Chi Hua steadied his footing, lifted his robe to glance at his bruised, purplish arm, and his face instantly darkened.
Earlier, regarding Song Yuan, he had assumed the man was simply struggling to adapt to the harsh environment of the Human Spirit Realm, which had led to him being suppressed at every turn.
Looking at it now...
He had still underestimated his opponent's strength!
Such formidable physical might was not in the least inferior to a pure martial artist in the Tribulation Transcendence Realm!!
Yet within the Human Spirit Realm, pure martial artists who had cultivated their bodies to the Tribulation Transcendence Realm practically did not exist!!
The reason was simple: cultivators of the Human Spirit Realm had no way to temper their bodies past the shackles of worldly law!!
In the Immortal Realm, however, there were indeed grandmasters of external martial arts.
Such figures were notoriously troublesome to provoke even in the Immortal Realm.
Ascending through bodily strength alone was a feat unheard of even there for countless years.
Across the Three Thousand Lower Realms, cultivators capable of shattering the void to ascend through sheer physical might were rare beyond measure.
Even when they did appear, the moment they ascended to the Immortal Realm, powerful clans and sects would snap them up immediately.
Such individuals possessed terrifying willpower, making them prized recruits for many major factions.
Yet Li Guanqi...
Chi Hua narrowed his eyes and muttered, "Dual cultivation of spirit and martial paths?"
"How could he possibly possess such a powerful body tempering technique?"
"And... the scales on his body... are dragon scales?"
"Did true dragon essence blood truly linger in the Spirit Realm?"
"Heh, what a troublesome pest."
From that single clash alone, Chi Hua knew he had to take the opponent before him seriously.
The moment Li Guanqi vanished from his spot once more, the corners of Chi Hua's mouth curved slightly. He swung his sword violently toward his flank!
A beam of sword light forced Li Guanqi's figure out of nothingness.
Li Guanqi frowned slightly, looking down with narrowed eyes at the mangled, flesh-torn wound on his wrist.
His opponent's sword was fast!
So fast that he had been a step too late in parrying.
The power of fire raged through his body, but he forced it down and suppressed it.
This sight made Chi Hua's heart leap. He could not comprehend how his power could be suppressed so effortlessly!
Brows furrowed tightly, a spark of inspiration suddenly flashed across his mind.
"The Thunder Lord?"
"Heh, what an unexpected surprise..."
Boom!
Chi Hua's power erupted completely, and a terrifying pressure blanketed the void.
Peak mid Tribulation Transcendence Realm!!!!
Feeling the suffocating pressure, Li Guanqi's throat bobbed slightly.
This enemy was perhaps the most formidable foe he had encountered to date.
The last descended immortal at the mid Tribulation Transcendence Realm he had faced was that fellow named Jiang Bin.
The immortal who had descended upon the Great Xia Domain had likewise possessed mid Tribulation Transcendence Realm strength after entering the lower realm.
Yet back then, Li Guanqi had exhausted every trick up his sleeve and had still remained at a complete disadvantage, pinned down relentlessly.
He had been forced to borrow the power of his sword spirit just to survive.
In the end, if that fool had not tried to possess Li Guanqi, he never would have won so easily.
This time, however... facing Chi Hua, Li Guanqi felt unprecedented pressure.
Chi Hua's status and pedigree clearly far outstripped anything Jiang Bin could have claimed.
Yet...
Li Guanqi stepped forward slowly, the aura rolling off him growing even more intense.
How could the present him be compared to who he once was?
Sword in hand, Chi Hua stood ten zhang away from Li Guanqi.
Li Guanqi's gaze flickered with razor-sharp intensity, while Chi Hua dared not harbor the slightest contempt in his heart either.
If they were in the Immortal Realm, Li Guanqi would have been nothing more than an ant he could crush at will.
Now, however...
Chi Hua took a deep breath. Facing a native monster of a prodigy from the Human Spirit Realm like Li Guanqi, he dared not be careless in the slightest.
He had no desire to capsize in a shallow ditch.
A bolt of lightning flickered and vanished between them.
As if serving as the signal to commence their battle, both figures vanished in an instant!
Terrifying pressure erupted at once, leaving the onlookers capable of seeing only two afterimages flashing wildly across the battlefield.
The shockwaves of their clash rippled far and wide.
Many cultivators grew secretly alarmed at the sight.
The sheer scale of the shockwaves was comparable to when Li Guanqi had fought Long Hou back then.
The blood inside Li Guanqi surged and roared; encountering an evenly matched adversary filled him with exhilaration.
Sword light flashed back and forth, each fighter feeling that the other's blade was astonishingly swift.
Li Guanqi's Red Lotus had already assumed its Apocalypse form, its four-foot length granting him no small advantage.
In the beginning, Chi Hua had not been used to dealing with Li Guanqi's four-foot blade at all!
The two traded ferocious blows, their swinging blades weaving a defense so dense not even wind could penetrate.
Cold gleams flashed, thunder erupted, and flames set the sky ablaze.
With the two of them at the center, the surrounding several thousand zhang was virtually devoid of any other cultivators.
The sheer fallout of their clash was more than ordinary people could endure.
Li Guanqi's sword grew faster and faster, so swift that even he could barely track it.
Chi Hua felt an inexplicable, crushing sense of oppression.
Whether in raw strength or speed, Li Guanqi was actually stronger than him!!!
Before long, deep wounds baring bone appeared across Chi Hua's body.
In contrast, the damage he managed to inflict on Li Guanqi was negligible.
Bolstered by both his Demon King Physique and Dragon Transformation, the defenses of Li Guanqi's physical body had reached an unbelievable level.
Suddenly!
A beam of sword light as swift as lightning whipped past the tip of Chi Hua's nose.
Leaning back to dodge, Chi Hua failed to notice the curling smirk on Li Guanqi's lips.
Boom!
Three hundred-zhang thunder gates descended from the heavens!
Immediately after, Li Guanqi's empty right hand conjured a spiritual sword of purplish-black lightning.
The spirit sword spun in Li Guanqi's grip. With a flick of his wrist, he drove it straight down toward Chi Hua's skull!
Having just evaded Red Lotus's strike, Chi Hua had never expected Li Guanqi's dual-wielding swordsmanship to be so practiced.
Little did he know that whenever Li Guanqi had played the fool to devour tigers in the past, he had always wielded his sword with his right hand.
Only when facing a truly formidable foe would he shift his weapon to his left hand.
Thus, Li Guanqi's right-handed swordsmanship was not inferior to his left in the slightest!
Watching the blade barrel down on his eyes, Chi Hua gritted his teeth and formed a seal with his left hand!
Boom!
Raging fiery power instantly shattered Li Guanqi's lightning sword and sent his body hurtling away!
Li Guanqi was blasted back over a hundred zhang, his feet carving two long trenches through the void.
Bringing himself to a halt, Li Guanqi raised his head toward Chi Hua, his gaze grave beyond measure.
The scales on his right hand were shattered, blood dripping slowly from his fingertips into the void.
Li Guanqi tilted his head slightly and looked back at Chi Hua.
By now, Chi Hua's robes were reduced to tattered ribbons, completely drained of spiritual luster.
After descending, the energy within his body was stripped of immortal essence, leaving him unable to unleash the true power of an immortal artifact robe.
Otherwise, relying on the garment alone, Li Guanqi would not have been able to breach his defenses at all.
Yet now...
Endless crimson flames swirled around Chi Hua.
Crimson formations no larger than pot lids hovered about his person.
Just moments ago, Li Guanqi's fatal strike had been intercepted by one of those very formations.
Chi Hua's eyes flickered, his face slightly pale.
"To think you could actually force me to use the Crimson Flame Sky Pattern Technique!"
Chi Hua's sword hand trembled faintly. The split web between his thumb and forefinger was a bloody mess, blood dripping down along the edge of his blade.
Li Guanqi picked at his ear and sneered disdainfully.
"To be honest, I really look down on the conduct of you Immortal Realm cultivators."
"If you want to fight, just fight. Why must you babble on and on?"
"What, would staying silent choke you to death?"
As his words fell, Chi Hua's face darkened, for Li Guanqi's aura had already vanished completely from his perception!!!
And that was precisely the ability of Li Guanqi's Demon King Physique—Dark Concealment!
Chapter 1296