Li Guanqi had no idea why the other party was so eager for him to come out.
Right then, light flickered to Li Guanqi's left as an afterimage gradually coalesced.
The young man beside Li Guanqi's eyes lit up. He took to the air in a wild dash, but someone beat him to it, taking a stance right before the entrance of that Ascension Platform.
A burly man laughed heartily.
"Hahahaha, one from the Monster Spirit Realm!"
"Zhou Xuanze, looks like your luck isn't quite as good!"
The delicate-featured youth cursed under his breath. "Damn it, Cao Dong! Just how many immortal crystals did you bribe Commander Zhao to let you watch over the Monster Spirit Realm's Ascension Platform?"
"I've killed so many humans lately I'm fucking numb..."
Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. Though he could not hear their exchange, he could read their lips and understand what was said.
*Killing people? Do they only kill those from the Human Spirit Realm?*
Right as the thought crossed his mind, what happened next made his brow furrow even deeper.
Within the Ascension Platform, the figure of an aloof, cold-tempered woman slowly took shape.
Her detached, cool demeanor drew even Li Guanqi's silent admiration.
Although he could not sense any aura beyond the barrier, Li Guanqi could tell from her eyes:
She was definitely one of the preeminent figures in her home spirit realm!
Between the woman's brows was a spirit seal shaped like an ancient tree.
The woman looked vigilantly at the man, her eyes flickering as she seemed to analyze the situation before her.
Suddenly!
The burly man called Cao Dong roared with laughter and lunged forward, clawing his hand straight for the woman's neck!
Bang!
The barrier shattered with a thunderous roar. The man curled his lips in mockery. "An early Tribulation Transcendence realm monster spirit?"
The woman's reaction was swift. With a wave of her hand, countless vines and thorns twined forth.
Yet the man seemed exceptionally powerful; all of her resistance proved futile.
Under her terrified gaze, the massive hand seized her by the neck and violently hauled her out of the Immortal Ascension Platform.
As shock and disbelief filled her eyes, the burly man brought his blade down, cleaving off her head in one clean strike!
Splatter!
Blood sprayed across the ground, splashing all over the man's face.
Yet the man's expression was ecstatic. He cast a spiritual light with a flick of his wrist.
The woman's body instantly dissolved, collapsing in the blink of an eye into an orb of jade-green spiritual light.
Within the flickering radiance, the woman's true form was faintly visible.
The man swallowed the spiritual light whole. In an instant, his muscles bulged slightly, and his power surged violently!
Envy flashed across Zhou Xuanze's eyes.
"Dogshit luck, seriously! Guarding the platform for sixty years and hitting one monster spirit ascension—he made back his investment in a single breath!"
Li Guanqi witnessed this cold-blooded, heartless scene, his heart on absolute high alert!
*It seems... survival at these Ascension Platforms is far from guaranteed!*
The youth turned to look at Li Guanqi, his gaze hostile.
Walking over to a brazier nearby, he pulled out a branding iron and sneered coldly, "Are you coming out on your own, or do I have to drag you out?"
"Which Human Spirit Realm are you from?"
Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes and offered no answer.
His thoughts raced. Since the man had asked this question...
...saying the Youhuang Realm would almost certainly invite mortal pursuit!
Just as Li Guanqi was weighing his options, a vast surge of immortal spiritual energy within the Ascension Platform suddenly enveloped him!
The youth's face changed slightly. The burly man not far away also flew over to his side, his beady eyes raking over Li Guanqi.
"Heh, an immortal spirit baptism! Kid, your luck isn't bad at all!"
"If you take this immortal spirit baptism, you might actually be ready to enter seclusion and make a push for Mystic Immortal!"
The youth licked his lips, his gaze toward Li Guanqi growing feverish.
A little uneasy, he glanced at the burly man and murmured, "Killing him... won't cause trouble, will it?"
The burly man sneered dismissively. "Most of these ascending sods end up sold to sects to mine ore anyway. What's the harm if one or two die?"
"Besides, didn't Commander Zhao say so himself? Kill every single one that comes from the Youhuang Realm."
"When the time comes, just say he came from the Youhuang Realm."
Hearing this, greed flickered in Zhou Xuanze's eyes.
"There are well over a thousand ascension reception grounds in the Fuyu Lands, yet they're dead set on finding cultivators from the Youhuang Realm."
"Just yesterday I killed someone from a Human Spirit Realm, and the guy didn't have a single thing of value on him."
"Who'd have thought today would bring such an unexpected surprise!"
With that, the youth unhesitatingly tossed the branding iron aside and struck his palm against the barrier of the Ascension Platform!
Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes, a glint of icy killing intent surfacing within them.
Sweeping his gaze around, he noted roughly a hundred cultivators scattered across the plaza.
Judging from how that burly man had struck earlier, he estimated none of these people had reached the Mystic Immortal realm!
They were likely just lackeys in the Ascension realm assigned to watch over this place.
At that moment, several other Ascension Platforms flickered faintly with light. Catching a glimpse from the corner of his eye, Li Guanqi noticed a burly, bare-chested man.
Withdrawing his gaze, Li Guanqi felt the power descending from the firmament to be immense.
It was potent enough to break through to the late Ascension realm!
The baptism of heaven and earth was the Immortal Realm's acknowledgment of ascending cultivators from the lower realms.
Under ordinary circumstances, this baptism only occurred when reaching the peak of the Ascension realm and breaking through to the Mystic Immortal realm.
Yet Li Guanqi was different. Half of the energy in his body was already immortal primal energy.
Furthermore, he bore the seal of power left behind by Su Xuan within him.
Sensing this, the world naturally bestowed the power of baptism upon Li Guanqi.
Zhou Xuanze had no idea what Li Guanqi's situation was. His expression twisting with ferocity, he slammed his palm onto the barrier, intending to shatter it, drag Li Guanqi out, and claim the baptism entirely for himself.
Yet just as his hand shattered the barrier, a blurred afterimage of chilling light flashed and vanished!
Slash!
"Ahhh! My hand!!"
In the distance, the burly man narrowed his eyes and muttered solemnly, "What a fast sword. This guy is no simple character..."
Zhou Xuanze stumbled back two steps, his severed wrist smooth as a mirror.
Li Guanqi circulated his cultivation method, ravenously devouring and refining the incoming power.
He raised his eyes and cast an indifferent glance at the youth.
"Do not reach for what is mine."
As he absorbed more and more, the shimmering baptism of immortal spirit gradually formed a vortex.
Seeing this, Zhou Xuanze grew frantic. How could he possibly let go of an opportunity dropped right into his lap?!
"Lower-realm bastard, you're asking for death!!"
The immortal primal energy within Li Guanqi multiplied rapidly, his flesh and blood groaning under the strain.
From the inside out, the Immortal Realm's baptism transformed his flesh, blood, and primal energy.
His aura climbed relentlessly, reaching the peak of the mid Ascension realm in the blink of an eye—with an impeccably solid foundation.
A few more breaths, and he could ride this momentum to smash through the bottleneck and break through to the late Ascension realm in a single burst!
Such a supreme opportunity was beyond compare.
Just then, however, the burly man turned, held up a finger, and chuckled, "Zhou Xuanze, want a hand?"
"Just a hundred first-grade immortal crystals."
Zhou Xuanze sneered and made a beckoning gesture with one hand!
"He's merely an ascender from the lower realms! I can still kill him myself!!"
"Soul Rending Banner!!!"
A ghastly pale banner shot forth like a beam of light from the center of the plaza.
Bizarrely, skewered atop that banner was a corpse, beaten beyond recognition.
When Li Guanqi looked up, his eyes nearly split with rage, filled with bloodshot veins.
Li Guanqi clenched his fists, his entire body trembling slightly!
An icy killing intent surged outward.
Never in his wildest dreams did he expect to see a familiar face here...
Much less a corpse mangled beyond recognition by torture...
At this moment, any goodwill Li Guanqi held toward the Immortal Realm vanished without a trace!
Creaks and cracks groaned from the barrier before him under intolerable pressure as fine fissures spread across its surface.
"Senior Chan Kongzi..."
Chapter 1554