Ahead of His Time... Far Too Ahead...

The second battle drew to a close. The outcome was unexpected once more. Facing the foremost sword cultivator below the Tribulation Transcendence realm, Li Guanqi had still emerged victorious. The immense strength Li Guanqi displayed throughout the clash had won over everyone! Moreover, his eerie ability had continued to evolve amidst the fighting. He was like a caterpillar transforming repeatedly through battle after battle until it finally emerged as a butterfly! During his duel against Nangong Xuandu, everyone had sensed his consummate control over his physical power. Such progress even gave people an illusion... An illusion that Li Guanqi had somehow plundered an ability from Chan Kongzi! And this time, in his clash with Nangong Xuandu, he had constantly absorbed and emulated the man's absolute mastery over his own power. Ye Feng supported Li Guanqi, his own posture straight as a sword. "Wh-where are the others...?" Ye Feng answered softly, "Aside from Sister-in-law, everyone else is still in closed-door cultivation." The corners of Li Guanqi's mouth curved upward slightly, though he said nothing more. He merely gave Ye Feng's shoulder a firm pat. His injuries this time were far from light. Had Ye Feng not come, he would likely have needed to rest on the Dao platform for a long time. Before long, they returned to the First Domain's Celestial Spirit Realm. At that moment, Ye Feng noticed many experts suddenly soaring out from the four King Towers. From afar, they all cupped their hands in salute toward Li Guanqi. Li Guanqi nodded with a faint smile, returning their courtesy. Upon returning to the White Jade Tower, Li Guanqi forced his weakened body to stand on his own feet. He did not want Meng Wanshu to worry about him too much. Yet the moment he steadied himself, he saw Meng Wanshu standing just inside the entrance, staring straight at him. Li Guanqi gave an embarrassed smile, only to see her eyes reddened as she gazed at him in anguish. Her heart ached seeing him push himself so recklessly. Given his present strength and comprehension, if he simply advanced step by step, he would surpass the Eight Generals sooner or later. Yet he continued to drive himself relentlessly upward! Meng Wanshu came to his side and gently drew Li Guanqi against her to lean on her. Her voice carried a gentle hint of reproach. "Why must you push yourself so desperately...?" Li Guanqi looked deeply at Meng Wanshu and murmured softly, "Time is running out." Both Ye Feng and Meng Wanshu froze slightly upon hearing those words. They did not understand what he meant by time running out. Yet they could hear how desperately he sought to raise his cultivation realm. Exchanging a glance, the two tacitly chose not to press him further. Ye Feng had sensed long ago that Li Guanqi carried a heavy heart. Even so, he did not overthink it; he simply had to keep pace with Li Guanqi's footsteps! No matter what the future held, he had to possess the strength to hold his own ground! In that moment, Ye Feng also resolved to elevate his cultivation as quickly as possible. The outcome of the second battle had defied all expectations. When the three returned to the top floor of the White Jade Tower, on the square within the sword coffin's space... Gu Li stood with disheveled hair, his eyes shining brightly. Sensing their auras, he looked up, eager to share his joy, only to see the severely wounded Li Guanqi. Rushing forward to inspect Li Guanqi's injuries, Gu Li slapped a blue inscribed talisman onto him without a word of explanation! Before anyone could react, Li Guanqi's eyes widened in sheer disbelief as he stared at Gu Li. "This is..." Gu Li scratched his head in mild embarrassment and explained, "I deconstructed and analyzed healing medicinal pills, then used natural spirit herbs as a base, extracting their medicinal essence and infusing it into greater demon essence blood. Using the roots, stems, and extracted ash combined with beast hide to craft the talisman paper, I created this healing inscribed talisman." Never mind Li Guanqi—even Ye Feng and Meng Wanshu were left slack-jawed with shock. Ordinarily, they saw only offensive or auxiliary inscribed talismans. When had anyone ever heard of a healing inscribed talisman? What was more... Gu Li actually understood medicinal theory? To think he could devise such a method to craft inscribed talismans! It was faster and consumed far fewer natural spirit herbs. More importantly... this inscribed talisman could be applied in advance and activated only when wounded! Though its potency still could not rival high-grade medicinal pills, it was definitely superior to ordinary ones! Li Guanqi grabbed Gu Li in a tight hug and exclaimed in delighted amazement, "You're a bloody genius!" "Hahaha! Incredible!" Flustered by Li Guanqi's sudden outburst of praise, Gu Li felt a flush of bashfulness. During this period, he had immersed himself madly in a burst of inspiration. Not only healing inscribed talismans—he had invented numerous talismans never seen before! He was convinced that on future battlefields, he would be able to play a far greater role! Listening to the praise from Li Guanqi, Ye Feng, and the others, Gu Li felt that everything he had done was worthwhile. Sometimes... One did not necessarily have to fixate solely on what one personally wanted. Making the people beside him proud, as it turned out... could bring an unmatched sense of fulfillment all the same! Li Guanqi looked at Gu Li with gleaming eyes. In his comprehension of the Dao of inscribed talismans, this guy was someone even the masters of the Talisman Tower in the Seventh Domain could not hold a candle to! Ahead... far too ahead of his time... Who in this world would ever dare conceive of deconstructing medicinal pills and merging them with inscribed talismans? Was that not equivalent to tearing down the entire Dao of alchemy and reconstructing it from scratch? "Keep this strictly between us. Whatever you do, don't tell anyone else!" Though Gu Li did not understand why, he nodded. "Don't worry, Eldest Brother. If you tell me not to say anything, I won't breathe a word." Clearly, Gu Li had yet to realize what an earth-shattering shock his creation would bring. Li Guanqi did not bother explaining in depth. Stepping directly into the Nirvana Tower, he began to recuperate from his wounds. At the same time, his surging divine sense reconstructed the entire duel between himself and Nangong Xuandu. He began to review every exchange, closing his eyes in deep concentration with a serene mindset. The resonance power of the Ethereal Dao Body manifested once more. Gradually, Nangong Xuandu's power and comprehension of the sword Dao surfaced in Li Guanqi's mind. The sword spirit quietly emerged without disturbing him. Yet she had witnessed everything Li Guanqi had done over the years. She knew why he had become so desperate to push himself now. Partly, it was because of her. On the other hand... it was because he had witnessed far too many people die in the Seventh Domain. And in his heart, he attributed their deaths, to some extent, to himself. Even though many had already explained it to him— the immortals descended not in search of any particular object, but out of their inherent nature to plunder! If anyone could siphon the destiny and spiritual fortune of a whole province or territory, their strength would take a qualitative leap upon their return to the Immortal Realm! Moreover, the myriad resources of the Human Spirit Realm were treasures they deeply coveted. Therefore... even without the sword spirit's existence, those beings would have descended all the same! Yet... even after decades of decisive slaughter, Li Guanqi still could not suppress his own empathy. And that was why he pushed himself harder than ever!