A New Sword: Moonlock!

Meng Jiangchu's lip twitched. He hadn't expected a tiny spirit creature to speak to him in such a manner. Pengluo knitted its brow and stroked its chin, muttering, "Why does this withered old man's aura feel a bit like the Mistress's? And the fire beside him... could it be the Five Yang Ghost Fire?" Gu Yong smiled faintly and said to Meng Jiangchu, "This is the spirit creature by Guanqi's side. It possesses the ability to breach realms!" Wasting no words, Meng Jiangchu tossed the sword in his hand directly to Pengluo. The moment Pengluo touched it, a violent shudder ran through its small body. "This sword...!!" Meng Jiangchu said in a cold voice, "Hurry inside and help him!" With no time to ask questions, Pengluo took a flying plunge into the barrier. But it had only wriggled halfway through when its entire rear got stuck... No matter how it squirmed, it couldn't squeeze all the way in. "Old man!! Lend me a hand, will you?!" Gu Yong's face darkened, and he raised a foot to plant a kick. *Thud!!* "Ouch!!" The moment Pengluo opened its eyes, it sensed a terrifyingly immense pressure—along with a figure covered in grievous wounds! Just before Pengluo breached the barrier... Mei no longer concealed his figure in the slightest, having confirmed that Li Guanqi was now a spent arrow! Everything before had merely been a bluff! The lightning sword in Li Guanqi's hand shattered time and again, and from within the sword coffin behind him came the clattering strikes of Red Lotus pounding against its confines. Barely an inch of Li Guanqi's skin remained intact, and nearly sixty percent of his body's essence blood had been drained... The blood loss left his mind a muddled haze, barely able to parry the enemy before him. Yet within this domain, the enemy's strength suffered no suppression or hindrance whatsoever. Backed by monstrous might, Mei drove him into desperate straits again and again. *Buzz!* A lightning sword coalesced once more in Li Guanqi's grip, more than three zhang away from Mei. Behind Li Guanqi, an eight-armed Asura phantom of deep violet-red abruptly manifested! His face smeared with blood and his features twisted in fury, Li Guanqi mustered his remaining primal energy, frantically channeling it into the lightning sword. In an instant, the entire fiendish domain was bathed in crimson. A chilling killing intent, deep as an abyss, rolled outward—so thick that a sea of blood and mountains of corpses seemed to rise before Mei's very eyes! The piled mounds of bodies reached dozens of zhang into the air, spanning men, women, young, and old... Mei's movements faltered slightly. He had no idea how many people the young man had slaughtered to conjure such a horrifying vision! Gritting his teeth, the man gripped his sword with both hands, fiendish energy roiling as he braced himself with equal vigilance. He knew that as long as he weathered this single blow, Li Guanqi would have nothing left to do but wait for death! The void beneath Li Guanqi's feet collapsed, and unleashing all his remaining might, he vanished in a flash. "Asura Sword!!" A terrifying arc of lightning sword light coalesced ten zhang long, the originally violet lightning forcibly veiled beneath a shroud of scarlet blood! Looking upon this world-shattering strike, Mei found it hard to believe it could be unleashed by someone whose primal energy was nearly spent! He couldn't fathom what it would be like if Li Guanqi were in his prime, wielding a ruins artifact sword... "Ten Thousand Demons Slaying Heaven!!" Roiling fiendish energy surged as thousands of sword beams shot forth, hurtling toward Li Guanqi like howling hordes of demons. The Asura phantom slashed in all directions. Crimson sword light streaked through the air, yet it was held at bay by the countless demons! Li Guanqi's expression shifted slightly. This strike... likely wouldn't be enough to wound his opponent... *Boom!!* The fiendish phantoms gnawed at the Asura phantom. Though the sword light shattered more than half of them, its momentum was nearly spent... Boundless fiendish shadows lunged at Li Guanqi, tearing into him with savage abandon! "Ahhh!!" A roar of agony ripped from Li Guanqi's throat as a towering silhouette suddenly materialized before him! Mei grabbed Li Guanqi's body, swirling fiendish shadows morphing into black ribbons that bound him tight! "Caught you!" "It certainly wasn't easy... I never expected you to be this powerful!" Li Guanqi's flesh was mauled beyond recognition, his dripping wounds so deep that bone showed through. His left eye was swollen into a narrow slit, and he was hauled helplessly into midair by his foe. "Just to capture you, we lost two men, and even I ended up severely wounded..." "Li Guanqi, you truly deserve your title as the foremost youth across the Six Domains!!" Li Guanqi spat a mouthful of bloody water straight into the man's face and seized his thick arms with both hands. Driving his knee upward with explosive force, he slammed it right into the man's chin! *Crack!!* The man stumbled back from the blow. Suspended in midair, Li Guanqi suddenly unleashed a surging momentum of fist intent! "Firmament Shatterer: Ten Thousand Mountains!!" *Boom!!* As Li Guanqi thrust out the punch, every bone in his arm shattered completely, yet the crushing, devastating blow landed true. Vast and heavy, the strike carried every last ounce of his remaining strength. It punched clean through the towering figure's defenses, smashing straight into his chest. *Bang!* Having absorbed the Abyss Demon's power, Mei stood nearly a zhang tall. Yet under the cascading force of this punch, he was sent flying thousands of zhang away. His massive frame slammed brutally against the barrier wall of the domain. He coughed up a huge mouthful of blood, and the blood-red mask over his face shattered, revealing an ordinary, unremarkable countenance. "Pfft!! Argh!!" *Thud!* Having delivered the punch, Li Guanqi's vision blurred as he gazed into the distance. Completely spent, he collapsed helplessly to the ground. A moment later, he sensed that the other man's aura still lingered, and a bitter look crossed his face... "Must I... really... fall here...?" Suddenly! Li Guanqi sensed an unexpected yet familiar aura. Pengluo flew inside, arriving just in time to see Li Guanqi grievously wounded, half-kneeling in the air. In frantic distress, it bellowed, "Master!! I'm here!!" "Catch the sword!!" Li Guanqi turned to see Pengluo's figure, and a glimmer of joy flashed across his eyes. Reaching out, he caught the four-foot-long sword! Without a single word needed, Pengluo tore a large clump of green leaves from its head and flung them over. Wringing the last dregs of power from his body, Li Guanqi lunged forward, caught the leaves, and crammed them ravenously into his mouth. Li Guanqi's heart surged with wild emotion. He had never imagined that in his most perilous moment, it would be Pengluo coming to his rescue! The moment the leaves entered his system, the immense vitality inherent to Pengluo's true form coursed through his entire body! The rampant fiendish energy ravaging his insides was suppressed instantly and purged outward. The shattered bones in his arm and the wound at his waist began healing at a pace visible to the naked eye. More than that, primal energy surged frantically into his parched dantian! His ruptured meridians were mending as well, while Pengluo began snapping off its own arms with sharp crunches. Straddling Li Guanqi's neck, it shoved them into his mouth. "Eat, eat, eat! Hurry up and eat!" "I haven't snapped them off in so long, I'm getting the itch! Master, eat up!" Li Guanqi chewed ravenously. Pengluo's power slid down his throat, flooding his entire body with comforting warmth. Looking down at the sword in his hand, a sharp gleam ignited in Li Guanqi's eyes. In the distance, Mei's expression was exceedingly grim. He had no idea how this formidable spirit creature had managed to break in, nor could he fathom why Li Guanqi's aura and wounds were recovering so rapidly. His eyes darted about, thoughts of retreat already taking root. This mission... had failed... Yet the instant he moved to tear open the domain, Li Guanqi flashed forward and barred his path.