Chapter 446 - Sword Spirit Awakens

In that instant, Tian Ji’s aura surged to its absolute peak. The Heavenly Intelligence Map erupted with overwhelming power, clashing against the twin heavenly fire.

Half-step into the Illusory Refinement Realm. The violent aura radiating from Tian Ji strained against that boundary, shaking heaven and earth. The white tiles beneath his feet shattered instantly, and countless sword intents flared around him. None reached Sword Courage Realm, but their sheer number made up for it.

Li Guanqi’s breath caught. He licked his lips, a fierce gleam of battle spirit blazing in his eyes.

The four-chi-long Red Lotus Sword flared with dazzling crimson light.

“Heaven-Opening. Red Lotus Heavenly Dance!”

Boom!

His tattered white robe exploded apart. Strange blood-red lines crawled across his body, glowing ominously. The blood-red patterns on his chest began to fade as if being burned away.

Li Guanqi’s mind cleared completely, his vital force flowing with perfect precision. He was like an enraged ancient beast, radiating a crushing aura.

Crack! Crack crack crack!

The jade tiles beneath him cracked, spreading like spiderwebs. Within his spirit void, the broken blood-red sword shone with blinding red light.

“Destruction. Blade Breaker!”

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

“Spirit Pardon!”

After awakening its heaven-opening tier, under the influence of the sword spirit void, the Red Lotus had revealed a second ability.

Boom!

A strange energy burst from Li Guanqi.

Tian Ji, who had just reached his peak, froze. The instant he sensed that aura, his expression twisted in horror. His dark pupils contracted to pinpoints, trembling violently. That power made his spine crawl, and he shuddered uncontrollably. He felt terror, as if that force was born to suppress his very existence.

“What power is this?” he muttered.

Bang!

The tiles beneath Li Guanqi shattered as he vanished from sight.

Clang! Clang! Boom!

Tian Ji gripped his Red Lotus Sword tightly and slashed twice to block the incoming strikes, but the impact sent him flying thousands of zhang, blowing half his body apart.

A crimson sword light wreathed in thunder and fire streaked toward him from the corner of his vision.

Slash!

Tian Ji spun through the air and swung his sword like a massive axe, cleaving madly toward Li Guanqi. The moment their swords collided, Li Guanqi’s low, furious voice thundered out. “Spirit Pardon. Kneel.”

Boom!

Tian Ji froze mid-air, as though an invisible mountain had crashed down upon his shoulders. His knees buckled, and he slammed down before Li Guanqi.

Thump!

His kneecaps smashed through the jade floor, shattering it to dust. Tian Ji’s face flushed crimson, veins bulging across his neck and forehead. The Red Lotus Sword in his hand groaned under the unbearable strain, cracks spreading across its surface before it shattered with a sharp snap.

Li Guanqi lunged forward, gripping his own Red Lotus with both hands like a predator closing in on its prey. In a blur, he appeared right before Tian Ji and slashed upward with a two-handed swing. If his blow landed, under Spirit Pardon’s power, Tian Ji would die without question.

Boom!

An immense force exploded from Tian Ji’s body, blasting Li Guanqi away like a ragdoll, a thousand zhang away.

The entire secret realm twisted violently. The central peak vanished. Fortune Wheel Peak cracked from its tip downward. The world itself was collapsing—mountains crumbled, spirit herbs withered, and treasures dissolved into nothing.

Over a hundred Divine Transformation Realm cultivators stared around in confusion.

“Look! The main peak’s gone!”

“The black tower disappeared too!”

Li Guanqi forced down his churning blood and grimly scanned the surroundings.

Buzz!

Tian Ji looked down at the wound on his chest that refused to heal, his face pale with dread.

“Spirit Pardon. The ultimate ability of the sword spirit void...” Tian Ji said. “Who... who are you?”

For the first time, Tian Ji felt genuine fear of Li Guanqi’s mysterious power.

I have to kill him. Completely destroy him.

Only then could he seize everything Li Guanqi possessed.

Boom!

Tian Ji started to fade, his power returning to its strongest origin.

The world around them shifted. The crumbling scenery reversed, dissolving into fragments of illusion.

In the endless darkness, Li Guanqi stood with his Red Lotus Sword, watching as a colossal scroll ten thousand zhang long unfurled before him. His brow furrowed deeply. Even from where he stood, the aura emanating from it was so overwhelming that it made his heart sink. For a moment, he even felt the illusion that he might die beneath its power.

Tian Ji’s mad laughter echoed from within the Heavenly Intelligence Map.

“Once I devour you, I’ll become truly human. I’ll be free to walk under the sun!”

Buzz!

The Heavenly Intelligence Map erupted with earth-shaking might. The pressure was suffocating. Li Guanqi had no time to hesitate. He thrust the Red Lotus into the lightning sword sheath at his waist, gathering all his strength into it.

Boom!

His black hair billowed wildly, eyes blazing with focus as energy roared through his body.

“Sword Unsheathing Technique!”

Then a long-lost voice echoed in his ear.

“I’m here.”

Li Guanqi froze, then grinned widely. He turned to see the source of the voice—a woman’s face, breathtakingly beautiful, very close to him.

Sword Spirit had awakened, now possessing half a body. She reached out and gently clasped his left hand.

Li Guanqi’s eyes widened slightly. For the first time, he felt warmth from her palm.

Boom!

As her power surged into him, the Red Lotus Sword flared with a crimson light ten zhang long. Under that terrifying force, the Heavenly Intelligence Map shrank rapidly to a mere ten zhang.

Sword Spirit’s eyes gleamed coldly. “If it refuses to submit, then destroy it.”

Boom!

A blinding sword light shot upward, tearing through the heavens.

Before the stunned gazes of all who remained, the devastating sword aura swept across the realm, obliterating everything in its path.

That one strike split the Heavenly Intelligence Map cleanly in two.

The sky of the secret realm cracked open with a thousand-zhang rift of darkness, and the entire realm trembled violently, seemingly on the verge of collapse.