He shook his head.
"No, no... If I don't go with him, that damned old man might just shatter me and throw me away."
"How can I demonstrate my worth without seeming so servile..."
Indeed, the Devouring Void Sacred Flame was deeply troubled.
Ever since the day Su Xuan subdued him, he had known that he was destined to follow someone in the future.
Though he had long grown accustomed to the solitude across those lonely years, he would still occasionally wonder what kind of person he would end up following.
To be frank, the first time he saw Li Guanqi strike in unison with the sword spirit, he was shocked beyond measure.
Never had he imagined that he would sense a power capable of terrifying him from a young man under forty years old.
As the sovereign of this domain, the very instant Li Guanqi and his companions entered, he had already sensed something amiss. Only he could detect that faint, elusive sense of rift.
As for Gu Xici?
He had not worried in the least, because everything remained under Su Xuan's control.
To put it bluntly, the entire Immortal Burial Realm was a domain created by the old man through sheer individual might.
To slip into this domain silently without being detected?
That was nothing short of an idiot's daydream.
Behind his cold, aloof exterior, the Devouring Void Sacred Flame calculated silently. Before long, the corners of his mouth curled into a slight smile.
With a touch of secret delight, he muttered inwardly, *It seems... the old man found me a pretty good fellow.*
Meanwhile, Li Guanqi, still striving to stabilize his realm, had no idea that behind the seemingly righteous flame spirit before him lay such petty calculations.
The sword spirit smiled faintly. Glancing at the distant flame spirit whose eyes flickered with thought, she chuckled softly.
"The little guy is quite interesting..."
"Following him, combined with the Spirit-Devouring Dao Physique, is indeed a perfect match."
"To think Su Xuan has paved the path for him this far."
After an unknown amount of time, Li Guanqi slowly rose to his feet, surging lightning power billowing all around him.
Opening his eyes, Li Guanqi cupped his fists toward Shiwu from afar.
Shiwu slowly stood up and nodded slightly in return.
*Heh, seems I left a pretty good impression on him.*
With an imperceptible glance upward, he could sense a faint, indistinct gaze watching him.
Gathering his thoughts, he finally began to take Li Guanqi seriously.
*Buzz—!*
A mighty wave of fire swept over the flame spirit, instantly causing the temperature throughout the entire Third Domain to skyrocket wildly!
The earth beneath the flame spirit's feet began to melt. The original mountain peaks vanished, transforming into crimson magma that merged into the sea of molten rock.
Sensing the surging battle intent radiating from his opponent, Li Guanqi's aura also began to climb furiously!
Unleashing the full power of his Spirit-Devouring Dao Physique, he felt the flames of heaven and earth boil with unprecedented heat.
This power was so fierce that even the divine sense he sent out to investigate was incinerated in an instant!
Li Guanqi's heart tightened. What had already been a state of high vigilance now grew even tauter.
The sword spirit's voice sounded slowly beside his ear.
"Handle him with care. Though he is an elemental spirit, his intellect is in no way inferior to a human's."
"His power is even more troublesome to deal with. Still... I believe in you."
The corners of Li Guanqi's mouth curved upward. Purple luminescence shimmered across the dragon scales over his entire body, and the divine runes shifted from their former black into a milky white.
The Devouring Void Sacred Flame looked calmly at Li Guanqi, unable to resist praising him.
"To think that while stabilizing your realm, you also thoroughly integrated the Demon King Physique..."
Li Guanqi's eyes flickered. He thought to himself that this flame spirit had indeed lived for a very long time, to even recognize something like the Demon King Physique.
The auras of both figures clashed and ground against each other violently in the air, purple lightning and fire each claiming half the firmament.
Purplish-black flames scorched the heavens. Gripping Red Lotus, Li Guanqi instantly completed the liberation of his Sword Ruins.
With a muffled *bang*, lightning wings over ten feet across unfurled behind him!
Seeing this, the Devouring Void Sacred Flame could not help but sneer.
"You are lightning incarnate; why borrow wings?"
Before the final syllable faded from the air, the Devouring Void Sacred Flame was already upon him in the very next breath!
Li Guanqi's brow twitched. Twisting aside to evade a claw strike, he raised his hand and slashed out several sword strikes in rapid succession!
*Clang! Clang! Clang!*
Li Guanqi had not seen the opponent's movements at all; it was as if he had simply materialized before him out of thin air.
There had not been the slightest spatial ripple, proving that the other party had overwhelmed him purely through speed!
What shocked him even more was the opponent's reaction speed.
Fast...
He had delivered three consecutive strikes, yet the Devouring Void Sacred Flame had merely flicked his right index and middle fingers three times...
The metallic ring just now was the sound of those fingers colliding with Red Lotus.
Li Guanqi vaulted backward at breakneck speed, mind churning frantically as he considered counterstrategies.
Yet the flame spirit stood where he was, his brow slightly furrowed.
A few faint cracks had appeared on his fingertips, giving the Devouring Void Sacred Flame a great jolt of shock.
*I nearly played myself. That sword in his hand... something is off about the tip!!*
*Those three strikes could actually harm my origin source!*
Li Guanqi retreated a hundred zhang through the air, his feet carving two long furrows through the void.
His eyes remained fixed on the flame spirit. Seeing him sink into deep thought, Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes.
Tapping lightly against the void with his right hand, he held his sword and straightened up, speaking slowly.
"You are very cautious. From the very beginning, you cloaked yourself within your armor."
The Devouring Void Sacred Flame's heart leaped violently. He never imagined that after a single exchange, Li Guanqi would deduce the ability of the Devouring Void Sacred Armor he was currently employing.
Seeing his surprise, Li Guanqi looked down at the sword in his hand.
In a calm yet utterly resolute tone, he said, "My sword... is different as well."
As soon as his voice fell, he went all out, ramping his aura to its very peak in an instant!
*Boom—!*
Violent power shattered the void as the aura of the mid Tribulation Transcendence Realm unleashed itself without restraint.
The mighty power of laws swept across heaven and earth, and countless bolts of lightning crashed down from above.
Li Guanqi's long hair danced wildly, his tattered white robe snapping in the wind.
His expression was stern, his gaze sharp as a blade, and his countenance more solemn than ever before.
Li Guanqi understood in his heart that this was a tremendous fortune his grandfather had left for him.
If he could only subdue the Devouring Void Sacred Flame, it would be an immense asset to him!
The Devouring Void Sacred Flame exhaled a wisp of fire, putting aside all his petty, convoluted thoughts.
Suppressed by Su Xuan for ten thousand years, a nameless fire had long been smoldering in his chest.
He, too, wanted to fight with abandon!
As the spirit of a heavenly flame, he had existed proudly through lonely ages.
The best fate was to choose a cultivator to follow, so both could reap the benefits.
The armor upon the Devouring Void Sacred Flame gradually materialized. Ferocious in design and imposing in majesty, mysterious flame runes flowed across it—profound and obscure, so dizzying that a single glance could make one's head spin.
The moment the sacred armor revealed itself, the Devouring Void Sacred Flame assumed a boxing stance with both hands and hooked a finger in challenge.
Li Guanqi grinned. Shifting his sword to his left hand, his right foot stomped violently against the void.
*Thump!*
A deafening boom rang out, and like a bolt of lightning, his entire figure shot forward in an instant!
Chapter 1357