Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Whoosh!

Two swords collided, and sparks flew.

Chen Zhi retreated over a hundred zhang, feeling a sharp sting on his cheek. He licked his own blood and felt a surge of excitement.

“You’re indeed very strong. In fact, I think you’re stronger than those few guys at the Azure Cloud Continent.”

Chen Zhi paused, then let out a chilling laugh.

“But it’s a pity… It’s a pity your cultivation level is still too low!”

Boom!

Chen Zhi’s green robes flapped loudly in the air, and his aura started to climb once more.

But Li Guanqi wouldn’t let up for a second. Chen Zhi was already a threat in the late Divine Transformation Realm. If Chen Zhi reached the half-step Illusory Refinement Realm, the fight would become even tougher.

The clouds swirled as terrifying lightning sword light shone, illuminating everything within a thousand zhang.“Sword Prison, open!”

Thousands of black lightning bolts appeared, eliminating all the death qi within a thousand zhang.

Chen Zhi paused upon sensing the terrifying aura, dodging the shooting sword lights several times.

His rise in strength was interrupted. He narrowed his eyes, then swung his sword several times.

At the same time, firelight flashed under his feet as he charged at Li Guanqi.

Li Guanqi’s eyes flashed coldly. Vital force surged through him, and the Dragon-Elephant Subduing Sutra activated on its own. His strength reached the level of three dragons and three elephants.

Li Guanqi’s arms, which were hidden beneath his sleeves, swelled significantly as veins popped out. Great force accumulated in him, and at the hilt of his Red Lotus Sword, blood-colored lotuses bloomed.

“Soul Dissolution, Red Lotus!”

Boom!

Chen Zhi had initially been probing to gauge Li Guanqi’s strength. But then, he sensed a terrifying force traveling down his sword.

Boom!

Roar!

A dragon’s roar and an elephant’s trumpet rang in his ear.

His sword was knocked from his grasp, and he glimpsed a flash of lightning sword light. His arm was sliced off, flying through the air. The sword light continued, cutting through his clavicle and down his torso.

Pfft!

Blood splattered, and Chen Zhi fell from the sky, crashing like a cannonball into a mountain peak.

Boom! Rumble!

The impact shattered the peak of the mountain.

Before the dust could settle, Li Guanqi shot through a tear in space and repeatedly slashed his sword at the shattered mountain.

“Seven Killings.”

Terrifying sword light shot out toward the depths of the mountain.

Boom!

Suddenly, a barrier made of menacing black flames shot up into the sky.

Boom!

The black firewall devoured all his sword light, its heat spreading throughout the entire valley. It fed on the valley’s yin hell force, growing stronger with each passing moment. What began as a small fire, a mere dozen zhang across, swelled to a hundred zhang in the blink of an eye.

Li Guanqi was forced back by the fire, coughing harshly. A one-armed figure walked out of the black flames.

Chen Zhi’s hair hung wild and disheveled, his green robes torn to rags. He was drenched in blood. His chest had caved in, and his right arm was gone. He fixed Li Guanqi with a burning glare.

A long gash extended from his right shoulder down to his waist. With no emotion on his face, he pushed his spilling intestines back into his body.

He looked at the blood covering his hands, then started licking it.

Li Guanqi furrowed his brow. The man before him seemed like a mad demon, someone who had lost himself in obsession.

Chen Zhi’s arm was regrowing at a speed visible to the naked eye, unsettling Li Guanqi.

Li Guanqi knew high-level cultivators could mend their organs with vital force, but Chen Zhi’s speed was something he’d never seen before.

However, as Chen Zhi’s arm grew, his face became paler, and his cheeks became more sunken. Even his aura was weakening. Clearly, his incredible regeneration had come at a price.

He glared at Li Guanqi through his messy hair, ready to say something, but then he realized Li Guanqi was gone.

Then, a powerful gust of wind blew at his face.

Whoosh!

Li Guanqi’s punch packed immense force. Even before impact, the wind distorted Chen Zhi’s face and left cuts on his cheek.

Chen Zhi was filled with shock. His black eyes widened. He hadn’t anticipated Li Guanqi’s immense physical strength.

“You’re a spirit-martial double cultivator!”

With no other option, he pulled out an ancient-looking, earth-yellow jade pendant that quickly transformed into a dense shield of vital force.

Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. His fist landed on the barrier.

Boom! Crack crack!

In just a breath’s time, the thick barrier shattered. That punch alone had been strong enough to split a mountain.

Crack crack!

Chen Zhi blocked with his arms, and his bones audibly cracked under the force. The blow sent him flying back hundreds of zhang.

Although Chen Zhi was furious, he was also afraid. Despite being a sword cultivator, Li Guanqi had the physical strength of a tier-five demonic beast.

Enduring the intense pain, Chen Zhi healed his broken bones, though the flesh on his arms remained bloody.

“Black Tortoise Technique[ref]The Black Tortoise is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations, along with the Azure Dragon, Vermillion Bird, and White Tiger. It is often depicted as a tortoise with an intertwined snake, representing the north, winter, and the water element.[ref]!” he shouted, and a black sword flew into his hand.

His entire aura changed as his sword intent climbed to its peak. It was even more terrifying than Li Guanqi’s sword intent when he mastered the Domineering Sword.

Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. He could feel that Chen Zhi’s sword intent was subtly stronger than his. His own sword intent was even starting to retreat.

In his eyes, Chen Zhi swelled infinitely larger, while he himself shrank to a minuscule speck. Chen Zhi loomed over him like a heavenly giant, and a profound sense of helplessness welled up inside Li Guanqi.

Buzz!

Then a strange dragon’s cry rang through Li Guanqi’s mind, and vital force surged through him. The illusion shattered.

Li Guanqi looked up at Chen Zhi, who was a hundred zhang away in the sky above.

He gripped his sword and declared, “If I want to kill, no one can stop me!”