Li Guanqi looked at Pengluo with cold eyes.
To him, the sword spirit was a profoundly important person—both master and friend.
Next came Jiuxiao.
After all, back when Jiuxiao was still a dragon egg, he had nourished it daily with his essence blood.
Consequently, Jiuxiao harbored absolute loyalty and devotion toward him.
As for Pengluo...
Had the sword spirit not spoken up, he would have slain it with a single sword strike long ago.
Spiritual light shimmered around Pengluo as its wounds began healing at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Clasping its two hands at a loss before itself, it lowered its head and spoke:
"Regarding the Heavenly Thunder Bead, Master, I suggest you integrate it into the Dao platform within your sea of consciousness."
"That way, the Heavenly Thunder Bead can both protect your sea of consciousness and use its power to open up a second dantian!"
Li Guanqi frowned slightly and glanced toward the other two distant peaks.
The battles raging on those two mountain peaks were just as extraordinarily fierce; even tens of thousands of zhang away, he could sense two immensely powerful forces erupting.
"What do you mean by a second dantian?"
Pengluo cautiously replied, "Literally what it sounds like. The Heavenly Thunder Bead can serve as a vessel for a second dantian."
"In other words... as long as you thoroughly refine it, it will be the equivalent of possessing two identical dantians!"
"Right now, your strength stems from your not-yet-fully-integrated Nascent Soul, and the Heavenly Thunder Bead will become another Nascent Soul."
Finally, Pengluo's gaze sharpened, and it whispered through a voice transmission:
"It is essentially equivalent to... having an extra Nascent Soul or origin spirit—an extra life!"
On the surface, Li Guanqi remained calm as still water, but the slight tremor in his eyes betrayed the turbulence within.
The power inside the Heavenly Thunder Bead alone was enough to raise his strength to the peak of mid Soul Formation Realm.
As for the Heavenly Thunder Bead's uniqueness... it was equivalent to duplicating an extra Nascent Soul for him!
Such a supreme treasure filled Li Guanqi's heart with great delight.
Without another word, he began circulating his cultivation method, harnessing the power of the two heavenly flames to frantically refine the Heavenly Thunder Bead.
Following Pengluo's advice, he also settled the Heavenly Thunder Bead within his sea of consciousness.
As a result, the Heavenly Thunder Bead, already a supreme treasure, now additionally served as a great artifact safeguarding his sea of consciousness.
As the aura surrounding him steadily stabilized, Li Guanqi turned to look at the terrifying mountain peak brimming with sharp sword intent.
Above the peak, yin winds howled, yin-nether power permeated the air, and a hundred-zhang-tall black shadow was slaughtering indiscriminately.
Li Guanqi tucked his hands into his sleeves and stepped forward, teleporting a thousand zhang away in a single stride.
Before long, he arrived at the edge of the battlefield on that other peak.
By now, Li Guanqi could already feel the formidable power of the Heavenly Thunder Bead, and the speed at which his Nascent Soul was transforming into an origin spirit had accelerated significantly.
The embryonic form of the second dantian had already emerged; while stabilizing, it was absorbing the power from within the Heavenly Thunder Bead and accumulating primal energy.
The circulation of the cultivation technique within his body reached its pinnacle, and amid the roaring of his blood and qi, primal energy surged endlessly through his meridians.
Yet right at that moment, Li Guanqi finally got a clear look at the man slaughtering the surrounding cultivators.
The man wore a gold-embroidered black robe. Though pale-faced, he was exceptionally handsome, with profound, pitch-black eyes.
His nose was tall and straight, his cheekbones slightly high.
His thin lips carried a cruel ruthlessness, and an evil, charming smile played across his brow and eyes.
Behind him, towering black qi raged in all directions—a manifestation of yin-nether qi concentrated to the extreme.
"Ming Xiao," Li Guanqi muttered under his breath as he stared at the man.
From this opponent, he felt an unprecedented sense of pressure.
What surprised Li Guanqi was the sword in the man's hand.
His right hand loosely clasped empty air, yet no sword was visible. It swung soundlessly, entirely invisible and formless.
Sword intent surged around Ming Xiao—an intensely frigid, billowing sword intent.
Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes, his inner calm shattered.
"Sword Gall Realm sword intent!"
Before long, someone noticed Li Guanqi's arrival.
Cultivators began pulling back from the battlefield one after another, looking toward Li Guanqi with terrified expressions.
These were all individuals who had previously fled from his Sword Prison.
"Why is he here again?! Could it be..."
"Getting one supreme treasure wasn't enough? Is he actually trying to snatch that sword from Ming Xiao's hands as well?!"
"No matter how strong he is, that's just a fool's daydream! His opponent is Ming Xiao!"
"Tch, I, Yuan Yangbo of Dragon Capturing Villa, am the first to doubt it. Steal a treasure from Ming Xiao? Have you all been scared out of your wits?"
The speaker was a man dressed in opulent robes.
Yet no sooner had he spoken than mockers jeered from all around.
"If you had been on Thunder Peak back then, the only thing left tough about you right now would be your mouth."
Many people stopped fighting and turned their heads toward Li Guanqi.
An elder covered in blood parried Ming Xiao with a sword strike and sneered with a cold glare.
"Hmph, these days brats whose feathers haven't even grown in dare to be so arrogant?"
Hearing this, Li Guanqi couldn't help rolling his eyes—he hadn't even said anything yet.
"Old bastard, why is your mouth spewing shit?"
"Did I dig up your ancestral graves? Or toss your kid down a well? Or pry out your old woman's false teeth?"
The elder was so infuriated by Li Guanqi's tirade that he almost choked on his own breath.
"You!..."
However, right at that moment, Ming Xiao in his black robes fixed his gaze squarely on Li Guanqi.
"Hand over the Heavenly Thunder Bead, and I'll spare your life."
Li Guanqi smacked his lips, and behind him, the sword casket abruptly snapped open!
*Clang!!*
A resounding sword hum rang out instantly, and Red Lotus flashed into his hand.
Was Ming Xiao arrogant?
Extremely arrogant.
So much so that Li Guanqi felt deeply annoyed.
Being arrogant was fine, but acting arrogant over his head? Not a chance.
Gripping Red Lotus, Li Guanqi's aura instantly soared to the peak of mid Soul Formation Realm in a split second!
Immediately afterward, he circulated the Dragon Elephant Prison-Suppressing Art within his body, his frame expanding by a full size until he looked exceptionally burly.
Unable to bear the sheer power of his physical body, the void beneath his feet began twisting violently, and as his foot pivoted, tiny spatial cracks were actually torn open in the void!
Ten zhang away, Ming Xiao narrowed his eyes at Li Guanqi, his gaze growing increasingly solemn.
Then, right before Ming Xiao's eyes, Li Guanqi switched his sword from his right hand to his left.
*Boom!*
An overwhelmingly terrifying sword intent rose straight from the ground, churning the wind and clouds.
In an instant, the spectating cultivators were all blasted back hundreds of zhang by this horrific force.
Even the elder who had spoken earlier shut his mouth and flew backward.
Wisps and arcs of thunder and lightning crackled beneath Li Guanqi's feet, intertwined with the eerie power of flames.
The surging pressure felt as though it were brewing something cataclysmic.
Turbulent waves rippled through Ming Xiao's heart. Gripping the newly obtained Shadowless Sword, he asked in a solemn voice,
"Who are you?"
At the same time, yin-nether power surged around Ming Xiao, his aura climbing again and again!
Late Soul Formation, and even extremely close to the peak of late Soul Formation!
Ghost qi faintly drifted from his snow-white face, turning half of his countenance savage and twisted.
The elder who had previously traded blows with Ming Xiao turned pale with fright, blurting out in horror,
"*Gulp*... G-Ghost... Ghost King Body!"
"He actually succeeded in cultivating the Ghost King Body!"
Chapter 434