Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

After the rallying speech, the peak elders handed out fifty spirit stones to each disciple. The injured were then sent to Heavenly Water Peak for treatment.

When the crowd dispersed, Ye Feng and the others didn’t return to their own peaks. Instead, they made their way to Jade Teapot Peak, where they sat along the cliff’s edge and drank wine.

It was a night with a bright moon and only a few stars.

Ye Feng looked up and muttered, “It’s hard not to love a sect like this…”

Zhong Lin and Lin Dong did not reply. They simply nodded.

Ye Feng turned toward Li Guanqi, who still felt a sense of guilt. He gave him a light punch on the shoulder and scolded him playfully, saying, “Still thinking about those fucking things? Sect Master Lu Kangnian already said you did nothing wrong. When two sects clash, casualties are inevitable. And we came out of it with far fewer losses.”

Li Guanqi nodded but said nothing. He looked up at the sky. “Even so, I still feel awful…”

He let out a long sigh. “Anyway, you guys should stay here. I have a feeling that something will happen tonight.”

Li Guanqi stood up, looking at the sect’s protective array in deep thought. He transformed into a purple streak of light and shot toward the back of Heavenly Sword Peak.

Heavenly Sword Peak was one of the main peaks of the Daxia Sword Sect, and behind it lay a graveyard. When Li Guanqi arrived, he stood outside in silence. After a long time, he changed into black robes and entered the graveyard.The disciples who’d died in battle had already been laid to rest.

When Li Guanqi looked up and saw the many tombstones, he froze. He hadn’t expected there to be so many. They rose quietly from the earth, tightly packed together. Li Guanqi estimated that there were more than ten thousand tombstones.

Suddenly, Lu Kangnian appeared beside him, also dressed in black robes. He looked at the graves, then said, “It’s an awe-inspiring sight, isn’t it?”

Li Guanqi nodded silently.

Lu Kangnian looked around and muttered, ”I reacted the same way my first time here. I couldn’t believe the sheer number of graves around the mountain. Back then, my master told me to always see this place with reverence. Every person buried here died for the sect, and they deserve our respect.”

Li Guanqi was already awestruck, especially when he realized the oldest tombstones dated back nearly ten thousand years.

It meant that even ten thousand years ago, people had been laying down their lives for the sect. That thought alone made him straighten his back unconsciously.

Lu Kangnian led him to the row where their fallen senior brothers and sisters had just been buried. After a moment of quiet, he gazed at Li Guanqi and noticed he was having an emotional moment.

Lu Kangnian turned to leave, but before going, he said softly, “Don’t linger for too long. Tonight won’t be easy.”

After Lu Kangnian departed, the entire Daxia Sword Sect came alive like a finely tuned machine. Once the disciples had replenished their vital forces, they were assigned to various posts. Sword lights flared here and there as cultivators flew across the sect grounds. Every face was solemn, but not a single one showed fear.

Ling Daoyan opened the sect’s secret vault and retrieved several dust-covered items. The peak elders had no time to rest, rushing about in every direction.

Yet, from the outside, none of this was visible. To the outside world, the Daxia Sword Sect appeared completely peaceful and silent, except for the usual green light barrier that the sect had erected for protection.

Although it was late at night, all the sects in the Northern Territory were still lit up and buzzing with life. After the battle between the Daxia Sword Sect and the Purple Sun Pavilion, news of the Purple Sun Pavilion declaring war had spread across the whole Northern Territory.

Given the Purple Sun Pavilion’s lofty status, if the Daxia Sword Sect survived the night unharmed, the Purple Sun Pavilion would become a laughingstock by morning. Their prestige would crumble in a single night, and the rise of the Daxia Sword Sect would follow.

The Northern Territory did not sleep that night.

Many elders and sect masters rushed to camp a hundred li away from the Daxia Sword Sect. They had no intention of intervening for fear that they’d be dragged into the conflict, but they couldn’t afford to miss what happened.

If the Purple Sun Pavilion crushed the Daxia Sword Sect, they could simply return home. But if the opposite happened… they’d be forced to rethink their relationship with the Daxia Sword Sect.

Eyes turned toward the distant Purple Sun Pavilion, which was radiating powerful energy. When they looked at the Daxia Sword Sect, which remained calm and quiet, they sensed that something was amiss.

A thin man in purple robes pushed his hair behind his ear with his pinky finger jutting out. In his gentle voice, he mocked, “Surely Lu Kangnian isn’t peacefully cultivating at a time like this?”

The other powerful cultivators around him looked at him with a hint of contempt. It was rare to see a gay cultivator. Nevertheless, this man—Ye Shaozhen, the sect master of the Seven Strings Sect—was not to be underestimated. His hidden weapons had claimed many victims, striking without warning.

Beside him, a muscular man with a deep voice looked at him with obvious disgust. “Can you get the fuck away from me? Just the sight of you spoils my mood.”

The man was eight chi tall and very muscular, with rugged features and a hint of stubble. He wore yellow Daoist robes, and his tiger-like eyes shone brightly.

Several sect leaders gave subtle smiles of recognition upon seeing him. All of them knew that Shen Ye, the sect master of Zhenyue Mountain Sect, despised Ye Shaozhen.

Shen Ye smirked and laughed coldly. “If you’re only here to watch, stand back. You might get burned if you stay too close.”

Ye Shaozhen’s powdered face lit up with an amused smile as he raised an eyebrow. He pointed Shen Hua with a dainty finger, feigning shyness. “Oh... Brother Shen, someone’s in quite the foul mood today.”

As he spoke, Ye Shaozhen started to lean toward Shen Ye.

Boom!

Shen Ye’s massive hand whipped across Ye Shaozhen’s face with a surge of earth-yellow vital force, sending him flying over a hundred zhang like a broken kite.

Blood streaming from his face, Ye Shaozhen crashed to the ground, his vital force completely disrupted by the blow. Now bloodied, Ye Shaozhen rose weakly and stared at Shen Ye in disbelief.

“When?! When did you reach the late Nascent Soul Realm?! Wait…. are you planning to interfere in this war? Are you out of your mind?! Do you want to lead the whole Zhenyue Mountain Sect to their deaths?!”

Just then, faint ripples of blue light shimmered across the night sky like waves upon still water. No one paid any more attention to Ye Shaozhen or Shen Ye, who had just achieved a breakthrough.

The dozen powerful Nascent Soul Realm cultivators who were there to observe the battle grew solemn.

They’re here!

A dozen spatial cracks opened in the sky.

Then, one by one, menacing cloud boats emerged from the spatial cracks.

Doge & Char’s Thoughts