Crushed!

Li Guanqi gave a cold smile as countless lightning sword lights slowly manifested in the surrounding space! "From the moment I sensed someone tailing me, I was already on guard." By now, half of Li Guanqi's face had been burned beyond recognition, and the skin across his entire upper body was warped and stuck together like toad hide. Every slight movement brought excruciating, tearing agony. Yet his expression remained impassive. Slowly raising his sword, he looked toward Miao Rongchang and said softly, "You will be the first sinister villain I kill, but you certainly won't be the last." *Boom!* At this point, Miao Rongchang had already begun to contemplate retreat. He realized that despite having trailed the youth before him for two years, he still hardly understood him. Even though he had watched him day in and day out, the boy had still managed to pull off so much right under his nose. He didn't even know from whom Li Guanqi had learned the lightning armor adorning him! Over such a long period, Li Guanqi had survived several life-or-death battles, every single one fraught with mortal peril. Had he known this spirit incantation all along, those past battles would likely never have been so arduous. The old man realized that with the other party's domain power already established, he couldn't even tear through space. Unless he killed Li Guanqi, control over this spatial realm would remain firmly in his opponent's hands! Watching his own fire domain get forcibly suppressed to a mere hundred zhang around him, a chill crept down the old man's spine. A terrifying thought sprouted wildly in his heart. Before he could react, primal energy surged within Li Guanqi, and the lightning armor over his body instantly restored itself to pristine condition! The blood markings on the surface of his skin faded slightly without him noticing, and the primal energy fluctuations inside him even showed faint signs of surging toward late Nascent Soul. Li Guanqi cared nothing for that right now. A single thought consumed his mind: Kill the old man before him! This old bastard had kept him on edge for well over a year; he would never pass up such a golden opportunity today. Today, only one of them would walk out alive! *Boom!* The vast expanse below now resembled a pool of thunder. As Li Guanqi vanished from where he stood, the previously tranquil Sword Prison erupted into a tempest of lightning! In an instant, fully a hundred lightning swords formed in midair and shot toward the old man! The sword in Miao Rongchang's hand flashed repeatedly. Moving with ethereal swiftness like the wind, he dodged left and right to evade the incoming lightning. Several spirit swords flew toward his head from behind. Spinning around, the old man slashed backhanded. *Bang! Bang! Bang!* The lightning burst in succession, unleashing countless electrical arcs that darted toward him. Wherever the arcs struck, the old man's flesh was ripped open, exposing raw muscle! Miao Rongchang retreated rapidly, his eyes brimming with horror. He had never imagined the destructive power of Li Guanqi's lightning could be so terrifying. The lightning-root cultivators he had encountered in the past, though highly lethal, produced lightning that at most caused slight numbness. That was why the world believed lightning was not the most lethal spiritual root, falling far short of metal and the like. Yet looking at his own scorched arms and back, his heart ran cold. *Something's wrong with this brat's primal energy!* *How could it contain such terrifying destructive power...?* *Boom!* A tyrannical, awe-inspiring sword intent abruptly erupted. In the next breath, several afterimages flickered before the old man's eyes. The aura within every afterimage felt completely real. With eyes sharp as an eagle's, Miao Rongchang quickly pinpointed Li Guanqi's true body! Yet even though he had found him, it was already too late to strike. Raising his hand, the jade pendant on his wrist abruptly shattered. A thick, earthy-yellow barrier formed at his flank, but the terrifying sword light exploded anyway! *Boom!* A flaming sword light struck back, seizing the initiative second. *Boom!* Both figures were flung back over a hundred zhang. Li Guanqi looked down at the wound on his chest without the slightest fear, his battle intent surging. Meanwhile, the light curtain from the old man's wrist shattered with a boom, and his arm was nearly severed clean by the slash! Growing fiercer the more he fought, Li Guanqi closed in again with practically no hesitation! The old man's eyes narrowed. He knew full well that at a moment like this, there could not be the slightest hesitation, retreat, or cowardice. The instant he wavered, all would be lost! Miao Rongchang was ruthless himself, and he knew Li Guanqi possessed the ability to fight across minor cultivation realms. If his initial sneak attack failed to assassinate or gravely wound Li Guanqi, the momentum would slip from his grasp. Even as he repeatedly parried Li Guanqi's ferocious sword strikes, his thoughts raced, frantically contemplating his next move. Yet Li Guanqi gave him no room to breathe. The instant his sword was knocked aside, Li Guanqi borrowed the force to spin a full circle and pushed back ten zhang. His feet carved two ripples of lightning through the air. Crouching low, he gripped the hilt with both hands. As blood surged through his veins, veins bulged along his neck. Primal energy roared within him, and the lightning behind him detonated with a thunderous roar! "Demon Shadow Slash: Dark Night!!" *Boom!* A terrifying shockwave dispersed all lightning within ten zhang of him, followed immediately by the power of the Sword Prison latching onto him in full force. The world suddenly plunged into darkness. Even the churning of the Sword Prison's thunder pool stilled for a single breath. *Thump!* The void cracked apart. A terrifying blast of air mingled with lightning burst in all directions as a dazzling sword light flashed through the sky! A terrifying sword beam, condensed to a mere ten zhang in size, erupted violently! Miao Rongchang's expression changed drastically at the sight, his eyes filled with sheer horror! Viciously biting down on a blood-red Spirit Burst Pill in his mouth, he swung his sword downward, swirling with raging flames! A trace of sword momentum was present on the old man, though he possessed not a shred of sword intent. Even so, the old man's strength was not to be underestimated: raging flames surged toward the heavens, and a ten-zhang sword light flared out! *Boom!* A colossal explosion rang out, the fierce blast blowing away all lightning within a hundred zhang. Li Guanqi panted heavily, having depleted an immense amount of primal energy. Yet as the smoke and dust cleared, over the distant thunder pool, there stood a disheveled old man drenched in blood. A hideous wound across his waist had nearly cut him in two! Dense arcs of lightning burrowed relentlessly into the mangled flesh, wreaking rampant havoc upon his internal organs. However, flames flickered deep in the old man's eyes at this moment. The fire around him surged with immense power, and his aura began fluctuating violently. Li Guanqi's eyes narrowed into slits. He sensed an immensely powerful pressure slowly building. "About to step into the half-step Soul Formation Realm?" "Old bastard, do you really think I'll give you the chance?" The corners of the old man's mouth curled up into a bizarre smile. Tossing out an ancient seal, he smeared his blood across the inscription on its base and chanted in a low voice: "With my blood essence as a guide, seal script, protect me!" *Buzz!* The ancient seal instantly erupted with a dense, rich earthy-yellow glow! Intricate characters woven with streaming light formed a square barrier around the old man! The ancient seal hovered in midair, radiating a shimmering glow! Sitting cross-legged on the ground and panting like an ox, Miao Rongchang took out several jade boxes carved from high-grade spirit stone, his eyes cold. A cold glint flashed in Li Guanqi's eyes. Lightning flared beneath his feet as he pushed his movement technique to the absolute limit. Right as the glow of the ancient seal was about to seal shut, his blade slashed out! Not a ripple of emotion stirred in Li Guanqi's eyes. The old man's eyes widened in utter shock. At the hilt of the blood-red sword, a red lotus blossomed, and Li Guanqi's voice sounded as if whispered right beside his ear: "Red Lotus: Heaven Shatterer!!!" *Boom!* Every wisp of lightning in the Sword Prison poured into the Red Lotus Sword at this instant, and an intensely brilliant sword light flashed across the sky! *Boom!* The ancient seal shattered. The sword in the old man's hand broke, and Li Guanqi reached out with his right hand to seize the broken blade. With his left hand, he brought his sword swinging down with savage force! A large head flew into the air!