A Blind Swordsman's Sword Coffin

Li Guanqi snorted. In this world, might still makes right.

He tossed the thought aside. All he wanted now was to find the trans-territory transport array. He’d never rest easy without Cang Lu dead, especially with so many mysteries still surrounding him.

Vital force surged through Li Guanqi. He pulled out Gu Yong’s special jade slip and asked, “When does the trans-territory transport array of the Zhongnan Heavens open?”

Soon, a reply came from the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion.

The Zhongnan Heavens’ trans-territory tunnels are controlled by three major factions. They do not open except under special circumstances.

Li Guanqi frowned. “Not open? Which three factions? Who makes the decisions?”

The Heavenly Demon Sect, Dark Shadow Sect, and the Profound Phoenix Pavilion. The Profound Phoenix Pavilion is the strongest, and it can overpower the other two.

Li Guanqi nodded, making a mental note. He decided to take it slow.

The sky was darkening. After searching for a long time, he finally found a place where he could listen to some music.

He found a decent inn, cleaned up, and then left his room. The sky was darkening. After searching for a long time, he found a place where he could listen to some music.

The moment he entered, he was immediately surrounded by scantily dressed girls. After all, he was disguised as a prodigal son, the type who threw money around like an idiot.

Li Guanqi laughed, playing his part. If he was going to act as a prodigal son, then he should be prodigal. He was only tipping them with low-grade spirit stones, but they were still spirit stones.

The girls became even friendlier after seeing his money. Li Guanqi scooped up one girl in each arm, then headed up to a room on the third floor.

“This way, sir.”

“One guest for the Ocean Room, please.”

Li Guanqi closed his eyes slightly, savoring the softness in his hands.

What a pity...

After going up to the room, he sent all the girls away, saying he was waiting for someone. The pimp wasn’t surprised. Many people used the place to talk business.

Li Guanqi was left alone in the large room. He sat by the window, watching the performance below. He reached for the wine gourd at his waist, thought about opening it, then put it down.

That wine was for Ning Xiu.

He crossed his arms and extended his divine consciousness in all directions.

The smattering of noise made him frown. Conversations throughout the building flowed into his ear, but all of it was worthless chatter, and he quickly abandoned the thought of eavesdropping.

There were five stories in the guesthouse. He extended his divine consciousness up and down.

“Ptui! What a whore, spreading her legs like that!”

“Woah... She’s being hung up with a rope!”

“Tsk tsk... A leather whip? Her skin’s red already.”

As his divine consciousness swept through the three floors above, Li Guanqi found himself both impressed and shocked by what he saw. “Consider my horizons broadened.”

He continued to the fourth floor and found an array meant to block divine consciousness. His eyes lit up. It seemed he was in no simple guesthouse after all.

His divine consciousness buzzed as he carefully pried open a small gap.

“Hehehe! In three days, Saintess Su Xi of the Profound Phoenix Pavilion will die!”

Li Guanqi heard the voice of a perverted man. His eyes flashed, and he slowly extended his divine consciousness toward the room upstairs.

“Shut up! The walls have ears!”

The warning made Li Guanqi stiffen. He thought they had discovered him.

“Yes, yes, Brother Zhou. In three days, if Su Xi doesn’t appear, the rights to the trans-territory array will fall to us!”

“Are you sure this plan is reliable?”

“Don’t worry! There won’t be a problem. There is no antidote for this poison.”

Li Guanqi sat by his window, a mix of emotions running through him. The political wrestling between the major factions in this city was quite intense. They were vicious enough to target a saintess from the Profound Phoenix Pavilion.

He tapped the railing. If he wanted to leave the Soaring Heavens Continent, it appeared the Profound Phoenix Pavilion was the place to begin.

He scratched his head and muttered in frustration, “But I’m not an expert in antidotes...”

Suddenly, he had an idea. With a smirk, he rose and said, “Call all the girls in!”

“Ah... Sir, I was just waiting for you to tell us that! Girls, hurry up and get inside.”

At midnight, Li Guanqi staggered out of the guesthouse drunkenly, attracting no attention at all.

“Help me check where the Profound Phoenix Pavilion is.”

After returning to his room, he sat down cross-legged, placed spirit stones in his spirit-gathering array, and began cultivating. He no longer resembled the drunken youth from before.

On the second morning, Li Guanqi opened his eyes. He had completely digested the Heavenly Fire Orb and the Heavenly Lightning Orb in his body, and his cultivation had stabilized at the late Divine Transformation Realm. A sliver of his second nascent soul yet to evolve into a primordial soul, but he was countless times stronger than before.

He left the inn and headed straight for the Ethereal Immortal Valley in the western territory of the Zhongnan Heavens.

Buzz!

Li Guanqi stepped out of a spatial tear, and a misty valley opened up before him. Standing at the entrance, he frowned. “The Profound Phoenix Pavilion is here? I don’t sense anything.”

With a flash beneath his feet, he vanished.

The moment he stepped into the valley, he realized something was wrong. The thick mist wasn’t regular mist at all. A confounding array covered the valley. Anyone who didn’t know the password would be trapped, and it would take them a long time to get out.

Li Guanqi pursed his lips. He drew the sword from his waist and slashed.

Terrifying sword light burst forth, clearing a ten-zhang-wide path through the mist. Lightning crackled. Sword qi carved a deep trench in the ground.

He retracted his sword and stood tall. The array had been scrambled. The surrounding mist began to boil like water, dissipating quickly.

Five girls in white dresses appeared.

Clang! Clang clang! Clang clang!

Swords scraped from their sheaths, the metallic sound reverberating through the valley. The leader had a cold expression and beautiful eyes. She glared at Li Guanqi and said, “Who are you? How dare you enter the Ethereal Immortal Valley?!”

The remaining four surrounded him.

Li Guanqi was surprised. He hadn’t expected regular disciples of the Profound Phoenix Pavilion to be at the Nascent Soul Realm.

He released a hint of his Divine Transformation Realm aura, and the five girls stiffened as if facing a powerful enemy.

The leader scoffed. “You’re only at the Divine Transformation Realm, and you dare come to the Profound Phoenix Pavilion?”

Speechless, Li Guanqi raised his hands. “I heard your saintess has been poisoned. I want to go to the Taiqing Territory, and you want to save her. Let me try.”

“Save her? Hmph!” The girl squinted, a cold flash in her eyes. She raised her sword. “Form the array! Take him down!”