Hypocrites Deserve to Die!

Li Guanqi shadowed the youth in total silence. Though the youth swept his divine sense around with great caution, he never noticed Li Guanqi merely three zhang behind him. Soon, the youth arrived before an unremarkable-looking building. Once inside, he gave the inkstone on the desk a gentle twist. A massive bookcase split apart with a sudden groan, revealing a stone wall behind it. The youth pressed a jade pendant against the stone, and it slowly swung open. Li Guanqi's eyes flickered. Raising a hand, he flicked out an inscribed talisman. The inscribed talisman adhered silently to the youth's shoulder. From behind a nearby peak, Li Guanqi slowly closed his eyes. The next moment, his field of vision shifted, showing him the scene through the youth's own eyes. Thick, nauseating blood stench permeated the dim secret chamber. Sun Kui, who had looked the picture of immortal grace and dignity by day, now appeared like a malicious demon, dry silver hair falling in disarray over his shoulders. His face was haggard and withered, like a rotting corpse... Upon a blood-red altar about a zhang wide lay the boy named Xiaowen. The youth's eyes were gently closed, and a faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips as if he were lost in a pleasant dream. Yet his wrist had been slit, blood gushing forth in a steady stream. Li Guanqi frowned slightly. With his back turned to the youth, the old man spoke in a gravelly rasp. "How is that Li Congxin doing?" The youth swallowed hard and dropped to one knee, his face turning pale. "Replying to Sect Master, Li Congxin appears to be in his room studying the Record of Immortal Induction. He is still cultivating—there is nothing out of the ordinary." Sun Kui gave a slight nod. Breathing in through his nose and mouth, he drew the blood from the altar straight into his gullet. "Stall him for two more days. The powerhouses from the Tianshu Ascension Hall will arrive by then." "When that time comes, I'll exchange the Xuantian Pill for a Blood Jade Pill, and this little brat will no longer be needed." The youth hastily chimed in, "Indeed. Back then, Sect Master was wounded by the Green Shadow Mystic Snake, and the serpent's venom has festered within your body for centuries. Now, you can finally trade for a Blood Jade Pill." Sun Kui chuckled coldly. Strands of hair obscured most of his withered face, leaving only cold, glinting eyes visible. "When I received word yesterday from the Tianshu Ascension Platform, I could hardly believe it." "Not until that Li Congxin woke up and I met him in person!" The old man's voice sank lower. "That young man is definitely no ordinary sort. When he looked at me, he inadvertently leaked an elusive wisp of an aura at the peak of the Ascension realm." "And because of that, I became certain he is one of the two who got away." With that, Sun Kui turned his head and instructed, "Very well. Go on out. No need to keep a deliberate eye on him." "With the jade slip I gave him, I will sense it the instant he leaves." The youth gave a nod and turned to withdraw from the secret chamber. The vision vanished, and Li Guanqi's gaze turned razor-sharp. "Heh. What a Sanyuan Sect!" "As expected... no one treats you with kindness for no reason!" "Thinking about it now, where I was found must have already aroused the old fox's suspicions, hasn't it?" It made sense—with the commotion caused by the Green Shadow Mystic Snake and the Silverback Demonic Ape, there was no way Sun Kui wouldn't have noticed. Li Guanqi took out the jade slip and flicked it back into his room. The youth let out a breath of relief as he stepped out of the building. Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "Once I master the Juque Heart Method, I'm never staying in this place again!" Yet no sooner had the words left his mouth than a blood-red sword glinting with frigid light flashed through the moonlight! *Squelch!* This strike... It was faster than any swordsmanship he had ever witnessed. Powerless to resist, blood erupted from his neck. The man who was supposed to be meditating in his room now stood right before his eyes! Dressed in a white robe, those pure-white eyes gleamed with icy killing intent. Even in death, he could never fathom how a man radiating only the aura of the Mahayana realm could have butchered him in an instant! Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. With a crisp snap, he crushed the jade slip, his figure turning into a bolt of lightning that vanished into the night! Yet the instant he left, Sun Kui detected it from within the secret chamber. *Boom!* An explosion rang out as the secret chamber's doors and the building above burst apart. Catching sight of the dead youth, Sun Kui roared in fury, "Disciples of the Sanyuan Sect, hear my command!" "Wu Wei has been slain! Intercept and execute Li Congxin with everything you have! Dead or alive!" *Clang, clang, clang!* Ringing sword cries pierced the air. *Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!* Air whistled as Li Guanqi clearly felt the killing intent surging from behind. Sun Kui rushed back into the secret chamber, sealed the boy's wound, shut the heavy doors, and leaped into the sky with sword in hand! Moving like lightning, he left a trail of afterimages in the air. Holding his longsword, Sun Kui produced a jade slip with his other hand and said in a grave voice, "Commander Zhao, he realized something was wrong and fled!" Soon, Zhao He's voice came through the jade slip. "Pin him down! You will not be cheated of your reward!" Cutting off the transmission, Zhao He looked back at the four black-armored guards behind him and barked, "Speed up! He must be eliminated!" Five silhouettes turned into streaks of light and shot forward. Zhao He and his retinue were still a full two thousand li away from the Sanyuan Sect's peak. Yet two thousand li was hardly an insurmountable distance in the eyes of a Mystic Immortal; it would take no more than the time for a stick of incense to burn. Li Guanqi changed into a black robe, his countenance grim and frigid. Licking his lips, Red Lotus trembled with excitement in his grip. By now, the disciples of the Sanyuan Sect were barely a thousand zhang behind him. *Hum!* "Dark Concealment." *Whoosh!* Over a dozen Sanyuan Sect disciples instantly lost all trace of Li Guanqi. No matter how hard they swept their divine senses across the terrain, they found not a single clue. Yet right then, dozens of sword beams flashed from the dark forest! The dazzling sword light burst with power so fierce it struck terror into their hearts! One Sanyuan Sect disciple had just turned his head when he saw his own back. Immediately after, three lifeless bodies plunged from midair! Though they were Mahayana realm cultivators, not one could withstand a single blow from Li Guanqi! "Careful! His strength is terrifying!" "Regroup! Group up! Don't let him pick us off one by one!" Chaotic shouts broke out as the survivors scrambled to bunch together. Yet a deep streak of purple lightning flashed past. Li Guanqi's sword was fast beyond measure. *Clang, clang!* Only two parries managed to sound. *Slash! Crack! Thud!* Thunder flashed, severed limbs flew through the air, and amidst sprays of scarlet blood, another four corpses dropped from the sky. Li Guanqi swept up all the storage rings from the dead. With warm blood spattered across his face, Li Guanqi crouched low, glaring at them like a vicious beast primed to tear flesh from bone. The remaining six men trembled all over, their faces as pale as paper. Li Guanqi's aura climbed higher and higher, breaking through to the Tribulation Transcendence realm in the blink of an eye and pressing directly toward the Ascension realm! Li Guanqi sheathed his sword, shifted his stance slightly, and murmured beneath flashing arcs of thunder: "Sword-Drawing Stance: Dance of God Burial!" *Boom!* Half the firmament was overtaken by the descending tempest. Countless sword lights of lightning flashed and vanished! Li Guanqi swept past, blood dripping from the hem of his black robe. Sword in hand, Li Guanqi tilted his head slightly toward Sun Kui, who had finally arrived a hundred zhang away. "Hypocrites deserve to die!" *Boom!* The aura of the Ascension realm erupted violently, surging upward at an unbelievable speed! Li Guanqi's black robe snapped furiously in the wind, spattering the blood soaked into the cloth across midair. In an instant, he broke through to the peak of the Ascension realm—half-step Mystic Immortal! Li Guanqi's eyes flickered. He could already sense several exceptionally powerful auras closing in rapidly from the distance.