Li Guanqi’s head snapped back violently, as though struck by a massive blow!
His eyes blurred with sudden confusion, and his entire body felt bound by an uncanny force.
A tremor ran through his heart as he immediately understood what was happening.
The enemy had come for him, and—
*Buzz! Clang, rattle!*
Several long chains abruptly bound Li Nanting’s body, leaving only the old man’s eyes exposed. It was as if the mastermind lurking behind the scenes was using Li Nanting’s gaze to observe Li Guanqi.
The golden chains tautened and began to retract, straight as iron rods, as though hauling a weight of ten thousand jin.
As the chains pulled back, the sword coffin within Li Guanqi’s body was forcefully wrenched out by those illusory links!
Li Guanqi’s pupils shrank in shock. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined the enemy would possess a technique capable of dragging out the concealed sword coffin from deep inside him!
With no time to think, Li Guanqi reached out to grab the chains, only to find all four of his limbs pinned fast by sealing power, leaving him completely unable to move.
A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. With a roar of primal energy within him, several spirit swords instantly coalesced and slashed down upon his own limbs!
"Aaargh!"
Even for someone of his formidable strength, severing all four of his own limbs brought unbearable agony.
Li Nanting watched the sight with deep heartache, and after hacking off his own limbs, Li Guanqi’s aura visibly weakened.
Yet the lightning surging around Li Guanqi carried a terrifying, destructive might—strong enough to even shake the chains slightly.
However, those tiny fractures mended back to their original state in the blink of an eye.
Li Guanqi retreated violently, but the pulling force of the phantom chains was overwhelmingly powerful. After darting back merely a zhang or so, he was pinned in place once more.
*Bang!*
A muffled crack sounded!
The phantom image of the sword coffin had already been dragged halfway out!
In a voice laced with urgency, Li Guanqi yelled, "Red Lotus!"
Perhaps only with Red Lotus in hand could he break this deadlock.
Yet for reasons unknown, the connection between Li Guanqi and the sword spirit felt completely severed at that very moment.
He could not sense even a shred of the sword spirit’s presence. By all logic, the sword spirit should have noticed long ago when the sword coffin faced such an ordeal.
And yet...
The sword spirit seemed to be deliberately sealing the sword coffin from within, refusing to let Li Guanqi open it and draw out Red Lotus!
Li Guanqi’s eyes narrowed as an ominous realization struck him.
*Could it be... the sword spirit is afraid the enemy will notice something?!*
*Buzz! Boom!*
Li Guanqi’s four limbs instantly regenerated, and his momentum surged to its peak.
He continually dodged the incoming golden chains.
Before long, however, he realized just how sinister the enemy’s scheme truly was!
As he darted around to evade the chains, the distance between him and Li Nanting grew wider.
Yet the length of the chains seemed fixed.
The further Li Guanqi was from Li Nanting, the tighter the chains wrapped around the old man became.
Now, with only thirty zhang separating them, trails of blood were already cutting into the surface of the old man’s flesh—strangled into being by the sheer tension of the contracting chains.
The agonizing crunch of Li Nanting’s bones splintering under the unbearable strain even reached Li Guanqi’s ears.
Yet the old man gritted his teeth and did not let out a single sound!
Li Nanting merely looked at Li Guanqi with deep worry in his eyes.
Had Li Guanqi not seen the blood seeping through the gaps in the chains himself, he would not even have realized it.
*Whoosh!*
Li Guanqi dug his heels into the ground, and brandishing his sword, he shot forward like a bolt toward the old man!
*Clang, clang, clang! Clang, clang!*
Sparks erupted around Li Guanqi as his sword batted away most of the chains.
Still, some of the chains were impossible to evade. He could only endure them with his physical body, and within moments, countless wounds crisscrossed his frame.
Seeing that two-thirds of the sword coffin had already been hauled out, Li Guanqi’s expression turned utterly grim.
Yet at this juncture, he had no way out.
Suddenly!
Li Guanqi’s eyes lit up, a sharp gleam flashing in their depths.
A spirit sword instantly condensed at his side and shot straight toward Li Nanting!
Affixed beneath the blade of the spirit sword were two Position-Swapping Talismans!
*Swoosh!*
The sword released an ear-piercing sonic boom as it shot forth.
Just as the blade was a mere three inches away from Li Nanting, an eerie, black-robed phantom abruptly materialized about a zhang in front of the old man!
The mysterious black-robed phantom reached out and casually flicked a finger, shattering Li Guanqi’s spirit sword to pieces!
Pinching the burning inscribed talisman in his hand, a cold smirk played upon his lips.
Suddenly—!
Li Guanqi’s form flashed, instantly shifting right before the black-robed man!
The sword in his hand unleashed a terrifying intent to kill as it struck!
Slashing upward from below, the strike was fast as lightning and impossible to guard against.
"Dark Moon!"
*Rumble!*
A terrifying pillar of sword light erupted from the earth. Under the sweeping tempest of rampant sword intent, the entire blood mist boundary was instantly torn to shreds!
The phantom had never expected Li Guanqi to unleash such terrifying might in this split second.
Caught completely off guard, the phantom had one of his arms lopped off clean. The edge of the blade grazed his dark robe, threatening to blow it open.
However, the phantom thrust his remaining left hand before the sword’s edge, forcefully yanking his dark robe back down to keep himself hidden.
Though shock rippled through the man with his severed arm, his movements did not slow by a fraction of a second.
With a backhand sweep, he yanked Li Nanting over, shoving him forward as a human shield.
Left with no other choice, Li Guanqi sharpened his sword momentum, directing every slash toward the man’s arms.
Yet the black-robed man was no easy prey either. It was as though he foresaw every one of Li Guanqi’s moves.
Weaving and dodging, he kept a steady ten zhang between himself and Li Guanqi.
At the same time, the man slammed a palm into Li Nanting’s back, causing the old man to cough up a great mouthful of blood.
Blood trickled down along the chains, and immediately following, an immense pulling force swept through, sending Li Guanqi flying toward Li Nanting against his will.
"Heh heh. Yield and surrender obediently."
As the words fell, the sword coffin before Li Guanqi was only a hair's breadth away from being dragged out completely.
Li Guanqi grew frantic, his eyes filled with burning anxiety.
*Buzz!*
The void around Li Guanqi fractured and shattered. The tremendous surge of power made the illusory chains upon his body clatter and ring out crisply.
Seeing that the illusory chains were on the verge of crumbling, the black-robed man’s heart seized in alarm. He clearly had not anticipated things turning out this way!
With a cold snort, he snapped the fingers of his hand together into a spear-hand and drove it straight through Li Nanting’s chest!
"No!"
"You're courting death!"
*Flash!*
Practically the very instant the mysterious figure struck, Li Guanqi’s eyes turned a ferocious blood-red.
A sickening, horrifying murderous intent surged out around him.
With a wave of his hand, Li Guanqi actually retrieved the Punishment Tower.
His fingers closed around it with crushing force!
*Bang!*
The black tower shattered, and in an instant, the power of countless aggrieved souls erupted and swept outward.
The endless aggrieved souls imprisoned within the thunderous purgatory converged toward the sword in Li Guanqi’s hand.
Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. The sword in his hand hummed and trembled, emitting an overburdened cry.
*Thump-thump! Thump-thump!*
The black-robed man spoke in a raspy voice, "Make a move, and he dies.
"Or hand over the sword coffin, and I will spare his life!"
Chapter 1018