A Blind Swordsman's Sword Coffin

Li Guanqi stood alone before everyone, his lightning sword in hand. His white robes snapped in the wind, and his long hair streamed behind him. His gaze was as sharp as a blade. He seemed as immovable as a mountain, reassuring everyone behind him.

Terrifying blood-red spikes surged toward him from every direction, but he remained calm. Violent lightning vital force was compressed within his sword. He slashed with his left hand, sending out a dense storm of sword light. The void shattered, and the hundred-zhang expanse of blood mist, thick as a swamp, broke apart.

Behind him, Li Nanting watched, his heart awash with conflicting emotions. Before he knew it, his disciple had grown more than a head taller than him. If not for Li Guanqi, he would likely have died long ago.

Whenever Li Guanqi returned to the sect, he seemed preoccupied with various matters. Even so, he always found a moment to secretly leave a trace of his power inside Li Nanting’s body. His past experiences had taught him that his enemies could one day target those closest to him.

Splash!

The shattered blood mist rained down over Heavenly Lightning Peak. Li Guanqi extended his right hand to shield Li Nanting while pointing his sword toward a certain spot in the void with his left.

“Hiding in the shadows because you’re too afraid to show yourself?” he asked coldly.

The void remained silent. No one answered.

Li Guanqi slowly closed his eyes, and his terrifying divine consciousness swept across the entire Daxia Sword Sect. The instant he released it, however, the dantians of dozens of disciples across the various peaks swelled, and the disciples abruptly self-detonated.

“Oh no! What’s happening?!”

“These... These are all disciples who went out on patrol within the last three days!”

“Damn it, even an elder from Heavenly Metal Peak... Quick! Stop the blood mist!”

Chaos erupted throughout the sect, but no matter what anyone tried, they could not bring it under control. Li Guanqi’s face grew grim. He could not detect the slightest trace of the person behind the attack.

Remaining vigilant, Li Guanqi sent a voice transmission. “Senior Nangong, Senior Gong Ze, take the disciples into the Guanyun Pavilion’s domain immediately!”

Buzz!

As the master of Guanyun Pavilion’s secluded realm, Li Guanqi waved his hand, tearing open three massive spatial rifts above the Daxia Sword Sect. With Gong Ze and others securing the entrances, the sect’s disciples took to the sky and poured into the realm.

Li Guanqi stared coldly at the churning blood mist. He could sense the terrifying power surging within it. Someone was controlling it from behind the scenes, and that person had to be stronger than him. Only someone with such high cultivation could channel this much power through an external medium.

The blood mist alone was as powerful as a late Combined Body Realm cultivator. Otherwise, it could never have suppressed Gong Ze and the others so easily or drained their blood essence.

Boom!

The writhing blood mist surged outward and rapidly formed a sphere several hundred zhang across, completely enclosing Li Guanqi. A cold gleam flashed in his eyes. He lowered his stance, his body appearing loose and relaxed even as he readied himself to strike.

Countless blood-red spikes crashed toward Li Guanqi like towering waves against a shore. He shot forward, but just as he raised his sword to meet them, Li Nanting’s terrified voice rang out behind him.

“Watch out!”

Boom!

An even more powerful aura erupted behind him. The instant Li Nanting called out, Li Guanqi completed his dragon transformation. His blood and qi roared as he pushed the Dragon-Elephant Subduing Sutra to its limit. His flesh was now just as tough as a magical treasure.

He whirled around and saw something unbelievable—countless scarlet-gold chains erupting from Li Nanting’s body, each roughly two fingers thick. They moved with astonishing speed, piercing Li Guanqi’s limbs in the blink of an eye. A muffled groan escaped him.

Li Nanting stared in horror. His body was completely beyond his control. Fine beads of blood seeped from his skin as several more chains shot out of his dantian. Unlike the solid chains before them, these appeared somewhat illusory.

Clatter!

A cold light flickered in Li Guanqi’s eyes. He twisted violently, fighting against the chains’ tremendous pull. With a wave of his hand, his Sword Prison domain unfolded around him, and dozens of swords of condensed lightning took shape.

“Thunder Wrath!”

“Heavenly Destruction Sword Slash!”

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions thundered through the air as arc after arc of sword light struck the chains. However, nearly every lightning sword shattered on impact. Li Guanqi’s face tightened. The remaining chains swayed around him like venomous snakes waiting to strike, and an ominous feeling came over him.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several chains shot straight toward Li Guanqi’s forehead. Li Nanting’s eyes turned bloodshot, his face twisting with panic and fury.

“Guanqi!”

Vital force surged through Li Nanting’s body as he lunged for the illusory chains. His hands passed straight through them, but in that instant, he finally understood their true nature.

Boom!

Silvery-white flames enveloped Li Nanting.

“Soul Combustion!”

“Master! No!”

Boom!

Li Nanting’s robes snapped in the wind, and his graying hair whipped wildly around him. His eyes were wide with fury. White flames burned around his hands as he clamped them over the illusory chains.

In a single breath, the chains had torn his palms into a bloody mess. Still, the elder wrapped them around his arms and clenched them tightly in his hands. Veins bulged across his neck as he braced his feet against the void and pulled with all his strength. He forced the eerie chains to a stop just one cun from Li Guanqi’s forehead.

Blood streamed from Li Nanting’s nose. He gritted his teeth, the corners of his eyes twitching as his face flushed dark red from the strain.

“Go!”

Hundreds upon hundreds of vital-force swords had gathered around Li Guanqi. They hammered relentlessly against the chains, but the chains did not budge. The chains were clearly an extraordinarily high-tier sealing treasure. Li Guanqi could already feel his vital force slowly being sealed away.

A ruthless gleam flashed in his eyes. He raised his left hand and abruptly severed his own right arm.

Clatter!

With his right arm gone, the chains’ pull weakened. Li Guanqi immediately swallowed a Spirit-Boosting Pill.

Boom!

His aura soared, and a terrifying pressure erupted from his body, rapidly approaching the level of a half-step Mahayana Realm cultivator. With his eyes bloodshot, Li Guanqi swallowed a Frenzied Comprehension Pill as well.

Boom!

He had reached the seventh level of the Spirit Comprehension Stage, a level of power usually reserved for old monsters.

Swoosh!

Vital force surged through Li Guanqi’s body. Bolstered by the pills’ medicinal power, his severed arm regenerated at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Without hesitation, Li Guanqi severed his own limbs to break free of the seals and regain control of his body. The maneuver seemed to catch the attacker off guard, but even more chains shot toward him at once.

The maneuver seemed to catch the attacker off guard, but the next moment, even more chains shot toward Li Guanqi.

Blood streamed from all seven of Li Nanting’s orifices as he struggled desperately to hold on. Chains filled the sky, on the verge of trapping Li Guanqi completely.

Buzz!

Golden light enveloped the chains, and every spike-tipped chain abruptly surged with power. Dozens punched through Li Guanqi’s body in rapid succession.

The next instant, the illusory chains tore both of Li Nanting’s arms apart, while several others shot straight into Li Guanqi’s forehead.