"What does this mean... He threw me away?"
"Just tossed me out like garbage?! Without even a backward glance?!"
The Devouring Void Sacred Flame was utterly dumbfounded.
If Li Guanqi didn't want him, he was dead certain that Su Xuan would obliterate his core essence!
Just to nurture him, Su Xuan had already extinguished several seeds of heavenly flame. In the Human Spirit Realm's current state, if his core essence dispersed, who knew whether it could ever give birth to another powerful heavenly flame?
The moment that thought crossed his mind, the flame spirit panicked.
With a whoosh, he shot out, darting straight toward Li Guanqi.
"Brother! Brother! I was wrong..."
"Brother, I shouldn't have played hard to get... Please, I beg you, take me in!"
Bang!
A dull thud rang out, and before he could even reach Li Guanqi, the flame spirit was suddenly flicked away several hundred zhang by a single hand!
The flick was so hard it nearly shattered his core essence!
Only then did he finally see the source of the terror that had been haunting him.
It was a tall woman in red robes with an imposing, breathtaking figure.
The instant the flame spirit laid eyes on her, he felt as though plunged into an abyss of ice!
The flames cloaking his body began to flicker and sway, seeming on the verge of snuffing out at any second.
The sword spirit merely stood quietly behind Li Guanqi, casting a cold, indifferent glance at the flame spirit—her eyes brimming with disdain for all mortal creation.
With just that single look, the flame spirit crashed into the magma with a loud bang, kneeling on the ground and trembling violently.
With his head lowered and gaze averted, the flame spirit shivered, sheer dread creeping across every corner of his mind.
Only now did he truly understand what he had been terrified of all along...
She was a spirit as well, but an existence whose origin and essence crushed him by countless orders of magnitude!
In his consciousness, the sword spirit was a deity—an incarnation of the Heavenly Dao itself!
Glancing at the quivering flame spirit, the sword spirit sneered coldly.
"Back then, he nearly threw even me away."
"What kind of thing do you think you are?"
The flame spirit's eyes quivered as he whispered hurriedly, "Yes, yes, yes, Milady speaks the truth! I'm nothing... I'm not a thing at all... What right do I have to be called anything..."
The sword spirit's beautiful eyes remained calm as still water as she weighed whether to let Li Guanqi take the flame spirit in.
In truth, the flame spirit's power aligned exceptionally well with the Spirit Devouring Dao Body.
It was something Su Xuan had prepared, after all; naturally, he had his reasons.
However, this little wretch was quite cunning. He needed to be put in his place while the opportunity was ripe.
Suddenly!
A massive white radish brandishing a great hammer came swinging down, smashing right into the flame spirit's head.
It rained blows upon him while hurling curses without pause.
"What kind of thing are you? What do you think you are?"
"If you aren't even a thing, then what does that make me?!"
As it cursed, its strikes landed with brutal force. With his core essence destabilized by the sword spirit's terrifying pressure, the flame spirit could only take the beating.
The flame spirit's gaze flickered. *What kind of creature is this now? A radish? A spirit?*
Suddenly, a realization struck him.
*Wait! This guy... is cut from the exact same cloth as me! Dammit!*
*No wonder that kid didn't buy my hard-to-get routine. He was already completely immune to it...*
The flame spirit knew full well that now was the time to tuck his tail between his legs.
He hastily split two wisps of flame from his core essence—one large, one small.
Pulling away from Pengluo's onslaught, he held the flames high above his head with both hands and scuttled obsequiously before the sword spirit.
"Milady, please accept this..."
"Please let me stay by his side. I promise I will be utterly obedient!"
When Pengluo saw this, how could it accept it?
*Damn it... The moment that guy plucked the core flames from inside himself...*
*I saw my own reflection...*
Indeed, in Pengluo's eyes, the flame spirit's actions just now had been smooth, fluid, and entirely natural.
It was just like its own well-rehearsed routine of snapping off radish fingers—completely seamless.
*A formidable rival!*
The corners of the sword spirit's lips curved slightly. Reaching out with a jade-like hand, she pinched the larger wisp of core flame and gently rolled it between her fingers.
In an instant, the flame transformed into a beam of light, shooting straight into Li Guanqi's glabella!
A mysterious, purplish-black flame sigil immediately surfaced upon Li Guanqi's brow.
Li Guanqi's heart jolted as an inexplicable bond formed between him and the Devouring Void Sacred Flame within his body.
Li Guanqi chuckled inwardly. *Well now, a symbiotic contract?*
Glancing at Li Guanqi, the sword spirit said softly, "For him, a master-servant contract would be somewhat unfair. A symbiotic contract will allow you two to benefit each other far more effectively."
Hearing those words, Pengluo burst into tears with a loud wail.
Tossing its hammer aside, it sat right down in the magma and sobbed its heart out.
"Why?! Why does a latecomer get a symbiotic contract?!"
"Why am I the only one stuck with a master-servant contract?! I work like a horse day in and day out, breaking my back..."
Feeling an itch in his ear from the noise, Li Guanqi picked at it with mild annoyance.
Seeing this, Pengluo shut its mouth at once. Patting its rear, it scrambled to its feet and mumbled, "Well, being a servant is pretty great too. Haha, fantastic, actually."
The flame spirit was also exceptionally worldly. Holding up the smaller wisp of core flame, he handed it to Pengluo.
"Big Brother, from now on I'm the junior here. How should I address you?"
Pengluo greedily licked its lips and swallowed the wisp of flame into its belly.
A warm, soothing sensation filled it with immense delight. Seeing how sensible the flame spirit was, it patted his shoulder and beamed.
"I'm Pengluo. From now on, call me Brother Luo! There's also Ninth Brother above me, got it?"
The flame spirit nodded obediently, though he didn't dare glance back at the sword spirit...
Afterward, the flame spirit walked up to Li Guanqi, casting aside his cynical, irreverent demeanor.
The flames condensed into a burly phantom in human form. He dropped to one knee and bowed his head.
The lord of all flames in the Human Spirit Realm, the Devouring Void Sacred Flame, lowered his head at this moment, placing his right hand over his chest to pledge submission to Li Guanqi!
"My name is Devouring Void. Today, I yield to you."
"May Devouring Void accompany you into battle and slaughter your foes throughout the path of the Great Dao ahead!"
Li Guanqi was taken aback for a moment, genuinely unaccustomed to seeing the flame spirit act with such solemnity.
Taking a deep breath, he followed the sword spirit's nod and reached out, resting his hand atop the flame spirit's head as he said in a deep voice, "Follow me, and I shall lead you to the pinnacle of the Great Dao!"
"I will never let your renown be eclipsed!"
"Your name will one day resound across the Immortal Realm!"
Hum!
Their brief exchange felt like a sacred covenant.
A wisp of spiritual light shot into the flame spirit's head.
With a thought from Li Guanqi, the flame spirit dissolved into fire and slipped into his body.
The sword spirit smiled faintly at Li Guanqi. "Congratulations. You have subdued an extraordinary flame."
Li Guanqi gave a wry smile, looking down at his battered, scorched body with deep emotion.
"It was truly formidable!"
The sword spirit said no more upon hearing this. In truth, the flame spirit's power had already been weakened countlessly by Su Xuan.
Had the Devouring Void Sacred Flame been in his peak prime, Li Guanqi would have had no choice but to flee for his life.
"Heh, I reckon Pengluo will be jealous for a long time to come."
Li Guanqi felt a slight headache at the thought. Looking around at the riddled, ruined Third Domain, he let out a long breath.
To think that, in the end, Gu Xici had still managed to escape.
Suddenly!
Li Guanqi's brow furrowed. Raising his hand, an inscribed talisman relayed Gu Li's anxious voice:
"Eldest Brother, Li Congxin has collapsed! Once you're done there, hurry down!"
Li Guanqi's expression drastically shifted. In an instant, his figure blurred as he sped across the Third Domain, rushing toward the White Jade Tower!
Chapter 1361