Three on Three!

A sharp, distinct killing intent swept over him. Li Guanqi unconsciously tightened his grip on Red Lotus. His chest rose and fell slightly, exhaling a breath of turbid air. "Looks like... I'll have to put my life on the line!" The moment the words left his mouth, several incomparably fierce sword beams and saber rays struck abruptly from behind!! Thunder flashed furiously beneath Li Guanqi's feet as he pushed his movement technique to its absolute peak. By a hair's breadth, he barely evaded the onslaught. Terrifying power detonated beside him!! Rumble! Boom, boom, boom! Circulating the Dragon Elephant Prison-Suppressing Art with all his might, Li Guanqi's figure flickered repeatedly as he absorbed the blast's concussive force. His feet kicked back violently, carving two blinding streaks of thunderous light across the void. Twisting around, Li Guanqi's gaze was sharp as a blade. He crouched low, his body coiled like a man-eating leopard poised to pounce. Holding his sword horizontally across his chest, lightning raged violently all around him!!! Seeing Li Guanqi's surging momentum, the three pursuers exchanged glances and instantly unleashed their most formidable auras! The two sides stared at each other across the void, the tension mounting to a fever pitch!! From within the sword coffin, the sword spirit silently watched everything. She could not protect Li Guanqi at every waking moment. Growth required him to experience it all himself. Only by struggling on the brink of death time and time again could he grow stronger. Separated by a thousand zhang, staring across the distance without a single wasted word, both sides raised their weapons and charged simultaneously!! Boom!!! A deafening roar echoed through the void. The immense pressure shattered every swirling mass of primal chaos in the vicinity. In an instant, the two sides collided with the force of thunder!!! Outside, in the sky above a mountain range, an expanse of a thousand zhang suddenly distorted, bulging round like the swollen belly of an ox. Li Guanqi was sent flying several hundred zhang by a saber strike from the elder. His body spun and tumbled through midair before he abruptly arrested his momentum. Ignoring the torn webbing between his thumb and forefinger, he did not even look back; twisting his wrist, he violently slashed behind him!!! Boom! Clang!!! The clash of metal erupted from behind. Li Guanqi's strike landed squarely on the man's blue blade. The immense recoil propelled Li Guanqi far back, sending him hurtling straight toward the hook-nosed man. Just as the fellow leveled his sword, poised to run Li Guanqi through, Li Guanqi suddenly thrust out his right hand and bellowed, "Jiuxiao!!!!" In an instant, a resounding dragon roar echoed between heaven and earth!! Roar!!!! A giant dragon roared. In the blink of an eye, a thunder dragon nearly twenty-two zhang long materialized before everyone!! The majestic, overbearing dragon stunned the three pursuers where they stood, leaving them dazed for a long moment. When the hook-nosed man finally came to his senses, the murderous golden slit pupils of the dragon sent a chill straight to the bottom of his heart. The dragon coiled its massive frame, whip-lashing its tail forward with terrifying force straight at him!! Even Li Guanqi, whose Dragon Elephant Prison-Suppressing Art had reached the peak of the fifth level, would not dare face Jiuxiao's physical might head-on. The terrifying force tore through space and slammed into the man!! Thud!!! The man violently sprayed a mouthful of blood, the bones throughout his body cracking loudly as they snapped on impact. Jiuxiao now had half a foot into rank six, making it an overlord in any mountain range. Devouring the carcasses of great demons had augmented its strength, not to mention that Li Guanqi let it gorge on spirit stones and medicinal pills at will. Pengluo suddenly materialized, its formidable power erupting—likewise a half-step rank six entity. Mysterious purple runes flared across its body. Pengluo clapped its hands tightly together, and a dazzling beam shot out, forcefully shattering the blue sword light!! Yet its arms were also afflicted by the man's frost qi, freezing stiff as blocks of ice. Li Guanqi snapped his head toward the elder, licking his split lip, battle intent blazing in his eyes. With a snap, he thrust his sword back into the scabbard formed of condensed lightning!! The four-foot scabbard seemed almost tangible now. In the mere half-breath Pengluo bought him, The power held within the scabbard had risen to its absolute peak!!! Watching the scabbard in Li Guanqi's hand, the white-haired elder felt an ominous tremor in his heart the instant Li Guanqi's left hand clamped onto the hilt. It felt as though if this strike were unleashed, failure to dodge would mean certain death!! Without hesitation, the elder popped several pills into his mouth. A purple jade shield materialized in his grasp; holding the shield in his left hand and gripping his saber in his right, Talisman after talisman flew from his robes, sticking to his body and bursting into flame. The elder's aura surged at this moment straight into the mid Void Refining Realm. A terrifying saber intent erupted from him, followed by a layer of blood-red light coating the saber as its sharpness skyrocketed! Their auras clashed head-on, neither daring to show the slightest carelessness. Against the strength the elder displayed, if Li Guanqi did not tread carefully, a single misstep would mean utter doom and the destruction of his cultivation... Right at this critical juncture, an anxious shout echoed from deep within the void. "Stop!! Everyone stop!!!" The young man's frantic shout rang out, causing the elder to freeze slightly. "This is..." Both sides ceased their attacks and, still shaken, retreated more than a hundred zhang. Li Guanqi stood atop the giant dragon Jiuxiao, with Pengluo behind him snapping off its own frozen arms. Li Guanqi held his sword in one hand, while with the other he grabbed an arm and shoved it into his mouth. Though they had clashed for only a brief moment, countless fresh wounds covered his body. After all, facing three Void Refining Realm experts alone at close quarters, even if he could evade fatal strikes, he could not dodge every blow. A cold light flickered in Jiuxiao's draconic eyes, lightning coursing across its frame, its scales gleaming with a metallic chill. The elder and his men were equally on high alert; the strength Li Guanqi had displayed on his own filled them with grave caution. And now, an ancient true dragon—a creature said to exist only in legends—had appeared!! Even that bizarre giant white radish possessed strength that could not be underestimated. In the distance, a speeding figure rushed toward them. The black armor on the three pursuers was already battered and torn. Exchanging glances, they communicated via sound transmission: "Did you hear that voice just now...?" "Yes, it's the young sect master of the Taixuan Sword Sect, He Yuning!" "Why is he here? Does he know this young man?" "I don't know. Regardless, let's wait and see." Moments later, He Yuning, clad in green robes, flashed into view between the two sides. He raised both hands to hold back each party, looked up at Li Guanqi, and then looked down at the giant dragon beneath Li Guanqi's feet. Swallowing hard with envy, he nonetheless confirmed that the person before him was indeed the Li Guanqi he had encountered not long ago. Turning toward the three men, he hastily explained, "Junior He Yuning greets Elder Guo, Elder Zhao, and Elder Li." The white-haired elder surnamed Guo nodded, slightly bowing in return. "Yuning, how... how did you come to be here?" He Yuning glanced at Li Guanqi and hurriedly said, "This is my good friend Ye Feng. There must be an unavoidable reason why he took action in Yuntian City. "There must be some misunderstanding here... "Could everyone please sit down and talk?"