Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

“Brother Zhao, what have you been up to lately?”

“What else would I be doing? Stop bothering me. I’m at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion picking up an artifact!”

“I’m getting mine from the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion. Want to team up afterward?”

“Sure!”

“Hahaha! I have a fire spirit root, so I’m naturally sensitive to demonic qi. This heaven-sent fortune is mine!”

“Get lost! I’ll be the one to find it!”

Li Guanqi sat cross-legged within the Purple Spirit Paradise Realm while Nine Heavens silently stood guard nearby.

Meanwhile, in another mysterious domain, Lu Kangnian watched gravely as a figure in white sat within a lightning pool.

Thunder roared without pause. Violent lightning vital force surged like a tidal wave, crashing against the figure again and again. Seated deep within the pool, the figure trembled as though enduring endless torment. With a furrowed brow and clenched teeth, he stubbornly endured..

Back in the Purple Spirit Paradise Realm, a massive scroll over a hundred zhang across hung before Li Guanqi. Countless points of light raced across its surface. Each time a point appeared, a black flame ignited on the map, and several brighter points immediately rushed toward it. Soon after, the black flame burst apart into countless smaller black points that fled in every direction.Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. He used his immense divine consciousness to control the Heavenly Intelligence Map and record every direction in which the black points vanished. From their paths, he was attempting to deduce the possible location of the Sha organization’s headquarters.

The Three Pavilions’ influence had drawn nearly every sect and clan across the Six Territories into the hunt. Even the ancient clans that had emerged into the world were no exception. The cultivators searching the Six Territories for traces of Abyssal Demons already numbered in the billions.

With chaos on the horizon, every faction hoped to claim the enormous rewards offered by the Three Pavilions. That staggering quantity of spirit stones was enough to elevate any sect or clan to an entirely new level overnight.

Li Guanqi studied the increasingly clear web of clues and murmured, “Still refusing to make a move? Then I’ll force your hand.”

Crack!

A jade slip shattered in his hand.

Li Guanqi said coldly, “Raise the reward. Anyone who locates the Sha organization’s main hall will receive a peak Heaven-tier sword technique!”

Boom!

The news spread through the Six Territories like wildfire. Countless cultivators, who had been soaring through mountain ranges with compasses in hand, quickly pulled out the jade slips and pendants from their waists.

“A Heaven-tier sword technique? A peak one? They’ve gone mad…”

“This is going to drag every cultivator in the Six Territories into the hunt.”

Even more cultivators joined the search, with some offering as much as five million high-grade spirit stones for a single compass.

The Three Pavilions had originally handed out the compasses free of charge, but with only three thousand ever made, there were nowhere near enough to go around for the countless cultivators in the hunt. Sects and clans throughout the Six Territories began calling in every connection they had to track down compass owners.

Many compass holders soon began vanishing without a trace. Many suspected that someone had already made a move.

***

In the Sha organization’s main hall, a masked man sat upon a throne. His feet rested on a stool made of stark white bones. Behind the mask, his eyes betrayed a flicker of excitement. “Haha, interesting. As expected of someone with a mind as cunning as a demon’s. But… do you really think this scheme alone is enough to find me? Naive. Far too naive.”

He curled a finger, and more than ten red-robed cultivators appeared within the hall.

The man spoke playfully. “Our opponent has made his move, so let’s make ours. Have the sects and clans under our control spread word that they’re buying the compasses for ten million spirit stones apiece. I want to see exactly what Meng Jiangchu forged.”

One of the cultivators below hesitated before asking, “My Lord, are we really supposed to spend ten million spirit stones on each one, or do we only need to spread the rumor?”

The masked man’s brows furrowed. With a casual wave of his hand, a blood-red spear condensed and shot forward.

Boom!

A terrifying pressure descended upon the entire hall. The spear pierced straight through the man who’d spoken and pinned him to a stone pillar.

The masked man spoke again. “Weren’t you listening? If we don’t actually buy them, why would anyone believe us? And if we don’t, how the hell am I supposed to examine the arrays Meng Jiangchu built into those compasses?”

With another wave of his hand, he dismissed everyone.

Back in the Purple Spirit Paradise Realm, Qian Qiusui stood anxiously beside Li Guanqi. Li Guanqi frowned. “The Daochan Territory’s Nine Heavens Palace paid ten million spirit stones for a compass?”

As soon as the news reached him, he sensed danger. “If that’s the case, many cultivators are probably selling their compasses already.”

Qian Qiusui raised a hand and conjured a screen of light. The jade pendant in her palm shone brightly as her expression darkened. “That’s right. The information boards of the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion, Hundred Treasures Pavilion, and Guanyun Pavilion are flooded with purchase requests.”

Li Guanqi swept his gaze across them. A single glance revealed more than ten thousand requests, with offers ranging from ten million to fifteen million spirit stones. Most were fake, though several came from genuinely powerful factions.

Qian Qiusui glanced at Li Guanqi. Surprisingly, there was no trace of panic in his eyes.

A faint smile touched Li Guanqi’s lips. “So you’ve taken the bait? Good…”

He took out a jade slip and spoke gravely. “Father-in-law, I need you to make a trip. Visit Nine Heavens Palace, Purple Swallow Hall, and Skycloud Island.”

Meng Jiangchu’s voice soon came through the jade slip.

—Don’t worry. I’ll leave immediately.

Qian Qiusui frowned. “Why those three?”

Li Guanqi answered casually, “They were the first to start buying compasses. At least one of them is controlled by Sha.”

He continued indifferently, “It doesn’t matter. Pass down my order: no compass is to be transferred. If a compass already bound to a cultivator changes hands, it will permanently cease to function. Cultivators at the Illusory Refinement Realm or above, along with qualifying sects and clans, may obtain compasses directly from the Three Pavilions.”

Qian Qiusui’s eyes lit up. She had not expected Li Guanqi to have planned this far ahead. Every move the enemy made seemed to have already been calculated.

Li Guanqi stood tall before the Heavenly Intelligence Map with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze steady and confident. Streams of black lines gradually converged on a single region, but the exact location remained elusive.

Clashes continued to erupt across the Six Territories. Many Abyssal Demons that had been slaughtering villages in remote mountain regions were hunted down and slain.

Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes and murmured, “Looks like it’s almost time for your next move…”

He turned to Qian Qiusui. “Where is Senior Ye Xuan?”

She bowed. “Senior Ye Xuan is at the summit of ‌Heavenly Sword Peak. The four ink jiao dragons have already been sent back to the Nine Dragon Immortal Sect.”

Li Guanqi’s eyes flickered in thought. Then he murmured, “Gu Li should be back soon too…”