A Blind Swordsman's Sword Coffin

Boom!

Three golden talismans, each a zhang tall, sprang up like walls in front of Coward Li as Gu Li teleported to his side.

Gu Li’s expression was grave. He looked at Meng Wanshu, frowning. “Sister-in-law, what is the meaning of this?”

Meng Wanshu kept one hand pressed to the ice, suppressing the rampant vital force inside Li Guanqi’s body. She turned slowly to face Gu Li, her beautiful eyes glinting with an icy light.

“Do you know why it took me several months to break through to something as basic as the Combined Body Realm?” she asked quietly.

Ye Feng stood beside Meng Wanshu, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it at a moment’s notice. Cao Yan stood beside him, his expression just as grave.

The mood turned tense at once, a stifling pressure spreading through the air.

Lu Kangnian stood to one side, eyes slightly narrowed, unsure what to say. Perhaps only Meng Wanshu had the right to make the final call.

Sheltered behind the talismans, Coward Li stared blankly ahead. He had never imagined that his very existence would bring such harm to Li Guanqi. Or perhaps... Li Guanqi had known the consequences from the very beginning.

Coward Li’s white hair fell across his forehead, obscuring his eyes. It seemed to have lost its luster, now dull and dry, as though it had truly gone white.

Gu Li paid none of that any mind. “I know. Ye Feng and the others told me. Your breakthrough was slow because your divine soul was damaged. I was at the Ethereal Immortal Territory auction as well.”

Snowflakes slowly condensed behind Meng Wanshu. A plain and ancient deep-blue sword appeared in her hand.

Her voice was icy and calm. “Since you already know, I have nothing more to say. That illusory spirit must die. Even if Guanqi blames me for it one day, I won’t regret it. Are you sure you want to stand in my way?”

Gu Li was torn. On one side stood Li Guanqi, his vital force raging unchecked. On the other stood his sworn brother.

A hand reached through the gap in the talismans and settled on Gu Li’s shoulder.

“Brother, that’s enough...” Coward Li’s bitter voice rang out.

The talismans parted, and Coward Li walked out, clad in red robes. With his head bowed, he smiled bitterly and slowly shook his head. Then he looked up, and a radiant smile spread across his face. “Let me die.”

Before anyone could react, he slammed his palm into his forehead.

Gu Li pressed his lips together and threw a punch straight into Coward Li’s face.

Bang!

The punch sent the frail Coward Li flying dozens of zhang. Gu Li’s aura erupted.

Ye Feng pushed his sword loose from its sheath, entered his demon state, and planted himself in front of Meng Wanshu, his voice cold. “Gu Li! Are you certain you want to make a move?”

Gu Li glanced back at Cao Yan. Cao Yan’s eyes burned with determination, and he had already donned his combat gauntlets.

“I’m protecting Coward Li. If you want to make a move, then make it. I understand what you’re all thinking. None of you wants Li Guanqi to suffer this hidden ailment and lose all hope of reaching the Mahayana Realm. But...”

Gu Li’s voice hitched. He snapped his head up toward the ice block holding Li Guanqi. “Have any of you ever asked why Coward Li has managed to live until now? Have you? I don’t know what Li Guanqi has been through. I only know that from beginning to end, Li Guanqi has wanted Coward Li alive! He wants it from the bottom of his heart!”

He roared the last words at the top of his lungs, the muscles in his neck standing out as his face flushed and talismans whirled around him in a maelstrom.

Then his voice softened, and he turned his head slightly toward Coward Li. “If that weren’t so, Li Guanqi could have killed him a thousand times over. He’s had countless chances. Even through the Heavenly Tribulation, even in the medicinal pool, his resolve has never wavered. The fact that Coward Li still breathes today is the best proof. You all know how crafty and calculating Li Guanqi is. How could he not know the consequences?”

The talismans behind Gu Li shimmered, closing around Coward Li. Gu Li looked at the others with a keen gaze, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold smile. “None of you has ever treated Coward Li as a person! You have all thought of him as nothing more than a clone. An... expendable clone...”

Ye Feng fell silent. When it came to Coward Li, he and Meng Wanshu had always been the same: neither had ever truly seen him as a person.

Caught up in his own emotions, Gu Li now wanted only one thing—to protect Coward Li. He believed that one day, Coward Li could stand at the summit by his own strength. And that day, they would meet again and drink their fill.

Coward Li would no longer be Li Guanqi’s illusory spirit. He would be a true cultivator of the sword Dao, standing tall on his own merit.

Meng Wanshu’s expression wavered. But beneath her hand, Li Guanqi’s power was slipping further out of control, and her gaze hardened.

Boom!

“Domain of Ultimate Frost.”

Boom!

The world transformed into a silver-white expanse, with glaciers rising to fill it. Meng Wanshu was enveloped in an ice-blue glow, nine massive frost flowers floating behind her.

Ye Feng and Cao Yan exchanged a look and gritted their teeth. Ye Feng, half man and half demon, unsheathed his sword and surged forward.

Cao Yan didn’t hesitate. His Solitary Flame Gauntlets blazed with brilliant light, wreathed in violet lightning flames. His fist intent surged, savage enough to rend the heavens open.

Facing all three of them, Gu Li took a deep breath, a cold smile still lingering at the corner of his mouth as he looked at Li Guanqi one last time. Wake up already!

Gu Li shot backward, drawing Coward Li into his domain. He formed hand seals, and all ten of his storage rings blazed with light.

Each storage ring held a hundred thousand talismans. A full million of them hung in midair like a golden ocean.

Explosions rang out without cease, and the battle’s aftershocks made the spirit qi throughout the Daxia Sword Sect churn like a boiling sea.

The space above the icebound Heavenly Lightning Peak warped and buckled, bursts of sword qi and fist light leaking through the cracks. The frost seeping from those cracks was enough to chill anyone to the bone.

Lu Kangnian was frantic with worry, having been moved to safety the instant the fight broke out. With no time to think, he pulled out a jade slip and sent word to Meng Jiangchu and Gu Changsheng.

Gu Changsheng’s face fell, and he sped up again.

Five minutes later, Gu Changsheng stepped into the Daxia Sword Sect’s territory, dusty and worn out. He teleported above Heavenly Lightning Peak, took a deep breath, and pressed both palms together as though about to tear something apart.

“Enough!”

Boom!

A terrifying force suppressed all four combatants at once. Mahayana Realm power locked down the space, and the four, each bearing wounds, came to a halt.

Gu Changsheng flashed to Li Guanqi’s side, raised his hand, and shattered the crumbling ice with a single strike. He extended his fingers and tapped dozens of pressure points across Li Guanqi’s body in rapid succession.

Gu Changsheng’s expression was grave. He withdrew his hand, formed a series of seals, and suddenly drove his palm into Li Guanqi’s forehead.