Clang!
The colossal sword coffin came to an abrupt halt in the void.
Boom!
A deafening roar erupted as the void beneath the sword coffin shattered across a radius of a hundred zhang!
Li Guanqi showed not the slightest fear before the massive thunderstorm that had already spread across five thousand zhang of the firmament.
A ringing sword hum echoed, and the Red Lotus sword instantly flashed into his grasp!
The sword spirit of Red Lotus unleashed its fighting spirit, triggering its Apocalypse on its own!
Petals bloomed as the Red Lotus sword emanated an eerie crimson radiance.
Li Guanqi gripped the Red Lotus sword tightly. To his astonishment, he sensed that the sword spirit's true body within the sword coffin was trembling faintly!
Yet that power lasted for only a single breath.
The sword spirit whispered in self-reproach, "I'm sorry... My injuries are still..."
Li Guanqi gently cut the sword spirit off. "No need to apologize. It doesn't matter if I cannot use your true form. I, Li Guanqi, have Red Lotus by my side today, and that is enough!"
As his words fell, the blade of Red Lotus quivered slightly, releasing a low chime as if in answer.
Li Guanqi glanced back at the old man and suddenly grinned. "Grandpa, take the Phoenix Flower back."
Su Xuan was taken aback, assuming Li Guanqi was simply brimming with absolute confidence in his own strength.
Yet Li Guanqi's next words caused the old man's expression to shift.
Li Guanqi's voice grew quieter as he turned away, speaking slowly with his back to the elder. "That Phoenix Flower... ultimately, it can probably only preserve my soul and my Spirit-Devouring Dao Physique, can't it?"
Su Xuan's face tightened, but he said nothing. His silence was proof enough that Li Guanqi had hit the mark.
Li Guanqi gave a wry smile. It seemed his guess was correct.
He exhaled a long breath of turbid air and spoke softly. "No matter what the truth of my origins may be... I am who I am. I, Li Guanqi... will live only this life! If I die, it merely means my cultivation was lacking, my sword too slow, my resolve not ruthless enough. If I consume that Phoenix Flower, the memories of this life will be gone. What would be the point of cultivating a second life?"
Li Guanqi knew that the danger of this tribulation likely far exceeded his expectations.
Were it not so, Su Xuan would never be this worried.
Nor would he have severed the entire Realm of Celestial Spirits directly from the Seventh Domain.
Nor would he have evacuated everyone else.
Meanwhile, in the Second Domain, Meng Wanshu's eyes were filled with frantic anxiety. She abruptly slashed her sword toward the void!
"Sister-in-law!" Cao Yan's expression shifted as he called out in a deep voice. "Sister-in-law, don't be rash! Eldest Brother's grandfather is there, so there's no need to worry!"
The others chimed in one after another. Only Tang Ru and Ye Feng remained silent.
Ye Feng clutched at his chest with his right hand. The sudden, violent palpitation in his heart filled him with an ominous foreboding.
Tang Ru looked even worse—his face was deathly pale, and the hand hidden inside his sleeve was dripping with blood, trembling violently.
His eyes were wide with terror and unease, and sweat the size of beans poured down his face!
It was not just Ye Feng; Meng Wanshu's premonition was countless times sharper than his!
Her heart twitched violently, as though pierced through by a sharp blade.
Her expression cold as frost, the temperature around Meng Wanshu plummeted. Ice crystals drifted down, and the sword in her hand flickered with relentless sword light.
"Move! I must go down!"
Only Ye Feng and Gu Li noticed Tang Ru's strange state.
Gu Li also felt that something was amiss.
Logically speaking, if this were merely an ordinary celestial phenomenon, even if it carried danger, having the Four Kings present to hold the line should have been more than enough. Yet Emperor Chen had come as well.
Not only had Emperor Chen come, but the Realm Lord had appeared in person!
Moreover, the moment Su Xuan arrived, he had completely severed the Realm of Celestial Spirits from the Seventh Domain, leaving only the two of them behind...
Ye Feng flashed to Tang Ru's side and reached out to rest a hand on his shoulder.
Suddenly, an explosive shockwave shattered Ye Feng's palm, flinging his body several zhang away!
Looking at his mangled hand, Ye Feng's expression turned to horror. The chaotic aura churning inside Tang Ru was terrifying beyond belief!
That power was violently battering his internal organs in a merciless backlash.
Even Tang Ru's lifeforce was draining away frantically, completely out of control!
Whoosh!
A man flashed behind Tang Ru in an instant. Forming hand seals, he drove a beam of emerald spiritual light into Tang Ru's body.
With a grave expression, Yu Shan barked sternly, "Foolishness!"
Ye Feng had no time to greet Yu Shan. Turning to Tang Ru, he asked via sound transmission in a deep voice, "Fifth Brother, are you alright?"
Seeing Tang Ru nod, Ye Feng felt a slight weight lift from his chest. He immediately pressed, "What was the hexagram?"
Tang Ru slowly raised his head to look at the two men before him. His pale face was filled with dread, and his lips trembled as he transmitted, "Utter misfortune... the Earth-Fire Mingyi Hexagram!"
Behind him, Yu Shan's body stiffened, disbelief written across his face.
In a low voice, he transmitted, "Even with the Realm Lord present, the divination still reads like this?"
Tang Ru turned to look at him and nodded faintly. "Twice in a row... not a single change."
Yu Shan's face tightened, and he furrowed his brows in contemplation. "In that case, the Realm Lord must not be within the scope of the hexagram..."
At that moment, the cultivators in the Second Domain were in complete disarray; no one knew what was happening.
Why had a mere celestial phenomenon escalated to such a state?
The Realm of Celestial Spirits was no longer part of the Seventh Domain. Even if Meng Wanshu tore through the domain boundaries, she would not be able to find Li Guanqi.
Not to mention that the realm was now reinforced by Su Xuan's power—Meng Wanshu had no hope of breaching it.
Upon hearing this, Ye Feng and Gu Li both turned pale.
Gu Li pressed his lips together, staring down at the storage ring on his finger and muttering, "If I'd known... I would have left everything for Eldest Brother."
Ye Feng's eyes flickered. Taking a deep breath, he looked at the others and said in a heavy voice, "I believe Eldest Brother will be fine. Don't let your thoughts run wild! Fifth Brother cannot afford to divine any further. All we can do... is wait in peace."
***
Inside the Realm of Celestial Spirits.
The tempest had now expanded to nearly eight thousand zhang, yet it showed no signs of stopping.
Its present power was already capable of easily annihilating cultivators at the peak of the mid-stage Tribulation Transcendence realm.
Even Li Guanqi felt a deep sense of dread at this force.
The eye of the storm at the center of the thunderous vortex alone was a full hundred zhang wide.
The entire sky of the Realm of Celestial Spirits was stained a purplish black.
Standing below, Li Guanqi's throat bobbed as he swallowed hard.
A fine sheen of sweat coated his palms.
His mouth felt parched, and his forehead was drenched in cold sweat.
He ran his tongue over his dry lips and muttered under his breath, "Looks like I'll have to put my life on the line..."
Cross it, and the immortal path lies open.
Fail, and body and Dao perish!
Li Guanqi had never been this nervous.
Even his heavenly tribulation when breaking through to the Tribulation Transcendence realm had felt trivial to him, posing no real threat.
Yet now...
Li Guanqi murmured, "A Human Spirit Immortal... To break free from the rules of the Human Spirit Realm's Heavenly Dao, how could it ever be easy?"
This epiphany had brought Li Guanqi face-to-face with the barrier to the Ascension realm.
Only now did he truly understand why Ascension realm cultivators were so exceedingly rare in this world...
The Ascension realm meant casting off the mortal coil completely. Its grasp of laws was so immense that one could almost rewrite the rules of an entire domain, becoming a half-immortal.
Li Guanqi looked down at the two spirit herbs in his hands, deeply moved.
The three items Su Xuan had prepared for him each had a distinct purpose:
Breaking through, stabilizing the Dao, and preserving his life...
Li Guanqi took a deep breath as he watched the churning cloud bank gradually stabilize at ten thousand zhang.
Stowing the Nirvana Pagoda, he soared straight up a thousand zhang toward the clouds!
One man, one sword, standing resolute.
Chapter 1461