Five of the Eight Generals, A Great Battle Approaches!

As Li Guanqi’s gaze turned razor-sharp, the flesh on his back split apart, blood bursting forth! A power entirely beyond Sha’s ability to control suddenly erupted from inside Li Guanqi’s body! This power broke straight through Sha’s binding force. The berserk blast instantly shattered and dispersed the surrounding demonic qi, sending Sha flying backward hundreds of zhang. Coming to a halt with his hands hanging slightly at his sides, Sha narrowed his eyes beneath his mask, his gaze turning as sharp and cold as a blade. His crimson robe whipped fiercely in the void. Behind Li Guanqi stood the illusory figure of the sword spirit, her face showing neither joy nor sorrow. Reaching out with slender, jade-white fingers, she tapped Li Guanqi’s back, helping him fully unleash the power of the talisman spirit runes inscribed into his flesh. Once she did, a bestial roar tore from Li Guanqi’s throat, as though he were enduring unspeakable agony. Without the slightest ripple in her gaze, the sword spirit said softly, "I will not be showing myself from here on." With that, her figure faded away. Blood-red light flickered within Sha’s eyes. It seemed as if an inscrutable vapor had coalesced into an ephemeral outline behind Li Guanqi. Yet he could neither sense it, nor clearly see it, nor fathom what it was. All he could perceive was a surge of formless energy, devoid of any discernible aura. Licking his lips, Sha narrowed his eyes as he felt the spatial ripples stirred up by the manifestation of the spirit runes. The way that power had broken through his restraint just now seemed as effortless as raising a hand. It had been so swift... he had not even discerned what means the other party had used. "Ahhh!" As the spirit runes erupted, Li Guanqi threw his head back and roared at the heavens. Beneath his mask, Sha glared fixedly at the spirit runes. This power was no longer something he could cut off. He had confirmed that the radish was inside the Great Xia Sword Sect, and that Li Guanqi carried no jade slips or inscribed talismans on his person. He had never imagined that Li Guanqi would be so ruthless to himself—inscribing the talisman spirit runes directly into his own flesh and blood. It was hard to imagine the excruciating agony he must have endured while those runes were being carved into him. At that very moment! Gu Li's eyes blazed with intense light! "I sensed it!" The moment the words left his mouth, Ye Xuan, Gu Changsheng, Meng Jiangchu, Nangong Xuandu, Tang Wei, and members of all four factions felt the anomaly at the same time! Qian Ze narrowed his eyes. Tearing open the void with a wave of his hand, he said in a deep voice, "Let's go! Today, I too shall provide help in an hour of need." *Buzz!* Hong Zhi halted abruptly, narrowing her eyes. "Nangong, lead the way!" "Wu Mian, construct the passage." Clad in a black robe, Wu Mian nodded. Then Hong Zhi spoke again: "Youming, assist Wu Mian with the passage's formation array." Youming behaved himself this time, not daring to provoke Hong Zhi. Shrugging, he immediately began inscribing the array, while Nangong Xuandu closed his eyes and focused his mind to lock onto the spatial ripples. Hands weaving hand seals, Wu Mian abruptly tore through the void before him. Powerful spatial ripples surged across dozens of li around them. Spirit runes flashed across Meng Jiangchu and the others. In a single stride, they vanished from the spot! Ye Xuan rose slowly, the sword momentum within his scabbard already gathered to the absolute limit! The corner of his mouth curved upward slightly, and taking a step forward, he vanished from the spot as well! *Rumble!* Above the Great Xia Sword Sect, bolts of heavenly tribulation lightning crashed down continuously upon three of the Three Thousand Peaks. Though weighed down by heavy thoughts, the three proudly standing figures stood ready to face the heavenly tribulation with utmost vigilance. Fissures split open in the void. The Void Spirits the three had concealed in the shadows all returned! Ye Feng's eyes flashed. Turning to Pengluo beside him, he said, "Once the three of us break through, take us there!" Pengluo nodded heavily, then withdrew beyond the reach of the tribulation. Arriving atop Jiuxiao's head, he said in a solemn voice, "Ninth Brother, I expect there's going to be a fierce battle in a moment!" Jiuxiao shook its massive head and sneezed, its inscrutable gaze seemingly saying that it had never known fear. Lu Kangnian had appeared in the distant void at some point, the hair at his temples touched with white. Pengluo pursed his lips, seemingly understanding Lu Kangnian's feelings. Even though Lu Kangnian's cultivation had progressed remarkably fast, he had never been able to keep pace with Li Guanqi. As a result, in many situations, he could only watch from the outside, unable to offer any help. Just when he thought the Great Xia Sword Sect was thriving and could serve as Li Guanqi's backing, he would suddenly discover that the realm Li Guanqi moved in and the enemies he faced had grown even more formidable. This strange sense of powerlessness left Lu Kangnian feeling deeply frustrated and self-reproachful. Pengluo flickered over to Lu Kangnian's shoulder, snapped off one of his own fingers, and held it to Lu Kangnian's mouth. Lu Kangnian blinked in surprise, then smiled and waved his hand. "No need. You... snap off fewer of those and save them for your own cultivation." Pengluo paused slightly, a feeling like warm sunlight bathing his heart. Without accepting an argument, he shoved it straight into Lu Kangnian's mouth. Lu Kangnian immediately felt a great deal of his exhaustion melt away. Pengluo grinned foolishly. "Don't fret over this and that all day long. Just treat it like 'children make their own luck.' Master can handle it!" "All of you just need to work hard and cultivate! When you ascend to the Immortal Realm in the future, you'll still be the sect master of the Great Xia Sword Sect!" Lu Kangnian burst into laughter at Pengluo's words. Catching Pengluo under the armpits with both hands, he lifted him onto his own head. His eyes bright as he watched the tribulation lightning crashing over the three breaking through, he sighed with emotion, "I hope that day truly comes." "When the chosen geniuses of the Great Xia Sword Sect ascend to the Immortal Realm, and I have that day too." "Once in the Immortal Realm, we'll re-establish the Great Xia Sword Sect to receive our sect's ascending disciples!" This was the first time Pengluo had ever been placed on someone's neck. Grasping Lu Kangnian's head with his jade-white fingers, Pengluo grinned foolishly. "What's impossible about that? If worst comes to worst, I'll stew radish soup for you every single day! I refuse to believe I can't send you all up there." "It's just ascension!" Hearing this, Lu Kangnian laughed heartily. Together, one man and one radish watched the three silhouettes beneath the distant lightning. The three figures shot straight toward the vault of heaven, meeting the tribulation lightning head-on! Within the void. Sensing the spatial ripples all around, Sha swiftly formed hand seals, instantly churning demonic qi to seal the realm! Li Guanqi turned his head toward Sha with a savage expression, grinning viciously with a sinister laugh. "You bastard dog... this time, I'm going to kill you once and for all!" "Now enjoy the grand gift I've prepared for you!" *Boom!* Before Sha could even react, silver gleams flared continuously from several spatial rifts! *Rumble!* *Crack! Crack, crack!* Crisp fracturing sounds suddenly rang from the demonic qi boundary as web-like cracks spread across the entire barrier in an instant. The moment it reached critical mass, it shattered with a roar! Immediately after, more than ten figures flashed into existence in the void! *Clang!* Li Guanqi stood in place clutching Red Lotus, drenched in blood and panting like an ox. And by Li Guanqi's side... Ye Xuan, Gu Changsheng, Meng Jiangchu, Nangong Xuandu, Hong Zhi, Chankongzi, Wu Mian, and Youming! Right behind them, Tang Wei and Qian Ze appeared as well. A full nine Mahayana realm cultivators—and five of the Eight Generals had all arrived!