Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. The instant his opponent's sword thrust tore toward him with a faint whistle, he raised his arm to shield the back of Cao Yan's neck.
Clang! Screeech!
The blade slashed across dragon scales, sending showers of sparks flying. The scales fractured, and the longsword carved a deep gash along Li Guanqi's arm.
In return, Li Guanqi whipped his sword around in a vicious backhand slash!
Once Cao Yan registered what had happened, he leaped and spun midair.
Planting his feet firmly against the void, he launched himself forward like an artillery shell.
Flames swirled around both fists as his wide, sweeping punches surged ahead with apocalyptic might.
A searing fist-wind of fire crashed toward the man!
Boom!
A flicker of surprise crossed the blue-haired man's eyes, and the corners of his handsome, sinisterly charming mouth curled into a faint smirk.
Bringing his longsword back to parry across his chest, he absorbed the blast of terrifying fist-wind, which hurled him backward over a hundred zhang!
The sinisterly charming young man glanced down at his robes, which had been scorched to ashes, and his expression instantly darkened.
Strands of hair drifted across his forehead as his narrow eyes fixed on the imposingly poised Cao Yan in the distance, murmuring softly, "An interesting little fellow."
Cao Yan noticed that Li Guanqi's wounded arm was already rapidly healing, and a ruthless glint flashed through his eyes.
His gauntlets flared with brilliant radiance as the Purple Firmament Thunder Flame intertwined with the fire within him, unexpectedly merging into one!
The mingled blue and purple flames raged tempestuously. Wreathed in fire, Cao Yan's eyes burned with fury.
Looking up at the formidable man not far away, he stepped forward.
Cao Yan's voice sounded in Li Guanqi's ear.
"Boss, this bastard... leave him to me!"
Hearing the undisguised anger in Cao Yan's voice, Li Guanqi's lips curved slightly.
Sidestepping several rapid strikes, he said in a low voice, "Be careful!"
By now, the entire battlefield lay mapped within Li Guanqi's mind.
Yu Shan's ability was even more formidable than Tang Ru's; he observed every movement across the field while simultaneously transmitting distinct commands to everyone.
Yet maintaining such an ability took a tremendous toll on Yu Shan.
Even so...
He had no choice!
Only by doing this could the cultivators of the Immortal Burial Realm find a sliver of hope.
Even with the arrival of Li Guanqi and his companions, the overall disadvantage on the battlefield was simply too overwhelming.
Just then, Yu Shan's urgent voice sounded in Li Guanqi's ear.
"Guanqi, your brothers' mission is to kill as many of the enemy's powerhouses as possible!"
"You have free rein over the battlefield!"
With that, Li Guanqi relayed Yu Shan's directive to everyone.
At the same time, Gu Li, who had remained hidden in the void all this while, finally struck.
Taking a deep breath, Gu Li crushed the storage ring on his finger.
Bang!
The storage ring shattered. In flashes of spiritual light, at least a hundred inscribed talismans slapped onto each and every cultivator of the Immortal Burial Realm!
All at once, everyone's strength was boosted by at least thirty percent!
These were the enhancement talismans Gu Li had developed within the Nirvana Pagoda!
And that was not all.
One talisman after another began to burn furiously, encasing each Immortal Burial Realm cultivator in a suit of golden armor!
This armor was precisely what Gu Li had manifested by studying the Spiritual Incantation Thunder Armor.
The armor could last for two hours at most, though absorbing damage would shorten its duration.
Nevertheless, this golden armor could withstand at least three full-power blows from a late Mahayana realm combatant!
It virtually handed everyone an extra lifeline.
By this point, some had noticed Gu Li's existence.
Without hesitation, the Immortal Realm cultivators dispatched a full six people to pursue him!
The corners of Gu Li's mouth lifted slightly, and he deliberately left spatial ripples in his wake.
Li Guanqi merely offered a cold smile at the sight, not the least bit worried about Gu Li's safety.
Several sword lights grazed past Li Guanqi's scalp as deafening booms rattled the chaotic battlefield without pause.
Li Guanqi even felt as though he were going deaf, his head ringing so loudly that he could barely distinguish the sounds around him.
Earth-shaking battle cries mingled with deafening explosions, and bodies continuously plummeted from the sky.
Moving like lightning, Li Guanqi shoved an elderly cultivator out of harm's way, bound an enemy with thunder, and cleaved the foe in two with a backhand slash.
Slash!
Boom!
Before he and the elder could exchange even a word, both threw themselves right back into the fight.
Li Guanqi, Ye Feng, and the others were like wolves let loose among sheep.
Cutting down foes like harvesting weeds, they found little threat in these newly descended immortals whose realms had not yet stabilized.
Hong Zhi and her companions fared just as well. In the span of a single cup of tea, the Immortal Burial Realm had not suffered a single casualty!
By contrast, the Immortal Realm had already lost nearly twenty people.
Much of this was thanks to the power of Gu Li's talismans.
Not only had they boosted the Immortal Burial Realm cultivators' strength by thirty percent, but the armor on their bodies gave them the confidence to trade wounds for lives!
Yet the prowess of Li Guanqi's group and Hong Zhi's cohort inevitably drew the attention of the Immortal Realm cultivators.
Now, the true powerhouses lurking within the enemy ranks began to make their move.
Nearly a hundred strong, they quietly drove a wedge between the two groups, separating them.
Li Guanqi suddenly sensed something amiss just as Yu Shan's warning rang in his ear.
"Not good, it's an ambush!"
"Regroup and break out at once!"
Li Guanqi's eyes flickered. From the vision Yu Shan shared with him, he quickly spotted the anomalies.
Many foes who appeared to be fighting others were actually angling to encircle them.
A cold sneer tugged at Li Guanqi's lips. Severing an enemy's arm with a slash, he leaped backward!
As he retreated, he transmitted his voice to his companions:
"We're surrounded. Break out in Xiao Chen's direction!"
"The cultivators at our front-left, rear-right, and front-above are concealing their strength—stay sharp!"
"Gu Li, kill those bastards trailing you!"
With those words, Li Guanqi flickered and materialized ten thousand zhang away.
Xiao Chen's expression turned grim and stern. The spear in his hands flared with crimson light. Stamping against the void, he twisted his waist.
The She Shen Spear in his grasp acted like a javelin, launching forward as a terrifying beam that pierced through the void!
This thrust carried dreadful flaming might, unleashing the She Shen Spear's characteristics to their absolute limit.
Tearing through the void, the spear punched straight through the body of the hidden powerhouse along its path!
Li Guanqi roared, "Break through!"
With that, the six formed a razor-sharp wedge across the battlefield, pushing forward relentlessly until they tore open a breach in the enemy lines.
Hong Zhi and her cohort, however, were not so fortunate.
Far more enemy cultivators had targeted them, reacting with even greater speed.
Li Guanqi and his companions charged through the fray, their seamless teamwork quickly wiping out over a dozen enemy cultivators.
Yet they too suffered minor wounds in the process.
Li Guanqi stood his ground, his chest heaving violently.
"Save them!"
"Wanshu, Second Brother, Third Brother, come with me! Fourth, go back up Sixth!"
With that command, the six instantly split into two groups.
Meanwhile, six figures relentlessly hounded Gu Li, their dizzying barrage of attacks leaving him virtually no room to dodge.
The talismans around him detonated one after another; his robes were shredded, and his flesh was torn open.
Chapter 1293