Battling Luo Gu, the Gu Cultivator!

Rumble! The sky seemed to collapse as Li Guanqi brought his sword slashing down directly against the chain linked to the scythe. Sparks sprayed in all directions, followed by the faint, abrupt sound of cracking. Not far away, the old man who had maintained a distance of ten zhang from Li Guanqi underwent a slight change of expression. With just a single strike, his spirit treasure-grade dharma artifact had actually cracked! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! The scythe moved with astonishing speed, its shifting trajectory erratic and nearly impossible to predict. Yet how could Li Guanqi be an ordinary cultivator? Since embarking on his path of cultivation, he had engaged in countless life-or-death battles. Back then, worried that he lacked exposure to various cold weapons, the sword spirit had placed him in the altar's Hundred Champions illusion realm, where every conceivable weapon had been wielded against him. This chain scythe bore some resemblance to a rope dart. Except... Screeech! A sharp ringing erupted as a deep white scratch was carved across the dragon scales on Li Guanqi's back! Sparks flew, yet the strike still failed to breach Li Guanqi's defenses. The elder instantly recoiled in retreat, while Li Guanqi pressed forward in pursuit. At the same time, Li Guanqi grew somewhat wary. The opponent's scythe possessed far greater reach than a standard rope dart. Moreover, had he not shielded himself with primal energy just now, that blow might genuinely have broken through his defense! Clang! Clang! Boom! Lightning shrieked and sword qi crisscrossed the air. The elder was likewise hard-pressed to defend himself. Even the stray sword qi trailing off that horrifying lightning filled him with trepidation. He had not expected Li Guanqi to possess such overwhelming power; every motion, every stance carried profound subtlety. Li Guanqi's mastery of the sword had reached the realm of returning to simplicity and truth—in the single instant he swung his blade, myriad variations could unfold. Clang! Clang! The elder held back no longer, whirling the chain in his hands with even greater ferocity. In a flash, sword light and scythe carved streaks of afterimages across midair. The exchange between the two reached the pinnacle of speed, their movements nearly imperceptible to the naked eye. Their figures flickered violently, darting and shifting positions across the void without pause. Suddenly! The Flame Spirit materialized behind the elder, pressing both hands against the empty air. Boom! The earth abruptly shattered as a pillar of magma-like flames surged straight into the clouds, engulfing the elder in an instant. Li Guanqi's eyes turned cold. Surging forward, he unleashed three consecutive slashes in the blink of an eye! "Heaven Shatterer Three Forms!" Boom! Boom! Boom! Amid deafening detonations, Li Guanqi snapped his head toward a spot three hundred zhang away! There stood the charred elder, the skin of his face slowly peeling away like a sloughing snake. "To think you could force me to such a point..." "It seems... the cultivators of the world have truly underestimated you..." Li Guanqi cast a piercing gaze at the elder, speaking in a composed voice. "No one in the Immortal Burial Realm underestimates me." "As for you... you had better get serious. Otherwise... you will die." The elder chuckled sinisterly, looking down at his heavily cracked scythe as a flicker of shock surfaced in his eyes. The Blade Break ability of Li Guanqi's Sword Ruins was terrifying. In less than half an incense stick's time, his spirit treasure-grade dharma artifact had completely lost its spirituality and stood on the brink of shattering. The elder simply cast the chain scythe aside, reaching up to violently rip off his scorched flesh! The sight was eerie beyond words, resembling a molting serpent struggling to tear away its own hide. Li Guanqi gave him no time to prepare. With a sway of his body, nine tangible clones materialized and surged toward his foe. "Spell: Nine Dragon Transmutation!" The nine clones surrounded the elder from nine directions, striking simultaneously with their swords! Boom! "Ten Thousand Swords Bury Gods!" In an instant, an expanse of sword light engulfed the entire firmament! A torrent of lightning-laced sword light mingled with the power of the Devouring Void Sacred Flame. The heavens collapsed, and the fractured space was utterly incinerated. Yet at that very moment, Li Guanqi frowned and recoiled violently! A jet of green slime shot straight toward him. Splat! The sword light dissolved into nothingness as foul-smelling mist rose into the air. Roar! A ghost-faced spider spanning a full hundred zhang in length appeared atop a high mountain peak! The lower half of Luo Gu's body had fused completely into the ghost-faced spider. Eight crimson eyes locked onto Li Guanqi with a chilling glare. The spider was pitch-black throughout, its carapace gleaming with cold metallic luster as its mouthparts parted in a screeching roar. Screeech! The piercing shriek rattled Li Guanqi's soul, but the circulating power of Pengluo quickly restored his clarity. Pengluo unleashed energy to firmly guard his sea of consciousness. Suddenly, Pengluo's bewildered voice rang in Li Guanqi's ear. "Just this? A big spider?? Wouldn't calling Brother Jiu solve everything?" Li Guanqi thought the same. Looking up, he roared furiously, "Jiuxiao!!" Roar! Terrifying dragon might flooded the heavens and earth. Jiuxiao, who had long been waiting outside Dijing Slope, dove through the opening in the heavenly flame barrier. With a colossal body stretching nearly three hundred zhang, he visually overpowered the Eight-Eyed Ghost-Faced Spider. The moment the Eight-Eyed Ghost-Faced Spider sensed the dragon's aura, it stirred with restless agitation. When Jiuxiao materialized, that agitation and instinctive terror surged to their peak. Luo Gu had not anticipated this development either. His expression darkened, and gnashing his teeth, he rapidly formed hand seals! A pitch-black seal was driven directly into the body of the Eight-Eyed Ghost-Faced Spider. As the mark sank in, the spider's eyes filled with an eerie green glow, allowing it to defy Jiuxiao's oppressive aura as it hissed at the dragon. Wheeling around, it sprayed silk straight at Jiuxiao! Seeing this, cold murderous intent flashed in Jiuxiao's draconic eyes. Roar! A breath of lightning descended from the heavens! The spider silk dissolved into ash the instant it made contact. Jiuxiao shifted his body down to a hundred zhang, swept his dragon tail, and closed in before the ghost-faced spider, whipping his tail across with savage force! Bang! Rumble! Lightning coiled around Jiuxiao's tail—distinct from Li Guanqi's own lightning power. Jiuxiao's lightning was pure destruction! The ghost-faced spider's massive form took the crushing impact as though struck by a sledgehammer. Its spider legs snapped, and its body was hurled through the air. Luo Gu seized the opening to teleport away. Yet immediately afterward, he was repelled by the horrifying curtain of fire! Both of his hands turned to ash as he stared at the fire canopy across the firmament with terror in his eyes. "What... what kind of flame is this?!" Li Guanqi turned to meet the gaze of the Flame Spirit, their eyes locking. "Pardon me—ranked first among heavenly flames, the Devouring Void Sacred Flame." Standing behind Li Guanqi, the Flame Spirit grinned, its eyes gleaming bright. As for why the two had undergone their current transformation, perhaps only they truly understood. Li Guanqi raised his sword, settling into the opening posture of Cloud Hands as a ruthless glint shone in his eyes. He murmured, "Now, you and I can fight without restraint." Thump! His lightning wings unfurled, accompanied by an ear-splitting sonic boom and the sound of shattering space. Before the elder could even react, Li Guanqi had already arrived before him! "Blood Mosquitoes Devouring Heaven!" Boom! A dense swarm of blood-red mosquitoes surged toward Li Guanqi like a sea of gore! Their razor-sharp proboscises gleamed with chilling light, and the sky-blotting tide of gu insects sent a shiver down Li Guanqi's scalp. Flies and mosquitoes were the creatures gu cultivators were most adept at nurturing. Yet at that moment, the Flame Spirit stepped forward at a measured pace, murmuring in a chilling voice, "Are you... looking down on me?" With those words, the Flame Spirit reached out a hand, splaying its five fingers. With a calm expression, it spoke slowly, "Burn!" Boom! In merely a single breath, the boundless flames swallowed the sea of blood before them, incinerating it to absolute nothingness! Had Pengluo not been fused with Li Guanqi at this moment, he certainly would have given the Flame Spirit a round of applause... "Damn impressive..."