The Terrifying "Self"!

Li Guanqi nodded. The number of immortal crystals was reasonable—not overly plentiful. The main reason was that many cultivators chose not to exchange for immortal crystals at all. At their current level, most cultivators were fundamentally unable to absorb the immortal spiritual energy within them! Much less could they convert the primal energy within their bodies into immortal essence. Consequently, though immortal crystals were the hard currency of the Immortal Realm, they were not the hard currency of the Immortal Burial Realm. Rather than immortal crystals, cultivators preferred exchanging their points for Immortal Realm cultivation methods and secret manuals! Li Guanqi hesitated for a moment before speaking in a low voice. "Exchange thirty thousand first-grade immortal crystals for me. With the rest, I'd like to pick out some immortal sword artifacts!" Hearing this, the old man set to work at once, having someone deliver the immortal crystals into Li Guanqi's hands. Soon after, he led Li Guanqi to the second floor. Li Guanqi surveyed the dazzling array of immortal weapons, each marked with its grade. Even the lowest-grade, slightly damaged first-grade immortal sword cost over ten thousand immortal crystals! An intact one endowed with spirituality ran for more than thirty thousand! Li Guanqi's lips twitched slightly. It seemed that if a cultivator in the Immortal Burial Realm wanted to exchange for the lowest-grade immortal artifact, they had to kill at least three or four descended immortals! Furthermore, immortal artifacts would inevitably suffer wear and damage during combat, making the points here exceedingly precious. Li Guanqi gritted his teeth and said in a heavy voice, "Pick out the swords with the strongest divinity. Spend all three hundred thousand immortal crystals!" The old man was startled. Frowning, he confirmed again, "Are you certain you want to spend it all?" He glanced around and sent a hushed voice transmission: "This is a full three hundred thousand immortal crystals!" Li Guanqi's gaze was resolute, without the slightest ripple or hesitation. "Yes. Exchange all of it!" Afterward, Li Guanqi left the Immortal Burial Pavilion carrying seven immortal swords. Returning to the White Jade Tower, Li Guanqi tossed the swords into the sword coffin without a trace of heartache! The sword spirit looked up at the six swords floating before her, her eyes flickering with a complex light. These six swords were nearly upper-medium quality among first-grade immortal artifacts. She had not expected Li Guanqi to bring back a full six of them. Lifting her gaze to Li Guanqi, she asked, "Why buy so many? Doesn't it pain you to part with so much?" Li Guanqi smiled and said softly, "If it's for you, it doesn't pain me at all. "As long as it helps you recover from your injuries." The corners of the sword spirit's lips curved upward slightly. She raised a hand and gently tapped the void. Instantly, the luster of the six swords dimmed. Under an enshrouding red light, they began to rust, stripping them of their spiritual nature. Wisp after wisp of spiritual light was drawn into the sword spirit's mouth. Parting her pearly teeth, her lips opened slightly, and she closed her eyes, greedily drinking in the power from the blades. As she devoured the energy, her body gradually grew far more substantial. Not only did her injuries heal, but the energy previously expended within her was fully restored, even showing signs of further advancement! Yet just as Li Guanqi breathed a sigh of relief, the sword spirit's eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes. Gazing at Li Guanqi, a playful look appeared on her face as she teased, "There was an ice-attribute sword among them just now, wasn't there?" Li Guanqi pondered for a moment. "I think there was one. Why?" He thought she found ice-attribute immortal swords unsuitable for her. Instead, the sword spirit leaned back slightly against the empty air, folding her arms with a smirk. "Your little Dao companion... her Snow Shadow isn't an immortal artifact yet, is it? You didn't save it for her?" Li Guanqi shrugged. With a flick of his hand, another ice-attribute sword of even finer quality appeared. "I saved one for her." At the sight of it, the sword spirit's expression turned noticeably cold. Letting out a chilly humph, she turned and walked away. Li Guanqi stood rooted to the spot, feeling rather awkward... "A woman's mind... Ah..." Her hands clasped behind her back, the sword spirit walked through the void. The wind roared in her ears like a tiger, yet it could not disperse the thoughts swirling in her mind. Behind her back, her fingers began to divine slightly, but she quickly stopped. With a wry smile, she murmured, "Divining heaven and earth... since when did I want to divine my own heart?" A complex light shimmered in her eyes. Strolling through the void, she murmured to herself in a voice only she could hear, "I severed the threads of emotion, yet a few have grown back... "What is this supposed to be?" She looked down at her own body, her gaze laden with conflicting feelings. A soft, wistful sigh drifted into the wind, scattering into nothingness. When Li Guanqi arrived at the Nirvana Pagoda, five people were sprawled messily across the ground. Every one of them was covered in wounds, slumped on the earth and panting like oxen. "You guys... what happened?" Ye Feng's eyes burned bright with madness. "Big Brother, do you want to give it a try?" Seeing the burning gazes of the others, Li Guanqi easily guessed what was on their minds. "Want to make a bet?" The moment Li Guanqi mentioned betting, Ye Feng's eyes lit up. Rubbing his hands together, he asked, "What are we betting?" Tang Ru was taken aback as well. This scene was all too reminiscent of the days when Li Guanqi and Ye Feng had hustled people back at Ziyang Palace! Back then, Li Guanqi had put up the money, Ye Feng had placed the bets, and Tang Ru had acted as the banker... He had been fleeced out of quite a sum by those two. The corners of Li Guanqi's mouth curled upward. "Who among you has lasted the longest so far?" Everyone's gaze turned in unison toward Gu Li. Gu Li grinned and held up his fingers. "Five breaths!" None of the others spoke. Those five breaths of time translated to seventy-five breaths inside! The rest of them had only managed about four breaths. Li Guanqi pondered for a moment, then chuckled. "Old Six, will you be the banker?" Gu Li stood up, waved his hand grandly, and chuckled mischievously. "No problem! I'll be the banker!" Saying that, he cautiously suggested, "One-to-one odds for five breaths, and the payout increases by one for every additional breath, how about it? As for the stake... let's bet jars of Red Dust Brew, one jar per bet! Limit of one bet per person." Cao Yan could not resist cursing, "Old Six Gu! You killed someone last time, so you've got at least ten thousand immortal crystals on hand. Why are you being so stingy?" Xiao Chen curled his lip as well. "One jar of wine is worth one immortal crystal. That's downright cheap of you." Gu Li twitched his lips. "Fine, fine, fine. One hundred immortal crystals per bet, all right?" Everyone placed their bets, but immediately afterward, Gu Li was dumbfounded. Practically no one bet that Li Guanqi would last fewer than seven breaths! Ye Feng even slapped down a full ten thousand immortal crystals on ten breaths. Gu Li grinned. "Second Brother, if you lose, that's completely gone." Right then, Tang Ru chuckled slyly. "I'll bet ten breaths too. Ten thousand." Gu Li blinked in surprise. "Fifth Brother, when did you kill someone?" Tang Ru smiled faintly and said softly, "Picked off a straggler back then and took him down." Gu Li gritted his teeth and accepted every bet. Wasting no time, Li Guanqi stepped straight into the top floor—the first floor—of the Nirvana Pagoda! Hum! The moment he entered, Li Guanqi felt the surrounding space ripple as inexplicable spatial fluctuations washed over him. Evidently, the temporal flow between the two realms had already diverged. Lightning crackled throughout the dark void all around. Then, ten zhang ahead, bolts of thunder converged into a figure identical to himself! In both cultivation strength and aura, the figure was an exact replica. The sole difference was the brand of a Nirvana Pagoda etched between the figure's brows. Boom! Without a word, the clone charged at Li Guanqi! The corner of Li Guanqi's mouth curved upward. Wasn't this rather like the old Hundred Champions illusion? Thud! The instant Li Guanqi raised his sword to parry, he was sent flying several hundred zhang by a single punch! The shock in his heart was beyond words! This clone... It was clearly the manifestation of the absolute peak combat power achievable at his current cultivation realm! Outside, Ye Feng shrugged and admitted frankly, "I never imagined that my 'own self' could be that strong..." The others chimed in one after another. "Who would've thought?" Cao Yan said with a bitter smile, "Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I'd get beaten to death by 'myself' in three punches." Xiao Chen murmured in a daze, "Three thrusts of a spear to finish me off..." Everyone chuckled wryly, clearly having never anticipated that they could unleash such power at the Mahayana realm. And this... was the Nirvana Pagoda that the sword spirit had poured all her efforts into creating! It guaranteed that before reaching the Ascension Realm, they could maintain peak combat power at every stage of their cultivation!