Only then did Li Guanqi realize that at some point, without him even knowing, he had subconsciously begun to believe the others could no longer be of any help to him.
A bitter smile touched his lips, and he said softly, "Alright! Let's go see together!"
Jiuxiao swept his dragon tail and shot forward in an instant, carrying them into the sky.
The terrifying speed forced the others to raise a barrier of primal energy before they could catch their breath.
At that moment, Xiao Chen noticed the change in Ye Feng and couldn't resist pointing at him.
"Second Brother isn't right! Third Brother, look at him quick—something's off about him!"
Cao Yan shrugged, naturally aware of what had taken place with Long Hou.
"I know. Looks like Second Brother has thoroughly refined that power, and his comprehension has improved by leaps and bounds!"
After an unknown amount of time, they finally arrived at the boundary between the Qingyun Continent and the Lingxu Continent.
The sight before them left them speechless with shock.
As far as the eye could see, collapsed and shattered peaks lay in ruins, and the ground was crisscrossed with deep, scarred chasms carved by blade light.
Those chasms were bottomless, pitch-black voids whose depths could not be fathomed.
The sky and the black void seemed to merge into one, their boundary blurred by warped space.
Just the residual blade energy lingering on the ground caused cold sweat to break out across their bodies.
Li Guanqi's throat moved slightly, blood qi roaring within him as he slowly reached toward a spatial rift beside him.
*Szzzt!*
Li Guanqi's finger was instantly sliced off by the lingering blade energy!
"Big Brother!"
"Careful! Don't touch any of the residual blade energy!"
Everyone watched this scene in utter shock.
They all knew full well just how monstrously tough Li Guanqi's physical body was.
Yet mere lingering blade energy had severed his finger with absolute ease!
With an exceedingly grave expression, Li Guanqi murmured, "The Blade Soul Realm!"
Suddenly!
Li Guanqi snapped his head up toward the void!
*Ding-a-ling!*
A crisp chime rang out.
Their gazes followed the sound, and in the next moment, they saw a woman covered in blood and horrific wounds slowly walk out.
Hong Zhi wore her usual expressionless face, even though the extent of her wounds looked far beyond what any living person could bear.
Her dark crimson robe was shredded, her snow-white arms were stained with blood, and her right hand gripped a blade of pure crimson.
The Soul-Burying Golden Bell chimed softly with each movement.
Hong Zhi turned and cast a deep look at Li Guanqi, and then her presence vanished entirely!
Her eyes closed, and she pitched headfirst toward the ground below!
Before losing consciousness, Hong Zhi murmured faintly toward the void, "Long... he fled... no need... to worry..."
"Guanqi... is..."
Li Guanqi raised his hand, channeling spatial power to catch her, while his divine sense unfurled like a tidal wave across the surroundings.
Sweeping the area warily, he immediately barked, "Go! Return to the sect!"
The sword at Ye Feng's waist cleared its scabbard in an instant, his sharp gaze raking across the surroundings as he said in a low voice, "Jiuxiao!"
Jiuxiao's massive head nodded slightly, shattering through space to plunge into the void.
Unseen and unheard, they carried Hong Zhi away. On the way back, Li Guanqi contacted Lu Kangnian.
As a result, no one in the Great Xia Sword Sect knew when they had left, nor when they returned.
Inside the Purple Spirit Grotto-Heaven.
Li Guanqi and the others placed the woman directly into a stone pool of jade marrow, laid a spirit-gathering array around it, and slotted high-grade spirit stones into place.
Leaving several healing pills beside the pool, they finally felt at ease enough to step away.
Leaning her back against Li Guanqi as he sat cultivating, the sword spirit murmured softly, "This woman is very strong."
Li Guanqi's eyes flickered, and he murmured, "She's probably like Uncle Long, one of Grandfather's subordinates, right?
"And... that blade..."
At the mention of the blade, the sword spirit's expression soured completely.
"That damned old man! Suppressing me for so many years was bad enough, but drawing on my power earlier—it was actually to forge a blade?!
"Disgusting!"
Li Guanqi's eyelids twitched at her words, not daring to utter a peep...
He had only stepped in to save the woman because the aura on her saber had felt somewhat familiar.
Her injuries were severe—so severe that Li Guanqi wondered how she had even survived.
He even suspected that her consciousness had slipped into a daze during the earlier battle.
To hold out to the very end had relied entirely on an ironclad willpower!
Even Li Guanqi couldn't touch her blade; from start to finish, even when she lost consciousness, she had kept her grip locked around it.
Xiao Chen sidled up to Li Guanqi and whispered, "Boss, what's her deal? Why did she look at you so weirdly before passing out?"
Cao Yan leaned in as well and muttered, "That blade... is terrifyingly powerful."
Ye Feng plopped down across their knees and said, "This senior must be at least in the Mahayana realm, right?
"Someone who has condensed a Blade Soul! How have I never heard of her before?
"Just who was someone with that level of strength fighting?"
Li Guanqi pondered for a moment and decided not to tell them everything just yet, offering only an analysis.
"Pure demonic qi lingers in the void. It's very likely someone from the Sha organization.
"Perhaps even the leader of Sha!"
Just then, Pengluo came running back in tears and snot.
"Master! I quit! I'm not doing it anymore!
"I... I can't even get close! Look at this! Just look at what it did to me!"
Crisscrossing blade cuts covered Pengluo from head to toe, and milky-white sap wept from the wounds.
Even as Pengluo wailed, his hands smeared the sap frantically across his body, his tongue darting out to lick up what was on his hands.
Between licks, he mumbled:
"Goodness gracious, can't let this go to waste..."
Li Guanqi said helplessly, "Alright, stop crying.
"You don't have to go back. Happy?"
The moment he heard that, Pengluo scampered off happily.
Li Guanqi said softly, "We don't need to meddle with that senior. Consider it a karmic bond casually forged.
"When she wakes up, let her go wherever she pleases."
The others nodded.
Li Guanqi looked at them solemnly and said, "Wrap up whatever business you have in the coming days and prepare to enter secluded cultivation!"
Xiao Chen scratched his head and asked, "Boss, why the sudden secluded cultivation for us?"
The corner of Li Guanqi's mouth curved upward into a mysterious smile.
"Your boss is going to find a way to upgrade the quality of your spirit ruins!
"You're my brothers. Wouldn't it be too embarrassing if you couldn't even reach Apocalypse?"
Xiao Chen glanced at Ye Feng and Cao Yan with a smirk. "Don't look at me. I can already unleash the second stage."
Cao Yan said nothing, merely shooting Ye Feng a glance.
Ye Feng didn't look the least bit embarrassed; instead, he grinned roguishly, wrapped his arms around Li Guanqi's arm, and said:
"Heh heh, I knew Boss treats me the best."
Li Guanqi laughed out loud and playfully shoved him away. "Later, I'll find some Heaven-rank manuals and secret techniques for the three of you. Every single one of you had better pour everything into growing stronger!!"
Chapter 754