Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

To Chu Menglan’s shock, Li Guanqi walked out with no protection at all.

Fierce purple fire laced with deep purple lightning erupted from his body. He looked like a fire god descending upon the mortal realm. The moment the flames appeared, the surrounding fire dimmed as if in the presence of a king, flattening into a fiery platform beneath Li Guanqi’s feet.

Chu Menglan stared in disbelief. “Heavenly flame…”

Qi Rongxuan stroked his beard and smiled, following behind Li Guanqi. “Not just one type either.”

“What? Not just one?” Chu Menglan looked at Li Guanqi’s back. “If that’s really the case… he may actually succeed!”

She reappeared at his side.

Li Guanqi’s expression turned grave as he looked toward the depths. A girl lay in deep sleep on a large slab of fire crystal, similar in age to him. She had a beautiful face, but her brow was furrowed. Her eyes were shut tight, and her long lashes trembled as if she were enduring extreme pain.

Her long, thick robes did little to obscure her stunning figure. Tiny sweat droplets beaded on her tall nose, her lips pale and cracked. Her hair was strewn messily across the fire crystal slab, some strands stuck to her forehead. She looked very weak.

Lightning flashed beneath Li Guanqi’s feet, and he appeared beside her. He raised his hand and released a torrent of flame that wrapped around the entire fire crystal.

Lightning sizzled and flames roared. The cold qi in her body retreated like prey sensing a predator. Her brow relaxed slightly, and her shallow breathing stabilized slightly, though an energy within her continued to attack her dantian and spirit platform.“You see it too,” Chu Menglan said. “This poison is extremely yin and extremely cold.[1] It penetrates deep into the bones and the soul. A vicious poison indeed.

“Ever since Xi’er was poisoned, I’ve used every connection I have to hire powerful cultivators and alchemists. None of them could cure it or remove it from her body.”

Li Guanqi frowned. “Extreme yin and extreme cold?”

Boom!

The Lightning Dragon Flame vanished. The instant it did, the cold poison in Su Xi’s body surged to life, seeming to freeze her from the inside out. In the blink of an eye, frost covered her snow-white skin.

She groaned in agony, gripping the fire crystal beneath her so hard her fingernails tore off. Her body writhed, brow still furrowed, tears rolling from the corners of her eyes.

With a pained expression, Chu Menglan held up her hand to release fire-type power.

“Let me.” Li Guanqi stopped her.

He released a blast of Yin Hellfire that formed into a barrier, sealing off the surrounding space. The icy yin hell qi made even Chu Menglan shudder. His heavenly flames had been growing stronger alongside his cultivation, especially with the Heavenly Fire Orb’s boost.

He shut his eyes and let his divine consciousness pour from his spirit platform like a tidal wave.

Qi Rongxuan was shocked, murmuring, “Such vast divine consciousness! That’s… equivalent to an Illusory Refinement Realm cultivator!”

Chu Menglan narrowed her eyes. His divine consciousness was almost as strong as hers.

His divine consciousness turned gentle as flowing water, wrapping around Su Xi and slowly inspecting her condition from the outside in.

He soon discovered the cold poison had gathered in her dantian

Her dantian had almost turned to ice, devoid of vital force. She had likely exhausted everything she had fighting the poison.

He extended his divine consciousness to her spirit platform. The situation there was even more dire. It was no wonder she couldn’t wake up. Her spirit platform was on the verge of shattering. Without immediate help, perhaps there would be no chance of saving her.

Li Guanqi took a deep breath. “I can’t guarantee it will work, but this cold poison can probably only be suppressed by the Yin Hellfire. I’ll need to work without interruption.”

Chu Menglan hesitated.

“If you delay any longer,” Li Guanqi added, “even if she lives, she may not be able to participate in the tournament.”

Qi Rongxuan held up three jade bottles covered in spirit qi. “Use as much as you need. Xiao Chu, let’s wait outside.”

Chu Menglan finally nodded. Before leaving, she turned back to Li Guanqi and gave a small nod. “If you can save Xi’er, the Profound Phoenix Pavilion will owe you one.”

Li Guanqi’s expression didn’t change. He raised his hand and sealed the entire space with Yin Hellfire.

He looked at Su Xi, took a deep breath, and calmed his mind.

Boom!

Boundless black flames entered her body. Her back arched and her muscles stiffened.

“Peng Luo!”

A large radish appeared on his shoulder. The moment Peng Luo saw Su Xi, his eyes went wide. “They’re huge!”

He paused. “Wait… Master, what are you doing?”

Li Guanqi rolled his eyes, using his divine consciousness to control the flames, which were neutralizing the poison in her body. The fire flowed through her meridians, chasing the poison toward her dantian.

“If I remember correctly,” Li Guanqi said, “your spirit fluid can heal injuries, right?”

Peng Luo shuddered, then hugged himself and asked warily, “What do you want?”

“After I destroy the poison, give her some spirit fluid.”

“No! I’m not giving any!”

“Are you going to do it or not?”

“I mean… It’s not a hard no… if you let me… touch once.”

Li Guanqi’s mouth twitched. He shrugged. “She can feel everything right now. If she beats you up after waking up, I’m not saving you.”

Peng Luo leaped onto Li Guanqi’s head. “Such an amazing opportunity sitting right in front of me… We’ll cross that bridge when we reach it!”

Li Guanqi sighed. He did not know how a supernatural being could be so perverted.

He focused all his attention on neutralizing the poison. It broke down at astonishing speed, and Su Xi’s brow gradually relaxed.

After some time, he commanded, “Peng Luo, go!”

Peng Luo gulped, then leaped toward her cleavage—only to bounce off. His eyes rolled back, drool flowing from the corner of his mouth, looking as perverted as ever.

Bam!

Li Guanqi kicked him hard. “I said ‘go’ so you would give her some spirit fluid! What the fuck are you doing?!”

The dust-covered Peng Luo crawled out from the flames and jogged up to him with an ingratiating expression. “Oh… That’s what you meant… I’m coming…”

He snapped his arm off with a loud crack and stuffed it into Su Xi’s mouth. The arm, white as jade, dissolved into milky-white spirit fluid that flowed down her throat.

Where his arm had been snapped off, light shone briefly before a new arm grew back, though his aura was noticeably weaker than before.

1. In Chinese medicine, “cold” and “warm” refer to the energetic properties of herbs, foods, and treatments, which are used to balance the body’s yin and yang. Cold (yin) herbs cool down the body, clear heat, and calm excess yang energy. ☜