Sun Tianqi's Ability—Illusory Form!

Hearing those words, Li Guanqi raised an eyebrow, a faint smile inadvertently playing upon his lips. Memories of encountering Yan Chong and Sun Zhen over the past two days surfaced in his mind. Turning to look at Tu Shan, who was steadily absorbing spiritual energy, he began to understand the sect master's painstaking intentions. Presumably, a great deal had been happening in the Great Xia Domain recently... Li Guanqi said in a resolute voice, "Sect Master, go ahead and do as you see fit. As long as I, Li Guanqi, am here, the Great Xia Sword Sect will not fall into chaos! Besides... I will escort Elder Tu on her journey home and ensure her safety without fail." As his voice fell, Lu Kangnian, slightly embarrassed yet still maintaining his air of dignity, coughed. "Ahem, Elder Li truly possesses great awareness... Then I leave Shan'shan in your care." "Oho, 'Shan'shan' already, is it? Now that you've broken through, Sect Master, your back has certainly stiffened up." "Scram! If there's nothing else, get back here as soon as you can." Setting down the jade slip, Li Guanqi turned to look at the woman behind him. It would likely take another two days for her to fully recover. Without hesitation, Li Guanqi strode out over a hundred zhang. His left hand closed loosely, instantly manifesting a longsword shimmering all over with lightning arcs. With his eyes closed, his mind continuously simulated stroke after stroke of his sword slashes. At the same time, the circulation of primal energy within his body shifted continuously. With the sheer breadth of his current divine sense, he could simulate hundreds of different circulation routes and methods for his primal energy in a single breath. Slash after slash, the lightning sword cut through the air. Although he did not expend a shred of primal energy, the sword momentum still stirred up violent winds all around, causing the sky and clouds to churn. Suddenly! Li Guanqi snapped his eyes open and gazed into the distance. Far away, an extremely terrifying aura was hurtling toward him at breakneck speed! A cold sneer curled at the corner of Li Guanqi's mouth. He raised his hand and cast a powerful lightning barrier across the entire mountain peak behind him. Furthermore, that parcel of space was completely severed from its surroundings, creating an independent realm! The sword in Li Guanqi's hand slowly dissipated. Wearing his white robes, he stood in place with his hands tucked into his sleeves like an old man in the twilight of life. Though his face remained calm and carefree, he radiated an imposing pressure that commanded awe without anger. Whoosh! A young man clad in green robes and wearing a white jade crown appeared not far away. Upon arriving, he did not halt his pace until he stood a mere three feet before Li Guanqi. His sharp gaze swept over Li Guanqi from top to bottom without the slightest concealment. Li Guanqi surveyed him in return, noting a subtle resemblance between this man's features and Sun Zhen's. "Heh, the Yanluo Sword? I really don't see what makes you so formidable." Suddenly—! A flash of lightning blazed before Sun Tianqi's eyes, and almost by pure instinct, he took half a step backward! Slash! His right ear dropped away instantly! Li Guanqi remained standing right where he was, his gaze fixed on Sun Tianqi with terrifying calm. The lightning sword in his left hand slowly dispersed, his voice soft. "What did you say?" Sun Tianqi gritted his teeth tightly, his eyes locked onto Li Guanqi. *Such a fast sword...* The trace of contempt Sun Tianqi had previously harbored vanished completely; he no longer dared to underestimate Li Guanqi in the slightest. That single strike alone was enough to demand his utmost seriousness! Sun Tianqi pursed his lips and extended one hand to his side. A long rift tore open across the void, from which he slowly drew out a longsword of pure crimson gold. Crackle! Li Guanqi's pupils shrank, and an astonished murmur escaped his lips. "Dual metal-lightning spiritual roots!" Metal-attribute primal energy renowned for its sharpness, combined with the lightning attribute of peerless destructive power... This was the very first time he had ever witnessed a cultivator with dual metal-lightning spiritual roots, to say nothing of such monstrous innate talent. A late Void Refining Realm cultivator... at the same realm as himself, yet possessing an aura even more profound and heavy. Three feet of green steel encircled by golden lightning! Boom! A terrifying aura surged forth completely, shattering the void as Sun Tianqi's green robes whipped violently in the air. His eyes sharp, Sun Tianqi lightly raised his arm, pointed his sword at Li Guanqi, and grinned. "My apologies. That useless younger brother of mine can't accomplish anything properly. "However... for you to keep company with that trash of a brother, you are likely someone without great ambitions yourself. "I came here today to ask for something from you." Li Guanqi glanced at the longsword in the man's hand. Its aura was exceptionally sharp and domineering—it was an ancient treasure at the very least! A fiery heat gradually ignited in Li Guanqi's gaze. Red Lotus was damaged and would require the refinement of many high-grade swords to be restored. If he could melt down and refine this sword, it would significantly accelerate his progress. Li Guanqi grinned. Raising his left hand, he condensed a sword of lightning from his primal energy and sneered. "Oh? And just what is it you want to ask for?" A terrifyingly fierce sword intent abruptly erupted from within Sun Tianqi, and with a blinding burst of light beneath his feet, his figure vanished from the spot! "The entire Great Xia Sword Sect!!" Boom! Li Guanqi's face darkened instantly. His left-handed sword swung out violently toward his flank! A horrifying sword intent soared into the heavens, piercing straight through the pitch-black clouds! Boom! An immensely condensed hundred-zhang sword-light skimmed past Sun Tianqi's face by a hairsbreadth. The lightning fraught with destructive power scorched his entire face into a mangled mess of blood and flesh. The void beneath Li Guanqi's feet exploded. Drawing his sword back in a fluid sweep, he threw a devastating punch with his right fist! Hundreds upon thousands of lightning waves crashed forward with immense force. With nowhere to evade, the lightning flashing around the void coalesced into an independent domain! "Hmph!" With a cold snort, a layer of purplish-gold radiance forcibly tore through the sword domain. Golden lightning erupted from Sun Tianqi's blade as he unleashed three extraordinarily powerful sword beams in rapid succession! "Illusory Form: Slaughter!" Bang! The sword-lights shattered, sending a violent jolt through Li Guanqi's heart! He sensed that these three strikes had penetrated straight past the surface form of his sword-light, landing directly upon its innermost core of power! Looking at the sword in Sun Tianqi's hand, Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes, calculations already forming in his mind. As the stray sword-lights cleaved the world around them, the blood and vitality within Li Guanqi roared with power. Forcibly withstanding the tearing of space, he pressed forward rather than retreating! "Sword Ruins, Open!" Hum! Within the spirit ruins between his brows, the illusory form of the sword spirit trembled slightly. In an instant, the lightning longsword Li Guanqi had manifested lengthened by a full foot. Slender and four feet long, the lightning blade was a third longer than a typical sword, an exaggeration of length that bordered on the grotesque. Yet the moment Sun Tianqi sensed Li Guanqi's aura closing in, he spread his divine sense outward, blanketing an area of a thousand zhang! Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. His terrifying divine sense suddenly condensed into thousands of spiritual swords, which shot toward Sun Tianqi like a tempest! This was an exceedingly vicious move; if his opponent's divine sense was not robust enough, Li Guanqi's strike could obliterate their entire sea of consciousness in an instant! Thud! Sun Tianqi, who had been charging straight toward Li Guanqi, had his head violently thrown back as if struck by a massive blow! A cold sneer surfaced at the edge of Li Guanqi's lips. Closing the distance in an instant, he raised his blade, intending to cleave his foe in two at the waist. Yet right as he swung his sword, an inexplicable sense of dread suddenly seized his heart! He watched as Sun Tianqi, bleeding from his nose and mouth, suddenly curled his lips into a cold smirk, his icy eyes fixing onto Li Guanqi. "Illusory Form: Bind!" Boom!