Li Guanqi smiled faintly. He knew Hong Zhi couldn’t see Sword Spirit, yet her keen perception still impressed him.

Hong Zhi looked at Li Guanqi and said softly, “I’ve heard of you from Long Hou. You’re impressive. My name is... Hong Zhi. You may call me Aunt Hong.”

Li Guanqi’s eyes glimmered. He bowed with great respect, a faint smile on his lips. “This junior, Li Guanqi, pays his respects to Aunt Hong.”

Hong Zhi smiled lightly. Her impression of Li Guanqi was quite good.

Li Guanqi rose and quietly relayed Sword Spirit’s words through voice transmission.

To his surprise, Hong Zhi straightened her back immediately, her expression solemn. She bowed. “This junior, Hong Zhi, will not fail Senior’s expectations!”

Li Guanqi found himself inwardly startled by the sudden bow. He had not expected someone of Hong Zhi’s standing to take Sword Spirit’s words so seriously.

Sword Spirit clasped her hands behind her back, giving Hong Zhi a measured glance before nodding with clear satisfaction.

Li Guanqi fought down a twitch at the corner of his mouth and kept his expression perfectly still.

Hong Zhi said softly, “I owe you all a great debt for bringing me back.”

Li Guanqi scratched his head. “Aunt Hong, please don’t mention it. I mainly helped because I sensed you were one of my grandfather’s people. Also, Aunt Hong... who on earth could have injured you this badly?”

Hong Zhi’s brow furrowed slightly. A glint of killing intent flickered across her otherwise calm eyes. “The leader of the Sha organization. They’re powerful. Extraordinarily so.”

At those words, Li Guanqi’s breath caught for several beats. He’d always known the Sha organization was formidable; nothing less could have driven Uncle Long and the others to act together. Yet someone as powerful as Hong Zhi still hadn’t managed to capture or kill its leader?

Hong Zhi said softly, “It’s okay. You don’t need to worry about that organization’s affairs. We will handle it.”

She turned her gaze to Ye Feng and the others. “Your little brothers here are all quite impressive. It’s a pity that not a single one of them uses the saber...”

Li Guanqi’s eyes lit up, then something seemed to occur to him, and he pursed his lips. “Come on, let’s go see them.”

Li Guanqi walked alongside Hong Zhi, leading her toward the mountain peak.

Meanwhile, after surviving the Heavenly Tribulation, Song Zhi’ang’s eyes flickered as she murmured to herself, “How could I bear to hurt him? You want to use me to harm him... How could I ever agree to that...? He can only belong to me...”

Just as Li Guanqi was introducing Hong Zhi to those around him, her expression changed.

Not only Hong Zhi, but Ji Yuchuan’s expression had also changed, the jade pendant in his hand flickering wildly.

The entire domain of the Daxia Sword Sect shook violently, tremors spanning a thousand li in every direction. Spirit qi ran rampant, and a mountain peak exploded.

Li Guanqi’s face drained of color. He grabbed Ye Feng, who was engrossed in cultivation with his eyes shut, and ran.

As he ran, he shouted through voice transmission, “Old Lu! The barrier around the Abyssal-Sealing Lands has shattered! Get here now! Senior Xi, Brother Ji, follow me! Third Brother, Fourth Brother, guard the sect! Pass the order: all disciples of the Daxia Sword Sect are to enter a state of war. Raise the protective array!”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The Purple Spirit Paradise Realm tore open. Chaos erupted. The disciples of the Daxia Sword Sect stood dazed, their ears filled with one command after another. All they could see was a mountain peak within the sect exploding with a deafening roar, followed by a surge of boundless black demonic qi that blotted out the sky.

The sect held no shortage of powerful cultivators. Over a hundred figures appeared at once and exchanged a single glance. Without hesitation, they worked together to lay down a sealing barrier of overwhelming power.

Both Li Guanqi and Ye Feng wore grave expressions. But Ye Feng hadn’t fully refined the metal spirit yet.

He forced himself onward, passing the jade pendant fragment to Li Guanqi. “Boss... I... still need a little time...”

Li Guanqi took it without a word and sent Ye Feng directly into his own domain. He had already sensed it: the seal he and Ye Feng had placed together had shattered.

Slash!

Lu Kangnian forced down the tremors of his impending breakthrough and worked with Li Guanqi to open the barrier space.

The instant it opened, endless demonic qi and hundreds of thousands of Abyssal Demons came pouring out. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

A light flashed in Li Guanqi’s left hand. The Lock Moon Sword appeared in his hand, and in a single breath, he activated the Heaven-Opening Tier. Amid the flickering lightning, he single-handedly trapped every Abyssal Demon that had spilled out within the sword prison domain.

He raised his sword in his left hand and slashed downward, while his right hand pulled at the sky. Thousands of thick lightning bolts followed, crashing down like a torrential downpour.

“Moon Slaughter, World Annihilation!”

Boom!

Bolstered by his Sword Heart Realm sword intent, a sword light blazed forward at extreme speed. Thousands of lightning bolts, pulled along by that sword light, fell in its wake.

Boom!

That single sword strike wiped out every low-ranked Abyssal Demon within the sword prison domain.

Even Hong Zhi, watching from the side, felt her heart tremble. This... this came from one sword strike? What terrifying strength! No wonder he could face three opponents alone and kill three Mei-tier assassins. Power like this far exceeds what I had at his age.

Hong Zhi tilted her head slightly and sent a voice transmission. “Ah Long, what exactly is happening?”

Long Hou had his eyes shut tight, his expression ghastly. He said in a low voice, “Hong Zhi, the Abyssal-Sealing Lands across all Six Territories have erupted at nearly the same moment. Nearly all the clans and sects that have been suppressing them have fallen. Close to seventy percent. The two of us must leave. An upheaval of this scale can’t be resolved by just the few of us. We have to return to the Seventh Territory immediately and see how Territory Lord Su Xuan wants to proceed.”

Hong Zhi nodded, then turned to Li Guanqi. “I have to go, kid.”

Li Guanqi was mildly startled. He nodded and said nothing more.

Hong Zhi tilted her head in thought, then walked past Li Guanqi toward the crack in the Abyssal-Sealing Lands.

The instant her foot touched the crack in the altar, the surging demonic qi seemed to be pressed down by some invisible force.

Hong Zhi glanced down, then looked up. “Not bad. Looks like you guys can handle even the strongest one. Little one there, come reinforce the seal.”

Xi Yunhuai swallowed hard and scurried over to reinforce the seal. Ji Yuchuan, likewise, began to inscribe sealing talisman runes along the edges of the altar.

Outside, the air was still thick with demonic qi, yet not a single Abyssal Demon or wisp of it surged out from the crack. None of those outside realized it was because of a lone woman pinning it beneath a single foot.

Once the seal had been reinforced, Hong Zhi gave Lu Kangnian a nod before looking at Li Guanqi. “Ah Long is waiting for me. I have to go back.”

With that, she left him a jade slip and turned to leave.

The situation at the sect was under control, but Lu Kangnian’s expression remained grim. “The Daxia Territory... has fallen! The Azure Cloud Continent and the Soaring Heavens Continent are being reduced into a wasteland as we speak.”

Lu Kangnian drew a deep breath, then turned and shouted coldly, “All members of the sect, listen up! Move out in groups of a hundred to reinforce the four territories of the Azure Cloud Continent! Slay the Abyssal Demons!”

Li Guanqi watched Lu Kangnian for a long moment. Perhaps this was what made him genuinely respect Lu Kangnian. He... truly carries the world in his heart.

The Daxia Sword Sect could have easily taken advantage of the situation, closing its gates and ignoring everyone else’s struggles.