Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Ye Feng and Cao Yan were still dazed, only just roused from cultivation, but they forced themselves to rise.

Li Guanqi’s heart clenched with a suffocating unease.

The instant they rushed out of the cave, a colossal sword light slashed past them.

Boom!

The terrifying force split a two-hundred-zhang-tall mountain clean in half. A figure hovered in the air above.

Though that crushing aura lingered for only a moment, Li Guanqi could feel the vast gulf between their strength and this man’s.

“This person is at least a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator! A powerful one too!”

And the man wasn’t bothering to hide his killing intent.

Li Guanqi roared without hesitation, “Run! We can’t fight him!”

The three of them fled at full speed.Li Guanqi used his Traceless Darkness Step, streaking through the sky as a blur of white light while clutching the other two. A huge pair of feathered wings suddenly unfurled behind him, the Thunder Wings, repaired and returned to him by Qin Xian.

He poured his vital force into the Thunder Wings. Thunderous booms came from them, and his speed became thirty percent higher.

Yet the Nascent Soul Realm cultivator closed in, and the gap between them was only a few hundred zhang.

Li Guanqi’s mind raced. How had this man found them?

Is he after the Longevity Grass? But that’s not right… Nascent Soul Realm cultivators can’t use it. Or could he want it for a junior in his sect?

Did that woman betray us? I doubt it… She has no reason to.

But there was no time to ponder. The attacker was speeding up.

Ye Feng’s voice was grim. “Who is he? Why does he want us dead?”

Li Guanqi had no answer. The man had hidden both his aura and his face; he clearly didn’t want to be recognized. If not for Li Guanqi’s sixth sense, they would have died from that first strike.

Whoosh! Boom!

A blazing sword light tore through the sky. Li Guanqi twisted aside while still dragging the others with him.

The sword light struck the ground, carving a crack a hundred zhang long. Heat roared outward, searing the ground black.

Li Guanqi’s face paled. Faint blue flickered within the flames. Though it wasn’t the same as Cao Yan’s fire, the hints of blue were still there. Behind him, Cao Yan fixed a look of burning hatred on the attacker.

Each slash sealed off another path of escape. However desperately Li Guanqi dodged, the gap was shrinking.

Li Guanqi called again and again for Sword Spirit—no response.

Suddenly, three rays of light shot toward them in a “品” formation, cutting off all retreat.

Ye Feng gritted his teeth, hand tightening on his sword, prepared to whirl around.

There was a flash of anger in Cao Yan’s eyes. He put on his vambraces, ready to strike.

But a powerful force yanked them both backward by the collar.

Ye Feng shot off, unable to stabilize himself. He cried, “Boss!”

Cao Yan’s eyes widened, torn with emotion. “Brother Li!”

Vital force surged through Li Guanqi. His Thunder Wings trembled violently. Two sword lights grazed his chest and back. He couldn’t evade the third.

At the last instant, he whipped the sword box from his back and braced it before him.

Boom!!!

The impact shook the heavens. Li Guanqi was hurled like a kite with its string cut, crashing into the earth.

Boom!

The immense force formed a dozen-zhang-wide crater in the ground.

Pfft!

Blood gushed from his mouth. He felt his bones shatter. His internal organs had shifted, and some had been damaged.

He struggled to rise, but a figure now stood between him and the attacker.

A man in a black cloak, sent by Qian Qiusui, said solemnly, “My master ordered me to protect these three. Fellow Daoist, could you give me some face and let this matter rest?”

The attacker laughed coldly. “Face? Do you even deserve it? I’ll give you three seconds. If you’re still in my way, I’ll kill you too.”

The bodyguard’s face paled. The threat was real, and the man had the strength to back it up.

His expression shifted, wavering between several emotions. At last, he said, “My master is Qian Qiusui, owner of the Yunding Auction House. Fellow Daoist, for her sake, we can negotiate. If it’s wealth you seek, name your price.”

The attacker laughed and flung a token at him. “I have no patience for chatter. Get lost.”

His voice was flat, devoid of feeling, laced only with the arrogance of a person in control.

Li Guanqi sensed that something was wrong, so he flew up, grabbed his two companions, and fled.

He had hoped the cloaked man could hold their pursuer at bay. However, the attacker hadn’t even deigned to take him seriously.

Both of them were Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, but there was an immense gap between them.

The cloaked man caught the token, glanced at the inscription, and froze. His chest tightened. He immediately bowed, lifting the token above his head.

Cold sweat dripped down his temples. “Forgive me for failing to recognize you. Yunding will not interfere in this matter.”

Boom!

The black-robed attacker swept past him, murmuring, “At least you’re not a fool. You’ve just spared your faction from annihilation.”

The cloaked man remained prostrate, not daring to look up. Only once the attacker had gone did he take out a jade slip and report, “Master, someone is trying to kill them. But I… I can’t intervene.”

—Shadow, what’s the matter?

“Simply put,” Shadow replied, “if I interfere, we all die.”

High above, Cao Yan writhed with internal turmoil, but he soon steeled himself. He struggled out of Li Guanqi’s grasp and shouted, “I’m the one he’s after! You two go!”

His voice cracked as he sent a final voice transmission. “I don’t want to drag you guys down with me… Farewell.”