Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Those present finally relaxed a little. Quite a few ancient clans were hiding in the shadows of the Six Territories, and their strength would surely suppress the Abyssal Demon uprisings across the territories before long. More than that, Chan Kongzi was certain none of them would dare drag their feet. The price would be more than they could bear. Once roused, the fury of the Seventh Territory could only be sated in rivers of blood.

Long Hou glanced over his shoulder, his voice low and measured. “Each of you, keep watch over one territory. If any of them shows the slightest sign of slacking... kill them immediately.”

“You Ming.”

Behind him, the listless You Ming raised his head and rolled his eyes. “I know, I know! Just need me to do all the work, don’t you?”

Whoosh!

A crimson blade flashed, and You Ming’s arm went flying.

Hong Zhi turned her head, eyes cold. “Mind the way you speak.”

You Ming pursed his lips, reattached his arm with total indifference, and carried on as he pleased.

“No! No I won’t!”

Before the words were fully out of his mouth and before Hong Zhi’s bells could even ring, he slipped into the void. Laughter drifted back from within. “Hahaha, I’m going to the Black Sect Territory!”

Then he was gone.

The corners of everyone else’s mouths twitched. None of them were willing to risk their lives the way You Ming did.

A cold-faced man beside Chan Kongzi spoke up. “That fellow just burned his blood essence to escape, didn’t he?”

Chan Kongzi shrugged and looked at Hong Zhi, whose blade was already half an inch out of its sheath. “He had to run fast, or Second Sister would’ve cut him down... I still can’t understand how he developed that personality.”

The cold-faced man had sharp, refined features. He wore long azure robes and carried a sword on his back, one hand resting behind him.

Chan Kongzi leaned toward him and said quietly, “Third Brother, where are you going?”

The man shrugged nonchalantly, unhooked the wine gourd at his waist, and took a swig. “I’ll follow Brother Long’s plans. Anything is fine with me.”

The man had barely finished speaking when his brow suddenly furrowed. He opened his hand and spread his fingers. The azure sword behind him flew into his grasp in an instant.

Lightning-fast sword light stabbed at Chan Kongzi’s chest. An azure phantom appeared behind the cold-faced man and tore a thread of pitch-black demonic qi straight out of Chan Kongzi’s chest.

The cold-faced man flicked his wrist, and a flash of sword light dispersed the demonic qi.

He shook his head with mild reproach. “Be more careful in the future. You know how dangerous it is to charge into those cracks. You were injured and kept it to yourself?”

Chan Kongzi grinned and scratched his head. “I was a bit reckless.”

Long Hou shot Chan Kongzi a look, then turned to the azure-robed swordsman. “Nangong, you go to the Daxia Territory.”

Nangong Xuandu nodded slightly, the corners of his mouth lifting in a quiet smile. “I get the easier assignment, it seems.”

He tossed his sword into the air, let it slide back into its sheath, and with one hand behind his back, he stepped forward and disappeared.

Long Hou called after him, “Go easy on the wine.”

Nangong Xuandu glanced back with a somewhat vacant look. He replied softly, “Understood.”

Once everyone had left, Long Hou also departed, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, at the Daxia Sword Sect, Li Guanqi stood at the summit of Heavenly Sword Peak.

His divine consciousness spread like a tide in every direction, issuing one command after another. The transport array on the plaza kept glowing as the wounded streamed through without pause. Li Guanqi had also gathered every disciple of Heavenly Lightning Peak and Pill Peak to help the wounded suppress the demonic qi within their bodies.

Suddenly, one of the heavily wounded outer sect disciples’ eyes turned blood-red. Demonic qi surged through him, and he thrust his hand at the heart of the person beside him.

A lightning sword descended and pinned him to the ground.

The sight caused many to scramble back in fear. Li Guanqi appeared before the youth, frowning. The youth had lost all sense of reason.

He raised a hand and drew out the youth’s soul. As expected, a dark shadow writhed and twisted on his brow, continuing to spread.

Li Guanqi’s expression darkened. Not only had the youth been demonified, but his blood essence and soul power were draining away without pause. The demonic qi even showed signs of slowly transforming him into an Abyssal Demon.

Once the demonic qi within the injured cultivators accumulated past a certain threshold, any one of them could transform into an Abyssal Demon.

Li Guanqi’s divine consciousness swept across the entire Daxia Sword Sect. One cultivator after another rose into the air as he personally extracted the demonic qi from each of their souls.

Once that was done, Li Guanqi conveyed his findings to Ji Yuchuan, warning them to stay vigilant. Lu Kangnian passed the warning along as well.

Then Li Guanqi’s expression shifted abruptly. In his perception, the world had filled with chaotic auras, each one extraordinarily powerful.

He narrowed his eyes and raised the protective array to its maximum strength, then turned to Qin Xian. “Old Qin, I’m going to have a look outside.”

Li Guanqi stepped outside, his mind profoundly shaken.

Dozens of long spatial rifts had torn open across the sky, stretching as far as the eye could see. One magnificent cloud boat after another slowly glided out from within them.

The cloud boats were all extraordinarily grand. Each radiated an ancient, unadorned aura, and every one was a formidable magical artifact.

Li Guanqi stood beneath the open sky with his hands behind his back. Silhouettes of cultivators emerged from the cloud boats. Their attire and bearing seemed to belong to another era. Their Daoist robes were far more intricate and ornate, every detail painstakingly crafted. Their hair was bound in styles unlike anything seen today.

“Ancient cultivators,” Li Guanqi murmured.

They emerged as if by prior arrangement, all at once. Without lingering for a single moment, they piloted their cloud boats and scattered in every direction. Violent spatial fluctuations surged around them, and with one burst of speed, they vanished.

Among them were several Illusory Refinement Realm cultivators. They glanced once toward the Daxia Sword Sect and paid it no further mind. With Li Guanqi present and the protective array at full strength, the sect hardly looked like a place overrun by Abyssal Demons.

Ji Yuchuan’s urgent voice reached Li Guanqi’s ears. “Pavilion Master, the ancient clans of the Six Territories have moved to suppress the Abyssal Demons! It appears that the previous restrictions have been lifted. Almost all of them are over a hundred years old!”

Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. It was exactly as he had expected. Only the intervention of the ancient clans could swiftly suppress the Abyssal-Sealing Lands. But the price of stirring them to act was most likely their full entry into the world.

Whether that would prove a blessing or a curse for the Six Territories remained to be seen.