Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Meng Wanshu was a little flustered by Li Guanqi’s sudden remark. She rested both hands on her back and turned toward the cloud boat. “Hmph! You’re obsessed with yourself.”

After she entered the boat, Li Guanqi walked up to Li Changqing, then bowed and asked solemnly, “Senior Li, may I ask what the aim of this outing was?”

Li Changqing narrowed his eyes and spoke through voice transmission. “Why are you asking?”

Li Guanqi shook his head. “I know Uncle Meng, and I doubt he’d let her go out like this unless something major was at stake.”

Li Changqing hesitated. In the end, he still didn’t tell Li Guanqi the purpose of their trip. “It’s nothing. The issue has been handled.”

He sighed. “We need to repair the boat as soon as possible. Once that’s done, we’ll rush back to the Divine Treasure Territory. As for you… Sigh, we’ll see.”

Li Guanqi smiled. “I’ll be going with you all.”

Li Changqing nodded without a word. Perhaps to him, Li Guanqi’s inhuman talent didn’t make him any more suitable for Meng Wanshu than Xiao Chen.

As Meng Wanshu’s bodyguard, Li Changqing had practically watched her grow up, ever since the territory lord first brought her to the Divine Treasure Territory. He had even personally guided her through her cultivation journey.

Li Guanqi smiled and said nothing more. He felt that to truly understand someone, one had to look at what they’d done and contributed, not at what they said.He went to the side of the cloud boat, sat cross-legged, and began cultivating.

Li Changqing saw him and hesitated, then took out a set of luxurious white robes with purple electrical arcs crackling across their surface. The robes were an ancient treasure.[1]

The robes—the Floating Cloud Robes—could block most dispersed attacks from Illusory Refinement Realm cultivators. Thanks to their unique material, the robes could even self-repair as long as they weren’t severely damaged. He placed them next to Li Guanqi, then went to stand guard outside Meng Wanshu’s room.

Meng Wanshu’s identity meant that being outside was very dangerous for her, so Li Changqing was eager to return to the Divine Treasure Territory. However, the boat still required extensive repairs, so they could only wait.

The next morning, Li Guanqi slowly opened his eyes and exhaled. Sitting on the floor, he frowned. A night’s cultivation had given him a much clearer understanding of the Illusory Refinement Realm.

With his current cultivation level, his lifespan had increased to five thousand years. The realization made him feel a little lost. Even if he stopped cultivating, he would still have five thousand long years to live through. It felt too unreal.

He had slowly gained control over his primordial soul’s powers and grown much more sensitive to spirit qi. Even his rate of refining spirit qi was incomparable to what it had been before.

However, he was still uncomfortable about generating a clone from his primordial soul. The moment he created one, there would be another him in the world, and splitting his consciousness would be disorienting. With more clones—like how Cang Lu and the Green Sun Palace elder were two clones of the same person—the sense of fragmentation would only intensify.

“Sword Spirit, do you think I should make a clone?”

Sword Spirit’s voice rang in his mind. “You could, but it’s best to make only one. It will help you understand the sufferings of the world. Split out a portion of your energy for the clone to cultivate, experience the world, and perform closed-door cultivation.”

Li Guanqi frowned. “Why?”

Sword Spirit continued, “Do you know why the realm after the Illusory Refinement Realm is called the Combined Body Realm?”

“No.”

“Because when you achieve the tenth stage of the Illusory Refinement Realm, your clones return to your spirit void and merge with your main body. You achieve a pure, basic state, free of all impurities. When that happens, you’ll be able to kill tens of thousands of Illusory Refinement Realm clones with just a slash of your sword!”

Sword Spirit paused. “If you don’t create a clone, you’ll never grasp the depth of the cloning process or feel a connection to it. How could we ever talk about killing ten thousand clones?”

Li Guanqi nodded. “I understand.”

He was silent for a moment, then asked a question that surprised Sword Spirit. “Sword Spirit.”

“Hmm?”

“Illusory Refinement Realm… What does the word ‘illusory’ mean?”

Sword Spirit, who had been leaning in a chair, suddenly stood up. Her gaze seemed to meet Li Guanqi’s eyes. She was shocked. She hadn’t expected Li Guanqi to be contemplating such a deep topic after only just entering this realm.

Sword Spirit fell silent. After a long time, she said, “I hadn’t expected you to ask such a question so soon. These days, most cultivators focus solely on increasing their strength and explosiveness, seeking various ways to grow stronger. They forget the true essence of the Illusory Refinement Realm.”

Li Guanqi listened silently, waiting for her answer.

“The realm and the sword spirit void are related. ‘Illusory’ is the opposite of ‘real.’ A sword in the spirit void is a manifestation of the mind, made real through the spirit void. The sword becomes a medium that converts the mind into tangible strength. In this sense, the sword is the manifestation of the mind.”

Li Guanqi’s eyes lit up. His mind opened, and he entered a profound state as he listened to Sword Spirit’s explanation. His understanding of the sword spirit void deepened significantly.

The sword spirit void was the core of his strength. It didn’t matter what sword he used. Through the sword spirit void, he could still activate Soul Dissolution’s Heaven-Opening Tier. Previously, when he was using the Shadowless Sword, he had similarly activated Soul Dissolution. The sword spirit void didn’t disappear when he changed swords. Only the outward manifestation of strength was affected.

For instance, both the Red Lotus Sword and Yanluo Sword could withstand the power of the Heaven-Opening Tier, though he couldn’t use it with the Yanluo Sword yet because he wasn’t familiar enough with it.

“As for the word ‘illusory’ in Illusory Refinement Realm—it represents strength that exists between real and illusory. It represents the illusory nature of your power. It’s a deeper version of divine consciousness, going beyond the surface, emphasizing one’s true nature and inner transformation.”

She continued, “It also represents a type of energy: the inner heart, the mind, consciousness, and so on. When you finally master the illusory nature, your ability to detect other sources of power will exceed your current level.”

Li Guanqi did not reply, but several blood patterns on his body disappeared.

Sword Spirit sensed the disappearances, and her lips curved upward.

The Empty Spirit Physique is… terrifying.

1. Hierarchy: mundane tools < magical tools < spirit tools < magical treasures < ancient treasures < spirit treasures < heavenly spirit treasures. ☜