The longer the disciples of the Great Xia Sword Sect fought, the more fired up they became!
With their blood surging, even their physical pain lessened considerably, their bloodshot eyes consumed by a single thought: slaughter more enemies!
One side possessed momentum as vast as a rainbow, while the other suffered plunging morale.
No matter how the Ziyang Palace elders shouted and rallied, more and more disciples retreated like turtles behind the Ziyang Palace formation barrier.
Dividing their disciples into two rotations, they continuously wore down the Great Xia Sword Sect disciples' origin energy.
Down below in Ziyang Palace, over a hundred spirit-gathering arrays were brought out!
A dense scattering of spirit stones lay tossed haphazardly beside the arrays.
The Great Xia Sword Sect disciples, by contrast, could only clutch spirit stones in their hands to recover their origin energy.
Li Guanqi and his companions were naturally aware of the battle raging in midair.
Xu Zhengjie barked in a low voice, "Pick up the pace! If this drags on, we'll be worn down to the bone!"
The three figures blurred into afterimages, moving swiftly toward the rear.
Suddenly!
A breach was abruptly torn through the flame domain in the sky!
Han Tiange, clad in a robe of flowing purple light, darted out. As his divine sense hummed outward, his expression suddenly shifted!
From the start, he had failed to understand why the disciples of the Great Xia Sword Sect were keeping such a distance!
Just moments ago, he had noticed that some Great Xia Sword Sect disciples were glancing down toward the mountain range below, whether intentionally or not.
Sure enough!
In the mountains beneath his feet, he detected the auras of numerous Core Formation cultivators!
"Search the surrounding mountains! Kill them!"
In an instant, several dozen Core Formation cultivators surged out from behind Ziyang Palace's barrier!
None of them were weak either—the lowest among them were at mid Core Formation!
Lu Kangnian's expression changed drastically. He hadn't expected Ziyang Palace to still have hidden reserves!
He had never seen any of these people before.
The man could only urge inwardly with burning anxiety, *Hurry!*
A vague, ominous premonition left him intensely uneasy.
All eight squads were racing forward at full throttle!
A moment later, transmissions from the other squads reached Li Guanqi's jade slip.
"Tianjin Peak squad has reached the position! Hurry!"
"Tianmu Peak has arrived! But I think we've been spotted—damn it! Here they come!"
"Tianshui Peak arriving in thirty breaths! They've spotted us!"
"Tiantu Peak has arrived! Currently concealed and undetected!"
"..."
As message after message rang out, Li Guanqi expanded his divine sense across a hundred zhang around him!
Suddenly!
Li Guanqi surged past Xu Zhengjie, taking over the lead position.
He sent a low voice transmission: "I'll lead!"
Indeed, Li Guanqi's divine sense range was immense!
He had only learned this recently: even Xu Zhengjie could only project his divine sense fifty zhang around him.
A cultivator who had just entered Core Formation could typically extend their divine sense only thirty zhang.
Yet a range of thirty zhang was something Li Guanqi could easily reach back when he was only in Foundation Establishment.
To that, the sword spirit had merely remarked that he was exceptionally gifted, offering no further explanation.
Taking the lead, Li Guanqi dropped from the treetops, shifting directions several times in rapid succession!
Three figures skimmed low through the forest, constantly weaving past the trees in their path.
Even though Li Guanqi could track their movements, he still felt the strain.
More and more cultivators were converging toward his location!
Perhaps because other squads had been exposed, the general target direction they were heading toward had been revealed.
Li Guanqi's eyes narrowed. This was already the sixth time he had altered his course to take a detour.
The youth gritted his teeth, about to change direction again, when the old man behind him spoke in a low voice.
"We're running out of time!"
Hearing this, Li Guanqi hardened his resolve and said grimly, "We go southwest. There are only two of them! But one has a very strong aura!"
Xu Zhengjie made an instant call: "Charge straight through! I'll cover the rear!"
With that, he tossed a storage ring to Li Guanqi, the implication crystal clear!
Two streaks of light in the air halted abruptly. Looking down into the pitch-black mountains, one roared, "They're here!"
Boom!
Three sharp sword lights erupted in an instant!
A dark shadow flashed through the air as Li Guanqi thrust out the Red Lotus sword with explosive force!
Moving so fast he blurred, the youth nearly pierced the man's throat, but at the critical moment, the opponent reacted.
Shifting slightly aside, the strike stabbed straight into his left shoulder!
The man grabbed the blade with one hand while his own sword slashed toward Li Guanqi's neck with a howling rush of wind!
Cold light flashed in Li Guanqi's eyes. As origin energy surged and roared within him, the Red Lotus sword flared with an eerie crimson glow!
Twisting his wrists, Li Guanqi gripped the hilt with both hands and swept upward with all his might!
*Slash!*
Blood sprayed as the Red Lotus sword, buried in his shoulder, ripped upward, cleaving his entire shoulder and arm clean off!
Yet right behind him, a cold gleam lunged toward his back!
Turning and raising his hand, he was a fraction too late.
Bang!
Xu Zhengjie slammed into him, knocking him aside!
The incoming blade slashed into the old man's back instead.
Meanwhile, the other Great Xia Sword Sect disciple had already tangled with the one-armed man.
Xu Zhengjie unleashed immense pressure, confronting the grim-faced elder directly.
Both were at late Core Formation, unleashing equally terrifying power.
Without looking back, the old man roared, "Go, quickly!"
In Li Guanqi's ears, reports of other squads reaching their positions also arrived.
The voices coming from the jade slip were filled with chaos and din—evidently, every squad had run into Ziyang Palace's ambushes!
Li Guanqi hesitated not a moment. No longer concealing himself, he transformed into a streak of purple light, shooting toward the position several hundred zhang away!
The Ziyang Palace elder suddenly bellowed, "They're here! Kill that blind brat!"
At his shout, several streaks of light from nearby Ziyang Palace disciples plummeted from the sky!
Those white eyes of his had already turned blood-red as Li Guanqi sped toward the north like a madman.
*Whoosh!*
A flash of light emitted from the ring on his left hand, and the massive purple Thunder Ballista was slammed down onto the hillside!
"Tianlei Peak is ready!"
The jade slip flashed repeatedly!
"Fire!"
Li Guanqi gripped the giant ballista with both hands, frantically pouring in origin energy!
Suddenly!
A silver spear appeared without warning above Li Guanqi's head, rocketing straight down toward the ballista!
Li Guanqi's divine sense caught sight of a mid Core Formation youth hurling the spear in fury.
With no time to think, Li Guanqi leaped on pure instinct, clutching the giant ballista and spinning in midair!
*Boom!*
The spear burst into flames, its tip tilting slightly upward in midair, shattering the Thunder Ballista's mounting base to dust with a direct hit!
Li Guanqi's heart clenched violently. With one hand, he scooped up the bow-like Thunder Ballista.
At that moment, the roar of the other squads reached his ears:
"Fire!"
Li Guanqi's chest heaved violently as he sucked in a deep breath!
A black orb appeared in his left hand. Channeling origin energy into it, pitch-black armor manifested, encasing him entirely.
Boom!
In that instant, his aura peaked!
The youth recalled his spear with a flick of his hand, his eyes freezing cold as he sneered:
"A siege ballista without a mount—let's see how you fire that!"
Li Guanqi sneered, then soared into the air, nocking the bolt—a full zhang long and thick as a wrist—onto the bowstring!
Bending his body, he planted both feet firmly against the massive bow, gripping the thumb-thick bowstring with both hands!
With his blood surging, veins bulged across Li Guanqi's forehead, his face flushed crimson.
The bowstring was drawn back millimeter by millimeter, and the giant bow erupted with crackling arcs of lightning!
"Ahhh!"
"Haaah!"
Slowly the string was drawn back, and the pitch-black armor groaned under the unbearable strain, creaking loudly.
Upon the pitch-black armor, the patterns flickered with a faint golden sheen.
Yet the bowstring, forged from an unknown material, was already cutting through the thick armor!
Blood ran from Li Guanqi's nose, and blood seeped from between his teeth.
Yet at that very moment, his legs surged with explosive power!
"Draw! For! Me!"
Boom!
Seven radiant, terrifying beams of light shot through the sky toward Ziyang Palace's sect-protecting formation barrier!
As the youth's roar fell—
The pitch-black armor shattered, and the bowstring cut deep into his flesh!
Yet Li Guanqi's body held taut as a bow, drawing the Thunder Ballista to full draw!
Glancing back at the youth, Li Guanqi, his hands dripping with blood, sneered, "See that?"
Bang!
BOOM!
The purple bolt erupted with incomparable, terrifying might, blasting forward!
Eight streaks of light slammed into the formation barrier, followed by an earth-shattering detonation that shook the heavens!
Ziyang Palace's sect-protecting barrier shattered to pieces!
Chapter 178