The firmament hung in tatters. An overpowering wave of dizziness crashed through Li Guanqi's mind.
He stumbled, nearly plummeting from the void, and sank weakly onto one knee in midair.
Blood trickled down from his brow. The charred flesh across his body split open at the slightest movement, revealing gruesome, horrific wounds.
Scorched all over by searing flame, Li Guanqi was a terrifying sight. His warped skin clung together in weeping blisters and oozing lesions. His hair was burned away completely, the fissures across his scalp deep enough to expose bone, and the horrific gashes covering his torso bled without end. On his half-kneeling leg, half a length of stark white bone was exposed. A crimson mixture of blood and saliva dripped uncontrollably from his lips.
Jiuxiao had plunged into a deep slumber, and even Pengluo had exhausted his strength for the first time, passing out cold. The sword spirit's transformation into a physical sword had clearly cost her dearly as well. After all, wielding such terrible power capable of suppressing a Mystic Immortal was bound to demand an immense price.
Li Guanqi's consciousness grew hazier by the moment.
Just as he was about to lose his grip on flight, the blurred vision of his mind's eye caught sight of Yun Chuxue down in the city below.
"Brother Li!"
Jiang Yong teleported to Li Guanqi's side, his broad, steady hands catching him. Anxious concern flooded the honest-faced man's eyes.
Though Jiang Yong did not know what had just transpired, he knew it had to be catastrophic. He even suspected that Li Guanqi's earlier disappearance had been due to a life-or-death duel with the immortal! Otherwise, why would that immortal abandon the easily claimable providence of the Qingyun Continent and vanish into thin air?
Yet that was an immortal! Even the lowliest of immortals was at least a Mystic Immortal! How could Li Guanqi, with only a late Mahayana realm cultivation, possibly contend against such a foe?
Profound admiration filled Jiang Yong's eyes. Li Guanqi's present gruesome state alone was proof of how savage the clash had been. Cultivators throughout the Immortal Burial Realm had a general idea of Li Guanqi's terrifying strength; even an ordinary Tribulation Transcendence expert would find slaying him harder than ascending to the heavens. To have wounded him to such a degree...
Up in the sky, a figure was straining to seal the ascension passage.
Dressed in a scarlet martial robe, Hong Zhi swept her gaze downward. Her heart clenched at the sight of the heavily injured Li Guanqi. The passage in the firmament above was now only a zhang wide; she had to force it shut!
"Guanqi!"
Long Hou's anxious cry rang out. Shock washed over him when he saw Li Guanqi's state.
Yet what shocked him even more than Li Guanqi's grievous wounds was that the immortal's aura was gone!
That was a descended immortal! When the entity had torn through the Qingyun Continent moments earlier, the terrifying pressure unleashed had struck dread even into Long Hou's heart. He could not fathom what horrific cost Li Guanqi had paid to slay him.
Killing intent flared cold in Long Hou's eyes as he frowned, surveying the surrounding devastation.
Except for Linyan City directly below them, virtually the entire Southern Domain of the Qingyun Continent lay in utter ruin.
Corpses littered the earth; rivers ran red with blood. The mountains and rivers were fractured, the land splintered, and the dispersing providence had plunged all living souls across a ten-thousand-li radius into misery and ruin.
Long Hou closed his eyes in agony. Such devastation was not confined to the Great Xia Domain alone. Immortals had descended in other territories as well!
The fighting was fierce beyond measure, inflicting staggering casualties upon the cultivators of the Immortal Burial Realm. Although no cultivators from the Immortal Burial Realm had turned traitor yet, Long Hou knew that once an immortal proved capable of sending people upward, human nature would fail the test. When that moment arrived, sheer desire would drown out whatever reason they had left.
Long Hou looked up at Hong Zhi and said grimly, "Luoxia Domain is in grave peril! Hong Zhi, make haste and reinforce them!"
Hong Zhi gave a curt nod, gripped her blade in one hand, slashed through the void, and stepped through to vanish.
Long Hou looked toward the figures streaking through the distance and felt a sliver of relief. Turning his palm, he produced a jade bottle, handed it to Jiang Yong, and spoke in a deep voice. "The battles in the other domains are perilous. I leave this place to you. The Great Xia Sword Sect has come for him—just follow them back!"
Jiang Yong gave a somber nod. He had naturally sensed dozens of auras speeding their way as well.
Long Hou turned and shot toward the horizon as a streak of light.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
"Pavilion Master!"
"Elder Li!"
Anxious shouts rang out as Ji Yuchuan flashed to Li Guanqi's side in an instant.
Seeing Li Guanqi's mangled state, everyone drew a sharp breath. Facing wounds so horrific, they could hardly imagine what he had just endured.
Ji Yuchuan's face darkened. He reached out and barked, "Old Xi!"
Xi Yunhuai instantly brought forth his Shenzha. Primal energy surged within Ji Yuchuan; he bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of essence blood. As the Shenzha absorbed the blood, Ji Yuchuan swept the giant brush across the air, rapidly inscribing a compact formation over Li Guanqi's chest.
The formation would suppress Li Guanqi's internal injuries as much as possible. Yet with his aura fluctuating so violently, Ji Yuchuan made an immediate call: "Return to the sect at once! Hurry!"
Wu Bing glanced down at Linyan City below, took out a jade slip, and barked, "Someone stay behind to guard this place!"
Ji Yuchuan raised a hand to stop Wu Bing, his voice a low transmission: "No need. Take everyone and go. Do not disturb the people in that city. With that senior's spirit incantation barrier in place, there is nothing to fear."
With that, Ji Yuchuan nodded toward Jiang Yong, hoisted Li Guanqi onto his back, and vanished from the spot.
Jiang Yong felt a jolt in his chest. For a moment, he caught an inexplicably familiar aura from Ji Yuchuan. Yet, unable to be certain, he shook his head and took to the air, moving to suppress the Qingyun Continent's dispersing providence.
The Seventh Domain cultivators who had initially arrived in the Great Xia Domain had long since departed for other realms. Jiang Yong set out alone to hunt down any remaining rebels.
The reason Li Guanqi's taut nerves had finally eased was precisely that he had recognized the auras of Ji Yuchuan and the Great Xia Sword Sect.
Slumped over Ji Yuchuan's back, Li Guanqi mumbled in broken murmurs, "City... her..."
Ji Yuchuan pressed his lips together and nodded gently. Letting the blood trickling from Li Guanqi's lips run down his shoulder, he transmitted softly, "Rest easy. The Cloud Shadow Guards are watching over her. Nothing will go wrong."
The corners of Li Guanqi's mouth curved slightly upward as he slipped into complete unconsciousness.
He was exhausted. A deep, crushing fatigue invaded his mind, dragging him under.
Meanwhile, every one of Li Guanqi's brothers was similarly locked in bitter combat.
After seeing Li Guanqi settled at the Guanyun Domain Boundary and confirming he was in no mortal danger, Ji Yuchuan departed at once. With Wu Bing present, the Great Xia Sword Sect would gladly empty its entire treasury for Li Guanqi's sake, leaving little cause for worry.
The moment Ji Yuchuan returned to the Guanyun Domain Boundary, his expression turned grim. "Find out where Ye Feng is!"
At that very moment, Cao Yan was fighting fiercely against a throng of foes in the skies above the Xuanmen Domain!
He stood alone against two peak Tribulation Transcendence cultivators, both of whom were evil cultivators. Nauseating techniques and a choking stench of blood saturated the air. Cao Yan clenched his fists as terrifying flames rolled through the void. No matter how desperately his opponents struggled, they could not break free of his grasp; fighting single-handedly, he drove both men to thoughts of flight.
Cao Yan transmitted his voice with grave urgency: "Brother Ji, I can't sense Second Brother's aura. He seems to have headed for the Taiqing Domain!"
Ji Yuchuan's brow furrowed tightly at the news. Down below, Yu Hua was already mobilizing Guanyun Pavilion's personnel to track down Ye Feng's whereabouts.
Yet as he stood in heavy silence, Ji Yuchuan's eyes suddenly narrowed. He turned to Yu Hua and muttered under his breath, "Search the Purgatory Abyss!"
Chapter 1205