Li Guanqi shifted sideways, thrusting his sword while sweeping his leg outward.
A biting sword ray skimmed past the crown of Li Guanqi's head, but his whip-kick lashed out like a sharp axe, snapping a cultivator's neck.
Leaning backward to evade two arcs of sword light, he planted one hand on the ground and brought his right foot crashing downward in an axe kick!
His right hand darted out, crushing another man's throat.
Spinning back two steps, he leaped forward, seizing a wrist and forcing it down to snap an arm.
His blade danced, whipping back to parry behind him, before he stepped forward with a front kick that shattered someone's knee.
Spinning into a straight thrust, he pierced through a skull, pulled the blade free, and struck the incoming tip of another sword with his pommel with unerring precision.
Like a dancer, Li Guanqi shifted and leaped across the Dao platform amidst a blinding frenzy of blades and swords.
Ruthless in his strikes, savage in his sword light.
After a dozen breaths or so, only four formidable cultivators remained around him, standing guardedly in four directions with intense vigilance in their eyes.
Li Guanqi dangled a limp corpse from one hand and offered a faint smile.
His breathing was slightly hurried.
With a flick of his hand, he hurled the corpse off the platform.
Corpses were piled all around him; stepping slowly atop them, Li Guanqi looked down upon the four from his vantage point.
This sensation of life-and-death combat set Li Guanqi's blood pounding, immersing him completely.
Walking upon edges of blades, roaming between life and death.
Immortal essence roared and surged within Li Guanqi's body, his blood churning as if on fire.
He deeply relished the feeling of his sword acting as an extension of his will, cleaving with wild abandon.
Blood dripped from the tattered hem of his black robe. Li Guanqi simply stood atop the mound of corpses, gazing impassively at the men.
Suddenly!
A man drenched in blood backed away slowly with saber in hand, turning his sights on other targets.
Time was running short for them. If he took his chances against someone else right now, he might still have an opportunity.
He didn't want to waste any more time on Li Guanqi.
Besides...
With just the few of them left, he had a strong premonition that he was very likely to die here.
The alliance, already fragile, collapsed completely because of his departure.
The remaining three exchanged wary glances and chose to leave as well.
The brutal battle raged on, but nobody dared challenge Li Guanqi anymore.
Li Guanqi's strength was evident to all; even Pei Tianchen of the Tianhua Sword Sect had reined in his contempt.
From the current display, slaying cultivators at the fourth layer of Mystic Immortal was effortless for Li Guanqi.
The pile of corpses beneath his feet was undeniable proof.
Li Guanqi glanced at the sandalwood incense stick, of which only about one-sixth remained, various thoughts darting through his mind.
He glanced up toward where the cultivators of the Tianhua Sword Sect sat.
There was no small number of Heavenly Immortal elders and consecrated elders among them, and Chen Tianhua had not left.
The Tianhua Sword Sect disciples were mostly at the third layer of Mystic Immortal, with several at the fourth layer.
Yet what caught Li Guanqi's closest attention was still that Pei Tianchen!
Countless thoughts flashed across his mind; Li Guanqi suddenly felt that Pei Tianchen was acting far too calm.
Li Guanqi swept his gaze over the area; the fighting was drawing to a close.
Even so, the few fifth-layer Mystic Immortals among the contestants were by no means ordinary!
Narrowing his eyes, Li Guanqi lowered his head, concealing himself beneath his black robe.
*That Pei Tianchen's strength... is probably more than just the fifth layer of Mystic Immortal, isn't it?*
*Even the sect master personally came forward, which clearly means they are determined to obtain whatever is inside the secret realm.*
*Lost a dozen or so disciples? Heh, I'd say it's far more than that...*
*A secret realm opened twice before, costing at least thirty lives or more, yet they're sending fifty disciples...*
Li Guanqi deduced their motives from the current situation.
*The rest of us are probably just pathfinders, aren't we?*
*And this so-called competition for spots was also meant to assess everyone's strength.*
For he noticed that from the very beginning, the disciples of the Tianhua Sword Sect had been scrutinizing the battles on the Dao platforms.
Unlike the spectators who watched merely for excitement, those disciples each focused on different locations, each fixing their gaze on a specific platform.
Li Guanqi seemed to grasp what was happening.
He calculated quietly in his mind.
Soon, the fighting ended.
Li Guanqi's brow knitted slightly. It had turned out just as he had expected.
In such a secret realm, the treasures inside were bound to be immensely alluring; anyone with a chance would gamble on it.
Consequently, those remaining on the Dao platforms were all injured to varying degrees.
Some were even severely wounded.
Chen Tianhua flickered over, appearing before the rift.
"Very well. Now that the remaining spots have been determined, this old man shall open the secret realm."
The corner of Li Guanqi's lips curved into a cold sneer. Without hesitation, he swallowed a medicinal pill to begin healing.
Now was not the time to be frugal.
Then, masking his actions with immortal essence, he changed into a fresh black robe and dispersed the bloodstains.
As Chen Tianhua spoke, four Heavenly Immortal experts swooped in, each taking a position in one cardinal direction with Chen Tianhua at the center.
In an instant, an immensely potent pressure erupted from the five of them, instantly flooding the void.
Meanwhile, a golden barrier slowly rose from the Dao platform where Li Guanqi stood.
Guided by an invisible pull, the barrier's radiance connected with the spatial rift of the secret realm.
Yet the moment the barrier rose, Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes, his immortal essence roaring under his black robe to form a protective shield.
Almost in the blink of an eye, everyone was sucked into the rift by an enigmatic force.
Li Guanqi had been mentally prepared. The instant his consciousness cleared, he immediately activated his Dragon Transformation and utilized the abilities of the Demon King Physique to conceal his form!
Miasma!
Poisonous swamp!
A brilliant, synchronized volley of sword light erupted across the sky.
All the disciples of the Tianhua Sword Sect had entered a step ahead of the platform contestants.
A full fifty Mystic Immortals were actually lying in wait at the entrance, slaughtering the entrants!
Several sword rays skimmed right past Li Guanqi's scalp.
Holding a cultivator in front of him with one hand as a shield, Li Guanqi had weathered the sudden ambush.
Forming a protective shield with his surging immortal essence, Li Guanqi soundlessly sank into the poisonous swamp, watching the scene with cold, detached eyes.
Likewise, many other cultivators who managed to react displayed their various abilities and fled the scene.
Yet in this single ambush, over thirty cultivators were slain by the disciples of the Tianhua Sword Sect!
Blood splattered across Pei Tianchen's fair complexion. Holding his sword upright, he narrowed his eyes.
"Gather the corpses and any survivors. Form squads of ten, and follow me!"
Pei Tianchen did not order them to pursue the rest.
Those escapees had already utilized escape techniques at top speed, vanishing into the murky miasma.
Several disciples answered in deep voices and promptly split up to depart.
After a while, Li Guanqi slowly emerged from the foul-smelling mire.
His eyes narrowed.
On the ankle of a disciple from one of the squads was an inconspicuous inscribed talisman.
His eyes flickered. Without the slightest hesitation, he cautiously advanced, following that faint, invisible aura.
Concealing his figure as he moved forward, Li Guanqi warily probed the surrounding environment.
This place... was somewhat different from what he had imagined.
Suddenly!
Deep within the poisonous swamp, Li Guanqi spotted a corpse.
Channeling his immortal essence, he plunged downward and quickly hauled the body up.
The flesh and blood had been corroded beyond recognition, but the robes worn on the body remained identifiable—they were the disciple robes of the Tianhua Sword Sect!
Chapter 1601