After Hong Zhi departed, Li Guanqi entered into closed-door cultivation as well.
Inside the Nirvana Pagoda, he chose not to step into the arena to fight "himself" this time.
For one thing, he needed to consolidate his cultivation realm.
For another...
The sword spirit had told him that the immortal crystals he currently had on hand were not enough to sustain him going all out against his current "self"!
As a result, he would likely need to visit the Immortal Burial Pavilion later to exchange for more supplies.
Time flew by, and Li Guanqi's aura grew increasingly steady and profound.
Yet on the third day, Li Guanqi was suddenly startled out of his meditative state.
He sensed an inexplicable force of heaven and earth surging into existence within the First Domain.
Waking from his cultivation, Li Guanqi noticed that the others were also rousing one after another.
His expression tightened, and he stood up, saying, "Come, let's go outside and take a look."
The reason he said this was because the celestial momentum he had just detected was the might of a heavenly tribulation.
That suffocating power weighing down upon heaven and earth was precisely the pressure of a heavenly tribulation.
The group walked out of the White Jade Tower and discovered that the cultivators of the First Domain were gathered in the sky above a distant mountain range.
They flew over in a flash. Just then, an old man walked up to them with a chuckle.
Seeing who it was, Xiao Chen's eyes lit up, and he grinned. "Old Sun, you came too?"
The old man was Sun Changlin, an expert spearman whose consummate spear techniques were renowned and whose strength was formidable.
He first cupped his fists in salute toward Li Guanqi, who promptly returned the gesture.
"Young Friend Li, I didn't expect to see you here as well."
Li Guanqi looked around. Nearly a hundred Mahayana realm cultivators had gathered in the vicinity to observe.
A thousand zhang away, an old man clad in grey hemp robes sat cross-legged in the center of the void.
Violent surges of primal energy rolled around him, looking exceptionally turbulent.
Yet Li Guanqi's brows furrowed slightly...
"Elder Sun, do you recognize this senior attempting a breakthrough?"
Li Guanqi had almost no impression of this person, having never seen him during the previous battles.
Sun Changlin sighed, glancing at the vigorous old man, and lowered his voice. "Old Chen spends most of his time in the Fourth Domain battlefield. He's considered one of the top combatants among our Mahayana realm cultivators."
"Old Chen's real name is Chen Xianzhi, and he's of my generation. The cyclical heavenly tribulations have been growing stronger and stronger, and he can't delay any longer..."
"Right now he happens to be at the half-step Tribulation Transcendence realm, so he's staking everything on breaking through to find a way to survive!"
Sun Changlin sounded deeply emotional as he spoke. Evidently, it would not be long before he, too, faced the same awkward predicament.
Hearing this, Li Guanqi nodded slightly, though he also realized something...
Things were likely going to be... very difficult for this elder!
That was because the elder's cultivation had merely surpassed the limit of the Mahayana realm.
He had not actually touched the barrier of laws!
Even with Li Guanqi's own extraordinary strength, he had repeatedly met with frustration when attempting to breach the barrier of laws. He could not believe that an elder who had not even touched the barrier yet could manage to perceive it—much less break through it—under the pressure of a heavenly tribulation!
Only then did Li Guanqi notice how solemn the atmosphere in the area was.
Sun Changlin let out a sigh; he surely knew this matter was far from simple.
Many of the others had not yet realized just how grave the situation was.
Only Ye Feng seemed to have sensed it, as he could already faintly feel the existence of the barrier of laws!
Gu Li pondered for a long time, then pulled three inscribed talismans from his robes and handed them to Li Guanqi. "Big Brother, can I lend him a hand...?"
The surroundings were deathly quiet. All the cultivators watched in silence, communicating only through private mental transmissions.
Rumble!
Dark clouds gathered densely across the firmament, hanging oppressively close to the mountain peaks.
The mountain range itself was formed from condensed celestial spiritual energy, and at this moment, a great deal of that energy converged around the elder.
Li Guanqi nodded, handed the inscribed talismans back to Gu Li, and smiled. "Go give them to him yourself."
Gu Li wasted no words. With a wave of his hand, the three inscribed talismans, glowing with multihued spiritual light, shot instantly toward the elder!
The elder seated in the void twitched his eyelids slightly, but he did not open his eyes, allowing the three inscribed talismans to adhere to his back.
This sight naturally drew the attention of many onlookers.
Li Guanqi even noticed several people in the crowd bowing respectfully toward Gu Li.
Evidently, they were veteran cultivators who had fought in the Fourth Domain battlefield for years, and they were likely good friends with Chen Xianzhi, who was currently facing the tribulation.
Rumble!
The dark clouds roiled, and the heavy celestial pressure nearly suffocated the onlookers.
Li Guanqi's expression turned grim. This was the first time he had ever witnessed another person's Tribulation Transcendence realm heavenly tribulation!
Such power... was countless times more terrifying than a Mahayana realm tribulation.
Chen Xianzhi suddenly snapped his eyes open and drew a vibrant green sword brimming with spiritual energy!
Wood attribute!
Li Guanqi's eyes flashed. This was the first time he had ever seen a wood-attribute cultivator who possessed such a slaughterous edge.
At that moment, towering green sword qi swirled around the elder, and his hemp robes fluttered loudly even without any wind.
The elder had a resolute face, lined with deep wrinkles and slack skin, yet his eyes were extraordinarily bright, devoid of the slightest cloudiness.
"I am Chen Xianzhi, a rogue cultivator of the Xuanmen Domain, having walked the path of cultivation for over four thousand seven hundred years."
"Today... even if I fail, I hope all my fellow daoists will be able to touch that thing!"
As the words fell, Li Guanqi's heart shook violently!
He could clearly sense the elder's fatal resolve and unwavering determination!
Knowing full well that his chances of breaking through were minuscule, the elder had still chosen without hesitation to undergo the tribulation out in this open space.
He was doing it so that when he attempted the breakthrough, he would touch the barrier of laws, allowing everyone present to perceive it!
Such... boundless righteousness!
Li Guanqi took a deep breath and spoke in a deep voice, "Pay our respects... to the senior!"
Li Guanqi's voice rang loud and clear, carrying primal energy that echoed throughout the entire First Domain.
In an instant, everyone bowed in solemn respect.
Thunder roared across the sky, and wild winds howled.
Chen Xianzhi kept his left hand behind his back while gripping his sword in his right.
Seeing the crowd's gesture, the elder laughed heartily toward the sky, carefree and unrestrained.
With a flick of his wrist, he inverted his grip on the sword and cupped his hands to return the salute.
Before the onlookers could even react, a bolt of purple lightning as thick as a man's embrace came crashing down with a deafening roar!
The elder's expression remained tranquil as he swallowed several pills, followed immediately by a tempest of green sword light crisscrossing the sky!
Surging sword intent shot straight into the clouds, as though intent on tearing the tribulation storm clouds to shreds.
The sword flew and spun in midair before the elder reached out and grabbed the hilt with a fierce grip.
Instantly, an intensely ferocious, bloodthirsty intent erupted.
The void beneath his feet abruptly gave way!
Boom!
The elder's body shot straight into the clouds like a salmon leaping upstream against a waterfall.
A terrifying burst of green sword light bloomed, instantly shattering the massive bolt of lightning.
As the splintered lightning dispersed, it obliterated the void itself, collapsing large swathes of chaotic space. The stray arcs of lightning tore through the elder's body, but he gritted his teeth and endured, braving the agonizing power of lightning tempering his flesh.
He knew he had to hold on!
Li Guanqi frowned deeply. Even the scattered remnants of that lightning were enough to annihilate a mid-Mahayana realm cultivator.
This showed just how horrific this Tribulation Transcendence realm heavenly tribulation truly was!
Without giving the elder a moment to breathe, the second and third bolts of lightning descended in rapid succession.
The jade crown binding Chen Xianzhi's hair shattered, leaving his greying hair whipping in the wind, making him look all the more wild and uninhibited.
The elder reached out and ripped away his plain robe, exposing a body covered in grotesque, twisted scars.
"Today... this old man is going to pierce through this heaven!"
"You want me dead, but I shall defy the heavens!"
Rumble!
Lightning pierced through heaven and earth, striking down one bolt after another.
Chapter 1278