Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Terrifying sound waves pounded Li Guanqi’s mind. The voices, tinged with madness, carried vengeful force[1] that threatened to shatter his sea of consciousness and make him one of them.

Li Guanqi frowned. The altar within his sea of consciousness buzzed. His divine consciousness surged outward, enveloping his whole body.

The loud wailing in his ears faded considerably.

He extended his divine consciousness across a hundred zhang and found spirit herbs steeped in ghost qi scattered throughout the valley. He harvested them with his jade knife and stored them away. On the Azure Cloud Continent, each one would fetch a fortune.

As he moved deeper into Yin Hell Valley, many non-sentient spirits drifted into view. They were lone and wild ghosts, the kind typically found in folktales. Lacking awareness, they were mere husks, wandering the valley and killing instinctively whenever they encountered the living.

He ventured ‌calmly into the depths of the valley.

The wandering spirits grew stronger, almost resembling proper ghost cultivators. Further in, he encountered several who had reached the Nascent Soul Realm, and even one on the verge of stepping into the Divine Transformation Realm.

But the moment they sensed his aura, they scattered.

Li Guanqi shrugged. When he first stepped out of the transport array and arrived at the plaza, the ghost cultivators had been much more brazen. Why are the ghost cultivators here so timid?

A sudden shock snapped his attention toward the valley depths. A tornado, a hundred zhang wide, roared skyward.Pitch-black yin hell qi billowed upward. The surrounding space trembled, black flames curling along it.

A strange fiery force stirred inside Li Guanqi’s body.

The sudden change startled him. His vital force rushed through his meridians, his blood roared, and the Dragon-Elephant Subduing Sutra activated on its own.

When the black flames brushed his skin, they reacted as though they had found a source of nutrients, absorbing his vital force and intensifying at an alarming rate.

Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes and let out a cold huff.

Lightning Dragon Flame surged through his veins and quelled the strange black fire.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions rippled through the black mist. Shadowy figures burst apart one after another, and anguished cries echoed in the air.

Buzz!

The sword coffin on his back trembled. A red sword shot free.

Clang!

Li Guanqi caught the sword and swung.

Boom!

A long fissure appeared on the ground beneath his right hand, and his sword intent surged to its peak. He braced himself and shot forward with a loud boom.

The spot where he had stood caved inward, leaving a crater ten zhang wide.

When he reappeared, a long-haired man in green hovered in mid-air above him. Black flames coiled around the man. His disheveled hair hung over his forehead, obscuring his face.

His terrifying aura made it obvious he was not to be trifled with.

The man suddenly snapped his head back to look at Li Guanqi. His eyes were pitch black, a stark contrast compared to Li Guanqi’s pure white eyes.

His sharp features contrasted with his sunken cheeks. He had thin lips, and his monolids were narrow and long, giving him a cruel look.

The man licked his lips. Black flames flared beneath his feet. His gaze flicked to Li Guanqi’s sword and the black sword box on his back.

“Li Guanqi… of the Azure Cloud Continent?” he said, his voice hoarse.

Killing intent pulsed from Li Guanqi. He asked coldly, “Chen Zhi?”

Chen Zhi threw his head back and laughed. The laughter dragged on for a long time.

He raised his right hand. An ear-piercing sword cry rang from the valley’s depths.

Whoosh!

A black sword, three chi long, flew into his grip. The moment he pointed it at Li Guanqi, his aura shifted. “Do you have the Lightning Dragon Flame?”

Li Guanqi was shocked, though his expression stayed calm. “Ning Xiu… You killed her?”

Chen Zhi tapped his sword hilt against his chin thoughtfully, his gaze drifting upward for a moment. “You mean that woman from Inferno Valley? The one who refused to tell where you were, even as she died?”

Chen Zhi sensed the palpable killing intent radiating from Li Guanqi, then burst into amused laughter. “Hahahaha! Yes, I killed her! I didn’t think someone so stupid could exist in this—”

Boom!

A terrifying ray of sword qi, fast as lightning, shot towards his face. It severed several strands of hair. He escaped harm only thanks to his rapid retreat.

Chen Zhi’s face fell, inwardly shocked. That was fast!

A lecherous grin spread across Chen Zhi’s face as he licked his lips. “Are you here to avenge your little girlfriend? Hahahaha! I like it!”

Boom!

He stepped forward, and his aura climbed. He was almost at the half-step Illusory Refinement Realm. The wind howled, and the clouds above churned under the pressure.

“Since you’re here, I’ll be taking your Lightning Dragon Flame too! Hahaha! I searched so long for you, and you walk right up to me. Early Divine Transformation Realm, yet you dare come on your own.”

The powerful ghost cultivators across Yinxing State hid in the void to watch their sudden battle.

Rumor had it that Chen Zhi had come in search of the Yin Hellfire, ranked twenty-ninth among all the heavenly flames. He had already killed many ghost cultivators, and no one dared oppose him—he was too powerful.

Though Chen Zhi was in his eighties, he still looked like a young man.

They recognized the black-cloaked figure only after hearing Chen Zhi’s words. The man with the sword box was Li Guanqi, ranked third on the Daxia Territory’s Heavenly Intelligence Leaderboard[2].

“Why would Li Guanqi be here?! He left his continent!”

”Hmph. Let them wear each other down first. We can move in and pick them off once they’re half-dead. Then, we eat.”

“Is Li Guanqi stupid? Chen Zhi is half a step into the Illusory Refinement Realm. Isn’t that suicide?”

Li Guanqi’s eyes flashed. He leaped forward.

Boom!

His aura surged upward, shattering the mid Divine Transformation Realm and nearly reaching its peak within a single breath.

To Chen Zhi’s shock, Li Guanqi shifted the Red Lotus Sword into his left hand and disappeared.

A strange flicker of fear rippled through Chen Zhi. His ear twitched. He flipped his sword and thrust it behind him.

1. In Daoist tradition, spirits burdened with resentment or strong attachment to the mortal world become ghosts. This accumulated resentment may be called vengeful qi. The author uses “vengeful force” to refer to power sources filled with vengeful qi. ☜

2. It’s unclear if the author means the Nascent Soul Leaderboard or another leaderboard. We believe it’s the same one. ☜