Completely paralyzed, Li Guanqi lay stiffly atop the altar.
Blue veins bulged across his forehead, cold sweat soaked his brow, and the fingers on both hands twisted frantically.
The agony, like knives carving through his internal organs, contorted his face beyond recognition.
Enduring the torment, Li Guanqi began channeling the Nine Revolutions Punishment Thunder Scripture.
Gradually, the fine wisps of lightning within his body were drawn into his dantian.
The piercing pain was almost too much to bear.
Gritting his teeth, Li Guanqi let out a muffled roar. “Mere lightning—refine for me!!”
Boom!
As the lightning surged inward, the tiny arcs of electrical discharge were refined into strands of extraordinarily dense true qi.
Crack!
With a faint burst, Li Guanqi went entirely limp.
He grinned and murmured under his breath, “Twelfth layer!”
His dantian had expanded by a full thirty percent, now vast as an open lake.
A long while passed before Li Guanqi rose and looked down. The dharma artifact shield was riddled with holes, its spiritual glow entirely extinguished.
Only now did he remember to examine the contents of his storage ring.
“What on earth is this?”
Inside the ring, a purple egg roughly the size of a human head floated quietly.
It was encased in purple scales that resembled pine nuts.
Frowning deeply, Li Guanqi whispered, “Sword Spirit, what is this thing?”
The sword spirit answered solemnly, “A Thunder Dragon egg! I have no idea how something like this could appear in the Human Spirit Realm…”
Li Guanqi gasped, “A dragon? Egg?!”
He felt his hands trembling. The joy of just breaking through to the twelfth layer of Qi Refinement paled in comparison to this moment.
He envisioned himself standing atop the head of a colossal dragon, looking down upon the world…
Yet the sword spirit’s next words doused him like a bucket of freezing water.
“You’d better figure out how to hatch it first. Its vitality is exceedingly feeble; it will undoubtedly require prolonged nurturing.
“Still, if you are truly fortunate enough to hatch it and establish a master-servant contract, it will become a tremendous aid to you in the future.”
Without another word, ignoring his wounds, Li Guanqi stored the entire altar directly into his storage ring.
Once he placed the dragon egg upon it, countless arcs of lightning surfaced on the altar once more.
However, the sword spirit warned, “This thing will be a massive burden. The high-grade spirit stones in this array can last a year or six months at most.
“When converted to low-grade spirit stones, it will consume at least three thousand a month.
“You had better prepare yourself mentally.”
Li Guanqi’s expression soured, and he groaned inwardly. “Three thousand a month?
“Good heavens… I don't even use that much for my own cultivation!”
Seeing that nothing else remained in the secret chamber, Li Guanqi took the teleportation array back outside.
Upon emerging, he did not forget to pry the spirit stones loose from the dais.
After all, this was hard currency!
“Whatever! Even if it’s a spirit-stone devourer, I’m still hatching it!
“Tsk, a dragon swordsman! How magnificent!”
Suddenly!
The jade slip at his waist began flashing frantically!
Li Guanqi’s expression shifted, and he hastily channeled his qi into it.
“Old Li, come save us!!
“We found two Mystic-grade cultivation manuals! Ke Qin is injured, and the Ten Thousand Immortals Sword Sect and several other groups are hunting us down!”
Li Guanqi immediately replied, “Run first! Wait for me!”
Thump!
The stone tiles beneath his feet abruptly shattered as he bolted in their direction.
A moment later.
Across a broad terrace, three factions—the Ten Thousand Immortals Sword Sect, Zixiao Pavilion, and Qinglong Island—had surrounded six figures in the center.
Amidst the fierce flurry of sword light, the defenders grew increasingly overwhelmed.
“Do you three factions truly intend to exterminate us all?!”
“Are you not afraid of retaliation from Zhenyue Mountain and the Great Xia Sword Sect?!”
His left arm fractured, Shen Qi could only wield his sword with his right hand to fight back.
Covered in blade wounds, his eyes were bloodshot to the point of tearing at the corners.
Earlier, when they discovered a secret chamber, they had found an artifact formation banner.
Unexpectedly, the disciples of Zixiao Pavilion and Qinglong Island had launched a sneak attack against them!
Two disciples who were already gravely wounded were killed instantly.
The remaining three only managed to escape with the assistance of the Great Xia Sword Sect.
Yet the Ten Thousand Immortals Sword Sect seemed to have anticipated their route and blocked them here.
Clad in green robes, Luo Hu unleashed a savage slash of sword light, sneering maliciously.
“As long as you all die here, who will ever know we killed you?
“Just like… those two useless fools from the Qixian Sect!”
Ye Feng was taking on three opponents alone, drenched in blood, his face cold as frost!
Ke Qin had died by Luo Hu’s hand!
An arrow through the heart, so swift that no one had time to save her!
Zhong Lin and Lin Dong remained silent, standing back-to-back with the others in a defensive circle.
Among the Ten Thousand Immortals Sword Sect, Zhao Xuanzhu flicked his wrist and threw out an artifact colored silk streamer!
The silk expanded wildly, wrapping Shen Qi and Ye Feng tightly in an instant!
“Strike! Kill them!!”
At once, numerous beams of sword light thrust violently toward the ensnared pair!
Suddenly!
A figure materialized upon a massive boulder twenty zhang away!
A furious roar tore through the air!
“How dare you!!”
Hearing that voice, every disciple from the three factions shuddered!
“Strike, quickly!! He’s here!!”
The Great Xia Sword Sect, Li Guanqi!
The sight of him fighting seven opponents to a standstill was still fresh in their minds.
Moreover, anyone present could sense that his aura was far more vast and imposing than before!
In an instant, several longswords plunged toward the silk streamer!
The boulder beneath Li Guanqi’s feet shattered, and a faint rumble of thunder erupted in the air!
The defenders behind them tried in vain to slash through the silk, forced instead to block the incoming foes.
Even so, four longswords thrust viciously into the wrapped fabric.
Shen Qi twisted his torso, using his own back to shield Ye Feng.
Three blades pierced clean through his flesh, while the final sword aimed at his heart wedged firmly into his shoulder blade.
Swish!
Li Guanqi’s voice, chilling and laced with killing intent, sounded right by Luo Hu’s ear.
“I told you I would settle the score with you!!”
Luo Hu’s eyes went wide, his body shivering as every hair stood on end.
Spurt!!
A massive head flew into the air, blood spraying over three feet high!
What followed was a near-complete massacre.
Li Guanqi shifted continuously across the battlefield, his blade ending a life with every strike.
The cold, lightning-fast gleam of his sword never paused.
Ten breaths later.
Li Guanqi seized Zhao Xuanzhu by the throat with one hand, slamming him violently against the stone wall!
Zhao Xuanzhu erupted with true qi, his hands desperately clawing at Li Guanqi’s grip, yet to no avail.
The hand clamped down like an iron vise, unyielding.
Zhao Xuanzhu’s face turned a bruised purple, his eyes filled with sheer terror.
Glancing down, he caught sight of Li Guanqi’s completely white eyes.
Though the man was plainly blind, Zhao Xuanzhu could clearly perceive the boundless fury burning within those sightless depths.
A vicious sneer spread across Li Guanqi’s bloodstained face.
“Are you afraid?”
The longsword was pressed against his chest, inching forward and piercing his skin in the blink of an eye!
The excruciating agony and the terror of facing death made Zhao Xuanzhu’s eyes widen, his pupils quivering and contracting.
His flushed face gaped, his tongue lolling as drool ran uncontrollably onto Li Guanqi’s hand.
Pleading filled his eyes, yet he could not utter a single word.
Like a demon, Li Guanqi muttered to himself in a low voice.
“Was it so hard to just stay alive?
“Filthy mongrel… you just had to provoke me!!
“You just had to kill disciples of my Great Xia Sword Sect!!
“You… truly deserve to die!!”
The sword scraped against his ribs with a grating screech, piercing his heart inch by inch before Zhao Xuanzhu’s terrified eyes.
With a fierce thrust, the blade drove clean through his torso, pinning him to the stone wall!
Having done this, Li Guanqi stood in place, panting heavily.
He then hurried over to the others and saw the severely wounded Shen Qi.
Blood gushed from Shen Qi’s mouth as he murmured intermittently, “This… this block… counts as… paying back… the favor I owed you.”
Frowning, Li Guanqi scolded, “Stop talking nonsense—you’re not dead yet!
“Whoever has healing pills, bring them out quickly!”
Without hesitation, Ye Feng pulled a golden bottle from his storage bag, poured out an elixir, and shoved it into Shen Qi’s mouth.
Shen Qi’s face regained its color at a speed visible to the naked eye. The bleeding from his wounds ceased, and his breathing stabilized considerably.
Ye Feng slumped to the ground, his face pale as he said, “Manly as hell! I owe you my life!”
Li Guanqi asked in a raspy voice, “Ke Qin…”
Zhong Lin spoke in a muted tone. “Dead… to… save me.”
Hearing this, Li Guanqi fell silent.
Hum!
Heaven and earth trembled as spatial rifts began to open.
Li Guanqi said softly, “Let’s go!
“Remember: we have no idea how any of them died!
“Aside from our own people, we never ran into anyone else inside the pocket realm!”
The disciples of Zhenyue Mountain naturally understood why Li Guanqi said this, and they nodded heavily.
Their lives had been saved by the Great Xia Sword Sect, and Li Guanqi had saved them twice over.
Aside from the two of their sects, everyone else was dead. This matter carried far too many ramifications; naturally, not a word could be leaked!
“Take Shen Qi out first. His wounds cannot wait. We will follow shortly after.”
Chapter 50