The onlookers were still watching the commotion, and the black market's guardian had already stepped within the barrier.
Yet right at that moment, everyone caught sight of a dazzling, ferocious flash of scarlet sword light that vanished in an instant!
Not a single sword mark was left upon the surrounding alley walls.
Yet the two Heavenly Immortal first layer cultivators had already been hacked into countless severed chunks!
Li Guanqi's black robe shattered, revealing a grotesque, menacing ghost mask to everyone's eyes!
Eerie, blood-red tendrils danced wild in midair across the uncanny longsword.
The blade drank blood, yet remained untainted by even a single drop.
The sight scared Zhu Genfu out of his wits.
Collapsing to the ground with an ashen face, his crotch soaked through, he scrambled backward on all fours.
Not just Zhu Genfu—even the surrounding cultivators who had been watching with beaming smiles now recoiled repeatedly!
Those were two genuine Heavenly Immortal cultivators!
In a single breath... in merely the blink of an eye, nothing remained on the ground but dry chunks of hacked flesh.
And Li Guanqi's appearance was recognized by more than a few people!
"The ghost-masked sword cultivator... he's that sword cultivator from Qinzhou!"
"*Hiss!* He actually came to Quping Continent!"
"Disaster... Liuyang Manor has provoked a god of slaughter this time!"
Tales of Li Guanqi had long spread across both continents, let alone through the black market.
Anyone capable of coming to a black market knew at least something about him.
Lightning surged around Li Guanqi, yet he merely raised his head and slowly sheathed his sword, standing upright.
The slovenly old man who had been guarding the entrance looked up at Li Guanqi, his turbid eyes calm as an abyss.
"Brat, you broke the rules."
Li Guanqi cast an indifferent glance at Zhu Genfu on the ground and said slowly, "He was the one who broke the rules, not me. My transaction was already complete, and he tried to rob me. Shouldn't I strike back?"
By now, quite a few cultivators from the surrounding black market courtyards emerged as well.
They looked at Li Guanqi with unkind gazes; after all, the disturbance just now had disrupted their business.
Hunching his back, the old man shuffled forward. With just a slight lift of his foot, he appeared three chi in front of Li Guanqi in the very next breath.
The elder slowly drew his right hand from behind his back.
Then, extending two fingers, he reached toward Li Guanqi!
Yet in that instant, Li Guanqi discovered to his horror that he could not move at all—he couldn't even mobilize the immortal primal energy within his body!
A terrifyingly immense pressure bound him firmly in place!
The elder casually pressed his withered fingers together and brought them toward the space between Li Guanqi's brows.
The Rakshasa Ghost Mask's spiritual light swirled, yet it still couldn't withstand this inexplicable force.
Gradually, the skin between Li Guanqi's brows tore open, and blood streamed down his forehead.
As the old man's fingers drew closer, the wound between his brows was already deep enough to expose bone!
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Dragon Transformation, Demon King Physique, sword intent, Sword Ruins!
Even with several powers stacked together, it was utterly futile.
Instead, a flicker of surprise flashed in the depths of the old man's eyes.
A piercing, bone-chilling agony tore through him. Several inscribed talismans burned across Li Guanqi's back, and violent spatial power churned around him, yet it was still useless.
Just as he was about to shatter the teleportation scroll Lin Jinting had prepared for him, a woman's sharp shout rang out!
"Senior, please wait!"
*Whoosh!*
A cold glint shot through the air from the distance!
A graceful figure flickered through the air, shifting into afterimages and arriving in an instant!
Spear in hand, Ran Qingshuang dropped right between the two!
"Elder Zhao, there must be a misunderstanding here. Please spare him!"
The old man slowly turned his head, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes.
"The little girl from the Ran family? You're back?"
Ran Qingshuang glanced at Li Guanqi, stowed her spear, and bowed deeply to the elder.
"Grandpa Zhao, this person is a guest of our Ran family. I don't know what misunderstanding occurred, but could you..."
The old man's eyes flickered. He curled his lip and slowly withdrew his fingers.
And precisely because he withdrew his fingers, the aura suppressing Li Guanqi instantly vanished.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
His aura climbed several times in succession, and the terrifying pressure instantly blew the surrounding cultivators back dozens of zhang.
Only at this moment did the spectating cultivators truly feel Li Guanqi's aura.
Solely based on the pressure he displayed, he possessed the power to utterly crush a Heavenly Immortal third layer!
"What terrifying strength!"
"For this guy to force Chen Tianhua into such a state, he truly has real skill!"
Li Guanqi's chest heaved violently. Beneath his mask, he gasped for breath, cold sweat pouring down his face.
Slowly restraining his pressure, he looked at Ran Qingshuang and said in a deep voice, "Thank you for intervening..."
Yet lying on the ground with his severed wrist bleeding profusely, Zhu Genfu was having none of it.
"On what grounds?!"
"What, just because he's a guest of the Ran family means he can strike at will in the black market?!"
"If that's how it is, this black market might as well change its name to the Ran market!"
"Without rules, nothing can stand! Elder Zhao, if he walks out of this ferry today, my Liuyang Manor will never let this rest!"
His face flushed crimson, Zhu Genfu roared in agitation.
The fat man's eyes flickered. Having lost two Heavenly Immortal cultivators in one go, if he didn't blow this matter up, he would never be able to bear the consequences...
Elder Zhao cast an indifferent glance at Zhu Genfu.
By now, he had already learned from his subordinates everything that had happened earlier.
The old man shuffled forward. Taking merely a single step, the fat man's body slammed uncontrollably and violently against the ground!
*Bang!*
The stone paving shattered, the ground within dozens of zhang cracking apart like a spiderweb.
The fat man's face was bathed in blood, his eyes filled with terror.
The old man took another step forward, and the horrifying pressure forced Zhu Genfu's body straight into the earth.
A sickening crunch came from the bones throughout his entire body as they buckled under the strain.
"Help... help... me!"
Ignoring the man's cries for help, the elder took yet another step.
*Bang!*
*Spurt!*
The fat man vomited blood, his internal organs ruptured.
"How I handle things—does that need teaching from you?"
"Even if Zhu Zishan came in person, he would have to bend his back to look at me. What do you think you are?"
*Hum!*
A dignified-looking middle-aged man bearing some resemblance to Ran Qingshuang walked over slowly.
Ran Shiming spotted Li Guanqi behind Ran Qingshuang at a single glance.
His brow twitched, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes.
*Li Congxin?*
With eyes flickering, the man stepped forward to their side. He first looked at Ran Qingshuang, then turned to glance at Li Guanqi.
From the man, Li Guanqi sensed an immensely powerful internal pressure.
He bowed slightly with cupped fists.
Ran Shiming gave a slight nod, sending a quiet voice transmission to Ran Qingshuang to ask what had happened.
Meanwhile, a streak of light rushed toward the ferry from the horizon at top speed.
*Crash!*
The barrier shattered as a fat man in a golden brocade robe arrived before everyone, panting heavily.
The aura of a True Immortal was fully revealed.
When the man saw Zhu Genfu lying in the deep crater, his face instantly darkened.
"Senior Zhao, isn't dealing such a heavy hand to my son going a bit too far?"
Beneath messy strands of hair, a cold gleam flashed in the elder's dull yellow eyes. Narrowing his eyes, he sneered.
"Zhu Zishan, are you blaming me?"
The moment his words fell, the clouds in the heavens tore apart, and a palm print dozens of zhang across descended from the sky!
Chapter 1668