Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Li Guanqi looked up, glanced around, and said quietly, “All of you, go attend to your own affairs.”

The others snapped out of their daze, bowed hastily, and scattered to their tasks.

The Daxia Sword Sect had taken in a considerable number of people from clans and sects across the region, and most of them were seriously injured. Peng Luo was at Pill Peak, directing the construction of an enormous medicinal bath pool. Even Sun Miao had to admit that when it came to combining the properties of spirit herbs and spirit plants, Peng Luo’s knowledge was nothing short of a top-tier alchemist’s.

Li Guanqi swept his divine consciousness across the surroundings and confirmed that the sect was holding steady for the time being. He thought for a moment, then took a step and tore open the void. A moment later, he appeared in the Guanyun Pavilion.

The atmosphere inside was extraordinarily tense. Everyone had their heads buried in work, and not a single person noticed Li Guanqi had arrived.

He paid no mind to such details. When he walked into the main hall and saw Ji Yuchuan flanked by no fewer than a thousand clones, he was stunned. Only then did he understand why Ji Yuchuan had been the only person in the Blue Tower of the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion back then.

Ji Yuchuan alone was worth a million men. He was running the hall with perfect order and composure.

He lifted his gaze to Li Guanqi, then raised a hand. A light screen thirty zhang across materialized before them. It displayed a map of the entire Azure Cloud Continent with dense clusters of black flames burning across its surface. Each flame marked a location where Abyssal Demons had appeared, and their numbers were growing by the moment.

More than a hundred violet-gold points of light also dotted the map, representing the cultivators the Daxia Sword Sect had dispatched as reinforcements. Against the sea of black flames, however, those hundred-odd lights were no more than a drop in the ocean.

Ji Yuchuan’s complexion was slightly pale. He looked at Li Guanqi and said evenly, “Pavilion Master... no one can stop them this time. There are simply too many of them.” Li Guanqi studied the map and drew a slow, deep breath. He had not expected so many Abyssal-Sealing Lands to be concealed across the world.

Ji Yuchuan continued, “More cracks in the Abyssal-Sealing Lands keep opening. The forces capable of suppressing them are still far too few. Nearly thirty percent of the clans and sects have already been wiped out by the Abyssal Demons that emerged, and those still standing are barely holding on.”

He looked long at Li Guanqi’s grim expression, then voiced his own analysis. “The situation is not limited to the Azure Cloud Continent. The Soaring Heavens Continent and the other five territories are all the same. Even powerhouses like Senior Hong Zhi can’t do much against a catastrophe of this magnitude.”

Li Guanqi’s brow furrowed deeply. He had not expected the surge of Abyssal Demons to encompass the entire Six Territories. The clans and sects capable of suppressing them on the spot were pitifully few.

Lu Kangnian sat in a chair at the front of the hall, eyes shut, directing each team leader to the sects that needed reinforcements. He set aside any personal feelings and overlooked no one; he even sent support to sects that had long been at odds with the Daxia Sword Sect.

Something occurred to Li Guanqi. His eyes narrowed as he turned to Ji Yuchuan and asked in a low voice, “What are the ancient clans doing? Have any of them moved to reinforce anyone?”

Ji Yuchuan was mildly taken aback. He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them with a very complicated expression. “No... not a single one has made a move. None of the ancient clans that have already emerged on the Azure Cloud Continent, nor any of those that have appeared in the other five territories. And they aren’t just standing aside—the ancient clan members have even begun returning to their secluded family realms in the void.”

A cold glint flashed in Li Guanqi’s eyes. He said in a low voice, “What about the ancient clans themselves? Have any of their seals broken? Any Abyssal Demons going berserk?”

Ji Yuchuan replied evenly, “Yes, but extremely few. At least within the range of our investigations, only occasional wisps of demonic qi have drifted out from the voids of the Six Territories. And those wisps were erased soon after they appeared.”

Li Guanqi nodded. “Everyone should prioritize their own safety. Brother Ji, you’ll handle what comes next. Pass the word down.”

“Pavilion Master, are you heading out?”

“Yes. Don’t mind me.”

With that, lightning flashed beneath Li Guanqi’s feet, and he vanished.

He pulled out his jade pendant and said in a low voice, “Father-in-law, how is the situation in the Divine Treasure Territory?”

Meng Jiangchu gripped his jade pendant, raised a hand to wipe out a crack, and said in a steady voice, “Not good. Too many seals. I’m preparing to head to the Dungeon Abyss now. You’d better be careful, boy. Can’t talk now.”

Li Guanqi set down the jade slip and immediately pulled out his heavenly intelligence jade pendant. His eyes glinted as he asked in a low voice, “Old Gu, the ancient clans... have they collectively withdrawn to seal themselves off from the world?”

—That’s right! The instant the Abyssal Demons went berserk, almost every ancient clan across the Six Territories issued a recall order!

Li Guanqi put the jade pendant away and tried to contact Long Hou and Hong Zhi, but neither responded.

Cold light flickered in Li Guanqi’s eyes as he spoke through gritted teeth. “That damned lot... ancient clans! At a time like this, they’re still trying to negotiate terms!”

Through all of this, Li Guanqi had already formed his own suspicions about the ancient clans. This matter was most likely not their doing. They simply did not have that kind of power. He concluded that the incident was the work of the Sha organization. After all, the artifact that the massive Abyssal Demon had been holding was created by them.

But by retreating into their shells now, the ancient clans were clearly using the crisis to pressure Su Xuan. He had already made a significant concession by permitting members of the ancient clans who were younger than a hundred years to enter the world. However, judging by the ancient clans’ current actions, they clearly wanted even more.

Things were exactly as Li Guanqi had suspected.

Meanwhile, in the mysterious Seventh Territory, Su Xuan sat upright on his throne in the great hall, his expression grim.

Behind him stood eight figures, led by the golden-armored Long Hou. Next to Long Hou stood a red-robed woman with a slightly pale complexion. She clasped her hands behind her back, gripping a crimson saber.

The clear chime of bells rang through the great hall. The people around dared not draw a full breath as they listened.

Nine spirit-light projections, radiating formidable oppressive force, hovered before Su Xuan. All nine bore the deeply aged faces of ancient elders. The foremost, a white-haired one, raised his eyes and looked toward Hong Zhi.

Long Hou’s eyes widened. He thrust an arm in front of Hong Zhi.

Bang!

The bells on Hong Zhi’s long blade burst apart.

Boom!

A mysterious, overwhelming force came crashing down. Long Hou’s full suit of golden armor shattered. His left shoulder burst open in a spray of blood and flesh, and his legs began to give way beneath him.

Long Hou’s eyes grew bloodshot. His face twisted into a snarl. He thrust out a hand, and a golden spear appeared in his grip. He drove it straight through his own knee and into the floor.

Bang!

The spear pierced through the stone tile and held Long Hou upright, keeping him from kneeling.

The white-haired elder’s expression did not waver. He snorted. “That bell makes an annoying sound.”