Li Guanqi grabbed Zhong Lin, his body shifting and weaving as he bounded repeatedly across the continually rising buildings!
*Thud!*
Li Guanqi had barely touched down when, before Zhong Lin could even steady himself, he hurled him outward!
Within the pitch-black space, though no rushing of wind sounded, Li Guanqi felt subtle shifts in the flow of surrounding air.
The sword in his hand slashed four times in rapid succession!
*Clang, clang, clang, clang!!*
Several crossbow bolts were knocked down one after another, followed immediately by several figures darting away into the darkness.
Seeing this from midair, Zhong Lin couldn't help but widen his eyes!
"One breath! Four strikes!"
Swallowing hard, Zhong Lin floated lightly to the ground.
Everything had happened too fast—so fast Zhong Lin hadn't even realized why he had drawn his sword in the first place.
Only when sparks burst in the darkness did he realize enemies were lurking in the shadows.
Having touched down, Zhong Lin drew his longsword, his eyes vigilant. "Should we chase after them?" he asked.
Li Guanqi shook his head, tossed Zhong Lin a set of night-traveling clothes, and murmured, "Put this on first. Don't press a desperate foe right now. We need to figure out what's going on underground before doing anything else."
Once both had changed, they began feeling their way deeper inside.
*Pop! Pop!*
A series of soft pops rang out as flames flared up abruptly, one after another.
The ignited torches illuminated the entire space.
Li Guanqi caught Zhong Lin and halted. Looking out, they found themselves standing upon a colossal platform.
All around them was a circular structure resembling a cavernous tenement building.
The central platform connected to the buildings on either side, with the central courtyard suspended like an open-air atrium, only the platform gently revolving.
Looking upward, countless mechanical gears turned silently across the vaulted ceiling.
Embedded within the centers of several gears were numerous glowing monster cores!
Only now did Li Guanqi unravel the mystery in his heart, murmuring under his breath:
"So the core driving force behind these immensely complex mechanisms actually comes from the monster cores within beasts!"
Looking down, there were twelve tiers of platforms below their feet!
In other words, this city deep underground actually possessed a full thirteen tiers.
Suddenly!
The platform beneath their feet began moving rapidly. From the surrounding space, countless iron spheres the size of water buckets abruptly flew out!
Horrified at the sight, Zhong Lin cried out, "Not good! Those are dart pods!!"
When ten of the iron spheres flew to within roughly ten zhang of them, they unexpectedly hovered in place.
Immediately afterward, the iron spheres emitted a faint glimmer, and a flurry of hurried mechanical clicks echoed out.
*Clack-clack! Clack-clack!!*
Zhong Lin instantly retrieved two mortal-grade shields from his storage bag and tossed them toward Li Guanqi.
Yet Li Guanqi did not catch them. Instead, exhaling a breath of turbid air, he took a fierce stride forward!!
*Boom!!*
Countless grooves instantly opened across the surfaces of the ten dart pods, followed by a storm of assorted darts shooting toward them!!
Listening intently, Li Guanqi strained to extend his divine sense fifteen zhang around him.
The sword in his hand stabbed out with blistering speed, like a violent tempest!
Every strike accurately intercepted an incoming dart, yet the terrifying force behind them made even his arm tremble faintly.
*Clang, clang, clang, clang!!!*
As Li Guanqi rapidly thrust his sword, he even slashed to deflect every concealed weapon aimed at Zhong Lin.
The deluge of concealed darts shot forth for a full half-incense stick's time!
Holding both shields behind Li Guanqi, Zhong Lin was already thoroughly exhausted; many missiles had pierced straight through the shields.
Even so, Zhong Lin clung tightly to the shields, stubbornly guarding his back.
Seeing Zhong Lin's pierced shoulder, Li Guanqi's gaze sharpened. Supporting him, he leapt onto a nearby staircase in a flash.
After ingesting medicinal pills, Zhong Lin's face remained somewhat pale, so Li Guanqi hurried to take out several spirit stones.
Zhong Lin did not refuse; gripping the spirit stones, he began absorbing their energy.
At that moment, the two exchanged a brief voice transmission, and then both sprang violently toward the space behind them!!
*Thud!!*
Behind the towering metallic structure, a figure in black flickered past!
Yet how could Li Guanqi give him any chance to escape? Zhong Lin had already cut off the person's path from behind!
Seeing that the two had pincer-maneuvered him, the figure decisively fished out two black spheres and hurled them toward the pair!
Li Guanqi's nose twitched slightly, and without hesitation, he sidestepped out of the way.
Exerting power through his feet and driving his movement technique, he closed the distance in mere breaths!
The sword in his hand thrust toward the foe at an exceptionally cunning angle.
*Clang!!*
A four-foot white umbrella suddenly blocked the longsword.
Seeing this umbrella, Li Guanqi frowned. He had never seen anyone wield an umbrella as a weapon.
Instantly, his thrust shifted, borrowing momentum to wind around the guard and thrust forward once more!
At the same time, he channeled power into his feet and fiercely kicked at his opponent's knee!
*Bang!!*
Just as Li Guanqi shifted tactics, his opponent lashed out with a kick at the exact same moment, their knees colliding violently.
Simultaneously, the white umbrella snapped open, and dozens of razor-sharp blades sprang out around its rim!
The sudden turn caught Li Guanqi somewhat unprepared. He instantly brought his sword across his chest to block.
Leaning his upper body sharply backward and bracing one hand against the ground, his right leg swept upward toward the foe's jaw like a great axe!
Along the edge of the opened umbrella, every single rib bore a sharp blade.
The white umbrella pressed downward forcefully and began spinning rapidly, each blade coated in a golden luminescence.
Li Guanqi's heart tightened. Instantly retracting his right leg, he tapped the ground with one hand and retreated swiftly!
Yet immediately after, Li Guanqi unstrapped the sword casket from his back!!
*Thud!!*
The sword casket dropped heavily to the ground with a dull thud.
The metallic ground beneath Li Guanqi's feet abruptly caved into a deep depression!
Just as the foe closed the white umbrella and fell back, they discovered that dark silhouette reappearing right before their eyes!
*Ching!!*
The sound of a sword unsheathing!!
The sword in Li Guanqi's hand shifted abruptly. Arching his back slightly midair, he unleashed a sword-drawing strike in an instant!
Li Guanqi bellowed in a low voice, "Rushing Thunder!!"
This strike was swift as lightning!
A frigid sword beam flashed and vanished in the air!
The black-clad figure's pupils shrank to pinpricks, their right hand rapidly pressing a button on the umbrella handle.
Instantly, the sharp blades around the white umbrella launched outward, tracing sharp arcs through the air as they shot toward Li Guanqi!
At the same time, the black-clad figure drew an exceptionally slender rapier from the umbrella handle.
Li Guanqi did not alter his trajectory; the gathered force of his blade shifted seamlessly from gathering within the scabbard to building momentum through the strike itself.
*Clang!! Clang, clang!!*
Sparks erupted in midair, yet failed to halt Li Guanqi's ferocious charge.
When Li Guanqi landed, a cold gleam flashed past his opponent's eyes!
The sword snapped!!
Li Guanqi stood behind the black-clad figure, his chest heaving violently. Behind him, the figure stared in disbelief at the broken sword in their hand, then clutched their gushing neck and collapsed limply to the ground.
Chapter 91