Flame Devouring Art

Huff... Huff... With an impassive face, Li Guanqi drew the broken blade from his palm. As primal energy surged through his body, the bleeding halted at once, and the wound began knitting together at a pace visible to the naked eye. He panted like an ox, his breath rasping like a heavy bellows. *Swish!* Lightning flashed beneath his feet, carrying him back down to the ground in an instant. The earth was riddled with deep, blasted craters. Lying flat on his back, Li Guanqi felt an excruciating ache throbbing through every inch of his body. The old man's fire power was truly not to be underestimated. Li Guanqi looked up at the sky, grimacing as he muttered, "What a sinister old bastard. To think he shadowed me for so long!" "A fire domain... pretty formidable..." Glancing over at the charred corpse, Li Guanqi raised a hand and stripped the elder's body of all his belongings. Although the ancient seal had sustained a few hairline fractures, it could still be used once more. Its defensive strength was nothing to scoff at; at least thirty percent of his sword strike's force had been absorbed by that seal. Looking down at his scorched skin, which was burned beyond recognition, Li Guanqi winced with a grin. Severe as his injuries were, eliminating this grave threat had been well worth the cost. Having that old monster constantly lurking in the shadows had kept his heart in his throat. He retrieved spirit stones and began replenishing his somewhat depleted dantian. After a while, his divine sense had substantially recovered. With a tremor of his sea of consciousness, he wiped away the imprint on the storage ring in his hand. Probing inside with his divine sense, Li Guanqi clicked his tongue in wonder. "Tsk, tsk... just how many people did that old bastard ambush? Isn't this fortune a bit too lavish?" The storage ring contained over a hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones alone, as well as more than two hundred high-grade spirit stones. One had to remember that the old man was merely a Nascent Soul realm cultivator! Such wealth was on par with that of an impoverished Soul Formation Realm cultivator. Even Cheng Yun, the Third Elder of Riyue Pavilion whom he had faced before, had possessed far less than Miao Rongchang. The ring also held a miscellaneous assortment of other items, but having no time to sort through them at the moment, he simply tossed everything into his own storage ring. Setting down a spirit-gathering array disc beside him, he slotted spirit stones into it. Instantly, the surrounding spiritual energy condensed into a light mist that drifted around him. Li Guanqi gradually settled into cultivation, though Red Lotus remained resting across his knees. Even now, he could not afford the slightest lapse in vigilance. Meanwhile, a mysterious trio clad in black robes traversed the void, heading toward an unknown destination. *** After an indeterminate time, Li Guanqi's injuries had mostly healed. Strangely, the blood markings across his body showed no change at all even after being scorched by the flames. Feeling the surging power coursing through his body, Li Guanqi exhaled a mouthful of turbid air and slowly opened his eyes. A sharp glint flashed in the depths of his gaze. He felt as though his strength had increased slightly once more. Even so, he was still quite a distance away from breaking through to the late Nascent Soul realm. Sensing the terrifying deficit of primal energy still required, Li Guanqi could not help but sigh. It seemed that advancing his strength would not be smooth sailing after all... Advancing a cultivation realm required more than just accumulating primal energy and diligent practice. Often, it demanded serendipity and deeper comprehension. Yet with every session of cultivation, he gained fresh insights, much like his growing grasp over domains and spatial forces. During each meditation, his mind constantly turned over these matters—especially after clashing with cultivators of the same realm. Each battle deepened his understanding of such powers. It was just like the domain power he had previously grasped; every time he unleashed it, his comprehension grew more profound. Miao Rongchang's application of his domain had been exceedingly potent! The elder had even integrated the power of his domain with a spirit incantation. That had provided Li Guanqi with considerable inspiration. It was why, when faced with that tempestuous onslaught, he had decisively cast the lightning armor taught to him by the sword spirit. That spirit incantation was immensely powerful and demanded a very high concentration of lightning-attribute spiritual energy in the surrounding area. Conveniently, lightning power was at its strongest within his domain, leaving him with only minor injuries in the end. At this thought, Li Guanqi could not help feeling a surge of gratitude. The sword spirit had aided him immeasurably. He had not realized it before, but looking back now, everything she had taught him had followed a deliberate plan. From the very beginning, whether it was honing his swordsmanship and broadening his horizons, making him fight incessantly within the Hundred Champions Illusion, or later guiding him to comprehend sword momentum, all of it had been aimed at enabling him to break through and give birth to his own sword intent. Until finally, the sword spirit had let down what little guard she held and committed herself fully to assisting him, holding nothing back. Lethal sword arts, evasive movement techniques, rigorous body tempering, top-tier defensive spirit incantations... Li Guanqi slowly stood up, looking toward the jade pendant suspended in midair, the expression in his eyes growing increasingly resolute. "Since no one can predict what the future holds, I will give my all to grow strong! Strong enough to shatter the nine heavens with a single sword!" Inside the sword coffin, the sword spirit heard Li Guanqi's murmur, and her expression softened with emotion. A strange brilliance shimmered in her beautiful eyes, and the corners of her lips curved slightly upward. She said softly, "Take a look at the jade slip in that elder's storage ring. It should be of use to you." Li Guanqi, whose blood was still surging with resolve as he prepared to open the stone door, paused at her words and immediately searched through the storage ring. Sure enough, he discovered a crimson jade slip of archaic design inside. Judging from the slip's patterns and texture, it had weathered at least several thousand years of history. Its spiritual radiance had already grown faint. Li Guanqi could not help wondering aloud, "What is this thing...?" After a brief hesitation, he pulsed his divine sense and touched the jade slip. In an instant, the crimson jade slip dissolved into a cluster of fiery red light that sank directly between his brows! *Flame Devouring Art!* An ancient, obscure cultivation incantation surfaced in his mind. The formula transformed into radiant, burning characters that floated within his sea of consciousness. Immediately afterward, however, Li Guanqi noticed something amiss and said with a touch of awkwardness, "Sword Spirit Sister... this art is incomplete." The sword spirit smiled faintly, drawing Li Guanqi's consciousness into the space of the sword coffin, and said gently, "Project it so I can see." Hearing this, Li Guanqi promptly complied, and rows of fiery characters manifested in midair. The sword spirit swept an offhand glance over them, but her brow soon furrowed. Seeing this, Li Guanqi asked, "What is it? Is there a problem?" The sword spirit did not answer immediately. She walked forward slowly, studying the characters with great care. Only after a long while did she exhale a long breath, her eyes filled with admiration as she spoke. "The person who created this art must have been a peerless, heaven-defying genius!" "Truly... astonishing." "To think that such an exquisitely minded individual could exist in a modest place like the Human Spirit Realm." Li Guanqi was taken aback. In his understanding, the sword spirit had always been an aloof, transcendent presence. Even Heaven-rank cultivation arts never seemed remarkable to her. "This is the first time I've ever heard you praise someone." Hearing that, the sword spirit turned to look at him and smiled faintly. "You are very good as well." Li Guanqi froze for a second. He had not expected her to suddenly compliment him. Feeling a bit embarrassed, he scratched his head and grinned sheepishly. Right after, the sword spirit closed her eyes beneath the hovering text, and her entire aura underwent an abrupt, drastic transformation!