Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Li Guanqi bowed respectfully and spoke solemnly. “Sect Master.”

Lu Kangnian’s expression turned somewhat complicated. He gave a slight nod and replied softly, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

Li Guanqi nodded without speaking.

Lu Kangnian cupped his hands toward the gathered experts. “Seniors, please come inside.”

As Lu Kangnian led the group toward the sect’s main hall, Li Guanqi remained half a step behind him.

Li Guanqi nodded in acknowledgment as they passed Gong Ze and the others, then swept an icy gaze across Duantai Yiting’s group and paused.

The others continued forward, but Duantai Yiting, Han Chengxian, and Ji Hong found their paths blocked.

A trace of fear flashed through Ji Hong’s eyes. He lowered his head, not daring to meet Li Guanqi’s gaze.

Han Chengxian gritted his teeth. Even with one arm severed, he ultimately lowered his head as well.

Li Guanqi looked over the three with an indifferent expression. His voice was cold. “Listen carefully. Serve the sect faithfully, and I’ll allow you to stay. But if any of you harbor ulterior motives... don’t blame me for showing no mercy. I’ll cut off your heads and hang them above the mountain gate as a warning to others.”Duantai Yiting’s breath caught. Li Guanqi seemed to tower over him, his icy killing intent enveloping all three in suffocating pressure.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Li Guanqi casually toyed with a small purple-black tower. The shrill wails of countless vengeful souls poured out of it without end.

Duantai Yiting’s forehead glistened with cold sweat. He bowed deeply and stammered, “Never... absolutely not. The three of us are merely honorary elders with no real authority. What could we possibly do? We’ve already decided to devote ourselves to the sect, earn resources through our contributions, and strive to break through as soon as possible.”

Li Guanqi walked off before the old man could finish. He took out a jade pendant and spoke coldly. “Pass down my order. Effective immediately, Ji Yuchuan is stripped of his position as Deputy Pavilion Master. Anyone who wishes to leave may do so now. I’ll return to the pavilion for a meeting in one hour. If anyone decides they want to leave after that... I’ll kill them.”

Those two sentences echoed throughout the entire Guanyun Pavilion. Instantly, turmoil erupted within the pavilion.

Numerous cultivators soon flew out of the domain. They cast one last look at the Guanyun Pavilion before turning and departing without hesitation.

Ji Yuchuan was still about an hour’s journey from the Daxia Sword Sect, completely unaware of what had transpired.

Inside the main hall, the group exchanged a few pleasantries before the three Mahayana Realm cultivators released their auras at once, concealing the space from outside perception.

Aside from Lu Kangnian, Li Guanqi was the only member of the Daxia Sword Sect left in the hall.

Gu Changsheng handed three spirit lights to Lu Kangnian.

Lu Kangnian nodded. He then took out a jade slip and relocated the Paradise Realms where Li Guanqi’s companions were undergoing their breakthroughs into the sect’s domain.

He passed the jade slip to Meng Jiangchu and the other two so that they could each leave an imprint of their aura. That way, if anyone breached the barrier by force, all three of them could arrive in an instant.

Once everything was settled, the three men turned to Li Guanqi as if waiting for him to explain the next stage of his plan.

Li Guanqi took a deep breath before rising to his feet. “Next, I need to mass-produce at least one thousand artifacts.”

Meng Jiangchu raised an eyebrow. “One thousand? What grade? What do they need to do?”

Li Guanqi turned to Gu Li. “You encountered demonic qi firsthand during your enlightenment and witnessed its effects. Can you create talisman runes capable of detecting demonic qi over a wide area?”

Gu Li frowned. “Yes, but their range would be limited, and they wouldn’t be particularly accurate.”

Suddenly, his eyes widened. “Wait… do you want me to inscribe talisman runes directly onto the artifacts?”

A faint smile touched Li Guanqi’s lips. “That’s right. We’ll also need Uncle Gu’s Profound Heavenly Divine Flame. It embodies the fiercest, purest yang energy and is extremely sensitive to demonic qi. With Gu Li’s talisman runes, Uncle Meng’s artifacts, and Uncle Gu’s heavenly flame, a detection radius of one hundred li will be enough.”

Meng Jiangchu nodded thoughtfully. “In that case, we don’t really need high-grade artifacts. Once I forge the first one, I’m confident I can produce the rest within three days.”

Li Guanqi knew he could trust Meng Jiangchu with the task.

Then he continued, “Uncle Meng, take the others with you and get started. This must be completed as quickly as possible.”

Meng Jiangchu rose with a frown. “What about everything else?”

Li Guanqi smiled. “I have my own arrangements for the rest. As for the artifacts... I’ll have to trouble you, Father.”

The moment Meng Jiangchu heard that form of address, he had to suppress a laugh. With a grand wave of his hand, he said, “Two days! I’ll have them delivered to you within two days. Wanshu will stay here and keep you company.”

Gu Li rose to his feet. He quietly stuffed a spirit light into Li Guanqi’s hand and sent a voice transmission. “I brought what you wanted.”

Li Guanqi gave an almost imperceptible nod, then turned to Ye Xuan and cupped his hands. “Uncle Ye, I may need your help again after this. Nothing requires your attention right now, but I’d like to trouble you to remain at the Daxia Sword Sect for a few more days and help me buy some time.”

Ye Xuan smiled, entirely unbothered. “Very well. The Daxia Sword Sect is truly a place of exceptional people and spiritual lands. I can take the opportunity to look around while I’m there. Hahaha.”

Lu Kangnian was delighted and couldn’t suppress his smile. “Senior, you may go wherever you please. If there’s somewhere you’d like to visit, I can arrange for someone to accompany you.”

Ye Xuan slowly rose. “The Three Thousand Strange Peaks sound rather interesting. I’ll simply choose one at random.”

With that, he departed.

Lu Kangnian handed Li Guanqi the jade slip bearing the three experts’ aura imprints. He gripped Li Guanqi’s hand firmly and said, “You must keep this safe!”

Li Guanqi scanned the jade slip with his divine consciousness. Within it, incomparably intricate array runes flickered. The runes formed an extraordinarily powerful transport array capable of ignoring distance and spatial restrictions.

Meng Jiangchu was a peak tier-eight artifact blacksmith, so creating such an array was well within his abilities.

Meanwhile, Ye Xuan wandered leisurely through the Daxia Sword Sect until he reached the sect cemetery.

At the entrance, Ling Daoyan rose and cupped his hands in greeting.

Ye Xuan’s expression immediately turned solemn. “I am Ye Xuan. May I enter and take a look?”

Ling Daoyan hesitated briefly before politely refusing. “My apologies, but this is the resting place of the sect’s loyal martyrs. It is not open to ordinary visitors. You are welcome anywhere else in the Daxia Sword Sect, including the Three Thousand Strange Peaks and Eight Hundred Scenic Waters. But not here.”

Ye Xuan nodded in complete understanding but still asked sincerely, “Could I at least view it from afar? I mean no disrespect. I merely wish to understand how the Daxia Sword Sect has endured for more than ten thousand years.”

Ling Daoyan took a deep breath and raised a hand, dispersing the mist around the bamboo forest.

Rows upon rows of black tombstones filled half the mountainside. Each had been meticulously cleaned, and the marks left by hand-wiping were still clearly visible. Not a single one had been cleaned with vital force.

The white flowers before each grave were fresh and vibrant. Not a single blossom had withered. Each tombstone bore a gold-lettered inscription detailing the life of the person buried there and the circumstances of their death.

Ye Xuan stood rooted to the spot, trembling all over. When he came ‌to his senses, tears were streaming down his face.

Slowly, he closed his eyes and changed into a black robe. He straightened up, composed himself, and bowed deeply toward the cemetery. “Ye Xuan of the Nine Dragon Immortal Sect... is humbled.”

A ten-zhang azure sword qi enveloped the bamboo forest behind the mountain and lingered without dispersing. Its vast sword intent was restrained and controlled, yet filled with boundless killing intent.

The sword qi contained the power of one of Ye Xuan’s all-out strikes, but he had freely gifted it to the Daxia Sword Sect, turning it into guardian sword qi that would protect the sect.

Ling Daoyan straightened his robes and returned the bow with equal solemnity. “Sir is truly magnanimous.”