A Blind Swordsman's Sword Coffin

Buss!

Golden patterns formed in the night sky. The golden light spread until a hundred-zhang-wide array formed. Suddenly, a crack ran down its middle.

Whoosh!

An ice-blue spacecraft vanished over the horizon, and the vigorous spatial ripples faded. The golden patterns disappeared completely, as if they had never been there. Even the spatial tear sealed itself without a trace.

In less than fifteen minutes, four or five batches of cultivators rushed up to investigate, but none found anything. Still, they all knew they had sensed something. Gradually, a rumor spread that an important treasure was about to appear, and more cultivators rushed over.

Meng Wanshu placed the spacecraft into her storage ring. Li Guanqi closed his eyes and spread his arms wide, savoring the thick spirit qi around him. He opened his heart’s eye and found that the Black Sect Territory was a place deeply connected to nature. The mountains, rivers, lands, and sky existed in harmony, and even the cultivators seemed to have merged with nature itself.

“The Black Sect Territory is known as a place where the heavens and humanity merge into one,” Meng Wanshu explained. “Many cultivators here have Wood Spirit Roots, just like how many in the Divine Treasure Territory have Fire Spirit Roots.”

Li Guanqi nodded. “This place is incredible. The spirit qi is dense, and the strong wood element calms my mind.”

Meng Wanshu leaned against him and pinched his waist, giving it a slow, deliberate twist. “So you think the girls in the Divine Treasure Territory have bad tempers? Planning to take a mistress from the Black Sect Territory?”

Li Guanqi froze. I wouldn’t dare joke about that...

“No, no,” he coughed. “I wouldn’t dare.”

Xiao Chen clasped his hands behind his back, taking in everything with wide-eyed curiosity, like a kid who had never left his hometown. Ye Feng frowned. He had been uneasy ever since they arrived.

“Boss, did Senior Long say where Cao Yan is?”

Li Guanqi smirked and took out an ancient-looking jade pendant. A ray of spirit light shot out.

The Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion had prepared a map of the Black Sect Territory for him. Using his sea of consciousness, he pulled the map from the jade pendant and scanned it. He looked toward the bottom—the Southern Territory. This area was filled with mountains and forests.

A patch of forest lay surrounded by a ring of mountains. Within it, a red marker and a few words stood out.

Realm of the Southern King.

Li Guanqi checked their current location. They weren’t far from the Southern Territory. He put the map away, turned in the correct direction, and said, “Let’s go.”

Whoosh!

The four boarded the spacecraft and shot off through a spatial tear. Their destination: the residence of the Southern Heavenly King, Cao Zhennan.

The Realm of the Southern King was similar to the Meng family’s, though it was much smaller and more fragile.

“What’s the plan?” Ye Feng asked softly.

“We barge in,” Li Guanqi said calmly.

Ye Feng broke into a grin. He nodded, crossed his legs, and began wiping his sword.

Xiao Chen sensed killing intent from Ye Feng. Xiao Chen didn’t understand why worrying about someone could evoke such intense feelings. Then again, if Meng Wanshu were in danger, he would likely panic even more.

Li Guanqi pulled out a blue jade slip and toyed with it in his hand. They hadn’t met in years. He missed Cao Yan. Though Cao Yan was frequently on his mind, the jade slip had never lit up. He could hardly imagine how Cao Yan had survived all this time, hiding from hunters while fighting for resources and doing his best to cultivate. The suffering he must have endured was unfathomable.

Despite this, Cao Yan had never contacted Ye Feng or Li Guanqi. Perhaps he was worried about being a burden to them.

Li Guanqi gripped the jade slip hard. Killing intent filled his gaze. Meng Wanshu sensed the shift in their moods and remained silent. Even Xiao Chen, who had been giddy with excitement, gradually calmed down.

They were about to face one of the four heavenly kings, who ranked just below the territory lord. If they truly had to kill, it would not be easy. But since Li Guanqi had decided to come, the thought of leaving now did not even cross his mind.

The four traveled in silence. After some time, Li Guanqi suddenly stopped. The sword coffin appeared behind him. A set of purple-black lightning armor materialized around his body.

Seeing Li Guanqi don the Lightning Armor—one of the top hundred spirit spells—Ye Feng immediately understood. Li Guanqi planned to stand up for Cao Yan no matter what. More than that, he was going to turn the whole Southern Territory upside down.

Ye Feng released the Ghost Arm. The Ghost Arm’s power came from an ancient demon of the Dungeon Abyss. That power had merged with his arm, becoming his own. To this day, he still had not dared release the Ghost Arm’s full power, fearing he would become the demon soul remnant’s puppet. At his current limit, releasing the Ghost Arm could push his cultivation up a full stage.

Xiao Chen grew solemn. He released his Divine Blood Spear’s Heaven-Opening Tier, flames erupting from his body.

Meng Wanshu stood beside Li Guanqi and reached out. An ice-blue, translucent sword appeared in her grasp. The moment it appeared, the surrounding space began to freeze.

Snowflakes drifted around them. Meng Wanshu’s eyes shone with ice-blue light. She turned and smiled. “I’m not going to activate its Heaven-Opening Tier. It’ll cause too much of a commotion.”

The three of them nodded vigorously.

***

The Realm of the Southern Heavenly King was bustling with life. Luxurious cloud boats flew back and forth. A hundred-zhang-long crack opened in the realm’s boundary, and countless cultivators from various large sects arrived bearing gifts.

They learned it was Cao Zhennan’s 1,500th birthday celebration. Sect leaders from almost every clan in the Southern Territory, big and small, had come to pay their respects.

The whole realm was packed with crowds, but not everyone could pass through the doors. Many rulers of small sects could not even enter the main gates. They set down their gifts, offered a few congratulatory words, and left.

The staff in charge did not even record their sect names. Those gifts would be divided among themselves.