Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Li Guanqi’s eyes flashed as his mind raced. As it turned out, the Floating Wood Valley was known for its gold-and-silver floating wood. Its trees grew in muddy swamps, and once matured, some parts would break free from the main tree and drift through the water.

Li Guanqi examined a piece of the floating wood. It was extremely tough, ideal for making guqins.

Half an hour later, he arrived in a deeper region of the Floating Wood Valley. Toxic mist filled the air, obscuring his vision, and the occasional creepy rustling punctuated the silence. Other than that, the only sound was his own breathing.

A sharp branch the width of a bucket shot out of the mud without warning.

Goosebumps prickled across Li Guanqi’s skin, and he dodged three chi sideways on instinct. The branch shot a dozen zhang out of the mud. Countless twigs erupted from beneath his feet.

Boom boom boom!

The muddy ground exploded, leaving deep craters in its wake. Twigs and branches flew everywhere, shooting toward Li Guanqi as he dodged. He extended his divine consciousness across the entire area, evading the incoming projectiles with incredible speed.

Faced with more and more branches, he was forced to retaliate. He threw a punch, and the metallic-sheened twigs exploded inch by inch.

Boom boom!But no matter how many he destroyed, the incoming branches never decreased. He glanced at the swamp below. His eyes flashed.

He huffed, then plunged into the swamp.

Crash!

Blood surging through his body, he retracted his fist, twisted at his waist, and threw a punch at the ground with full force.

A deafening boom echoed across the valley, and a crater a dozen zhang wide tore open in the middle of the swamp. Simultaneously, a fiery barrier blazed into existence around him.

Sizzle sizzle!

Lightning and heavenly flames twisted around him as he sank deeper.

The being below seemed to sense the incoming threat. More thick tree trunks rose to stop Li Guanqi. He continued his descent, throwing punch after punch without slowing down.

Slash!

One of the branches cut a long gash across his waist. The burning pain made him draw a sharp breath. He had sensed mysterious golden patterns on that branch. It far surpassed the regular twigs in strength and speed.

His eyes flashed. He pushed his sprint technique to the limit.

After just a moment, he was almost two hundred zhang deep.

The thick mud and extreme depth applied immense pressure, enough to crush a regular Divine Transformation Realm cultivator.

Finally, Li Guanqi sensed a powerful aura.

Buzz!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Li Guanqi punched so quickly that he left behind multiple afterimages. Before him stood an ancient golden tree over fifty zhang tall, its trunk so thick it would require seven people to encircle it. Its branches were bare, giving it an especially eerie appearance.

The tree shook, branches trembling violently as they lunged at him. He dodged left and right until his heart skipped a beat. There was a large hole in its trunk.

Li Guanqi raised his eyebrows and squinted. Realization struck.

He slammed his left hand on the sword coffin, and the Red Lotus Sword shot into his grip. He narrowed his eyes and stepped forward.

Boom!

A devastating aura erupted from him, and powerful sword intent shot up into the air.

“Heaven-Opening, Red Lotus Heavenly Dance!”

When the tree sensed Li Guanqi’s strength, it shone with golden light. A thousand golden branches then lashed out at him, whipping through the air.

The entire swamp churned like boiling water.

Thump!

The mud beneath his feet sank slightly. Although he was deep in the swamp, he moved so quickly that he was only a blur.

The tree was used to these conditions, so its branches moved much faster than he could. After he’d only run about fifty zhang, the branches had already surrounded him. Li Guanqi’s speed, which he’d always prided himself on, was useless.

Time for another strategy.

He gripped the Red Lotus Sword in his left hand and opened his right palm to form a lightning sword. Flames twirled around both blades. With a twist of his waist, he started spinning like a top, cutting the surrounding branches into countless pieces.

Sensing the incoming threat, the ancient tree became even more violent. Golden patterns spread quickly across its trunk, and ear-piercing shrieks of metallic friction filled the air.

But the heavenly flames on Li Guanqi’s swords were not merely decorative. In just a moment, he had advanced a hundred zhang.

He stopped abruptly, maintaining a distance of three zhang between himself and the branches. He braced his legs, activated lightning warp, and disappeared.

Countless golden branches smacked into the spot where he’d been standing. When he reappeared, he was three chi away from the tree.

“Heavenly Destruction Sword Sutra, Crouching Demon!”

His Red Lotus Sword released a sharp ray of sword light.

The tree trunk, hard as steel, parted like tofu as the sword light cut through, nearly cleaving it in half.

The tree’s golden light vanished. Even the golden patterns on its trunk grew dim.

Li Guanqi stood his ground, sword still in hand. Despite the enormous size difference, he regarded the tree like a king surveying his domain. Raising his blade, he murmured, “Spirit Pardon.”

Whoosh!

Countless red threads shot out from the Red Lotus Sword, and Li Guanqi sensed a desire to submit emanating from the tree. It was a strange sensation, different from the master-servant contract he had with Peng Luo. The tree’s spirit had been subjugated by the power of his sword spirit void.

Li Guanqi wasted no time. He held up his hand and used vital force to create a hologram of Cang Lu. He was about to speak when the tree’s consciousness became violently agitated.

Kill! Kill him! Kill him!

A fuzzy message from the tree’s spirit. Its thick branch moved slowly until it pointed at the hole in its trunk. Someone had forcefully dug that hole there.

Li Guanqi fell into deep thought.

Is Cang Lu that strong?