Su Xuan looked at him with an inscrutable gaze, raising a hand to reach toward Gu Xici.
Yet that simple motion sent a jolt of terror exploding through Gu Xici's scalp!!
For Su Xuan's hand actually passed straight through the void, heading directly for his true body!!!!!
In that flash of lightning, Gu Xici drew his sword without hesitation, entered his Apocalypse stance, and unleashed over a hundred slashes in an instant!!
At the same time, he shot backward at breakneck speed, crushing a scroll to flee.
Facing that horrifying sword light blotting out the sky and sun, Su Xuan showed no fear whatsoever, watching on with an indifferent expression.
He muttered softly, "Though your origin source has fled... this body might as well stay behind."
Li Guanqi still had no idea what was happening when the strands of hair by his ears gently fluttered.
A wisp of saber light flashed and vanished.
In that instant, every single sword ray shattered to pieces!!!
Furious shockwaves violently battered everything around them, magma splashing high and mountains crumbling.
The Ascension Realm Gu Xici had his body instantly disintegrated into countless fragments!!
No primal energy fluctuation could be sensed at all, nor could anyone see when the old man had struck...
An absolute crushing of raw power!!!!
Su Xuan curled his lip, glanced down at the slowly collapsing formation beneath his feet, and said, "A bit of a pity... Though I severed his body, he still managed to get away."
Li Guanqi knitted his brow, asking in surprise, "Got away? Isn't he dead?"
Su Xuan shook his head, seemingly full of admiration for the man's methods. "The moment you struck with your sword earlier, he hid his origin spirit inside the barrier beneath our feet."
Li Guanqi frowned deeply and said in a heavy voice, "But... he was clearly in the Ascension Realm!! His strength and techniques were plenty formidable!"
The old man smiled, waved his hand with eyes closed, and said, "Who at that realm isn't a cunning old fox? The moment they sense their life is in danger, they'll bring out their greatest trump cards and abilities to run. Heh, but the trap this time was laid beautifully—a chain of schemes, one interlocking with the next, and no one gave the game away."
Li Guanqi did not let the old man's praise go to his head.
This had been his first direct confrontation with Gu Xici, yet he felt as though he had punched a pile of cotton.
He had intended to fight a decisive battle, only to discover that the enemy had made an escape route an integral part of his plan from the start.
He had even chosen to flee the instant he realized he had fallen into a trap set by someone weaker than him.
Because something outside his calculations had emerged.
And for that reason alone, he had decided to leave!
Even at the cost of abandoning his cultivation and physical body.
Li Guanqi could not help shuddering. Such an enemy was terrifying...
Had setting up that barrier really been trapping himself?
Li Guanqi shook his head with a bitter smile...
He had still thought everything through too simply.
Li Guanqi slowly looked up, just in time to see the old man turning his back, preparing to leave.
"Grandpa?"
The old man's body stiffened. Turning around, he pointed at the flame spirit of the Devouring Void Sacred Flame, which was rubbing its fists and palms, and said, "Nothing I can do about this one. Grandpa made a promise back then. If you can subdue it, it'll definitely be a tremendous help once you ascend to the Immortal Realm! As for you... best of luck."
With that, the old man slipped away in a flash.
Li Guanqi stood where he was, calming his churning thoughts for a long while. The matter with Gu Xici felt anticlimactic, like starting with a tiger's head and ending with a snake's tail.
Yet it also taught him one thing: every true mastermind working behind the scenes was exceptionally meticulous.
Once they realized events had exceeded their expectations, regardless of whether they might still control the situation, they would always choose to withdraw first!!
It was a pity that his punch had felt like hitting cotton, leaving him frustrated enough to spit blood.
Forcibly suppressing these chaotic thoughts, he slowly turned his gaze toward the Devouring Void Sacred Flame in the distance.
One had to admit the entity had an extraordinarily steady mindset; from beginning to end, it hadn't shown the slightest inclination to intervene.
This was also something Su Xuan had told Li Guanqi beforehand.
He had guessed that Gu Xici had come partly for Li Guanqi, and would certainly also make a move for the Devouring Void Sacred Flame.
Because people like them yearned far too desperately to rid themselves of the label "split soul."
Yet among all the spiritual items of heaven and earth, what could withstand such immense energy of theirs?
Perhaps only the Devouring Void Sacred Flame could catch his eye.
The Devouring Void Sacred Flame possessed a fully developed self-awareness, and its towering stature was not in the least inferior to Li Guanqi when channeling his Demon King Physique.
The two stood a hundred zhang apart. To Li Guanqi's surprise, it was the flame spirit who spoke first.
"Can you unleash power like that again?"
By now, the internal injuries inside Li Guanqi had largely healed, and the wounds on his arm were restored to their original state under the effects of the Demon King Physique.
Li Guanqi was a bit curious upon hearing this, but replied truthfully, "No."
He wasn't lying; his current condition indeed made it impossible for the sword spirit to execute Dao Fall a second time.
The flame spirit of the Devouring Void Sacred Flame curved its lips slightly, chuckling softly. "Seems it's just as I guessed. That strike must have been your limit. After all... that wasn't really your own power!"
Saying this, the flame spirit lowered its head in brief contemplation, unable to help feeling curious. "To tell the truth, I'm very curious about the power inside you."
Li Guanqi gave a faint smile, primal energy coursing through his body as he remained constantly vigilant. "Oh? Curious about what?"
The flame spirit slowly looked up, its pupil-less eyes fixing upon Li Guanqi as its voice deepened. "I'm very curious... why does the spirit inside you make me feel fear?!"
Boom!!!!
Flames scorched the heavens. Upon closer inspection, the purplish-black flames were entirely composed of hair-thin lightning arcs!!
Just then, Li Guanqi recalled the rumor Cao Yan had once mentioned.
The Devouring Void Sacred Flame: burns all things, devours all things, thus named Devouring Void!
Li Guanqi smiled. He felt a tremendous pressure radiating from the entity.
Since breaking through to the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, he had not fought with total abandon.
Just moments ago, to enable the sword spirit to unleash its peak power, he had forcibly broken through to the mid Tribulation Transcendence Realm.
His aura had not yet stabilized, surging and fluctuating violently.
Yet right at that moment, the flame spirit of Devouring Void actually sat down cross-legged, speaking softly:
"Stabilize your realm for now. As you are... you can't beat me."
Having said that, the flame spirit sat in the void, speaking no further.
Li Guanqi truly had not expected this flame spirit of the Devouring Void Sacred Flame to be...
more human than actual humans.
He let out a self-deprecating chuckle and did not refuse the entity's goodwill.
Li Guanqi sat cross-legged where he was, throwing himself into stabilizing his realm.
As time passed, the pressure radiating from Li Guanqi grew heavier and stronger.
Yet at this moment, no one knew what the Devouring Void Sacred Flame was thinking inside...
"This kid is the old man's grandson??"
"Suppressed me for ten thousand years just so I'd follow him??"
"Tsk... judging from his performance just now, he's no fool. Backing's strong, bone structure and comprehension are both top-notch."
"Ethereal Dao Body? No... he also devoured the Demon King Physique... Could it be...?!!"
"On top of that, the spirit inside him is stronger than me, which means he might not even care to take me in?"
"This is getting a bit tricky..."
Chapter 1356