Having been slashed apart, Tianji's body—along with the Tianji Chart that was his true form—split cleanly down the middle into two halves.
At the same time, deep terror flickered in the depths of his contorted, ferocious gaze.
His dark pupils seemed to dissolve into a vast expanse of stars, starlight swirling within them as he stared fixedly at the newly appeared sword spirit.
He sensed the distinct aura of a spirit radiating from her!
Which meant... the woman before him had attained the very state he had striven for over ten thousand years...
She, too, was a spirit!
Yet this sword spirit possessed a half-physical body!
A terrifying aura erupted from Tianji as bizarre mists churned, attempting to mend his severed body once more.
Yet right at that moment, an eerie power detonated from within Li Guanqi!
Countless scarlet threads burst forth from the Red Lotus sword, wrapping tightly around Tianji's body. Astonishingly, this power clamped down on Tianji's own, suppressing it completely!
The sword spirit lightly curled a finger and murmured, "Do you see clearly now? This is the true power of Spirit Absolution—to command and absolve every spirit under heaven!"
Li Guanqi shrugged and looked at the sword spirit. "Are there no restrictions?"
The sword spirit turned to look at him with a faint smile. "There are," she said softly. "It does not work on those above me."
Li Guanqi frowned upon hearing that. "What level would someone have to reach to surpass you?"
The corners of her mouth curved slightly, revealing a breathtaking smile. Parting her vermilion lips, she whispered, "In the Three Realms and Six Domains, the Nine Heavens and Eight Desolations... there is none."
At those words, Li Guanqi's eyes went wide, his mouth hanging slightly open.
Even Tianji sank into deep contemplation upon hearing this, completely oblivious to the crimson threads biting deep into his flesh.
Suddenly!
As if struck by a realization, Tianji looked up at the sword spirit in sheer terror!
"No! Impossible! You're—"
Pfft!
Before Tianji could finish, a flash of killing intent crossed the sword spirit's brow.
With a gentle flick of her jade-like finger, the scarlet threads instantly tightened!
Tianji's body abruptly exploded, sliced into countless fragments by the threads!
Guiding with a raised hand, she gathered Tianji's fragmented essence into an egg-sized bead and swallowed it. With another wave, she cast a streak of spiritual light, and the severed Tianji Chart instantly restored itself to wholeness.
However, having lost its chart spirit, the scroll now appeared utterly devoid of spirituality.
The sword spirit lifted a hand to cover her mouth and let out a burp.
"Burp..."
Li Guanqi wanted to laugh, but didn't dare.
A faint blush dusted her pretty face. Lowering her hand, she said with deadpan solemnity, "Perform a blood binding on this Tianji Chart. Though it has lost its chart spirit, it is still an extraordinarily rare treasure. Later, when you travel across the Six Domains, inscribe them onto it. Opening the Tianji Chart will allow you to teleport to any location you've marked. Furthermore, the chart itself is endlessly mutable, nurturing different heavenly materials and earthly treasures every hundred years."
Li Guanqi's eyes gleamed at her words. Rubbing his hands together without a second thought, he offered a drop of blood and instantly forged a mental connection with the Tianji Chart.
And at last, he understood why the Tianji Pavilion coveted it so fiercely!
It turned out the Tianji Chart possessed a trace of the Great Dao's power of deduction! It could perform simple divinations of fortune and misfortune regarding future events.
"No wonder..."
"No wonder the Tianji Pavilion was so desperate to get its hands on it!"
Li Guanqi's expression shifted several times, but then he shrugged and muttered, "A treasure this good certainly can't be given to them. Still... how am I going to explain this?"
Buzz!
The surrounding barrier space shattered, and Li Guanqi's figure reappeared in the outside world.
Yet the instant he emerged, everything fell into place!
This entire secret realm was actually the interior world of the Tianji Chart! In other words... from the very moment they entered, they had been inside the scroll all along.
Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. Naturally, he could feel how the Tianji Chart had been absorbing the flesh, blood, and essence of the cultivators. His divine sense surged, and with a single thought, he forcefully expelled everyone from the realm.
Turning around, Li Guanqi had already changed into a fresh white robe. Hands tucked into his sleeves, he looked at the four old men with a beaming smile.
"Hey, aren't you four planning to make a move?"
The four men's faces shifted instantly!
Their expressions as they looked at Li Guanqi grew exceedingly strange.
Xuan Lin was even more thoroughly bewildered, having no idea what had happened. He knew all four of these men, and the relationships among them were tangled and fraught. In short... they harbored mutual grudges and couldn't stand one another.
Xuan Lin shrugged. It seemed Li Guanqi had taken every benefit inside the tower for himself. Otherwise, how could the Tower of the Wheel of Fate have vanished into thin air? Glancing toward the terrifying fissure in the distant sky that still had not healed, his gaze toward Li Guanqi carried a newfound reverence. An attack like that... he knew that even if he fully aroused his Qilin bloodline, he wouldn't be able to withstand it.
At this moment, the sword spirit followed behind Li Guanqi, yet still not a single person could see her. None of the people present could stir even the slightest interest in her eyes.
Just then, the gray-haired elder leading the group showed a slight change in expression. Stepping forward, he bowed toward Li Guanqi.
"Young Master Li has sharp eyes. I am Qi Rongxuan, manager of Mingchuan's Tianji Pavilion on the Lingxu Continent."
At this point, the elder paused briefly, keeping his hands clasped in a respectful bow. "May I ask if Young Master Li has obtained the Tianji Chart?"
Standing to the side, Xuan Lin's pupils contracted slightly. Only now did he realize that this secret realm involved the Tianji Pavilion!
*The Tianji Chart... Could it be that he came here specifically for this object?*
Li Guanqi curled his lip and replied in an easy tone, "Good news: I got it."
The elder's brow smoothed instantly, and he let out a long sigh of relief, his face blooming with joy. The other men also breathed sighs of relief.
Yet before the elder could straighten up and speak, Li Guanqi threw out his hands in a helpless shrug.
"Bad news: the Tianji Chart has recognized me as its master."
At these words, the old men's expressions fluctuated wildly. Qi Rongxuan's face turned the color of pig liver.
The old men exchanged baffled glances, swallowing the speeches they had prepared beforehand. For a moment, Qi Rongxuan's eyes darted restlessly, entirely at a loss for words.
"Young Master Li, could you... let me examine it first?"
Li Guanqi asked with mild surprise, "Aren't you four going to try and rob me?"
Hearing that, the four elders instinctively looked back at the lingering sword scar across the sky and shuddered in unison.
"We wouldn't dare... We wouldn't dare at all..."
With a single thought from Li Guanqi, an immense, hundred-zhang scroll unrolled across the sky. Coiling upward, its magnificent and majestic imagery displayed mountain ranges undulating amid clouds and mist, shrouded in mystery. Flowing with ambient luminescence, arcane patterns surfaced across it, radiating an aura of profound enigma.
Chapter 447