Putting down the jade slip in his hand, Li Guanqi had not expected that the one delivering the Tianji Chart would turn out to be Song Yunshu.
In his impression, Song Yunshu's cultivation did not seem very strong. Would they truly feel at ease letting her deliver something so important on her own?
Shaking his head with a chuckle, he stopped dwelling on the matter.
Surely the Tianji Pavilion would not be foolish enough to overlook such things.
Li Guanqi assumed a boxing stance with both hands and began slowly throwing punches in the void.
Again and again, his eyes closed as he quieted his mind, he immersed himself in comprehending the fist momentum within the Firmament Shatterer technique.
With every repetition of the fist technique, new insights dawned upon him.
The first strike, Thousand-Fold Waves, had originally been derived from a sudden comprehension of the vast momentum of water; yet when he transformed lightning into the momentum of water, it grew far more violent.
However, the surging layers of water momentum within the fist momentum were not as terrifying as he had envisioned.
Once he noticed this, Li Guanqi's fist strikes ceased to be quite so fierce and unyielding, but the circulation of the Primordial Void Refinement Art within his body grew progressively violent.
As primal energy surged through his meridians, a sharp, piercing pain caused him to frown slightly.
This was the first time Li Guanqi had ever felt such violence from his own primal energy...
Within his meridians, the primal energy rampaged like a savage, primeval dragon, threatening to tear his vessels apart.
At this stage, he still did not dare circulate the cultivation art with full force, because such a crude pathway essentially let the primal energy crash recklessly through his narrow meridians.
Yet this tyrannical circulation stripped away much of the buffering transition, making the energy flow significantly faster.
Gradually, having grown somewhat accustomed to the stabbing pain of the primal energy's circulation, Li Guanqi began to simultaneously circulate the Dragon Elephant Prison-Suppressing Art.
As his blood and qi surged ceaselessly, the walls of his meridians seemed to become considerably sturdier.
Beads of cold sweat covered Li Guanqi's forehead. Lowering his boxing stance, he murmured softly, "I'll probably need some time to adapt to this.
"Still, this circulation method is truly formidable!"
A contemplative look crossed Li Guanqi's face. He thought of how tense the overall situation across the Six Domains had become.
If the Great Xia Sword Sect wished to step forward at a time like this, it would inevitably require formidable strength and a deep foundation.
"Sword spirit."
"Hmm?"
"Can the Dragon Elephant Prison-Suppressing Art be simplified?"
His thought was simple: teach Lu Kangnian both the Dragon Elephant Prison-Suppressing Art and this method of primal energy circulation, allowing him to pass them on to all the disciples in the sect according to their contributions and assessments!
He could use the Ancient Clan's circulation method to modify the Great Xia Sword Sect's current cultivation arts.
However... the grade of the Dragon Elephant Prison-Suppressing Art was simply too high—so high that even now, he lacked the qualifications to modify it in the slightest.
Moreover, he had noticed long ago that his body tempering had hit a bottleneck.
As for the next layer of the Dragon Elephant Prison-Suppressing Art, he had no clue whatsoever; that sensation was not at all an impediment born of needing the essence blood of a greater demon as required by the art.
The ethereal voice of the sword spirit rang out.
"Very well."
Even as she spoke, streaks of spiritual light flashed into his mind.
Observing the spiritual light that surfaced in his sea of consciousness, Li Guanqi was suddenly struck by an exceedingly hazy sensation. It felt as though he had understood something, yet at the same time understood nothing at all.
The sword spirit smiled faintly. "Don't overthink it. It's only natural that you cannot understand it now.
"Besides, the next layer of the Dragon Elephant Prison-Suppressing Art is of utmost importance. It must be approached step-by-step; there is no need to rush."
Li Guanqi nodded, then produced a jade slip to converse at length with Lu Kangnian.
He also inquired about the Sect Master's current cultivation progress and the state of the Great Xia Domain.
Putting down the jade slip, Li Guanqi's brow furrowed slightly as he murmured under his breath, "It seems some of the Ancient Clans can hold back no longer...
"With the Sect Master choosing to step forward at this time, will he truly be able to break through the layers of obstacles?"
Dwelling no further on these thoughts, he looked around at the void. There was still a considerable distance left to Zhongzhou of the Shenbao Domain.
He decided to cast aside all distracting thoughts and began practicing his sword strikes over and over.
He was immensely interested in Sun Tianqi's sword strike, Thunder Wrath, and based on his own comprehension, he had already managed to replicate most of it.
Yet he always felt something was missing. Even if he projected his state of mind into it, he still did not know the circulation pathway of the sword move or the profound subtleties at its core.
The sword spirit stood quietly a hundred zhang behind him, hands clasped behind her back, saying nothing and merely watching him practice his sword in silence.
Only when Li Guanqi occasionally opened his eyes would she offer a word or two.
The sword spirit actually possessed the ability to analyze the circulation pathway of Sun Tianqi's cultivation art through the vision of him executing that sword strike.
Yet she had no desire to do so. If she helped him with everything, would that not be a waste of Li Guanqi's Ethereal Dao Body?
Moreover, Li Guanqi now had only three Great Sumeru Nine Palaces Immortal-Slaying Sigils remaining on his body.
These final three blood sigils still sealed Li Guanqi.
The sword spirit could hardly imagine what height Li Guanqi's comprehension would reach once all three blood sigils dissipated.
Even now, in the midst of replicating that strike again and again, each swing of his sword brought fresh enlightenment.
The sword spirit knew that opportunities for Li Guanqi to immerse himself in comprehension like this were few and far between; it seemed as though events were constantly pushing him forward.
Thinking of this, the sword spirit raised her head slightly toward the firmament, her beautiful eyes narrowing, a chilling murderous intent flickering endlessly in their depths.
For some reason, she felt that the day Li Guanqi drew forth her broken remnant form would arrive very soon... so soon that it would exceed even her own expectations.
Rumbling echoed incessantly through the void. Stray bolts of lightning coalesced into thunder pools in the emptiness, and terrifying sword gouges were visible everywhere.
After an unknown passage of time, Li Guanqi stood in the void with his eyes closed. Guided by his will, the primal energy flowed slowly through his meridians.
Soon, this surge of primal energy completed a full circulation cycle!
Delight surfaced on Li Guanqi's brow, and the corners of his mouth curved upward.
When he opened his eyes once more, the circulating primal energy inside him had already settled.
In a voice touched with joy, Li Guanqi murmured, "It worked!"
Exhaling a mouthful of turbid air, he brought out spirit stones to recover his depleted primal energy.
Checking his direction, he engaged his movement technique, and his figure vanished into the void like a startled swan.
After some time, Li Guanqi arrived before the Meng clan's domain boundary in the Shenbao Domain.
Looking at the heavy formation barrier before him, he could not help but furrow his brow.
"Good heavens, this barrier is nearly two feet thick!
"If a Body Integration Realm cultivator came and stood here attacking it for three days and three nights, they probably still wouldn't be able to breach it, right?"
Li Guanqi pressed his palm against the barrier and exerted a bit of force with his fingers, only to find the formation curtain completely immobile.
"Tsk, tsk..."
Taking out a jade slip, he spoke softly: "Elder Li, I'm outside the barrier. Please open it for me."
Whoosh!!
In just a few breaths, an elderly man flashed to the edge of the domain boundary. Catching sight of the youth before him, he paused in surprise.
"Er... Young Master Li?"
Li Guanqi chuckled and wiped a hand across his face, restoring his original appearance.
"Elder Li, it is I."
Li Changqing sensed his aura, and upon confirming it was indeed Li Guanqi, he hurriedly opened the domain boundary and formation barrier.
Chapter 670