Must Hold the Line!

"Spirit Incantation: Four-Direction Heaven-Reaching Pillars!" Boom! Two massive pillars of lightning, a full hundred zhang long, instantly sealed them in place! Li Guanqi's figure blurred. As his afterimage dissipated, an unimaginably terrifying sword light erupted! Boom! "Sword-Drawing Stance!" With his Sword Ruins fully unleashed, a bolt of thunderous sword light brimming with majestic sword intent flashed through the air! Boom! A violent explosion rang out, and the Immortal Realm cultivator who had descended upon the Second Domain was instantly killed. Meanwhile, a hundred zhang away to his side, Li Guanqi controlled dozens of spirit swords, relentlessly cutting off the other foe's retreat. Yet right then, Li Guanqi noticed over a thousand inscribed talismans plastered over his spirit swords! Boom! Rumble-rumble-rumble! Blinding flames flared in the void, the roar of detonations deafening. Before the other cultivator could even react, endless fire had already engulfed him! A cage of fire formed from three heavenly flames locked the destructive blast within an inch of space. The sky-scorching heat of the heavenly flames even burned a gaping hole right through the void. Li Guanqi was astonished by how the companions behind him reacted. In the past, each had fought alone, relying solely on their own strength. Yet in such a brief span, those who followed him in had begun coordinating consciously! In just a single burst of unified effort, they had already slain two Mahayana realm cultivators. Though Li Guanqi could have achieved the same by unleashing his full power, it would never have been this effortless! The corners of Li Guanqi's lips curved upward. Glancing at the others, whose surprised eyes showed they had noticed it too, he made a swift decision in his mind! "Fifth Brother commands! Sixth Brother, stay hidden! Everyone else, follow orders and keep within a thousand zhang of one another!" "If anyone is in danger, support one another, and make sure to protect Fifth Brother!" Tang Ru nodded with resolute eyes. Drawing a deep breath, he stomped hard against the void. In an instant, a Bagua Yin-Yang Plate spanning a hundred zhang materialized beneath him. Tang Ru's vast divine sense instantly washed over the entire battlefield! Tang Ru sat cross-legged on the ground, his face pale; extending his divine sense over the whole battlefield clearly took a toll. Yet right at that moment, several azure inscribed talismans appeared inexplicably across Tang Ru's back! As the talismans shimmered with spiritual light, waves of augmenting power surged into him. Tang Ru's complexion improved considerably at once. He even felt his divine sense forcefully boosted by twenty percent under the talismans' reinforcement! His steady voice rang softly in everyone's ears. "There are fifty-three enemies in the Second Domain! Three are at the half-step Tribulation Transcendence realm!" "Counting us, there are twenty-six Seventh Domain cultivators! The greatest threat is the half-step Tribulation Transcendence cultivator at the center of the battlefield!" "A hundred li away in the void, there is a faint fluctuation from a dharma artifact." "It's very likely the artifact that pierced the barrier between the Second and Third Domains!" Li Guanqi made an instant decision. "Third Brother, take Sixth Brother to the breached barrier! Use your heavenly flame alongside Sixth Brother's arts to seal it temporarily!" Hearing this, Tang Ru gasped in surprise. "Wait—there's a half-step Tribulation Transcendence cultivator guarding that spot too!" Li Guanqi exchanged a look with Cao Yan in the distance. A slight smile played on Cao Yan's handsome face. Turning toward Tang Ru, Cao Yan chuckled softly. "Don't just keep your eyes on Boss. Your Third Brother... is a beast too!" With that, Cao Yan transformed into a streak of blue flame and vanished into the depths of the void. Li Guanqi drew a deep breath. Tang Ru's voice echoed in his ears once more. "We can use sealing spirit incantations to ease the pressure on our side." "Sixth Brother, boost our allies' strength with your talismans as much as you can." "Also... if you have any talisman methods to suppress the enemy, don't hold back!" "We're badly outnumbered. One wrong move and our side will suffer heavy casualties!" Gu Li's voice drifted out from the void. "Understood!" "Though I don't have many suppression techniques..." "I do have plenty of failed Empowerment Appraisal Talismans from lately!!!" Before his voice died away, Li Guanqi noticed that numerous cultivators of the Immortal Burial Realm were plastered with talismans. In an instant, their primal energy and physical strength both soared dramatically, sending their morale sky-high! "Hahahaha! Much obliged!" "Thank you, young friend! This old man will cut down a couple more of these bastards today!" Li Guanqi looked toward Ye Feng and Xiao Chen. Without a word from him, they already understood what was needed. Boom! Boom! Boom! Roars and rumbles echoed unceasingly through the surrounding void. Dazzling spells in every color danced wildly across the sky. Every cultivator fought with everything they had, leaving blood splattered and severed limbs falling through the air. Li Guanqi's form blurred. The void beneath his feet collapsed for a hundred zhang as he reappeared a thousand zhang up in the sky. Raising a hand, Li Guanqi drew the flames within Ye Feng and Xiao Chen completely under his own control. By now, many of the descending cultivators had noticed Li Guanqi. One of their critical missions was to capture Li Guanqi alive and bring him back to the Immortal Realm! Tang Ru shouted sharply, "Careful! Six enemies are disengaging from their fights!" Ye Feng and Xiao Chen exchanged glances. Just as they were about to charge forward, Meng Wanshu caught Xiao Chen's arm. Her voice was firm and brooked no refusal. "Brother Chen, stay here to guard Tang Ru. Ye Feng and I will be enough." Xiao Chen nodded slightly, the Blood God Spear in his hand radiating tremendous pressure that deterred foes in all directions. Just then, Gu Li's voice abruptly sounded by his ear. Immediately afterward, Tang Ru was yanked straight into the void by Gu Li, who didn't forget to shout to Xiao Chen before departing: "Do your thing! I'll take him with me!" The corner of Xiao Chen's mouth curved. With a nod, he vanished on the spot. Li Guanqi brought his palms together, and terrifying power erupted instantly! Three monumental gates, each a hundred zhang tall, descended from the heavens! "Spirit Incantation: Three Phantasms Jinling Gates!" Boom! The three giant gates settled in a pincer formation around the void. Their formidable power bore down so heavily that every descended cultivator felt the crushing weight! At the same time, dozens of attacks converged on them from all directions! Li Guanqi shifted slightly as he continued completing his spirit incantation! Six cultivators lunged at Li Guanqi with ferocious snarls. Though their attacks were already inches away, Li Guanqi remained completely motionless. The sight brought immediate looks of triumph to their faces. Suddenly! A man and a woman appeared before and behind Li Guanqi! Ye Feng stood back-to-back with Li Guanqi, his sword Nu Sha slashing out in rapid succession to block three of the assailants in an instant. He took half a step back, blood and vitality churning within him, stray sword qi grazing his cheek, yet he stood as firm as Mount Tai. Meng Wanshu traced profound arcs with her blade, freezing every attack from the other three solid! Crack! The sound of shattering ice rang out. Li Guanqi slowly lowered his hands and stood beside them, licking his dry lips. "Kill!" Boom! Uniting their strength, they struck at once! Like ravenous tigers descending upon a flock of sheep, the three shot forward in an explosive charge. Their target was crystal clear: the three strongest half-step Tribulation Transcendence cultivators on this entire battlefield!