As Li Guanqi ventured deeper into Blazing Flame Valley, the temperature climbed ever higher.
Above the parched, cracked earth, the air warped faintly under the blistering heat.
A bare-chested figure, drenched in sweat, trudged steadily through the valley.
Yet at that moment, Li Guanqi suddenly halted, a cold sneer playing upon his lips.
Within his senses, three faint, nebulous presences had materialized not far behind him.
His chapped lips curved upward slightly. Narrowing his eyes, Li Guanqi abruptly thrust a hand straight into the empty void beside him!
*Pfft!*
"Aaagh!"
A bloodcurdling shriek rang out, and three figures abruptly tumbled into view right beside him.
Glancing down at his bloodstained left hand, Li Guanqi said softly, "Why follow me? Lost face back there and want to win it back?"
He lifted his gaze to the men before him. The one in front was none other than the fellow he had beaten bloody upon first arriving at Yellow Sand Inn—the scrawny man with high cheekbones and beady eyes. By now, the torn flesh between his right thumb and forefinger had completely healed.
Li Guanqi had seen the two men beside him back at the inn as well.
Li Guanqi chuckled coldly, sneering, "Seems I went too easy on you back at the inn, didn't I? But I'm rather curious—what made the three of you come after me?"
The other two men wore grim expressions. They had initially assumed Li Guanqi came into Blazing Flame Valley in search of treasure. Furthermore, when Ning Xiu had unleashed her cultivation at full throttle, her aura had been terrifyingly immense, leading them to believe Li Guanqi was bound to be grievously wounded!
Only then had they heeded Zhang Ning's words, deciding to take advantage of his supposed weakness to rob him blind.
Yet the moment they caught up to him, he had struck without warning!
Seeing that they offered no response, Li Guanqi did not bother asking further. A glint of killing intent flitted through his eyes as he murmured, "Since you chose to make a move, you'd best be prepared to pay everything you have."
*Boom!*
In an instant, the cracked earth collapsed into a pit over ten zhang deep, and Li Guanqi's figure vanished on the spot!
Seeing that things were turning disastrous, the strongest of them—the scar-faced man—thrust the weakest instigator forward with all his might!
The man named Zhang Ning suddenly felt a massive force shove him from behind, sending him hurtling uncontrollably toward Li Guanqi. Enraged, he cursed at the top of his lungs, "Ding Gang! Fuck your mother!"
Even as he cursed, the man drew his saber and lunged!
The third man knew full well that running now was the worst possible choice. Resolute, he burned his blood essence and threw his life into the fray, hoping the two of them working together might slay Li Guanqi.
For a moment, flashes of saber and sword flickered wildly as terrifying auras erupted.
Yet this chaotic flurry of blade and sword lasted only a single instant before grinding to an abrupt halt.
Two dazzling sword lights erupted at blinding speed!
In a breath, lightning crackled across several hundred zhang of sky and void, and sword light ravaged the area!
Having stepped forward to teleport a hundred zhang away, Li Guanqi slowly sheathed his sword and whispered, "Demon Subduer!"
*Boom!*
Terrifying sword light carved two hideous ravines a hundred zhang across into the towering peaks flanking them.
*Thud! Thud!*
Two headless corpses collapsed to the ground, and two illusory Nascent Souls fled in sheer terror, darting in opposite directions.
Li Guanqi curled his lip. With a buzz of his formidable divine sense, two invisible spirit swords shot forth in an instant!
Those two Nascent Soul figures traversed ten thousand zhang in practically a single breath, yet Li Guanqi's spirit swords flew even faster.
By merging the swords formed of his divine sense with his sword control technique, their speed was blinding.
In the blink of an eye, they crossed the span of ten thousand zhang, pierced both Nascent Souls, shredded them into mist, and swept right back.
Li Guanqi let out a breath. He raised a hand to collect their storage rings and belongings, then casually tossed the two corpses into the void.
Looking into the distance, he could clearly sense a figure frantically speeding through the void, attempting to flee.
*Whoosh! Rip!*
"Hmph, thinking you can run?"
A pitch-black rift in the void tore open. Li Guanqi's lips curled into a smirk, and his movement technique roared to life within him!
"Lightning Flash!"
As the movement technique surged, Li Guanqi transformed into a streak of flowing light, racing through the void like a bolt of lightning!
His speed was nothing short of terrifying.
Half an incense stick later, Li Guanqi stepped slowly out of the void, clutching a figure whose bones were entirely shattered.
After wiping out the Nascent Soul within the man's body, he tossed that corpse into the void as well.
Looking down at the three storage rings in his palm, Li Guanqi pondered for a moment. Gathering his divine sense until it was as fine as a silver needle, he rammed it forcefully into one of the rings!
*Bang!*
With a light crack, the storage ring in his hand instantly dissolved into a handful of flying ash and vanished from his palm.
Li Guanqi cleared his throat in mild embarrassment. Just as he was about to test the second ring, the sword spirit materialized beside him. Seeing what he had done, she rolled her eyes.
"Who erases an imprint like that?" she scolded exasperatedly. "You have to sense the weak points in the divine sense imprint inside the storage ring!"
Li Guanqi suddenly saw the light and muttered, "So you don't just brute-force it... Why didn't you say so earlier? What a waste."
*Snap!*
A nearly imperceptible crisp click sounded, and Li Guanqi's face lit up with delight.
"Hehe, got it open!"
There were quite a few items inside the remaining two rings, but very few that caught his eye.
Even the spirit stones amounted to only a few hundred mid-grade spirit stones.
With a sullen expression, Li Guanqi grumbled, "They're dirt poor! Just a few hundred mid-grade spirit stones!"
As he grumbled, he rummaged through the rest. There were a few low-tier cultivation manuals and similar items, but none of them interested him.
*Buzz!*
Li Guanqi pulled several fiery-red crystals from the ring, his expression turning surprised.
"Is this fire essence? What rich and pure fire-attribute spiritual power!"
Even the sword spirit looked at the fire essence in his hands with some surprise. After all, such items were rare, typically congealing only in places saturated with fire-attribute spiritual energy.
Furthermore, these crystals possessed exceptional spirituality, much like the inner cores of monster beasts.
Just then, Li Guanqi noticed that among the pieces of fire essence, there was one only the size of a thumb.
Yet the spiritual energy it contained was the densest of all. Deep within the fiery-red crystal, a thread of purple luminescence, thin as a strand of hair, twisted faintly.
Upon seeing it, Li Guanqi froze, because he clearly felt a trace of lightning power within the fire essence.
Stowing the fire essence away, Li Guanqi finally arrived at the location marked on the map.
It was a mountain hollow formed by the convergence of six towering peaks. Looking around, he found nothing particularly unusual.
Extending his divine sense in all directions, he felt a tinge of disappointment. Just as he was ready to give up—
Suddenly!
In a concealed nook among the rubble of the hollow, Li Guanqi spotted a circular indentation!
*Swish!*
Li Guanqi rushed over in an instant. Stooping low, he navigated around several boulders and reached out to brush his fingers across the indentation.
Having weathered countless years, the groove was nearly worn smooth.
With a look of excitement, Li Guanqi drew out the jade pendant and slowly set it into the recess.
At that exact moment, a barely perceptible gleam flashed deep within his eyes.
Chapter 330