The storm howled around their ears, yet it did not disturb the two at its center in the slightest.
Lying on the ground, Meng Wanshu's eyelashes fluttered slightly as she slowly opened her eyes.
Her icy blue gaze was dazed. In her stupor, her watery, beautiful eyes darted away in faint modesty.
Yet a pair of jade hands gently began to slip off her sheer garments.
At that moment, the air seemed to fall utterly quiet, leaving only the sound of their ragged breathing.
With just a single exchange of glances, both their hearts settled into peace.
Looking at Li Guanqi, whose entire body was a mangled mess of blood and shredded flesh, Meng Wanshu pressed her lips tightly together, fighting to keep from crying out aloud.
Tears welled and spun in her eyes, only to be wiped away gently by Li Guanqi's tender palm.
"What are you crying for, silly girl?"
Their hands met, slowly clasping together as the warmth of their palms flowed from one to the other.
Their eyes locked, filled with deep affection and love. At this moment, it seemed to transcend any spoken word.
The atmosphere grew increasingly tender. Li Guanqi's fingers grazed Meng Wanshu's hair, softly caressing her cheek.
Meng Wanshu lowered her head slightly, her gaze flickering with bashfulness, yet deep in her eyes lingered a hint of anticipation.
She slowly lifted her head and gently closed her eyes, the accelerated thumping of her heart echoing within her chest.
Thump! Thump, thump, thump!
Their lips drew close, as though guided by an irresistible force.
Lips touched, intertwining gently.
The kiss was full of gentleness and tenderness, as if their souls were touching.
Meng Wanshu shuddered softly all over, yet surrendered herself to it completely.
Time seemed to freeze at that instant. Their breaths gradually mingled, their bodies drawing ever closer.
Two hearts beat in unison, becoming each other's truest sanctuary.
Whether due to the heavenly flame seal or her own body, Meng Wanshu's skin gradually grew scorching hot.
With a soft moan, the center of the tempest became its own torrential storm.
***
Outside the storm, Li Changqing's battle was equally brutal.
Yet his two opponents were faring no better. Covered in countless wounds, missing limbs, and grievously battered, their expressions shifted; they had long wished to flee.
Their subordinates had suffered such catastrophic losses, yet Meng Wanshu still had not been slain!
"Hmph! Retreat!!"
With that, their attacks surged in ferocity, combining forces to force the old man back.
Immediately after, they hurled two fist-sized, pitch-black square seals. Radiance blazed across the seals, abruptly coalescing into a cage-like seal that trapped the elder within.
Without the slightest hesitation, the two crushed teleportation scrolls and vanished instantly!
Their goal had already been achieved. With her cold poison erupting, Meng Wanshu surviving would be harder than scaling the heavens!
Against such cold poison, ordinary treasures of supreme rigidity and pure yang were completely useless.
They likely could never have imagined that Li Guanqi alone could devour three heavenly flames and assimilate them into his body.
Li Changqing swung his sword to shatter the seal around him, but the enemy was nowhere to be seen.
"Wah! Cough, cough..."
Rebel blood surged up, and the old man violently spewed a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of his internal organs.
His face deathly pale, he walked out without even channeling his cultivation to heal his injuries.
Stepping out of the boundary, he immediately sensed the terrifying power that threatened to freeze heaven and earth.
Seeing the terrifying tempest spanning a full hundred zhang, the old man's expression drastically changed.
Flashing over to Xiao Chen and the other, he asked in a heavy voice, "Where is Li Guanqi?"
Xiao Chen said anxiously, "Inside!! But... agonizing cries have been coming from the two of them the entire time. I don't know what's happening!"
Beside him, Ye Feng stood with a dark face, not daring to utter a single word...
Along the outer edge of the storm was a golden barrier he had erected to block the sounds from within.
Yet from the moment Xiao Chen heard them, he had grown frantic.
Now Xiao Chen grabbed the old man's arm and pleaded urgently, "Elder Li, hurry inside and take a look!! Li Guanqi forced his way into the storm despite his severe injuries! Wanshu... who knows what's happened to Wanshu! Not long after Li Guanqi went in, the storm calmed down, but... but from their voices, it sounds like both of them are going through immense agony!"
The old man frowned deeply upon hearing this. Meng Wanshu possessed an extraordinary innate constitution, so the cold qi in her body required suppression.
He had not expected the power to be this formidable. Severely injured as he was, he could not enter either.
Likely only Li Guanqi, who wielded heavenly flames, could step foot inside.
As for the sounds of agony... a storm of such intensity naturally would not be simple to handle.
Just as the old man prepared to force his way into the storm, Ye Feng hastily grabbed him.
"Senior! Senior, senior, senior... Uh, I think my boss has definitely figured out a solution. Look, the storm has stopped growing. He must have found a way to suppress it."
The old man furrowed his brows in contemplation.
Indeed, as Ye Feng said, the storm had ceased expanding; it seemed a method had been found.
Yet noticing Xiao Chen's frantic look, the old man asked in confusion, "Then what about the sounds of agony Xiao Chen mentioned earlier...?"
Hearing that, Pengluo darted beside Ye Feng, wearing a lewd grin and preparing to speak.
Yet the moment it opened its mouth, Ye Feng shoved a finger straight inside.
"Well, obviously it's... *gag*... *gag*..."
Ye Feng smiled and said, "It's nothing, nothing at all. They should be coming out any moment now."
Ye Feng had jammed his finger right down Pengluo's throat, leaving Pengluo dry-heaving on the ground.
Pengluo glared furiously at Ye Feng, but Ye Feng instantly shot back a stern glare.
Muttering curses under its breath, Pengluo said nothing more.
The old man nodded slightly, then rallied the remaining people to clear the battlefield and search for clues.
Xiao Chen, restless and unsettled, kept pestering Li Changqing to hurry and breach the storm to check on them.
The old man snapped irritably, "I can't break it! Can't you see I'm injured?! Bring out your cloud boat; we'll have to take yours on the way back."
Distracted, Xiao Chen tossed out his cloud boat. It was a blazing red, four-story vessel measuring fifty zhang in length!
Normally, he was loath to use it himself; after all, the spirit stone consumption was terrifying, so he usually only rode his void-piercing shuttle.
Ye Feng pulled Xiao Chen toward the cloud boat, consoling him as they walked: "Listen, in life, there are many things you just have to take in stride. For instance... don't hold on to hopeless pursuits, right? Yeah... that's the way it is."
Xiao Chen frowned. "Why are you telling me this? Aren't you worried about Li Guanqi at all? Their situation is extremely dangerous right now! That storm could erupt again at any moment!! Why are you preaching life lessons to me? No, I'm going in."
Ye Feng looked up at the sky, at a complete loss for words.
He glanced back toward the storm, clicking his tongue in awe. "As expected of the boss..."
And they waited... for nearly two whole shichen.
The storm in the void gradually weakened and dispersed. Yet immediately following, two incomparably powerful auras erupted in an instant!
Both auras surged madly, casting a terrifying pressure across the void.
Li Changqing's face turned livid, and he cursed under his breath, "You little bastard!!!!"
Li Guanqi's and Meng Wanshu's auras soared wildly, and before long, two thunderous explosions echoed through the void.
Terrifying shockwaves rippled outward circle after circle, spanning thousands of zhang.
Middle Void Refinement!
Late Void Refinement!
Chapter 534