Desperate Ambush! Pengluo's Weapon...

Boom! A surging, torrential beam of light blasted straight toward them! Pengluo hurled everyone back in a single heave, then reached out and shoved Yun Jie into his spatial domain. Flashing into the void, he shifted hundreds of zhang to the side in the blink of an eye. The terrifying power obliterated Meng Wanshu's cloud shuttle. Li Guanqi's face turned grim as iron. Red Lotus swept into his hand, a cold glint gleaming in his eyes. An inexplicable, suffocating pressure suddenly bore down on them! Auras from every direction hemmed the group in. Li Guanqi licked his lips and murmured softly, "They really think highly of me. Nine Body Integration Realm powerhouses and one in the Mahayana realm... "They want us completely wiped out..." Pengluo also realized that things were dire. Every single black-robed cultivator surrounding them possessed an aura as deep as an abyss. It was clear these people had come fully prepared; a mysterious ancient barrier sealed off a hundred li of surrounding void, preventing any spatial fluctuations from leaking out. Right at that moment, however, a deafening roar erupted. A streak of silver-white suddenly appeared in the distant void, while a spiritual rune on Li Guanqi's back flared with blazing light. Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes as a hundred-zhang flaming palm print materialized out of thin air. Even across tens of thousands of zhang, the surging heat wave made Li Guanqi feel the surrounding temperature spike. Li Guanqi murmured under his breath, "Xuantian Divine Flame... Uncle Gu took action?" No sooner had the words left his mouth than a mysterious black-robed figure raised a hand and slashed several sword strikes, shattering the fiery palm print into pieces. Horrifying sword qi raged in all directions, making Li Guanqi's heart skip a beat. That mysterious figure who had been knocked back... At the very least, his aura was that of a Mahayana realm powerhouse! An ordinary Body Integration Realm cultivator could never have withstood such a ferocious blow from Gu Changsheng! Meng Wanshu said in a deep voice, "Jade slips can't transmit out. But... they're underestimating us..." Bang! The pendant on Meng Wanshu's wrist shattered into pieces! A terrifying spatial pulse burst forth, seemingly bypassing the enemy's ancient formation entirely. In an instant, it transformed into a ray of spiritual light and vanished into the void. Gasping for breath in the distant void, the man froze for a moment before his face twisted in fury. "Kill them!" he barked coldly. Boom! Boom! Boom! Nine auras erupted one after another! Draped in black robes that concealed their figures, nine Body Integration Realm powerhouses closed in within a heartbeat! With a flick of his blade, Li Guanqi assumed the Apocalypse stance. Even the sword spirit cast aside her usual jealousy and urged him urgently, "A Mahayana cultivator is beyond what you can handle right now. Have Pengluo take you away!" A terrifying thunderous sword intent swept through the area, wild and tempestuous! Not daring to be careless, the nine Body Integration cultivators raised their swords in unison to parry, yet the impact blasted them back hundreds of zhang. At that very moment, Meng Wanshu swallowed several medicinal pills, and her storage ring flashed with light... Tens of thousands of high-grade spirit stones were ground to powder in an instant, their rich, milky-white spiritual energy condensing almost into liquid spirit dew. Meng Wanshu opened her mouth and swallowed it in a single torrential gulp, circulating her cultivation technique to absorb it all. Her eyes flickered as she locked her gaze onto the strongest mysterious man in the distance. Yu Qingkun's aura was somewhat unsteady and floating—clearly, he had broken through not long ago. It was precisely because of his breakthrough that the Yu clan's dungeon had suffered such a massive lapse. After all, the Fire-Eyed Demon Fox clan was not without its own experts, and it was only through their desperate, united sacrifice that Yun Jie had been smuggled out. Yu Qingkun barked coldly, "Strike! That woman is trying to break through!" Li Guanqi's expression shifted. Meng Wanshu had only recently stepped into the Body Integration Realm, yet she was already being forced to attempt a breakthrough to the mid stage. Meng Wanshu said gravely, "Until my father arrives, I'm likely the only one who can stall him for a moment. "My safety is in your hands!" Li Guanqi could only nod. He barked, "Jiuxiao!" A roar echoed as a deep draconic bellow pierced the clouds. Transforming into his true form, Jiuxiao stood back-to-back with Li Guanqi and opened his jaws, unleashing a breath of thunderous lightning at their surroundings! The shrieking pillar of thunder swept outward, lightly injuring several cultivators in a single blast. Jiuxiao's power was purer than ever before, his baleful aura flaring as he glared at the surrounding enemies! His massive body coiled like a great mountain, shielding Meng Wanshu firmly within. Pengluo's face was flushed with excitement as he muttered, "Brawl! Let's brawl! "I'm going to beat someone up today!" Primal energy surged through Pengluo's body as he conjured a longsword. He swung it once, only to feel it didn't suit him. Then he formed a spear, then gauntlets... none of them felt quite right. Finally, his eyes lit up. He manifested a massive hammer even larger than himself. The hammerhead was rounded on one end and pointed on the other, whistling with wind as he brandished it. A satisfied grin spread across his face. Seven or eight severed arms hung from his waist—provisions he had hoarded whenever his vitality was overflowing. Nor was he stingy with Li Guanqi, tossing over a dozen pieces in quick succession. The wind howled as fierce sword light ripped across the battlefield, encompassing a hundred-zhang radius around the group! Blood and vital energy surged within Li Guanqi as he pushed the Dragon Elephant Prison-Suppressing Art to its absolute limit. His muscles tightened, his physique swelling noticeably, while veins bulged along the arm gripping his sword. The void beneath his feet caved in to form a gaping crater, yet it still failed to breach the ancient barrier. Flashing forward, the Red Lotus in his hand flared with an eerie crimson radiance. A tremor ran through Li Guanqi's heart. He distinctly felt that Red Lotus was several times stronger than before! 'Divinity... what on earth is it?' 'Why does the sword spirit have the ability... or rather, the qualification... to bestow divinity upon Red Lotus?' There was no time to ponder. The Sword Ruins abilities flared to full power—Lethality, Blade Break, Illusory Form! In that split second, the world around Li Guanqi seemed to slow down. It allowed him to clearly identify the weak points in the incoming attacks. Li Guanqi dashed like lightning, weaving within a hundred-zhang perimeter. Afterimages shattered; sword light tangled in chaos. Boom! Crash! Bang! Li Guanqi gritted his teeth, going all out! Holding nothing back, he took on the brunt of the enemy experts single-handedly. Slash! Clang! Boom! Li Guanqi darted back and forth, relying on his formidable strength to deflect every blow. But the assault was simply too dense; even he could not evade every strike. He could only do his best to guard his vital spots. Within mere breaths, he was drenched in blood and covered in wounds. Popping a chunk of radish into his mouth to replenish his spent primal energy, Li Guanqi's chest heaved slightly while his divine sense kept close watch on Pengluo and Jiuxiao. Jiuxiao was holding his ground well, remaining planted over Meng Wanshu without yielding an inch, even as his dragon scales blasted open. Boom! A terrifying ray of sword light struck Jiuxiao across the face, sending scales flying and splattering dark golden blood. Howling in pain, Jiuxiao lashed out with a claw, tearing through space as thunder-wreathed dragon talons slammed into the offending cultivator. With just a single swipe, the cultivator's legs were ripped to shreds. The protective barrier before him shattered like porcelain, and his dharma artifacts blew apart. Even the current Li Guanqi would not dare underestimate Jiuxiao's raw physical might. Pengluo, on the other hand, had opted for pure underhandedness... He would duck into the void interlayer, then pop out unexpectedly to smash someone with his hammer. His targeting was meticulously chosen—aiming strictly below the belt, never bothering with the upper body even when an opening presented itself. Moreover, now that his body had grown and the purple patterns on his skin pulsed with faint light, his strength was immense. The force behind his hammer swings was on par with any seventh-rank body tempering cultivator. He had only struck twice, yet those two blows had nearly crippled two men... By the end, none of the pursuers viewed Li Guanqi as the main threat. Instead, they were scrambling all over just to catch Pengluo.