Chapter 438 – Heaven-Opening Tier, Red Lotus Heavenly Dance

Li Guanqi felt a surge of rage, realizing that his life lay in someone else’s grasp. Was there really nothing he could do in front of someone more powerful?

He cultivated so that he could bravely unsheathe his sword before those more powerful than himself. Even against an Illusory Refinement Realm cultivator, he would still dare draw his blade.

But what about the Combined Body Realm? To Li Guanqi, the Hell King seemed like an immortal as tall as the sky itself. Every living being, himself included, had no choice but to prostrate on the ground and call him a king.

Buzz!

The Red Lotus Sword, suppressed just moments ago, suddenly let out a piercing cry.

Clang!

Its blade extended from three to four chi. At its hilt, the closed lotus flowers opened, revealing more petals than before. Sixty-six petals unfurled, and the blade shone brighter than ever. The hilt lengthened as bright red patterns crept across the entire blade.

In his spirit void, the broken sword blazed with red light.

Boom!

Shock flashed through the Hell King’s eyes.

“Heaven-Opening!” he murmured.

Li Guanqi’s white eyes were bloodshot, his face flushing red as he descended into madness. A single thought remained:

Kill Ming Xiao, then kill the Hell King.

He wants to use Ming Xiao? Then I’ll kill Ming Xiao.

I’ll kill the Hell King too, even if it’s just a clone.

The Hell King huffed and disrupted Li Guanqi’s Heaven-Opening awakening.

Pfft!

Blood sprayed from Li Guanqi’s mouth. The blood-colored patterns on his sword began to fade.

Peng Luo panicked. “Oh no! If he doesn’t awaken the Heaven-Opening Tier now, he may never get another chance... What do I do... What do I do?!”

He turned to Sword Spirit and shouted, “You stupid woman! Why won’t you wake up?! Help him!”

Sword Spirit’s lashes trembled, but she still couldn’t open her eyes. The ice-cold killing intent surrounding her was so dense it was almost tangible.

Peng Luo saw her trembling lashes and understood. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to wake up. She couldn’t.

“You puny ant,” the Hell King said, killing intent filling his eyes. “You think you can defy me?”

His aura spread across the heavens. The three major mountain peaks exploded.

The Divine Transformation Realm cultivators in the area crashed to the ground, their flight stripped away. The Hell King was a full major realm above them—his aura alone was enough to suppress them all.

Li Guanqi, closest to him, took the brunt of it. His chest caved in, ribs cracking. A few stabbed into his lungs.

Pfft!

But Li Guanqi burst into laughter. “Ants? Ants deserve to die just because they’re ants? Motherfucker!”

The Red Lotus Sword seemed to have sensed his determination. The fading blood patterns blazed red once more.

Shock washed over the Hell King as he considered the price of destroying his clone to eliminate Li Guanqi. Soon after, he made his choice.

He cannot live.

He raised his hand. A pitch-black sword materialized in his grip. His aura pressed down on Li Guanqi, pinning him in place.

Ice-cold death qi gathered around the sword. When the sword touched his neck, the death qi washed over him, and Li Guanqi’s instincts screamed at him. The Hell King was making an example of him.

Li Guanqi’s heart raced. His blood seemed to boil. Frustration and rage swelled within him, reaching a fever pitch.

Suddenly, Sword Spirit shuddered. Her lashes trembled, then one of her eyes opened and looked up. Her eye was bloodshot, and a strange ripple of energy radiated from her.

Boom!

Within Li Guanqi’s body, a spirit pattern blazed with blinding light, tearing countless small rifts across the secret realm.

A terrifying knife intent emerged. The instant it appeared, the Hell King’s eyes went wide with terror. He retreated immediately, fleeing thousands of zhang back while releasing a powerful burst of energy and ignoring the damage to his clone. But his attack shattered like rotten wood before the knife intent.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions rang out in succession. The Hell King stared at Li Guanqi in a panic. “Who are you?! What is your relationship with that guy?!”

Li Guanqi, now on his feet, couldn’t hear a thing. He gripped his Red Lotus Sword with both hands, glared at the Hell King with bloodshot eyes, and roared, “Heaven-Opening, Red Lotus Heavenly Dance!”

Boom!

The blood patterns on the blade completed themselves. The lotuses bloomed. Lightning and heavenly fire gathered in his right hand, turning into a four-chi-long sword sheath. His bloodied face was filled with killing intent. He sheathed his sword, and the surrounding space shattered into a web of cracks.

Now, Li Guanqi could sense the Hell King clone’s strength level. Early Illusory Refinement Realm. The clone had borrowed its main body’s aura to appear indomitable, nothing more.

The Hell King was panicking. The knife intent coming from Li Guanqi was growing stronger, on the verge of erupting.

His mind raced.

Which super faction does he belong to? From which continent? But that’s not right... Isn’t he just a disciple of a tiny sword sect from the Azure Cloud Continent? How could he know that man? He even has a wisp of knife intent protecting him!

Sensing something beyond his calculations, the Hell King lunged toward Ming Xiao without hesitation. His priority was ensuring Ming Xiao survived. He crushed a silver scroll in his hand. A silver light door opened behind Ming Xiao.

The crowd was stunned.

The space beneath Li Guanqi’s feet sank one zhang as he launched himself forward. The Hell King’s eyes widened. He released his aura once more, trying to pin Li Guanqi in place.

But with the knife intent protecting him, Li Guanqi had nothing to fear. He drew his sword.

“Sword-Unsheathing Technique!”

Buzz!

The strike contained everything he had. Space distorted around it. The light door began to crumble.

The Hell King’s eyes flashed coldly. He pressed his palms upward and roared, “Hell Door!”

Rumble!

A gigantic black door, one hundred zhang tall, materialized before him, radiating yin hell force.

But the moment it appeared, a hundred-zhang-long sword light burst forth. The sword light was a fusion of lightning and fire, blazing with crimson radiance. Condensed with Sword Courage Realm sword intent, it carved a rift through space as it passed.

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The Hell King blurted, “How is he controlling so much power?!”

Boom!

There was a deafening explosion, and the gigantic door split in half. The Hell King’s clone standing behind it exploded.

Lightning flashed under Li Guanqi’s feet. He punched through the light door, smashing it to pieces. He looked at the Hell King’s shattered body, then rested his sword on Ming Xiao’s neck, expressionless.

Ming Xiao smiled. His breath was barely a whisper. He raised his head weakly and looked at Li Guanqi, a mix of emotions in his eyes.

“Thank you.”

The Hell King’s body was dispersing, but he roared with fury. “No! You bastard! Don’t you dare! If you kill him, the day the ancient ruin opens will be the day you die!”

Li Guanqi glanced at him and replied calmly, “I hate it when people threaten me. King of the Hell Rivers?

Tsk.

Get in line.”

Li Guanqi chopped Ming Xiao’s head off, his sword glinting in the light.

By then, only the Hell King’s head remained, watching with widened eyes. “I will kill you! Just wait and see!”