Li Guanqi stared with a grim expression at the man before him.
The man's figure was mostly obscured by countless black crows, making it impossible to see his features clearly.
Yet the instant the man appeared, every hair on Li Guanqi's body stood on end!
An inexplicable chill washed over him.
Li Guanqi's throat bobbed slightly; he sensed an uncanny feeling of mortal danger from his opponent.
This was quite likely the strongest enemy he had encountered to date!
Even Mo Yanshan had merely made him feel somewhat pressured.
Yet the man standing before him...
Gazing calmly into the distance, Li Guanqi whispered, "A man from Dark Crow?"
The pitch-black crows vanished completely in the blink of an eye, and Li Guanqi finally saw the other man's face.
He had sharp, defined features and deep, fathomless eyes, clad in a black robe with a short blade hanging from his waist.
The man looked calmly back at Li Guanqi and softly answered, "Dark Crow. Xuan Luo."
Li Guanqi's heart clenched tight. As expected, an assassin from the Dark Crow organization!
It seemed his suspicion had been correct—this Xuan Luo was far stronger than the fellow he had spotted last time!
Evidently, the previous Dark Crow assassin hadn't possessed absolute certainty of killing him and chose to have someone else sent in his stead.
Taking a slow, deep breath, Li Guanqi's figure rippled slightly as he reverted to his true form.
He removed the face-changing bug, allowing his long black hair to drift in the wind.
An invisible aura erupted outward with a boom, centered upon the two of them!
*Thud!*
A massive black sword casket slammed heavily onto the ground. Li Guanqi looked at Xuan Luo and said in a grave voice, "Where are the people of this town?"
Xuan Luo slowly detached the short blade at his waist without answering, but the answer was already all too obvious!
Above the entire ancient town, a transparent barrier of light warped incessantly, concealing everything taking place within from outside view.
The instant the two men's auras collided, the buildings flanking both sides of the central street were obliterated in a flash!
The bluestone pavement burst continuously with deafening cracks as their terrifying pressure mounted at a frantic pace.
*Thud!*
*Clang!*
The sword coffin sprang open, and the Red Lotus sword transformed into a streak of red light, snapping instantly into his grasp.
Without the slightest hesitation, Li Guanqi unleashed his full might to expand the Sword Prison barrier!
In a breath, Purple Dragon Thunder Flame surged forth!
"Soul Release: Red Lotus!"
A crimson lotus blossomed upon the hilt, and the blade radiated a gory scarlet radiance.
With Sword Ruins activated, two major capabilities—killing power and Blade Break—blessed his body simultaneously!
A terrifying sword intent rose straight from the earth, sharp enough to cleave the firmament!
Standing in place, Xuan Luo's well-like, stagnant gaze rippled slightly, his pupils contracting.
He had not expected Li Guanqi's power to be so terrifying when unleashed at full strength.
He could not help muttering under his breath, "No wonder Huang Qi chose to sacrifice his own task success rate rather than forgo a replacement.
"With strength like this... on the Tianji Rankings, only the top two could likely rival him."
*Boom!*
The bluestone beneath Li Guanqi's feet shattered, and the structures on both sides blasted into countless fragments!
His white robes snapped violently in the air. With a thunderous boom, a massive crater cratered the earth where he stood.
Like a bolt of lightning, his figure vanished from the spot!
*Boom!*
A blinding streak of sword light detonated at the absolute peak of speed!
"Seven Fiends!"
At this moment, Li Guanqi's aura was already pressing close to early Soul Formation!
Seven consecutive sword beams merged almost into a single straight line through the air, slashing straight toward Xuan Luo!
Facing Xuan Luo, Li Guanqi dared not show the slightest carelessness; he judged his opponent to be at mid-Soul Formation at the very least!
The sword light descended!
*Boom!*
Li Guanqi's eyes shook. Confronted by a majestic golden blade light, he instantly shot backward in rapid retreat!
At the same time, he flicked his wrist to slash out dozens of sword beams in defense, but the opponent's blade light cleaved through them like splitting bamboo, bearing straight down upon him.
Lightning flashed violently beneath Li Guanqi's feet. He leaned backward and lightly pressed against the void, twisting his body.
*Splurt!*
Li Guanqi stepped into the empty air, standing over a hundred zhang from Xuan Luo.
Looking down at the massive gash across his waist, cold sweat streamed down his forehead.
A brilliant golden light of peerless ferocity abruptly erupted!
The barrier of the Thunder Sword Prison was forcibly torn open by the opponent's domain power, and the heavenly flame was likewise held at bay by that barrier of energy, unable to advance another inch.
Xuan Luo stood suspended in midair, his black robes fluttering noisily in the fierce wind.
He looked calmly at Li Guanqi and said softly, "You are very strong. But in the eyes of Dark Crow, the Tianji Rankings are nothing more than a joke."
The blood within Li Guanqi roared like a boiling cauldron!
His skin turned vivid red as he channeled his primal energy to forcefully stitch together his severed intestines, a blazing flame igniting within the palm of his right hand.
Clamping his sword between his teeth, he seized the torn flesh of the wound with his left hand and swept his right hand slowly across it.
*Sizzle! Hiss-crack!*
The sound of scorching flesh rang out with excruciating clarity in the quiet night.
Li Guanqi kept at it until the torn flesh melted and fused together, not uttering a single peep, with only a sheen of cold sweat breaking across his brow!
A trace of astonishment flickered through the depths of Xuan Luo's eyes.
He knew Li Guanqi was ruthless and utterly merciless toward his enemies.
Yet he had never imagined the young man would be equally merciless toward himself.
A person like this...
Reversing his grip on the short blade, Xuan Luo held it horizontally before his chest, his eyes narrowing slightly.
*A person like this... if he doesn't die today, he will surely become a formidable figure in the future!*
Li Guanqi had no idea what Xuan Luo was thinking. He could feel an overwhelmingly powerful blade intent radiating from his opponent as well!
That blade intent carried a faint dao of survival. Survival...
Yes, the raw will to survive!
The missions undertaken by the Dark Crow organization were perilous in the extreme. Xuan Luo had fought through countless bloodbaths, clawing his way up from mountains of corpses!
In just a single exchange, he had managed to wound Li Guanqi.
His blade was fast—so fast that even when Li Guanqi reacted in time, his body couldn't evade it completely.
Li Guanqi licked his lips. With a hook of his fingers, boundless thunderclouds began to assemble frantically across the sky.
Xuan Luo glanced up slightly, muttering, "A spirit incantation?"
*Boom!*
Within the Sword Prison, lightning surged, and the dark clouds in the sky sent down thunderbolts!
At this moment, Xuan Luo's eyes narrowed. He sensed an exceptionally mighty presence descending with a roar!
Standing straight as a spear, Li Guanqi's entire body was abruptly clad in a suit of lightning armor!
"Spirit Incantation 99: Lightning Armor!"
Xuan Luo raised his foot slightly, his figure teleporting until he appeared three zhang before Li Guanqi, raising his hand to slash down at him!
Li Guanqi shifted at extreme speed, barely dodging the blow, yet the blade qi still carved a long wound across his chest.
Blood flowed, primal energy roared through Li Guanqi's body, and the thunderclouds above churned relentlessly.
"Spirit Incantation 246: Array Breaker—Thunder Spear!!"
*Rumble! Boom! Boom!*
Lightning raged within the Sword Prison as hundreds of lightning spears plunged thunderously from above!
Every spear strike carried power rivaling the full-strength blow of a half-step Soul Formation cultivator; even Xuan Luo dared not clash with them head-on.
He shifted and darted through the space, dodging continuously.
Yet a moment later, his eyes snapped wide!
Looking up at the churning thunderclouds, his pupils contracted as he muttered in utter shock,
"How could a mere patch of thunderclouds unleash consecutive lightning spirit incantations?!
"Just how vast must his divine sense be to sustain this?!"
"Spirit Incantation 263: Binding Lightning!"
Dozens of lightning chains extended from the thunderclouds in the void, snaking instantly toward Xuan Luo like living serpents!
Xuan Luo struck out repeatedly, severing the lightning chains, yet the lightning seemed inexhaustible, reappearing continuously.
The instant his limbs were entangled—
*Rumble!*
Beneath the lightning armor, Li Guanqi's brows knitted sharply as he slammed both hands against the void!
In an instant, Purple Dragon Thunder Flame erupted violently. A sky-enveloping sea of flames crashed like giant waves toward Xuan Luo's position!
"Spirit Incantation 221: Raging Flame Waves!"
Scorching waves of fire crashed down one after another until they enveloped every inch of the void within a thousand zhang!
The entire ancient town was incinerated into ash, erased from existence beneath the blaze.
Li Guanqi growled, "Spirit Incantation 196: Flame Burial!"
Before the words had even faded, the towering blaze swallowed Xuan Luo's figure, transforming in an instant into a pillar of fire that shot straight into the clouds!
Flames illuminated the sky, and under the consecutive detonations of destructive might, the barrier encompassing the ancient town shattered with a thunderous roar!
Chapter 364