Faith Gu!

Boom! For the first time, terror surfaced in Han Cizhi's eyes. He struggled desperately as fractures spread across the seal of the Four-Direction Heaven-Reaching Pillars, shattering it. Yet Li Guanqi had only ever intended to trap him for a single breath—and that breath was enough. An eerie crimson radiance surged around Li Guanqi, and the sword momentum in his hands abruptly shifted! Immediately after, heaven and earth plunged into sudden darkness. Unlike the Demon Shadow Slash, when this sword cleaved forward, the world merely lost all color, as if this lone wisp of sword light was the only thing cutting through the darkness into being! Li Guanqi's entire left arm could not bear such power at all; after unleashing this strike, its resilient bones shattered inch by inch. Shhk! A flash of sword light crossed the sky, and under this single strike, all of Qixia City was split clean in two! The earth trembled madly, torn apart by chasms dozens of zhang wide, and even the towering Qixian Pagoda cracked in half under the blow. Han Cizhi's body was sliced through, every shred of spiritual vitality vanishing from it. In disbelief, the man looked down at his form as it gradually dissolved into spiritual light, then raised his head, fixing Li Guanqi in a venomous glare. An eerily unsettling smile twisted his face. Letting his gaze sweep over the figures before him, he murmured in a chilling voice, "Li Guanqi, is it? I will remember you." "I will be waiting for you above." Li Guanqi stood in place, covered from head to toe in wounds from the fierce struggle. Blood dripped from his stained white robes. Standing proudly, he yanked Pengluo over to his side. He raised his head to meet the man's gaze, his voice terrifyingly calm. "Rest assured, the day will come when I ascend." "Seven Treasures Pavilion, Han Cizhi." "Wait for me." "When that day comes, whatever Pengluo suffered, I will repay tenfold." The man's form fractured into specks of golden light on the verge of scattering into nothingness. He turned away, murmuring coldly, "I will wait for you." As he spoke, his body dissolved into golden specks, drifting toward the sky. At the fringes of Qixia City, the cultivators who had been wounded in the aftermath of the battle huddled together, trembling in fear. Slaying an immortal! "He... he actually killed an immortal's projection!" "Incredible! Isn't it said that lower-realm cultivators can never harm an immortal?" "N-no... that's impossible... Rumor has it only weapons possessing divinity can harm immortals. Could it be..." "The Yanluo Sword Venerable slew an immortal's projection in Qixia City! I can hardly imagine the uproar this will cause once word spreads!" Just as Li Guanqi breathed a sigh of relief, Red Lotus began to tremble violently! Right after, a terrifying devourer's pull erupted from the blade of Red Lotus, instantly swallowing up every mote of spiritual light left behind by Han Cizhi and the great demon! The sword spirit's cold scoff rang in Li Guanqi's mind. "Since you dared come down, did you really think you could return?" "A sliver of an immortal soul is just what I need to restore my strength." Hearing the sword spirit's words, Li Guanqi could only shrug helplessly. He glanced at Meng Wanshu beside him and said softly, "Don't worry, I'm fine..." Meng Wanshu held the Snow Shadow Sword, looking at the flame seal between his brows—nearly a third of which had burned away—and asked with concern, "Are you truly fine?" "With the seal incomplete, how much longer can you hold out?" Li Guanqi sighed; he knew he could never hide it from her. Closing his eyes, he focused inward to assess his condition, then exhaled deeply and answered with a wry grimace, "About three months." Meng Wanshu shot him a reproaching glare with her beautiful eyes and scolded tenderly, "Always pushing yourself!" Li Guanqi winced at the ache, circulating his primal energy to mend his internal injuries. Turning his head, he saw Jiuxiao, its lingering ferocity still palpable, crouching beside Pengluo. Though Pengluo was injured, none of its wounds were fatal; they merely looked rather severe. Pengluo lay in the crater, grinning foolishly, the terror that had gripped it earlier entirely gone from its face. It was as if this very battle had banished the dark shadow lurking in its heart. Li Guanqi flashed to its side, crouched on the crater's rim, and smiled down at it. "Why are you still lying there? Get up." Pengluo turned to look at Jiuxiao beside it, then up at Li Guanqi at the crater's edge, and gave a goofy grin. "Heheh, back then, my stream of piss came within a hair's breadth of hitting him!" Li Guanqi put on a look of disgust. "Quit resorting to those vulgar antics." Rising to his feet, Li Guanqi looked down with deep, solemn eyes and whispered softly, "Don't be afraid." "One day, we will set foot in the Immortal Realm." "When that day comes, we won't be dealing with a mere clone of his. We'll march right up to his doorstep, all right?" Lying in the crater, Pengluo listened until tears welled up and spilled over. With misty, tear-filled eyes, it nodded vigorously, pressing its lips tight without a word. Li Guanqi did not know what Pengluo had suffered in the past, but he had gathered plenty from Han Cizhi's tone earlier. Whatever Pengluo had experienced was bound to have been wretchedly dark, perhaps even inhumane. That was why the moment Pengluo saw Han Cizhi's projection, its first instinct had been to hide inside the void interlayer and never show its face. Yet... When Li Guanqi called its name, it clearly could have chosen to remain hidden in the dark void. Instead, Pengluo had charged out without looking back, and despite its sheer terror, its hands had never let go of Xuan Lin. And the moment Pengluo saw Jiuxiao and Li Guanqi step in front of it without hesitation... No one knew what had surged through Pengluo's heart, but from that instant forth, its body stopped trembling. Not a trace of fear remained when it looked at Cizhi. Without realizing it, Pengluo had long ceased to be alone. It wasn't just Jiuxiao and Li Guanqi, but also Cao Yan, Ye Feng, Xiao Chen, and the others. They were a family, as close as kin. And since they were family, no matter who fell into danger, everyone would throw themselves into the fray without a second thought! Pengluo slowly sat up. With tear-filled eyes, it looked at Li Guanqi, then glanced at Jiuxiao, who was licking its own wounds in isolation. Jiuxiao's dragon eyes brimmed with haughty pride. While pretending not to care in the slightest, it kept darting glances at Pengluo, wondering when the little radish would thank it. Pengluo spoke very softly, yet clearly enough for both of them to hear. "Thank you." Hearing that, Jiuxiao finally turned its massive head back in satisfaction and went on licking its wounds. Li Guanqi smiled faintly as well, raising a hand to draw Pengluo to his side. Pengluo shifted in form, shrinking to the size of a palm before settling onto Li Guanqi's shoulder. "Want some radish?" Beside them, Meng Wanshu couldn't help letting out a soft chuckle. Li Guanqi nodded, took one of its severed root-fingers, and began chewing on it, complaining as he ate, "A bit dry, isn't it?" Pengluo scratched its head sheepishly. "Heheh, I burned through too much energy, so it's not as juicy." Li Guanqi turned to Meng Wanshu and said gently, "Wanshu, relax your mind and don't put up any resistance." With that, he raised a hand and guided three crimson threads toward the space between the brows of all three of them. Right after, three motes of golden spiritual light the size of fingernails were drawn out from their bodies by Li Guanqi! With a flick of his wrist, he stored the three motes into the sword coffin, finally letting out a long breath of relief. Meng Wanshu's aura dipped slightly in an instant. Her delicate brows furrowed as she asked in a low, puzzled tone, "What was that?" From the side, Pengluo sneered coldly, "A despicable trick of immortals—faith gu."