A Blind Swordsman's Sword Coffin

Li Guanqi hovered in mid-air, gasping for breath, his eyes locked on the blazing pillar of fire in the distance. After taking so many of his attacks in succession, even a mid Divine Transformation cultivator like Xuan Luo had to be seriously injured, if not dead.

Li Guanqi gripped the Red Lotus Sword and stood proudly. The vital force in his body fluctuated violently, as if preparing for something.

Rumble!

The pillar of fire towering into the sky suddenly shattered. A blinding arc of knife light shot out, cleaving it clean in two. Li Guanqi’s chest tightened, and he teleported hundreds of zhang away in an instant.

Boom!

The knife light gouged a trench a hundred zhang long into the earth, obliterating everything in its path. Flames blazed across the ruins, dyeing the heavens red. From within the inferno, a dark silhouette slowly emerged.

Xuan Luo stepped forward, his robes in tatters. His skin was charred black, and his hair and eyebrows were gone. His bloodied face twisted into a snarl, his eyes burning with murderous rage. He was shocked by how ruthlessly Li Guanqi had exploited even his smallest opening.

If not for the life-saving measures he’d prepared, he would have perished in that sea of fire.

Whoosh...

Xuan Luo drew his knife, pointing it straight at Li Guanqi.

“You’re strong,” he said coldly, “but this is the end of the road for you.”

Boom!

A terrifying aura erupted from him. A domain filled with knife qi expanded, forcibly keeping Li Guanqi’s heavenly fire at bay.

Li Guanqi’s body trembled beneath the crushing pressure. It felt as though a mountain were pressing down on him. His knees bent involuntarily as the weight grew heavier and heavier. Only then did he truly understand that the gulf between their cultivations was as vast as a canyon. Even after exhausting every card he had, killing Xuan Luo was too difficult.

Xuan Luo would not let Li Guanqi live. To him, the so-called geniuses on the Nascent Soul Leaderboard were nothing but overhyped children. The true prodigies, those from the Dark Raven Order and other hidden factions, did not need the recognition.

However, he had to admit that he’d underestimated Li Guanqi. In fact, he felt that despite casting so many terrifying spells, Li Guanqi still had some strength remaining.

I have to kill him.

Xuan Luo took a step forward. Just then, Li Guanqi’s calm voice rang in his ear.

“Tell me... have you ever killed someone beneath heavenly tribulation clouds?”

A heavenly aura spread through the sky. Xuan Luo froze, then glanced upward.

The thick layer of gray clouds, originally just for casting spells, did not disperse at all. In fact, it grew until it covered a radius of a thousand zhang.

Lightning flashed. Thunder roared. The wind howled, driving rain across the scorched land.

Rumble!

Thunder rolled endlessly, like the beat of war drums.

Li Guanqi licked his lips and softly said, “You’re the strongest opponent I’ve ever faced. I respect you. Therefore...”

Boom!

A terrifying aura burst from him, and the shockwave hurled Xuan Luo hundreds of zhang backward.

Amidst the lightning, Li Guanqi disappeared and charged toward Xuan Luo.

Xuan Luo’s eyes widened in shock. The heavenly tribulation had started to target him. Because he was within range, the tribulation clouds were treating him as if he were the one undergoing the tribulation.

Xuan Luo panicked. He had sustained several serious injuries. He could not afford to be struck by heavenly tribulation lightning.

Li Guanqi snarled, unleashing his full power. Purple vital force roared through his body as he activated the Dragon-Elephant Subduing Sutra.

Nine Heavens’ eyes flashed. A drop of pure dragon blood merged into Li Guanqi’s body, its presence masked by the heavenly tribulation’s overwhelming energy.

Boom!

The instant the blood entered him, it was as if his body exploded from within.

Pfft!

He faltered and stood still, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

That moment was enough for Xuan Luo to flee a thousand zhang away, beyond the range of the heavenly tribulation.

Boom! Crash!

The clouds churned, brewing a storm, but it didn’t last. Soon, a barrage of thick heavenly tribulation lightning crashed down.

Li Guanqi looked up at the lightning bolts wistfully. He tapped his foot against the air, sealing the surrounding space with a surge of spatial force.

His Sword Prison expanded, reinforced by a curtain of flames. He had to kill Xuan Luo right then and there, no matter what.

Xuan Luo smirked coldly. He knew what Li Guanqi was thinking, and he agreed. Their battle had to end in death, no matter what.

For him, failure was not an option.

Instead of retreating or interfering, Xuan Luo raised his hand, releasing his own domain and reinforcing it with spatial power.

Lightning struck again and again. Li Guanqi met each bolt head-on, shattering them through sheer force.

Rumble!

The scattered arcs of lightning tore open crater after crater across the earth below.

Then, to Xuan Luo’s horror, Li Guanqi reached out, grabbed a bolt of heavenly lightning, and swallowed it whole. The lightning seared his body from within, tearing flesh and spilling blood, yet Li Guanqi swallowed bolt after bolt without hesitation.

With the help of the Dragon-Elephant Subduing Sutra, he suppressed the wild energy, refining it into his own power. He made quick progress with the sutra. Though the fifth dragon and elephant holograms had yet to appear, his strength had already risen by thirty percent.

As he focused on using the technique, the nascent soul in his dantian shone with blinding light, and the mysterious patterns on his body started to glow.

Vital force pulsed madly through him, rising at an unbelievable speed.

With a sweep of his hand, he crushed over a hundred high-grade spirit stones. Their spirit qi condensed into a mist so thick it nearly condensed into liquid around him.

He stood at the center of it all like a colossal funnel, devouring everything around him like a madman. His torn white robes fluttered violently in the wind.

Every nerve in his body thrummed taut as bowstrings. He hadn’t expected to face a breakthrough, utterly unprepared—but the situation left him no choice. If he failed to advance, Xuan Luo would kill him. He had to achieve a breakthrough to have any chance of survival.

Across the sky, Xuan Luo smirked. He raised his hand, and light flashed. A bow made of white bone appeared in his hand.