Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Li Guanqi remained both physically and mentally tense until the spatial tear fully closed up.

Before it closed, he could feel the hidden figure hesitate. Their aura flickered multiple times, on the verge of striking.

Once he fully entered the void, his taut nerves snapped like an overstretched string, and he blacked out.

Meanwhile, at the Immortal Crane Alliance’s mountain peak, a man shrouded in a black cloak gradually appeared. He murmured, “He actually noticed me?”

His tone was filled with disbelief. He narrowed his eyes, replaying the entire battle in his mind.

Li Guanqi had to have sensed him long ago. Even while fighting a lot of enemies, he had deliberately glanced in his direction.

Li Guanqi was blind, but it seemed like his eyes could see through many things.

The man had used the Dark Raven Order’s secret technique to conceal his presence. Few people could see through his concealment, suggesting Li Guanqi’s strength far surpassed his own.

The black-cloaked person stood on the mountain peak and looked at the Immortal Crane Alliance’s grounds, where rivers of blood trickled down the slopes. He could not help but mutter, “He’s vicious.”

Even an assassin of the Dark Raven Order found himself shaken by Li Guanqi’s slaughter.After some thought, he drew a black jade slip and sent a voice transmission. “The target has noticed me. Requesting reassignment. I can’t kill him.”

After he finished speaking, the black jade slip flashed weakly, revealing a single carved character on the back. He was at the peak of the yellow tier.

Had Li Guanqi seen it, he would have been shocked that such a terrifying assassin ranked only as a peak Yellow-tier[1] member of the Dark Raven Order.

When the cloaked figure vanished, many powerful cultivators who had heard about the commotion came rushing through the air. More and more spatial tears split open across the sky.

Seeing the place, they all froze, their faces paling in shock.

The once-grand and lively Immortal Crane Alliance was gone.

The main peak in the inner grounds had been shattered, and the entire mountaintop had been sliced off.

The whole peak had been dyed red with blood. Thick streams of blood ran from the summit down to its foot.

The air was heavy with the stench of blood, enough to make their stomachs churn. From above, they saw dozens of young disciples slouched amid the carnage, their gazes vacant and their cultivations crippled.

The weaker cultivators began vomiting at the sight.

Someone shouted, “Over here! Look, there’s writing here!”

On a ten-zhang-wide boulder, someone had written a line of words with blood.

The hunters must be prepared to become the hunted.

The blood was still dripping down, a chilling sight. The message was clear—anyone who wanted to kill him had better be ready to die.

This was the first step of his plan.

A cold shiver ran through the gathered cultivators. Suspended in midair, they hesitated, exchanging uneasy glances. Many turned to leave, but just as many gritted their teeth, tore open space with their hands, and stepped into the void.

***

Within the pitch-black nothingness, a purple dragon glided soundlessly through a terrifying windstorm.

Li Guanqi, lying on its head, twitched. His eyes snapped open, then he spat a mouthful of dark blood.

Pfft!

A large blood clot shot out. Nine Heavens jerked to a halt in alarm.

Li Guanqi slowly regained consciousness. He sat up with a long sigh. He had finally expelled the blood clot blocking his meridians. Still heaving slightly, he gritted his teeth against the pain but managed to pat Nine Heavens’ head, reassuring it not to worry.

He sat cross-legged on its head, swallowed a few healing pills, and arranged spirit stones on a Spirit Gathering Array tray. As dense spirit qi poured into him, he exhaled in relief and glanced behind.

Nine Heavens had flown without rest while he was unconscious, covering an immense distance. Watching the dragon with a faint smile, he tossed it a few pills. Nine Heavens snapped them up happily, eyes squinting in contentment.

Li Guanqi examined his condition and sighed. His body was a wreck. Before he could straighten out his blocked meridians, he first had to deal with something else.

He drew the Red Lotus Sword and slit open his swollen eyelids, letting the clotted blood drain away.

He stared at his caved-in chest. He had fractured seven or eight ribs, and one of them pierced his lung.

He needed to reset the bone, but he couldn’t rely on his vital force to push it back, not with a major injury

After a moment’s thought, he calmly gripped his sword and sliced his chest open. He made a hand-sized incision near his ribs, then pushed his right hand through the opening.

Hisss!

Li Guanqi’s face drained of color, and his lips quivered. His jugular bulged as every muscle in his body tensed up. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he hissed in pain. Slowly, he plunged his right hand into the wound. Finding the rib, he began to pull it free.

“Ugh! Fuck! Fuck!”

He mumbled incoherently through ragged breaths, desperately trying to block out the agony.

Fifteen minutes later…

“Haah… Hoo…”

Soaked in sweat, Li Guanqi collapsed weakly onto Nine Heavens’ head. Staring at his bloodied hand, he muttered, “That hurt like hell.”

Even so, he forced himself upright, tending to his injuries while recalling the battles he had fought. Another name surfaced in his mind.

“The North Sea Temple, huh?”

His heavy eyelids fell shut again, but his aura only climbed higher.

Li Guanqi had annihilated the Immortal Crane Alliance. Counting the Alliance Master Wei Xian, the elders, and the disciples, he had killed four hundred and ninety-two people.

Not long after, twenty-nine more Nascent Soul Realm cultivators arrived, along with reinforcements from the Immortal Crane Alliance, bringing the total to forty-three Nascent Soul Realm cultivators.

And Wei Xian himself was a Divine Transformation Realm expert.

1. The Dark Raven Order’s ranking system hasn’t been specified yet, but it likely follows the same system as techniques: Heaven (天), Earth (地), Black (玄), and Yellow (黄), in descending order with Yellow being the lowest. ☜