Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

But the disturbance was too great, alarming most of the sect.

Lu Kangnian and Qin Xian were the first to appear atop Jade Teapot Peak. Moments later, the seven peak masters and a crowd of elders shot through the sky, all of them roused from their cultivation.

None of them understood why Li Guanqi had suddenly released such a terrifying barrier, one that sealed the entire Daxia Sword Sect.

Lu Kangnian’s expression darkened. He looked toward Li Guanqi and asked quietly, “What happened?”

Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes, his voice barely a whisper. “There’s a ghost in the Daxia Sword Sect.”

He quickly laid out what had occurred moments earlier.

Lu Kangnian’s gaze grew cold. Li Guanqi’s status was no longer what it had been, yet someone in the Divine Transformation Realm had dared spy on him. This was no trivial matter.

Regardless of the reason, a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator showing up inside the sect walls suggested there was an insider among them.

Tu Kui looked around, baffled. “What’s going on? What happened?”

Shen Lan and Li Nanting had arrived together, unease written across their faces.Li Nanting coughed lightly before saying, “Guanqi, what’s going on?”

More voices rose one after another, asking the same question.

From beginning to end, Li Guanqi did not say a single word. He stood unmoving, calmly sweeping his gaze over the assembled people.

Then his eyes narrowed sharply. His sword shifted ever so slightly as he spoke, his voice low. “Heavenly Wood Peak Master, Yu Mu.”

All eyes turned to the tall, upright man with the white jade crown.

Lu Kangnian’s pupils contracted. He quickly sent a voice transmission. “Guanqi, are you certain? Yu Mu has been in the sect for over six hundred years!”

Yu Mu frowned, but his face and tone remained calm. “Elder Li, are you calling me for something?”

Li Guanqi didn’t respond. He walked toward him, step by step.

The crowd frowned, none of them understanding what was happening. But the killing intent rolling off Li Guanqi and the terrifying pressure weighing down upon them made it clear that something major was unfolding. He was preparing to strike.

Shen Lan couldn’t hold back. “Guanqi, shouldn’t you at least explain what this is about?”

Li Guanqi remained silent, steadily advancing. His aura intensified with every stride, becoming so oppressive that the others struggled to breathe.

Lu Kangnian’s eyes narrowed. A faint glint passed through them. He gave Qin Xian a barely perceptible nod.

A flicker of fear flashed in Yu Mu’s eyes. Without a word, he crushed a silver scroll.

Crack!

The scroll burst. A violent force blasted the surrounding cultivators hundreds of zhang away, then a three-chi transport array unfolded in a burst of silver light.

But then fire roared beneath Yu Mu’s feet.

Thunder crackled as flames swept across heaven and earth, incinerating the array in an instant.

Yu Mu’s face drained of color. Even the green vital force he’d released burned to ash.

His voice shook. “Heavenly Fire! How do you have Heavenly Fire?!”

At the same time, dozens of thick vines lashed toward Shen Lan.

Li Nanting’s expression changed drastically. Lightning burst from him as he swung his sword with full strength.

But Yu Mu was a Divine Transformation cultivator. The gap in power was too vast.

The lightning sword light crashed against the vines without cutting through a single one.

“Lan’er!”

Li Nanting shouted, “Guanqi, save her!”

Li Guanqi’s voice was calm, stripped of emotion. “You shouldn’t have done this.”

Boom!

The Sword Prison tightened, sealing a hundred-zhang radius.

Thousands of lightning bolts rained down, and dozens of thunder spears pinned every vine in midair. Simultaneously, crimson sword light flashed across the sky. A pitch-black fissure split the air for more than a hundred zhang.

Yu Mu stared stupidly at his severed arm. Then, a sharp pain shot through his jaw.

Li Guanqi’s long sword had already thrust upward, piercing his jaw, its tip pressing against the roof of his mouth.

With an icy gaze, Li Guanqi said, “Move and you die.”

The onlookers drew in a sharp breath.

Yu Mu was a dignified cultivator of the Divine Transformation Realm and the master of Heavenly Wood Peak. Yet before Li Guanqi, he looked like a helpless child. Every move had been anticipated.

His speed defied comprehension, and his killing intent was suffocating. In the blink of an eye, Yu Mu’s arm had been severed and a sword had pierced through his jaw. Even Lu Kangnian and Qin Xian, who had been ready to intervene, could only narrow their eyes.

Qin Xian muttered under his breath, “Damn brat’s gotten terrifying.”

Lu Kangnian spoke in a low, heavy voice. “We’ll discuss this in the meeting hall.”

But Li Guanqi suddenly sent a voice transmission. “Sect Master, have someone keep an eye on Cang Lu. I’ll be seeking him soon.”

A grave light flashed in Lu Kangnian’s eyes. He keenly sensed that the situation somehow revolved around that youth.

Li Nanting glanced at Shen Lan in concern. When she shook her head, he finally relaxed. Unnoticed, a warm jade slip glowing faintly with lightning appeared in his palm.

A voice echoed in his mind. “Beware of Cang Lu.”

Li Nanting slipped the jade into his robes without a word.

The uproar spread through the sect. With such commotion, it was impossible for the disciples not to notice. They gathered in groups everywhere, heatedly discussing the strike Li Guanqi had unleashed.

“Did you see that sword? Too fast! I couldn’t even see it!”

“Right? Just a flash in the sky!”

“Hey, what do you think happened? Why would Elder Li suddenly attack the Heavenly Wood Peak Master?”

“No idea, but something big must’ve happened.”

“Don’t say it, don’t even say it!”

In the Heavenly Sword Peak’s grand hall, the air felt as heavy as iron.

Only the sect’s highest authorities were present. Even the seven peak masters had no place there.

Lu Kangnian’s face was dark and stormy.

Yu Mu had been in the sect for countless years, yet he’d been caught red-handed by Li Guanqi.

Now, Yu Mu’s face was pale. A strange lightning mark sealed his dantian, utterly suppressing his vital force. He was no different from a mortal in the streets, utterly powerless. Beads of sweat dripped to the floor as he kneeled, trembling and clutching his severed arm.

Bang!

Lu Kangnian slammed his hand on the throne beside him, his voice sharp and furious. “Speak! Who sent you? What were you after?”