Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

The instant the old man vanished, guilt flickered in Tang Ru’s eyes. Yet he neither turned away from the truth nor hesitated.

He pulled out his jade slip, his voice grim and heavy. “I’m sorry. One of my men exposed your location. Leave Jinxiang City—now!”

The jade slip glowed faintly beneath Li Guanqi’s sleeve. Staring at the twisting void around him, he murmured, “This time, there’s no leaving.”

Even as his words fell, the pedestrians and vendors around him suddenly sprang into motion.

In a heartbeat, an earthen-yellow barrier spread wide, sealing off a thousand zhang in every direction. Nearly thirty Nascent Soul Realm cultivators burst forth from the crowd.

Li Guanqi shed his disguise without hesitation. The sword coffin appeared behind him, rising into the air as the pitch-black sword box clicked open.

Clang!

The Red Lotus Sword leaped into his hand. Deep within, he continued suppressing the restless Nine Heavens.

Nine Heavens was a true dragon. Although it was still young, if it revealed itself, it wouldn’t just draw Nascent Soul Realm or even Divine Transformation Realm cultivators.

And to Li Guanqi, a few Nascent Soul Realm cultivators were hardly worth worrying about.Boom!

“Sword Prison. Open!”

At once, the twenty-odd cultivators rushing down from midair froze in horror as the thousand-zhang void around them twisted into a vast pool of lightning.

Blazing lightning fire swept through heaven and earth.

Li Guanqi gripped the Red Lotus Sword in his left hand and unleashed a storm of strikes—over a hundred in a single breath.

Boom! Boom!

Shrieks of agony rang out endlessly, so sharp that even those outside the formation shuddered. The cultivators outside could see faint silhouettes writhing and burning through the barrier.

Before they could react, a torrent of sword light hammered against the barrier.

Clang! Boom boom boom!

Explosions rolled one after another. With fire raging within, the barrier began to melt and crumble.

Crack! Crack!

The barrier shattered with a thunderous explosion. In the blink of an eye, Li Guanqi appeared before one of the cultivators. A streak of sword light flashed past before the man could even move.

Lightning flared, and the afterimage vanished. As the formation collapsed, several headless corpses rained from the sky.

Their drifting nascent souls were consumed by heavenly fire, erased without a trace.

The thousand-zhang radius of Jinxiang City vanished in a sea of flame. Buildings turned to ash, leaving behind a vast crater. Even the earth itself blackened and burned beneath the inferno.

Li Guanqi drew back his flames, cold light glinting in his eyes. Yet even then, he sensed countless auras rushing toward him.

Rage welled in his chest. His gaze sharpened to a killing edge. You want me dead? Then be prepared to die.

Before reinforcements arrived, his figure vanished into the void. Before leaving, he swept up the corpses and stripped them clean. This time, he didn’t burn the bodies. He wanted to know exactly which sects had dared to strike at him.

He was a man who repaid every grudge in full. Anyone who raised a hand against him would face the same in return.

He stepped out of the city with a flicker of lightning and disappeared.

The cultivators of Jinxiang City, unaware of what had transpired, finally got a clear look at Li Guanqi as he departed: a youth with a sword coffin strapped to his back and a red sword in hand.

The name that had shaken the entire Daxia Territory, Sword Cultivator Li Guanqi, had revealed himself right in Jinxiang City.

In an instant, countless jade slips flared to life, messages spreading in panic. But by the time the news reached beyond the city, Li Guanqi was already gone.

Inside his study, Tang Ru paced restlessly, anxiety etched across his face. Only when he confirmed Li Guanqi’s escape did he let out a long breath of relief.

He dared not send a message even as he held onto Li Guanqi’s jade slip. He knew that Li Guanqi would likely never trust him again. And indeed, as Li Guanqi left Jinxiang City, he crushed Tang Ru’s jade slip without hesitation.

Though he knew Tang Ru hadn’t betrayed him, he couldn’t take any chances.

Glancing at the Immortal Crane Alliance’s location, Li Guanqi snorted coldly. Lightning flashed at his feet, and his figure dissolved into countless afterimages, vanishing into the void.

Within the sword coffin, Nine Heavens grumbled in discontent at being denied battle. Li Guanqi chuckled softly, tossing him a few miscellaneous pills to placate him. “You’re my trump card. It’s not your turn yet.”

Nine Heavens tilted his massive head in puzzlement, then exhaled a puff of dragon breath before settling down.

Sitting cross-legged on the dragon’s head, Li Guanqi fell deep into thought.

According to Tang Ru, the Mo Family has already enlisted the services of an assassin organization called the Dark Raven Order. Yet so far, I haven’t seen a trace of them.

He took out his heavenly intelligence jade pendant, probing for information. Soon, ripples of data surfaced.

The Dark Raven Order is the largest assassination network spanning the Six Territories. Their success rate is extraordinarily high. They once assassinated a Territorial Lord.

No one knows who leads them. No one knows where their base is. No one has seen their members, and those who have are all dead.

That sliver of intelligence alone had cost five high-grade spirit stones.

Li Guanqi’s expression darkened, brows furrowed tight. Even the Intelligence Pavilion doesn’t know their leader or base of operations… A terrifying force indeed. Heh. No one’s seen them? That just means everyone who did is dead.

One detail left him shaken—the assassination of a Territorial Lord.

Alert and ready, Li Guanqi started gathering what he needed. By nightfall, he emerged silently in the verdant mountains.

Ahead, a towering peak pierced the clouds, and upon it stood the vast and majestic Immortal Crane Alliance.

Buzz!

The Red Lotus Sword floated into his palm. Li Guanqi’s eyes flashed with a cold light. From the jade slip’s intelligence, he knew their Third Elder had acted against him under the orders of the Sect Master himself.

Swish!

The void warped. In two spatial steps spanning a thousand zhang, he appeared above the Immortal Crane Alliance.

Boom!

The Sword Prison spread wide, engulfing the entire sect in a single breath. Flames surged across the heavens, sealing the sect in a fiery cage.

Countless disciples jolted awake from their cultivation, staring up in horror at the void above, which had transformed into a thunderous prison of lightning and fire.

Li Guanqi stood alone, facing an entire sect.