A Blind Swordsman's Sword Coffin

Since Sword Spirit had spoken firmly, Li Guanqi did not press further. He only needed to know that she had her reasons.

Sword Spirit glanced at Lu Wuhen’s corpse, then reached toward the space between his brows. A crack seemed to split open there, and a faint crimson light swirled out around her. An indescribable, mysterious aura slowly spread outward. It was something akin to the void, yet not quite the same.

Then, under Li Guanqi’s astonished gaze, she took out a tiny sword fragment. Holding the crimson shard in her palm, her expression turned distant, as though she were lost in memory. Only after a long while did she come back to herself, a bitter smile touching her lips.

Li Guanqi remained silent. He did not understand her past, and this was not the moment to ask.

Sword Spirit summoned Lu Wuhen’s sword, Ascension, into her hand. Her lips curled in disdain, and with just two fingers, she snapped off the sword tip.

The blade let out a mournful cry as she extracted a pale, illusory soul from it and infused it into Red Lotus. With that, Red Lotus’ aura gradually stabilized.

After a brief pause, she released a mysterious fluctuation that drew the three heavenly flames out of Li Guanqi and the others. Sensing her presence, none of them resisted, allowing her to manipulate the flames as she pleased.

In an instant, the three heavenly flames refined the Ascension Sword into a pool of molten, blood-like metal.

She murmured, “The sword tip... cannot yet merge with me. It is not time.”

Li Guanqi understood. “You’re worried... that whoever is behind this will trace it back to you?”

Sword Spirit nodded slightly. “Yes, but reclaiming this fragment is still a good thing. Though this piece... is not among the earlier ones. Red Lotus has gained from misfortune.”

Before Li Guanqi could fully understand what she meant, she pressed the projected sword-tip fragment against the Red Lotus Sword.

A sharp, resonant sword cry rang out.

Crack! Crack crack crack crack!

The blade fractured under the immense strain, as though it might shatter at any moment. However, Sword Spirit seemed to have anticipated this. With a wave of her hand, she poured the molten metal over the blade and cast it into the flames.

Under the blazing inferno, the Red Lotus Sword completely shattered, then reformed.

Li Guanqi sensed a terrifying change in Sword Spirit’s aura. Her presence became so overwhelming that even he felt suffocated. Her hair danced wildly as she stood in the air with a domineering gaze.

She looked at Red Lotus within the flames, then spoke softly, “In my name... I grant you divinity.”

Boom!

A massive blood-red thundercloud appeared above the Daxia Sword Sect. The aura pressing down from it was so intense that it felt as though something forbidden had entered the world.

Lu Kangnian was startled, and Nangong Xuandu’s expression turned grave.

With eyes as sharp as an eagle’s, Nangong Xuandu ascended into the sky, his azure sword humming softly. He unsheathed it with a clear ring.

A terrifying pressure erupted as he slashed upward. A thousand-zhang sword light split the heavens, tearing the blood cloud in two.

The clouds dissipated.

Nangong Xuandu sheathed his sword and frowned, his gaze fixed on the Purple Spirit Paradise Realm.

Back within the sword coffin space, Li Guanqi stood in place, utterly stunned. A sacred, indescribable aura radiated from Sword Spirit as blood-red light surged around her like a river.

When her finger touched the Red Lotus Sword, even the heavenly flames recoiled. The sword trembled violently, its excitement unmistakable. Sword Spirit had sealed the fragment within the blade.

A razor-sharp aura erupted. The four-chi Red Lotus looked unchanged, yet its essence had transformed completely.

Sword Spirit’s aura weakened slightly, fatigue showing on her face.

Looking at Li Guanqi, whose eyes were full of worry, she reached out to cup his face and smiled. “Don’t worry. I’m fine.”

She turned to the sword and said softly, “From now on, Red Lotus is worthy of accompanying you to the Immortal World.”

The sword gave a soft, obedient hum in response.

Li Guanqi exhaled slowly. “It feels like... the Upper World has been making more moves lately. And Lu Wuhen... doesn’t seem connected to the same force behind Cang Lu.”

Sword Spirit looked at him in mild surprise, then nodded. “It seems... many eyes are watching this place.”

She added softly, “As expected... you chose to let Coward Li live.”

Li Guanqi smiled. “I want him to live.”

Standing beside him, she said gently, “It’s only a damaged soul. I’ll find a way to help you.”

Li Guanqi grinned. His aura gradually stabilized, settling firmly into the Combined Body Realm. His understanding of lightning spirit qi deepened, as if he had grasped a fleeting spark of insight.

Outside, as the heavens and earth slowly calmed, Lu Kangnian let out a long breath of relief and began preparing to take over everything belonging to the Lu clan. After the battle, Li Guanqi had finally stepped into the Combined Body Realm, and Coward Li had survived.

As for the shattered Red Lotus Sword, it had been reborn through fire, fusing with Sword Spirit’s true sword-tip fragment and inheriting an ability akin to the one of Lu Wuhen’s sword spirit void.