Gu Yong: "I Have No Choice..."

Gu Yong's gaze gradually turned calm as he looked down at the Tianji Pavilion he had spent thousands of years building, now shattered to pieces. "Do you know how long ago I founded Tianji Pavilion...?" Li Guanqi said nothing. He cared little about the history, wondering only why Gu Yong was bringing it up now. The old man raised his head toward the heavens. With a wave of his hand, a vast surge of spatial power displaced everyone from Tianji Pavilion, whisking them away. The once-bustling, clamorous pavilion grew desolate and still, leaving only the two of them standing a hundred feet apart between heaven and earth. "Three thousand, seven hundred, and ninety-eight years." The old man seemed to have foreseen his fate, speaking calmly as if to himself. "Over thirty-seven hundred years... Because I founded Tianji Pavilion, I learned many of this world's deepest secrets." At this, Gu Yong slowly looked up, his clouded eyes fixing on Li Guanqi as he spoke in a low, deliberate voice. "Do you know how many years it has been since anyone ascended from the Human Spirit Realm?" Li Guanqi frowned, unsure of the implication. Lowering his head, the old man murmured softly, "Ten thousand years." After a brief pause, he jerked his head up, glaring at Li Guanqi with a fury beyond ordinary comprehension. "A full ten thousand years!!! "Do you know why?" Li Guanqi remained silent, though an inkling of an answer stirred in his heart. "Because of your grandfather, Su Xuan. "Hahahahaha! One man, standing like a barrier between the Human Spirit Realm and the Immortal Realm—ten thousand years without an immortal!!! "Ten thousand years!! In a Human Spirit Realm where one could originally ascend at the Mahayana Realm, the Tribulation Transcendence and Ascension Realms were forced into existence! "And even upon reaching those two realms, one still cannot ascend to the Immortal Realm!! "By what right?!!!" With eyes wide in fury, the old man glared at Li Guanqi and snarled, "I know my own body. If I don't ascend to the Immortal Realm... I am merely waiting to die!!! "Can you understand what it feels like to watch your life drain away, completely powerless to stop it...?" A trace of disappointment entered Li Guanqi's eyes. He asked softly, "Why are you all so obsessed with immortality?" As if a sore spot had been struck, Gu Yong snapped back with indignation and incomprehension. "Who among cultivators doesn't desire immortality? "I have cultivated all my life precisely to attain eternal life! To live as long as heaven and earth!! "When the path of ascension is severed, of course I must seek another way! "If a man looks not after himself, heaven and earth will destroy him..." Li Guanqi shook his head. He knew the old man before him had already succumbed to demonic obsession. With his lifespan's limit hanging like a blade over his head, all Gu Yong wanted was to ascend to the Immortal Realm. Since his grandfather prevented people from ascending, resistance was inevitable. Evidently, that tide of rebellion had grown increasingly fierce, driving many past the brink of reason. The moment someone from the Immortal Realm extended an olive branch, they would fight for it at all costs. After all... No one in the Human Spirit Realm could contend with his grandfather. As for the entity backing Gu Yong, Li Guanqi had no idea what status that figure held in the Immortal Realm. Still, it seemed they did not outrank whoever stood behind Cang Lu. Li Guanqi sighed, looked up at the old man, and slowly raised his lightning sword. "Hand over the Tianji Chart, cripple your own cultivation, and spend the rest of your days in peace. I will spare your life." Gu Yong suddenly burst into wild, arrogant laughter! "Hahahahaha!!! "Tianji Pavilion has collapsed and is no more, yet you still have the audacity to speak such drivel?" Watching the old man's silver hair whip in the wind, Li Guanqi felt an uncanny sense of pressure. His opponent was, after all, a genuine Mahayana Realm cultivator. Slaying him would be no easy feat. Gu Yong's eyes flickered. Closing his eyes to probe, he sensed no powerful auras lingering around the outer edges of the domain. He fixed a cold glare on Li Guanqi. "You didn't call for help?" Li Guanqi shook his head, looking at the old man as he replied softly, "Because I don't want to drive you to your death. "In the past, you helped me many times. I remember that kindness well." Gu Yong's eyes wavered slightly. Though touched, he knew he had reached a point of no return. If he could capture Li Guanqi today, he could surely force Su Xuan to open the passage and let him ascend to the Immortal Realm!! *Hum—!* Terrifying waves of spatial power rippled outward, completely sealing off the domain before vanishing into the void. Those standing ready outside suddenly realized they had lost contact with Li Guanqi. Qin Xiao frowned and sent a voice transmission: "Old Meng, what happened?" Ye Xuan spoke with equal gravity. "Something is wrong. Guanqi hasn't sent us his spatial coordinates or location!" In the pitch-black void, Meng Jiangchu's face darkened. He cursed under his breath, "What reckless nonsense is that brat pulling now?!" The moment Gu Yong completely sealed off the domain space, a resolute glint flashed through Li Guanqi's eyes. "In the end... you still chose this path." Gu Yong's body stiffened at his words, his voice trembling slightly. "I have no choice. "Do not blame me." With his head lowered, Li Guanqi turned to look at Song Yunshu beside him, his thoughts tangled. "Even though Song Yunshu's life is in my hands?" The primal energy surging around Gu Yong paused momentarily, but he said nothing; the crushing pressure surrounding him only intensified. Suddenly! The power churning around Gu Yong seemed to grind to a halt. Within the sealing formation, a tear traced a line down the corner of Song Yunshu's eye, rolling down her cheek... So... she had heard everything all along. Li Guanqi sighed. It seemed there was no longer the slightest room for compromise between him and Gu Yong. With a flick of his sleeve, Li Guanqi stowed Song Yunshu away into his domain space. Across from him, Gu Yong's eyes flickered, and he gritted his teeth. *Thud!!* Space collapsed, and the old man's figure turned into an afterimage, shooting forward instantly. A crushing, majestic momentum bore straight down on Li Guanqi!! Li Guanqi's chest rose and fell slightly, his eyes unwavering. *Boom!!!!* The space around him shattered. With a lift of his hand, the lightning of heaven and earth formed a fierce, fearsome suit of armor over his body, a purple cloak snapping in the gale. The lightning sword forged from primal energy rang with a piercing hum as Li Guanqi bit down, instantly crushing two pills in his mouth! One Spirit Burst Pill with minimal side effects, and one perfect-grade Frenzied Comprehension Pill. The instant he swallowed them, blood vessels spiderwebbed across Li Guanqi's eyes, and a terrifying power snarled and roared through his meridians! His surging vital blood elevated his physical might to a level rivaling that of a pure martial artist at the half-step Mahayana Realm. As the vital blood coursed along an arcane route through his body, purple dragon scales gradually emerged along both of his arms. The power was so monstrous that a mere swing of his arm tore through the surrounding space. Scores of inscribed talismans were plastered across his chest and back. Amid their shimmering spiritual radiance, Li Guanqi's mind remained crystal clear, cooler than it had ever been. Under the effects of the Frenzied Comprehension Pill, the lightning power radiating around him gradually shifted to a deep, dark purple. The destructive power within the lightning grew three shades more lethal!! Sensing the change in Li Guanqi, the old man's pupils constricted. Steeling every ounce of his focus, he faced Li Guanqi with a grim, solemn expression. *Thud!!!* *Rumble, crack!!*