Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

As Li Guanqi looked at the thirty-odd people gathered around him, a dull ache spread through his chest. He had killed those black-robed assassins, but it hadn’t been enough. Sect Master Lu Kangnian noticed the sadness in his eyes and sighed.

“Everyone, return to your quarters and rest. Guanqi, come see me later. Focus on stabilizing your cultivation first. Nanting, stay with him.”

All the elders had grim expressions. Though the plaza was crowded with disciples, no one dared make a sound. Li Guanqi took out the corpse he stored in his storage ring and gently put it on the ground. Including the disciple he brought back, there were a total of eighteen corpses.

Most of the deceased had died at the hands of black-robed assassins, while the rest had fallen prey to the merciless traps in Di Kun City. The sect had suffered major losses from this expedition.

Tu Kui took Ye Feng away immediately due to the severity of his injuries. If he hadn’t crossed paths with Li Guanqi, he would’ve ended up among the dead.

Their return was shrouded in silence. Li Nanting said nothing, guiding Li Guanqi straight to his courtyard. The old man helped him realign his messy meridians and tend to his injuries. When he wiped the wounds across Li Guanqi’s back, he trembled uncontrollably but didn’t make a sound.

“Don’t push yourself so hard next time,” Li Nanting murmured at last.

“They’re my fellow disciples,” Li Guanqi replied softly. “I couldn’t just abandon them. Besides... they were the reason I had the courage to take that risk in the first place.”

Li Nanting said nothing. To him, Li Guanqi mattered more than the others—he was his disciple.

He bandaged Li Guanqi’s wounds, placed an array tray next to him, then sat behind Li Guanqi. His weathered hands pressed warmly against Li Guanqi’s back, channeling vital force to clear the blocked meridians. Pity flickered in Li Nanting’s eyes at the sight of Li Guanqi’s sword scars.Due to the side effects of the Red Cloud Pill, Li Guanqi had no strength left to stabilize his cultivation level. He fell into a deep sleep while sitting upright.

Li Nanting rested Li Guanqi’s head on his lap. Then, he took out his jade slip and said softly, “Sect Master, we’ll meet you later. The boy is too tired.”

Then, he sent another message through his jade slip. “Send someone to bring me some scar-removing ointment.”

When Li Guanqi awoke, he realized he had fallen asleep in his master’s lap. He sat up abruptly. “Master, why didn’t you wake me up?”

He felt a warmth in his heart when he glanced at the long robes draped over his body.

Though he felt refreshed, the Red Cloud Pill’s effects still lingered. His whole body ached.

“You’re awake,” Li Nanting said with a smile. “Let me help you bandage your wounds.”

“Master, I can do it myself,” Li Guanqi said, a little embarrassed.

Li Nanting glared at Li Guanqi and huffed, “Do it yourself? Can you reach the wounds on your back?”

Li Guanqi had no choice but to let Li Nanting bandage his wounds.

Li Nanting frowned. “The blood-colored patterns on your back... Why did a few of them disappear?”

Li Guanqi stiffened. With a puzzled tone, he said, “They’re gone? I didn’t know.”

Seeing that his confusion seemed genuine, Li Nanting dropped the subject. After all, Li Guanqi’s grandfather had always been a mystery.

Li Nanting warned him sternly, “Although I don’t know how you broke through to the late Foundation Building Realm so quickly, you’re forbidden from breaking through to the tenth level in the next three months. Understood?”

Li Guanqi grinned and said solemnly, “Yes, Master. I will focus on stabilizing my cultivation level and solidifying my foundation.”

Li Nanting nodded and rose to his feet. “Let’s go meet Sect Master Lu Kangnian. This matter is grave. Too many disciples died.”

That night, they gathered in a secret pavilion. Li Guanqi recounted everything that happened inside the secret realm, leaving nothing out. He also showed them the three puppet soldier orbs. He’d obtained two orbs along with the Emerald Wolf Sword on the twelfth floor, with the black puppet soldier allowing him to get a third orb.

He then told them exactly how he killed his enemies on the Thousand-Mechanism Array.

Six hours later, Lu Kangnian closed his eyes with great sorrow and took a deep breath. He looked at Li Guanqi and asked in a low voice, “Guanqi, who do you think is behind this?”

From the shadows, the others turned their gaze to Li Guanqi. He paused in thought, then voiced his suspicion. “Zheng Hao of the Purple Sun Pavilion!”

Lu Kangnian and Qin Xian looked at each other with a cold flash in their eyes. Qin Xian, as always, had an austere expression.

“Li Guanqi, tell us why.”

Li Guanqi’s eyelids drooped as he thought momentarily.

“When Lin Dong from Heavenly Earth Peak was first attacked, the attackers didn’t seem like cultivators from any proper sect. Their strikes were cruel, violent, and deliberate. At the time, I suspected they were trying to extract information. After all, they had the chance to kill Lin Dong but didn’t take it.”

Lu Kangnian nodded wistfully. “Go on.”

Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. “Back when we visited the Purple Sun Pavilion to open our spirit voids, I fought Pang Li, a disciple of Zheng Hao. It ended in a death duel where I killed Pang Li. From that point on, I think Zheng Hao had it in for me.”

Before he could continue, Qin Xian cut in with a wave of his hand. Sitting on the dais, he said, “That wasn’t your fault. The death duel was lawful. If it comes to it, our sect will stand behind you. Don’t blame yourself.”

Li Guanqi pursed his lips, then continued, “We received the secret realm from the Purple Sun Pavilion. I suspect those early attackers were trying to learn who the people entering the secret realm would be. Moreover, I am certain they entered the secret realm ahead of us.”

Li Guanqi held out a white umbrella in his hand. “This is one of the weapons those black-robed people used. However, mechanical weapons are probably from Di Kun City. And... if they’d entered the realm after us, it would have caused changes in the realm’s energy. The sect elders would have detected it.”

Lu Kangnian gave a subtle nod. Clearly, he agreed.

“As for why I suspect the Purple Sun Pavilion... one of the assassins mentioned a bounty on my head.”

Li Guanqi stood as straight as a sword in the middle of the great hall. He looked up at the people on the dais.

“I am generally easy-going, and I don’t believe anyone in our sect would want to kill me. Zheng Hao is the only person who comes to mind. However, I do not have any evidence.”

He continued, “I couldn’t find any evidence on the black-robed men. But... whoever’s behind this, I’m convinced they possess some method to control them.”

He looked at Lu Kangnian, then pulled out a brush and a slip of paper. He wrote something down and handed it over.

It was the name of the item he had retrieved in the end.

Lu Kangnian narrowed his eyes and slammed his palm down, breaking his throne. “That damned Purple Sun Pavilion! That damned Zheng Hao! Evidence? Ha! Do you think I, Lu Kangnian, would meekly wait for proof before storming their gates? Where’s Qin Xian?!”

The old man next to him bowed. “Here.”

Lu Kangnian turned slowly, glanced at Li Guanqi, and then transmitted a message directly to Qin Xian.

“Investigate whether Zheng Hao has any disciples who need to improve their Lightning Spirit Root. It could even be himself. If there’s even a hint of suspicion... kill him!”

Qin Xian bowed with a cold flash in his eyes. “Understood, Sect Master!”