Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Li Guanqi’s lips curved into a cold smile as countless blades of lightning took shape around him. “The moment I sensed someone tailing me, I was already on guard.”

Half his face was burned beyond recognition, his upper body blistered and warped like toad skin. Every twitch of his muscles sent streaks of pain through him, yet his expression never wavered. He slowly raised his sword, his voice low and calm. “You’ll be the first treacherous rat I’ve slain, but not the last.”

Boom!

Miao Rongchang’s heart faltered. He had shadowed Li Guanqi for two years, yet he still felt like he knew nothing about him. Even under constant watch, Li Guanqi had hidden so much. Where had he learned the lightning armor technique?

He thought back to all the battles Li Guanqi had survived. Time and again, he had walked the knife’s edge of death. If he’d always possessed such a technique, none of those fights should have been so desperate.

And now, he even had a domain. Miao Rongchang could no longer tear open space to flee. If he failed to kill Li Guanqi, the battlefield would forever remain in Li Guanqi’s control.

Seeing his flame domain shrink to a mere hundred zhang, Miao Rongchang felt a chilling dread creep into his very bones.

Before he could react, Li Guanqi’s lightning armor mended itself. The bloodied cracks across his body faded, and his aura surged, faintly pressing toward the late Nascent Soul Realm.

But Li Guanqi’s eyes held only killing intent. Miao Rongchang had haunted his every step for more than a year, robbing him of peace and sleep. One of them had to die right then and there.

Boom!The ground below became a lightning pool. Li Guanqi’s Sword Prison came alive, and countless bolts of lightning burst forth while his figure vanished. Above, hundreds of longswords formed from pure lightning streaked down upon the old man.

Miao Rongchang’s sword flashed madly, his body flickering like wind as he weaved left and right. However, several lightning blades shot toward his head from behind. He spun, slashing desperately.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Explosions of lightning tore the air, searing his flesh until blood welled from his split skin. He staggered back, horror flashing in his eyes. Lightning was supposed to paralyze, not destroy—yet Li Guanqi’s lightning was pure annihilation.

“This isn’t normal vital force! What kind of power is this?!”

Boom!

A domineering sword intent erupted like a storm. Illusory shadows of Li Guanqi filled the air, each radiating a genuine aura, with each gaze as sharp as an eagle’s.

He found the true body, but it was too late.

The jade pendant on his wrist shattered on its own, summoning a heavy khaki shield. The lightning sword cleaved through it, followed by a terrifying explosion of sword light.

Boom!

A fiery sword light struck back.

Boom!

Both were blasted back a hundred zhang.

Li Guanqi glanced at the wound across his chest, his eyes unshaken, his fighting spirit burning fiercer than ever.

The old man’s shield had shattered, and his arm was nearly severed.

Miao Rongchang steadied himself, knowing retreat meant death. There would be no escape or hesitation. But in his heart, he already understood that the tide had turned against him. His ambush had failed to cripple Li Guanqi.

He tried to recall the countermeasures he’d prepared to block Li Guanqi’s ferocious attacks.

Li Guanqi gave him no time to think. The instant his sword was knocked aside, he twisted with the rebound, spinning once before darting back ten zhang.

In midair, his feet carved twin arcs of lightning. He crouched low, both hands gripping the hilt tight.

Blood and spirit qi surged through him, veins bulging along his neck. With a guttural roar, the lightning behind him detonated in a deafening blast.

“Shadow Demon Slash—Dark Night!”

Boom!

A violent shockwave scattered every thread of lightning within ten zhang of him. At the same instant, the power of the Sword Prison poured into him. Heaven and earth dimmed. For the span of a breath, even the thunderous storm within the lightning pool froze still.

Dong!

The void split open. Shockwaves laced with lightning blasted outward, and a blinding sword light flickered across the sky.

A condensed ten-zhang-long sword beam erupted with crushing force.

Miao Rongchang’s expression twisted in horror. He crushed a blood-red Spirit-Boosting Pill between his teeth with a snap. Flames roared as his sword swept down in a blazing arc. There was even a trace of sword force in the strike, though no hint of true sword intent.

Even so, his strength was formidable. Infernos surged skyward, his sword light stretching ten zhang long.

Boom!

The cataclysmic explosion shook the world. The blast cleared away every bolt of lightning within a hundred zhang.

Li Guanqi panted heavily, his vital force greatly depleted.

But when the smoke cleared, a blood-soaked figure hovered above the lightning pool. His waist bore a ghastly wound that had nearly cleaved him in two. Lightning arced through the torn flesh, ravaging his organs without mercy.

Still, fire burned in the old man’s eyes. Flames rose from his body, his aura swelling violently.

Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. He could feel a terrifying pressure building. Half a step into the Divine Transformation Realm? Old man, do you really think I’ll give you that chance?

The elder’s lips curved in a faint, cryptic smile.

He flung an ancient seal, smearing its carved script with blood. He murmured, “With my essence blood as a guide, let the script protect me!”

Buzz!

The seal erupted with earthen-yellow brilliance. Dense glyphs intertwined, forming a glowing barrier that surrounded him. The seal floated above, glowing softly.

Miao Rongchang sat cross-legged, gasping for breath as he withdrew several jade caskets forged from top-grade spirit stones. His gaze was ice cold.

Li Guanqi’s eyes flashed coldly. Lightning flared beneath his feet as he pushed his speed to the limit.

Just as the seal’s light was about to close in, his blade came down.

Li Guanqi’s eyes were devoid of emotion. Miao Rongchang’s eyes widened in shock.

A red lotus bloomed from the Red Lotus Sword’s hilt. Li Guanqi’s voice echoed beside the old man’s ear like a whisper from the void. “Red Lotus—Heavenly Destruction!”

Boom!

Every thread of lightning within the Sword Prison poured into the Red Lotus Sword. A sword light of blinding brilliance tore through the sky.

Boom!

The ancient seal shattered. Miao Rongchang’s sword snapped apart. Li Guanqi caught the broken blade with his right hand and brought his left sword down in one clean stroke.

A massive head flew through the air.