Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

“Good!”

Li Guanqi let out a thunderous cry. He opened his spirit void, and an invisible ripple of energy surged outward in all directions. The weather shifted in an instant—wind howled, clouds churned, and dark clouds suddenly veiled the once-clear night sky.

Li Guanqi closed his fists, and a hologram of the red sword appeared in his hands.

Unbeknownst to him, the Sword Spirit stood silently behind him, watching him with a mix of emotions. It was unclear what she was thinking.

Li Guanqi grasped the red sword with both hands, took a bold step forward, and drove the blade into Cao Yan’s eyebrows. In that instant, waves of lightning power erupted from the center of Cao Yan’s third eye.

Crack!

A sharp crack split the air.

Li Guanqi roared in fury, his holographic sword becoming more tangible.

Crack crack crack crack!

Cracking sounds reverberated, followed by the seal on Cao Yan’s third eye shattering open.Boom!

The procedure drained every ounce of vital force from Li Guanqi and exhausted all his divine consciousness. Just as he was about to collapse, Ye Feng caught him, wrapping his arms around Li Guanqi’s chest. Though Ye Feng didn’t understand what had just happened, it was clear Li Guanqi was completely spent.

Cao Yan’s gigantic head began shrinking at a speed visible to the naked eye. After a few breaths, it was significantly smaller than before. The wind howled around him as the spirit qi all around flowed toward him.

Ye Feng quickly tossed out a hundred spirit stones.

Boom boom boom boom!

They hovered in mid-air, then exploded into clouds of the purest spirit qi, which Cao Yan drew in hungrily. Ye Feng could sense his cultivation rising rapidly from the Qi Refinement Realm into the early Foundation Building Realm. But even then, his aura continued to climb, thinning the spirit qi in the air.

Ye Feng tossed out five hundred low-grade spirit stones without hesitation.

One by one, they exploded into clouds of dust as Cao Yan’s aura continued to strengthen. Very soon, he reached the late Foundation Building Realm!

But just before hitting the peak, he began to restrain his rising cultivation. He hadn’t absorbed spirit qi from spirit stones in years, and his dantian was starved for it. Pushing forward without solidifying his foundation would only hurt him.

Understanding this, he held himself back, absorbing spirit qi like a starving man at a feast while tempering his cultivation base. His head was now only slightly larger than a normal person’s.

Ye Feng couldn’t help but sigh. “Big Head’s actually starting to look kind of handsome! My spot as the second-most-handsome is in danger!”

Cao Yan’s features were no longer distorted, and he was beginning to look quite handsome. His facial features were straight and well-defined, his face lean with slightly hollow cheekbones. There was something scholarly in his gaze, reminiscent of refined nobility, giving him the sophisticated air of a young master from a great clan.

The burn mark was still visible between his brows. However, short wisps of hair about three fingers long had begun to grow out of his head, giving him a far more respectable appearance. With his cultivation restored, his wounds were mending rapidly. Even so, he remained painfully thin, little more than a skeleton with skin.

But there was a vigor in him that hadn’t been there before.

After a long time, Cao Yan finally opened his eyes, and a flicker of blue flame flashed within them. Ye Feng froze for a second. Am I seeing things?

Cao Yan turned to face Ye Feng. Though his complexion was still pale, lips and all, he looked like a completely different person. Gone was the hollow, lifeless expression of someone with nothing to live for. He pressed his lips together and bowed. “Second Brother!”

Ye Feng broke into a grin and waved. “Ah… There’s no need to be so uptight, Third Brother.”

Despite his words, his grin stretched nearly from ear to ear. He scratched his head, unsure of what to say.

Cao Yan said, “Maybe you should put Big Brother down. I think he’s fatigued.”

“Oh, oh, right! Tsk, I’d have forgotten if you didn’t remind me.”

Soon, Li Guanqi stirred awake. Two faces loomed overhead, startling him. He bolted upright, staring at Cao Yan for a long time before finally saying, “Cao Yan?”

Cao Yan pursed his lips and nodded shyly with a smile. “Big Brother, I’m Cao Yan.”

Li Guanqi turned slightly pale. He pouted and turned to Ye Feng. “If we’re ever short on money, we could sell him to a brothel. He’d fetch a decent price.”

Cao Yan’s face fell. “No, Brother Li! Did I just escape a fire pit only to fall into a wolf’s den?!”

Then, all of them looked at each other and burst into laughter.

Cao Yan bowed once more with utmost gratitude. “I won’t waste time on flowery words. From today onward, I’ll make you two all the pills you need!”

Both of them froze, then shouted, “You’re an alchemist?!”

Cao Yan rubbed his nose shyly. “Is it that odd?”

As he spoke, a blue flame appeared in his hand. The air around the flame warped, and the surrounding temperature rose quickly.

The two of them were ecstatic. It turned out that listening to Sword Spirit had been a brilliant choice after all. And judging from that flame, Li Guanqi could tell Cao Yan’s spirit root was of incredibly high quality.

With that thought, he asked in a low voice, “Third Brother, what is your spirit root?”

Ye Feng interjected, “Is it a King Spirit Root?”

Cao Yan raised one finger bashfully.

Ye Feng sighed in relief, patting his chest. “Sigh, a Single Heavenly Spirit Root… I knew it.”

But Li Guanqi frowned. Judging by the strength of that flame, it didn’t seem like it.

Cao Yan shrugged and said, “Higher than that.”

Ye Feng froze, a wave of disbelief washing over him. “I can’t believe Big Head over here is like Boss! Heavens! Does that even make sense?! Since when did Saint Spirit Roots become so common?!”

Cao Yan paused. He had not expected Li Guanqi to also have a Saint Spirit Root.

Meanwhile, Li Guanqi‌ was ecstatic, realizing he’d just stumbled upon a one-in-ten-thousand alchemist.

Cao Yan raised a brow. Reminding them, he said, “So… do we want to raid the Dark Blood Association’s lair?”

Their eyes lit up, and they used the cover of darkness to raid the gang’s coffers.

Meanwhile, the people of Lingchang City remained huddled indoors, too afraid to even peek outside despite the ruckus. Families clung to each other in silence, trembling.

***

The next morning, a jubilant cry rang through the entire city.

“They’re dead! Hahahaha! They’re all dead! Look, everyone! The Dark Blood bastards are all dead! Someone hung their corpses on the city gates!”