As soon as those words were spoken, both of their expressions shifted slightly.
Li Guanqi's warning was no exaggeration; he had long realized just how difficult Sha was to deal with.
High in the firmament, the dense barrage of explosions gradually subsided.
A battered, disheveled figure slowly emerged amidst the sky full of lightning.
The stray lightning could not even get close to Lu Tian, but hideous wounds now covered his entire body.
Violent demonic qi surged around him, yet it was escaping beyond his control.
Li Guanqi's lightning power possessed an innate countering effect against his Heavenly Demon Physique, causing a great deal of demonic qi to leak out from his wounds.
With his hair disheveled and wild, how could Lu Tian maintain any trace of his prior calm composure?
He was covered in wounds, his mangled flesh charred and turned outward. The blackened gashes left behind by frost and lightning sword qi made him look thoroughly battered.
Yet before the smoke and dust had fully cleared, Li Guanqi had clearly seen a terrifying shield in front of Lu Tian shatter inch by inch.
Li Guanqi's heart instantly sank.
Meng Wanshu and he were completely exhausted, yet Lu Tian had suffered only light injuries.
In Lu Tian's hand was a pitch-black longsword. His eyes were icy cold, and his face was spattered with blood.
Glaring ferociously at them, he tilted his head slightly, his voice chilling to the bone.
"All of you... must die!!"
BOOM!!!!
In an instant, an overwhelming pressure churned the firmament, shattering the thunderclouds and breaking apart the frozen space. A terrifying aura crashed against them wave after wave like fiery surges.
Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu watched with grim faces. They had never anticipated that pouring out everything they had would merely leave the enemy lightly wounded.
And now that both of them were thoroughly depleted, at such a moment...
Tap! Tap!
Ye Feng slowly rose to his feet, gripping Nu Sha as he stepped between them and the enemy.
He shattered every spirit stone on his person, letting rich spiritual energy envelop the two behind him.
Drawing a deep breath, he straightened his previously hunched posture until he stood tall.
Turning his head to look at Li Guanqi, he spoke with steady resolve.
"Half an incense stick. My absolute limit."
Li Guanqi momentarily froze in a daze, his mouth slightly parted as reminiscence surfaced in his eyes.
Years ago, within that forested mountain range, the two of them—still in the Core Formation realm—had just set out from the sect for real-world tempering.
They had been targeted by cultivators from over ten beast-hunting squads.
With Li Guanqi on the verge of a breakthrough, Ye Feng had bound him to his own back with a rope and uttered those exact same words.
The golden-haired youth from his memories seemed to overlap perfectly with the weathered man before him.
Li Guanqi grinned broadly and chuckled. "Alright!"
Meng Wanshu frowned deeply and couldn't help saying, "No! Lu Tian is in a fury right now... Ye Feng won't be able to stop him!"
As she spoke, she stepped forward, intending to fight alongside Ye Feng; after all, she still had enough strength for battle.
Yet a firm hand held her back.
Li Guanqi simply sat cross-legged on the ground without a care, pulling Meng Wanshu by the hand while casually looking down to lay out a spirit-gathering array.
"Sit down and recover your strength," he said calmly.
Meng Wanshu did not understand why Li Guanqi acted this way. Watching Ye Feng step steadily into midair, a trace of anxiety flashed in her eyes.
"But... he..."
"No buts!"
Li Guanqi slowly looked up at the man's back and said softly, "When he says half an incense stick of time, it means half an incense stick."
"Before that time is up, there is nothing for us to worry about."
"Just hurry and recover from your injuries."
Meng Wanshu's eyes flickered with unease. She could not comprehend why Li Guanqi had such complete confidence that Ye Feng could hold Lu Tian off for half an incense stick!
Hearing Li Guanqi's words, Ye Feng could not help recalling scenes from the past.
From the moment he had said he wanted to go home with Li Guanqi, he had unsealed the memories buried in his mind.
To him, those memories were precious beyond compare.
Ye Feng's lips curled into a smile. For some reason, his grizzled gray hair began turning golden-yellow from the roots outward!
A flowing mane of golden hair gleamed as brilliantly as sunlight.
Smiling, his stubble fell away, and as primal energy surged, the empty sleeve filled out as his severed arm instantly regenerated to normal!
He reached behind his head with both hands to tie back his long hair, then gazed calmly at Lu Tian.
Looking at Ye Feng, Lu Tian suddenly felt that the man's state of mind had undergone an earth-shaking transformation in this single instant!
Even so, he did not take the current Ye Feng seriously.
"Just you... think you can hold me off for half an incense stick?"
"Ye Feng, carrying a demon spirit within you, what makes you think you have any right to such confidence?"
As if deaf to Lu Tian's mockery, Ye Feng merely looked down at his own arm and hand.
The entire arm was completely free of any taint of demonic qi. Clenching his fist, he slowly raised his head to face Lu Tian.
"Do you know how I blocked your surveillance?"
Lu Tian frowned and sneered. "Wasn't it just by suppressing the demon spirit?"
Ye Feng chuckled in derision upon hearing that.
Then, he summoned the demon spirit. Swirling with surging demonic qi, the demon spirit knelt as obediently as a dog before Ye Feng!
Before Lu Tian could speak, Ye Feng said softly, "Because... I am more ruthless than it, and more... like a demon!!"
As the words fell, dazzling golden patterns erupted across Ye Feng's left arm!
Lowering his head, Ye Feng murmured without joy or sorrow, "All these years, I have been waiting for this day."
In an instant, the crimson in Ye Feng's right eye gradually faded away. Terrifying Geng Metal power surged forth, as though ready to tear this domain apart!
A demon?
Now, the demon spirit could only tremble in terror beneath Ye Feng's Geng Metal power.
For all these years, he had never dared to let his arm regenerate. On one hand, it was to keep the demon spirit from seizing his mind.
On the other, it was to deceive Lu Tian, leading him to believe Ye Feng had severed his own arm out of fear of the demon spirit.
Ye Feng turned back toward Li Guanqi, offering an honest, goofy grin.
As golden light burst forth, Ye Feng spread his arms, bathing entirely within the radiant gold.
The demon spirit let out an agonized howl, ultimately retreating into Ye Feng's right arm, just as it had in the past.
BOOM!!!
Peak mid Mahayana realm!!!
Accumulated through years of restraint, unleashed in an instant!
Ye Feng beckoned with one hand, and Nu Sha instantly flew into his grip.
The Ye Feng of this moment filled Nu Sha with joy, and terrifying power erupted from the blade.
"All these years, I've been wondering... a thing like a demon spirit..."
"Does Ye Feng truly need it?"
"My sword of Geng Metal can sunder all methods... Why! Must! I! Borrow! A! Demon's! Might?!"
Turning his wrist, his sword instantly sheared off his right arm!
Blood sprayed as the demon spirit's power, sealed within the right arm, was severed along with it.
At this moment, Ye Feng's features recovered somewhat, becoming much more youthful.
Seeing this, Li Guanqi's eyes could not help growing moist.
That wild, unrestrained swordsman had returned!
BOOM!!!!
The lower hem of Ye Feng's black robe snapped loudly in the air, his golden hair dancing wildly in the wind.
Even facing Lu Tian at the peak Mahayana realm, he felt not the slightest fear. Instead, the corners of his lips curved slightly upward as he looked at Lu Tian.
"Care to make a bet? A bet on whether I can hold out against you for half an incense stick?"
Chapter 1140