Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Li Guanqi had just made a breakthrough, and with his lightning lineage enhancing his speed, he surged forward like lightning bolt—far faster than anyone else.

As he swept past the crowd on his sword, many sensed a faint, stifling pressure radiating from him. Though it unsettled them, many senior disciples still reached out via voice transmission.

“Brother Li, be careful! We still don’t know how many people are on the other side!”

Li Guanqi gave a slight nod. But Lin Dong still hadn’t responded to his messages, so he pushed his speed to the limit.

Whoosh!

He streaked through the moonlit night like a blurry shadow.

Though the Daxia Sword Sect’s land officially spanned fifty li, only the various peaks were protected by boundary barriers. This was why the sect only sent Foundation Building Realm disciples to patrol the borders.

Beyond Thousand Peak Mountain stretched the vast Qiyang Mountain Range, with trees at least a dozen to twenty zhang tall, growing densely packed together.

Whoosh!

Li Guanqi soon arrived at the place where he saw the flare signal. Other than a deep crater and some bloodstains, there were no other clues. Li Guanqi took out his jade slip and saw about a hundred light dots approaching at high speed. Three dots were headed in a different direction while one dot remained unmoving a thousand zhang away from Li Guanqi.“It’s Lin Dong!”

With a powerful step, Li Guanqi launched forward like a panther weaving through the pitch-black forest. The weight of the sword box on his back left a large crater in the ground where he had stepped.

The forest was eerily quiet, except for the occasional beast cry that quickly faded into silence.

Now a thousand zhang from where he’d started, he spotted blood smeared across a tree trunk, a torn scrap of a white robe, and a jade slip slick with blood.

It was Lin Dong’s slip. When he picked it up, his face went pale—two severed fingers lay beneath it.

Li Guanqi’s expression darkened as his mind raced.

Who would dare invade the Daxia Sword Sect right now? Could it be Azure Dragon Island or the Seven Strings Sect—those who’ve recently clashed with us? But if it’s just them, they wouldn’t have the guts to attack the sect head-on.

He slowly shut his eyes, sharpening his senses to their fullest capacity. His divine consciousness spread out over a fifty-zhang radius, and not a single detail escaped him.

Two freshly severed tree branches to his right caught his attention.

Li Guanqi raised his jade slip and spoke into it. “They’re likely southeast, fifteen hundred zhang from the Qiyang Mountain Range. That should be their general direction.

“Lin Dong from Heavenly Earth Peak has lost his identity slip. I have it now. I repeat—fifteen hundred zhang southeast of the Qiyang Mountain Range.”

Li Guanqi set the jade slip aside and launched himself southeast, his sword gripped firmly in his right hand. As he moved, he extended his divine consciousness, carefully scanning everything around him.

Overhead, the disciples shifted course at once, all streaking toward the southeast. If Li Guanqi had rechecked his slip, he would’ve seen every light dot turn in unison.

Suddenly, his jade slip flashed faintly, and Gu Ran’s voice came through, grave and steady. “Be careful, Junior Brother. According to the three disciples who escaped, there are three attackers. The weakest is at the mid Foundation Building Realm, and another is at the late Foundation Building, dressed in black robes.”

Li Guanqi replied without hesitation and transmitted, “Don’t worry, Senior Sister.”

Li Guanqi leaped and swung between the ground and the trees, moving through the forest with the agility of a forest native. Now and then, flashes of purple light appeared under his feet, showcasing his mastery of his sprint technique.

Whoosh!

He landed silently on a branch. A hundred zhang away, several black-robed figures were slipping deeper into the mountain range.

They had yellow Divine Speed Talismans on the soles of their feet, making them abnormally fast. Li Guanqi’s gaze settled on a body tucked under one man’s arm. In the darkness, the victim’s white robes stood out starkly against the night.

Li Guanqi’s eyes narrowed. In a blink, he changed into black robes and melted into the shadows.

The three black-robed figures tore through the forest wordlessly, their vital force surging as they ran at full tilt.

Less than a hundred zhang behind, Li Guanqi followed without a sound.

Meanwhile, the Daxia Sword Sect disciples who’d received Gu Ran’s message dropped from the skies and began running through the woods. Flying would only draw attention and startle the enemy.

This matter quickly spread through the sect, and three Golden Core Realm elders turned into rays of light headed toward the Qiyang Mountain Range.

Li Nanting’s voice rang out, cold and scornful. “Hmmph! Even nobodies dare run wild on Daxia Sword Sect’s turf now?”

Li Guanqi kept pace with the black-robed men, calculating as he ran. Two mid Foundation Building Realm cultivators, one late Foundation Building Realm... It looks like their breakthrough was recent.

Li Guanqi made his decision. He shifted his sword to his calloused left hand.

The moment he switched hands, his eyes flashed coldly.

Thud!

He launched himself from a thick branch, which snapped under his weight as he hurled toward the three figures.

The snap of the branch made the leader whip his head around. “Careful!”

The three of them pulled out their swords, but by then, the person nearest to Li Guanqi could already see his pure-white eyes.

Clang!

The cultivator had barely drawn his sword when three cold flashes of light cut through the darkness. Li Guanqi’s blade found its mark, and the cultivator clutched at his throat as blood spilled from the wound.

“Cough cough... So fast...”

Blood sprayed across Li Guanqi’s face, but he didn’t even blink. He grabbed the man and hurled him at the leader.

The leader, reacting in the blink of an eye, shoved Lin Dong at the third man. With a surge of vital force, he slashed, bisecting his own comrade to protect himself.

Blood and viscera splattered through the night, the metallic stench spreading everywhere. However, they had lost track of Li Guanqi.

“Hu San! Watch out!” the leader shouted.

The black-robed man carrying Lin Dong under his arm had no time to react. He suddenly felt hot air on the back of his neck. The leader’s heart sank—Li Guanqi was already there.

A flash of resolve crossed Hu San’s eyes. He spun his sword around and stabbed his own left shoulder..

Li Guanqi was also startled by such recklessness—wounding himself to take Li Guanqi down.

But Li Guanqi would never allow that.

As Hu San’s sword pierced through his back toward Li Guanqi’s chest, Li Guanqi pulled on his shoulder hard, twisting his body sideways to dodge the blade. As he did, his left hand sliced across Hu San’s neck. Li Guanqi caught Lin Dong with one arm and fled.