Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Night had fallen. Deep in the mountains, Li Guanqi pressed forward through the dense forest, where the roars of beasts echoed ceaselessly.

There were many types of demonic beasts in this world. If he encountered a tier-one demonic beast, he would be fine. A tier-one beast wouldn’t be much of a threat to him, but a tier-two beast was another matter—its strength was equivalent to that of a Foundation Building cultivator.

He spotted a dilapidated temple on a faraway hill and sighed in relief. At least he had found shelter for the night.

He checked the map on his jade slip and estimated that he wouldn’t reach Cloud Town until the following night.

The staff of the temple had long disappeared. Based on its dilapidated condition, it had clearly been abandoned for a long time.

Creak...

The heavy wooden door groaned as he pushed it open. In the stillness of the night, the sound was especially ear-piercing. But Li Guanqi had long grown accustomed to the darkness—he felt no fear of the pitch-black night.

The courtyard was a tangle of withered leaves and thick cobwebs. He swept the webs aside with his sword sheath and stepped through.

Crack! Crack!

Dried leaves cracked beneath his feet as he strode calmly into the temple. This temple was indeed damaged beyond repair—even the Buddha statues inside were missing half their bodies, and their golden paint had been scraped away by scavengers.Although Li Guanqi wasn’t religious, he still gave a respectful bow to the statues. Since he would be spending the night, it was only right to inform them of his intentions.

He stepped back outside, gathered some dry branches, and returned to the temple. Then, he started a fire and took out some water and dried meat from his storage pouch.

After eating enough, he moved a shabby incense table and placed it at the doorway. He lay down on it to sleep.

The fire crackled softly in the otherwise silent temple. Just as Li Guanqi closed his eyes, he felt a cold breeze blow into the temple.

He instinctively tried to open his heart’s eye but saw nothing, no matter what he did.

His heart skipped a beat. He had barely shut his eyes for ten breaths.

Crack!

The crackle of firewood echoed.

He tried to rise, only to find he couldn’t move.

A wave of cold sweat soaked his back as the chilly air wrapped around him. His hair stood up.

What’s going on...?

A creeping unease settled over him. He had never encountered anything like this before. His eyelids felt as though they were being pressed shut, completely unmovable. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t open them.

Yet he was wide awake. He could feel the cold breeze, hear the fire crackling, and even smell the smoke from the fire. But his body refused to obey him.

Suddenly, a lady in white appeared beside the incense table, right in front of Li Guanqi. Her long, disheveled hair obscured her face.

Every hair on his body stood on end.

The woman approached him slowly. He could feel her peering up at him from beneath the table. The silent pressure gripped him with terror.

The woman slowly stood up. She began to climb onto the incense table.

Li Guanqi was lying on his side and could not move, so he could only watch as the woman climbed the incense table.

The woman reached the top.

Then, she straddled him.

She was weightless, but the weight on his heart was unbearable.

A strange scent coming from her hair reached his nose. His body became much heavier, and he still could not move.

Whoosh!

Her hair brushed against his neck, and the sensation felt incredibly real—too real.

What’s going on?!

A sudden wetness pressed against his neck.

A... a tongue?!

Cold.

Long.

The woman’s tongue was almost the length of an adult forearm. It slithered up his neck, reaching the base of his ear.

And it wasn’t smooth. It was rough, covered in tiny barbs—like a cat’s tongue.

It was such a realistic sensation.

A cold feeling exploded in his head.

Move! Move! You’d better fucking move! His mind roared in protest.

Boom!

With sheer force of will, he forced his Nine Spinning Lightning Sutra into motion. Lightning vital qi surged from his dantian, flooding his body.

Boom!

A sharp boom echoed in his mind, as if a seal had been shattered.

A layer of purple lightning covered his right hand. He slammed his left hand on the incense table and leaped up.

Lightning crackled across his fingers as he seized the woman by the throat and pinned her down.

Boom!

The incense table exploded beneath them. Now, the female ghost was pinned beneath him.

“Ahhh!” Her wail pierced the stillness of the temple.

A yellow talisman appeared in Li Guanqi’s left hand. Vital qi surged within him, igniting the talisman tinged with traces of lightning power.

“Materialization Talisman! Materialize!”

Whoosh!

The flames shot into the ghost’s form, forcing her ethereal body into physical existence.

Li Guanqi frowned. As lightning power surged through his right hand, he cried out, “Where did this ghost come from? How dare you steal my yang qi?!”

The woman’s disheveled hair parted to reveal a beautiful face. It was just too pale.

She cocked her head, shooting him a glare filled with both embarrassment and fury.

He sat on her chest, pinning her down as she materialized into a solid human form due to the talisman.

However, the position was a little... awkward.

Li Guanqi coughed and rose to his feet, but he did not release her neck.

Whoosh!

“Soul-Binding Talisman!”

The talisman ignited and turned into golden rope that tied itself around the woman. The other end of the rope wrapped itself around Li Guanqi’s wrist.

As long as Li Guanqi still had vital qi within him, she wouldn’t break free from the rope anytime soon.

He studied her, his voice turning stern. “There have been many deaths in Cloud Town recently. Did you have anything to do with them?”

The woman kneeled on the ground, looking up at him with frightened eyes. She spoke in a delicate yet haunting voice.

“Esteemed Cultivator... I swear... it wasn’t me. Please, I beg you to investigate this thoroughly. All I do is wait for people to stop in this broken temple and absorb some of their yang qi to maintain my soul so I won’t disappear. I have never killed anyone! Please, Esteemed Cultivator, let me go. I have never set foot beyond this hill in the past twenty years!”

Li Guanqi frowned. He activated his heart’s eye, searching for traces of deception. There was no emotional fluctuation in her aura. It didn’t seem like she was lying.

“Why should I believe you haven’t left this hill in twenty years?”

The woman hesitated, but when a small current of vital qi containing lightning power flowed through the rope, she hurriedly said, “Because... my bones are buried behind this hill... I cannot go ten li beyond them. If I do, I’ll disappear.”

Li Guanqi hesitated for a moment.

“Take me there!”