Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

The academy grounds, a tapestry of lush grass and blooming flowers, stretched out before them. From every direction, wisps of incense smoke curled upward, enveloping the academy in a fragrant haze.

At the center of the grounds stood a pitch-black tower at least ten stories tall. The tower rested atop a platform carved from spirit stone, and the longer Li Guanqi studied it, the more something felt wrong. It wasn’t strange for a mortal academy to have cultivators among its ranks, but the platform looked too much like a sacrificial altar. Even the white jade-like blocks used to build it were no ordinary material.

Beside him, Meng Wanshu spoke up softly. “That tower is more than it seems!”

His divine consciousness couldn’t penetrate the tower at all, which struck him as bizarre. He was at the mid Combined Body Realm, and his sea of consciousness had grown along with his cultivation. His reserves of divine consciousness could rival those of a skilled alchemist, yet the tower’s unknown material completely blocked both his and Meng Wanshu’s divine consciousness.

Sword Spirit remained silent, quietly waiting for what came next.

A procession of around a hundred people slowly emerged from the academy. The old man who had spoken earlier led the way, flanked by three others. All four elders were at the early Divine Transformation Realm, but their talent was too poor for any of them to break through to the Illusory Refinement Realm, no matter how hard they cultivated.

Suddenly, the elder with the black spots on his face looked at Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu. Li Guanqi quickly pulled Meng Wanshu close, and they bowed their heads with exaggerated reverence. The elder noticed nothing amiss and soon looked away.

There were plenty of cultivators in the crowd, many of them blending in among the commoners just as Li Guanqi was.

Meng Wanshu spoke through voice transmission. “If something goes wrong and we have to act, I’ll move everyone into my domain.”

Li Guanqi squeezed her hand to show that he understood.The two processions soon completed some sort of mysterious exchange. Of the four elders, the black-spotted elder possessed the strongest aura and appeared to be presiding over the entire ceremony. He solemnly approached the tower, holding a one-chi green jade slip in both hands. His feet traced a strange, deliberate pattern while he murmured ancient words too softly for anyone else to hear.

As the elder chanted, the entire city fell utterly silent. Only the occasional bray of restless livestock broke through.

Wooooo!

The blast of a massive horn resounded through the heavens, and all the commoners and cultivators slowly bowed their heads.

Li Guanqi followed suit, feigning reverence as he quietly extended his divine consciousness across a radius of ten li.

Buzz!

Waves of mysterious energy rippled outward from the elder’s body. Every wisp of spirit qi within dozens of li surged toward him. The elder stepped on empty air and began to climb. As he did, he lowered himself in midair, kowtowing with every step. While the sight was somewhat absurd, no one dared to laugh.

“Liu Qin, dean of Qixia Academy, humbly welcomes the immortal’s descent to bestow blessings.”

His voice and expression were utterly devout. He remained bowed low throughout the ascent, holding the jade slip high above his head. When he reached the top of the tower, he slowly inserted the slip into the black structure.

Buzz!

A thick pillar of golden light shot straight into the sky. Brilliant rays of light spread across the heavens as the spirit qi within dozens of li ran wild, though the ordinary citizens couldn’t sense it at all.

High above, the soaring pillar of light formed a fireball hundreds of zhang across. Its dazzling radiance outshone even the warm sunlight, yet it wasn’t hot at all. If anything, it felt pleasantly warm.

Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes as the surrounding people dropped to their knees in a wave. Elderly men and women kneeled with devout expressions, kowtowing again and again, murmuring prayers for the immortal’s blessing.

Li Guanqi’s brow furrowed tightly. Something was too suspicious. If an immortal was truly descending upon the world, surely some word of it would have gotten out? Qixia City was far from the Daxia Sword Sect, but not a single whisper had reached them.

Li Guanqi noticed that several cultivators had gone pale, glancing uncertainly at the kneeling commoners before awkwardly bowing. He, however, straightened up and stood his ground, a frown creasing his brow.

Meng Wanshu couldn’t help but speak up. “Dropping the act? Should we also…”

Li Guanqi placed one hand behind his back and said quietly, “No need. Whether it’s a man or a ghost, we’ll know soon enough. There’s no reason to bow to some so-called immortal.”

Meng Wanshu smiled warmly and said nothing more, standing tall beside him.

The square was packed shoulder to shoulder, yet no one stood within three chi of Li Guanqi except Meng Wanshu. Although a few white-bearded elders found this odd, they couldn’t cross the invisible boundary, no matter how hard they tried.

Hundreds of cultivators stood within the crowd. Upon seeing Li Guanqi standing proudly at the front, they paused briefly before straightening their backs too.

Buzz!

A black rift suddenly split open in the sky, releasing a terrifying aura. A massive bolt of lightning erupted from the rift and struck a mountain peak below, cleaving it in two and sending dust and shattered stone billowing into the air.

In the flash of lightning, an enormous shadow appeared in the sky. The figure stood a thousand zhang tall, radiating a powerful pressure that sent chills down every spine. It was a colossal demonic beast, its body covered in black scales that gleamed like metal. Its wings spread thousands of zhang wide, coated in black flame. Its eyes were like two lanterns, glowing a deep red.

Peng Luo had pulled Nine Heavens into hiding inside the void interlayer and was now desperately trying to hold him back. He rattled off, “Brother Nine, Brother Nine, hold on! Brother Nine, stop clawing at me…”

Peng Luo transmitted to Li Guanqi, “That’s a mixed-blood descendant of a Hou! The Hou feeds on dragons. Even in the Immortal World, it’s an extraordinarily powerful demonic beast!”[1]

The moment the demonic beast appeared, countless dark clouds flooded the sky. Lightning crackled within them, and fierce gales howled. On the earth below, countless creatures began to flee, overwhelmed by a terrifying aura unlike anything they had ever felt.

Every cultivator still standing buckled beneath the demonic beast’s pressure and crashed to their knees. The sheer force shattered their kneecaps and cracked the stone tiles beneath them. In an instant, their faces went deathly pale, and cold sweat streamed down their foreheads.

Li Guanqi let out a cold snort. Resisting the pressure bearing down on him, he slowly raised his head and fixed his piercing gaze on the heavens. There, the projection of a man shrouded in golden light stood atop the Hou’s head, looking down upon all living beings.

“So this is… an immortal?” Li Guanqi murmured, his gaze calm and steady. His expression didn’t change.

1. The Hou (犼), also known as the Denglong (蹬龙), is a legendary Chinese creature said to possess features resembling those of various animals: a deer’s horns, a camel’s head, a cat’s ears, a shrimp’s eyes, a donkey’s mouth, a lion’s mane, a snake’s neck, a Shen’s belly, a koi’s scales, an eagle’s foreclaws, and a tiger’s hind paws. One Hou is said to be capable of battling three dragons.