Realizing the Gap

The moment this strike was unleashed, heaven and earth altered their countenance. Within the boundless void, the swirling mass of primal chaos across a radius of more than a dozen li was drawn in by this inexplicable sword beam. A terrifying force erupted with a deafening crash, tearing the surrounding space into countless fragments. Deep-purple sword light, carrying an unmatched might, exploded in an instant! Wherever the condensed, hundred-zhang sword light passed, space abruptly shattered. The sword-wielding man's expression twisted violently. Looking at the incoming sword light, his pupils shrank to the size of needlepoints. Behind him, the old man and the other man bellowed anxiously in warning. "Watch out!!" "Be careful!!" This strike made the hair on the man's entire body stand on end, sending chills down his spine. As if a fissure had ripped open in the spiritual terrace between his brows, the illusory form of a cyan longsword abruptly flickered with faint light. The sword in his hand immediately blazed with bursts of cyan radiance! The man possessed resolute, sharp facial features, yet at this moment, his brow was etched with utter gravity. "Sword Ruins, open! Frost!!" In an instant, biting frost ran rampant through the void, and violent wind primal energy surged and roared. Amidst the flashing sword shadows, even the chaotic tempests of the void were forcibly torn apart. The man narrowed his eyes. The black armor covering his body billowed without any wind, clanging loudly as the plates slammed into one another. Terrifying sword intent erupted from within him in an instant, and surging primal energy churned relentlessly. *Boom!!* The sword in his hand carved a mysterious, elusive arc and slashed out instantly! *Boom!!!* A blue sword light, spanning a full two hundred zhang, erupted in a flash! Its terrifying cutting force instantly ripped through the surrounding space for several hundred zhang. The two sword lights burst forth almost simultaneously, colliding at a speed virtually imperceptible to the naked eye! *Clang!!* *Boom!!* The terrifying explosion instantly threw them back several thousand zhang! Li Guanqi took the brunt of a tremendous impact, holding his sword coffin across his chest as a shield. Almost the very moment the blast rang out, the immense shockwave shattered both of his arms and caved in his chest slightly. His internal organs felt as if they were about to be vomited out, and the blood he coughed up was flecked with bits of minced flesh. Many of the meridians inside his body were ruptured by the shock. Surrounded by countless gusts of astral wind, his skin was sliced open in numerous bloody gashes. The man was not having an easy time either. Lightning raged all over him, mixed with the power of two heavenly flames. The terrifying sword light had similarly breached his armor, leaving sword wounds of varying depths across his body. His figure was also knocked back several thousand zhang by the explosion's shockwave. The burning flames refused to extinguish, remaining completely unaffected despite the frost power within him. In the end, he had no choice but to raise his hand and carve away the scorched flesh from his own body! The other old man and man arrived at that moment, having also been delayed briefly by the blast. The old man cast a piercing glare into the distance, his brows knitting when he saw the man gouging out his own flesh. Yet when he clearly saw those two distinct flames, his expression shifted slightly. Given his strength, he could naturally tell that these flames were out of the ordinary, though he did not immediately suspect they were heavenly flames. The man's aura was now somewhat weakened, his face pale, with cold sweat beading on his forehead. His fierce eyes stared unblinkingly into the distant void, where a streak of purple lightning was fleeing frantically. Without the slightest hesitation, the three raised their weapons and resumed the pursuit! With a grim, heavy tone, the man said, "This brat is too strong! He hasn't even entered the Void Refining Realm, yet he can actually fight me to a standstill..." "If this person were to break through to the Void Refining Realm... it's unimaginable how terrifying his strength would be!!" The old man's expression was equally somber as he said in a deep voice, "I already said earlier that he must never be underestimated." "He dared cause trouble in Yuntian City. No matter what, we must capture him and publicly decapitate him to assert our authority!" The other man had slightly sunken cheeks, and an icy malice lingered between his brow and eyes. He had triangular eyes, a hooked nose, and lips virtually devoid of color, bearing a faint purplish hue instead. His eyes flickered slightly, and he suddenly sent a low voice transmission. "Tell me..." "Even if he doesn't belong to a local faction, Yuntian City's defenses are formidable, yet he still acted so brazenly." "Do you think... especially at a crucial juncture like this! Could this be a probing strike from some faction?" Upon hearing this, the old man and the other man both stiffened. They knew all too well what crucial juncture he was referring to. Otherwise, a minor disturbance like this would never have mobilized the three of them all at once. The three of them flew at breakneck speed, constantly narrowing the distance between themselves and Li Guanqi. The old man pondered for a moment, then frowned and spoke. "Lao Zhao makes a good point. Such a possibility cannot be ruled out!" "For the sake of what's happening half a month from now, Yuntian City's defenses cannot afford the slightest mishap!!" At this moment, the man holding the cyan longsword suddenly chimed in. "Back then, he shouted the name 'Cang Lu.' Has any information on that black-robed person been uncovered?" The old man shook his head upon hearing this. "When the commotion first started, I sent men to investigate. Throughout the entirety of Yuntian City—above and below—there is no information on this person whatsoever." "Even if there is a blood feud between the two, Yuntian City's rules cannot be broken!" The three exchanged glances, all catching the murderous intent in one another's eyes. Yet as they pursued Li Guanqi, another figure was rapidly giving chase as well. Affixed to his feet were several golden talismans; as the talismans burned, the green-robed figure transformed into a blurred streak of light in hot pursuit. * * * Li Guanqi gritted his teeth and swallowed the severed arm that Pengluo had snapped off for him, then tossed out over a thousand mid-grade spirit stones and violently shattered them. As the spirit stones shattered, an immense surge of spiritual energy transformed into a mist that enveloped him. As he circulated his internal cultivation technique, his body became like the eye of a vortex storm, madly devouring the surrounding spiritual energy. Even now, he had not yet tapped into his second dantian, and his consumption of primal energy remained manageable. The most serious issue was his severe injuries. Li Guanqi's eyes flickered. *Is this the strength of a true Void Refining Realm expert?* Indeed, that terrifying explosion had torn through the primal energy barrier he had erected in barely a breath. Yet his opponent's primal energy barrier had managed to withstand a portion of the shockwave. Li Guanqi looked back. The three figures were vaguely visible, and his eyes glinted. This clash with the trio had made him clearly perceive the gap between himself and Void Refining Realm cultivators. In terms of both control and application of primal energy, his opponent was far superior to him. His so-called condensed sword beam was like a laughingstock riddled with flaws before the other man's sword light. Even after deploying all his methods, he had still ended up slightly on the losing end. Furthermore... *It seems there is still a massive gap between me and a true Void Refining Realm expert.* Just then, however, the trio's speed surged once more—they had clearly activated some sort of secret art!