Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

After leaving the sect, Li Guanqi did not even look back. He knew that a bright future awaited him, and behind him was a strong support system. His home.

Their fury at his past mistreatment was understandable. Now, he stood among them as a senior with the pride of the sect etched into his bones, especially when he faced the other disciples.

Li Guanqi smiled, unhooked the vermilion-red gourd at his waist, and downed a mouthful of wine. He raised his sword and sent out a blast of sword qi that streaked eight hundred zhang across the sky, cleaving through the cloud layer. He threw his head back, laughed, and soared away.

He was heading to the Southern Territory to meet Tang Ru.

He tore open the space in front of him and roused Nine Heavens. The two sped toward Wuzi City.

However, not long after they started flying, Nine Heavens threw a tantrum.

Exasperated, Li Guanqi searched for a mountain range teeming with demonic beasts and killed two tier-four demonic beasts to placate it.

Li Guanqi smiled as he looked at Nine Heavens, who was now crouching and happily devouring the demonic beast flesh. After all the drops of its blood he’d used, it was about time Nine Heavens got a good meal.

Li Guanqi was as vigorous as ever. His muscles looked like they were carved from stone, and he had no fat at all. His frame held explosive strength.

His Dragon-Elephant Subduing Sutra had reached the fifth level, and he still hadn’t pushed it to its limit.The tiny human in his dantian, his nascent soul, had already fused with nearly forty percent of his soul’s power. In other words, he could step into the mid Divine Transformation Realm whenever he wanted.

Once Nine Heavens finished eating, it shot forward at full speed.

Feeling Nine Heavens’ surge of strength, Li Guanqi stroked his chin and murmured, “Should I ask Tang Ru for a few tier-five demonic cores?”

The moment Nine Heavens heard “demonic cores,” its eyes brightened, and it looked up at Li Guanqi.

“Hahaha! Alright, alright. I’ll get you some.”

He flicked out a pill that glowed blue.

Nine Heavens swallowed it whole and squinted in pleasure.

Li Guanqi smiled. “Eat slowly. I don’t have many of those.”

Sun Miao had only given him ten beast pills, which were usually for beast-taming sects. They were packed with violent energy.

Sitting atop Nine Heavens’ head, he let an illusory clone formed from his divine consciousness practice his Sword-Unsheathing Technique over and over.

Vital force surged through him. Spirit stones shattered one after another.

He could break through right then and there, but he hadn’t reached his limit yet. Just a little further.

He wanted to sharpen his strength to its peak before he advanced.

He turned a jade slip between his slender fingers. “Pure Immortal Mountain Sect… Eleven Divine Transformation Realm cultivators… one at the late stage, three at the mid stage, six at the early stage, and one half a step into the Illusory Refinement Realm. Quite the force.”

He had learned all of this from the jade slip Tang Ru had given him.

Tang Ru was sharp. Li Guanqi had only mentioned needing Demon-Slaying Flowers, yet Tang Ru had figured out that the Pure Immortal Mountain Sect was responsible. Knowing Li Guanqi’s temperament, he understood the matter wouldn’t end peacefully and investigated everything he could.

Li Guanqi squeezed, and the jade slip shattered with a pop.

His pure white eyes narrowed, flashing coldly.

Wuzi City bustled that night. The towering Hundred Treasures Pavilion at its center blazed with light. Tang Ru sat pale-faced in the study, flipping through the ledgers on his desk.

After a long period of silence, his oldest brother, Tang Yongwen, finally took action. He unearthed numerous valuable treasures from some ancient ruins.

His second brother, Tang Yan, had done the same, hiring many renowned alchemists to refine a batch of high-tier pills.

The pressure weighed heavily on Tang Ru. Many in the family thought he was doomed to lose the business war. But even so, he still had a chance to turn everything around. He was confident in it because of one person.

Buzz!

“Still working?” a teasing voice floated in.

Tang Ru broke into a grin. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

Li Guanqi had appeared in the room. He sat at the desk and glanced over the ledgers, frowning.

Tang Ru hastily gathered them up and smiled. “Did you take care of your problem?”

Li Guanqi looked at him with concern. “Those Demon-Slaying Flowers cost you so much. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Tang Ru lowered his head, then forced a smile. “It’s nothing. I’m happy to help.”

He paused, then said in a low voice, “As for everything that happened last time… I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t all on you. I broke the jade slip because I didn’t want them coming after you,” Li Guanqi said.

Tang Ru looked even more worn down than before, and Li Guanqi could tell he was under enormous strain.

“With what I gave you, do you think you can win?”

Tang Ru gave a bitter laugh. “What you gave me is… too precious. You can’t find anything like it in the entire Daxia Territory. It’s probably the only one. But a single item won’t be enough. It would skew the auction too much. A luxury auction won’t become a sensation just because of one treasure. And… my brothers snatched up all the famous alchemists on the Azure Cloud Continent.”

Li Guanqi paused. “Alchemists matter that much?”

“They do,” Tang Ru said quietly, glancing at him. “Renowned alchemists tend to be powerful, and their pills have higher efficacy. Some powerful factions pay well for pills for their core disciples.”

Li Guanqi paused for a moment, then asked in a small voice, “Is Sun Miao famous?”

Silence. Then Tang Ru blinked. “Sun Miao? Famous? Brother… he’s the number one tier-five alchemist in the entire Azure Cloud Continent. Even if a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator kneels at his door for three months, he still won’t open his door.”

Li Guanqi’s frown deepened. Sun Miao was the one who nearly kneeled the moment he saw his companion flame. And the shameless way he’d begged to become a ceremonial elder…

He wondered if they were talking about the same person.

Li Guanqi drank some wine and shrugged.

“If that old guy can help you, I’ll talk to him.”

Tang Ru’s eyes went wide. His voice cracked with excitement. “Really? You know Sun Miao? Brother… you’re really my brother! Can you actually convince him?”

Li Guanqi smiled at his cautious expression and took out a jade slip. “Old Sun, could you help a friend of mine refine a batch of pills?”

Sun Miao, busy constructing Pill Peak for the Daxia Sword Sect, pulled out his jade slip impatiently. A smile spread across his face when he realized it was Li Guanqi.

“No problem, kid! Leave it to me! Send him my way. Who is it?”