Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

The black qi coiling around Li Guanqi had already spread ten zhang in every direction.

Zheng Deyuan smirked coldly. “Looks like that brat’s going to die from his inner demons. The most terrifying part of the Inner Demon Tribulation is that it drags out a person’s deepest fears and turns them against him. If he can’t overcome them, he’ll be crippled for life.”

The elder beside him gave a wistful nod. In a low voice, he said, “I think his inner demons are tied to family. Those are the hardest to defeat. Only a cultivator with unwavering focus on the Dao can break through. That’s the only way.”

Those most observant onlookers noticed it too. The black qi’s rapid expansion meant that the person undergoing the tribulation was sinking deeper into the illusion. When the mass grew large enough, it showed complete immersion.

It was a test given by the heavens, measuring the strength of a cultivator’s mind. That was why people said reaching the Nascent Soul Realm required breaking free from mortal attachments.

While the crowd speculated, Li Guanqi sat at a dinner table, bathed in warmth and laughter. The meal wasn’t lavish—just coarse white rice with leftover roast duck from the Zhao Mansion—but as the family of four talked happily together, he felt the simple joy of family.

That night, the kang[1] kept the family very warm. The four of them huddled under a single thick blanket, Li Guanqi and Li Cuiwei nestled between their parents.

Li Guanqi leaned back against his father, while his mother held his sister close. Soon their breathing slowed into sleep, but Li Guanqi’s eyes stayed open. He lay awake for a long time, unable to rest. A vague anxiety and fear gnawed at him, though he couldn’t pinpoint why. At last, he drifted off, carried by the warmth beneath him.

The next morning, he woke groggily to the light smell of white porridge. His father brought him a warm towel, which he used to wipe Li Guanqi’s face with a chuckle. “Time to get up, sleepyhead. Your sister’s already off to work. Are you heading into town to deliver the mail?”

Li Guanqi only grunted in confusion before climbing out of bed to eat. The snow outside had stopped. After breakfast, the man swept the courtyard, the broom loudly rasping against the ground. His mother finished tidying and sat on the kang, working on flower embroidery.Pausing to scratch her head with the needle, she looked up and smiled. “If you don’t feel like delivering mail today, go help your father clear the snow.”

“I’ll sweep the snow,” Li Guanqi said softly. He wasn’t sure why. He only knew he wanted to understand that man better.

When he stepped outside, the man quickly fetched him a thick coat and a pair of gloves. Li Guanqi froze. He wasn’t used to being cared for by a “father.” Yet an unfamiliar warmth stirred in his chest.

As they worked, the man kept fussing, warning him not to slip or bump into things. When the snow was cleared, he changed clothes and prepared to head out.

Before leaving, he bent down and ruffled Li Guanqi’s hair. “Stay home with your mother and be good. I’m going to haul some firewood in the city. Tonight, I’ll bring back meat buns for you all.”

Li Guanqi nodded stiffly, then heard the door swing open.

From the doorway, Song Wanrong smiled. “Qingshan, come home early.”

The man turned back with a smile and waved. “Go back inside, it’s windy.”

Her smile lingered, warmed by his care. Even without seeing her face, Li Guanqi knew she was still smiling.

Was my father’s name… Li Qingshan?

As the days passed, his headaches faded. He lived happily, basking in his parents’ love. Poor as they were, their life was full and colorful.

Outside, however, the black qi had already stretched a hundred zhang. The onlookers shook their heads. From the looks of it, his tribulation was destined to fail.

Three years slipped by in the illusion. By then, Li Guanqi had grown much taller. One day, a loud crash startled him, followed by Li Cuiwei’s cry. He rushed over and helped her up anxiously. “Are you alright, Cuiwei? Did you hurt yourself?”

She clutched her chin and frowned. “I’m fine. Just a cut on my chin.”

Li Guanqi froze, a searing pain exploding in his head. He crashed to the ground, clutching his head.

Then he started banging his head against the ground.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The thumping intensified, and soon, blood trickled down his forehead. Strange memories flooded his mind.

“Ahhhhh! Ahhh!”

He screamed, but could not hold back the flood of foreign, bloody images forcing their way in.

Faintly, he heard a woman’s terrified shouts, and a man’s panicked voice.

***

He did not know how long had passed. Li Guanqi lay on the kang, staring at the ceiling with vacant eyes. He waited until his family slept before slipping out to wander the dark streets.

He remembered.

He remembered everything.

He’d lived each of those three years as if they were real. He lost count of how many times he’d called that man “Father.”

But now… he realized it was all a lie.

He knew the way out, but the knowledge only brought despair.

Above, the black qi had spread three hundred zhang. No one believed he could still escape the illusion. Its sheer intensity proved he was completely lost within.

Zheng Deyuan smirked. If the heavenly tribulation clouds weren’t lingering, he would have struck already.

“Prodigy? What prodigy? If you can’t even reach the Nascent Soul Realm, you’re just an ant.”

That was why people said that stepping into the Nascent Soul Realm was the true start of the immortal path.

Suddenly, the black qi surrounding Li Guanqi surged and churned.

Inside the illusion, Li Guanqi stood outside the door, cleaver in hand. He knew what he had to do, yet couldn’t bring himself to push the door open.

It was false, and he knew it. But to kill his own parents, even within an illusion? How could a son do that?

He exhaled, his blood-colored spirit sword trembling in his spirit void. Raising his eyes to the night sky, he said coolly, “I can forsake love and desire. But if killing my parents is the price, then I lose my humanity. I, Li Guanqi, cannot do it.

“If that’s the only path forward, then I would rather abandon the road to immortality!”

Boom!

His sword spirit void erupted. The golden core in his body cracked, and the cleaver in his grip transformed into the Red Lotus Sword. He flew up into the air and raised the blade high.

He glared at the heavens, then swung down with all his might.

“Heavenly Destruction Sword Sutra, Crouching Demon!”

Boom!

A hundred-zhang ray of sword light erupted from him, brimming with overwhelming sword intent. The illusion collapsed in a single stroke.

It wasn’t the strike’s power that broke it, but the clarity of his root intention. The illusory realm could not bind him any longer.

As the realm shattered, Li Guanqi turned to look once more at his mother and sister, as well as the father who had never existed.

His voice trembled. “Thank you.”

Boom!

1. A kang (炕) is a traditional Chinese bed made of brick or clay. It is heated from below, typically by a fire or flue, making it warm and comfortable. ☜