The air grew tense and oppressive. Li Guanqi held a long sword formed from vital force, its blade flickering with purple lightning. Gu Yong gripped an ancient long sword that gave off biting sword qi.
Gu Yong watched him with a grave expression. He could sense how formidable Li Guanqi was. To come alone without seeking help, Li Guanqi must have had absolute confidence in his own strength. Gu Yong could think of no other explanation.
In truth, Li Guanqi also had his own reason for coming alone. Long ago, he had discovered that the Heavenly Intelligence Map held a secret.
Li Guanqi stared at Gu Yong, who was on high alert. “Tell me, is there another Heavenly Intelligence Map?”
Boom!
Gu Yong’s eyes widened. He had no idea how Li Guanqi had learned this.
“So I was right,” Li Guanqi murmured. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so determined to take the Heavenly Intelligence Map from me. It must hide an extraordinary secret.”
Gu Yong’s gaze turned cold, and he struck first. He leaped into the void and swept his sword in an arc, sending a wave of sharp sword qi straight at Li Guanqi. Li Guanqi dodged to the side and countered with his spirit sword. Purple lightning sword qi shot toward Gu Yong.
Gu Yong roared and flicked his sword upward. The two streams of sword qi collided with a dull roar. The sky darkened as waves of immense force rippled outward from the two combatants.
Both men had pushed their power to the limit, and Gu Yong was inwardly alarmed. That single exchange suggested Li Guanqi was his equal in strength. Even if Gu Yong could suppress Li Guanqi, he would gain only a slight advantage.
Gu Yong flew backward, raised his left hand, and pressed down hard. The motion took effort, as though he were forcing a piece of driftwood beneath the water’s surface.
Gu Yong scowled and roared, “Suppress!”
Boom!
An overwhelming force rivaling the vast might of the heavens crashed down, carrying immense spatial power. Li Guanqi buckled beneath it as though an entire world were pressing down on him.
Pfft!
He spat out a mouthful of blood and bent at the waist, his face flushed red. Gu Yong closed in and slashed at his vital points. Struggling under the pressure, Li Guanqi retreated and dodged desperately, narrowly escaping one strike after another. The sword qi cut bloody gashes across his cheeks, slashed his Daoist robes apart, and left wounds all over his body.
Li Guanqi’s expression darkened. Mahayana Realm cultivators could connect with heaven and earth, wielding its momentum against their enemies. This ability marked an insurmountable divide between the Mahayana and Combined Body Realms. Combined Body Realm cultivators were helpless against it.
But even an ordinary person could have anticipated this. How could Li Guanqi have overlooked it?
Boom!
Fearsome sword intent erupted as lightning raged around Li Guanqi. He sent Gu Yong flying with a single slash. The lightning around him gathered into more than a hundred spirit swords. His sword intent soared into the highest reaches of the sky, shattering the spatial force pressing down on him.
Gu Yong faltered in midair, his eyes full of disbelief. Li Guanqi had broken his spatial suppression through sheer strength. With the pressure lifted, lightning flashed beneath Li Guanqi’s feet, and he charged forward with his sword.
Before Gu Yong could react, Li Guanqi was upon him. Even he could not keep up with such speed.
He hastily raised his sword to block, but Li Guanqi’s furious slash was not so easily stopped. It felt as though an ancient wild bull had slammed into his chest. His bones cracked, and pain ripped through his chest. The force slammed him backward through a mountain peak, splintering trees and sending rocks tumbling down.
Li Guanqi pursued him. He knew the blow had done no serious harm; Gu Yong’s injuries were only minor.
A chill ran up Li Guanqi’s back, and his hair stood on end. He reversed his sword with a flick of his wrist and slashed behind him without turning his head.
“Thunder Wrath!”
Boom!
Behind him, a roaring phantom one hundred zhang tall brought its sword down. The lightning sword in Li Guanqi’s hand shattered under the strain. At the same time, the Lightning God phantom’s blade tore a pitch-black spatial crack through the air.
Four dark gold spears shot toward Li Guanqi’s vital points. He changed the angle of his strike. Beside him, the spirit swords that had been resisting the pressure of heaven and earth shot out to intercept the spears.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!
A piercing whistle filled the air, followed by the sound of spirit swords shattering. Li Guanqi’s expression changed. Vital force surged through him as he raised layer after layer of barriers, each like a high wall.
The spears shot forward as arrows loosed from a bow, smashing every spirit sword in their path. Their relentless momentum and immense power shocked Li Guanqi. He shattered one spear with a slash, but the spirit swords barely slowed the others.
Li Guanqi’s vital force barriers broke one after another. Before he could swing again, the spears tore through his last defenses. The barriers had stopped only one more spear. Acting on instinct, he turned his back to the remaining spears and brought his sword across them to block.
Thud!
The spirit sword in his hand shattered. A heavy blow struck his back, arching his body and sending him flying.
Pfft!
The last spear pierced his shoulder, its force hurling him more than a thousand zhang away. His body went numb, and his face paled.
This spear is poisoned!
Enduring the agony of his ruptured internal organs, Li Guanqi pulled the spear from the wound. The wound was already purplish-black. His eyes widened in alarm. He could feel the poison racing through his body.
He cut away half his shoulder without hesitation. Digging out the rotting flesh would take time he didn’t have. This was his only option.