Narrow Encounter

Suddenly, a faint yet unmistakable pressure descended from the city wall, bearing down upon the three of them. A white-robed man standing on the battlements slowly rose to his feet. His gaze brimmed with menace, and his voice rang sharply in their ears. "If you three dare to exchange blows within the city, do not blame this Zhou for showing no mercy." "Take your personal vendettas outside!" Diya turned toward the battlements and offered a slight, respectful bow. Yet Tianlong was already tugging frantically at his clothes, slurring in an agitated stammer, "Run... he's r-running!!" "He got away!!" Diya started in surprise and looked back. Sure enough, Li Guanqi was nowhere in sight. Li Guanqi had flickered away, constantly altering his features, build, and even his clothing in rapid succession. In the blink of an eye, he had vanished without a trace. Tianlong frowned slightly and withdrew the jade flask from his robes, only to find that the essence blood inside had lost every trace of its spiritual glow! At that moment, Li Guanqi was hunched over, leaning on a walking cane. He appeared as an old man with a long white beard, tottering forward with frail, trembling steps. His face was utterly bloodless and his lips pale as ash, making him look like a dying invalid on his last breaths. To pull this off, he had forcibly halted the circulation of his own blood, encasing every drop in immortal primal energy. Only by doing so could he slip away from their pursuit within the bustling city. Li Guanqi had felt a profound sense of threat from the two of them! *They have to be men sent by Zhao Chengyong!* *Peak seventh-stage Mystic Immortals?* *No... even stronger! Most likely two eighth-stage Mystic Immortals!* Li Guanqi calculated his chances carefully. Against one, he might have been able to put up a desperate fight. Against two... he stood no chance! It was a simple matter of fundamental cultivation. Even with the aid of the Rakshasa Ghost Mask, unleashing everything he had to duel two eighth-stage experts would result in the mask draining him dry into a withered husk in less than the time it took an incense stick to burn. Li Guanqi deliberated for a long time. For now, he had to keep clear of them. However, they possessed a sample of his essence blood. He had to find a way to destroy it, or his movements would remain perpetually laid bare before them. Li Guanqi kept his head low, his eyes shifting. He could sense that the pair was on the very next street. Yet he dared not walk any faster, even forcing his heartbeat to maintain an ordinary, sluggish pace. *Can I use realm-severing techniques to separate them?* *No... with my current strength, the moment I expose myself, they'll surround and crush me!* *Besides, their auras stem from the exact same source. Are they brothers?* As he shuffled forward, Li Guanqi racked his brain for a way out. He sensed their presence drifting farther away until their auras vanished from his perception entirely. Still, he made no sudden moves. He simply dragged himself over to a roadside stone, panting heavily as he sat down, cold sweat beading on his forehead, looking for all the world like an exhausted old man catching his breath. Sure enough! Two figures appeared almost simultaneously at the eastern and western ends of the street! As though certain Li Guanqi had to be nearby, they pinched in from both directions, pacing forward at an unhurried stride. With every step they took, their divine senses swept over everyone around them, inspecting every person inch by inch. Li Guanqi kept his head bowed and gritted his teeth... *Boom!!!!* Li Guanqi suddenly erupted! Dozens of wild, crisscrossing sword rays tore through the air, instantly collapsing the surrounding buildings. Clouds of dust billowed upward, throwing the crowd into total pandemonium. Mingling with the panicked throngs, Li Guanqi shifted his appearance to that of a young man, feigning terror as he dashed toward the city ramparts. Yet the instant he took off, two streaks of sword light shot toward him from east and west almost simultaneously! Li Guanqi cursed inwardly. Their perception was terrifyingly sharp. From the moment they sealed off both ends of the street, they must have committed everyone present to memory. The moment he switched from an old man to a youth—one old man missing, one youth added—they spotted the discrepancy immediately. Li Guanqi leaped into the air, twisting his body to shoot straight through the narrow gap between the intersecting sword beams! The instant his feet touched the ground, his posture unfolded, a blood-red robe billowing in the wind. Crouching low with both hands gripping his sword, scarlet light blazed beneath his ghost mask. His aura surged straight to its absolute peak—seventh-stage Mystic Immortal! Yet the overwhelming pressure Li Guanqi radiated was not in the least inferior to either Tianlong or Diya. By now, the entire city was thrown into utter turmoil. The narrow street had emptied completely, cleared out as the suffocating pressure of three seventh- and eighth-stage Mystic Immortals rolled outward. Yet the guise Li Guanqi now revealed sent a cold dread through everyone's hearts! Over the past month and more, the turmoil surrounding the Tianhua Sword Sect had become a roaring scandal. Seeing this, the guard on the city wall felt a sudden glint of greed in his eyes. The bounty on Li Guanqi's head was a staggering three million immortal crystals! With a fortune like that, one could gorge on spirit pills all the way into the Heavenly Immortal realm. The man whirled around, donned a black cloak, and in the blink of an eye appeared on a rooftop overlooking the street. He was far from the only one. Dozens of auras, strong and weak, had gathered across the city. Black-robed figures sprang onto rooftops one after another, glaring hungrily down at the street below. Beneath the mask, Li Guanqi licked his lips. He wondered whether, if he went all out, he had a chance to instantly slay one of the pair. As for the rest of the restless cultivators surrounding them, he did not consider them a real threat. The only person who commanded his caution was the city's castellan. Fortunately... after such a massive commotion, there was still no movement from the castellan's estate. The castellan was very likely not in the city. Suddenly! A streak of sword light shot straight at Li Guanqi. It was like an opening signal; every pair of eyes was fixed on the prize of Li Guanqi's head. In an instant, dozens of dark shadows leaped into the sky, lunging toward him from all sides. Li Guanqi flicked his wrist and crushed a random teleportation scroll. A powerful spatial surge instantly engulfed him. *Swish!* *Rumble!!* Every incoming attack crashed into empty air as Li Guanqi's figure abruptly rematerialized dozens of li outside the city. Tianlong and Diya swayed and vanished on the spot. Each slapped a pale-blue inscribed talisman onto his leg. In a flash, they dissolved into gentle breezes, moving so fast they blurred. Two dark streaks shot like arrows in the direction Li Guanqi had gone. The others pursued in hot haste, setting the stage for a massive manhunt. Not only that, but many were already leaking word of Li Guanqi's whereabouts, calling on three to five friends in hopes of fishing in troubled waters to claim his life and the bounty. Li Guanqi fled into an expansive forest. As he searched his storage ring, his expression soured. He cursed under his breath, "Damn it, did Old Six Gu really draw so few teleportation talismans?" Even as he spoke, he slapped inscribed talismans onto tree trunks or buried them beneath the dirt. Moments later, Tianlong and Diya arrived, darting into the depths from the left and right. Yet not long after the pair rushed inside, the guard from the city wall suddenly felt his heart skip a beat. Turning his head, the corner of his eye caught sight of scarlet eyes glaring at him from beneath a hideous mask. "Are you... looking for me?" *Boom!!!* "Blood Twilight: World Annihilation!"