Old Man Lu!

Just as everyone looked into the distance with full confidence, their hearts clenched involuntarily! The black-robed man stood where he had been, completely unscathed. The flames enveloping his body writhed like a living creature, morphing into a three-headed giant serpent that bared its bloody jaws, flickering its tongue and hissing at the group! Li Guanqi licked his lips, finally feeling the elder's full pressure... Peak mid-Ascension realm. Strong—monstrously strong! The power of laws he commanded was nearly on the same level as Wen Guyan's! It was the same origin energy of an ordinary fire spiritual root, yet the might unleashed in this man's hands was hundreds, thousands of times greater than what Cao Yan and the others could muster! Li Guanqi did not turn around. With his back to them, he spoke softly. "All right, that's enough. Stand down... You can't hurt him." The moment the words left his mouth, Ye Feng spoke in a rapid, low voice. "Big Brother, we haven't even used our full strength yet!" Li Guanqi raised his hand. A dense power of laws saturated the void, and his Ascension realm pressure erupted with full force! Boom! The void shattered. Nearly every person turned pale, their breath catching in their chests. Li Guanqi spoke in a calm voice. "The Ascension realm... is not something the Tribulation Transcendence realm can contend with." As his voice fell, several thick bolts of lightning crashed down in succession! With an overwhelming, unstoppable momentum, the lightning laws instantly crushed the power the others had built up! Their expressions changed drastically. In that single instant, they had all felt a power descend like the magnificent majesty of heaven itself! At that moment, everyone fell silent. Only now did they realize just how terrifying the gulf between the Tribulation Transcendence realm and the Ascension realm truly was. The two realms were directly adjacent, yet Ascension exerted a crushing, devastating suppression over Tribulation Transcendence. Ye Feng clenched his teeth so hard he bit through a piece of his lip, blood streaming down his chin. The hand gripping his sword trembled slightly... He had thought he was strong enough now—strong enough to stand at Li Guanqi's side and be of help. Yet now... Xiao Chen let out a bitter, low growl. "Even so, if we flank him and support from the side, we can still be of some use!" Even Gu Li frowned slightly, wanting to say something. Ye Feng suddenly lowered his head and roared, "Enough!! Go..." With that, Ye Feng tore open the space and stepped through. He looked back at the companions who had not moved and barked, "Staying here only makes us dead weight! Don't... be dead weight..." Speaking those last words tore at Ye Feng's heart. He had never imagined that after struggling and fighting with all his might until today, he would still end up being 'dead weight.' Cao Yan and Xiao Chen's expressions shifted. Looking back once more at the white-robed back gripping a longsword, they turned and stepped into the rift. Not just them—Gu Li, Tang Ru, and Meng Wanshu, her expression complex, were all full of reluctance and resentment. Yet none of them lingered. Ye Feng's words were entirely true. If they stayed, they would only end up becoming a burden! As Cao Yan turned away, blood dripped from his palm; his fingernails had dug deep into his flesh without him even realizing it. If anyone among them suffered the most, it was probably him. Ye Feng had pushed himself to the brink chasing Li Guanqi's footsteps, and Cao Yan had done the exact same thing. Yet no matter how desperately he struggled, in the end he was still one step behind. Among this group, setting aside Li Guanqi and Ye Feng, as well as Gu Li who hoarded talismans, Cao Yan could only measure himself against Xiao Chen and Tang Ru, over whom he held an edge. He had followed Li Guanqi longer than anyone except Ye Feng, and the brotherhood between them ran deeper than with most. Whenever he had a spare moment, he spent almost all of it inside the Nirvana Pagoda. Among them, his cultivation was the most painstaking. Yet... today... A heavy sense of powerlessness welled up inside him... That bitter frustration dragged him into self-doubt. Looking at the companions around him the instant he stepped into the dark void, he suddenly felt a jarring sense of alienation. Perhaps... he was the fool—the one of mediocre talent who harbored delusions of reaching the heavens. Cao Yan's eyes grew dim. Xiao Chen, however, noticed his abnormal state. Halting abruptly, Xiao Chen threw a punch straight into Cao Yan's shoulder, knocking him into a stumble. Cao Yan looked up at him in confusion. "What are you moping for? Aren't we all in the same boat?" "If you've got this fire burning in your gut, then when we get back, just cultivate with your life on the line!" "How long have we even walked the path of cultivation? Not even fifty years! What are you doubting yourself for?" Gu Li, meanwhile, seemed to have fallen into a frenzy. His eyes were blank, and he kept muttering under his breath: "I'm going to create an inscribed talisman that can blow an Ascension expert to pieces! Blow Ascension to pieces!!" "I need to create stronger talismans... I must create stronger talismans!!!" At this moment, no one noticed that Meng Wanshu's eyes were equally somber. The young woman looked back toward the closing rift. For a fleeting moment, she seemed to see a woman in red standing behind Li Guanqi. Though she knew it was an illusion, the feeling cut Meng Wanshu to the quick. The realization that she could not stand by his side made her heart twist with agony. Yet precisely because of this, the competitive drive deep within Meng Wanshu was completely ignited! She clenched her fists tightly, keeping her head lowered, lost in thought. In the years to come, she would rely on her own strength to stand at his side and face formidable foes together! *** High above the Great Xia Sword Sect. Li Guanqi watched the rift seal shut, then tilted his head slightly toward the black-robed man. "To be honest, I'm quite curious about your identity, Old Man Lu." Hearing this, the other man neither confirmed nor denied it. The elder still did not pull back his black robe, seemingly content to let Li Guanqi guess. In truth, there was little need for guessing. Both men knew the truth in their hearts. "Your grandfather's strength is truly terrifying..." Li Guanqi smiled faintly, traced a casual flourish with his sword, and looked up at the sky. "Indeed..." "Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone to such great lengths to obscure heavenly secrets, nor would you stand here chatting with me so leisurely." The elder did not deny it. He was undeniably wary of Su Xuan's strength. Yet Li Guanqi's next words made his heart leap into his throat. "Care to guess... whether my grandfather will show up?" The elder's breath hitched noticeably, his body stiffening slightly. "Tell me... do you think my grandfather might strike Qingyun Continent with his blade?" The elder suddenly chuckled. "If that old fellow were able to project his divine sense here, he would have swung his blade long ago. He wouldn't have waited until now." Li Guanqi shrugged, knowing the man would not fall for the bluff. Even so, he was fundamentally certain of the other's identity: it was Old Man Lu from Fulong Village all those years ago! Li Guanqi slowly tightened his grip on his sword, his momentum steadily rising. As immortal primal energy circulated within him, his aura erupted with a thunderous roar. Boom! Endless thunder and flame swept out in all directions. Unfurling spatial power, Li Guanqi slashed out three sword strikes. As the three strikes flashed past, the space within a hundred li was forcibly severed into an independent domain realm! Li Guanqi had no intention of letting this battle destroy the foundation of the Great Xia Sword Sect. Then, Li Guanqi fixed his gaze on his opponent and spoke in a chilling, low whisper. "I have only one question." "Are my sister's ashes... in your hands?"