Inside a concealed cave, Li Guanqi set up a concealing array plate at the entrance along with an inscribed talisman to hide his aura.
Within the cavern, Li Guanqi had long since fully recovered from his injuries.
A terrifying pressure emanated from his entire being, the might of a half-step Mahayana Realm cultivator faintly discernible.
With a solemn expression, Li Guanqi sat cross-legged on the ground. A flick of his wrist brought forth two scrolls!
One black and one white, the sight of the two scrolls made his expression harden.
He did not know what this black scroll truly was, to the point that Gu Yong had been willing to tear away all pretense of cordiality with him over it.
Li Guanqi's gaze was exceedingly grave. He could sense that this black scroll also contained immense power.
Originally, he had thought the Tianji Chart was more than just a spirit treasure, but not excessively high in rank either.
Yet looking at it now, it seemed he had still underestimated the importance of the Tianji Chart.
"Phew..."
Taking a deep breath, Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes and merged the two scrolls together without the slightest hesitation!
Today, he was going to see what secret was hidden within this so-called "Dayan Tianji Chart"!
Buzz!!!
Boom!!!!!
A violent surge of energy shot straight into the clouds, punching right through the entire mountain peak.
A blinding radiance erupted from both scrolls!!
The pillar of light pierced the heavens, thinning even the dense mist of God Burial Valley.
Forced back several zhang, Li Guanqi stared unblinkingly at the fusing scrolls before him.
The two scrolls merged together, taking on a bizarre black-and-white hue like an ink landscape painting.
Then, the scroll snapped open!!!
The unfurled scroll stretched a hundred zhang long, wrapping Li Guanqi completely inside it.
In an instant, Li Guanqi's heart shuddered!!
For upon the scroll, he saw the three thousand chessboards manifested within the lake of his mind!!
Immediately after, a mysterious and profound fluctuation rippled outward, and an image of the sword coffin slowly materialized upon the scroll!!!
A familiar-looking figure, brow deeply furrowed, turned to look in his direction.
Not only that, but he also sensed a faint, familiar aura of a soul imprint!!!
Li Guanqi felt as if a giant hand had seized his heart, and he stared fixedly at the man in the vision!!
Furthermore, Li Guanqi saw the sword coffin's present condition. Who knew what methods the man had used?
Upon a mysterious altar, the sword coffin hovered in midair, the stone carvings on its outer layer already worn into pits and hollows.
Li Guanqi clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white!
Perhaps sensing something, the man frowned and cast a powerful barrier, cutting off Li Guanqi's prying gaze.
The vision vanished. Li Guanqi closed his eyes, his voice trembling with cold rage: "Xuanmen Domain Lord, Zhang! Qi! Xuan!!!"
Indeed! The one who had seized the sword coffin at the Great Xia Sword Sect back then was none other than Xuanmen Domain Lord Zhang Qixuan.
Old Man Zhang from Fulong Village all those years ago had actually been him!!
And... the place shown in the vision... was likely not the Xuanmen Domain!!!
Li Guanqi's heart surged with intense agitation. He hadn't expected the Dayan Tianji Chart to be able to deduce things based on everything he had experienced!
No wonder Guanyun Pavilion had failed to uncover any information about the culprit from back then after all this time.
If... that person was the Domain Lord of a domain, it made complete sense why no information could be found.
Just as Li Guanqi was steadying his emotions, a tear suddenly appeared across the Dayan Tianji Chart as if slashed by a blade, a fissure cracking the paper!
Li Guanqi's heart sank, recognizing this as the backlash of the Dayan Tianji Chart.
Such a heaven-defying power of deduction would be too terrifying if it could be used indefinitely.
Thoughts raced through his mind. After pondering for a long time, determination hardened in his eyes.
Immediately after, he silently directed his thoughts toward another matter.
The scroll's power surged wildly at once, cracking with fissure after fissure before any image could even appear.
The dense web of cracks and the jarring sound of tearing paper were alarming to behold, and bloodshot veins filled Li Guanqi's eyes.
He stared unblinkingly at the roiling, distorted images on the scroll!!!
Suddenly!!!
The blurred image gradually sharpened, and the tearing sound beside his ears grew more frantic.
In the vision, a man sat regally within a magnificent, resplendent hall, facing an endless chessboard that stretched beyond the horizon!!
The chess player!!!
The chess player behind Cang Lu and Lu Tian!!!!
The man wore a golden python robe, his brows and eyes brimming with haughty, untamed pride!
With sword-like brows and star-like eyes, a stray lock of hair dangled over his forehead, and his gaze shone like brilliant stars yet ran as deep as an abyss ten thousand zhang deep.
A small mole sat above the corner of his mouth; he had a high-bridged nose and thin lips.
A flicker of surprise flashed in the depths of the man's eyes. He had actually detected a prying gaze, yet could not identify who it was.
The remarkably handsome man appeared only in his thirties. He slowly set down the chess piece in his hand and looked serenely toward the empty void.
That single glance crossed ten thousand years and an endless expanse, locking eyes with Li Guanqi.
The man spoke softly in a calm, magnetic voice.
"Whoever you are... prying into me comes at a price."
With that, the man slowly raised his hand. His fair, slender fingers tapped toward the void.
Boom!!!!
Agony tore through Li Guanqi's skull as if it were about to burst apart, and fractures appeared in his trembling sea of consciousness.
The Dayan Tianji Chart encircling him shattered into countless fragments with a deafening blast!!!
Two streaks of bloody tears streamed from Li Guanqi's eyes. Bleeding from all seven apertures, his face was deathly pale.
His soul violently shook. Fortunately, the Dayan Tianji Chart had intercepted the other party's subtle techniques.
Li Guanqi slowly opened his eyes, his chest heaving violently as he gasped for breath.
He did not know what realm the man belonged to, but he could feel an aura of oppressive terror beyond comprehension!
He had felt like an insignificant reef in a vast ocean, liable to be shattered and obliterated at any moment.
Just now, had it not been for the tremendous power released by the Dayan Tianji Chart, that single strike would have shattered his sea of consciousness!!
Moreover... the man had clearly intended to leave an imprint on him.
Yet due to the Dayan Tianji Chart, he had failed.
Slumped on the ground with lingering terror, Li Guanqi felt truly insignificant for the first time.
Before absolute strength, he was like a lamb awaiting slaughter, utterly powerless.
Yet when Li Guanqi recovered his wits, his eyes narrowed slightly. He had originally assumed the other party was a chess player from some upper realm.
However, he had detected an inexplicable aura—an aura that...
Seemed to belong to... the Human Spirit Realm!!!
In other words, from beginning to end, the chess player he perceived might also have a clone in the Human Spirit Realm.
And this clone was merely one of the chess player's avatars; perhaps hundreds or thousands of such clones were scattered across the various realms.
Whether Cang Lu or Sha, they were merely pawns of this clone in the Human Spirit Realm!!
Li Guanqi's heart sank. He could hardly imagine how terrifying the strength of the other party's pawns in the Human Spirit Realm truly was.
The Tribulation Transcendence Realm?
Or perhaps... the Ascension Realm?
Chapter 1084