To him, Mu Qingqing, who had cultivated the Eternal Dao Scripture, was his most important chess piece.
Now that this chess piece had grown to the Great Emperor realm, it was time to take Mu Qingqing away and proceed to the next step of his plan.
Seeing that the Ancient Relic Demon Altar could not last much longer, Xuan Qi decided not to delay any further.
Just as he was about to take Mu Qingqing with him, he suddenly saw a layer of frost form in Mu Qingqing's eyes, and he immediately had a bad premonition.
The supreme true meanings of the Asura Battle Method and the Golden Scale Art erupted in an instant.
Mu Qingqing's combat power surged dramatically.
Xuan Qi found it difficult to hold onto her Xuanyang Sword and was about to use his true essence to blast Mu Qingqing away.
Unexpectedly, Mu Qingqing moved first. Her right arm was covered in radiant golden dragon scales, and with a claw, she tore off one of Xuan Qi's arms.
Xuan Qi's expression changed drastically. He was forced to retreat several steps and circulated his true essence to heal the severed arm.
At the same time, his Ancient Relic Demon Altar completely collapsed under the impact of the six small worlds opened by the six true essences. Xuan Qi also spat out a mouthful of blood due to the backlash.
Xuan Qi was now at a complete disadvantage, but he still did not give up on his idea of capturing Mu Qingqing. Ignoring his injuries, he reached out to Mu Qingqing with his remaining arm.
In the blink of an eye, Mu Qingqing in front of him suddenly transformed into Ji Juekong.
Mu Qingqing, on the other hand, appeared beside Wan Guimang and the other Saint Lords.
It was then that he noticed that the five great Saint Lords and Gu Linyue had already withdrawn their small worlds. However, they had not returned to their original world but were in another small world.
This small world was the Heart Image Realm created by Mu Qingqing.
Within the Heart Image Realm, Mu Qingqing could freely control anything and change everyone's positions at will.
She handed over the final blow to Xuan Qi to Ji Juekong, who possessed the strongest sword art among the five great Saint Lords.
Ji Juekong understood Mu Qingqing's intention. The legendary Saint Artifact, the Nine Absolutes Sword, instantly flew into his hand.
The intent of the Nine Absolutes Sword emanated, carrying an aura of world-destroying power. The sky immediately changed its colors.
The buildings of the Xuan Kong Mountain Holy Land were affected, collapsing under the terrifying aura.
This was the strongest sword strike of Ji Juekong, the Nine Absolutes Sword Emperor, and the world's foremost sword art, the Funeral Sword Art.
With the Funeral Sword Art unleashed, heaven and earth were overshadowed, and the sun, moon, and stars seemed to lose their color at this moment.
Xuan Qi's pupils constricted sharply. He could feel the power of Ji Juekong's move.
However, at this moment, due to the collapse of the Ancient Relic Demon Altar, his body was severely wounded, and his strength had decreased significantly.
Moreover, he was trapped in Mu Qingqing's Heart Image Realm, where every move he made was under Mu Qingqing's control, making it impossible to dodge.
Just like Li Jianxing when he used the Funeral Sword Art, Ji Juekong also separated into six figures that attacked him from various angles.
However, the power of the Funeral Sword Art displayed by Ji Juekong was not comparable to Li Jianxing's. Coupled with the cost of the Nine Absolutes Sword, a legendary Saint Artifact, the power unleashed at this moment was something even a peak five-star Great Emperor could not withstand.
This was why among the five great Saint Lords, Wan Guimang, although the only five-star Great Emperor, was wary of Ji Juekong.
The sword light of the Nine Absolutes Sword rained down like a storm. The legendary Saint Artifact unleashed unprecedented power at this moment.
In an instant, Ji Juekong inflicted millions of sword marks on Xuan Qi, each of which was fatal to him.
Xuan Qi's physical body bled profusely, and in some places, even the white bones were exposed.
When the six figures returned to Ji Juekong's main body, Xuan Qi had completely perished. His body turned into dust under the sharp sword light and scattered with the wind.
The Nine Absolutes Sword in Ji Juekong's hand was also severely damaged from using the Funeral Sword Art, its radiance dimming.
It then cracked and turned into countless tiny fragments.
Ji Juekong felt a pang of heartache as the legendary Saint Artifact that had accompanied him for many years turned into pieces in his hands.
The Funeral Sword Art was powerful, but it consumed swords too much.
However, it was worth it to damage a legendary Saint Artifact, completely eliminate the demon Xuan Qi, and save the Eternal Continent.
Although Xuan Qi was successfully killed, the five great Saint Lords themselves also suffered severe injuries.
They had used their small worlds to collide with Xuan Qi's Ancient Relic Demon Altar. If they had not had the advantage in numbers, they would have paid a heavy price.
Xuan Qingming came to Ji Juekong's side and sincerely praised, "The Funeral Sword Art is indeed the world's foremost sword art. No wonder it has the reputation of breaking through the heavens alone."
Ji Juekong gave Xuan Qingming a displeased glance and said, "If it weren't for you nurturing such a good disciple, I wouldn't have ruined a legendary Saint Artifact. Now, Saint Lord Xuan, how do you plan to compensate me for my loss?"
*Pfft!*
At this moment, Xuan Qingming suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, and his face turned pale.
Seeing this, Ji Juekong frowned and asked, "What's wrong with you? You're not pretending to be sick to avoid compensating me, are you?"
But upon closer inspection, he realized that Xuan Qingming did not seem to be faking it and had indeed suffered a minor internal injury.
"Ji Juekong, you ungrateful wretch! I just took the impact of that wicked disciple's Ancient Relic Demon Altar with my own small world, and now I'm severely damaged and haven't recovered yet, and you want to extort me."
Xuan Qingming looked wronged, as if he had been bullied by Ji Juekong.
Seeing Xuan Qingming's wronged expression, Ji Juekong was speechless.
Is this guy a drama queen? One moment he looked weak and pathetic, and the next he was acting as if nothing had happened.
I don't know if you're genuinely injured or faking it.
Ji Juekong shook his head and said, "Alright, forget it, seeing your current state."
Hearing this, Xuan Qingming chuckled again flirtatiously and rubbed his hands in front of Ji Juekong, saying, "Saint Lord Ji, considering how much effort I put into eliminating Xuan Qi this time, could you give me some top-grade spirit stones as compensation? It's not much, just a hundred million top-grade spirit stones from each of you."
Xuan Qingming's request immediately offended the other four Saint Lords, and even Gu Linyue and Mu Qingqing cast disdainful glances at him.
Wan Guimang directly cursed, "A hundred million top-grade spirit stones! Xuan Qingming, why don't you go rob a bank?!"
"Get lost! It's already good that I'm not asking you for the loss of the Nine Absolutes Sword, and you still want me to give you a hundred million top-grade spirit stones!" Ji Juekong was also enraged.
Mu Qingqing also frowned and said, "Senior Xuan, this is even more outrageous than a staged accident."
Xuan Qingming pouted and said, "It's just a hundred million top-grade spirit stones."
"What do you mean 'just'? You're robbing us!"
"I'm wronged! Look at how Xuan Kong Mountain Holy Land has become now, with all the disciples severely injured and half of the buildings destroyed. Don't you think my losses are severe?" Xuan Qingming put on a mournful expression.
No matter how pitifully Xuan Qingming wailed, Mu Qingqing and the others all replied with the same sentence: "Go ask your precious disciple Xuan Qi."
Xuan Qingming: "......"
At this moment, Mu Qingqing suddenly realized something was amiss.