Chapter 1029: Overwhelming Suppression!

Terrifying power surged through Zhao Pei, filling him with confidence. The pressure he gave off approached that of someone half a step into the Mahayana Realm. Only with such strength did he dare face Li Guanqi.

He had felt Lu Tian’s power firsthand, and Zhao Pei’s rapid rise owed much to a demonic crystal half the size of a thumb that he had absorbed in addition to the demonic worm.

Zhao Pei licked his lips, a bloodthirsty gleam in his eyes. If he captured Li Guanqi, Pavilion Master Lu Tian would surely reward him with a larger demonic crystal. One more might be enough to break through his bottleneck and enter the Mahayana Realm.

He sneered at Li Guanqi. “Kill me? I’m not going to bare my neck and wait for death. If you want me dead, come and kill me yourself!”

His blood began to burn. Burning his blood essence would give him a tremendous burst of power, though he could not sustain it for long.

Even so, Zhao Pei had already set his sights on several Daxia Sword Sect disciples. Their vigorous blood and vitality showed that they had trained their bodies, and absorbing blood essence of that quality would benefit him greatly.

Every Daxia Sword Sect disciple had cultivated a simplified version of the Dragon-Elephant Subduing Sutra. Many had reached its third level, and some had even reached the fourth.

The fighting across the battlefield was brutal. Nearly every disciple faced at least two enemies at once, yet none showed fear. They roared and charged, their faces contorted with fury.

Mangled bodies continually fell from the sky.

Whoosh!

Clang!

Zhao Pei’s strike knocked Li Guanqi back about a zhang and left his left arm numb. Narrowing his eyes, Li Guanqi let go of his sword and struck its hilt with the back of his hand. The sword spun through more than half a turn around Zhao Pei’s blade.

Clang!

It blocked the crescent saber sweeping toward Li Guanqi’s abdomen. Li Guanqi caught the sword in a reverse grip and drove his right fist forward.

“Shattered Skies Fist Technique, Ten Thousand Mountains!”

Boom!

Zhao Pei crossed his blades to block the blow, but it hurled him back more than a thousand zhang. Dozens of lightning chains formed at Li Guanqi’s right hand and shot after him. Drifting like a falling leaf, Zhao Pei dodged in unpredictable directions and slashed again and again with both crescent blades. Dozens of blood-red saber lights flashed through the air, their sharp edges shredding the lightning chains.

Even Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes at the sharpness of those saber lights. I underestimated him.

A cold smile played on his lips. Vital force surged through him, and he left several afterimages where he’d stood.

Zhao Pei’s heart skipped a beat. He sent out his divine consciousness but could find no trace of Li Guanqi. Then an icy voice sounded beside his ear.

“Are you looking for me?”

The words had barely registered when a sharp sword pierced straight through his back.

He reacted at once, swinging both sabers backward. If Li Guanqi stayed where he was, the counterattack would cut him into three pieces. Li Guanqi pulled his sword free, twisted his wrist, and slashed across Zhao Pei’s chest before retreating. The blade severed Zhao Pei’s ribs and opened a bloody gash across his torso.

Li Guanqi leaned back to dodge, but Zhao Pei angled the blade upward and chopped toward his chest. Caught off guard, Li Guanqi raised his sword to block.

Clang!

The impact bent Li Guanqi’s sword into a deep arc, pressing it close to his chest. Zhao Pei lifted his wrist slightly, bringing the sharp curved edge down like a guillotine. It cut into Li Guanqi’s chest and left a bloody gash on his chin.

Li Guanqi snorted coldly. Dragon scales spread across both arms as terrifying physical strength erupted from his body. Holding his sword in one hand, he forcibly knocked both of Zhao Pei’s blades aside with a single strike.

Li Guanqi gave a cold snort. Dragon scales spread across both his arms as his physical strength surged. With one hand on his sword, he knocked both of Zhao Pei’s sabers aside.

Zhao Pei and Li Guanqi shot apart, one upward and the other downward, each retreating several hundred zhang.

Sizzle!

Li Guanqi looked at the blood-red demonic qi corroding the dragon scales on his arms, and his heart sank.

In the distance, Zhao Pei swallowed a pill, his chest heaving violently. Had he been taller, the slash across his chest would have done even more damage. As it was, a charred gash stretched across half his chest, exposing bone beneath torn flesh. Tiny arcs of lightning danced within the wound, and his meridians had been devastated.

Zhao Pei’s face was cold, but his gaze was wary. He murmured, “The 4th level of the Spirit Comprehension Stage… So powerful.”

Boom!

Li Guanqi looked down at the withered skin around his wound. Zhao Pei’s crescent sabers had surprised him as well. In that brief exchange, they had drained nearly twenty percent of his blood essence. The skin around the wound was dry and wrinkled, like an old man’s on the verge of death.

Some unusual influence had clearly altered Zhao Pei’s spirit power, but his spirit comprehension level was comparable to Li Guanqi’s.

Li Guanqi licked his lips. Fighting without the Red Lotus Sword really is miserable.

Boom!

Dazzling arcs of lightning surged around him. They swirled like a storm, then shot into the sky. His white robes snapped in the wind as his aura reached the peak of the Combined Body Realm.

“The fifth level of the Spirit Comprehension Stage! How is that possible?!”

Before Zhao Pei could recover from his shock, Li Guanqi became a streak of lightning and closed in.

Clang!

Their blades collided with enough force to shatter the void within a hundred zhang. Zhao Pei slashed wildly with both blades, their afterimages filling the air. At the same time, the scattered blood gathered into crimson ribbons that drifted toward him.

Li Guanqi’s sword strikes came with brutal speed and crushing weight. In just a few breaths, the webbing between Zhao Pei’s thumbs and forefingers had torn open several times. His arm bones creaked under the immense strain, threatening to snap.

Li Guanqi pressed on, his sword’s path impossible to predict. Each sweeping strike carried enough force to crush his opponent’s techniques outright.

Beads of sweat the size of beans slowly formed on Zhao Pei’s forehead. Li Guanqi forced him back again and again, eventually pinning him down at the edge of the battlefield.

Vital force surged and roared within Li Guanqi’s body. His jade crown shattered, and his bloodstained hair whipped in the wind. With every exchange, he grew more frenzied, abandoning defense altogether and pouring his anguish and killing intent into his attacks.

The battle raged on until more than half the flesh had been carved from Zhao Pei’s body, leaving his wounds charred black. He stared in terror at Li Guanqi, who was battered and bloodied but still fighting with wild fury.

Zhao Pei wanted to flee, but there was no escape.