Li Guanqi understood clearly that the gulf between them and Zhao He was far from negligible.
A cultivator who had undergone the true baptism of the Immortal Realm's Mystic Immortal tribulation possessed both a cultivation realm and an internal origin recognized by the Immortal Realm itself.
On top of that, neither Li Guanqi nor Shi Lin had fully adjusted to their new surroundings.
They could only bring roughly seventy percent of their true strength to bear.
Throughout the battle, Li Guanqi was continuously adapting to the crushing weight of the Immortal Realm.
He had faced Mystic Immortal cultivators back in the Human Spirit Realm, of course.
The young cultivator he had slain, Tu Yuan, had broken through to the Mystic Immortal realm at the final juncture as well.
Yet Tu Yuan had possessed the realm in name only back then.
In the Human Spirit Realm, the power inside Tu Yuan had not been composed entirely of immortal primal energy.
In contrast, the man before them was a second-layer Mystic Immortal who had been an immortal for who knew how many years—a genuine, bona fide immortal!
The fundamental gap between Li Guanqi and his adversary came down to the sheer volume of immortal primal energy and their comprehension of the laws.
Grasping his longsword, Li Guanqi showed not a trace of fear.
When Zhao He looked at him, a flicker of gravity surfaced in the depths of his eyes.
The sword in Zhao He's grip flared with an earthy yellow luster, entwined with immortal charm, turning incomparably keen in an instant.
Li Guanqi sensed something unusual. Wasn't that the Soul Release of the man's sword?
Yet Li Guanqi noticed that the blade itself underwent almost no outward change.
Instead, it achieved Soul Release in a manner Li Guanqi had never seen before:
A method that forcefully drove the blade with immortal primal energy and immortal charm as its foundation.
In the Human Spirit Realm, cultivators used ruins as artifacts, treating the ruins artifact as the foundation to resonate mind-to-mind with their swords, prompting the blades to transform and unleash the unique capabilities of their Sword Ruins.
Did cultivators of the Immortal Realm not know how to do this?
Li Guanqi sneered. If that was the case...
"Apocalypse: Red Lotus Sky Dance!!"
Boom!
Red Lotus hummed with ringing sword cries as a terrifying sword might suffused the firmament.
A crimson radiance coursed along the spine of Red Lotus.
Upon the guard, the petals that had originally gathered to enfold the blade slowly bloomed open.
The power unleashed by Red Lotus startled Zhao He, causing his pupils to contract slightly.
"What... what kind of power is this?"
When Li Guanqi unleashed the power of his Sword Ruins in full, the entire sky was veiled in a sheet of blood-red.
With the abilities of his Sword Ruins running at full bore, Li Guanqi radiated an overpowering momentum.
It was enough to make many onlookers forget that he was merely at the Ascension Realm.
Not far off, Shi Lin was equally shaken by the power Li Guanqi displayed.
"What a terrifying fellow. Is he truly a cultivator from the Human Spirit Realm?"
Seizing the opening while Zhao He was momentarily distracted, Shi Lin struck out with ferocious resolve!
Li Guanqi charged forward with raised blade, opening with an aggressive draped-sword posture, cloud-hands weaving around the blade!
Zhao He hurriedly swung his sword to parry, only to discover that Li Guanqi's blade was always half a step ahead of him.
No matter how Zhao He struck, it seemed as if the youth could see right through every feint, launching his counter in advance.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Clang, clang, swish, swish!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The clash grew exceptionally fierce. With just one man and one sword, Li Guanqi forced Zhao He into a corner where he had no room to mind Shi Lin behind him!
Whether in swordsmanship, immortal primal energy, or physical might, Li Guanqi was utterly monstrous.
His reserves of divine sense were even more astonishing, falling not an ounce short of a Mystic Immortal who had weathered an immortal tribulation!
The afterimages of sword light blurred into an unbroken sheet before Zhao He's eyes, and he swung his weapon in defense almost by pure instinct.
He gave ground with every blow, his robes shredded and his composure crumbling into dishevelment.
Gradually, Zhao He's expression darkened.
He had never imagined that a newly ascended cultivator could ever push him to such an extent!
Clang!
Li Guanqi's strike crashed against Zhao He's sword.
Sparks scattered in all directions. What Zhao He never expected, however, was that Li Guanqi actually released his grip on the hilt...
Li Guanqi opened his palm and shoved hard against the base of the hilt.
The crimson blade spun a full circle around Zhao He's sword, and Li Guanqi snatched the hilt once more, pressing down violently!
Squelch!
Red Lotus bit two finger-widths deep into Zhao He's shoulder. Blood dyed the man's long robe as spasms of agonizing pain tore through him.
More than that, terrifying thunder and flames erupted, surging through the open wound straight into his body.
Zhao He went numb in an instant, and his meridians were scorched to cinders by the fire!
Bang!
Li Guanqi took a kick to the chest and was hurled backward, coughing up a mouthful of blood as he roared:
"Shi Lin!"
Zhao He suddenly felt a shadow loom over him.
The burly man's eyes blazed with fire, and his arms, coated in fiery-red scales, were thrust high into the air.
In a flash, his arms combusted, and beneath the coiling flames, the temperature of the sky spiked sharply.
Scorching laws of fire permeated the void, and amid the sea of flames, an intensely terrifying Soul Realm fist intent wrapped around the man.
A fiery fist-gale three feet across came crashing straight down toward Zhao He's head!
"Seven Treasures Mirror: Ward!"
Buzz!
The bronze mirror hovering beside the man flared with brilliant light, trembling slightly as it swept downward, multiplying into dozens of identical bronze mirrors.
The mirrors' radiances linked together, presenting an exceptionally formidable defense.
Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. Having fought so hard to forge this opening, how could he fail to anticipate this move from Zhao He?
Electric arcs of thunder seemed to leak from Li Guanqi's mouth as he planted his feet against empty air, forcibly checking his backward momentum.
Bending low to gather force, he shot forward at an unbelievable speed!
Threads of blood coiled about the blade of Red Lotus, cloaked within his thunder-flame immortal primal energy.
The Sword Ruins' Blade Break and Spirit Absolution were pushed to their utmost limits.
Shi Lin heard only a single word beside his ear—"Full power"—and then nothing more.
Sharing the same perilous plight, an unspoken trust had formed between the two.
Shi Lin drove the primal energy within him once more, and the flames flared with renewed fury.
This punch carried every ounce of his might!
The fist-gale condensed into near solidity, on the verge of slamming into the shield of bronze mirrors.
Yet right at that instant, a streak of blood-red sword light flashed and vanished!
Bang! Crack, crack, crack!
"Dark Moon Slash!"
Boom!
The bronze mirror abruptly exploded. A prime grade immortal weapon was cleaved to pieces by Li Guanqi with a single stroke!
The moment the bronze mirror shattered, neither Zhao He nor Shi Lin could have foreseen it.
Shi Lin's fist slammed down with crushing force—and whether intentionally or not, a jagged shard of the bronze mirror was wedged between his knuckles!
Sheer terror seized Zhao He's heart as the aura of death descended upon him.
A jade ring upon his fingertip was crushed to powder in a split second.
Having delivered his slash, Li Guanqi swept his blade upward from below, forming a pincer attack alongside Shi Lin!
"Red Lotus: God Burial Dance!"
Boom!
All anyone could see was the sky erupting into a dazzling blaze of sword light.
That horrifying speed of swordplay was enough to send a chill down the spine of anyone who caught a glimpse of it.
Numerous cultivators were already rising to their feet, preparing to intervene.
Yet under the full-power outburst of Li Guanqi and Shi Lin, the sky of blazing flames and crackling thunder veiled all sight.
Two afterimages shot toward the outer perimeter of the plaza in an instant!
Both Li Guanqi and Shi Lin understood that whether they could slay Zhao He or not, if they did not run...
The sheer number of cultivators guarding the Ascension Platform would be more than enough to overwhelm them.
The wisest choice was to severely wound Zhao He with everything they had and flee immediately!
Roar!
Shi Lin reverted to his true form as a fire qilin, carrying Li Guanqi across the sky in a headlong rush.
His speed blurred into a streak, leaving the gathered cultivators with only the fleeting sight of a line of fire trailing an exhaust of flame as it flashed past and vanished!
Chapter 1559