Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Li Guanqi surveyed He Yuanting’s study. Instead of the scrolls and scriptures he’d expected, various weapons hung on display. None of them caught his interest. He already had a sword coffin, after all.

He Yuanting and He Yuning had completely different personalities. Something about He Yuanting reminded Li Guanqi of a general from the mortal world, the kind who made decisive battle decisions without hesitation.

He Yuanting gestured at the chairs before him and smiled. “Sit wherever you like. I’m planning to bring in a few expert array masters to carve some formations around your sword intent. I really owe you for this, kid.”

Li Guanqi scratched his head awkwardly. He hadn’t expected to resonate with the Cliff Drop Sword Intent.

He Yuanting shared some of his knowledge of the sword Dao, helping Li Guanqi find direction in his own path. Concepts that had eluded him before now clicked into place.

Li Guanqi noticed a small square stamp glowing faintly in He Yuning’s hand.

“What’s that?” Li Guanqi asked.

He Yuning glanced at the seal. “This? The Green Sun Palace gave it to me just now. A small trinket. Want it?”

Li Guanqi waved him off with a laugh. “You’re too generous with your things. You’d just hand it over? Why did the Green Sun Palace give it to you, anyway?”

A flicker passed through He Yuanting’s eyes. “Guanqi, you know I’ve arranged a marriage for Yuning, yes? The Green Sun Palace knew about it, so they sent this as a gift. Is there a problem?”His tone wasn’t accusatory, just puzzled. Ever since the Sword Abyss, Li Guanqi had seemed unusually wary of the Green Sun Palace.

Li Guanqi didn’t answer. He extended his hand. “Could I take a look?”

He Yuning passed it to him, confused. “It’s just a magical treasure that helps with defense. Nothing special.”

Li Guanqi took the seal and extended his divine consciousness like ocean waves.

He Yuanting straightened his back slightly. Li Guanqi’s divine consciousness was equivalent to that of an Illusory Refinement Realm cultivator.

Li Guanqi wrapped his divine consciousness around the seal. The small golden cube levitated in the air, glowing softly. After a few moments, it landed gently in his palm. He was still frowning.

Am I overthinking this?

He Yuanting smiled and took the seal. “I’ve checked it too. Nothing special.”

Li Guanqi chuckled bitterly. “You probably know about the altercation I had in Heavenly Cloud City, Senior. Cang Lu is extremely adept at concealment and has extensive influence. That’s why I overanalyze any abnormalities I encounter. I’m a little wary, I suppose.”

He Yuanting nodded and sighed. “The immortal world is vast and full of strange things. There’s nothing wrong with being cautious.”

He seemed to remember something and stood up with a smile. “You two carry on. I have some matters to attend to.”

With that, He Yuanting disappeared.

He Yuning tucked the seal away and glanced toward the door. “Don’t worry about that. My father must have remembered something from the past again. Sigh… Let’s not talk about it. I’m already nervous.”

Li Guanqi smiled. “What are you afraid of? Is the girl arriving in a few days?”

He Yuning pursed his lips and nodded. He leaned back lazily in his chair. “Yeah, three days. By the way, we didn’t find the person you mentioned. He left no personal information or aura traces in Heavenly Cloud City.”

Li Guanqi wasn’t surprised. If Cang Lu were easy to find, he wouldn’t have evaded the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion’s surveillance for so long.

“Thank you for the effort,” Li Guanqi said with a nod, then stood up. “In that case, I’ll prepare to leave too. Good luck with your engagement.”

He Yuning smiled and nodded. Li Guanqi couldn’t stay forever.

Li Guanqi went to a lone mountain peak in the Great Profound Sword Sect and meditated, replaying everything that had happened in Heavenly Cloud City. Slowly, he realized he had been playing right into Cang Lu’s plans from the beginning.

Was his appearance in Heavenly Cloud City just a coincidence?

No, he evaded the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion. How could I have met him so easily?

Something about the old man from the Green Sun Palace bothered him, but he’d examined the seal and found nothing amiss. Even He Yuanting hadn’t noticed anything. Moreover, Shen Bing was the one who’d given it to He Yuning, so it might not even be connected to that old man.

As he mulled it over, a terrifying thought popped into his mind.

His eyes sprang open. He swallowed hard, and his eyes lit up.

If I’m right, it explains everything.

Who is this girl who’s coming? Why did Cang Lu appear now? Could it be connected to her?

He’d planned to leave the next day. Now it seemed he needed to wait a few more days. Perhaps the situation wasn’t as simple as it seemed.

He slowly closed his eyes and began to cultivate.

***

The elder from the Green Sun Palace had returned to his sect. He closed the stone door to his cultivation room and activated its Spirit Gathering Array.

His face distorted. His elderly features melted into youthful ones.

Cang Lu.

He sat in the center of the array, muttering, “His cultivation progressed so quickly. I’m not even confident I could beat him in a fight right now.”

A smirk crossed his face. “Well... he can’t blame me for what’s about to happen.”

He studied the lightning arc in his hand, thin as a strand of hair, then tucked it away.

Li Guanqi’s keen senses worried him. Cang Lu had hidden himself so carefully, yet a single curious glance had put Li Guanqi on alert.

Even so, Li Guanqi hadn’t realized Cang Lu had taken a trace of lightning. He’d drawn it out without using vital force, the way silk is pulled from a cocoon. The amount was so small that even Li Guanqi didn’t expect it.

Cang Lu’s eyes glinted coldly as his plan unfolded in his mind.

***

The Central Prefecture bustled with activity in anticipation of the mysterious faction arriving in two days.

Li Guanqi did not know that danger was fast approaching.