Chapter 498 - No Way Out

Just like that, the Great Profound Sword Sect’s elders dragged the half-hour journey to two whole hours.

Security in Heavenly Cloud City was extremely tight, with a constant stream of patrolling black-armored guards.

Li Guanqi was bound in the sky above the city’s highest point—Heavenly Cloud Plaza. Nine Heavens and Peng Luo hung beside him.

The display piqued everyone’s interest, especially since many people still didn’t know what had happened. The onlookers eyed the thirty-zhang-long dragon with greed, but with twelve Illusory Refinement Realm cultivators standing guard, no one dared reveal their true desires. Anyone who touched the dragon would die.

The guards’ sole purpose was to prevent Li Guanqi from getting away.

As time passed, more and more people gathered at the plaza.

The twelve guards pinned the chains to different points around the plaza, and all but one departed. Some rushed back to the Great Profound Sword Sect, while others remained in the city to prepare for the important guest arriving tomorrow. They still had to maintain the city’s peace, which was their original duty.

After everyone left, the slender man who stayed behind sat cross-legged in the center of the plaza and raised his hand. An earth-yellow barrier rippled outward, forcing everyone back a hundred zhang.

The crowd, having finally learned what happened, started cursing at Li Guanqi.

The Great Profound Sword Sect’s reputation in the Central Prefecture was equivalent to the Daxia Sword Sect’s status in the Northern Territory.

The Daxia Sword Sect still didn’t know Li Guanqi had been captured—no information had traveled out of the city since the previous night.

The Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion’s spies in the city were extremely anxious. With the barrier around the Central Prefecture, they couldn’t send messages out or have their colleagues enter. And the spies weren’t powerful enough to get a meeting with He Yuanting, much less convince him to release Li Guanqi.

Li Guanqi repeatedly tried to reach Sword Spirit, and eventually, a discombobulated voice echoed in his mind.

“I’m... here.”

His mind steadied at the sound of her voice.

“Sword Spirit, do you have any ideas on how we can survive this?”

She went silent for a long time, as if she were gone.

Li Guanqi’s face darkened. If even Sword Spirit was stumped, he was truly helpless. He could only pray that He Yuning would get extremely lucky and survive the ordeal.

But based on He Yuning’s current condition, it was incredibly unlikely he’d survive.

Peng Luo spoke to him through voice transmission. “If it weren’t for my Longevity Leaf... That guy would’ve been long dead... His heart was shredded... He’s not going to make it... Unless there’s some sort of magical treasure that can rebuild his heart...”

Peng Luo gritted his teeth, writhing in pain. His body had been severed, each half pinned separately in the sky.

Li Guanqi had completely lost his vision, unable to activate his heart’s eye. Yet Peng Luo’s voice clearly indicated his own frail condition.

Finally, Sword Spirit’s voice echoed again.

“No... other... way...”

Li Guanqi’s heart sank once more. This was a new low for him. All he could do was rely on himself.

However, his vital force and divine consciousness had been sealed, leaving him powerless. The Red Lotus Sword and Li Guanqi’s storage rings were with He Yuanting.

In the crowd, a black-cloaked man smiled silently. His eyes narrowed, and he disappeared into the crowd.

As if sensing something, Li Guanqi snapped his head toward the crowd, but he lacked even the energy to activate his heart’s eye.

Crash!

He struggled slightly, causing the chains to clatter against each other. A thorn-covered whip lashed across his body.

Slam!

The slender man rose and squinted at Li Guanqi. “Behave yourself!”

The lash tore Li Guanqi’s white robes apart. A bloody gash appeared where the thorns had raked across him, leaving a gruesome wound.

Li Guanqi’s breath hitched from the pain. He trembled slightly, cold sweat dripping down his face. A vein bulged in his neck, but he gritted his teeth and made no sound.

The slender man narrowed his eyes, as if dissatisfied with Li Guanqi’s reaction. No screaming meant no sense of achievement.

He smirked and lashed the whip several more times, each strike harder than the last.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Three whips later, the flesh on Li Guanqi’s chest and back had split open in gruesome wounds. His flesh stuck to his undershirt.

Li Guanqi was in so much pain that he trembled uncontrollably, even biting off a chunk of flesh from his lips. But he merely laughed, letting the saliva and blood in his mouth drip out. His voice came out in a faint whisper. “Haven’t had your meal yet...?”

The man was furious. “You!”

He raised the whip, ready to strike once more, but a withered hand intervened.

The man immediately bowed. “Elder Wu.”

It was Elder Wu Changfeng.

Li Guanqi strained his ears and recognized that Wu Changfeng now stood before him.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

“Alive? Dead?” Li Guanqi asked. He wanted to know how He Yuning was doing.

Wu Changfeng looked at him gravely and asked calmly, “Why did you try to kill Yuning?”

Li Guanqi smiled bitterly. He tipped his head up to look forward. “You... don’t believe me either?”

Wu Changfeng grabbed Li Guanqi’s collar with both hands, barely suppressing his anger. “Believe you? Why would I believe you? I saw you take Yuning away with my own eyes! The sword that pierced through his heart was your sword! Your sword intent and sword qi are still lingering in Yuning’s body! How could I believe you? Everyone saw you kill Yuning!”

The old man spoke very quickly, his face close to Li Guanqi’s. Li Guanqi could feel the old man’s hot breath.

“More than a hundred people saw you kill Yuning! The sword was yours! The sword intent was yours!”

Li Guanqi’s dim eyes settled on the old man. He asked weakly, “Why... would I want to kill him? The person you saw... wasn’t me. Did they actually... witness me kill Yuning? That projection wasn’t showing the full scene, was it?”

The questions left Wu Changfeng stunned. After a moment of silence, he murmured, “Yes, you had no reason to do that, did you?”

An even longer silence followed.

Wu Changfeng loosened his grip and murmured, “Regardless of the truth, the sect master won’t spare you if Yuning dies, even if you weren’t the one who did it.”