Killing with a Borrowed Blade!

Watching Cang Lu vanish through repeated spatial teleportations, Li Guanqi's gaze was chillingly cold. Yet against Cang Lu's relentless teleportation, there was nothing he could do. Staring down at his empty hand, Li Guanqi looked thoroughly grim. This was the first time since he had set foot on the path of cultivation that someone had stolen his sword! And it was the very first sword he had acquired after opening the sword coffin! It had accompanied him through countless battles and bloody slaughters, yet now he had lost it. The remorse and chagrin in his heart showed plainly on his face. Just then, the sword spirit's figure slowly materialized, her voice solemn. "Don't blame yourself." Li Guanqi turned to look at her, then glanced down at the bloody mess of his left palm. In a heavy voice, he said, "I swear, I used every ounce of my strength, but I still couldn't resist that power. "And... my connection to Red Lotus has been completely severed." The sword spirit's eyes flickered slightly. Speaking through telepathy so that only Li Guanqi could hear, she said gravely, "Those black threads... are not of the Spirit Realm!" Li Guanqi's eyes trembled, his heart abruptly clenching! His brow furrowed, and he hurriedly asked, "Could it be that he... discovered you?" A sharp light glinted in the sword spirit's beautiful eyes, and she gave a slight shake of her head. "Probably not. With his strength, he could never perceive me. "Furthermore... the aura on him is rather bizarre, as if concealed by some supreme expert through special means. "He lured you out with an open, blatant scheme. Those black threads were not something you could withstand." Pausing for a moment, the sword spirit added softly, "He... is very likely just one of those searching for me." Hearing this, Li Guanqi knitted his brows tightly, his heart weighed down with gravity. Over the past few years, he had cultivated with desperate ferocity, all so he might stand a fighting chance when facing that immortal from the heavens in the future. For survival, and for the sword spirit. Since Cang Lu had not confirmed the sword spirit's existence, why had he gone to such lengths to lure Li Guanqi out this time? "Stealing the sword..." This act left Li Guanqi completely bewildered. What was Cang Lu trying to accomplish? Just then, Pengluo wriggled out from the sword coffin's space. Under Li Guanqi's puzzled gaze, the little creature darted like a wisp of smoke into the deep mountains. A moment later, he dashed back clutching a severed finger that had been mashed to pulp. Looking up at Li Guanqi, he declared with absolute conviction, "Master, didn't you suspect that old fellow from Qingyang Palace is this guy?" Holding up the severed finger, Pengluo said softly, "Next time that old man is around, I can use the bloodline resonance in this finger to confirm whether his identity is really this guy or not!" Li Guanqi's eyes lit up, and he nodded slightly. "Good. If you can confirm it, I'll credit you with a great deed!" At the same time, thoughts churned furiously in Li Guanqi's mind. Suddenly, a bolt of inspiration struck! Li Guanqi's face changed drastically! Whipping his head around toward Yuntian City, he shouted, "No! He Yuning!!" Li Guanqi was in a total panic! Because he had finally guessed what Cang Lu was likely planning to do. *Killing with a borrowed blade!!* He had exerted every effort just to seize the Red Lotus sword! Coupled with his unfathomable disguise arts, if he really disguised himself as Li Guanqi... The consequences... would be unthinkable!! Facing an enraged He Yuanting, Li Guanqi would certainly die! The sword spirit's expression shifted slightly as well; she naturally anticipated those consequences too. Now that Red Lotus was gone, the second sword inside the sword coffin was, by all accounts, something Li Guanqi could only open once he reached the Body Integration Realm! If she could not intervene, Li Guanqi facing He Yuanting would be a guaranteed death trap! Su Xuan's saber intent could only intimidate others; even if it were unleashed, it would be directed at her. Calling for reinforcements... would likely be far too late. Cang Lu's departure meant that half of his plan had already succeeded. Li Guanqi tore through space in a frenzy of continuous teleportation, yet even so, it would take him the time of an incense stick to return to the Taixuan Sword Sect. His expression was hideous, his mind a tangled mess of anxiety. *Damn it!!* *Please don't let anything happen!!* Thinking this, he pulled out He Yuning's jade slip and sent frantic transmissions. Yet every message vanished like a clay ox plunging into the sea, met with absolute silence. This sent Li Guanqi into an even greater frenzy! Primal energy roared inside him. Paying no heed to his unhealed internal injuries, he pushed his speed to the absolute limit. Far away in Yuntian City, cultivators watched in shock as a pitch-black rift in the void streaked from the distance toward the Taixuan Sword Sect. Yet right at that moment, Li Guanqi suddenly sensed Cang Lu's aura abruptly appear more than ten li to his west! And... he also sensed He Yuning's faint aura! "Damn it!!" Without time to think, Li Guanqi instantly pivoted, arcs of lightning scattering as he shot toward the distance. Noticing this, quite a few cultivators in Yuntian City realized there was a spectacle to watch and took to the sky, teleporting after Li Guanqi. Yet Li Guanqi was far too fast, vanishing from their sight in the blink of an eye. Wind roared in his ears as mountains and rivers flashed past in a blur. The massive shockwave carved a pitch-black rift through the space he breached, gouging a deep trench across the ground below. A terrifying sonic boom rolled out tens of thousands of zhang away. Meanwhile, Shen Bing, the palace master of Qingyang Palace, happened to be a guest at the Taixuan Sword Sect. The two were chatting about the distinguished guest due to arrive the day after tomorrow, emphasizing how lofty their status was and how they must treat them with the utmost caution and care. As for the defenses of Yuntian City, all three major forces had emptied their reserves to secure it. Just then, He Yuanting turned to Wu Changfeng beside him and asked, "Where is Yuning? Why haven't I seen him today?" Wu Changfeng chuckled. "I saw young friend Li invite him out. Said they'd be back shortly." He Yuanting curled his lips into a slight smile and chuckled softly. "Young friend Li is indeed a fine young man. How are things progressing on the array masters' side?" The old man bowed slightly and answered softly, "The array will be fully inscribed by tomorrow, and the Sword Abyss can be reopened." Shen Bing set down his teacup and laughed. "Ah, Old He, I truly envy you... This Li Guanqi's background is surely anything but ordinary, wouldn't you say?" He Yuanting merely offered a faint smile, his expression placid. "And what of it? It is simply the young generation's own friendship, is it not?" The implication was clear: envy all you like, but this is a friendship the junior forged himself—if you have the ability, go find one yourself. Rebuffed, Shen Bing rose, snapped his wide sleeves, and grumbled with dripping sourness, "Alas, our Qingyang Palace lacks such talents as Yuning. I shall take my leave." He Yuanting smiled and stood. "Let me see you out. Remember to arrange for your palace disciples to begin patrolling tomorrow. "Anyone unfamiliar who has arrived in Zhongzhou recently must be thoroughly questioned." At that very moment, Li Guanqi's divine sense reached far enough to witness Cang Lu bearing the 'sword coffin' on his back, holding Red Lotus in his hand! And his appearance... was Li Guanqi's own!! He Yuning's hands were tied behind his back, his dantian sealed, his eyes filled with utter bewilderment.