Having just broken through, Li Guanqi moved with exceptional speed, further aided by his affinity for lightning spiritual energy. In terms of sheer swiftness, he outpaced his peers by far more than a hair.
As Li Guanqi streaked past the others on his flying sword, many disciples caught sight of him. The faint, subtle pressure rolling off him caused their hearts to shiver. Still, several senior brothers sent voice transmissions: "Junior Brother Li, be careful! We still don't know how many there are!"
Li Guanqi gave a slight nod. But Lin Dong had yet to reply, so Li Guanqi pushed the flying sword beneath his feet to its absolute limit.
*Whoosh!*
Under the moonlight, Li Guanqi's figure turned into a blur of black shadow, swooping down from the sky.
The Great Xia Sword Sect's territory spanned a radius of fifty li, but only the peaks within the inner sect were shielded by defensive barriers. Under normal circumstances, Foundation Establishment disciples had to be sent to patrol the borders.
Directly behind the Thousand Peaks Mountain stretched a continuous, towering range of rugged peaks known as the Jiyang Mountain Range. The trees within towered ten to twenty zhang high, their dense canopies blotting out the sky.
*Swish!*
Flying on his sword, Li Guanqi swiftly arrived where the signal had been fired. Yet aside from a deep crater and a few spatters of blood, there was no other trace.
Li Guanqi took out his sect jade slip and saw nearly a hundred points of light speeding toward this location. Within the mountain range, however, three points of light were clustered together, fleeing in a direction different from his own. About a thousand zhang away, another point of light remained motionless where it was.
*It's Lin Dong!*
*Thud!!*
With the sword casket on his back, a muffled boom erupted beneath Li Guanqi's feet as he kicked off, gouging a deep crater into the earth. Like a hunting leopard, he shot into the pitch-black forest.
The silent woods were terrifyingly still; even the occasional roar or shriek of wild beasts had vanished. Li Guanqi released his divine sense, bringing everything within a fifty-zhang radius firmly under his control. Soon, he spotted several spatters of blood smeared across tree trunks.
When he reached the spot a thousand zhang away, he found only a torn scrap of white robe and a blood-soaked jade slip. Picking it up, Li Guanqi's expression hardened—beneath the jade slip lay two severed fingers.
The jade slip indeed belonged to Lin Dong!
Dark-faced, Li Guanqi's mind raced.
*Who would choose this moment to invade the Great Xia Sword Sect's borders? Could it be Qinglong Island or the Qixian Sect, who have clashed with us so often? But... how could those two alone dare to collide head-on with the Great Xia Sword Sect?*
Li Guanqi slowly closed his eyes, his five senses sharpening to an extraordinary degree. Beneath the spread of his divine sense, not a single detail within fifty zhang escaped him. Before long, he noticed two broken branches on a pair of trees to his front right. From the looks of the breaks, they had snapped only moments ago!
Li Guanqi took out his sect jade slip and said in a low voice, "One thousand five hundred zhang southeast in the Jiyang Mountain Range! That should be their heading! Tiantu Peak disciple Lin Dong lost his identity jade slip—it is in my hands! One thousand five hundred zhang southeast in the Jiyang Mountain Range!"
Stowing the jade slip, Li Guanqi pushed off with his feet and bolted toward the southeast! Holding his sword in his right hand, he kept his divine sense expanded. Up in the sky, the approaching disciples immediately wheeled their flying swords around and swept toward the southeast of the Jiyang Mountain Range. If Li Guanqi had checked his jade slip just then, he would have seen nearly every point of light pivot at once.
Suddenly, Li Guanqi's jade slip faintly flickered, and Gu Ran's voice came through with grave urgency: "Junior Brother, be careful. We just heard from the three disciples who escaped. There are three intruders. The lowest among them is at middle Foundation Establishment, and one of the black-robed men is at late Foundation Establishment!"
Li Guanqi lowered the jade slip and transmitted back, "Do not worry, Senior Sister."
Like a feral beast raised in the wilderness, Li Guanqi bounded and wove continuously between the forest floor and tree limbs. Faint purple light flashed beneath his feet from time to time as he pushed his movement technique to its limit.
*Swish!!*
His figure flickered as he landed silently upon a bough. A hundred zhang ahead, several figures were racing deeper into the mountains. Yellow divine speed talismans were affixed to the feet of the black-robed men, propelling them at blistering speed.
A figure tucked under an arm caught Li Guanqi's eye. The white robe the captive wore was exceptionally glaring.
Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. Slipping into a black robe, he melted into the darkness.
The three men in black remained utterly silent, madly driving their origin power to rush toward the depths. From within the dark, Li Guanqi matched them less than a hundred zhang behind, not making the slightest sound.
Having received Gu Ran's transmission, the disciples rushing over dropped from the sky and began racing through the forest on foot. They feared the commotion of flying overhead would alert their quarry.
Word reached the sect quickly as well. In an instant, three Core Formation elders transformed into beams of light, streaking through the sky toward the Jiyang Mountain Range.
Li Nanting muttered with a cold expression, "Hmph! Now every stray dog dares to run wild in our Great Xia Sword Sect!"
Keeping pace with the intruders, Li Guanqi calculated his chances in silence. *Two at middle Foundation Establishment, one at late Foundation Establishment... likely a late-stage breakthrough that only happened recently.*
In a split second, Li Guanqi made his decision. He slowly shifted the sword into his calloused left hand. The moment it rested in his grip, a glint of chilling intent flared in his eyes!
*Boom!!*
Twisting his frame, he shattered a thick branch beneath his feet and lunged violently toward the trio!
At the sound of the blast, the leader of the black-robed men instantly sensed danger. He roared, "Watch out!"
All three drew their swords in a flash. But the man closest to Li Guanqi looked up only to see a pair of ghostly white eyes!
*Clang!*
His blade had barely extended when three flashes of cold steel blurred before his vision! All three strikes pierced straight through his body. Clutching his gushing throat with both hands, he choked, "Cough... such... such a fast sword..."
With blood splashed across his face, Li Guanqi didn't even blink. His right hand locked onto the dying man's body and hurled it viciously at the leader!
The leader tossed Lin Dong toward the remaining man as the dark silhouette rapidly expanded before his eyes. With no time to think, origin power surged through his sword, cleaving his comrade's body in two! Blood and entrails scattered through the air, releasing a sickly-sweet stench of gore.
Yet Li Guanqi was nowhere in front of him!
Without a second thought, the leader spun around and roared, "Hu San, look out!!"
The black-robed man holding Lin Dong under his left arm had no time to react before feeling a wave of hot breath strike the back of his neck! The shouting man watched in horror as Li Guanqi's figure materialized flush against Hu San's back, as though he had been there all along.
A savage look crossed Hu San's eyes. Reversing his sword, he stabbed it straight toward his own left shoulder!
Li Guanqi was startled as well. He had not expected the man to be so ruthless, willing to sacrifice his own flesh to trade lives! But how could Li Guanqi give him that chance?
Just as the blade was about to puncture Hu San's back and pierce Li Guanqi's chest, Li Guanqi yanked hard on the man's shoulder. Forcing his own body to pivot, he slipped aside to dodge the strike. In a single fluid arc, the sword in his left hand wrapped completely around Hu San's neck!
Snatching Lin Dong with one hand, Li Guanqi retreated with explosive speed!
Chapter 83