At this moment, many people had gathered around the three peaks.
By contrast, virtually no one stood near the majestic main peak; all who had managed to enter possessed a discerning eye.
Serving as seals and shackles upon the main peak, the three surrounding summits had to have their seals broken before anyone could ascend.
Li Guanqi's eyes flickered. He sensed that whatever lay within these three peaks was by no means ordinary.
It was not just the distant peak where lightning ran rampant; another peak, brimming with magnificent sword intent, stirred the sword intent within his body into a surging frenzy.
Meanwhile, the peak radiant with iridescent light caused the power of the two heavenly flames inside him to grow endlessly restless.
Li Guanqi licked his lips. The Tianji Chart was very likely on the main peak.
As for making a choice?
He had no need to choose. If possible... he wanted the supreme treasures of all three peaks!
*Buzz!*
Lightning gathered continuously in the sky above the summit of the Thunder Peak, striking down in relentless bursts comparable to heavenly tribulations.
The crowd of powerhouses dared not draw near in the slightest, terrified that the raging lightning might fall upon them.
Nearly a hundred Soul Formation experts were gathered in the surrounding air, standing densely packed in the sky.
Seeing this, Li Guanqi could not help curling his lip. He had not expected the land of Mingchuan to hold so many mighty Soul Formation cultivators!
The Nascent Soul cultivators had already been slaughtered almost to the last.
To these people, Nascent Soul cultivators were like mere ants; once spotted, they were snuffed out with a casual gesture.
Yet the Soul Formation cultivators had suffered minimal casualties. After all, nothing had appeared yet that was worth coming to blows over.
Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. He noticed that among the crowd, at least a dozen possessed lightning spiritual roots.
Right now, those individuals were watching the center of the lightning vortex atop the peak, all visibly eager to move.
Suddenly!
A man wearing a dark blue robe and a white-faced mask abruptly stepped forward!
Then, with a flash of lightning around his body, he left behind an afterimage and vanished from where he stood.
"Strike!"
Someone shouted, and in an instant, chaos erupted across the sky!
*Boom, boom, boom!*
*Swish, swish! Clang!*
*Rumble!*
In a flash, a terrifying storm of primal energy swept across the heavens.
Flashes of sabers and glints of swords erupted continuously, yet everyone's target was astonishingly uniform.
Whoever attempted to enter that central vortex would inevitably become the target of all.
*Splat!*
"Ahhh!"
Screams rang out one after another. The man who had made the first move held out for merely a single breath before being submerged beneath the endless barrage of attacks.
Body and soul obliterated!
A thick stench of blood filled the void.
Yet just then, everyone noticed Li Guanqi's figure.
There was no helping it. A man walking toward the summit with his head lowered, completely ignoring the raging lightning around him, was impossible for anyone to overlook.
In an instant, Li Guanqi became the target of all. The powerhouses halted one after another, turning their gazes toward him.
Someone roared furiously, "Kill him!"
In that moment, the crowd seemed to unite as one, and the whistling of rushing wind resounded endlessly through the surroundings.
Perceiving this, Pengluo on his shoulder instantly raised a hand and released a milky-white barrier.
Li Guanqi, however, curved his lips into a faint smirk and murmured softly under his breath.
"Yinming... Soul Scorch!"
*Boom!*
An eerie ripple expanded in an instant.
Like a boulder hurled into a tranquil pond, an eerie black flame abruptly ignited inside the bodies of everyone lunging toward Li Guanqi!
*Whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*
With every step he took, those beside him were engulfed in the inexplicable, eerie flames.
In just a single breath, more than twenty people were burned into piles of flying ash!
Even cultivators at the mid Soul Formation Realm could only hold out for a moment longer.
As for the ghost cultivators, their spirits shook with terror as they fled madly, eyes filled with utter dread!
"Ahhh! Aaargh! Damn it! What flame is this?!"
"Aaargh! It won't go out!"
"A heavenly flame! This is the heavenly flame, Yinming Profound Flame!"
"Ah! Help! I don't want to die!"
For a time, screams shook the heavens. Li Guanqi's expression remained indifferent, his hands tucked into his sleeves as he walked forward step by step.
Those who had not yet been engulfed in flames retreated in panic.
Facing this eerie heavenly flame, even late Soul Formation cultivators could only resist it for a brief moment.
Still, quite a few formidable experts hid among the crowd, and Li Guanqi's eyes narrowed slightly.
He sensed that three individuals possessed exceptionally powerful auras. Relying on extraordinary treasures within their bodies, they were actually able to keep the Yinming Profound Flame at bay.
However, being swallowed and eroded by the flames was only a matter of time.
The three exchanged glances. All three possessed lightning spiritual roots, granting them immense resistance to lightning.
The area where they stood was already within five hundred zhang of the summit.
That distance alone had barred the vast majority of cultivators.
One of them, an old man in Daoist robes, narrowed his eyes at Li Guanqi.
Lightning flickered around his body as he turned to the other two and said coldly, "Fellow Daoists, you see it as well.
"If we do not join forces, the three of us can only watch helplessly as the supreme treasure falls into someone else's hands.
"How about we combine our strength to kill him first, and then decide things according to our own abilities afterward?"
The strength Li Guanqi had displayed was far too formidable—so formidable that none of them had absolute confidence in slaying him alone.
The moment the old man spoke, the other two nodded without hesitation.
"Agreed!"
"Heh, if anyone holds back later, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Li Guanqi calmly watched the three form their fragile alliance.
Looking at them with an amused expression, he said softly, "Done discussing?
"Hmm... how about this: whoever strikes first dies. Which of you is going first?"
Hearing this, a slender man in white scoffed, flicking his sword to carve several sword flowers in the air.
"What arrogant talk! Whoever strikes first dies?
"Attack together!"
Li Guanqi curled his lip. This fellow was no decent person either.
He mocked with his mouth, but when it came time to strike, he urged the other two to attack together.
Beside him, the burly man's eyes flickered with sharp light. Only after seeing the other two strike did he lag half a step behind before shooting forward.
As three late Soul Formation experts attacked in unison, wind and clouds churned across the world, and the void trembled.
Even the lightning vortex atop the mountain summit paused for a fraction of an instant.
Yet that single instant allowed all four of them to discern what lay within the vortex atop the peak!
Pengluo cried out in shock, "The Heavenly Thunder Bead!"
Li Guanqi raised his eyebrows, a sharp glint flashing across his eyes.
The three exchanged glances, the killing intent in their eyes deepening further.
The surrounding cultivators also watched them like tigers eyeing prey, all wishing to be the fisherman reaping the spoils of the contest between the snipe and the clam.
*Bang!*
The tattered cloth wrapped around the sword coffin on Li Guanqi's back suddenly burst apart!
The pitch-black sword casket sprang open, and a longsword with a blood-crimson blade instantly shot into Li Guanqi's hand.
Chapter 431