*Boom! Boom!*
*Rumble, rumble, rumble!*
The terrifying roar was deafening.
Inside the other five doorways, the figures shattered with a series of sharp bangs!
Witnessing this, the cultivators were utterly bewildered, having no idea what had just transpired. Yet as the figures vanished, nothing abnormal appeared before their eyes either. It was as though nothing had ever happened, save for the incessant rumblings echoing around their ears.
Li Guanqi shifted his footwork, terrifying sword qi whistling past him in a continuous barrage. The piercing sword qi scraped across his flesh until his skin burned crimson.
*Boom!*
Li Guanqi altered his stance mid-strike, slashing his blade across his opponent's chest.
A nearly fatal wound instantly tore open across the duplicate's chest. Yet no blood flowed from the gash; only a burst of blinding light flared, and then the wound vanished at a pace visible to the naked eye.
"Li Guanqi" had clearly not expected his strike to be so vicious. Looking down at the wound on his chest, a strange, eerie smirk touched the corners of his lips.
Flourishing the sword in his hand, he stood three zhang away from Li Guanqi, tilted his head, and murmured softly, "Impressive. It seems merely copying your abilities isn't quite enough... Heh, in that case..."
As he spoke, a fiercely complex, ferocious aura abruptly erupted from "Li Guanqi"'s body!
Within the blink of an eye, this aura surged straight into half-step Void Refinement!
At the same time, subtle changes altered the duplicate's appearance. His figure grew taller and more slender, his facial features sharpened, and his black hair was pulled loosely behind his head. His clothes transformed into an opulent purple robe.
More than that, fine threads of blood began spreading through his previously ethereal, translucent form. Gradually, real flesh and blood materialized across his body. Stream after stream of radiant mist poured into him, driving his aura to an increasingly horrifying height.
Standing where he was, Li Guanqi could not help but tighten his grip on Red Lotus. His eyes narrowed, filled with grave vigilance. He felt an immense sense of oppression radiating from the man—a feeling several times stronger than what he had felt facing Ming Xiao!
Li Guanqi licked his dry lips and murmured under his breath, "What a formidable fellow..."
***
Meanwhile, in the skies outside the ruins, dense ranks of black-armored soldiers stood in formation!
The Nether King sat upon his throne, his expression grim to the extreme. Seeing this, the woman behind him let out a seductive laugh, letting the garments over her shoulders slowly slip downward.
Yet who could have expected...
In the very next breath, the Nether King's face turned icy cold, and he threw a brutal punch!
*Bang!*
Half the woman's body was blown to pieces, flesh and blood splattering in all directions.
Right at that moment, an unimaginably terrifying pressure descended, blanketing the entire sky above Mingchuan!
Ten thousand li of the firmament collapsed, and pitch-black nothingness threatened to devour the whole of Mingchuan. Distorted space instantly trapped the region in an inescapable vice.
In an instant, every human, demon, and ghost in the land of Mingchuan was pinned to the ground by terror and overwhelming might, unable to budge even an inch—regardless of their cultivation realm!
The Nether King's eyes widened in sheer horror. Just as he tried to rise—
*Bang!*
The pitch-black throne beneath him shattered, and his entire body was smashed out of the air toward the earth like a battered rag doll!
Nearly five hundred black-armored soldiers of the Nascent Soul realm abruptly exploded! Without the slightest warning, without the slightest power to resist!
The Nether King slammed into the ground, gouging out a crater a hundred zhang deep. A bizarre power snapped all four of his limbs, leaving him splayed out across the dirt in a twisted posture.
Absolute terror consumed his soul!
"Ma... Mahayana realm! Who is it?! Which old monster has come?!"
Yin-nether power surged as the Nether King struggled with all his might to raise his head.
Before him appeared a massive foot clad in golden armor.
The foot rose slowly...
*Bang!*
Long Hou's eyes were cast downward, filled with frigid indifference. Within a radius of a hundred li, not a single living creature remained!
The Nether King was stomped straight into the earth, his skull instantly bursting apart!
Yet as yin-nether power surged, his head reformed once more. The restored Nether King trembled violently, croaking in utter terror, "M-my Lord... where did this humble one... g-go wrong...? Please... show mercy... point out a path of survival for me..."
The Nether King could clearly feel the aura of death enveloping him. The opponent's power was simply on a completely different plane! He had no idea when he could have ever provoked such a figure. All he could do was beg for his life.
Before he could finish speaking, his body detonated once again.
When he reformed once more, he continued to plead desperately. Before such a supreme expert, he did not even possess the courage to resist.
Finally, Long Hou spoke.
"Under orders to raze Mingchuan."
As the words fell, the man opened his right hand, and an exaggeratedly ornate golden spear materialized within his grip.
The Nether King's pupils dilated frantically as realization struck him like lightning!
"Impossible... That's impossible! How could that person have any connection to him?!"
Yet sensing Long Hou's murderous intent, a desperate ruthlessness flared in the Nether King's eyes!
*Boom!*
The Nether King's body burst apart as he shrieked with a hideous, contorted expression, "Ten Thousand Souls Devour the Heavens!"
*Boom!*
The Nether King's aura spiked to its absolute peak, and a terrifying yin-nether ghost king materialized. Standing a hundred zhang tall and brandishing a colossal scythe, the ghost king slashed down violently toward the man.
Long Hou slowly lifted his gaze and uttered a single word: "Seal."
*Boom!*
In an instant, countless beams of terrifying golden light erupted from the pitch-black void. Thousands of golden rays shot forth, and tens of thousands of spears pierced straight through the ghost king.
With one hand gripping his spear, Long Hou swung it down toward the fleeing Nether King!
*Boom! Crash!*
A beam of golden spear radiance illuminated the heavens, and the entire Lingxu Continent shook violently.
That single strike cleaved the land of Mingchuan—spanning nearly a thousand li—straight down the middle!
The yin-nether qi blanketing the skies of Mingchuan was completely swept away. The abyss carved out by the spear spanned a full thousand zhang across! No one knew how many vengeful spirits perished under that single strike.
Long Hou raised a hand to disperse the seal over the pocket realm's exit, a playful smile playing upon his lips. Casting his eyes across the surroundings, every cultivator loyal to the Nether King suddenly exploded into mist. Even those hiding in the shadows to watch were not spared; every last one of them detonated and died!
Having finished all this, Long Hou curled his lip and muttered, "Should I let the Great Xia Domain Lord know?"
Just then, a warm, mellow male voice drifted into Long Hou's ears from afar.
"What could have happened... to require Long Hou to intervene in person?"
Long Hou looked up toward the void and shrugged, murmuring, "Acting under orders."
The void fell silent for less than a breath before the voice hastily replied, "A trifling matter. No harm done... no harm done!"
Long Hou nodded slightly in acknowledgment, took a single step, and vanished from the spot.
Yet Li Guanqi remained completely unaware of any of this.
For at that very moment, the man before him was smiling warmly at him, chuckling, "My name is... Tianji."
Chapter 444