Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

At the same time, a strange red light flared in the eyes of the three Illusory Refinement Realm cultivators.

Still enduring her tribulation, Yun Jie shouted, “Be careful of their mental suppression!”

Li Guanqi sneered. “Mental suppression? You overestimate them.”

Boom!

His divine consciousness erupted in a terrifying wave. Three invisible attacks crashed into his sea of consciousness like mountain-splitting axes.

Although Li Guanqi’s divine consciousness was nowhere near as monstrous as Gu Li’s, it still rivaled that of a tier-seven alchemist.

The three attacks struck at once, yet Li Guanqi merely turned a little pale. All they managed to do was cause a faint tremor in his sea of consciousness.

The three men sensed something was wrong. Their eyes widened, and they fled at full speed.

“Something’s wrong! He has a defensive treasure protecting his sea of consciousness!”

Yu Cang’s heart sank. The Li Guanqi before him gradually faded away, and an icy voice spoke beside his ear.“What treasure?”

Boom!

Violent lightning swallowed the man whole. The remaining cultivators grouped up and stared warily in Li Guanqi’s direction.

When the lightning dissipated, Li Guanqi stood where he was, a severed head in hand.

“One.”

With a casual flick of his hand, he dragged out the man’s soul and tore it apart, obliterating it completely.

Yu Cang’s eyes blazed with fury. “Brat! Do you even know who you’re making an enemy of?”

Li Guanqi gave him a playful smile. “Of course. The Yu clan, right?”

Suddenly, one of the men had an idea and charged straight at Meng Wanshu with reckless abandon. “Capture that woman!”

Li Guanqi let out a cold laugh without even looking his way. “You’re courting death.”

Meng Wanshu’s figure flickered, and she reappeared in front of Yun Jie.

The bearded brute seemed to be targeting Meng Wanshu, but his true objective was Yun Jie, who remained trapped beneath her heavenly tribulation.

Meng Wanshu did not understand why they were so determined to take Yun Jie, but she had no intention of letting them succeed. With a wave of her hand, countless ice walls over a hundred zhang tall rose across the sky.

The man unleashed several sword strikes in rapid succession, but he failed to breach even the first wall. When he turned his head, he found Meng Wanshu already standing beside him.

Terror filled his eyes. “She’s also in the Combined Body Realm!”

Meng Wanshu could not even be bothered to draw her sword. She merely extended a finger and tapped his shoulder.

He turned into an ice statue and plummeted from the sky. Dozens of wisps of ice-blue sword qi crisscrossed around his frozen body. Ice shards drifted down through the air, with not even a trace of blood among them.

In the blink of an eye, two Illusory Refinement Realm cultivators had fallen. Yu Cang was already contemplating retreat; they stood no chance against opponents of this caliber.

Bang!

Yu Cang crushed a teleportation scroll. Silver spatial light enveloped him and his sole remaining companion.

Yu Cang’s eyes flashed as he glared coldly at Li Guanqi. “We’ll remember today’s debt. One day, you’ll pay for everything you’ve done. Hmph!”

He gave a cold snort as he and his companion began to disappear.

Just before they vanished, Peng Luo burst from the void in his giant white-radish form. He rushed over and slapped each of them across the face.

He opened his mouth and swallowed the spatial fluctuations released by the teleportation scroll. As he chewed, he cursed, “Who the hell do you think you’re talking to?”

The slap stunned Yu Cang. Meanwhile, Li Guanqi had already closed to within ten zhang of them.

Yu Cang’s pupils became blood-red, and a terrifying illusion manifested before Li Guanqi.

The world turned upside down, drenched in crimson. A blood-soaked earth hung upside down in the sky. Thick blood seeped from the soil and dripped downward.

Countless Yu Cangs appeared throughout heaven and earth, all wielding swords as they charged at Li Guanqi.

Li Guanqi merely sneered.

Then he realized that the power within his body had become pitifully weak, as though he had been reduced to the late Illusory Refinement Realm.

In the span of a single breath, dozens of sword wounds opened across his body. Outside the illusion, the motionless Li Guanqi suddenly erupted in a spray of blood as dozens of cuts appeared from thin air.

Li Guanqi realized he was trapped in an illusion, yet he could find no way to break free.

He looked up at the blood-soaked earth suspended overhead, his eyes narrowing. As dozens of Yu Cangs attacked from all directions, he slowly closed his eyes and drew a deep breath.

Boom!

A violent aura erupted from him, only for his expression to stiffen. Within the illusion, he could not draw upon the power of the sword coffin or the Red Lotus Sword at all.

With a wave of his hand, he conjured a lightning sword and unleashed the full power of his sword spirit void.

A terrifying sword intent that had already brushed the threshold of the Sword Heart Realm surged into the sky.

Pfft!

Li Guanqi suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. It felt as though a giant hammer had slammed into his chest.

His eyes flashed, and he slid the sword into its sheath.

“Sword-Unsheathing Technique... World Annihilation!”

Two supreme sword techniques merged into one.

The moment he finished sheathing his sword, he shot forward like lightning. Relying on physical strength alone, he moved at an astonishing speed.

A stray sword qi grazed one of the copies across the face. At the same instant, an identical cut opened across Li Guanqi’s own cheek.

Li Guanqi faltered. He had not expected his own attack to be reflected onto him.

He looked up. Something was fundamentally wrong with the illusion.

Heaven and earth were inverted, and every wound he dealt was reflected onto his own body.

Yu Cang’s laughter echoed around him. “Hahaha! Come and kill me!”

If that’s how it works...

Li Guanqi drew his sword. Yu Cang’s breath hitched, and his movements faltered for a moment. He had not expected to fear Li Guanqi so deeply even with the illusion suppressing his cultivation to the late Illusory Refinement Realm.

Moreover, without the Red Lotus Sword or the sword coffin, Li Guanqi could not use the sword spirit void’s abilities. Even without the suppression, his strength would’ve been reduced by more than thirty percent.

Li Guanqi gave him a ferocious smile and turned the blade on himself. Without hesitation, he drew its sharp edge across his throat.

Pfft!

Blood sprayed out. Yu Cang’s eyes flew wide. His vision blurred, and the inverted world overhead began to crumble.

The unmistakable chill of death closed around Li Guanqi’s mind. As the blade sank into his neck, his blood drained away, and his vitality ebbed. Every sensation felt real.

Outside the illusion, Li Guanqi’s forward charge came to an abrupt halt. Blood mist sprayed from his body, and his eyes flew open.

His entire body convulsed. The distorted figures of Yu Cang and his companion were already fading away.

Peng Luo tried to pursue them, but Li Guanqi stopped him. Peng Luo frowned at Li Guanqi, who was drenched in cold sweat. “Master, did you fall prey to that old man’s pupil technique?”

Yu Cang and his companion escaped. Li Guanqi frowned. “How much time passed?”

“Only an instant!” Peng Luo said.

Li Guanqi took a deep breath and subconsciously touched his neck.

He turned to Meng Wanshu, whose eyes were full of worry, and reassured her softly, “I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

With that, Li Guanqi stared in the direction the two men had fled, lost in thought.