Gu Yong’s gaze gradually turned calm. He lowered his head and looked at the ruins of the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion.
“Do you know how long it’s been since I founded the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion?”
Li Guanqi said nothing. He didn’t care how long it had been, but he couldn’t understand why Gu Yong was bringing it up now.
Gu Yong looked up at the sky and raised his hand. With vast spatial power, he transported every member of the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion away. The once-bustling grounds fell silent, leaving the two men facing each other ten zhang apart.
“It has been 3,798 years.”
The old man spoke calmly to himself, as though he already knew how his life would end. “I’ve run the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion for more than 3,700 years. In that time, I’ve learned many of this world’s secrets.”
Gu Yong slowly raised his head and looked at Li Guanqi with cloudy eyes. “Do you know how long it’s been since anyone in the Human World ascended?”
Li Guanqi frowned, unsure what he was getting at.
“Ten thousand years,” Gu Yong murmured with his head lowered. He paused, then snapped his head up to look at Li Guanqi, his voice full of an anger few could understand. “A full ten thousand years! Do you know why?”
Li Guanqi said nothing, but he already had a vague guess.
“Because of your grandfather, Su Xuan. Hahahaha! A single man stands between the Human World and the Immortal World, yet because of him, no one has ascended for ten thousand years! People once reached the Mahayana Realm and ascended. Then the Tribulation Realm and the Ascension Realm were forced upon us. And even if we reach those realms, we still can’t ascend to the Immortal World! Why?”
Gu Yong glared at Li Guanqi, his eyes wide with rage. “I know my own body. If I can’t ascend to the Immortal World... I can only wait to die! Do you know what it’s like to watch your life slip away? To know you can’t do a thing to stop it...?”
Li Guanqi looked at him, disappointed. “Why are you all so obsessed with immortality?”
Gu Yong reacted as though Li Guanqi had struck a nerve. Bewildered and indignant, he shouted, “What cultivator doesn’t want to live forever? I’ve spent my whole life cultivating for eternal life! To live as long as heaven and earth! With the path to ascension cut off, of course I have to find another way! The heavens destroy those who don’t look out for themselves!”
Li Guanqi shook his head. Gu Yong had lost all reason. With his life nearing its end, ascending to the Immortal World was all he cared about. Li Guanqi’s grandfather had barred everyone from ascending, so resistance was inevitable.
That resistance was clearly growing, and many had lost the ability to think rationally. If someone from the Immortal World offered them an olive branch, they would do anything to seize it.
After all, no one in the Human World could stand against Su Xuan yet.
Li Guanqi didn’t know where Gu Yong’s backer stood in the Immortal World’s hierarchy, but they didn’t seem to outrank Cang Lu’s backer.
He sighed and looked up at Gu Yong, slowly raising his lightning sword. “Hand over the Heavenly Intelligence Map and cripple your cultivation. I’ll spare your life and let you live out your remaining years in peace.”
Gu Yong burst into wild, arrogant laughter. “Hahahaha! The Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion is in ruins. It’s gone, and you have the nerve to say that?”
Watching Gu Yong’s silver hair dance in the wind, Li Guanqi felt an inexplicable pressure. Gu Yong was a true Mahayana Realm cultivator. Even for him, killing the old man would be difficult.
Gu Yong’s eyes gleamed. He closed his eyes and sensed his surroundings but detected no powerful auras beyond the realm’s boundaries. He looked coldly at Li Guanqi. “You really didn’t bring anyone to help you?”
Li Guanqi shook his head and said softly, “Because I don’t want to kill you. You’ve helped me many times, and I’ll always remember that kindness.”
Gu Yong’s eyes gleamed again. Li Guanqi’s offer had moved him, but he knew there was no turning back. If he captured Li Guanqi today, he could force Su Xuan to open the passage and let him ascend to the Immortal World.
Hum!
Waves of terrifying spatial power spread out. The entire realm sealed shut and vanished into the void.
The others had long been ready to act, but they lost contact with Li Guanqi. Qin Xiao frowned and sent a voice transmission. “Old Meng, what’s going on?”
“Something’s wrong,” Ye Xuan said gravely. “Guanqi hasn’t sent us the spatial coordinates or location!”
In the pitch-black void, Meng Jiangchu’s face darkened as he muttered, “What is that brat doing now?”
As Gu Yong sealed off the realm, Li Guanqi’s gaze hardened. “In the end, this is what you’ve chosen.”
Gu Yong stiffened, his voice trembling slightly. “I have no choice. Don’t blame me.”
With his head lowered, Li Guanqi turned toward Song Yunshu beside him, his emotions in turmoil. “Even with Song Yunshu’s life in my hands?”
The vital force surging around Gu Yong briefly faltered. However, he said nothing. The surrounding pressure grew heavier.
Suddenly, Gu Yong’s surging power seemed to freeze.
Inside the sealing array, tears slid from the corners of Song Yunshu’s eyes. She could hear them. And she’d heard it all.
Li Guanqi sighed. No room remained for compromise. He swept Song Yunshu into his domain with a flick of his hand.
Gu Yong’s eyes flickered, and he gritted his teeth.
Thud!
Space collapsed as Gu Yong shot forward, his figure blurring into an afterimage. His overwhelming momentum bore down on Li Guanqi.
Li Guanqi’s chest rose and fell slightly, but his gaze remained firm.
Boom!
The space beside Li Guanqi shattered. He raised his hand, and the lightning of heaven and earth formed a fierce, menacing suit of armor around him. A purple cape snapped behind him.
The lightning sword he had formed from vital force rang out as he bit down on the two pills in his mouth: a Spirit-Boosting Pill with minimal side effects and a perfect-grade Frenzied Comprehension Pill.
The moment he swallowed the pills, his eyes turned bloodshot, and terrifying power roared through his meridians. His qi and blood surged through his body along a mysterious path, raising his physical strength to that of a pure martial cultivator at the half-step Mahayana Realm. Purple dragon scales gradually appeared on both arms. Even a simple swing of his arms tore the surrounding space apart.
Dozens of different talismans were affixed to his chest and back. As their spirit light flickered, Li Guanqi’s mind cleared, leaving him calmer than ever before.
Under the Frenzied Comprehension Pill’s effects, the lightning-element power spilling around him gradually turned dark purple, its destructive power growing even stronger.
Sensing the change, Gu Yong’s eyes widened. He faced Li Guanqi with a grave expression, fully alert.
Thud! Boom!