Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Li Guanqi returned to the wooden house nestled in the bamboo grove, his appearance now youthful. Only his hair retained streaks of silver woven through the black, giving it a salt-and-pepper look.

He still wore his dark-red Daoist robes, and a pagoda radiating eerie energy hung at his waist.

Sword Spirit looked at him and spoke softly. “Your actions will have consequences. Or as they say, you are bound by three thousand threads of karma. Your future Combined Body Realm heavenly tribulation… may be difficult.”

Li Guanqi remained calm. “So what?”

His voice dropped to a murmur. “I can’t keep worrying about the future. Unless I stop killing completely?”

Sword Spirit did not press further. Instead, she asked curiously, “What do you plan to do next?”

Li Guanqi thought for a moment, recalling the events of the past year. “I’ll update everyone, then wander the world alone. No purpose, no direction.”

He drew several jade slips from his storage ring. They flickered for half an hour without stopping.

He hesitated, but he wanted to reassure them. At last, he took Li Nanting’s jade slip and told him everything that had happened. He gave the sect master a brief account as well.

Ye Feng and Cao Yan had spent the past year in the sect. He told them not to worry, though he wouldn’t be returning for now. He also told Peng Luo and Nine Heavens to settle in at the sect. He’d find them when the time came.

Peng Luo was bathing in the pool at Heavenly Water Peak, surrounded by beautiful girls. He sat upright with a start. “Cough, cough. Alright, alright! Master, don’t worry about me!”

Nine Heavens lay coiled in the sect’s rear mountain, gazing wistfully into the distance. Its dragon eyes gleamed. It soared into the sky, tearing through the void as it left the Daxia Sword Sect.

Peng Luo stared blankly at Nine Heavens’ departure, muttering, “Brother Nine truly is a dragon among dragons. Leaving to train already?”

Ye Feng and Cao Yan also left the Daxia Sword Sect to train on their own. Before they departed, each left a wisp of sword intent hanging above Heavenly Sword Peak.

Lu Kangnian remained in closed-door cultivation. No one knew about the pent-up anger brewing within him.

Xiao Chen sighed with relief at Li Guanqi’s voice. The weight lifted from his chest.

With everything settled, Li Guanqi felt light and refreshed. He let out a long exhale.

He raised a hand. The sword coffin outside the bamboo forest trembled and flew to him. He strapped it to his back and said, “Let’s go.”

Whoosh!

Li Guanqi soared into the sky, piercing through the clouds. “From now on, when traveling, I’ll use an alias.”

Sword Spirit grinned playfully. ”Not using Ye Feng’s name anymore?”

Li Guanqi shook his head with a smile. “His name will be known across the Six Territories one day. I can’t keep using it to cause mischief.”

He smirked as he pondered. “I shall be Li Wuji…. From now on, my sword will strike without restraint!”[1]

Sword Spirit nodded, finding the alias fitting.

“The Red Lotus Sword is damaged, so you’ll need a new sword for now. Change your appearance too. It’ll make things simpler.”

Li Guanqi’s features twisted as his flesh wriggled. Though only his facial muscles shifted, he bore only a passing resemblance to his former self. Even so, his tall, upright frame kept him handsome. The half-black, half-white hair, the altered face, and the pagoda at his waist lent him a strange, eerie air.

It was as though something long binding him had finally snapped. His mindset had subtly shifted. This wasn’t bloodlust—it was a deeper grasp of his Yanluo Sword Intent. If he decided someone should die, no one else’s opinion mattered. Who lived and who died was not for society to decide. The choice was his alone.

Thus, he named himself Li Wuji. From now on, his sword would strike without restraint, guided only by his heart.

Buzz!

Sword Spirit watched his back in astonishment. She sensed a profound shift in his state of mind.

***

In the silent void, a man clad in golden armor appeared. His gaze was cold, fixed on a speck of dust in the distance. A golden spear manifested in his palm.

A deep, abyssal aura erupted from Long Hou. He raised the spear high and smashed it down into the void.

Boom!

The muffled crash echoed for hundreds of li. The void collapsed and shattered.

An elder with a powerful aura shot out, shouting angrily, “Who is it?!”

Long Hou recalled the spear and hurled it once more.

Boom!

A gigantic golden spear hologram, a thousand zhang long, shot forth. The elder’s eyes widened. He crushed several jade slips and swung his sword hard.

Crash!

The sword light crumbled beneath the spear. It pierced the elder’s shoulder, pinning him in midair.

Whoosh!

Long Hou’s eyes blazed with killing intent. He hoisted the elder on his spear. “Are you behind the ancient clans’ return?”

Cold sweat streamed down the elder’s face as he stared at Long Hou. Trembling, he whispered, “Lord Long Hou… No, no, it wasn’t me! It really wasn’t me…”

More auras appeared in the surrounding void. Long Hou swept his gaze across them with a sneer. “A pack of cowards. No one brave enough to act?”

Slash!

He flung the elder thousands of zhang away, then shook his spear and said coldly, “Remember this. The ancient clans are to keep their tails tucked between their legs.”

His aura alone suppressed the crowd. He leveled his spear at each of them. Though they had all concealed their auras and hidden in the void, none could escape his eyes. “Swallow your grievances. Break the rules, and you die.”

No one spoke. His aura was overwhelming. They swallowed their dissatisfaction, none daring to show it.

Long Hou recalled his spear and straightened up, his eyes cold. “Leave Li Guanqi alone—anyone who touches him will die an ugly death. Only ancient clan members under a hundred years old may enter the world. That is the bottom line.”

The hidden figures’ eyes gleamed. They decided to compromise. We can work with this.

Long Hou’s figure faded. One by one, the others vanished. The Six Territories remained unaware of what was to come.

1. His name is 李无忌 (Li Wuji), which means “without restraint.”

无 (wú) = without, 忌 (jì) = restraint/inhibition. ☜