Even You Dare Call Yourself a Venerable?

Li Guanqi spread his divine sense, but it was already too late. The instant Ye Xuan struck, Ye Bingxin vanished from Luo Dongyang’s grasp. Instead, the elder materialized in front of Luo Dongyang. He flicked a finger at the void, and a beam of pitch-black light instantly punched through Ye Xuan's shoulder! If Ye Xuan had not ducked the very second Li Guanqi called out to warn him, that single strike would have killed him on the spot! Teleporting over, Li Guanqi caught Ye Xuan and retreated dozens of zhang in a flash, his eyes fixed warily upon the elder. Only now did Li Guanqi finally see it clearly. Perched upon the elder’s shoulder was a palm-sized butterfly. It was pitch-black from head to wing. Mysterious patterns flowed across its wings, shimmering with an eerie, sinister glow. The butterfly's eyes gleamed with a scarlet light, turning slightly to fix its gaze on Li Guanqi and sending a sudden chill down his spine. Yet just as Li Guanqi pulled Ye Xuan back in retreat, a glint of chilling murderous intent flashed in Ye Xuan's eyes! Immediately after, Ye Xuan’s aura began to climb at a speed that defied all reason, reaching the peak mid Tribulation Transcendence Realm in the blink of an eye! The sword in his hand thrust toward the back of Li Guanqi's heart at a vicious, cunning angle! The turn of events was so abrupt that even the members of the Luo Clan failed to react in time. In that split second between spark and flame, Li Guanqi's body shifted three inches laterally in an uncanny motion. His frame grew taller, dragon horns sprouted from his forehead, and his entire upper body became coated in rock-hard dragon scales. Divine markings spread across his brow, his aura instantly surging into the late Tribulation Transcendence Realm. *Rrrrip! Clang!* The sword blade barely pierced the defense of his dragon scales. Yet that brief instant of resistance was all the opening Li Guanqi needed to counterattack. With his left hand, he swung Red Lotus upward in a reverse slash! His right hand shot out like lightning. Spinning around, he seized Ye Xuan by the collar as a cold gleam flashed past. An arm went flying high into the air, and scalding blood sprayed onto Li Guanqi’s face. With a ferocious expression, Li Guanqi looked at Ye Xuan. When their eyes met, he saw Ye Xuan's eyes were completely black and twisted with madness. Not a single shred of sanity or clarity remained in those eyes. His entire demeanor had turned venomous and sinister. Even with one arm severed, he showed no intention of retreating. Ye Xuan slammed a fist into Li Guanqi’s shoulder and kicked upward beneath his armpit to put distance between them. He snatched his severed arm back out of the air, reattached it, and charged forward once more! Seeing this, the elder in the distance raised a hand, unleashing the power of a barrier that enveloped the entire Dijing Slope! A cold light glinted in Li Guanqi’s eyes. He turned toward the braided elder and spoke in a chilling voice, "Grand Venerable Jianggu, Luo Gu!" Hearing those words, a sharp glint flashed in the elder's cloudy eyes. His raspy voice sounded as harsh and grating as a crow perched on a branch at dusk. "Heh. To think a brat like you would know of me." Li Guanqi sneered. "It seems my grandfather made a mistake back then by not twisting your head off." The elder’s eyes narrowed into slits, a hint of vicious malice surfacing on his face as he muttered, "No matter what you say today, you will die here..." As the words fell, Li Guanqi kept the crazed Ye Xuan at bay while his mind raced at full speed. He pulled out a communication jade slip, only to find that the fluctuations linking him to Su Xuan could not transmit through the barrier at all! In that very instant, Li Guanqi had a sudden realization. In such a dire crisis, the very first person he thought of was still his grandfather. *But... why is that...?* With no time to dwell on this shift in his state of mind, Li Guanqi knitted his brow. He knocked Ye Xuan back with a single sword strike, letting all his terrifying power erupt in full force. In a breath, his left hand blurred into a flurry of afterimages, an overwhelming barrage of sword light engulfing Ye Xuan within seconds! *Boom!* Space was torn apart. Within an isolated domain space, tens of thousands of lightning bolts crackled incessantly, ultimately coalescing into thunderous chains that instantly bound Ye Xuan! Yet the power coursing through Ye Xuan was far too bizarre; the sheer force he unleashed was entirely draining his very life force. *Crack, crack, crack!* A crisp snapping sound rang out as the lightning chains were torn apart that very instant. A cold gleam flashed across Li Guanqi’s eyes. The blade of Red Lotus was enveloped in lightning interspersed with eerie violet-black flames. Advancing instead of retreating, Li Guanqi flickered through the void against the wild barrage of sword light, closing the distance in an instant. He sidestepped a thrust, and the sword in his left hand plunged straight through Ye Xuan’s chest! The blade pierced clean through. Terrifying lightning power intertwined with the Devouring Void Sacred Flame, instantly locking Ye Xuan’s body in place! A surging torrent of primal energy combined with the flame to seal his origin spirit! Only then did Li Guanqi finally discover what that sinister power inside Ye Xuan truly was. It was a strange spider no larger than a thumb. The spider was latched onto the head of his origin spirit, having usurped Ye Xuan's consciousness while draining his life force away. Seeing Ye Xuan lose consciousness, Li Guanqi finally let out a breath of relief and tossed him into his domain space. Witnessing this, Luo Gu was visibly disappointed. Yet he made no move to intervene, carrying an air of absolute certainty in victory. Suddenly! Li Guanqi’s body went limp, his feet stumbling in a stagger. Deathly pale, Li Guanqi instinctively reached up to wipe his nose, only for his hand to come away coated in black blood. His consciousness grew hazy. He snapped his head up to glare at the cloudy-eyed elder in the distance. "What... is this...?" The elder known as Luo Gu sneered, placing his hands behind his back as he strolled forward. "Heheh, little brat... you're still far too green." "You know my title as Grand Venerable Jianggu, yet you still looked down on this old man." The moment his words fell, the skin across Li Guanqi’s cheeks began to fester and rot! Even his rock-solid dragon scales began to dissolve like winter snow meeting a warm sun! Strange maggots, hair-thin and virtually invisible to the naked eye, began burrowing out from beneath his skin! The sheer density of the gu insects was enough to make anyone’s scalp tingle with dread! The moment they emerged, they swelled in size at a pace visible to the eye. Like bloodsucking leeches, they devoured Li Guanqi’s primal energy and flesh while secreting a toxin that paralyzed both soul and body. Li Guanqi’s flesh turned a violet-black hue, giving off a nauseating stench. *Thud!* Li Guanqi dropped from midair and crashed heavily onto the ground, waves of utter weakness washing over him. The elder sneered with cold contempt. "What Yanluo Sword Venerable? Even you dare claim the title of Venerable?" "Nothing more than trash who possesses raw strength and nothing else. Far too green..." With that, the elder smoothed his robes. Turning toward an empty cliff face, he bowed with utmost deference! *Buzz!* Space rippled slightly. Li Guanqi looked toward the cliff wall in disbelief. Luo Changqing knitted his brow tightly, entirely unable to grasp what was happening. Yet beside him, he saw that Luo Dongyang was bowing just like the elder, paying his respects toward that very direction.