Space rippled slightly, and a young man bearing a seventy percent resemblance to Gu Xici stepped slowly out of the void.
Smiling faintly, tall and erect, he wore a white robe that lent him the air of a noble scion.
Every gesture exuded an indescribable elegance.
Li Guanqi stumbled and nearly fell, his body swaying unsteadily.
Flipping his hand, he produced several medicinal pills and swallowed them down. The pills took effect immediately, frantically replenishing the primal energy he had expended.
Yet they did nothing against the gu insects or the injuries wracking his body!
An eerie smile hovered at the corners of Gu Xici's lips as he looked down at Li Guanqi with open contempt.
His cool voice rang out slowly.
"Capturing you truly drained my wits and efforts..."
"It really is easier to bring you under control out here. Inside the Seventh Domain, there truly was never a chance."
Li Guanqi's expression turned grim, his gaze cold as ice as he stared at him.
"You're actually not dead yet! What a surprise..."
Hearing this, Gu Xici burst into loud laughter, pointing a finger at his own nose as he spoke leisurely.
"Dead?"
"Even a centipede is not stiffened by death! I, Gu Xici, have lived for ten thousand years. How could you possibly fathom the life-preserving means at my disposal?"
At this, Gu Xici's expression darkened, turning vicious.
"Still... Su Xuan destroyed my Ascension realm cultivation, which has truly caused me quite a headache..."
To the side, Luo Dongyang lowered his head, his face heavy with dread.
His throat bobbed nervously. He had never imagined this man had once been a supreme powerhouse of the Ascension realm!
In contrast, the braided elder standing ahead showed no surprise.
Only Luo Changqing's face contorted into an exceptionally ugly scowl as he murmured darkly to himself,
*Heh, my foolish little brother... Luo Dongyang never once planned to save you.*
*Even after you became a cripple, in his eyes you were merely a cripple who still held some use.*
Luo Changqing knew that Luo Siyang was bait, a sacrificial lamb.
Yet he had still harbored an illusion...
An illusion that Luo Dongyang genuinely wanted to help Luo Siyang.
Even a vicious tiger would not devour its own cubs—no matter what, Luo Siyang was his own flesh and blood!
Yet now...
His own father and his own grandfather were both merely using Luo Siyang's life as a bargaining chip.
"Heh... how laughable."
Luo Changqing made no attempt to conceal his voice, so every person present heard those words loud and clear.
The expressions of Luo Dongyang and Luo Gu shifted slightly, while Gu Xici merely smiled, not paying him the slightest heed.
A mere half-step Tribulation Transcendence was someone he could crush like an insect with his current power.
Among the dozen or so cultivators present, perhaps only Li Guanqi and Luo Gu could make Gu Xici feel any wariness.
Gu Xici looked down at Li Guanqi, who was swaying and half-crouched on the ground, excitement glistening in his eyes.
"To capture you, I racked my brains to the limit..."
"You have no idea how much mental energy I had to expend for this trap, how steep a price I had to pay, or how many coincidences and strokes of fortune were required."
Li Guanqi sneered. "Indeed. Trying to scheme against me when every clue could be traced must have been terribly difficult."
Gu Xici shrugged, looking down at Li Guanqi with lowered eyes as he spread his hands.
"There was no other way. Who told you to be so clever?"
"If I hadn't set a flawless trap for you, you never would have walked into it so easily."
"Right now... I imagine not even one-tenth of your primal energy remains, does it?"
"Naturally, or you would have used that move long ago!"
When mentioning that move, a distinct flash of dread crossed Gu Xici's eyes, his expression briefly unsettled and dazed.
"If you had used that move... Luo Gu would be dead without question."
"Unfortunately, his methods of planting gu are far too exquisite. You wouldn't have noticed a thing."
Gu Xici narrowed his eyes and looked down at himself.
"This physical vessel is my least favorite... and it is all thanks to you!"
As he spoke, the man's gaze gradually turned frenzied, a streak of ruthless malice flaring in the depths of his eyes!
*Bang!*
Gu Xici kicked out like lightning, his foot slamming into Li Guanqi's face.
The colossal force sent Li Guanqi flying several hundred zhang, crashing heavily into the mountain behind him!
*Boom!*
Dust billowed, rocks splintered and flew, and all of Dijing Slope shook faintly.
Li Guanqi's cheek was caved in, mangled and bloody.
Immediately afterward, Gu Xici appeared beside Li Guanqi in an instant and stomped down, breaking both of his arms!
*Crack! Crack!*
Two sharp sounds of bone fracturing echoed out, the splintered bone immediately piercing through the skin!
Deprived of primal energy, Li Guanqi had no power to resist.
Then, a mighty force instantly bound Li Guanqi's dantian and sea of consciousness.
Having confirmed that Li Guanqi possessed not the slightest ability to fight back, Gu Xici wore a ferocious look as he observed the scene before turning his head toward the distant elder and speaking in a deep voice.
"Give me the Soul-Devouring Nether Butterfly."
Yet contrary to expectations, the elder tucked his hands into his sleeves, steady as Mount Tai, his cloudy eyes calmly meeting Gu Xici's gaze.
"Then... shouldn't the Immortal also hand over what you promised me?"
Gu Xici gave a cold chuckle.
With a flick of his wrist, he produced an object resembling an immortal crystal.
However, this "immortal crystal" was crystal-clear, like fine jade.
Enclosed within the flawless white "immortal crystal" was a completely snow-white cocoon!
Slumped inside the deep crater, Li Guanqi felt his heart thump wildly when his mind's eye glimpsed the white pupa!
For within that white cocoon, he sensed an utterly terrifying aura!
*An immortal gu! Definitely an immortal gu!*
*And its grade is even higher than the immortal parasite I killed before!*
The elder stared fervently at the crystal-white cocoon in Gu Xici's hand.
Unable to restrain his excitement, his voice trembled as he asked, "With this, I will be able to ascend, won't I?"
Gu Xici smiled with absolute confidence.
"The Realm-Breaking Immortal Butterfly. With it, all you need to do is channel your primal energy into it, and it will break from its cocoon into a butterfly!"
"It will carry you straight into the highest heavens and tread into the Immortal Realm."
"Rest assured, the Immortal Boundary Wall cannot stop it."
Hearing this, Luo Gu swallowed hard, an excited expression surfacing on his face.
Li Guanqi watched the scene impassively. This was still just a transaction.
After all, Gu Xici at present... was not all that much stronger than Luo Gu.
Judging from how Luo Gu had enveloped Dijing Slope in a barrier, he was afraid Gu Xici might try to flee.
Luo Changqing's face was extremely grim.
*Profit. Everything comes down to profit.*
His eyes drifted uncontrollably toward Luo Siyang, who was vomiting blood on the verge of death, filled with grief and indignation.
Gu Xici knew he could not withhold this item. If he didn't give it up, Luo Gu would never hand over the Soul-Devouring Nether Butterfly.
With that in mind, Gu Xici hesitated no longer and tossed the translucent white cocoon straight toward the elder.
The elder did not hesitate either, reaching out and wrapping the Soul-Devouring Nether Butterfly in primal energy before sending it flying toward Gu Xici.
Neither could conceal the excitement surging in their hearts.
For once the exchange was completed, both would have obtained what they desired most.
Suddenly!
An unexpected change struck!
Chapter 1405