Chapter 1018 - Seizing the Sword Coffin, a Choice Between Life and Death

Li Guanqi’s head snapped back as though struck by a tremendous force. His eyes lost focus, and some mysterious power locked his entire body in place.

His heart trembled as he finally understood what was happening. They came for me. And...

Buzz!

Clatter!

Several long chains suddenly coiled around Li Nanting, leaving only his eyes exposed. It seemed the person behind all this was using Li Nanting’s eyes to observe Li Guanqi.

The golden chains slowly contracted. Pulled taut, they looked as though they were hauling an impossibly heavy weight. As they tightened, they began dragging the sword coffin hidden within Li Guanqi’s body out by force.

Li Guanqi’s eyes trembled. He had never imagined the enemy could force the hidden sword coffin out of his body. He tried to grab the chains, only to discover that the sealing power had immobilized all four of his limbs.

A ruthless look entered his eyes. Vital force roared within him as several spirit swords materialized and slashed down at his own limbs.

“Arghhh!”

Even for someone as powerful and ruthless as Li Guanqi, severing his own limbs was agonizing. Li Nanting could hardly bear to watch.

Li Guanqi’s aura weakened after he cut off his limbs, but the lightning surging around him now carried a terrifying destructive power. It tore small gaps in the chains—only for every gap to repair itself in an instant.

He shot backward, but the illusory chains pulled with tremendous force. He had barely retreated a little over one zhang before they brought him to a dead stop.

Thud!

A muffled impact rang out. The illusory sword coffin was already halfway out of his body.

Li Guanqi shouted urgently, “Red Lotus!”

Only the Red Lotus Sword might be able to turn this around. However, the connection between Li Guanqi and Sword Spirit had somehow been completely severed. He could not sense even a trace of her presence.

With the sword coffin being forcibly dragged out of his body, Sword Spirit should have noticed. Yet she seemed to be deliberately sealing the coffin, preventing Li Guanqi from opening it and retrieving the Red Lotus Sword.

Li Guanqi’s eyes narrowed as an ominous thought flashed through his mind. Is Sword Spirit afraid they’ll notice something?

Buzz!

Boom!

Li Guanqi’s limbs regenerated, and his aura surged back to its peak. He darted about, dodging the golden chains.

However, he soon realized how vicious his opponent’s methods were. The farther he moved from Li Nanting, the tighter the chains around the elder became. They seemed to have a fixed length, so every attempt to evade them put Li Nanting in danger.

The two were only thirty zhang apart now, but the tightening chains had already carved bloody marks all over Li Nanting’s body. Li Guanqi could even hear his bones cracking under the pressure.

Yet, Li Nanting gritted his teeth without making a sound. He merely watched Li Guanqi with concern in his eyes, seemingly unaware of the blood seeping through the gaps between the chains.

Swoosh!

Li Guanqi planted his feet and shot toward Li Nanting with his sword in hand.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Sparks sprayed around Li Guanqi as he knocked aside more than half the chains. But he couldn’t evade them all. In the blink of an eye, countless wounds opened across his body.

Li Guanqi’s expression darkened as he looked at the sword coffin, now two-thirds of the way out. He had no way to stop it.

But then his eyes lit up. A spirit sword formed beside him and shot toward Li Nanting. Two displacement talismans were attached to the underside of its blade.

Whoosh!

The sword tore through the air with a piercing shriek. Just as it came within three cun of Li Nanting, a bizarre black-robed phantom appeared roughly one zhang in front of the elder.

The mysterious figure casually flicked a finger and shattered the spirit sword. He caught the burning talismans between his fingers, a cold smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Li Guanqi teleported directly in front of the black-robed figure. Terrifying killing intent surged through his sword as he slashed without hesitation. The blade swept upward with lightning speed, leaving almost no time to react.

“Dark Moon!”

Boom!

A terrifying sword light erupted from the ground. Violent sword intent swept outward and tore the entire blood-mist barrier apart.

The man had not expected Li Guanqi to unleash such tremendous power in that instant. Caught off guard, he lost an arm to the strike. The sword’s edge swept across his black robe and nearly tore it open, but he thrust his left hand into the blade’s path and forcibly yanked the robe back down.

Losing an arm and a hand had clearly shocked the phantom, but his movements did not slow. He immediately pulled Li Nanting in front of himself as a shield.

Left with no other choice, Li Guanqi adjusted the angle of his attacks, aiming every strike at the man’s arms.

However, the black-robed man was no easy opponent. He seemed able to anticipate Li Guanqi’s every move, constantly keeping ten zhang between them as he dodged.

At the same time, the man slammed a palm into Li Nanting’s back, making him cough up a mouthful of blood. The blood seeped along the chains, and an enormous pulling force erupted from them, dragging Li Guanqi uncontrollably toward Li Nanting.

“Heh. Just surrender quietly.”

Only a sliver of the sword coffin remained within Li Guanqi’s body. A sense of alarm rose within him as he watched it slowly edge free.

Buzz!

The void around Li Guanqi shattered beneath the immense force erupting from him, and the illusory chains binding him rattled sharply against one another.

The black-robed man tensed when he saw that the illusory chains were on the verge of breaking. He had not expected Li Guanqi to push things this far. With a cold snort, he pressed his fingers together into a blade and thrust his hand straight through Li Nanting’s chest.

“No! You’re courting death!”

Swoosh!

The instant the mysterious man struck, Li Guanqi’s eyes turned blood red. A wave of killing intent so dense it was nauseating rolled off him.

With a wave of his hand, Li Guanqi brought out the Punishment Tower and clenched his fingers.

Bang!

The black tower exploded. The power of countless wraiths surged outward, and the endless souls trapped within its lightning purgatory rushed toward the sword in Li Guanqi’s hand, converging upon it from every direction.

Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. The sword in his hand hummed and trembled violently, letting out a strained cry beneath the power gathering within it.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The black-robed man’s voice was hoarse. “Make a move and he dies. Hand over the sword coffin, and I’ll spare his life!”