Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Screech!

A clear, piercing sword cry rang out from within the Daxia Sword Sect, resounding through the nine heavens and startling the watching crowd.

Then came the resonant cry of a dragon.

A purple dragon, a hundred zhang long, surged forward with a jet-black longsword clasped in its jaws. Nine Heavens’ massive frame carried an immense, oppressive force, and the fierce aura rolling off it left the crowd struggling to breathe.

No one had expected a true dragon to still exist in the Lower World.

Nine Heavens’ aura was pure and vast. With a sweep of its tail, it tore through the air before coiling atop the barrier. It circled the barrier, its enormous dark-gold eyes glinting with an icy light. Nine Heavens’ gaze locked onto Lu Wuhen below. Baring its fangs with a low growl, it opened its jaws and spat out the Yanluo Sword.

Nangong Xuandu made no move. He had no intention of letting Nine Heavens join the battle. If both sides brought their tamed beasts into the fight, things would get a little too interesting.

The Yanluo Sword soared into midair and shot straight at the barrier.

Lu Hengtian’s expression turned cold. “Senior Nangong, this is against the rules!”

Nangong Xuandu turned and cast him a mild glance. Thud!

The black streak of light struck the barrier, sending violent ripples across it. However, the Yanluo Sword bounced away.

Drenched in blood, Lu Wuhen burst into laughter and pointed at the dense, towering barrier. “Li Guanqi, you’re too naive. Even our battle couldn’t break through that barrier, and you think a sword can pierce it? I’d like to see what you’ll do without your sword now!”

Li Guanqi’s expression shifted. He hadn’t expected this either. Against Lu Wuhen’s charging assault, he could only condense vital force lightning swords to fight back. But the instant the lightning swords met the Ascension Sword, they shattered. Their hardness was on an entirely different level.

The tables had turned in the arena. Li Guanqi, who had been overpowering Lu Wuhen, was now forced into a defensive position, repeatedly evading Lu Wuhen’s attacks rather than confronting him directly.

Perched atop the formation, Nine Heavens grew alarmed. Its coiled body contracted, and Nine Heavens slowly reared upright, lightning crackling across its body. Lightning coalesced on its claw, and it slammed the claw down toward the barrier.

Thud! Rumble rumble!

Violent explosions rang out, yet the barrier merely rippled. Nearby, the Yanluo Sword battered frantically at the barrier as well, but to no avail.

The cultivators on the ancient clans’ side exhaled in relief. Li Guanqi’s strength had been so overwhelming that they had all feared Lu Wuhen would lose.

The Lu family ancestor let out a sigh of relief. This was exactly why he had taken the risk of speaking up in the first place: to force Nangong Xuandu to maintain the barrier. Had the dragon and the black sword actually gotten inside, the Lu clan would have resorted to any means necessary to send their own items in as well.

Lu Hengtian stared at Nine Heavens, his eyes blazing with greed. A true dragon...

If they could pair its blood with the Lu clan’s body-tempering technique, who in the Six Territories could stand against them? We must find a way to count this true dragon as part of the Daxia Sword Sect!

Then, amid its frantic urgency, Nine Heavens thought of something. It shot straight up into the sky, turned its head toward the Daxia Sword Sect, and let out a roaring cry, three parts urgency and seven parts fury.

Soon, the crowd saw an all-white radish, missing its upper half, come running out.

Nine Heavens wasted no time at the sight of the pale-faced Peng Luo. Nine Heavens knew what Peng Luo needed right now. Without the slightest hesitation, it gathered lightning on its claw and reached toward its own heart.

Sizzle!

The instant claw met scale, sparks flew. Its claws tore through the scales and plunged toward its heart.

Roar!

Nine Heavens threw its head back and shrieked in agony. Even as it howled toward the sky, it drove its claws deeper still.

Peng Luo trembled all over. He stepped forward and reached into the void, pulling out a piece of violet ginseng. Then, without hesitation, he plucked the leaf from the top of his head.

Nine Heavens raised its head and looked at Peng Luo, its gaze conveying a clear message.

Roar!

Sizzle!

A drop of heart’s blood the size of a fist floated toward Peng Luo. Nine Heavens’ aura rapidly weakened before everyone’s eyes, leaving all who witnessed it deeply moved.

“Nine Heavens!”

Li Guanqi’s eyes turned bloodshot and widened in shock. He cried out in anguish. He didn’t want them suffering because of him. Nine Heavens had already sacrificed too much for him. Far too much.

Peng Luo was nothing like his usual carefree, unreliable self. His gaze was resolute as iron. He swallowed Nine Heavens’ heart’s blood, then immediately shoved the leaf from his head and the purple-skinned ginseng into Nine Heavens’ mouth.

Nine Heavens’ body glowed radiantly and transformed into a necklace[1], sinking into a deep slumber.

Power surged through Peng Luo, the raging force restoring his body almost instantly. He slipped the necklace that Nine Heavens had become around his neck.

Peng Luo’s expression turned graver than ever before. He reached out and forcibly drew the soaring Yanluo Sword into his grasp. An aura verging on the Combined Body Realm erupted.

While everyone was still bewildered, purple markings spread across Peng Luo’s body, mysterious patterns far more intricate than anything on Lu Xiuzhong or Lu Wuhen.

Nangong Xuandu’s eyes narrowed, a faint, amused smile playing on his lips.

Inside the barrier, Lu Wuhen sensed the shift in aura outside and furrowed his brow, muttering to himself, “That radish can’t possibly penetrate this barrier, can it? Hah, impossible! This barrier can withstand Combined Body Realm attacks!”

He wasn’t the only one who thought so. From the cultivators of the Six Territories to those of the ancient clans, no one believed Peng Luo could break through the barrier.

Nangong Xuandu observed Peng Luo with great interest, wondering what Peng Luo really was.

Hum!

Peng Luo extended a jade-white arm and, to everyone’s shock, eased it into the barrier inch by inch.

Hum!

The resistance was immense. His face flushed red, yet he refused to back down. The crowd watched as his entire body trembled under the strain.

“Haaaah! I’ve never tried this hard in my entire life! Let’s go!”

Boom!

The purple markings on Peng Luo’s body erupted with a mysterious, blinding light. As though wrung dry, his translucent, crystal-clear arm withered rapidly, yet he visibly pressed deeper into the barrier. Face twisted, he forced himself through with everything he had, dragging the Yanluo Sword in bit by bit.

Screech!

Half his body was inside. He raised his arm and flung the Yanluo Sword toward Li Guanqi with all his might.

“Master, catch!”

And Peng Luo was thorough. Along with the Yanluo Sword, he snapped off his own arm and hurled it inside as well.

When he turned back to Nangong Xuandu, his eyes were ingratiating. “Uh… Would you like some dried radish to go with your wine, Senior?”

Seeing Peng Luo’s shriveled, wrinkled appearance, Nangong Xuandu couldn’t help but smile. Amused, he flicked a drop of wine from the gourd at his waist. “I don’t care for dried radish. Off you go.”

1. The author used the word 颈环 here, which more accurately translates to neck ring. Think a stiff, metallic ring that hangs on the neck.

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