Surging Undercurrents!

Xiang Huaizhi’s breathing remained steady. Without batting an eye, he raised a hand, carved out the rotting flesh from his chest, and sneered. “It’s truly been too long since I last took the field.” “Now any piece of trash dares bark before me, Xiang Huaizhi.” Even as he spoke, the saber in his grip dissipated, replaced by an eight-foot spear of fire! Gripping the spear with both hands, Xiang Huaizhi settled into the Cloud Step opening stance. Then, like a bolt fired from a siege ballista, he burst forward! White-face’s mind shook. Even before the spear reached him, its razor-sharp aura had compressed the surrounding void out of shape. Reaching out, he seized Black-face by the neck and hurled him behind, then crushed a jade talisman. Boundless, pure demonic qi surged forth as he spoke with blistering speed. “I’ll hold him off! Hurry up and heal!” Before his voice could fade, Xiang Huaizhi’s spear was already upon him! The spear arrived before the man! It thrust straight for his heart—unavoidable, inescapable! The spear tip slammed hard against the spine of the saber, its monstrous power driving White-face back over a thousand zhang! Xiang Huaizhi laughed with wild arrogance, mocking, “With what do you expect to stop me?” “Courage?” Boom! Spear light erupted, and crimson flames swallowed White-face whole. At the same moment, the red silk ribbon around Xiang Huaizhi’s neck whipped out, morphing into a spear that shot straight toward Black-face amid the demonic qi! The short saber vibrated violently, knocking the red ribbon spear aside with lingering terror. Yet Xiang Huaizhi seemed to have anticipated it. With a flick of his wrist, the ribbon tethered to the spear snapped taut, instantly reversing direction and shooting forth once more! Beneath such overwhelmingly one-sided force, even the Sha organization’s strongest Liang-rank assassins were powerless. Yet the cultivators being slaughtered below were nowhere near as fortunate. Blood soaked the mountain ranges and the earth, only to be instantly drained away by the grand formation. More and more cultivators fell to demonization… and the battle turned increasingly grim for the cultivators of the Six Domains. Inside the Purple Spirit Grotto-Heaven, Li Guanqi’s cheek twitched faintly, his fingers tensing uncontrollably. His sleeves concealed his hands, his posture straight and rigid as he stood before the Tianji Chart. Watching the unpredictable, shifting tides before him, Li Guanqi murmured softly, “Still not making a move?” In truth, he knew full well that finding Sha this way would be exceedingly difficult. Moreover… Unless he stepped out of the Great Xia Sword Sect, the other party would hardly have an opportunity to act. Right then, Li Guanqi sent a message to Pengluo. Immediately, the knee-high Pengluo flew out. In a low voice, he said, “I’ll go check on them again.” Li Guanqi gave a silent nod and said nothing more. Yet after leaving, Pengluo did not head into the domain fragment to look for Ye Feng and the others. Instead, he arrived at the edge of the thunder pool, gritted his teeth, and stepped inside! *** Meanwhile, elsewhere. Within a vast, empty hall, a red-robed man paced slowly. Behind him stood a hundred-zhang-tall shelving frame. Arranged across it in dense rows were countless black Soul-Locking Bells. As filled Soul-Locking Bells were placed onto the upper shelves one by one, the corners of the man’s mouth curled slightly. Turning around, he drew an ancient, pitch-black lamp from his robes. Hum! “Leader, you summoned me.” Looking at the woman kneeling on the ground, Sha’s eyes flickered. In the next instant, Song Zhi’ang slumped agonizingly to the floor, a black flower flickering at her brow. Only upon seeing that flower did the man reveal a faint smile. Tossing out the ancient lamp, he said in a heavy voice, “Take this and leave. In a moment, I will tell you where to go.” “Remember, not a third soul is permitted to know of this!” Cold sweat soaked Song Zhi’ang’s forehead. Receiving the ancient lamp with both hands, a strange look flashed across her eyes. Putting the lamp away, she gave a solemn nod. “Understood.” Just as she was about to depart, Sha suddenly spoke. “Perform your duties well. If you succeed this time, I will see to it that you step into the Body Integration Realm as soon as possible!” Song Zhi’ang’s eyes brightened. Her figure dissolved into a wisp of black flame, vanishing from the grand hall. Now, only Sha remained in the empty expanse. Seated upon his throne, a sharp gleam shone in his eyes. In a voice audible only to himself, he murmured, “How troublesome. Xiang Huaizhi’s strength is actually this terrifying!” “Tsk, this time… hehe.” The shelves behind him collapsed with a roar as he swept up the thousands of Soul-Locking Bells into his storage. “I suppose there is no longer any need for this place to exist.” With a single step, he vanished from where he stood. When he reappeared, he had already arrived in the dungeon. Reaching out, he seized the end of a chain. Tang Ru, tortured beyond human recognition, was submerged entirely within black water. The foul stench of rotting flesh clung to him; pus and sores festered across his skin, and the bare bones of his four limbs were pitted and corroded like honeycombs. Whistling softly, the man dragged Tang Ru step by step toward the void. Space twisted, and both figures disappeared. *** Buzz! Li Guanqi instantly rolled up the Tianji Chart! His heart violently accelerated out of nowhere! It was Tang Ru’s aura! Some unknown force had actually pierced straight through the multiple layers of defensive formations currently protecting the Great Xia Sword Sect. Those were the sect’s deepest trump cards, and every altar array was an eighth-rank formation! Yet even so, the opponent’s aura had still managed to seep into the Great Xia Sword Sect! Li Guanqi’s divine sense swept across the entire sect in a flash! Suddenly, he discovered an elder and three disciples whose eyes had turned completely pitch-black. And the reason they had fallen into this state was that the seal upon the Abyss Demon fissure once established in the Great Xia Sword Sect had loosened. Li Guanqi’s throat bobbed slightly as he swallowed hard. Aside from Xi Yunhuai’s reinforcement, the most crucial core of the seal on that Abyss Demon fissure was his own lightning sword! It was precisely because of this that he could sense the aura of Tang Ru released by the other party! Glancing toward Ye Xuan, who still sat quietly atop the peak of Tianjian Peak with the hair at his temples stirring in the breeze, Li Guanqi gave an imperceptible nod. Then, with a twitch of his fingers, the lightning sword qi suspended high above the summit split apart, four spirit swords shooting out in an instant! An elder currently lecturing his disciples had no idea what was happening when the pavilion above him blew apart! With a thunderous crash, a purple-black lightning spirit sword impaled the old man’s skull! The lightning swords streaked across the grounds, instantly obliterating the three disciples as well! This sudden act terrified many of the surrounding disciples, but once they sensed the aura lingering on the lightning swords, they quieted down. The commotion naturally caught the attention of Lu Kangnian and the others. Over these past days, Lu Kangnian’s nerves had been strung taut. He had never expected that beneath the blazing midday sun, Li Guanqi would strike out with such thunderous finality! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Lu Kangnian flashed out into the open, only to be stopped before a mountain peak in the rear hills by an overwhelmingly powerful barrier of lightning! Li Guanqi stared intently at the sword qi seal before him, which had turned into a pitch-black demonic sword, a sharp glint flickering deep within his gaze. Several inscribed talismans were affixed to his chest. Their power forcibly kept his mind in an absolute state of calm, immune to any outside influence. Back then, Gu Li had left him quite a few. As Li Guanqi stood at the edge of the Abyss Demon fissure, many people stood poised for battle, whether they were within the Great Xia Sword Sect or elsewhere. Ye Xuan gripped his scabbard tightly. Meng Jiangchu wore dark-green armor, cold light glinting in his eyes. Gu Changsheng narrowed his eyes, standing beside Meng Jiangchu with cold sweat beading on his nervous palms. Tang Wei held his sword firmly, and beside him stood a resolute man—Qian Ze! Hong Zhi looked down at the Domain Master Token in her grasp, upon which only two large characters were inscribed: ‘Obliterate!’