Sword Spirit: "Just Say the Word, and I'll Kill Him for You!"

Violent thunder power erupted in an instant! The terrifying lightning surged outward in all directions with Li Guanqi at its center, resembling a sky-propping tree of thunder!! The rampaging thunderous might spread across a radius of several hundred zhang until it completely engulfed the radiant palm print. Outside Linyan City, the earth collapsed downward by dozens of zhang in a flash!! Immediately after, this destructive force surged outward in all directions. The ground within a thousand zhang collapsed abruptly, and beyond that, for ten thousand zhang!! Wherever this power passed, virtually every mountain peak and structure ceased to exist!! Cultivators below the Nascent Soul realm were crushed to the ground beneath the oppressive aura, vomiting blood, gravely wounded and unable to rise. For cultivators in the Core Formation realm, their golden cores shattered from within, leaving no hope of repair. If even immortal cultivators suffered such a fate, the ordinary mortals within a hundred li died almost instantly, their bodies detonating into mist!!! In town after town and village after village, thousands and tens of thousands vanished into thin air, the exploding mists of blood dyeing the earth crimson. The mere stray pressure alone had killed or maimed at least several hundred thousand people within a hundred li!! Those were living, breathing lives!!! No matter how strong Li Guanqi was, he could only push himself to his absolute limits to protect the city beneath him. Within his perception, the surrounding villages and towns were reduced to shattered ruins, patch upon patch of the earth stained red. Li Guanqi closed his eyes in agony, two streams of bloody tears trickling down his burned cheeks. "Aaargh!!!!!!" "What do you think you are doing?!" Lightning burst apart, and Li Guanqi's figure plummeted dozens of zhang! The young man sneered, a ruthless glint flashing in the depths of his eyes. He had not expected a mere ant to endure under his assault for so long. Though he was merely a Mystic Immortal—the lowest rank of power in the Immortal Realm—he was nonetheless an eighth-stage Mystic Immortal! Forming a seal with one hand, he pinched his fingers together and pressed down! Boom! Li Guanqi's back bent instantly, mouthful after mouthful of blood violently vomiting from his lips!! Under Li Guanqi's protection, the entirety of Linyan City felt not a shred of the crushing pressure. Yet the mortals inside could see what was happening everywhere else... They could even smell the thick stench of blood in the air, a faint bloody mist drifting across the sky. Looking up at the man trembling like a sieve, tears welled in everyone's eyes. They did not know why this man was risking his life to defend them. In a dim alley in Linyan City, a middle-aged man and woman held the young girl in their arms in a desperate embrace. Even as their bodies trembled violently with terror, they hugged tightly, shielding the girl between them. "Chuxue, don't look!!" The girl's face was pale, yet no matter what, she could not tear her gaze away from the man above. Tears spilled down her cheeks like pearls from a broken string. Yun Chuxue pounded her fists against her chest. She did not understand where this wrenching, heart-piercing agony came from. Yet right then, a sachet resting against her chest suddenly released a gentle white halo of light that melted into her body. Remarkably, it caused the piercing pain in Yun Chuxue's heart to ease considerably. In disbelief, she pulled the sachet from inside her robes. The girl looked up at her mother in a daze, murmuring in a trembling voice, "Mother... why is this sachet glowing?" "Isn't... isn't this made from a piece cut from my swaddling clothes when I was little?" The woman exchanged a glance with her husband beside her, both recalling something. In particular, they thought of the detached courtyard across from their shop—the shattered roof and that terrifying sword light that had soared out from it. Everything pointed to the fact that the eccentric old knife sharpener from before had been no ordinary mortal!! Yun Chuxue's father, Yun Xiang, pushed the sachet back into the girl's hands, saying in a low, terrified whisper, "Keep it safe! We don't know why either. Staying alive is what matters right now—whatever you do, don't go out!!" Li Guanqi kept his head bowed, his expression contorted. Unable to bear this immense force, bloody fissures cracked open across his charred cheeks!! *Cough, cough...* The divine markings on his face flickered wildly; Pengluo was rapidly reaching his limit. *Crack!* Li Guanqi's left shin snapped instantly!! *Thud!* Li Guanqi dropped to one knee, hands holding up the sky, the dragon scales across his body fracturing as blood seeped through. Jiuxiao was now weak to the extreme, having channeled every ounce of his power into Li Guanqi. Li Guanqi gritted his teeth until they shattered, desperately holding on!!! The descending immortal looked down with eyes full of mockery. Looking back across the void, he spotted the Great Xia Sword Sect thousands of li away in a single glance. Lifting his palm slightly, he sent the entire Qingyun Continent trembling violently in an instant. Countless spiritual veins were forcibly ripped from the various sects and clans across the land!!! Incalculable heavenly treasures and earthly herbs were uprooted, turning into streaks of light that soared into the firmament. Great monsters within the forests exploded and died, bloodstained monster cores slowly ascending into the sky. Yet... as the young man did all this, he treated mortal lives like mere grass. With every suppressive gesture of his hand, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of mortals perished in the aftermath!!! The young man's eyes lit up. As he brought his hands together, the Qingyun Continent shuddered frantically. "Immortal Art: Great Void Cleave!" Rumble! The earth shook violently as a colossal rift, a full thousand zhang wide, split straight through the Qingyun Continent, severing its northern and southern domains down the middle!!!! Half-kneeling in midair, Li Guanqi took in everything the man did!!! Countless innocents lost their lives. Before the villagers and townsfolk could flee, entire settlements plunged into the endless, gaping abyss. From the chasm that nearly cleft the Qingyun Continent in two, a dense, verdant haze abruptly welled forth, gathering toward the sky!!! Li Guanqi did not know what that energy was. Yet he could sense that the entire Qingyun Continent was withering and decaying as this power drained away. It was as though... the immortal had torn away the very lifeblood and vitality of the Qingyun Continent!!! All living things wailed, their agonized cries echoing relentlessly in Li Guanqi's ears. The living aura of an entire continent mingled with the deaths of countless innocents. The sounds became a surging tide, battering Li Guanqi's nerves wave after wave! Eyes shut tight, bloody tears streamed from the corners of Li Guanqi's eyes. His lips trembled faintly as he choked back his grief, murmuring in a voice consumed by supreme rage: "Sword Spirit..." "I want to... kill! him!!!!!" Buzz! The proud silhouette of the sword spirit manifested before Li Guanqi. Half-kneeling in the void, his back bent beneath the crushing palm print overhead, Li Guanqi slowly raised his head to look at her. His bloodshot eyes were filled with crimson, the bloody tear tracks still visible. The sword spirit slowly crouched down, an inscrutable gleam flickering in her eyes. Looking at Li Guanqi's current state, a flicker of heartache passed through the depths of her eyes. She even felt an urge to tell Li Guanqi her true name!!!! The grievance, indignation, and fury inside Li Guanqi's heart were feelings she shared completely. The sword spirit softened her haughty gaze, yet her imperious pride remained. Lifting the hem of her skirt with jade-like hands, she slowly knelt on one knee before Li Guanqi. Li Guanqi stared fixedly at the sword spirit before him. Kneeling before him, she reached out, brushing her fingers past his ear and cradling his head. Her gentle hands drew him close until her forehead rested softly against Li Guanqi's brow. Her eyes burned with fiery intensity, gazing haughtily and fiercely into his. Her voice carried not a shred of hesitation, only boundless wrath and towering pride!! "Alright!!" "Just say the word, and I'll kill him for you!" Hum! The sword coffin emerged, and Red Lotus flew into it. Li Guanqi slowly opened his left hand, and the body of the sword spirit transformed into a streak of bloody light, appearing in his grasp!!! A four-foot blade, its tip broken, crimson through and through!!! Boom!!!!! In an instant, the skies above the entire Qingyun Continent roiled and changed. The dark clouds across the heavens receded, replaced by a blood-red sky that burned like sunset clouds. Blood dyed the sky!!!! Boom!! The palm print was slashed to pieces by countless wild sword lights. Li Guanqi's aura surged to its absolute peak in that moment!! The power within Jiuxiao had been drained dry, and Pengluo's phantom spiritual form inside Li Guanqi's sea of consciousness was already rolling its eyes back... At last, the descending immortal turned his head to look at Li Guanqi.