Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Seeing Lu Kangnian’s solemn expression, Li Guanqi fell silent for a moment before speaking in a low voice. “Brother Ji, send word to the Guanyun Pavilion. Every clan and sect on the Azure Cloud Continent must receive a Guanyun jade pendant as quickly as possible. Establish a communication network connecting all clans and sects, free of charge.”

He had barely finished before Ji Yuchuan nodded and vanished with Xi Yunhuai and the others.

Cao Yan and Xiao Chen turned to Li Guanqi. “Boss, we’ll lead teams to reinforce the other sects!”

Li Guanqi gave them a quiet nod, his expression grave. “Be careful. Lean on your heavenly flames whenever you can.”

Xiao Chen nodded.

“Don’t worry,” Li Guanqi continued. “I’ll have a word with Uncle Meng about your family.”

“Heh, you really do know me best,” Xiao Chen said.

The two each led a group of cultivators and flew off.

Then Zhou Shiyu’s voice came through Li Guanqi’s jade pendant.

—Brother Li... could you help me again? Cracks have appeared at the demon-suppression grounds of the Six Gates Holy Sect too. Without the slightest hesitation, Li Guanqi sent a voice transmission to Xi Yunhuai, his tone low and steady. “Senior Xi, I’ll have to trouble you to make another trip to the Six Gates Holy Sect. You’re the only one who can seal these places right now.”

Xi Yunhuai was brimming with energy, terrified Li Guanqi would think him useless. He immediately stepped into the transport array and disappeared.

With that, Li Guanqi glanced at Lu Kangnian, who was buried in his preparations, then turned back to face the sealed Demon Abyss behind him.

Thud thud! Thud! Bang!

The impacts continued without pause, each one hammering at everyone’s nerves. Even Han Chengxian frowned.

Duantai Yiting had taken the initiative to lead a team out and provide reinforcements across the board. He had already left.

Lu Kangnian grimly stared at the demonic qi drifting into the sky. Taking a deep breath, he swept his hand and flung out thirty-three jade slips.

The thirty-three peaks of the rear mountains trembled, violent spatial fluctuations rolling outward. From each peak, a streak of sword qi light shot out.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Streaks of sword qi, each thirty chi long, hovered in midair one after another.

Lu Kangnian formed seals with both hands, and mighty vital force fluctuations surged all around him. An oppressive force swept across heaven and earth. His white robes billowed without wind, his hair whipping wildly.

Lu Kangnian narrowed his eyes, his expression grave, and called out in a low, forceful voice, “Xuantian Demon-Sealing Sword Array! Rise!”

Hum!

Before the sound had even faded, countless streaks of sword qi crisscrossed between heaven and earth. The sword qi wove like threads between the hovering sword beams, linking them together. Soon, a massive sword array had formed, descending sharply to hover between the Heavenly Sword Peak and the outer ring of the Seven Peaks.

Hum!

The invisible sword qi shredded and devoured the drifting demonic qi. The force of the array made even Li Guanqi’s heart skip. “This... now this is truly the sect’s profound foundation!”

Above the Daxia Sword Sect, silhouettes streaked through the air without pause, every face set with resolve. The transport array in the plaza flashed nonstop, and people from the Zhenyue Mountain Sect stumbled out one after another. Lu Kangnian immediately dispatched disciples to tend to them.

Lu Kangnian looked over and spotted Li Guanqi standing at the entrance to the sealed Demon Abyss Realm, sword in hand. An inexplicable calm settled over Lu Kangnian. He gave Li Guanqi a solemn nod, then vanished in a flash to make the necessary arrangements.

Li Guanqi turned around and said quietly, “Peng Luo, find a way to set up a healing pool. Ask for whatever pills and spirit herbs you need.”

He continued, “Sun Miao, assist Peng Luo.”

From the distant Pill Peak, Sun Miao bowed and replied calmly, “Sun Miao obeys.”

Peng Luo was mildly taken aback. He hadn’t anticipated Li Guanqi’s complete trust in him under these circumstances. With a wide grin, he yanked the violet ginseng out of the ground and ran off, calling back over his shoulder, “Master, leave it to me. I’ll handle it perfectly.”

Once he was out of earshot, he ducked his head and looked “tenderly” at the violet ginseng in his arms. He licked his lips and cackled with a foolish grin.

Li Guanqi took a seat at the edge of the thirty-chi altar.

The Four Symbols Demon-Suppression Pillars had already crumbled. The seventh-tier demon core had shattered as well.

Li Guanqi sat in perfect calm atop the seal, his expression composed. His sword prison domain enveloped the entire demon-suppression realm.

Amidst the ongoing chaos, Li Guanqi sat with his eyes closed, immersed in deep concentration. Then his eyes snapped open. A pitch-black palm, twice the size of his head, drove a knife-hand strike straight through the seal barrier. Li Guanqi leaned back slightly, and the black knife-hand grazed past the tip of his nose, nearly slicing it clean off.

Though he had dodged the strike, the burning pain on his nose left him deeply displeased.

His right hand lightly tapped the altar’s edge, and mid-backflip, his left hand slashed out.

Slash!

Thwack!

His sword cleanly severed the thick arm. But the moment the barrier shattered, endless demonic qi flooded the Sword Prison.

Li Guanqi landed ten chi from the altar and watched helplessly as a massive Abyssal Demon crawled out from the shattered barrier. Its thick arms braced against the altar’s edge, and its bloodthirsty eyes locked onto Li Guanqi. Countless Abyssal Demons of human height poured out alongside it.

The sheer number of demons made Li Guanqi’s scalp tingle. In just a few breaths, over a thousand Abyssal Demons had emerged. And the numbers kept growing.

Li Guanqi’s expression gradually grew grave, his gaze fixed on the object in the massive Abyssal Demon’s hand: a pitch-black awl. The Abyssal-Sealing Lands had been breached one after another because of the Sha organization pulling strings behind the scenes.

The massive Abyssal Demon possessed strength comparable to a cultivator half a step into the Combined Body Realm.

Li Guanqi licked his lips. Fighting spirit surged in his heart, his eyes never leaving the massive Abyssal Demon.

Boom!

Lightning erupted from the Sword Prison, instantly splitting into ten thousand lightning swords that shot forward.

Roar! Roar roar!

Countless Abyssal Demons howled and charged at Li Guanqi. But Li Guanqi walked unhurriedly toward the great Abyssal Demon, the Lock Moon Sword in hand, released to the Heaven-Opening Tier. Boundless lightning sword qi swirled around him every step of the way. Every demon that drew near was obliterated, dissolving into thick clouds of demonic qi that the lightning refined away. He was like a true sword immortal; demons and monsters were not even fit to approach.

Tap! Tap!

Li Guanqi’s footsteps struck like blows against the Abyssal Demon’s heartstrings.

By the time Li Guanqi stopped, one zhang from the creature, the entire sword prison domain had already been blanketed in lightning. Hundreds upon thousands of streaks of lightning sword qi churned around him.

Every Abyssal Demon within the Sword Prison had been slain, yet more continued to pour from the crack in an endless stream.

Li Guanqi calmly raised the Lock Moon Sword and pointed it at the Abyssal Demon towering overhead.

He sneered. “Just one? Ha. That... may not be enough.”