*Boom!!!*
Li Guanqi’s power surged violently in that instant. The screech of lightning was as piercing as the unison cries of a thousand birds.
Wreathed in the power of thunder, Li Guanqi looked like a god of slaughter, his entire body radiating terrifying destructive might.
Empowered by the heaven-defying strength of his cultivation method, Li Guanqi fought with growing ferocity and swiftly gained the upper hand. Yet he was also gravely wounded, covered in hideous gashes that ran deep enough to expose bone.
Gu Yong’s momentum, meanwhile, gradually weakened. Under the amplification of his art, the strength Li Guanqi displayed was nearly on par with that of an early Mahayana realm cultivator. Worse yet, such terrifying power was being unleashed from within the Body Integration Realm. It was difficult to imagine how terrifying he would become once he broke through to the Mahayana Realm!
The clash of steel rang out incessantly. As the sky and void ruptured, virtually the entire domain’s firmament dissolved into pitch-black nothingness. Amid the unrelenting unleashed violence, wounds multiplied across both their bodies.
Sword qi swept crisscross through the void. Li Guanqi’s eyes flashed. Gripping his sword hilt firmly with his left hand, he muttered, “Divine Punishment: Dark Moon!”
All the power within Li Guanqi’s body converged into this single stroke. It was, without question, the strongest slash he could muster!
*Rumble!*
A blinding streak of sword light flashed across the air and vanished!
*Rrrrip!*
The sound of gold-threaded soft armor tearing apart rang out, and the old man’s sword-wielding arm flew high into the air. As the terrifying sword light swept past, a mountain peak was cleaved in two, leaving a dark chasm thousands of feet long gouged into the earth.
Heaven Shattering Sword Art, three consecutive strikes! Three arcs of sword light sealed off the surrounding space around the old man, shattering the sword light he had swung in defense. Immediately afterward, Li Guanqi spun and unleashed a reverse Sword-Drawing Stance with a horizontal slash!
Infused with terrifying sword intent and surging primal energy, this strike breached the old man’s defenses in a fraction of an instant, nearly bisecting him at the waist!
Li Guanqi reached out and seized the old man by the collar, a complex look flickering in his eyes.
Just as he raised his hand, thumping sounds suddenly reached his ears!
Her eyes blurred with tears, Song Yunshu stared at Li Guanqi. With a heavy thud, she dropped to her knees, looking up at him in utter helplessness. Pressing her palms together, she bowed repeatedly, her beautiful eyes filled with pleading. Then the young woman struck her forehead against the ground, remaining prostrated and refusing to rise.
Watching this, Li Guanqi let out a soft sigh. Everything that had unfolded recently had been far too cruel to Song Yunshu—from his falling out with Gu Yong to the commercial war between the two pavilions, down to them now crossing blades in mortal combat.
Li Guanqi put away the Tianji Chart along with the other scroll, then raised a hand to extract the old man’s soul and perform soul searching.
Just as expected... Gu Yong had left behind no traces or clues. Li Guanqi pondered for a long moment, looking at the helpless young woman, and sighed again.
Lowering his gaze to the old man, he murmured softly, “We shared an acquaintance, and once, we could even be considered friends despite the difference in our years. Our stances differ, and I respect that, but it does not mean I can tolerate everything you have done.”
As he spoke, Li Guanqi brought his palm down hard, completely shattering Gu Yong’s dantian!
A tangled mix of emotions filled the old man’s eyes. He coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood as his life force ebbed away. In the end, Li Guanqi arrested his cultivation at the Foundation Establishment realm. Free from illness and disaster, he could still live for at least a century or so.
Tossing the old man beside Song Yunshu, Li Guanqi turned and murmured, “Song Yunshu, I hope you two will withdraw into seclusion from here on out.”
Cradling Gu Yong and looking upon his aged, weathered face, tears streamed down the young woman's cheeks. Her voice trembled with gratitude as she choked out, “I... I will take Grandfather and live in seclusion among the mountains... Li Guanqi, thank you... thank you...”
Li Guanqi’s figure paused slightly. Finally, with a flick of his finger, he left behind a storage ring for Song Yunshu and said softly, “The world is too murky. Do not set foot in it again. Live well.”
Through tear-blurred eyes, Song Yunshu watched the blood-soaked young man turn and depart the domain, remaining silent for a long time. Lowering her head as three thousand dark tresses cascaded over her shoulders, she murmured softly:
“Henceforth all news fades to silence; spring mountains dark as kohl, grass veiled in mist.”
With this parting, all ties were severed.
Li Guanqi seemed to catch the woman’s soft whisper. Lowering his hands and casting down his gaze, hair falling across his forehead to partly shadow his bloodstained face, he murmured in quiet reply:
“The heart has ever been a spectator's, yet alas, one is cast as an actor in the play.”
He had given his response to Song Yunshu: he, too, was bound by circumstances beyond his control.
Stepping out of the Tianji Domain, Li Guanqi stood atop the clouds, staring blankly ahead at the rising sun. By his usual temperament, he would never leave behind any future troubles. Yet when it came to Gu Yong, he had never truly intended to kill him; otherwise, he would not have taken such a risk to come alone. Since he was capable of locating the Tianji Domain, he could easily have called upon Qin Xiao, Ye Xuan, or others for assistance.
The most important reason he chose not to deliver the killing blow was that from beginning to end, Gu Yong had never targeted the people around him, nor had he laid a finger on the disciples of the Great Xia Sword Sect. That meant Gu Yong still possessed a bottom line to which he clung.
With a flick of his wrist, two ancient charts appeared in Li Guanqi’s hands. Tapping his finger, the Spirit Absolution red silk binding the Tianji Chart instantly shattered. Looking at the two scrolls, Li Guanqi chose not to fuse them together at this moment. The pitch-black scroll felt ice-cold to the touch, and an inexplicable aura surged within it, veiled in mystery.
Li Guanqi furrowed his brows and ultimately refrained from opening it. He had a lingering premonition that unrolling these two scrolls would bring an inexplicable danger, so he simply put them away to deal with another day. At the very least, he would wait until his strength had fully recovered before opening them. He could not shake the feeling that once the Dayan Tianji Chart was reunited into one, momentous events would follow.
Composing his thoughts, he reflected on how the clash between the two pavilions had stirred up immense turmoil across the Six Domains. Thrusting into the limelight like this had also placed Li Guanqi and Guanyun Pavilion at the center of the storm. The Ancient Clans across the Six Domains and the Misty Immortal Domain all harbored plenty of opinions on the matter; it was merely that none of them had openly acted upon them yet. The web of factions behind Li Guanqi was now extraordinarily intricate, and each backing force was immensely formidable.
Li Guanqi produced the Guanyun Jade Pendant and said softly, “You can begin damping down the unrest. Tianji Pavilion... is no more.”
Within the Guanyun Domain Boundary, Xi Yunhuai held his jade pendant, staring in a daze.
Yu Hua, Tang Wei, and the others were staring at the old man with bated breath, waiting for him to speak.
Seeing that he remained silent, Tang Wei could not help but blurt out, “What happened? Speak up!”
Yu Hua also frowned and urged, “What did the Pavilion Master say? Speak, old man, you're worrying us to death!”
Xi Yunhuai swallowed hard. His knuckles turned slightly pale as he gripped the jade pendant tightly, and he shouted at the top of his lungs:
“We won!! We won!!!”
“Tianji Pavilion... is no more!”
“The Pa... Pavilion Master defeated Gu Yong!!!!”
*Hiss!*
Tang Wei and the others gasped sharply in unison. Gu Yong was a genuine, bona fide Mahayana realm cultivator! Back when Gu Yong had staked everything to break through to the Mahayana Realm, Tianji Pavilion had risen to the very height of its glory.
Chapter 1062