Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Amid the peals of laughter, Gu Li changed into fresh clothes and walked out, dying of embarrassment.

Hunching his shoulders, he shot the group a disgruntled look and grumbled, “You people have no sense of decency at all. Who just squats there to watch?”

Li Guanqi smiled. Ye Feng had been the first to bring over a handful of sunflower seeds, followed by Cao Yan and Xiao Chen.

For the past two days, Xiao Chen had been hanging around Ye Qing’er, whispering sweet nothings in her ear. It had driven Ye Feng so mad that he dragged Xiao Chen away. As Ye Feng put it, “I treated him like a brother, and he wants to become my brother-in-law!”

Once word spread that Gu Li was about to wake up, Li Guanqi naturally came over as well.

A playful smile tugged at the corner of Li Guanqi’s mouth. “But Brother Gu, you really are fair-skinned, hahaha.”

The corner of Gu Li’s mouth twitched. Out of habit, he pulled out his talisman brush and began drawing talismans, as if only that could calm him down.

Li Guanqi looked at the freshly changed, elegant Gu Li, then glanced over at the rather fair-skinned Xiao Chen. He rubbed his chin and smirked. “If you two ever worked in a brothel, you’d be top picks without question.”

Both men rolled their eyes in unison and contemptuously glared at Li Guanqi.

Li Guanqi burst out laughing. Gu Li glanced at Coward LI with some concern, whose hair had gone entirely white.“Relax,” Li Guanqi said quietly. “He’s fine. The medicinal pool’s power is more than enough to nourish his divine soul. He should wake in a few more days. We should—”

Buzz!

The Purple Spirit Paradise Realm trembled faintly, and the air directly before them warped violently. A woman in a long blue dress stepped out through the spatial crack.

Her breathtaking beauty left everyone momentarily stunned, and the otherworldly aura surrounding her inspired instinctive awe. She was so beautiful that she could topple nations.

Gu Li stared at the newcomer, utterly dumbstruck. He stood rooted to the spot, nearly drooling, his brush piercing through the talisman paper without him even realizing it.

Xiao Chen scrambled to his feet and straightened his clothes. Cao Yan rose as well, looking at the woman with a gentle smile, every bit the graceful young master.

Yet Meng Wanshu’s brilliant, starlit eyes held only Li Guanqi. She wrapped her left arm around Li Guanqi’s waist and raised her right hand to gently brush his face.

She tilted her head back slightly, her eyes fixed on his. She already knew everything that had happened recently. The wager, the martial stage… Guilt pricked at her. Had she broken through sooner, Li Guanqi would not have had to work so hard.

Their eyes met, and neither spoke. Meng Wanshu quietly rested her head against his chest.

Her divine, otherworldly air gave way to the soft posture of a young woman in love, and Ye Feng promptly herded everyone out of the realm with an arm around their shoulders. On his way out, he glanced back and winked at Li Guanqi.

Li Guanqi pretended not to notice.

Once the others were gone, he gently traced Meng Wanshu’s cool back with his palm and asked softly, “When did you break through?”

Meng Wanshu’s cheeks flushed lightly. She nestled against his chest and looked up at him with a coquettish pout. “Stop that.”

Despite her words, she made no move to pull away. Instead, she murmured, “I only just broke through. Then I went to the Ethereal Immortal Territory.”

Li Guanqi’s brow furrowed at once. “You went to the Ethereal Immortal Territory?”

Meng Wanshu felt she should tell him about Song Zhi’ang. She sat up and said, “Yes. After I got there, I paid a visit to the Nine Dragon Immortal Sect. Can you guess who killed Zhao Bin?”

She clasped her hands behind her back, her beautiful eyes gleaming with a hint of cunning. She expected him to guess Ye Bingxin.

But seeing her expression, Li Guanqi only grew more certain of the answer in his heart. His face remained calm. “Song Zhi’ang.”

Meng Wanshu’s eyes widened in surprise. hadn’t expected him to guess so quickly and accurately. She stretched lazily, the hem of her dress accentuating her flawless figure.

“The Sha organization took her,” Meng Wanshu said softly. “Her power has become very strange and seems to be tied to her physique in some way. In such a short time, she’d already broken through to the Illusory Refinement Realm. I nearly killed her.”

Li Guanqi caught the meaning behind her words and, a little concerned, moved to stand behind her. He wrapped both arms around her slender waist. He sometimes marveled at how perfect her figure was. Her waist was slender and without an ounce of excess, slim enough for his hands to nearly meet around it.

He gently guided his vital force through her body, and only after confirming she wasn’t injured did he finally relax. Leaning close to her ear, he murmured, “Don’t do anything that dangerous again.”

His warm breath brushed against her ear, making her blush faintly. She nodded with a soft hum of assent.

His hands shifted, and Meng Wanshu trembled, every muscle going taut.

Their eyes met. Nothing more needed saying.

***

An hour later, the group sat around in a circle atop Jade Teapot Peak, drinking together.

Gu Li swept his gaze over the scenery, clicking his tongue in wonder. He was discovering what made the Daxia Sword Sect’s Three Thousand Strange Peaks and Eight Hundred Beautiful Waters so different.

Gu Li and Cao Yan had hit it off immediately. Both possessed an extraordinarily powerful divine consciousness, though their areas of expertise differed. The more Gu Li looked at Cao Yan, the more he liked what he saw. He had even discreetly contacted Gu Changsheng to say he wanted to take on a disciple on his father’s behalf.

Gu Changsheng hadn’t agreed, but he hadn’t refused either. A sharp gleam crossed Gu Li’s eyes. There’s hope!

“Ahem, Brother Cao, your insights into alchemy are truly exceptional, but I always feel your learning is too broad and scattered.”

Cao Yan said nothing in reply. He merely smiled and sent Ye Feng a voice transmission. “Second Brother, Second Brother! This guy is a top-tier seventh-tier talisman master. Think of some way to rope him in. If he joins us, we’ll never have to worry about resources again!”

Ye Feng’s mouth twitched as he watched the two trade toast after toast. Both men smiled until their eyes crinkled, their mental abacuses clacking nonstop.

Still, Gu Li had risked his own life to shield Li Guanqi, and that alone was enough for Ye Feng to hold him in high regard. However, when it came to such matters, Ye Feng had always been the same as Li Guanqi. They preferred to let things take their natural course.

His gaze drifted almost unconsciously to Zhou Shiyu, who sat a little apart from the others, looking somewhat out of place.

Zhou Shiyu had been planning to return to the Six Gates Holy Sect soon. He simply hadn’t had the chance to say goodbye to Li Guanqi in person, which was the only reason he had stayed.

Buzz!

A refined, graceful figure suddenly appeared on Jade Teapot Peak.

Ye Feng blinked, then stood up with a smile. “Brother Ji, what brings you here to find us?”

Gu Li’s eyes widened as he rose slowly.

“I had something to discuss with the Pavilion Master, so I thought I’d wait for him,” Ji Yuchuan said.

Then he turned to Gu Li with a smile. “Young Master Gu, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”