Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

The rampaging Crimson Lightning Suanni charged, its colossal body slamming forward like a falling mountain. The thick ice walls crumbled like paper before such raw power. The ground shook, and shards of shattered ice scattered across the sky.

Using nothing but its physical body, the Suanni smashed the surrounding void to pieces. The nine ice walls broke in succession, their explosive sounds almost continuous.

Bang!

The Suanni burst from the ice wall’s encirclement unscathed, but Nine Heavens was already there, its dragon tail swinging with full force.

Boom!

Space collapsed wherever Nine Heavens’ tail passed. Peng Luo, now a ten-zhang-tall giant, brought both fists crashing down on the Suanni with all his strength.

Ice spread across the ground beneath Meng Wanshu’s feet. Her sword flared with a terrifying ice-blue radiance, and in a single surge of power, her sword broke through to the Heaven-Opening Tier.

Heaven-Opening Tier: Frozen World!

The void around the longsword froze solid, and cold qi seeped from the corner of her mouth.

Boom!Terrifying sword intent erupted. Her blade became a one-zhang-long ice spike and thrust forward, countless shards of ice exploding from the edge as a beam of frigid light pierced the void, aimed straight for the Suanni’s eyes.

Boom!

The Suanni narrowed its eyes at the incoming attack, a glint of sharp intelligence flashing in them. Its deep voice rumbled again, “You… dare to underestimate me?!”

Boom!

The Crimson Lightning Suanni bristled with lightning, every strand of fur standing on end. It raised a paw and swatted toward Nine Heavens’ tail. At the same time, it ducked beneath the piercing sword and compressed its fur into sharp spears, stabbing them at Peng Luo.

Bang!

Roar!

Nine Heavens’ tail scales whipped through the air, dark-golden blood splashing everywhere. The lion’s claw broke through Nine Heavens’ defense and smashed its tail into bits.

Bang!

Pff!

The fur along the Suanni’s neck, compressed into razor-sharp strands and infused with mutant spirit power, pierced Peng Luo’s body. The strands split into four segments, hooking into his flesh like fishhooks before yanking him back.

The Suanni opened its gaping maw, ready to swallow Peng Luo whole.

A flash of light beneath Meng Wanshu’s feet, and she appeared between the two, slashing at the beast’s fur in a sharp arc. Yet the moment her sword cut through, the severed strands swelled in the wind, splitting into hundreds of thread-like filaments that wrapped around her.

Swish!

“Hahaha, little girl, you’re still too young!”

“Mistress!”

Peng Luo slammed a fist into his own chest, shattering his body to break free from the Suanni’s control.

He flashed toward the massive white cocoon, but before he could reach Meng Wanshu, the Suanni narrowed its eyes, a strange look crossing its face.

Boom!

A dazzling ice-blue light erupted from the white cocoon. With a deafening bang, countless sharp sword lights crisscrossed the void, shearing the Suanni’s fur away in torrents.

Meng Wanshu broke free of the restriction and glanced at Peng Luo. “Step back. Go with Nine Heavens.”

Her eyes glimmered with ice-blue light, and the mysterious snowflake mark on her brow gradually faded.

The massive Suanni squinted its enormous eyes, tensing as it stared at Meng Wanshu from hundreds of zhang away.

“So many years, and I’ve never seen such extreme ice spirit power…”

Its gaze drifted toward Nine Heavens, open greed written across its face. The Suanni had only recently broken through to the seventh tier. Though it had sustained some injuries, Meng Wanshu’s group was hardly a threat. As a descendant of the ancient great demon Suanni, it possessed an insatiable hunger for true dragon essence and dragon pills.

Its eyes glinted with calculation as it looked at Peng Luo. A peak tier-six spirit beast could help it recover significantly.

Running its scarlet tongue over its lips, the Crimson Lightning Suanni growled, “I don’t know why you came looking for me… but now that you’re here, none of you are leaving alive.”

Boom!

Its entire body suddenly shifted, its features growing even more ferocious and its claws sharpening. A blood-red hue crept into its eyes, and its aura turned far more frenzied, nothing like a newly advanced great demon.

Peng Luo’s pupils constricted. He transmitted urgently, “Mistress… maybe we should retreat for now! This Crimson Lightning Suanni is no fool, and its power far surpasses ours!”

However, neither Nine Heavens nor Meng Wanshu retreated.

Nine Heavens’ demonic power surged, and its injuries healed at a visible, startling rate.

Seeing this, Peng Luo gritted his teeth, tore off his own arm, and tossed it to Nine Heavens, muttering, “Today… we settle this.”

Nine Heavens opened his mouth and swallowed the arm. Its injuries healed completely.

Peng Luo climbed onto Nine Heavens’ head. This time, the dragon didn’t resist.

Meng Wanshu said nothing, but the snowflake mark on her brow faded rapidly. As it disappeared, her power surged like a raging flood.

Boom!

A towering ice pillar shot into the sky, and the void beneath her feet froze solid. The force spread across a hundred li, shrouding the entire area in a mysterious spatial energy.

Frozen Expanse!

Space twisted. The Suanni’s eyes flickered as lightning erupted across its limbs. With a roar, it leaped into the air, shattering the ice beneath its feet. This time, however, it didn’t taunt her. For some reason, it sensed overwhelming danger from Meng Wanshu.

Before, it would have fled without hesitation. The higher the realm of a great demon, the sharper its instinct for danger. But now? The Crimson Lightning Suanni glanced at Nine Heavens and licked its lips.

Thud!

The void within the domain shattered, and the Suanni vanished. A pillar of lightning shot toward Meng Wanshu.

Her eyes narrowed, but she showed no panic. She vanished, weaving around the lightning pillar at blinding speed and appearing beside the Crimson Lightning Suanni.

She raised her hand, and a fierce sword light burst forth.

Boom!

A thousand-zhang-wide tear ripped through the domain, annihilating ‌space itself. The Crimson Lightning Suanni was forced back over a thousand zhang.

Drip! Drip!

Blood stained its fur, but a mysterious force froze the wounds on contact. Ice spread across the Suanni’s body, encasing it completely.

Bang!

A surge of blazing lightning erupted from the Suanni’s brow, piercing through the ice. But Nine Heavens was already waiting, claws brimming with battle intent, and struck with full force.