Why Wait to Die? Wouldn't It Be Better If I Killed You?

Within this stone carving, a final, faint trace lingered on the verge of dissipating completely. This very trace had served as the conduit connecting Youming and Cang Lu to Xun Tian. With it, Li Guanqi could find where Xun Tian was hiding! Stowing away the stone carving, he walked out of the grand hall, just in time to see Tu Yichen. Li Guanqi gave a slight nod, revealing nothing about finding a lead. Bidding farewell to the man, Li Guanqi stepped forward and vanished into the void. Raising his hand, he sent a transmission to Gu Li: "I need a massive quantity of sealing inscribed talismans! Preferably the kind that are... extremely powerful!" Inside the White Jade Tower. Gu Li snapped his eyes open, the corners of his mouth curving slightly upward. "When do you need them?" "Right now!" "Wait for me, Boss. I'll bring them over immediately." Before three shichen had passed, Gu Li came speeding out of the void, travel-worn and wind-swept. Upon seeing Li Guanqi, Gu Li pulled three rings off his fingers and handed them over. "Ge, is three hundred thousand ordinary ones enough?" Li Guanqi nodded and said softly, "That should be enough. Do you have any exceptionally powerful ones?" Gu Li chuckled, reaching into his robes to produce three dark red inscribed talismans. "Newly developed. Want to try them out?" "Potent stuff!" Li Guanqi smiled faintly, unable to resist clapping him on the shoulder. "Enough. Head back." Gu Li was just about to turn and leave when he suddenly slapped his forehead. "Oh, right—Second Brother asked me to see if you needed help." Li Guanqi shook his head and said softly, "I can handle it on my own. Go back and tell him everything's fine." Puzzled, Gu Li gave an acknowledging nod, then turned and departed. A conflicted look flickered in Li Guanqi's eyes. It seemed Ye Feng had already deduced what he was going out to do. Yet Ye Feng had still made no attempt to dissuade him... Li Si'ang had been a pawn placed by Xun Tian from the very beginning for the purpose of possession. From the moment Xun Tian fled, Li Si'ang's death was already sealed. Now, even if Li Guanqi took a life, the one he killed would be Xun Tian! Having obtained the inscribed talismans, Li Guanqi's gaze grew cold. Once Gu Li was gone, a graceful silhouette appeared by Li Guanqi's side. Holding the stone carving Li Guanqi had just retrieved, the sword spirit closed her eyes in perception for a moment, then slowly reached out a jade-like hand. Raising her hand, she drew that faint trace out from within. The crimson thread twisted restlessly within her palm. The corners of the sword spirit's mouth curved upward slightly, and she murmured, "It seems even he left a crack in his defenses." With those words, she closed her eyes halfway, and array runes seemed to slowly coalesce at her fingertips. In the blink of an eye, a palm-sized, blood-red formation materialized before them, shimmering with spiritual light. The crimson thread coiled right at the center of the formation runes. Buzz—! The formation erupted with brilliant light, and a moment later, the sword spirit said in a low voice, "Go up!" Li Guanqi nodded, rocketing upward through the void like a cannonball! He flew for an unknown length of time, only coming to a halt when he could vaguely make out the Immortal Boundary Wall. The sword spirit pointed the way once more, and Li Guanqi sped forward. Along the way, Li Guanqi altered his heading several times, finally drawing near the enemy's hiding place. The sword spirit signaled for Li Guanqi to bring out Gu Li's inscribed talismans. Li Guanqi handed the storage rings and the three special talismans over to her. Narrowing her eyes slightly, blood-red light erupted from her palm, momentarily imbuing every single talisman with divinity! Only after completing this did the sword spirit truly set her mind at ease. Yet immediately after, she looked up toward the sky and said softly, "This time, no matter what happens, I cannot intervene." Li Guanqi nodded, not asking why. Because... this place was only a single step away from the Immortal Realm! The sword spirit turned back to look at Li Guanqi with firm eyes; she believed he could handle everything! Li Guanqi exhaled a breath of turbid air. In the next moment, the sword spirit's form dissolved into endless blood-red radiance, enshrouding a thousand li of the void! Instantly, the void a hundred zhang in front of Li Guanqi began to twist violently. A domain entrance hidden within the darkness was forcibly torn open! Light swirled within the pitch-black rift, forming a sharp contrast with the surrounding dark void. The terrifying fissure spanned a full hundred zhang. Without the slightest hesitation, Li Guanqi stepped inside. Buzz—! Like a collapsing mountain, the rift instantly sealed shut! Looking out across the massive domain that stretched a thousand li around him, Li Guanqi's eyes flickered with surprise. "It seems Xun Tian truly prepared thoroughly..." "The concentration of spiritual energy here is even richer than in a grotto-heaven blessed land." Spiritual veins and rivers of spiritual energy flowed everywhere. The dense forest was planted with heavenly herbs and spiritual flora of every grade. Conspicuously absent was any disturbance by demonic beasts. Cloud-piercing peaks rose on every side. Li Guanqi reached into the void and drew forth the four-foot Red Lotus. Thunder erupted beneath his feet, instantly obliterating everything around him. Closing his eyes to gather his focus, Li Guanqi drew a deep breath. With his chest heaving, he suddenly roared, "Xun Tian! Come out and face death!" Buzz—! Terrifying divine sense rippled outward like a tidal wave. Boom—! An indescribable pressure erupted from the distance. Towering demonic qi surged violently from a mountain peak. A fearsome shockwave rippled out in all directions like ocean swells. Wherever the demonic qi passed, not a blade of grass survived! Boom—! An immensely potent pressure crashed down from that distant summit. Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes, utterly unmoved. "Half-Step Tribulation Transcendence?" "What a terrifying speed of advancement... but... why is his vitality so feeble?" Thud—! The mountain peak shattered, and Li Guanqi finally caught sight of Xun Tian's present appearance. Standing eight feet tall, strange black markings flickered across his wheat-toned skin! His upper torso was bare, long hair whipping in the wind. Bizarrely, his eyes were pitch-black except for two pale, corpse-white pupils. A pair of thorn-like horns grew from his forehead, and his ragged, pitch-black lower garments hung loosely about him. His towering, muscular frame was tall and well-proportioned, looming several heads taller than Li Guanqi and radiating an overwhelmingly powerful oppression! Swish! A flash of lightning flared, and Li Guanqi's body faded into an afterimage. When he reappeared, he was standing directly in front of Xun Tian, separated by a mere three zhang. Looking up at the man who stood more than two heads taller than him, Li Guanqi tilted his head slightly and sneered, "How's that possessed body working out for you?" At this moment, Xun Tian's face still bore about an eighty percent resemblance to how he once looked, except his teeth were jagged like saw blades, giving him an eerie appearance. Baring his teeth in a grin, Xun Tian fixed his gaze on Li Guanqi and muttered, "It works well enough. Though with how furiously I've been squeezing its vitality dry, this body is going to crumble before long." "What I didn't expect... was that you would actually find me at a time like this!" Li Guanqi could sense Xun Tian's current strength. He had known that Li Si'ang possessed a unique demonic constitution. He simply hadn't expected the transformation to be this drastic... Grasping his sword with his left hand, Li Guanqi spoke in a chilling voice: "Why wait around to die? Wouldn't it be better if I killed you?"