirit murmured softly, "There's still a bit of power left in this Star Pivot Thunder Vine. It can be fed to the Thunder Dragon egg—enough to sustain it for a year and a half or so."
"Still... this little guy's spiritual root needs far more if it's going to advance further..."
*Boom!!!*
Li Guanqi's aura instantly broke through into late Foundation Establishment.
His dantian Dao platform expanded once more, and with the breakthrough, his meridians grew noticeably tougher and broader.
From now on, the origin energy within him would circulate at an even greater speed.
When he opened his eyes, a cacophony of noise flooded his ears.
Rising to his feet, Li Guanqi realized the world around him was violently trembling. Several figures were slashing with their swords nearby, while countless boulders plummeted from the ceiling above.
He understood the situation in an instant and called out, "Senior Brothers, go first!"
Ten zhang behind the crowd, space began to twist, revealing a warped spatial rift.
Zhou Zhi's eyes burned with urgency as he said in a heavy voice, "Everyone, fall back through the rift! Hurry!!"
"Yes, Senior Brother!"
"Move!! This place is about to collapse!"
*Rumble!!*
By now, every surviving Great Xia Sword Sect disciple had gathered here.
Counting himself, there were exactly thirty of them, and they filed into the rift one after another.
Suddenly, Li Guanqi's expression changed drastically!
"Ye Feng!"
Zhou Zhi seemed to remember as well and said anxiously, "Damn it! Duan Xiong and Ye Feng are still up there!"
Seeing the rapidly moving dot of light on the jade slip, Li Guanqi exerted force beneath his feet and bounded onto the raised dais in a flash.
His voice drifted back from afar: "I'll go get them! You all leave first!"
Yet when Li Guanqi was only halfway there, he turned and saw Duan Xiong supporting Ye Feng as they stumbled forward.
*Rumble!!*
Amidst the violent shaking, a massive boulder over a zhang across hurtled straight toward the two of them!!
When the boulder was barely three zhang away, Li Guanqi flew through the air and arrived in a blur.
The Canglang sword leaped from its sheath. Purple light flared across the blade, accompanied by erratic arcs of dancing lightning.
With terrifying force, he cleaved the giant stone clean in two!
The two disciples froze in stunned disbelief, their mouths hanging wide open, utterly lost for words.
Li Guanqi dropped to the ground and kicked both of them forward.
"Fly, damn it!! What the hell are you waiting for?!"
"Any slower and we'll all be buried alive here!!"
Duan Xiong pulled a miserable face. "Junior Brother Li, I... I can't fly while carrying someone!"
Suddenly, a pair of hands hoisted both Duan Xiong and Ye Feng into the air.
Though Ye Feng was frail and pale, he still managed to choke out, "Old Li... you're a beast..."
The moment Li Guanqi reached the bottom level, he saw Zhou Zhi still lingering by the glowing entrance.
Upon spotting him, Zhou Zhi waved his arm frantically. "Guanqi! Hurry!! The secret realm is collapsing!"
*Bang!!*
No sooner had Zhou Zhi spoken than the crimson formation barrier shattered violently!
The countless stones piled on top of it came crashing down all at once!
*Bang! Bang, bang!!*
Zhou Zhi held his longsword, intending to wait a moment longer, but then a pale-faced figure was suddenly hurled toward him.
Right behind came a second figure!
Zhou Zhi shoved both of them into the rift and roared, "Go, quickly!!!"
*Thud!!*
The bluestone ruptured beneath Li Guanqi's feet. He arrived in the blink of an eye, grabbed Zhou Zhi by the arm, and pulled him forward.
In the nick of time, the two of them tumbled into the spatial rift together.
*Rumble, rumble!!*
A barrage of deafening roars rang in their ears.
The moment they escaped the secret realm, the ancient hall on Heavenly Sword Mountain that housed the entrance collapsed with an earth-shattering crash!
The warped spatial rift dispersed into nothingness, vanishing entirely from between heaven and earth.
When Li Guanqi pushed himself up, he saw that almost all the Great Xia Sword Sect's high-ranking elders and the Sect Master were gathered there.
Li Guanqi looked around at the survivors, a pang of sorrow welling in his eyes.
Fifty of them had entered, yet only thirty-two had returned.
Chapter 101