For ordinary cultivators, their Dao Ring of Spiritual Charm was only as thick as a chopstick.
Those whose ring was the thickness of a little finger were already considered prodigies of heaven.
Yet Li Guanqi's Dao Ring of Spiritual Charm was as thick as two thumbs put together, nearly condensed into solid substance!
Furthermore, perhaps due to the fusion of Shiwu and his origin soul, intricate, profound flame patterns marked the surface of Li Guanqi's dao ring.
The patterns shone with a dazzling purple luster, their circulating halo resembling burning flames and radiating an immense aura of mystery.
Just as Li Guanqi opened his mouth to swear angrily once more within his space of consciousness, a monstrous sea of thunder surged and completely submerged him. Beneath the pounding of the wild waves, his consciousness scattered.
By this time, the entire Nirvana Pagoda had reached the limit of what it could endure.
Within its first floor, the power of thunder ran rampant, arcing wildly in all directions.
Seeing this, Li Guanqi hastily scooped up Pengluo and exited the sword coffin space.
With a flash of his form, he appeared in the outside world, stowed away the Sumeru Treasure Hall, and soared straight into the highest heavens!
However, the thick fog all around lingered persistently; not even Li Guanqi could break through it.
In the end, he had no choice but to halt several hundred zhang in the air, quietly awaiting the descent of his heavenly tribulation.
He brought out the Heaven-Breaking Pill and swallowed it in one gulp.
At once, immortal primal energy surged violently within him, his meridians glowing with fluorescence as a formidable power brewed inside his body.
With a composed expression, Li Guanqi gripped his sword in both hands.
Little did he know that cultivators across all of Nether Spirit Valley were fleeing frantically!
"Madman! Who on earth is breaking through to the Heavenly Immortal realm here?! Are they trying to get us all killed?!"
"What a terrifying tribulation range! Just who is it?!"
"Run! Faster!!"
At the entrance of the valley, cultivators who had been about to enter froze in their tracks and turned on their heels to flee.
Between opportunity and their lives, they chose to live.
The tribulation thunderclouds, already spanning a thousand zhang across, were still expanding outward. With such a terrifying scope, the slightest misstep would see one dragged inside.
Not to mention that this was a Heavenly Immortal Tribulation!
*Buzz!*
Standing in midair, the sword gripped in both his hands trembled faintly, letting out a crisp hum.
Compared to the Mystic Immortal Tribulation, the Heavenly Immortal Tribulation was far more imposing, carrying a vastly heavier worldly pressure.
*Buzz!*
*Rumble!*
Thunder rolled across the firmament, yet Li Guanqi remained utterly calm.
Narrowing his eyes, several thick bolts of lightning suddenly crashed down!
Li Guanqi ascended slowly into the air, thunder erupting around his entire body as he shot straight toward the falling celestial thunder!
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Under the astounded gazes of the fleeing cultivators, they witnessed two streaks of lightning—one ascending and one descending—collide in midair.
*Boom!*
The aftershocks of immense power rippled out across nearly a thousand zhang.
In an instant, the dense mist within a thousand-zhang radius was obliterated and swept clean. As bolts of lightning leaped and snaked across the area, countless towering ancient trees detonated on impact.
Li Guanqi's white robes were shredded, snapping loudly in the wind, as the massive Dao Ring of Spiritual Charm slowly condensed behind his head!
The dao ring shimmered with faint light. Within Li Guanqi, immortal primal energy roared as he drew every bit of dissipating lightning into his body.
Though he endured indescribable agony, the transformation of his physical flesh was remarkably swift.
Flesh, blood, and meridians were ripped apart, only to be rapidly mended under the combined effects of the Heaven-Breaking Pill and his Demon King Physique.
Through cycle after cycle of destruction and rebirth, his bones, meridians, and every inch of his flesh transformed rapidly.
His bones, originally like white jade, grew steadily harder and more resilient.
In the next breath, several more bolts of lightning descended from the heavens, even more powerful and swift!
With calm eyes, Li Guanqi gently raised a hand toward the falling thunder.
"Halt."
*Buzz!*
The thunder crashing from the firmament actually ground to a halt in midair for half a breath!
"What... what is that?!"
"What am I seeing? Is this real?!"
As the thunder resumed its descent, dozens of sword beams rose abruptly into the sky.
Deafening rumbles shook the earth. Shattered lightning gathered docilely around Li Guanqi like an obedient spiritual pet.
With a flick of his finger, Li Guanqi shattered the lightning into a sky full of motes of light and absorbed them into his body.
Muscles twitching and frame trembling slightly, Li Guanqi silently bore the agony of celestial thunder tempering his flesh.
He even dispersed the heavenly tribulation thunder's power into his sea of consciousness, tempering it as well.
Deep within Li Guanqi, his origin soul slowly condensed the Dao Ring of Spiritual Charm.
And at that very moment, his aura shattered the shackles of the Mystic Immortal realm with a resounding roar—the first layer of the Heavenly Immortal realm!
Li Guanqi became increasingly enamored with this mastery over thunder.
So much so that toward the end, he simply sheathed his longsword and confronted the tribulation thunder with the raw power of the Heavenly Immortal realm.
After a full incense stick's time, the thunderclouds in the firmament finally began to dissipate.
The heavy worldly pressure vanished along with them.
All that remained in the valley was a pitch-black crater spanning nearly a thousand zhang.
Dissipating arcs of lightning crackled everywhere amidst towering ancient trees splintered by the strikes.
Craters pocked the landscape, and the earth was charred black as if scorched by a raging inferno.
Beneath a piece of blackened charcoal lay a speck of dust.
Li Guanqi sat cross-legged on the ground, his body blackened from head to toe, meditating with closed eyes as he exhaled a breath of turbid air.
With each breath he drew, medicinal potency originally scattered in the corners of his meridians and unrefined immortal herb energies were gradually absorbed.
His aura surged vigorously. After breaking through to the first layer of the Heavenly Immortal realm, his power did not recede to stabilize his realm; on the contrary, it showed signs of climbing further!
Li Guanqi dared not be careless and firmly suppressed his aura at the first layer of the Heavenly Immortal realm.
After an unknown period, Li Guanqi slowly stirred to wakefulness inside the Nirvana Pagoda.
His charred skin sloughed off like a shell.
The scars that had once marked his flesh were gone, leaving behind skin as fair as jade.
As he slowly rose to his feet, dead, blackened skin peeled from his face and body.
His demeanor had become even more transcendent, resembling a true banished immortal!
At the same time, a broad immortal charm ribbon fluttered gently around him, and his Dao Ring of Spiritual Charm manifested behind his head.
Li Guanqi looked down at his body in disbelief.
Circulating his immortal primal energy, he shook off all impurities and changed into a fresh robe.
A mighty power erupted from within. This sensation...
The corner of Li Guanqi's mouth curved upward. The surging power gave him an illusion:
If he were to encounter Liu Xiong again, he wouldn't need the aid of the Rakshasa Ghost Mask to fight him on equal terms!
And with the mask's enhancement in a battle between those of the same realm?
To kill him... ten breaths would suffice!
Once his realm had stabilized, Li Guanqi donned a black robe and vanished from the spot.
Behind him, cultivators continuously arrived to inspect the scorched earth, but every one of them wore a grave expression after seeing the destruction.
Many cultivators even chose to leave Nether Spirit Valley altogether after witnessing it.
Thunder surged around Li Guanqi. With his movement technique engaged, his speed was over thirty percent faster than before, leaving afterimages flickering and dispersing in his wake.
Along the way, he did not sense the presence of many cultivators.
"I’ve spent quite a bit of time..."
With that thought, Li Guanqi increased his speed once more, hurtling toward the depths of the valley.
Meanwhile, a green-robed man stood drenched in blood, his expression cold and stern.
He casually tossed aside the corpse in his hand, blood dripping from his blade.
"Still haven't given up? To think they sent so many people to capture me this time! Humph!"
Chapter 1676