Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Peng Luo swelled until he was about a zhang long. Mysterious purple patterns flashed across his skin, making him look extra menacing.

He stabbed both hands into space. The patterns on his body flashed, and he tore a hole with his bare hands.

His body burst open in multiple places from the effort, fluids flowing from his wounds. With bloodshot eyes, he turned and roared, “Master! Let’s—”

Before Peng Luo could finish his sentence, Li Guanqi had grabbed him and plunged into the void, leaving behind afterimages.

Everyone was stunned. No one had expected him to tear through space—it had already been sealed by three Illusory Refinement Realm cultivators.

“What was that radish? It was so powerful! Sss… I think that’s… Peng Luo? But I’ve never seen a Peng Luo with purple patterns.”

The three black-armored guards stared in disbelief. A radish had torn through the space they’d sealed. They tore another hole in space and stepped into the void.

Chills ran down Li Guanqi’s spine when he saw the three figures more than a thousand zhang behind him. He activated lightning warp, his form blurring with speed. Even so, the three continued their pursuit.

Rumble!

Their vital force surged, making Li Guanqi feel as if he were wading through mud. Li Guanqi’s mind raced as he searched for an escape.***

A youth in green robes flew over and saw the mess on the ground. He spotted the squad leader and helped him to his feet, tapping the guard’s dantian to release the chaotic mess of lightning within.

“Du Yan, what happened?”

The man sighed and gave him a fist salute.

“Young Sect Master, there was someone causing trouble in Heavenly Cloud City. The three leaders are in pursuit now!”

The bamboo flute and jade pendant hanging on the youth’s waist clinked against each other. He studied the lightning in his hand. There was something familiar about its aura.

He Yuning raised his eyebrows and asked hurriedly, “Did that guy have golden hair and a handsome face?”

The guard nodded in confusion and bowed. “Do you know him, Young Sect Master?”

He Yuning turned pale. He squeezed and shattered the lightning in his hand, then teleported a thousand zhang. He drew his bamboo flute from his waist and swung it, tearing a long gash in space.

The crowd erupted in conversation.

“Isn’t that the young sect master of the Great Profound Sword Sect? Does he know the guy?”

“But that’s impossible. If you know someone like He Yuning, you can do whatever you want in Heavenly Cloud City!”

They all had their guesses. Maybe there was some bad blood between them. Either way, they were more interested in watching a good show.

Regardless of the actual nature of their relationship, the matter had become much more complicated.

Light blazed beneath He Yuning’s feet as he rushed off, leaving behind a golden streak.

While he could not see them, their powerful auras still lingered in the area. He took out a black jade pendant and said, “Elder Guo, please show mercy. This person is a good friend of mine. I’m sure there’s been a misunderstanding!”

He put down the jade slip and shot off.

***

Deep rumbles traveled through the void.

Li Guanqi whirled to face the knife lights bearing down on him. He unleashed the technique from the Red Lotus Sword’s second awakening.

“Heaven-Opening, Red Lotus Heavenly Dance!”

His aura rose. He took out a blood-red pill and swallowed it. His aura, already close to the peak of the Divine Transformation Realm, swelled to half a step into the Illusory Refinement Realm.

Twisting at the waist, he gripped his sword in his left hand and swung it in a slash.

“Heavenly Destruction Sword Sutra, Crouching Demon!”

Boom!

However, the lightning sword light shattered, holding against the onslaught for only a few seconds. Li Guanqi slashed vigorously, releasing more than a hundred sword lights, his left hand moving so fast it left afterimages. But the powerful knife lights still broke through.

Boom!

The knife lights slammed into the sword coffin, blasting Li Guanqi a thousand zhang back. He couldn’t feel his left arm. His right arm had broken from the impact. It felt like a rampaging beast had slammed into him, displacing all his internal organs. Blood sprayed from his mouth.

The old man frowned. He had unleashed a full-force attack without holding back, yet Li Guanqi, someone he saw as an ant, was only slightly injured. He huffed coldly and swiped across his knife with one hand. The blade turned bright red, releasing a devastating aura.

Li Guanqi’s eyes narrowed. He turned and shot off without hesitation.

The other two guards could not help but laugh.

“Elder Guo, can’t you just admit you’re getting old?” another guard said with a grin.

The three of them were ten thousand zhang apart, standing in formation to surround Li Guanqi.

The old man huffed. “I’m not old, he’s just really strong! Don’t underestimate this kid.”

For all his teasing, the second man understood the force of the earlier attack. The guards sped up.

Li Guanqi knew he couldn’t outrun them. He clenched his teeth and turned around.

The moment he turned, the man’s eyes flashed with cold light, and ice qi shot out from his sword.

“Frost Slash!”

Li Guanqi licked his lips and crouched. His spirit void buzzed, and the Red Lotus Sword glowed red. His sword spirit void’s ability activated, a ripple of heat bursting from the blade. His Sword Courage Realm sword intent burst forth, and a sword light several zhang long shot out.

The three men were shocked. The heat told them this was no ordinary fire.

And if Li Guanqi had a Double Mixed Spirit Root, his vital force shouldn’t have aligned with any specific element, nor could he have possessed such strength.

Vital force storms brewed around him as lightning surged through his meridians.

“Yin Lightning!”

He gripped his sword’s hilt with both hands and moved like lightning through the void, making himself nearly impossible to locate.

Instead of retreating, he charged directly at the mid Illusory Refinement Realm cultivator with his sword in hand.

He roared, “Heavenly Destruction Sword Sutra, Immortal-Slaying Slash!”

A hundred-zhang-long ray of sword light shot out, mixed with terrifying flames and lightning, as if threatening to slay an immortal.