A Blind Swordsman's Sword Coffin

“You bitch! You’re only this arrogant because you were born into a powerful family! If you’ve got the guts, then kill me! Kill me! AHHHH!”

With her hair in disarray and a crazed expression, Song Zhi’ang no longer possessed even a trace of her former elegance and refinement. Blood streamed down her face, and her nose had been crushed into a mangled mass of flesh and blood. Her arms hung limp at her sides.

She stared at the sacred woman before her, who stood like a heavenly princess who’d descended to the mortal world. Song Zhi’ang’s bloodshot eyes burned with naked jealousy. “How am I inferior to her?! Why?!”

Meng Wanshu frowned slightly as she looked at the madness and venomous envy in Song Zhi’ang’s eyes. Her hateful gaze made Meng Wangshu deeply uncomfortable. Frost spread outward, and Song Zhi’ang’s limbs slowly froze solid. Even the primordial soul within her dantian gradually became encased in ice.

Watching her own death inch closer was a terror far worse than being killed outright. Song Zhi’ang’s pupils trembled violently, and her body shook uncontrollably from fear. Only she knew how much suffering she had endured to reach this point. Day after day, she had endured agony that gnawed at her very bones until she became numb to it, driven onward by nothing but the obsession buried deep in her heart.

Now that she had stepped into the Illusory Refinement Realm, reaching the Combined Body Realm was only a matter of time. Yet somehow, Meng Wanshu had found her.

“No... no... I can’t die! I still haven’t stood before him. I can’t die! Ahhhh! Bitch! Let me go! I can’t die here!”

Song Zhi’ang’s struggles were futile before Meng Wanshu. The moment Meng Wanshu found her, Song Zhi’ang was already as good as dead.

Meng Wanshu turned slowly, calm from beginning to end. The instant she turned, terrifying frost power exploded outward.

A gigantic blood-colored palm seal, over three hundred zhang wide, soundlessly materialized beside her. There had been no warning at all. With no time to react, Meng Wanshu drew her sword and slashed out.

“Heaven-Opening Technique, Snow Phantom!”

Boom!

A massive azure phantom of a woman appeared beside Meng Wanshu, her terrifying sword intent soaring toward the heavens. As a sword light burst forth, sword intent capable of freezing all things swept across heaven and earth.

A glimmer of hope appeared in Song Zhi’ang’s eyes, as if she had grasped a lifeline. “Save me!”

Boom!

The sword light cut a mere three cun into the palm seal before exploding apart.

Meng Wanshu’s eyes narrowed, and she teleported over a thousand zhang away.

Behind her, a ghost-like figure materialized and slowly reached out toward her. But just as his fingers were about to brush against her, he withdrew his hand and turned toward Song Zhi’ang instead.

Through all of it, Meng Wanshu had sensed nothing.

Boom!

The palm seal detonated, annihilating a thousand zhang of the surrounding void. Outside, a vast stretch of green mountains and rivers vanished, leaving only scorched black earth steeped in demonic qi.

A blood-red figure materialized beside Song Zhi’ang and vanished with her, whisking her away.

Meng Wanshu’s face turned pale, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of her lips as she stared into the empty void. “Sha?”

Her soft murmur carries both confusion and unease. The figure’s appearance was too perfectly timed. Or perhaps... that ghost-like figure had been there all along.

Meng Wanshu should never have found this palace so easily, let alone Song Zhi’ang inside it. When Ye Xuan gave her the spatial coordinates, he had warned her that she might find nothing. It was incredibly unusual for members of the Sha organization to remain in place after being exposed.

Standing silently in the void, Meng Wanshu suddenly realized they might have let her find Song Zhi’ang on purpose. Once the thought took root, she couldn’t suppress it.

Meng Wanshu narrowed her eyes. She knew Li Guanqi had expelled Song Zhi’ang from the sect after the woman’s love turned into hatred, but she had never expected the Sha organization to cultivate her into what she had become.

In that moment, many things fell into place. Meng Wanshu sheathed her sword and said coldly, “What a terrifying organization... To think they even factored me into their plans. Perhaps... if anyone but me had come today, no one would ever have found this palace at all. They used me to provoke Song Zhi’ang. What a clever move.”

Whoosh!

The sight of the annihilated void made Meng Jiangchu’s heart skip a beat. He frowned as he scanned the surroundings. “What happened?”

At the sight of her father hurrying toward her, a belated fear washed over Meng Wanshu. The attacker had sensed Meng Jiangchu’s aura; that was why they had struck only once before fleeing with Song Zhi’ang. Had he not been nearby, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Meng Wanshu took a deep breath and cast one last glance into the void, silently making up her mind. The next time I see her, I’ll kill her on the spot.

“Was it someone from the Sha organization?” Meng Jiangchu asked gravely.

Meng Wanshu nodded and told him everything she suspected.

Meng Jiangchu’s expression turned incomparably grave. He clenched his teeth, his eyes flickering as he, too, grasped the scale of the enemy’s schemes. “Haa... Let’s go. We’re heading to the Daxia Sword Sect. Guanqi needs to hear about this so the brat stays on guard. Their scheme was hidden far too well this time. If he lets his guard down, he’ll pay dearly for it.”

Buzz!

Suddenly, Qin Wushang stepped out of the void. The moment he saw the devastation around him, his expression darkened. He bowed respectfully to the two of them and said, “Territory Lord Meng, I need to make a trip to the Seventh Territory and report what happened here. Will you come with me?”

Meng Jiangchu thought for a moment before nodding. “Alright. We’ll go together.”

He turned to Meng Wanshu. “Wanshu, will you be alright heading to the Daxia Sword Sect on your own?”

Meng Wanshu smiled. “Don’t worry, Father. I’m a Combined Body Realm cultivator now. Why are you still treating me like a child?”

Meng Jiangchu laughed softly. His daughter’s progress had been too fast, so fast that even he sometimes struggled to keep up. Still, the safeguards he had secretly placed on her would hold against any sudden danger, and even separated by two territories, he could arrive in an instant.

With that, the two parties went their separate ways.

***

Daxia Sword Sect, Purple Spirit Paradise Realm.

A shriek rang out. The moment Gu Li awoke, he turned to find Coward Li lying weakly in the medicinal pool. Gu Li shot to his feet, tears welling in his eyes. He grabbed Li Congxin by the shoulders and shook him frantically. “Coward Li! What happened to you?! Wake up! Wake up!”

Then came the crunch of sunflower seeds and a burst of chatter. “Tsk tsk, so fair-skinned. That ass is quite perky. It’ll be a shame if he doesn’t become a pretty boy... Though honestly, his figure is better than Fourth Brother’s.”

“Second Brother, his is bigger than yours.”

“Fuck off!”

“Tsk, Boss... don’t tell me this guy has some strange kinks?”

A cold breeze swept by, chilling Gu Li’s groin. He stiffened and slowly turned his head to see several men in white robes sitting on nearby rocks, all grinning as they sized him up.

Ye Feng squatted on a boulder, munching on sunflower seeds. “Cold, aren’t you? I can see your goosebumps from over here.”

Xiao Chen, carrying Cao Yan on his shoulders, pointed at Gu Li and howled with laughter. “Ohhh? Did his little brother just shrink? Hahahahahaha!”

Cao Yan calmly remarked, “It’s obviously because he’s cold.”

Peng Luo, sitting on Li Guanqi’s shoulder, whispered mysteriously, “That thing can grow and shrink?”

Li Guanqi chuckled and stood up, tossing Gu Li a set of sect robes. “Why don’t you put these on first?”

Gu Li’s face flushed red. Like a maiden caught bathing, he snatched the clothes and vanished like the wind.

“Hahahahahaha!”

“Hahahaha! This kid!”

“Too funny! Hahahaha! He’s dying of embarrassment!”