Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

The administrator hurriedly passed Li Guanqi a new jade pendant with two hands.

Li Guanqi cursed at the pendant, saying, “You fucking bastard! Are you trying to threaten me?”

The old man’s voice rang out in his mind once more. “This isn’t a threat. We’re stating the facts. Cang Lu doesn’t work for the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion. Your master’s injury has nothing to do with us, and you need the ancient creation pill. Meanwhile, we need someone strong enough to retrieve an item. We both gain something. Do you accept the terms?”

Li Guanqi’s anger rose with every word. “Do you take me for an idiot? Cang Lu isn’t working for you? Then how could all of this line up so neatly? At this point, I’d say even meeting him wasn’t coincidental.”

The old man answered with a calmness that suggested he already knew Li Guanqi would agree. “Tomorrow, someone will come to explain the details.”

Boom!

Li Guanqi smashed the pendant against the floor, chest heaving. He took out an ancient, simple jade slip. “Old man! Your grandson is getting pushed around by the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion! Aren’t you going to do something?!”

The jade slip pulsed as it sent out the message. But as always, nothing came back.

He lifted the jade slip, but he couldn’t bring himself to smash it.

The administrator kept his head low. Li Guanqi had already shattered more than one jade pendant, each one made through a painstaking process and worth a hundred high-grade spirit stones.Li Guanqi said coldly, “Who’s meeting me tomorrow? You?”

The administrator smiled bitterly. “I’m just an informant of the lowest rank. How could it be me…”

Li Guanqi gave a slight nod. Even through the frustration, a quiet relief settled in him.

There was a way to save his master. Even if he was being used, he had no room to refuse.

What he couldn’t understand was why the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion had gone to such lengths.

Still bowing, the young administrator suddenly said, “Thank you.”

Li Guanqi turned. The administrator sent him a voice transmission. “Ning Xiu liked you a lot. If she knew you’d made a tombstone for her, she’d be thrilled. Thank you for remembering her.”

He bowed three times. It was the gratitude of someone who didn’t expect to be remembered at all.

Then he left. With that single step, he’d lost his utility as a chess piece.

Lu Kangnian saw the faint color returning to Li Guanqi’s face and asked hurriedly, “Is there a solution?”

Li Guanqi nodded.

Lu Kangnian’s keen senses picked up on something. He looked at Li Guanqi with great concern.

Li Guanqi forced a smile. “Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.”

He went inside and comforted Shen Lan. “Mistress, don’t worry. I’ve found a way. I’ll head out tomorrow. When I return, Master might even benefit from all of this.”

She shot up, gripping his hand. Tears spilled down her cheeks. “Guanqi, is that true? Is there really a way to save him?”

When he nodded, the tears came harder. She pulled him into her arms. “Child… thank you. If it’s too dangerous… it’s alright.”

Li Guanqi rubbed the corners of his eyes. “It’ll be okay. I have a plan.”

He led Sun Miao out. Lu Kangnian followed. “Let’s talk in my study.”

Inside the study, Li Guanqi recounted everything. Sun Miao frowned, deep lines forming between his brows. “An ancient creation pill… It might exist, but I can’t say for certain. Such life-altering medicine requires ingredients beyond imagination. I don’t know what they want you to do, but it will be very, very dangerous.”

“Guanqi, are you sure you want to do this?” Lu Kangnian said.

Li Guanqi shook his head. “There’s nothing to reconsider. I have to go.”

Lu Kangnian frowned and lowered his voice. “Isn’t all of this too convenient? How could the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion conveniently have the one medicine that can save Old Li?”

His eyes flashed, and he transmitted, “Perhaps they know about you having a dragon?”

Li Guanqi gave him a rueful look. “I doubt it. They probably knew long ago, and I don’t think Cang Lu is tied to them. I suspect this whole event had nothing to do with the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion.”

Lu Kangnian frowned even deeper. “Why?”

“It’s simple,” Li Guanqi said quietly. “If they wanted to use an ancient creation pill to make me help them, they didn’t need such a convoluted path. They wouldn’t need to stage a meeting with Cang Lu without me noticing, then have him infiltrate the sect and injure Master. There’s no reason for that, because even if Master hadn’t been hurt, they could walk up to me with the pill and I’d probably agree anyway.”

Lu Kangnian nodded slowly. It was reasonable. After a moment of thought, he stood up. “Come. We’re going to the Treasure Pavilion.”

Sun Miao excused himself to help with the aftermath.

Along the way, Lu Kangnian said, “No matter what happens, your safety comes first. Pick whatever you want from the Treasure Pavilion.

“Even if you don’t expect to use them, take the ancient treasure swords. You have a flying sword technique, don’t you? Those seven swords contain a hidden sword array. Study it. One more trick could save your life.”

Li Guanqi halted in surprise. He hadn’t known about the array. He nodded.

They reached the Treasure Pavilion on the inner section of Heavenly Sword Peak. Li Guanqi selected talismans, pills, and a defensive inner shirt that counted as a magical treasure.

So much had happened lately. It was as if something kept trying to stop him from leaving the Azure Cloud Continent, because every time he tried, something else arose.

The next day, at dawn, he received a message from the young administrator. The message simply contained an address.

Azure Cloud Continent, Constellation Sea.

Li Guanqi rose and slipped out of the sect alone.

Nine Heavens coiled around his wrist as he vanished into the void.

Far away, in a mysterious pavilion, an old man seated on a throne lowered his jade slip, his eyes flashing. He raised his hand. “Go teach the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion a lesson, damn it. Hit them hard.”

The air below rippled. A man in golden armor stepped out, lights flowing across his body, a golden spear in hand. He kneeled, one knee touching the ground, and replied, “Yes, Territory Master! Uh… should I destroy their entire faction? Or kill a few Illusory Refinement Realm cultivators?”

The old man picked his nose, thinking. “Hmm… Beat the four pavilion masters in the Daxia Territory. Make them seventy percent dead. Maybe that’s too much… Fine, make them half-dead.”

The armored man lowered his head. “Yes, Territory Master!”