Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Buzz!

A white-robed young man sped through the void at incredible speed.

He didn’t spare a thought for killing Long Qu, as the man was just a regional administrator of the Northern Territory on the Azure Cloud Continent. If he died, so be it.

Besides, when the Azure Cloud Territory Lord learned the news, he would probably grin ear to ear.

***

Li Guanqi tore through space and arrived at the Meng family residence of the Divine Treasure Territory. The Meng family patrol guards surrounded him, but once they saw his face, they quickly withdrew their weapons and bowed.

“Greetings, Young Master Li!”

Li Guanqi smiled and returned the salute with cupped fists. “You’ve all worked hard.”

He raised his hand and gave each of them a small bottle of cultivation pills. All of them had been refined by Sun Miao, and they were of exceptional quality. It was not an enormous favor, but certainly not a small one either.The patrolling guards were clearly tempted, yet none of them dared to accept. Li Guanqi, however, stuffed the bottles into their hands, and they finally relented.

The captain bowed with a smile. “Many thanks, Young Master Li. If there’s ever anything you need, just say the word.”

Li Guanqi smiled. “You’re too polite. If anything ever happens to the Xiao family, and you can lend a hand, I would be deeply grateful.”

The man patted his chest and promised that if he ever encountered Xiao family disciples outside, he would help however he could.

Li Guanqi asked softly, “By the way, how has Wan Shu been lately?”

The man’s expression sharpened. He replied in a low voice, “Since the Saintess returned last time, she has entered closed-door cultivation. It seems she encountered some issues in her training. But please rest assured, Young Master Li. It’s nothing serious.”

Only then did Li Guanqi relax slightly. There was another question on his mind, but he did not ask it aloud. He couldn’t sense Meng Jiangchu’s aura with his divine consciousness.

Could it be that Uncle Meng isn’t in the territory realm?

As he turned, Li Guanqi frowned faintly. There was no trace of Meng Jiangchu anywhere within the entire territory. He took out a jade slip and sent a transmission, but received no response.

“Oh, right. Could you give me a map to the Xiao family?”

The man quickly produced a blank jade slip, imprinted the Xiao family’s location into it, and handed it over with both hands.

After a moment’s thought, Li Guanqi left one of his own jade slips with the man.

“If anything comes up in the future, you can contact me.”

The man accepted it as though it were a priceless treasure, carefully putting it away. After Li Guanqi left, the others immediately surrounded their captain.

“Hahaha, Brother Zhou! The Revered Yanluo actually gave you his personal communication jade slip!”

“Brother Zhou, take it out and let us see it. That’s the Yanluo Sword, Li Guanqi, you know!”

A grin crept across the man’s face despite himself, though he forced a stern expression. “What are you looking at? Get lost. Do your patrol properly. I’ll show you after the shift change.”

After leaving the Meng family’s territory, Li Guanqi looked in all directions and took a deep breath. He had no idea that a group of unwelcome guests had already arrived in the Xiao family’s territory.

Xiao Chen sat in the main seat of the grand hall, his expression extremely gloomy. Beside him sat a middle-aged woman who looked visibly fatigued. Though full-figured and exuding an air of authority, her eyes betrayed a deep, helpless exhaustion.

Below, three people sat on each side, for a total of six. Every one of them radiated powerful auras. Even as guests in the Xiao household, they made no effort to conceal their oppressive presence.

The leading middle-aged man spoke with a mocking sneer, “Kid, shouldn’t your family be moving out today? Don’t forget to leave the spirit veins behind. After all, that counts as the debt your Xiao family owed us back then.”

Xiao Chen kept his hands tucked into his sleeves. His expression did not change in the slightest, nor did his gaze waver.

His mother, Cheng Yun, flew into a rage. Her finger trembled as she pointed at the man with triangular eyes and cursed, “Ding Gengyang! That’s bullshit! When did our Xiao family ever borrow spirit stones from your Ding family!”

Enraged beyond measure, she slammed her palm onto the table and shot to her feet.

“You’re nothing but an ungrateful wretch! Back when you were breaking through to the Divine Transformation Realm, you knelt like a dog outside the main hall of our Xiao family, begging Old Xiao for a single Divine Transformation Pill! And now you actually bring people here to carve up the Xiao family? Has your conscience been eaten by dogs?!”

Ding Gengyang slammed his hand down on the table. The table beside him shattered from the shock.

His face darkened as he glared at the woman, and he was just about to speak when—

Bang!

A blood-red spear swept past the corner of his mouth, its blade thrusting straight toward his throat. Startled, the man snorted coldly and slashed out with his sword.

The woman beside Ding Gengyang struck at the same time. Two long swords clashed against the spear tip, and the force sent both of them—chairs and all—sliding back several zhang. The impact knocked the Divine Blood Spear loose, sending it spinning back.

Seated calmly in his chair, Xiao Chen extended his right hand and caught the Divine Blood Spear in his palm. He hadn’t moved an inch.

Xiao Chen looked at the two of them coldly. “If you dare insult my mother again, I will kill you.”

His icy killing intent made the man’s breathing hitch.

At the side, a richly dressed woman rose abruptly to her feet. A chilling spirit pressure spread out, making the temperature in the hall drop sharply.

The surrounding flames flickered wildly. She narrowed her eyes at Xiao Chen and spoke in an icy tone. “Hah. So the Xiao family intends to make enemies of all of us.”

The others slowly stood as well. The pressure of six Illusory Refinement Realm experts erupted at once.

Bang!

The chair beneath Xiao Chen exploded. Terrifying pressure crashed down on him like towering mountains.

Xiao Chen stepped forward and shielded his mother behind him, gripping the spear in one hand as he alone bore the combined pressure of the six. His legs trembled uncontrollably, yet his back remained straight even as his feet crushed the bluestone tiles and sank into the ground.

Xiao Chen clenched his teeth, veins bulging across his forehead.

Debt my ass.

These people had clearly come to kick them while they were down. The Xiao family just so happened to possess six high-grade spirit veins. How could that be a coincidence?

The others sneered.

“Heh, you’re still too young. If you’re too rigid, you’re bound to break.”

“Exactly. Kid, can’t you see the situation?”

“Bow your head. If you take your people and leave, you might still live. Or do you really plan to resist to the bitter end?”

“Hahahahaha! Don’t tell me this kid actually thinks someone will come help his Xiao family now?”

Their words were like knives, stabbing into Xiao Chen again and again.

Several elders behind him glared in fury, but they could only rely on the young man before them to withstand the oppressive pressure.

An old man with clouded eyes wept as he murmured, “Could it be… that heaven truly intends to destroy our Xiao family…”

A savage pressure descended without warning, as if seeking to destroy the world. In a single breath, that overwhelming force shattered the combined pressure of the six.

Crack! Crack crack crack!

Six tiles cracked in rapid succession beneath their knees.

The six experts who had arrived so aggressively dropped to their knees, trembling as they struggled against the crushing pressure.

A flash of terror flickered through their eyes.