Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Li Guanqi stayed alert along the way, paying close attention to his surroundings. The ruins emitted an opposing force that stopped him from extending his divine consciousness, so she sharpened all his other senses to the maximum. After all, his heart’s eye had better vision.

Before long, he spotted the city gates looming ahead. They were enormous, and above them, a metal plaque inscribed in bold, dramatic script read: Di Kun City.

The bronze gates stood ten zhang tall and looked immensely heavy. He tried pushing them with all his strength, but they didn’t budge.

He took out the diamond-shaped object he had found, which suddenly glowed. As if responding to the light, a matching diamond-shaped indent appeared on the massive doors. When he carefully inserted the object into the depression, a person-sized doorway materialized in the corner. Li Guanqi stepped through, sword in hand.

The moment he entered, he noticed that the buildings within the city were much better preserved than those outside. After wandering past a few buildings, he found three flying stars. They were silver-colored with grooves and holes across their surfaces.

Li Guanqi stored them away, his curiosity about Di Kun City growing stronger by the minute. He couldn’t figure out what powered the mechanisms since there was no trace of spirit energy.

He was exploring a two-story building when he suddenly caught a faint sound outside. Silently, he vaulted over the balcony and raced toward the noise.

A hundred zhang away, two figures were locked in a chaotic chase—one pursuing, one fleeing, all while exchanging blows. The person in front was covered in blood from multiple gashes.

The person fleeing was Zhong Lin.

Zhong Lin’s eyes lit up when he saw Li Guanqi. He shouted, “Watch out! There’s many of them!”Whoosh!

Li Guanqi’s heart sank. He guided his qi throughout his body, and a purple glow flared beneath his feet as he dashed at the black-robed attacker.

He sensed that the attacker was, at best, in the mid Foundation Building Realm. When Li Guanqi passed Zhong Lin, the attacker retreated quickly. Li Guanqi turned around and flung the three flying stars with his left hand.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The stars whistled through the air toward a nearby rooftop before exploding midway with sharp cracks. A trio of thin, needle-like projectiles shattered upon impact with the flying stars. The unmistakable sound of people groaning in pain came from a roof about a dozen zhang away.

Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes and instructed quickly, “Find somewhere to hide! He’s not working alone!”

Zhong Lin quickly dove into a nearby room and shouted, “Careful! They’re very strong!”

Clang!

The ground trembled as Li Guanqi and the black-robed man exchanged blows. Cold flashes of steel followed as their weapons clashed again and again.

Crash!

The black-robed man grabbed his neck, his eyes wide with disbelief as blood streamed from the gash. He crumpled to his knees and collapsed.

Even in death, he couldn’t understand how Li Guanqi’s blade had pierced through him—he’d clearly blocked it with his sword.

Li Guanqi gave his wrist a light flick, letting the blood run down his blade. The three enemies who had been on the rooftop had already vanished.

He walked over to the fallen man, crouched down, and pulled away the fabric covering his face. The face underneath was young and unfamiliar. Li Guanqi searched the man’s clothing but found nothing that could identify him or his sect.

Zhong Lin emerged, clutching his arm as he gave Li Guanqi a strange look. The black-robed man was a powerful enemy, yet he had fallen to Li Guanqi in less than three strikes.

Li Guanqi read his mind and comforted him. “Everyone has a different path. Yours and mine are different.”

But Li Guanqi harbored his own thoughts. If you had died hundreds of times over three days like I did, your cultivation would’ve shot up too.

Zhong Lin took a deep breath, pushing the thought aside. “When we entered the city, everyone got scattered randomly. You’re the first fellow disciple I’ve seen. I’ve already run into six or seven of those black-robed people on the way here!”

Li Guanqi frowned. “Who are they?”

Zhong Lin shook his head. “I don’t know, but they clearly want to kill me! Not only are they powerful, but they also have many hidden weapons on them. The wound on my shoulder was from a poison dart they threw at me!”

As he spoke, he pulled out a jade bottle and shook out three pills—two light blue, one red. He offered them to Li Guanqi. “My family has practiced the art of alchemy for generations. Take these. The blue ones are antidotes for neutralizing poisons, and the red one is a Red Cloud Pill.”

Li Guanqi took the pills and asked in a low voice, “Are all their weapons covered in poison?”

Zhong Lin nodded. “They are. Once you take the Red Cloud Pill, your vital force will surge and double half an hour. But after that, you’ll be drained and weak. It’s only for emergencies, so use it carefully.”

Zhong Lin glanced at the bandaged wound on Li Guanqi’s arm. “You should take an antidote pill now.”

Li Guanqi swallowed one of the blue pills and began walking, but he noticed Zhong Lin wasn’t following. He turned around, meeting Zhong Lin’s solemn gaze.

“The situation is too chaotic right now,” Zhong Lin said gravely. “I’d only slow you down if I came along. We don’t know how many enemies are out there or what they’re after. I’ll find somewhere to hide. You’ll stand a better chance on your own.”

Li Guanqi opened his mouth to speak, but Zhong Lin cut in, “You know this is the smartest choice.”

Li Guanqi stood firm. “The smartest, maybe. But it’s not the choice I’ll make. I know you’ve got ways to keep yourself alive, but judging by your injuries, you’ll die if they send three more people after you.”

Zhong Lin wanted to object, but Li Guanqi waved him off. “That’s enough talk. Since we’ve met, I won’t leave you behind to die. Let’s move.”

Zhong Lin’s expression grew complicated, but soon his eyes turned resolute. He channeled his energy, refining the pill’s effects and healing his wounds as best as he could. Then, the two of them shot deeper into the city.

As they moved, Zhong Lin said, “I think this place is a minor branch of the ancient Mo family. They were famous for their mechanical constructs. From what I’ve seen, Di Kun City is built in the pattern of the eight trigrams.”

He continued, “Those black-robed people were out for blood. They had no intention of letting me live.”

Li Guanqi nodded, his lips curling into a cold smile. “Then it’s time to flip the script. We’ll become the hunters instead.”

Suddenly, the city began to quake. They both flew into the air, and the stone tiles beneath their feet sank.

Then, a terrifying gravitational force came from below, yanking them downward.

The buildings surrounding them suddenly collapsed into the earth, while towering structures of all shapes shot upward in their place. They plummeted through empty space as the deafening sound of rising buildings filled their ears.