Mo Qi quickly swallowed an emergency pill, and the spiritual energy within him expanded wildly like popcorn. All parts of his body emitted popping sounds. The power leaked out, stirring up a gust of wind that whipped sand and stones into a vortex, momentarily darkening the sky and churning the clouds.
He clasped his hands together. "Pangu Divine Power!"
A red light ignited between his palms, flashed, and then with a boom, the two lights collided, as if the red light was embedded in the white, or as if the red light had forcefully torn through the white.
The white light continued to explode, like a boulder thrown into the center of a bonfire, sending sparks scattering in all directions.
Although the red light flashed and vanished, its world-destroying power gave Gui San a difficult time.
He blocked it with the magical artifact in his hand, but his chest still felt as if it had been struck heavily. His entire body was almost shattered, and his heart was nearly torn apart.
He retreated several steps before stabilizing himself.
After a moment of catching his breath, he was utterly astonished.
Many others were even more surprised than he was.
For instance, Linghu Zhong looked at Linghu Xiaoxian. "The person who received the inheritance at the top of the tower is him?"
Linghu Xiaoxian nodded. "Yes."
"Did Grandmaster not do anything to him?" Linghu Zhong was a little confused.
Linghu Xiaoxian shrugged. "I don't know either."
Meanwhile, Mo Qi's condition was not much better. Affected by the backlash, his body was violently thrown backward. After flying several zhang, he crashed heavily onto the ground.
Head down and feet up, he looked utterly disheveled!
He was also severely injured!
His skin was bloody and mangled, still emitting smoke.
Yet, without a single groan, he got up cleanly.
Gui San was still in shock and did not immediately advance.
This gave Mo Qi a chance to catch his breath. He quickly ate a healing pill!
It was then that he clearly saw that his opponent was using a bowl-shaped magical artifact, which displayed immense power under his spiritual energy.
At this moment, Mo Qi was still filled with fear!
And in Gui San's heart, a trace of fear inexplicably arose.
He found it incredible himself.
He chuckled self-deprecatingly, but the chuckle turned into a bitter smile.
"If you leave Pang Qing with me, I can let you go," Gui San said, looking at Mo Qi.
"You know about negotiation now? What were you doing before?" Mo Qi said coldly.
Without another word, Gui San launched a series of continuous attacks, all of them lethal. It was clear he intended to kill him.
At this point, he realized Mo Qi was not easy to deal with, at least not easy to kill, so he changed his strategy.
Linghu Zhong blinked in surprise and looked at Linghu Xiaoxian. "Is Pang Qing in his hands?"
Linghu Xiaoxian nodded. "Yes, he's inside one of his magical artifacts."
Gui San's expression flickered slightly. He looked at Mo Qi, his imposing manner undiminished. "You only had one path before, but now, you have earned a second path with your strength."
This statement, at first listen, sounded like a compliment, but upon closer inspection, it became more and more uncomfortable.
Mo Qi, however, chose to scrutinize it. After doing so, he became very angry. He looked at Gui San and said, "You haven't seen my true strength yet, or you wouldn't say such things."
Gui San remained calm. He felt that with his strength, there was no need to be hysterical. Maintaining composure was a form of crushing dominance. Thus, at this moment, he seemed to be offering earnest advice. "I advise you not to push yourself. You have tried your best, even performed beyond your usual level. But what does that matter? Your foundation determines everything. As a cultivator in the Tribulation Stage, can you really defy the heavens? Let's use a simple example: have you ever seen an ant move a large tree? No, right? So sometimes, we must be sensible, know when to advance and when to retreat, and not be stubborn..."
Unexpectedly, once he started talking, he became incessant. Mo Qi couldn't listen any longer and waved his hand. "Are you going to fight or not? If not, I'm leaving."
Gui San paused, suddenly having the illusion that he was being suppressed in terms of aura.
No, he had to crush him in strength, and he couldn't lose in aura either!
Gui San puffed out his chest and raised his head. "You are simply..." No, he couldn't curse, as that would show his exasperation. So he coughed dryly. "Simply unreasonable. There is a road to heaven... I'm so angry, I'll take your life!"
Gui San finally lost his temper. He held the bowl-shaped magical artifact in his hand, struck it fiercely, and a white halo surged out, instantly engulfing the entire world in white light.
Mo Qi patted his storage bag. A dragon's roar echoed, as if a flood dragon had emerged from the sea, looking down upon all things!
Mo Qi held his sword, feeling the sword intent. The sword and his heart were one. For a moment, the sword trembled slightly, emitting a soft glow, like a thin veil of light.
At that moment, it was as if inspiration struck, or a stroke of genius. He thought of merging the Pangu Divine Power into the Xuanyuan Sword.
Almost as soon as the thought flashed, his spiritual energy surged like a tide, flowing continuously into the Xuanyuan Sword.
The Xuanyuan Sword, initially emitting a soft, faint glow, suddenly brightened immensely, like the morning sun leaping from the sea.
It was a golden radiance. Mo Qi stood within it, bathed in the golden hue, as if his body was emitting ten thousand rays of auspicious light, incredibly magnificent.
Linghu Xiaoxian and the others watched, mesmerized.
What was happening?
Gui San's heart trembled slightly.
But he quickly reminded himself, not to fear. He was just a Tribulation Stage cultivator, merely putting on a show.
Such people were best dealt with by pain, or even death.
He'd show him how to show off, and later he'd turn him into a pile of roasted meat, then let's see how he'd show off.
However, he couldn't afford to be careless. He channeled all his spiritual energy and struck the bowl again.
The bowl emitted another halo, which quickly merged into the previous white light, and the intense heat suddenly increased.
The sound of roaring mountains and surging seas erupted, like ten thousand horses galloping, or a hundred beasts emerging from the mountains.
Judging by its world-destroying aura, it seemed that everything in its path would be annihilated.
Indeed, wherever the white light passed, the surrounding trees instantly vanished, not even having the chance to turn into charcoal.
The stones on the ground were shattered into dust, swirling in the air.
Smoke and dust filled the air, and the white light, flickering, seemed to transform into the eyes of a demon in the darkness, appearing and disappearing, sending chills down one's spine.
Linghu Zhong couldn't help but frown. "Although his aura is quite strong, this attack will surely cost him his life. There's no hope, absolutely no hope. It remains to be seen if his soul will be scattered. If he's lucky, a sliver of his residual soul might be saved."
Linghu Xiaoxian was on the verge of tears. "Father, please save him! Even if you don't save him, you must consider that Pang Qing is still in his hands. Pang Qing is still useful to us, he cannot die!"
Linghu Zhong shook his head. "If it were a normal fight, I might have fought Gui San to a draw. But to charge in at this moment would be suicidal."
Upon hearing this, Linghu Xiaoxian wanted to rush to save Mo Qi, but Linghu Zhong firmly grabbed her arm, preventing her from breaking free.
"I just don't understand, who is he, that you suddenly care so much about him?" Linghu Zhong looked at Linghu Xiaoxian with bewilderment.
Linghu Xiaoxian paused, then said anxiously, "Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. No matter who it is, we cannot just stand by and watch him die. Moreover, the reason Gui San attacked him was to kill Pang Qing. And the reason he didn't hand over Pang Qing was for everyone on the Hongmeng South Sea! For us!"
Linghu Zhong was moved, but the hardest part of his heart remained unmoved. He watched indifferently as the white light engulfed Mo Qi.
He was accustomed to such scenes and could no longer feel any ripples in his heart.
Even if Mo Qi were to be reduced to dust, he wouldn't even bat an eye.
It was the same for everyone else present, except Linghu Xiaoxian.
At this moment, Mo Qi pushed the emergency pill within him to its limit. The golden radiance on the Xuanyuan Sword became even richer, and it spread wantonly in all directions.
As the white light surged, it seemed to absorb more malevolent energy from heaven and earth, or perhaps it gained more assistance from the air, appearing even more ferocious. Explosive sounds continuously echoed in the air, accompanied by sparks and more violent clashes of shattered stones and dust.
A hurricane suddenly rose, like ten thousand wild beasts roaring, charging forward with shouts.
The entire air became frenzied, almost like a maddened beast, baring its teeth and claws, with a gaping maw, releasing a bloody aura with all its might.
Mo Qi was so small and fragile before it, as if in any moment of air fluctuation, he would turn to dust and dissipate into the air.
During a moment of Linghu Zhong's daze, Linghu Xiaoxian finally broke free from his grasp and sped towards Mo Qi.
She didn't know what she could do, but she rushed forward resolutely.
Linghu Zhong's heart instantly plunged into an ice cave. Without the slightest hesitation, Linghu Zhong unfurled his form and chased after her.
At this moment, the sky-devouring, earth-consuming white light lunged fiercely at Mo Qi.
In the eyes of Nangong Yun in the distance, the light emitted by Mo Qi's Xuanyuan Sword remained brilliant and dazzling, but it was encircled by the vast white light, appearing thin and vulnerable, as if it could be submerged at any moment.
Nangong Yun's lips curved slightly, his meaning unclear.
Hong Jianxin, initially beaming with unconcealed excitement, was stunned for a moment when he saw Linghu Xiaoxian actually rushing towards Mo Qi.
After a brief pause, a sense of loss filled his heart.
Linghu Xiaoxian's figure streaked towards Mo Qi. At this very moment, the wind and clouds changed.
As if guided by a divine hand, Mo Qi cupped the body of the Xuanyuan Sword in his palm. A golden light surged out from the sword, flashed, and vanished.
That sword light was like an axe splitting heaven and earth, cleaving fiercely from top to bottom, from near to far.
A thunderous boom erupted, along with a hissing sound, like scissors tearing through cloth.
The white light was forcefully torn open from the middle. Even a surging river would have a gap forcefully opened in its center.