Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Buzz!

A terrifying pressure descended over the territory of the Daxia Sword Sect. Even more shocking, the newcomer had ignored the sect’s protective array entirely and passed straight through it.

Li Guanqi noticed the man the instant he appeared. After all, he had made no attempt to conceal his aura.

Lu Kangnian and the others, by contrast, were on high alert. Lu Kangnian shot to his feet and exchanged a glance with Li Guanqi.

“It’s fine,” Li Guanqi said softly. “He’s Gu Li’s father.”

The others were stunned. The man’s aura had already surpassed the limits of their perception, and a cultivator of that level had to be a Mahayana Realm expert at the very least.

Li Guanqi led Lu Kangnian and the others outside, where they saw Gu Changsheng step through the void and hurry toward them.

When Gu Changsheng caught sight of Lu Kangnian, he smiled and nodded in greeting.

Lu Kangnian smiled back and cupped his hands. “I am Lu Kangnian, the sect master of the Daxia Sword Sect. Forgive me for not welcoming you in person, Senior Gu.”

Gu Changsheng did not care for such formalities. He flashed to their side and smiled. “Sect Master Lu, you’re too polite. Take me to see my son first.”Li Guanqi brought Gu Changsheng to the Purple Spirit Paradise Realm.

The spirit qi within the Purple Spirit Paradise Realm wasn’t as dense as that of the Ethereal Immortal Territory, yet it still made him pause. A paradise realm of that caliber was rare, and even the Gu clan owned only a handful. He’d never expected a small sect like the Daxia Sword Sect to have one.

When he saw Gu Li lying in the medicinal pool, he relaxed at last. Then his gaze sharpened as it moved over the pool and the purple ginseng spirit sleeping nearby.

“This little spirit is quite interesting.”

The Daxia Sword Sect had clearly spared no effort in enriching the medicinal pool.

Gu Changsheng reached into the pool. At once, the whole pool churned violently, and two strands of spirit liquid rose from the surface.

Gu Changsheng turned to Lu Kangnian and smiled. “The Illusion Moon Bamboo and Profound Ice Grass are excellent healing herbs, but they conflict with the other spirit medicines in this pool.”

Li Guanqi asked in confusion, “Senior Gu, you can understand medicinal properties?”

Gu Changsheng only gave a faint, enigmatic smile. That smile made Li Guanqi’s heart skip. For him to be friends with a renowned blacksmith like Father-in-law… Could he be an alchemist?

The moment the thought surfaced, Li Guanqi understood. No wonder Gu Li had climbed so far so fast. Gu Changsheng must have tempered and refined Gu Li’s physique countless times over.

Once he saw that Gu Li had stabilized, Gu Changsheng finally felt at ease. He retrieved a jade bottle from his robes, took out two pills, and slipped them into Gu Li’s mouth.

A dense medicinal fragrance spread through the air. Ye Feng and the others swallowed without thinking, looking slightly undignified.

Gu Changsheng smiled and casually tossed a jade pendant to Li Guanqi. “The healing pills inside are a small gift for you young fellows.”

Li Guanqi didn’t refuse. He bowed. “Then I’ll thank you on behalf of my brothers.”

After glancing at Gu Li, who was still recovering but already out of danger, Gu Changsheng said, “Let’s go somewhere quiet and talk.”

The group made their way to Lu Kangnian’s study. Along the way, Gu Changsheng kept observing Ye Feng, Cao Yan, and the others, clicking his tongue in admiration. Despite their youth, they were a hair’s breadth from breaking through to the Combined Body Realm. Brutal as their duels against the Lu clan had been, they had given them tremendous insight, and it wouldn’t be long before they were ready to advance.

A small sect like the Daxia Sword Sect, home to so many monsters…

Gu Changsheng cast a long look at Li Guanqi. Perhaps the sect’s prosperity could all be traced back to him. A single person really could make or break a sect

After everyone had taken their seats, Gu Changsheng looked at Li Guanqi and got straight to the point. “Someone definitely framed you for Zhao Bin’s death. The key question is, do you have any evidence?”

Li Guanqi sighed and produced Zhao Bin’s corpse along with a projection stone.

“We examined the corpse,” he said gravely. “The only trace on it is residual sword qi from my own attack. And Zhao Bin’s soul was clearly tampered with. I tried Soul Gathering, but it did nothing. The projection stone only shows the mysterious expert fighting. It doesn’t prove we weren’t the killers.”

Gu Changsheng withdrew his hand from the corpse, his expression growing grim. He had also examined the projection stone. It recorded nothing but the battle and offered no proof of who had killed Zhao Bin.

He let out a soft sigh. “Better than nothing. Fellow Daoist Li, I’m afraid you’ll have to come with me again.”

Lu Kangnian frowned and stood up. “I’ll go as well. If anything comes up, we can decide together.”

Ye Feng rose without a word. Cao Yan, Xiao Chen, and the rest got to their feet as well.

Li Guanqi’s heart warmed at the sight. He said softly, “There’s no need for all of you to come. You can’t enter the Ethereal Immortal Territory at your current level. Besides, Uncle Meng and Uncle Gu will come with me. No one would dare try anything.”

Lu Kangnian frowned. “Wait a moment.”

He flashed away and returned soon after, stuffing more than ten storage rings straight into Li Guanqi’s hands. “There are six spirit veins in these. The rest is miscellaneous resources. If compensation can settle this, then pay them off!”

Li Guanqi looked down at the pile of rings, momentarily lost for words. Six spirit veins!

And Lu Kangnian had said it so casually.

In the past, the Daxia Sword Sect didn’t have a single spirit vein, and when they finally acquired one, it was only a low-grade vein they had scraped together through sheer frugality. Now, they were handing out six high-grade spirit veins without a second thought.

Lu Kangnian laughed heartily, putting on a relaxed front. “Don’t worry. This won’t affect the sect’s foundation. We struck it rich recently, remember?”

Li Guanqi didn’t refuse. He put the storage rings away, then took out the Dragon Scale Divine Wood and the other resources before handing them to Lu Kangnian. “Please give these to Peng Luo and Nine Heavens. If they can seize the chance to break through, seal off the Purple Spirit Paradise Realm.”

Lu Kangnian took them and nodded heavily, a trace of worry flickering in his eyes.

Gu Changsheng stood up and bowed slightly. “I leave my son in your care.”

Lu Kangnian answered with an even deeper bow. “Rest assured, Senior Gu. But… if I may, please look after Guanqi as well.”

In that moment, he resembled a father placing his own child into someone else’s care, his worry plain for all to see.

Gu Changsheng was deeply moved.

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