Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Swish!

The Yanluo Sword and Peng Luo’s severed arm flew into Li Guanqi’s grasp. He opened his mouth and swallowed the arm whole. It dissolved the instant it passed his lips, transforming into pure vital force that replenished his dantian.

Li Guanqi stopped dodging and retreating. As soon as Lu Wuhen felt the tide turning against him, he quickly threw himself backward in retreat.

The Lu clan erupted in furious protest.

“That’s illegal! Illegal!”

“Exactly! Lu Wuhen sealed Li Guanqi’s sword fair and square. How can they just send another one in?”

“If this is allowed, doesn’t that mean we can do the same?”

Nangong Xuandu frowned. He let out a cold snort, and the Zhu clan’s cloud boat exploded.

Bang! Boom!

The cloud boat was ground to ash, and countless cultivators froze in place, unable to move. Even Lu Hengtian and the old woman from the Zhu clan couldn’t move. “You’re being too noisy!”

An azure streak of sword qi flashed past, and the heads of the loudest Lu clan protesters flew into the air. Blood fountained from their headless bodies, spattering across the faces of those nearby and running down their chins.

Every person felt as though an invisible hand had seized their throat. Their mouths hung open, yet not a sound emerged.

Nangong Xuandu’s voice was not loud, but every person present heard it clearly. “If you have the ability, break through my barrier and send your things in yourselves. If you can manage that, I’ll have no objection. If you can’t, keep your mouths shut. Or... I can shut them for you. Forever.”

Li Guanqi sneered, the Yanluo Sword in hand, and looked up at the retreating Lu Wuhen. With a cold laugh, Li Guanqi said, “Leaving already? Too late! Heaven-Opening Tier, Yanluo Sword!”

Boom!!

Li Guanqi’s sword spirit void hummed, and the Yanluo Sword’s aura erupted. The sword was heavy, but Li Guanqi lifted it in a single motion.

A deep, weighty aura radiated from the blade, and a surge of emotion washed over Li Guanqi. The moment his hand closed around it, the Yanluo Sword transmitted a strange sense of excitement. Li Guanqi’s sword Dao heart was resolute, while Coward Li had yet to find his own Dao and was the weaker of the two. The blade clearly preferred Li Guanqi.

Boom!

The tiles beneath Li Guanqi’s feet cracked apart, and the ground within a hundred zhang caved in. Nangong Xuandu had reinforced this martial stage himself, yet Li Guanqi’s sheer force damaged it all the same.

Whoosh!

Before the crowd could even see Li Guanqi move, Lu Wuhen was blasted backward. The difference in Li Guanqi’s strength with and without a sword was immense.

Lu Wuhen narrowed his eyes and slashed on instinct toward Li Guanqi’s flank.

Boom!

Li Guanqi was forced back a hundred zhang. He spun, tapped the void lightly with one hand, and swept the Yanluo Sword down with the other. With that one strike, he sent Lu Wuhen hurtling into the air before he could even close the distance. Before Lu Wuhen could recover, Li Guanqi teleported after him, the Yanluo Sword descending like a storm.

Swish! Swish swish swish!

Boom boom!

Clang clang clang!

Steel rang against steel again and again. Within moments, Lu Wuhen was driven back once more. He slid backward through the air for over a hundred zhang, gasping for breath. His right arm trembled violently. The flesh between his thumb and forefinger had split open, and his hand had gone numb.

He could not understand why Li Guanqi’s sword felt so heavy. Every strike carried a force of ten thousand jun, enough to split mountains and sever rivers without losing momentum.

Lu Wuhen stared at the sword in Li Guanqi’s hand, an unreadable emotion stirring in his eyes.

Lu Wuhen’s eyes flashed coldly as he licked the blood from the corner of his lips, savoring its metallic sweetness. The taste washed away the pain. He raised his sword and charged again.

Meanwhile, Li Guanqi pursued the flash of inspiration in his mind, gaining an initial understanding of the divine technique. Forming a seal with only his right hand, he summoned countless crimson threads that shot toward the golden cocoon imprisoning the Red Lotus Sword.

Li Guanqi’s eyes narrowed slightly, a sharp light flashing through them as he spoke in a low, firm voice. “Divine Technique, Spirit Pardon Void!”

Hum!

The crimson threads quivered like blades, slicing into the golden cocoon and causing shallow cracks to spread across its surface.

Lu Wuhen’s eyes widened. Even as he thrust his sword at Li Guanqi, he shouted in disbelief, “Impossible! How could you know how to break this divine technique?”

The evidence was right in front of Lu Wuhen. Even if he refused to believe it, there was nothing he could do.

Li Guanqi let out a cold laugh. “Divine technique?”

He said nothing more, but his disdain could not have been clearer.

A flash of fury crossed Lu Wuhen’s eyes. He raised his hand and swept out over a hundred rays of sword light, engulfing Li Guanqi within them.

“Divine technique, Seal, Suppress!” Lu Wuhen shouted.

Countless golden threads hidden within the sword light erupted at once.

But how could Li Guanqi give him the chance to seal his sword again? Li Guanqi’s divine consciousness had blanketed the entire barrier and the martial stage within; the moment the sealing technique activated, he sensed it.

Li Guanqi stood in midair with an unhurried expression, his chest rising and falling slightly as he faced the surging sword qi.

Lightning flashed endlessly across the sky as the two engaged in a fierce exchange, exchanging over a hundred blows in the span of a single breath. Every thread of Lu Wuhen’s divine technique was cut apart. Each one contained a sliver of sealing force. As long as the threads didn’t weave themselves into a giant cocoon, the seal would never form. Furthermore, Li Guanqi had infused the Yanluo Sword with the power he’d used to break Lu Wuhen’s divine technique.

Lu Wuhen’s expression darkened. He knew his sealing divine technique would never work on Li Guanqi again, so he abandoned it entirely. By now, the golden cocoon was dissolving inch by inch, like snow under warm sunlight.

Then Lu Wuhen produced two green talismans and pressed them to his chest. The instant they sank in, Ji Yuchuan’s expression shifted.

Xi Yunhuai furrowed his brow. “Old Ji, what are those two talismans?”

“Moon Spirit Gale Talismans!” Ji Yuchuan replied gravely through voice transmission. “They can greatly increase a person’s speed and power. Judging by their quality, they will last at least two hours!”

Sure enough, Lu Wuhen’s speed and strength surged, leaving Li Guanqi hard-pressed to keep up. Lu Wuhen fought to drive him away from the golden cocoon, while Li Guanqi refused to give him any chance to reinforce the seal. After all, the Red Lotus Sword was the one weapon that let Li Guanqi bring out his full strength. The Yanluo Sword still fell short.

Thud!

Clang clang clang! Rumble rumble!

Shockwaves from the savage battle rippled outward in waves, fierce enough to make even Combined Body Realm cultivators pale. The two fighters stood in midair, neither willing to yield. Their sword qi crisscrossed through the surrounding space, carving cuts and tears across the vast expanse. The lingering sword qi hung in the air, refusing to disperse.

Li Guanqi, too, felt an immense pressure. Lu Wuhen’s assault was like a torrential downpour.