Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Nangong Xuandu glanced at Li Guanqi. He’s clearly someone who could dominate the Six Territories, yet a territory lord is forcing him to rely only on himself. Still, it’s fortunate this kid understands that. Otherwise, that borrowed authority alone would have been enough for him to rule unchecked.

Nangong Xuandu looked away, took a sip of wine, and turned back to Cao Yan with a faint smile. “Kid… can you survive this one?”

Boom!

Lu Yun and Cao Yan were both blasted hundreds of zhang backward.

Both stamped hard on the platform’s shattered stone tiles to steady themselves, their expressions turning grave. Neither had expected the other to be so strong.

Whoosh! Roar!

“Come on, brother!”

“Smash him, brother!”

The crowd, silent until a moment ago, erupted into cheers again. The war drums slowed. Lu Kangnian alone led the rhythm, and the slow, deliberate beat felt like the calm before a storm.

A storm was coming.Li Guanqi sat calmly, one hand behind his back. He trusted Cao Yan, but even if Cao Yan lost, it wouldn’t matter. He would win his own fight.

At the Six Gates Holy Sect, a disciple stood respectfully beside Zhou Shiyu, reporting on the battle without pause. “Just before the incense burned out, Cao Yan and Xiao Chen made it back. Cao Yan is currently fighting Lu Yun in the opening match, and neither side has gained the advantage. But... Ye Feng still hasn’t returned. It seems they were ambushed on the way. No one knows whether he’s dead or alive.”

Zhou Shiyu’s shoulders trembled slightly, but his eyes stayed shut. Only after the disciple left did he let out a faint breath.

At least Cao Yan and Xiao Chen had made it back. If Cao Yan, Xiao Chen, and Li Guanqi all won, he wouldn’t need to participate.

Ye Feng wiped away the blood blurring his vision and leaned against Li Changqing, panting hard.

“Kid, how are you holding up?” Li Changqing said in a low voice.

Ye Feng’s right hand was shrouded in dense demonic qi. After absorbing his blood, the Wrathful Slaughter Sword had turned sinister, trembling faintly as its sword cries rang out without pause.

“Don’t worry… I can still hold on!”

The entire space artifact was now shrouded in boundless demonic qi, churning like boiling water. Countless Abyssal Demon phantoms surged forth, trying to tear them apart and devour their flesh and blood.

Ye Feng was already badly injured. Even with Li Changqing protecting him, some injuries were unavoidable. After all, they were facing two genuine Combined Body Realm cultivators. Those two were no match for the Chi, Mei, Wang, or Liang, but their strength was nothing to scoff at.

The two enemies had completely concealed themselves within the demonic qi. The demonic qi domain they’d created was extremely troublesome. Their goal was simple: drain their strength, then deliver a killing blow.

Ye Feng and Li Changqing stayed on high alert, nerves stretched taut.

Outside, Gu Yong and Meng Jiangchu both looked grim. The enemy’s space artifact kept shifting, teleporting at blinding speed. Gu Yong raised his hand and released a hundred-zhang scroll, a replica of the Heavenly Intelligence Map. In an instant, brilliant spirit light swept across a hundred li of the void.

Gu Yong opened his eyes and shook his head, his expression dark. “Nothing…”

Meng Jiangchu slowly withdrew his divine consciousness and said coldly, “Keep searching!”

At the Daxia Sword Sect, Li Guanqi clenched his fist at Meng Jiangchu’s words, his eyes blazing with killing intent as he stared at Lu Wuhen.

Lu Wuhen seemed to feel it. Their eyes met, his full of mockery. In response, Li Guanqi slowly raised his hand and drew it across his throat.

Lu Wuhen burst into laughter. His lips moved without sound, clearly mouthing, “I’ll be waiting for you.”

The fight on the platform had entered its fiercest phase. With his pupil technique activated, Lu Yun seemed to foresee Cao Yan’s every move. He read each attack a split second before it came and intercepted it with his sword. The relentless pressure steadily wore Cao Yan down, leaving him covered in wounds.

Lu Kangnian’s expression grew more and more serious, and he struck the drum with increasing force. The tempo quickened and grew more murderous.

Boom!

Cao Yan’s fist sent Lu Yun flying as he himself fell back hundreds of zhang. Lu Yun, however, didn’t let him get a moment’s rest. He forcefully stabilized himself and charged forward once more.

Li Guanqi’s lips curled slightly, and he said softly, “It’s time…”

Falling back, Cao Yan seemed to sense it too. He murmured, “Dragon-Elephant Subduing Sutra… release!”

Boom!

A vast surge of blood and qi erupted through Cao Yan’s body, and his physical strength soared at an astonishing rate. He looked like a primordial beast that had awakened from its slumber.

A spirit-martial dual cultivator! The same thought flashed through everyone’s mind.

“Heaven-Opening Tier, Blood Oath Lone Sun!”

Boom!

Cao Yan’s fist gauntlets, once traced with flowing blue lines, suddenly sprouted blood-red spikes. Their intricate patterns turned blood-red as well. If one stopped to think about it, the spirit void artifacts of Xiao Chen and Ye Feng were also, more or less, tied to the color red, their sword spirits included. Because every one of them was a true weapon of slaughter.

Boom!

Lu Yun’s expression twisted violently as he wrenched himself around and fell back.

Thud!

The instant he tried to pull away, Cao Yan appeared in front of him, accompanied by the delayed echo of the battle platform shattering.

Without hesitation, Lu Yun activated his sword spirit void. “Soul Dissolution, Golden Fall!”

Boom!

His longsword whipped back up into a guard. The wind from Cao Yan’s fist alone raked bloody gashes across Lu Yun’s face. The gauntlet crashed down onto the spine of his sword. Lu Yun scowled grimly. The space between his thumb and forefinger split open, and his thumb shattered. His vital force spun into ribbons and bound the sword hilt tight as the blade bent back like a drawn bowstring.

Crack!

The moment the sword’s spine struck his chest, an unstoppable force erupted outward. All the crowd saw was Lu Yun plunging from the sky like a cannonball, crashing straight into the battle platform. The fire-imbued force of the fist, threaded with strands of vicious crimson energy, slammed into the ground.

Boom! Thump! Thump! Thump!

The war drums reached a frenzied peak.

Lu Yun slammed into the platform and bounced back up. Every bluestone tile within a hundred zhang shattered to dust.

Cao Yan proudly stood in midair, gasping heavily. He swallowed hard to steady himself. He’d burned through a lot of his strength just rushing back, and the nonstop fighting since then had drained him further.

Then Cao Yan suddenly turned pale and spat out a large mouthful of blood. His vital force began to scatter uncontrollably. He quickly concentrated his power to suppress the demonic qi that was running rampant inside him.

“Heh… heh heh… ha… hahahaha!”

Boom! Swish!

A streak of sword light shot out of the dust cloud left by Lu Yun’s impact. Cao Yan hurriedly dodged, but the blade still carved a chunk of flesh from his shoulder.

Lu Yun emerged from the dust cloud, a shattered jade pendant in his hand, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth as he looked at Cao Yan.