Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Two sword lights, one gold and one blue, tore through the void. They carried no intent to suppress, yet they instilled a profound sense of dread in anyone who approached the barrier outside the Daxia Sword Sect.

Lu Kangnian gazed at the sword light before him, something stirring in his chest. He turned to Qin Xian with a self-mocking sigh. “Elder Qin… do you think we’re getting old? Even after cultivating with all our might, we still can’t keep up with these juniors.”

Lu Kangnian had expected sympathy, but Qin Xian merely offered an odd smile. “Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Hm?”

Qin Xian laughed. “With two disciples of such monstrous talent emerging in the sect, shouldn’t we elders be delighted?”

“As for our cultivation, doing our best is enough,” Qin Xian said, his gaze shifting slightly. “Besides, we may spend our entire lives without ever stepping into the Immortal Realm, but you, Sect Master… you still have hope.”

He sighed softly. “From here on, try to leave more of the sect’s affairs to Wu Bing. He’s just broken through to the Divine Transformation Realm, so it’s time he shouldered more responsibility.”

After a moment’s thought, Qin Xian frowned and added, “Sect Master… Do you think Wu Bing might harbor jealousy toward Guanqi because of all this?”

Lu Kangnian’s reply caught him off guard. “He won’t.”

Qin Xian frowned. “Why not?”Lu Kangnian glanced at the now-prosperous Daxia Sword Sect.

“He wouldn’t dare.”

Qin Xian smiled and shook his head. After a moment’s thought, he supposed it was fair enough.

He straightened his sleeves and grinned. “Heh, hopefully in a couple of years I can take it easy. I’ll wander around and see the world. I’ve been comfortable for too long. I’ve almost forgotten what the cultivation world is really like, all that blood and chaos.”

Lu Kangnian looked at Qin Xian and took his words to heart. He smiled faintly without saying more, though plans were already forming in his mind.

***

Within the cave dwelling, Li Guanqi continued his endless simulations. The process of creating his illusory body allowed no room for even the slightest mistake.

Inside the sealed, independent world, he knew nothing of what was happening outside. He followed the steps laid out by Sword Spirit, proceeding carefully, one stage at a time.

***

In the central region of the Divine Treasure Territory, space trembled faintly. Two figures appeared in quick succession within the Territory Lord’s world.

The instant the rift opened and their auras leaked out, the patrolling guards rushed over and dropped to one knee around the fissure. Moments later, Ye Feng and Meng Wanshu emerged.

“Greetings, Saintess!”

“Greetings, Saintess!”

Every guard present was at the late Nascent Soul Realm, and each patrol team was led by a cultivator at the Divine Transformation Realm, a testament to the formidable defenses of the Divine Treasure Territory.

Whoosh!

An elderly man with a grave expression suddenly appeared before the two of them. It was Li Changqing.

He nodded toward Ye Feng, sealed off the surroundings, and said in a low voice, “News of the Xiao family incident has already spread, but it seems someone forcibly sealed the Xiao family’s domain world from the inside. It can’t be opened from the outside. So far, no one knows what exactly happened in there.”

Ye Feng asked, “What about Xiao Chen? Didn’t he already return? No one’s seen him?”

Li Changqing shook his head. “I’ve had people watching the area outside the Xiao family’s domain this entire time. Xiao Chen has not returned.”

A sense of foreboding surged in Ye Feng’s chest. He said gravely, “This isn’t good… Something’s wrong. Let’s go!”

Meng Wanshu led Li Changqing and Ye Feng as they set off at once toward the Xiao family’s domain.

It wasn’t too far away. The three tore through the void at full speed. Along the way, Ye Feng sent more messages but received no response.

Rip!

An hour later, the three emerged one after another. Ye Feng looked down at a mist-shrouded mountain range with a slight frown. The area was covered with dense forests and lush vegetation, and thick spirit qi hung in the air.

Ye Feng’s expression changed. “Isn’t this… a little too quiet?”

The mountains within a hundred li were utterly silent. Not a sound, not even a trace of wind. It was profoundly unnatural for such a vast, winding mountain range to be so completely still.

Meng Wanshu stepped forward and vanished. When she reappeared, she was already in a mountain hollow dozens of li away.

She circulated her vital force, her eyes glowing faintly as she rapidly formed hand seals with one hand.

Ripples spread through the space before her. The spatial fluctuations grew increasingly violent.

Buzz!

The void within a thousand zhang trembled violently, yet despite the twisting ripples, there was no response.

Li Changqing sighed. They had already tried every available method.

A cold gleam flashed in Ye Feng’s eyes. Terrifying Yin Hellfire erupted from his body. Within a blood-colored domain, black flames ignited atop the two corpses closest to the transport array.

Clang!

A clear sword cry rang out as Ye Feng flashed hundreds of zhang to the side.

His eyes locked onto the rippling space before him. His eyelids lowered slightly, and he moved at blinding speed. In the span of a single breath, over a hundred afterimages appeared in the sky.

Meng Wanshu sensed something amiss as well. She poured all her strength into maintaining the seals she had made.

Suddenly, ghost qi surfaced in Ye Feng’s eyes. Strange black currents coiled around his right arm, the sword in his hand shrieking as he slashed forward in a single strike.

Boom!

The twisted space caved inward like softened leather. Metal power, razor-sharp, surged forth. Overwhelming sword intent flooded the blade’s arc as Ye Feng clenched his teeth and roared, “Break!”

Within the domain, the corpses flared with intense flames, burning a massive hole through the blood-colored barrier.

Boom! Crack!

Rip!

The sword light split the heavens, tearing open a hundred-zhang-wide rift in space.

A streak of blood-red light flashed past.

Meng Wanshu’s pupils contracted. She raised her hand and froze the rift in place.

The stench of blood hit Ye Feng head-on. His face twisted. He unleashed his Ghost Arm and charged straight in.

Wooo-ao!

The moment he entered the domain, a howl that sounded like a feral ghost beast rang in his ears. His expression changed drastically.

That sound…

He snapped his head around, staring as a massive shadowy figure emerged in the distance, pitch-black and shrouded in thick smoke.

The creature’s body seemed incorporeal. Any weapon strike passed straight through it.

It stood upright, vaguely humanoid yet clearly not human. Two blood-red eyes glowed within the black smoke, locking onto Ye Feng the instant it spotted him. With a savage motion, it tore apart the Xiao family disciple before it, raising the split corpse overhead and letting the blood rain down over itself.

Ye Feng’s pupils shrank. “Why is there an Abyssal Demon here?!”