Closing In!

In the distance, neither of the black-robed men spoke. They merely manifested their void avatars in silence. Li Guanqi immediately felt an unprecedented, suffocating pressure. His eyes narrowed, and cold sweat broke out across his palms without him realizing it. These two were extraordinarily formidable. At least by his estimation, even if Xiao Chen and Ye Feng were to face them, victory would hardly be guaranteed. Buzz! A mysterious tremor rippled outward, and Li Guanqi's expression changed abruptly. Once their powers merged, an inexplicably bizarre devouring force came surging toward him! The moment this power emerged, it began ravenously eroding his origin energy domain. Space warped slightly, and the pitch-black primal energy sent a sharp chill through Li Guanqi's mind. Boom! A succession of explosive blasts tore through the air! All four black-robed figures lunged forward to kill him in an instant. Their weapons were a saber, a spear, a sword, and a halberd! The four weapons gleamed with icy, lethal radiance—every one of them was a dharma artifact at the rank of an ancient treasure! Li Guanqi licked his lips. Thunder erupted all around him, wild and violent power sweeping across heaven and earth. Treading upon Heavenly Dipper thunder, he vanished in a flash of speed! Whoosh! "Seven Fiends!" Yanluo burst forth with the weight of tens of thousands of jin! Seven terrifying sword rays slashed toward one of the black-robed figures in an instant. Clashing metal clattered incessantly, the concussive force making the surrounding void tremble faintly. The once-silent nothingness was whipped into furious storms of primal energy. A frigid arc of saber light lunged straight for him. Li Guanqi twisted aside, letting the blade brush past his robes, and thrust back toward the assailant's heart in retaliation! Yet before the strike could hit home, the tip of a spear snapped against Red Lotus's blade. Clang! The spear deflected the sword and swept around like an iron staff! The razor-sharp edge of the spearhead scraped past his cheek, stinging with pain. Red Lotus reversed course, slashing toward the black-robed man's head, but before the blade could swing through— A sword edge from behind slashed toward him, carrying a bone-chilling frost! With his right hand, Li Guanqi swung Yanluo with violent force, cleaving an incisive sword ray that swept aside the halberd at his flank. Twisting the sword behind his back in a circular deflection, he cleanly carved away a large chunk of flesh from the swordsman's shoulder. Slash! A saber's edge grazed his waist, its dreadful devouring power clamoring to force its way into his body. Li Guanqi's eyes turned frosty. The blood and qi within him roared as he spun rapidly through the air. Dual blades flashing, he unleashed dozens of sharp sword rays in rapid succession, driving all four figures back! The four formed an encirclement, hemming Li Guanqi into the center. In just a few breaths of combat, a ghastly wound had already been carved into his waist. The pressure on him doubled in an instant. Yet this immense oppression filled him with wild exhilaration. It had been far too long since he had fought on the razor's edge between life and death. His cultivation realm had been advancing by leaps and bounds, to the point that even Ye Feng, fresh out of the Purgatory Abyss, could barely keep pace with him. He had not encountered well-matched opponents in a very long time. And now, two had appeared at once. Li Guanqi's gaze was as sharp as an eagle's, yet he slowly closed his eyes. In the next instant, terrifying sword intent soared into the sky! As the sword intent of the Sword Heart Realm burst forth, Li Guanqi's entire demeanor underwent a radical shift! If he had previously resembled a treasured sword resting in its scabbard, he was now an ominous, peerless blade baring its full, murderous edge! Boom! Empowered by his surging blood and qi, his physical might soared to its absolute pinnacle. Li Guanqi's frame seemed to swell slightly outward, and he even appeared a bit taller, radiating an invincible, suffocating aura! The two black-robed men exchanged a glance, both seeing the grave seriousness in each other's eyes. "Tsk tsk. No wonder the organization delayed issuing the assassination mission on you for so long..." "Hah, so what if he's strong? He's still going to die here today!" "To think you dare kill our Dark Crow members..." Buzz! The four black-robed figures suddenly turned completely ethereal, gradually melting into the void like ghosts of the Netherworld. In that single breath, their forms and auras vanished entirely! No matter how Li Guanqi swept his divine sense across the surroundings, he could not detect the slightest trace of them! Swords held firmly in both hands, Li Guanqi scanned his surroundings with utmost vigilance. The more precarious it became, the calmer he had to remain. If he showed even a sliver of an opening, it would mean certain death. Suddenly! A sword gleaming with chilly radiance and enveloped in bizarre, pitch-black primal energy pierced out right next to his ear! Li Guanqi threw a fierce punch into the assailant's wrist while swinging Yanluo in his right hand to block. Crack! The blow landed with such brutal force that the black-robed man's wrist snapped and bent at a grotesque angle. A pitch-black sword scar blossomed beside Li Guanqi. Though he shifted a zhang or so sideways in an instant, the sword ray still sheared away half the flesh from his shoulder. Before he could regain his footing, a halberd tore through the void, thrusting viciously toward his lower back! Li Guanqi stomped into empty space, shattering the void beneath his feet. Twisting his waist, he grabbed hold of the halberd's shaft with one hand, spun around, and slashed fiercely into the emptiness! "Demon Shadow Slash: Dark Night!" Boom! The terrifying sword ray plunged the surrounding void into sudden darkness, exploding almost point-blank right before the black-robed man's face! Boom! "Aaargh!" The strike cleaved the black-robed man hiding in the fissure of the void clean in two! Yet a saber materialized silently behind Li Guanqi at that very moment, plunging through his lower back and piercing straight through his body. The assailant twisted the blade and swept upward with both hands, intending to slice Li Guanqi completely open! In the face of mortal danger, a ruthless glint flashed in Li Guanqi's eyes. He wrapped his hand in primal energy and clamped down on the blade, using his own bones to jam the edge firmly in place. A cold light flickered in the black-robed man's eyes as terrifying saber radiance threatened to erupt. Yet the moment the man stirred his primal energy, a massive dragon of fire lunged straight out from the fissure in the void where he stood! The fire dragon sank its teeth into his neck, coiling around his body like a venomous serpent. Li Guanqi's face twisted into a fierce snarl as he bellowed, "Burn!" Roar! The dragon formed of Purple Dragon Thunder Flame constricted with mad fury, trapping the black-robed man tight within its coils. No matter how hard the man struck to disperse it, vast torrents of flame immediately surged back to replenish its body. "Aaargh!" A shrill, agonized wail tore from the black-robed man's throat. The flames could not be extinguished, burning as though to consume both his physical body and his divine soul down to ash. Splurt! Li Guanqi shifted, tore the saber out of his body, and stored it away with a flick of his wrist. He licked the blood from the corner of his mouth, the metallic sweetness filling his throat. With ragged, heavy breaths, his piercing gaze locked onto the others. Just then, the burning man's body faded into the void, reappearing beside the remaining figures. The Dark Crow Twins slowly laid their hands upon the fire dragon, and that bizarre aura manifested once again. A heavenly flame, renowned for being impossible to quench, was slowly swallowed up and eroded by that power. "Cough... Pfft!" The black-robed man on the left coughed violently and spewed a mouthful of blood. It seemed the one entangled by the fire dragon was indeed his void avatar. Li Guanqi's expression paused for a brief instant, and he said softly, "No need to help. Your duty is to protect Wanshu!"