Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

When Li Guanqi stood up, he glanced at the thick layer of clouds overhead. An invisible aura radiated outward, and the clouds vanished instantly. He took Meng Wanshu’s hand and gave it a squeeze, his expression telling her not to worry.

As they left the graveyard, he noticed a crowd of people waiting outside. A warmth spread through his chest, and he smiled. “Sorry for making you all worry. I’m okay.”

Lu Kangnian watched him with wistful eyes. They made their way to the sect’s main pavilion.

Buzz!

Layer upon layer of spatial boundaries encircled the entire pavilion.

Lu Kangnian sat across from Li Guanqi and demanded, “You’d better be honest with me, brat. What the hell happened?”

Li Guanqi thought for a moment. He decided to be honest. “My cultivation level rose too fast. I still haven’t formed an illusory body. Inside my primordial soul, my divine soul is trembling. I don’t think I can suppress it much longer.”

The room went quiet. Xiao Chen stared at him, stunned. He hasn’t created his illusory body yet?

Lu Kangnian nodded solemnly. With a sweeping gesture, he said, “Leave all sect matters to us. There’s nothing you need to worry about here. Your only task now is to enter closed-door cultivation as soon as possible and create your illusory body. The sect will prepare what you need: the Illusory-Returning Pill and the materials for the illusory body itself.

“Take your time. Calm your mind, then talk to Wanshu and the others about their experiences creating their illusory bodies. There are scriptures on the topic in the Scripture Pavilion as well. Elder Ling will bring them to you.”Li Guanqi smiled and nodded. He didn’t decline. He was rich enough to get an Illusory-Returning Pill easily. All he had to do was ask, and the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion would deliver one without question. It was only a tier-six pill; even if he asked for a tier-seven or tier-eight pill, Gu Yong would do his best to procure one.

But having a family meant accepting the give-and-take that came with it.

He smiled. “Sect Master, you’d better get me some of that good stuff.”

Lu Kangnian rolled his eyes and said, “You’re saying that like I could ever shortchange you. Don’t worry. If the materials for the illusory body aren’t up to standard, we’ll find a way. This is important!”

Meng Wanshu said nothing. She was touched by Lu Kangnian’s words, realizing just how good the sect elders had been to him while she was away. They were good to him simply because they could, expecting nothing in return. It had nothing to do with Li Guanqi’s cultivation level.

Li Guanqi knew he didn’t have much time. His limit was three months. If he wasn’t ready to create his illusory body by then, his primordial soul would reach its limit and try to split on its own. Failure meant regression at best. At worst, his primordial soul would shatter, and he would never cultivate again.

He had thought he had plenty of time, but everything had changed so fast. After a moment, he made his decision. “Tomorrow, I’ll give a seven-day-long lecture in the sect. This time, all five of us cultivators at the Illusory Refinement Realm will be present to answer questions and clear any doubts.”

The room fell silent with shock. Having five Illusory Refinement Realm cultivators conduct a class was an extraordinary opportunity, but rather than showing gratitude, Lu Kangnian objected. “No! Creating an illusory body is the most important thing right now! A lecture isn’t urgent! We can do it once you’ve created your illusory body!”

Li Guanqi smiled. “Sect Master, that won’t be a problem. Also… I don’t think you know Wanshu’s identity yet, do you?”

Lu Kangnian froze. He’d guessed she came from an influential background, given how powerful she was at such a young age, but he hadn’t thought much of it. The Daxia Sword Sect had never been intimidated by anyone’s faction or identity, nor had they ever tried to curry favor. Not in the past, not now, not ever.

Since he had no hidden agenda, he could treat everyone equally. Li Guanqi knew this, and he didn’t bring it up to show off her position.

Many of their current disciples came from influential backgrounds. But while they were in the sect, they had only one identity: disciples of the Daxia Sword Sect.

“Wanshu’s father is the territory lord of the Divine Treasure Territory.”

Though Li Guanqi had spoken calmly, the elders were stunned. Qin Xian’s hands trembled around his teacup, spilling tea on the floor. Ling Daoyan nearly spat out his wine.

Lu Kangnian gulped, eyes widening. He hadn’t expected her identity to be that remarkable. Even he started to wonder if he’d been too casual around Meng Wanshu.

Li Guanqi said quickly, “Wanshu is a gentle soul who’s never cared about surface formalities. I brought it up so you’d know there’s no need to worry about the materials for creating my illusory body. It’ll just take some time for everything to arrive.”

Lu Kangnian nodded. “Alright, then we’ll proceed according to your plan. I’ll have a place built for your closed-door cultivation in the back mountains.”

Li Guanqi nodded with a smile. He didn’t tell Lu Kangnian his subsequent plans.

Lu Kangnian soon spread the word. When the disciples learned that five Illusory Refinement Realm cultivators, including Li Guanqi, would be giving a seven-day lecture, everyone outside the sect rushed back.

The news leaked, and suddenly, every powerful cultivator across the Azure Cloud Continent scrambled to find a way to attend the lecture. Nearly every dock leading to the Northern Territory was packed with cloud boats. Transport arrays flashed without pause as wave after wave of people poured through. The guards manning the arrays stood bewildered, unsure what was going on.

One guard in silver armor stared at the chaos, cursing under his breath. “What the fuck is going on?”

Every major faction on the Azure Cloud Continent had sent representatives. Even sects that had once been too proud to ask for anything were now shamelessly begging Lu Kangnian for special privileges.

But when they arrived at the Daxia Sword Sect, they couldn’t get close. Three layers of spatial boundaries made of heavenly fire encircled the land a hundred li out from the sect.