As the words fell, the figure enshrouded in pitch-black demonic qi slowly drew out a blood-red compass the size of a water bucket.
As primal energy surged into it, the compass blazed with sudden brilliance, ring after ring of crimson runes manifesting across its surface.
A massive needle spun wildly before locking toward a certain direction in the void, the runes shimmering with a faint luminescence.
The figures exchanged glances, then shot forth at blinding speed.
Within the transit corridor, Li Guanqi was unaware that his movements had already stirred mighty figures from three sides!
Gu Yong moved through the void with a sullen face, cold glints flashing in the sleeve-tucked elder's eyes.
That the Sha had managed to infiltrate Tianji Pavilion so deeply infuriated the old man.
"If Mei represents assassins at the Body Integration Realm... then besides Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow, this organization might well possess four other ranks: Chi, Mei, Wang, and Liang!"
Gu Yong scoffed coldly. Spiritual light flared beneath his feet, and with a casual flick, he summoned a void-piercing shuttle and stepped inside.
In the Shenbao Domain, Meng Jiangchu held a longsword colored black and crimson from tip to hilt, nestled in a black scabbard.
"Mei... If even their Black-rank assassins are already so terrifying, they actually have other tiers as well?"
Examining the four-foot longsword in his hand, Meng Jiangchu was exceedingly pleased.
Six ancient seals drifted around him. The wondrous spiritual light linking them allowed him to traverse thousands of li with every step!
The goal of all three factions was Li Guanqi alone!
Inside the transit corridor, Li Guanqi's primal energy surged. The spirit stones floating behind him rapidly turned dull gray and dissolved into ash.
Pairing his footwork with razor-sharp sword strikes, Li Guanqi moved through the corridor. Though his hand was bare of a sword, the hum of a blade seemed to ring out.
Sword qi crisscrossed the corridor, yet all of it remained tightly restrained within inches of his body.
Gradually, Li Guanqi consciously began focusing his power into this "sword."
Stripped of sweeping, grandiose sword light, his striking power actually increased!
The force that had once dissipated now gathered into a single point, rendering its lethality several degrees sharper.
Suddenly!
Three silhouettes abruptly appeared within the void.
In the distance, a faint speck of light was hurtling through the void at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
That speck had originally been formless, yet through the compass, the pursuer captured it with perfect clarity.
"There it is!"
With that cry, the three figures unleashed immense pressure, darting forward to chase down that streak of light.
In an instant, all three activated secret arts, pushing their speed to its absolute limit!
A piercing sonic boom rang out as the three formed a triangular formation, encircling the cluster of spiritual light.
"Hurry! We can't maintain this speed for long!"
The dark figure clutching the Blood-Oath Compass knew this well. He slashed his palm, pouring a gush of blood into the compass.
The compass instantly shattered, unleashing boundless crimson light that trapped the speck from every direction!
The surging blood light expanded in a flash, forming a thousand-zhang blood formation!
Weng!
Within the transit corridor, Li Guanqi's expression drastically shifted. Without hesitation, he drew Red Lotus!
Boom!
The transit corridor collapsed instantly, and the crimson glow of the outside world flooded his vision.
Sensing extreme danger, Li Guanqi's blood and qi roared as he pushed the Dragon Elephant Prison-Suppressing Art to full power!
His formidable physique actually withstood the spatial shredding caused by the collapse of the spatial corridor!
Yet even though he endured it, hideous wounds tore across his body.
The spatial shredding of a cross-domain teleportation array was no trivial matter; the tearing force had nearly sucked him into the spatial turbulence!
Gazing at the blood light before him, Li Guanqi smelled an extraordinarily dangerous aura!
There was no time to think. Red Lotus blazed with an eerie crimson radiance as a glint of cold resolve flickered in his eyes.
Raising his sword, he slashed out fiercely!
"Apocalypse: Sword Draw Stance!"
Roaring inwardly, he concentrated all the terrifying sword light's power into a single zhang before him.
With this strike alone, he forcefully ripped open a zhang-wide gap in the blood light!
Channeling his footwork, Li Guanqi shot out through the breach, only to be met head-on by three horrifying sword rays!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Li Guanqi slashed repeatedly, unleashing three strikes of Heaven Shatterer in rapid succession, barely holding off the ambush.
Yet the force of the blast hurled him back several hundred zhang!
When he looked up again, he was shocked to find that the surrounding world had completely transformed.
Crimson light filled the sky, forming an isolated realm that stretched for a hundred li in every direction.
Weng!
Three silhouettes enshrouded in demonic qi slowly materialized, instantly surrounding Li Guanqi upon their appearance.
Sensing the faint yet formidable pressure radiating from the trio, Li Guanqi's heart tightened.
His sharp gaze swept over them, and he licked his dry lips.
"Three half-step Body Integration experts who absorbed the power of Abyss Demons..."
"The Sha really think highly of me!"
Just then, however, Li Guanqi noticed that their masks were slightly different, and the demonic qi around them was far more condensed and refined!
One of the dark figures sneered, "Li Guanqi, I advise you to surrender without a fight. You might spare yourself some physical torment."
Holding Red Lotus, Li Guanqi scoffed.
"Save your breath. Do you think I'd ever go quietly?"
"Why waste words on him? Strike!"
A raspy voice barked, and the three figures shot toward Li Guanqi like arrows loosed from a bow.
At the same time, three demonic qi domains bore down to suppress him!
The suffocating oppression rushing at him brought Li Guanqi unprecedented pressure!
Li Guanqi's expression hardened, and he roared under his breath, "Sword Prison—open!"
Boom!
Right between the three domains about to close in on him, endless lightning erupted.
Upon touching Li Guanqi's lightning, the dense demonic qi began melting away rapidly, like winter snow under a blazing sun.
Yet the three were half-step Body Integration experts after all; their realm and sheer power were undeniable.
Realizing they could not drag Li Guanqi entirely into their domains, they immediately adjusted their tactics to hunt him down!
The three domains trapped Li Guanqi within a thousand-zhang expanse at their center; without actively pressing down, they still prevented his Sword Prison from expanding any further.
The three silhouettes crisscrossed through the air, shifting positions relentlessly as they closed in!
Li Guanqi instantly shifted his sword to his left hand. With muscles taut, his divine sense spread outward as he struck out again and again!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang, clang! Clang!
In just a single breath of combat, Li Guanqi felt practically overwhelmed!
Their swords were blindingly fast, leaving him not a single moment to catch his breath.
"Ah!"
Li Guanqi's face paled, and he snapped his divine sense back!
That bizarre demonic qi was actually corroding his divine sense!
The instant he withdrew his divine sense, his blade hesitated for a fraction of a second. Shifting his footing, he retreated violently.
Yet several strips of flesh were still shorn from his body...
Chapter 714