Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Most of the blood patterns on Li Guanqi’s body had disappeared; only thirty percent remained. The seals Su Xuan had left on him were weakening, which meant the properties of his Empty Spirit Physique would soon manifest at full strength. This would grant him profound understanding and effortless comprehension of any subject.

Sword Spirit was surprised by this too. She’d seen an Empty Spirit Physique before, back in the Immortal Realm, but Li Guanqi was on another level. His comprehension and talent were innate, but, more importantly, he was resilient, determined, and able to think.

Li Guanqi rose slowly. Though he was standing right there, he seemed to be growing illusory himself.

Li Changqing, standing guard outside Meng Wanshu’s door, stared at him with bright eyes. “Have you… started to comprehend its illusory nature?”

Li Guanqi nodded without a word. He could not hide his transformation from Li Changqing.

Li Changqing smiled and nodded. “Not bad.”

His eyes darted around sharply. When he confirmed no one was spying on them, he transmitted cautiously, “Remember, never let anyone know where your illusory body is! Never let anyone know who your illusory body is, either!”

Li Guanqi straightened up. He had indeed thought about this. “If my illusory body gets killed, will there be severe consequences?”

Li Changqing nodded solemnly. “Yes, very severe! In a minor case, you’d end up stuck in the Illusory Refinement Realm. In a severe case, your cultivation level will regress, and your primordial soul will be damaged!”

He took a long look at Li Guanqi. “You’re different from other people. Most people who enter the Illusory Refinement Realm are eager to make clones. Some create many clones just to ensure they won’t die, even if their clones end up with low cultivation levels.” Contempt crept into his voice. “It just ruins their cultivation. When these people attempt to merge with their clones, they realize how stupid they’ve been.”

Li Guanqi nodded wistfully. “Because their clones... cannot be considered illusory bodies?”

Li Changqing nodded but did not elaborate. “Remember, when you make your clone, you must find a place for closed-door cultivation where no one will disturb you!”

With that, Li Changqing left to help repair the cloud boat.“It looks like we can depart tonight.”

Li Guanqi nodded. Sensing that Meng Wanshu was still cultivating in her room, he headed for Heavenly Cloud City. The two other guys hadn’t returned yet, and he was getting worried. His eyes darted toward Meng Wanshu’s door several times, then he disappeared with a flash of lightning beneath his feet.

Li Changqing saw him go and gave a knowing smile. “He gets to watch performances and listen to songs in his free time… Sigh, how nice it must be to be young. Well, the kid’s still a virgin… at least he has some self-control. So he’s actually amongst mortal distractions?”

Li Guanqi extended his divine consciousness and soon found Ye Feng and Xiao Chen.

Whoosh!

He was about to enter the six-storey Smiling Beauty Tavern when he saw Ye Feng and Xiao Chen being hauled out by two women.

One was a beautiful woman in a pink dress that exposed her shoulders slightly. Her beautiful eyes blazed with anger. With a hand on her hip, she pointed at Xiao Chen. “As I said, I don’t know how to cultivate! I really don’t! Go cultivate amongst whatever the fuck you said! I still don’t know what you want me to do, even if you pay me more money! You’ve been as prudish as a monk this entire night! Are you here just to stir up trouble, or what?!”

Her frustration and anger threatened to spill over as tears. She’d thought she’d gotten an opportunity—Xiao Chen was the cultivator with the best looks, figure, and family background she’d ever seen. She’d already started thinking about all the positions she would use to get on his good side. But Xiao Chen had spent the whole night begging her to teach him how to cultivate. He’d even kept talking about how only ladies like her knew this cultivation technique.

Xiao Chen shot back furiously, “I spent the money, and you still won’t let me cultivate? I haven’t even complained about that! A whole night! I’ve been here the whole night, and you still won’t tell me… If you want more money, just say so! Why are you stopping me from cultivating?!”

Ye Feng was beside himself with laughter, but the other woman, clad in a green dress, scolded him. “Gold-head, why are you laughing? All you know how to do is grope…”

She pursed her lips and glared at Ye Feng’s right hand. “Ptui! You’re nice to look at, but that’s about it. I don’t know what kind of fetish this is!”

More and more people surrounded them, watching with great amusement. Ye Feng and Xiao Chen were elites, capable of opening their own sects if they wanted. And they were very young. Reaching the Illusory Refinement Realm at roughly twenty years old was something very few people in the six territories could achieve.

Someone coughed awkwardly and said quietly, “Maybe these guys really use some special cultivation technique…”

Ye Feng had a thick face, so he merely shrugged nonchalantly. He rubbed his nose and turned to Li Guanqi, who was bent over with laughter. “The cultivation technique I’m using requires me to be a virgin. What are you laughing at?”

Xiao Chen spotted Li Guanqi and rushed up to him. “Are you guys keeping the key to this technique from me? Brother Ye said you two have done this many times, and you gain new insights every time! Although we cannot be considered friends, there’s no need to be this stingy, is there?”

Li Guanqi coughed awkwardly and patted his shoulder. “In the future, if I get the chance, I’ll personally take you to experience it. You will surely gain deep insights.”

Xiao Chen’s eyes lit up. “There’s no need for next time—we can do it right now!”

He released a fiery boundary around the whole Smiling Beauty Tavern.

The tavern owner turned pale and rushed down from the stage. She was a middle-aged-looking Divine Transformation Realm cultivator. Though she was visibly aging, she was still beautiful and clearly took great care of herself, her mature beauty fully on display.

She recognized Li Guanqi and Ye Feng. After the huge commotion at Heavenly Cloud City, it was impossible not to. She saluted them respectfully and bowed her head. “Mr. Li, Mr. Ye, and Young Master Xiao, if the ladies at the Smiling Beauty Tavern have upset you, I sincerely apologize. Please let me know if you have any requests at all.”

There was some fear in her voice. Her patron couldn’t afford to offend Li Guanqi’s backer. She hadn’t thought the girls’ petty complaints could anger cultivators of their level, but after seeing the fiery boundary, she assumed Xiao Chen was genuinely upset.

The bewildered Xiao Chen pursed his lips, leaned close to the woman, and pushed a big piece of purple gold crystal into her hand. He whispered, “Bring me the most capable girls in your tavern. The more, the better! I must surpass them in cultivation today.”