Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Everyone felt a strong sense of impending danger.

The bystanders were utterly confused, wondering what had happened. Cao Zhennan had been crippled, and his son had been saved. From today onward, the Southern Heavenly King would become a joke, exposed for the crimes he had committed.

Just as Li Guanqi was about to kill Cao Zhennan, more people arrived. The bystanders were shocked by the turn of events, thinking they’d be telling stories about this day for the rest of their lives.

Li Guanqi didn’t care. He reached out and pulled out Cao Zhennan’s spirit root, which originally belonged to Cao Yan.

“Ahhhh!”

Cao Zhennan’s scream shook the skies. The crowd shuddered.

He had pulled the spirit root directly from the primordial soul. The agony was unfathomable. Cao Zhennan’s face contorted, his eyes bulging wide. He glared at Li Guanqi like a dead fish, but after sensing the incoming auras, he smirked. A mixture of blood and saliva leaked from the corner of his mouth.

His dantian had been destroyed, yet his primordial soul remained intact. As long as he wasn’t dead, he could rebuild his body and quickly regain his cultivation. “Heh… Hehe… You can never kill me… I am still… the Southern Heavenly King!”

Li Guanqi was extremely irritated by the way Cao Zhennan was looking at him. At this point, a blue fiery thread extended from Cao Zhennan to Cao Yan’s head. Li Guanqi had begun transplanting the spirit root.

Li Guanqi smirked, then reached out to gouge Cao Zhennan’s eyes out. “I hate the way you’re looking at me.”Pop! Pop!

The eyeballs exploded. Li Guanqi’s hand burst into flames. He tapped the ground with the Red Lotus Sword and trapped Cao Zhennan in a lightning prison, then looked up at the horizon. “The three of you. Since you’ve arrived, don’t you think it’s time to show yourselves?”

Boom!

Intense lightning filled the sky, forcing three figures dressed in luxurious clothing to emerge from the void.

The first was a man in luxurious brocade robes with a folded fan in his hand. He stood as straight as a sword. His eyes were bright, and his gaze was so deep it seemed he could see through one’s soul.

In the center stood a man in embroidered black robes, hands falling at his sides. A subtle vital force rippled around him, and based on his aura, he was the strongest of the three. He had an icy expression. His hooked nose and slightly high cheekbones gave him the air of someone cold and distant.

Next to him was a lady in a green dress, her ink-green hair tied up in a casual bun. Her hairpin was no ordinary object, radiating thick life force. Her cheeks were a little plump, and her delicate features made her look cute, with a small nose and mouth. However, her serious expression and elegant demeanor evoked respect.

The moment they appeared, the rain froze. Raindrops paused midair without falling, and the lightning gradually disappeared.

Li Guanqi turned slightly pale. He narrowed his eyes at the trio high in the sky.

The trio gazed down at the crowd below. Gasps of surprise rippled through the bystanders. Everyone who recognized them quickly bowed.

“Greetings, Eastern Heavenly King!”

“Greetings, Western Heavenly King!”

“Greetings, Northern Heavenly King!”

The greetings told Li Guanqi exactly who he was dealing with. He recalled the information the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion had given him.

Eastern Heavenly King, Duan Ming. Western Heavenly King, Nan Gongxi. Northern Heavenly King, Lu Xuan.

The fierce-looking man in black at the center was Lu Xuan. He looked down at Li Guanqi and the others calmly. He was mildly surprised, nothing more. The three heavenly kings were all at the late Illusory Refinement Realm and had been cultivating for a very long time. A few mid Illusory Refinement Realm kids were nothing to them.

At first, they paid little mind to the news of someone crashing Cao Zhennan’s birthday party. However, the moment those youngsters began killing cultivators of the Illusory Refinement Realm, the heavenly kings realized the situation had grown far more serious.

If they let those youths kill Cao Zhennan in front of everyone, they would lose face. As the heavenly kings of the Black Sect Territory, if a few kids showing up at their doorstep could kill one of them, they’d become a laughingstock.

As such, they couldn’t let Cao Zhennan die yet. He could succumb to his injuries later, but not be killed publicly.

Lu Xuan’s voice boomed across the square. “Li Guanqi, is it? Since you have achieved your objectives, could we let today’s matters rest?”

Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. He had saved Cao Yan, but he didn’t want to stop at that.

“We’re heavenly kings too,” Lu Xuan continued. “If you kill him today, we would lose face. So… could you give me face and let him go?”

The other cultivators looked at Li Guanqi strangely.

The incident had escalated so much that almost all the high-level cultivators in the Black Sect Territory were watching. They had all seen Cao Yan’s tragic state, and Li Guanqi was clearly out for blood. But now, three other heavenly kings had arrived, clearly trying to intimidate him. Their vital force visibly strengthened as well.

Cao Zhennan smirked. Blood trickled from his mouth as he said, “I… knew it… You… could never… kill me…”

Li Guanqi smashed Cao Zhennan’s jaw with his fist and pulled his tongue out. Facing the cold glares from the other three heavenly kings, he said irritably, “Shut your mouth!”

Xiao Chen and Ye Feng remained calm, turning to look at Li Guanqi. Their message was clear—they didn’t care if they were dealing with heavenly kings. If he intended to fight, they would stand by his side.

Li Guanqi felt their gazes. He looked up and shot Lu Xuan a chilling smile, then held Cao Zhennan up in front of him. The spirit root transplant was complete.

Lu Xuan smiled. He felt that everything was progressing smoothly.

The Eastern Heavenly King, Duan Ming, said arrogantly, “The smartest people know how to read the room.”

Nan Gongxi gave Li Guanqi’s group a dismissive glance, snorted, and turned to leave.