Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

But the moment those words left Li Guanqi’s mouth, something stirred in him.

The Red Lotus Sword was sending an astonishing message—it wanted to devour the Lock Moon Sword.

Li Guanqi answered in his heart, “Alright!”

Clang!

A brilliant sword cry rang out without warning, startling everyone.

A massive black sword coffin materialized and slammed into the ground with a heavy thud. The Yanluo Sword trembled faintly, letting out a low hum. But the next moment, a powerful aura surged from the sword coffin, and the Yanluo Sword flinched in fear.

Li Guanqi looked at the Lock Moon Sword in his hand. He was reluctant to let it go, but his desire to see Red Lotus restored to its former glory was even stronger. The Lock Moon Sword vanished into the sword coffin. Red Lotus snatched it up like a bandit, clutching it in a death grip.

Coward Li slowly rose to his feet, reeking of wine.

Lu Kangnian had long since prepared a secluded realm for Li Guanqi. Li Guanqi didn’t need to worry about cultivation resources—as long as Coward Li could absorb them, Lu Kangnian would drain his own reserves to keep them coming. To succeed, Coward Li only needed to cultivate with everything he had in the little time he had.

The sword coffin shot into the secluded realm and planted itself in the earth. A terrifying array activated at once, altering the flow of time so it moved differently from the world outside. But it had one glaring drawback: it burned through spirit stones at a terrifying rate. Lu Kangnian merely waved a hand and laughed. “It doesn’t matter. Let them burn.”

He understood the pressure Li Guanqi and the others were facing because of this wager. If he couldn’t even assist with that much, what kind of sect master would he be?

Li Guanqi drew out a jade slip and said quietly, “Father-in-Law, I may need your help with something.”

Meng Jiangchu’s voice came through, solemn.

—I already know about the Lu clan situation. What do you need? Just tell me.

Li Guanqi looked at his brothers and grinned. “I’d like you to forge three spirit void weapons for me!”

—What spirit void weapons?

“A sword, a spear, and a set of fist gauntlets!”

—Have them come over now.

In the territory lord’s great hall, Meng Jiangchu rose slowly to his feet, rolled up his sleeves, and drew a deep breath. “Fire up the forge! We’re forging weapons!”

Li Changqing bowed and began making the arrangements. Meng Jiangchu’s brow furrowed, and he muttered under his breath, “Boy, you’re making quite a gamble this time. You’d better win. This is the Lu clan we’re talking about...”

Li Guanqi drew a slow breath. Sword Spirit raised a hand and passed three streams of spirit light to him. He sent the orbs drifting toward each of his brothers. “These three techniques belonged to the former masters of your spirit void weapons. Their tier... well, it surpasses anything in our Spirit World. You probably won’t fully comprehend them until after you ascend. Third Brother, this is the Shattered Skies Fist Technique. As soon as you reach the Divine Treasure Territory, go into seclusion and study it. Brother Ye, this is the Asura Nine Slashes Sword Technique. It suits your current power perfectly. Fourth Brother, this is the Raging Flame Spear Sutra. You need to train hard too!”

The three of them could barely contain their excitement. They had no idea where Li Guanqi kept finding so many Heaven-tier cultivation manuals. They all knew he had secrets, as he never seemed to worry about cultivation techniques or secret manuals. Still, by unspoken agreement, none of them asked. They simply rose, accepted their manuals, and nodded firmly.

“Right. You three need to get to the Divine Treasure Territory as soon as possible. While you’re there, check in on your sister-in-law for me,” Li Guanqi added.

Ye Feng nodded. “Boss, once the three of us leave, won’t the ancient clans take the opportunity to return? And what about the fifth person? Are you planning to go see him?”

Xiao Chen shrugged. “Boss, is that Zhou Shiyu really as strong as you say?”

Cao Yan smiled. “Anyone the boss thinks highly of is at least as strong as you.”

Xiao Chen bristled. “Third Brother, I don’t appreciate that. While I can’t beat Second Brother, I I could probably hold my own against you.”

Cao Yan pressed his lips together and said nothing. As much as he hated to admit it, the pretty-faced Xiao Chen really was that strong.

Just as the three were about to step into the transport array, Li Guanqi sent a voice transmission. “Fourth Brother, do you want to have your mother move your entire clan into Daxia Sword Sect?”

Xiao Chen scratched his head. “I’m the clan head. What do I even need to tell my mother? That could work. I’ll make the arrangements and find a small peak somewhere inside the Daxia Sword Sect’s territory. If anyone steps out of line, Boss, just kill them. Don’t go soft.”

Li Guanqi smiled wryly. This guy…

“Alright, you should get going,” Li Guanqi said.

Ye Feng said firmly, “Boss, we’re off. Take care. Contact us if anything comes up.”

The array flashed, and the three of them vanished.

In the Meng clan’s territory in the Divine Treasure Territory, fire-element vital force ran rampant. Everyone was toiling tirelessly.

Word had it that the territory lord was planning to forge three top-tier spirit void weapons all in one sitting. Everyone thought he had finally gone mad.

Unbeknownst to Meng Jiangchu, the Lock Moon Sword he had painstakingly forged was, at that very moment, being devoured by Red Lotus. Li Guanqi didn’t dare tell him.

Li Guanqi stepped onto the transport array in a single stride. The old man guarding it bowed immediately. “Elder Li.”

Li Guanqi nodded with a smile. “Thank you for your work.”

He stepped into the spatial tunnel and vanished. On the other side was the Six Gates Holy Sect in the Daochan Territory.

The sect was in ruins, and their mountain gate had been ravaged. The six stone gates, each a hundred zhang tall and meant to stand atop the peaks, now floated in midair, exuding a heavy, oppressive pressure.

Shredded cloth and dark-red blood still stained the mountainsides, along with lingering traces of demonic qi. Towering ancient trees lay smashed and toppled everywhere. Signs of battle scarred every surface.

Li Guanqi sighed. If Xi Yunhuai hadn’t arrived in time, the Six Gates Holy Sect would have been slaughtered to the last member.

Xi Yunhuai had suffered a few injuries, but he was no longer the proud and arrogant man he once was. He had truly accepted serving under Li Guanqi, so a few injuries meant nothing to him.

Gu Huai sensed Li Guanqi the moment he appeared. He brought the Six Gates Holy Sect’s senior members out to receive him and hurried forward.

“Pay your respects to Elder Li!”

Swish swish!

Not just the elders. Every disciple of the Six Gates Holy Sect stopped what they were doing and bowed solemnly in Li Guanqi’s direction.

Gu Huai called out, his voice ringing, “On behalf of the Six Gates Holy Sect, we offer our deepest thanks to the Daxia Sword Sect for coming to our aid in our hour of need. The Six Gates Holy Sect will never forget this kindness!”

Li Guanqi raised a hand and lifted them all to their feet. “I once said we were allies. Something like this is no reason to forget a promise. No matter how much stronger the Daxia Sword Sect grows, the Six Gates Holy Sect will always be an ally. Ignoring your plight in your time of need would be unbecoming of us.”

Gu Huai marveled in silence. Someone like Li Guanqi was bound to leave his mark on the world. “Fellow Daoist Li, please don’t hold it against Shiyu for not coming out to greet you. He is gravely injured and unconscious at the moment, truly unable to...”

Li Guanqi frowned. “Take me to see him. If demonic qi builds up inside him, it could become a serious problem.”

He’d better not be faking it on purpose! Li Guanqi thought bitterly.