Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

The man froze. He hadn’t expected Li Guanqi to act so nonchalantly after learning he served the Mo family of the Eastern Territory. It was as if the name carried no weight for him, even though it was one of the Eastern Territory’s strongest factions. In fact, the man even detected a flicker of excitement in Li Guanqi’s eyes when he heard Mo Congyun’s name.

Suddenly, the man stiffened and stared hard at him. His voice trembled. “Blind… large black sword box… You… you’re Li Guanqi! Thirteenth on the Nascent Soul Leaderboard!”

A chill crawled up his spine.

Li Guanqi had only recently appeared on the Nascent Soul Leaderboard, but he had already attracted considerable attention due to his terrifying battle record. Most of the people he killed had surpassed his own cultivation level.

And when he was still at the Golden Core Realm, he had slain 132 opponents of equal cultivation level. No one would have believed it if it weren’t engraved in the leaderboard’s records—but there it was, undeniably.

The man’s expression darkened. Someone like Li Guanqi wouldn’t let him live.

Run!!

Even though he could roughly gauge Li Guanqi’s cultivation, he didn’t dare draw his sword. After serving Mo Congyun for so long, he knew better than anyone how terrifying the people on the leaderboard were. All of them could crush him, let alone a monster ranked in the top twenty.

He struck his chest with a loud thud, then spat out blood. His body dissolved into a streak of crimson light that vanished into the night.

Li Guanqi smirked. He raised his right hand, and the Red Lotus Sword flew out of its box.“Lunar Flying Swords.”

Buzz!

A ripple pulsed through his divine consciousness. The Red Lotus Sword flared with red light, lightning coiling around its blade like a living serpent.

Whoosh!

A piercing sword cry split the air as the sword streaked into the darkness as a ray of red light. Its power was overwhelming, tearing through the man’s defenses and piercing his heart cleanly. The layers of vital force shields he had raised were meaningless.

The sword circled back and landed neatly in Li Guanqi’s grasp, its blade spotless.

He flicked his wrist, slid the sword over his shoulder, and pushed it back into the box. Then he summoned two small flames, sending them toward the corpse. Within a single breath, it was reduced to ash, bone and all. Only two faint patches of ash remained on the ground.

After pocketing the storage rings, Li Guanqi’s soles sparked with lightning. In an instant, he reappeared a thousand zhang away. Only after burning the other two bodies and ensuring their souls were destroyed did he allow himself to relax.

Just then, his divine consciousness picked up the faint aura of the teenage girl. He frowned, erased all traces of battle, and rushed toward her.

Far off, waves pounded against a shore, and the air grew thick with moisture.

He took a step, teleporting himself. He paused in midair, glancing down. To his surprise, a vast river stretched out beneath him. He hadn’t expected to run into a river thousands of zhang wide.

On the rocky bank below lay a young girl, face down and barely breathing. Her blood had stained the surrounding water red. A faint blue glow emanated from her body, and blue scales shimmered across her arms.

Li Guanqi froze for a second. It was his first time seeing a being like her, and he couldn’t help but wonder why she was being hunted.

She reminded him of Yu Sui’an, also known as Little Bun. He murmured, “Little Bun should be turning nine soon…”

With a wave of his hand, the girl rose gently from the water. A healing pill floated into her mouth, dissolving into pure medicinal energy.

While she recovered, Li Guanqi took out his heavenly intelligence jade pendant and checked the Nascent Soul Leaderboard.

Mo Congyun. Age: Thirty-five. Peak Nascent Soul Realm. Believed to be half a step into the Divine Transformation Realm. Member of the Mo family, one of the Eastern Territory’s top five factions.

The oldest member of the clan, Mo Shiyu, is a powerful Illusory Refinement Realm cultivator.

Most impressive feat: Killed a rogue cultivator who was in the early Divine Transformation Realm.

Li Guanqi pressed his lips together. Mo Congyun was indeed formidable. He himself had yet to face a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator in true combat.

Seeing as the girl had not woken up yet, Li Guanqi started a fire and roasted some meat.

Before long, her eyelids fluttered. When she finally opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a massive dragon staring down at her.

“Ahhh!” she shrieked, scrambling backward.

Then, she heard a youth’s gentle voice. “Nine Heavens, don’t scare her.”

The dragon backed away slowly, its gaze fixed on the meat in Li Guanqi’s hand. It sniffed eagerly, eyes bright. The aroma had woken it up—it had never smelled anything so delicious before.

As the dragon’s drool dripped onto the ground, Li Guanqi finally tossed the meat at it in exasperation. Nine Heavens dropped down and clutched the meat between its claws, tearing into it with eager bites.

Li Guanqi approached the girl and crouched down. “Are you a human or a demon?”

The girl tugged at her tattered clothes and looked at him timidly. She could sense his power, but his aura didn’t feel malevolent like the ones who’d attacked her. Still, she kept quiet, afraid that if he knew the truth, he might turn out just like them.

Seeing her reluctance, Li Guanqi didn’t press her. He took out a black cloak and handed it over. She hesitated, then accepted it and put it on, her eyes darting toward the river.

Li Guanqi smiled faintly. “If you want to leave, go ahead. I won’t stop you.”

She blinked in surprise. “You’re… really letting me go?”

Li Guanqi laughed. “Yes, really.”

The girl stood up and walked toward the river.

Suddenly, an immense pressure swept through the area within a thousand zhang of them. The girl’s eyes lit up with joy, though she still turned around and cast a cautious glance at Li Guanqi.

Buzz!

Li Guanqi remained seated, unmoving.

The wide river split down the middle, its deep waters parting as if by invisible hands. The depths were impossible to make out, but the water yielded effortlessly.

A tall, graceful woman emerged from the river. Her skin was pale, with shiny scales on her cheeks and long lavender hair cascading over white-blue robes.

Her beauty was striking, and she had bright blue eyes. But those eyes brimmed with killing intent.

The instant she saw Li Guanqi, she drew her sword.

Li Guanqi’s eyes narrowed. Though her blade seemed holographic, he could sense its sharpness.

He reached for the Red Lotus Sword.