Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Screech!

A piercing, savage cry suddenly rang out!

Li Guanqi instinctively raised a hand to strike, but before he could, Nine Heavens shot from his wrist and transformed into a ten-zhang-long dragon. With a single swipe, his claw went through the head of the giant leopard demon.

Nine Heavens tore out the beast core, tossed it into his mouth, and chewed noisily.

Li Guanqi frowned and looked around. They were surrounded by mountain ranges, all shrouded in thick mist.

As he looked at the leopard demon’s corpse, he noticed it was little more than skin and bones, its entire body covered in gruesome wounds. Aside from the demonic beast that had attacked them, the forest was unnervingly silent.

Mountain mist drifted through the forest. Its ancient trees were all yellowed, withered, and decaying, without any of the thriving vitality Li Guanqi had expected.

Meng Wanshu’s face turned solemn. She closed her eyes and focused for a moment before saying softly, “Something’s wrong. I can’t see the end of this forest, and flight is restricted throughout the entire area. Aside from that great demon, I can’t sense a single living presence.”

Peng Luo’s nose twitched. Frowning, he said, “The stench of decay is overwhelming. This realm is nearing the end of its lifespan.”

Li Guanqi’s brow furrowed. The place was nothing like what he had imagined. He had assumed it merely contained a Qilin soul.Unfortunately, there was no way to question Xuan Lin now. No messages could pass through the realm’s boundaries.

Li Guanqi’s eyes flickered as he said solemnly, “Let’s go. We’ll head deeper inside and take a look.”

They descended from the air, and Nine Heavens coiled himself around Li Guanqi’s wrist once more.

Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu sped toward the edge of the forest, where they found a hidden and nearly overgrown path.

A massive stone stele stood at the entrance, engraved with two words: Illusory Forest.

Li Guanqi studied the inscription with a deep frown, unable to decipher its meaning. Meng Wanshu looked equally puzzled. She reached out and brushed the thick layer of dust from the stele.

As her vital force flowed across its surface, she soon discovered another line of smaller text beneath the inscription.

A warning to those who come after us: Whatever you do, do not leave the path!

The inscription was bold and striking, seemingly carved into the stele with a sword by a powerful cultivator.

Li Guanqi took a deep breath and looked up at the mist-shrouded forest. “Let’s go in.”

Peng Luo said, “You actually believe what that person wrote? Why don’t we just move through the forest as quickly as possible?”

Li Guanqi smiled. “I neither believe it nor dismiss it. We’ll follow the path for now and see what happens.”

With that, Li Guanqi lifted Peng Luo from his shoulder and said gently, “You need to stop assuming you’re always right. It’s good to have your own views and stand by them, but you can’t always be suspicious of everyone and everything. The warning on that stele might have been left by someone with good intentions, and there’s no harm in proceeding cautiously for now. Once we understand the situation better, we can judge for ourselves whether the warning is sound.”

Li Guanqi held Peng Luo by the leaf on his head. Peng Luo crossed his arms and frowned in thought for a long while. “That actually makes a lot of sense. Let me think about it some more...”

Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu both smiled. Li Guanqi casually placed Peng Luo back on his shoulder and left him to his thoughts.

Taking a deep breath, Li Guanqi tightened his grip on the Red Lotus Sword and stepped into the forest. Meng Wanshu followed closely, walking into the forest beside him.

Boom!

Roar!

Roar! Roar! Awooo!

The instant they entered the forest, the cries and roars of countless beasts assailed Li Guanqi’s ears. The ground shook violently as trees toppled all around them. Enormous beasts charged from every direction, unleashing torrents of fiery breath upon the pair.

Whoosh!

Li Guanqi was about to teleport when he found the space was as solid as an iron wall, making spatial travel impossible. He leaped into the air, but he couldn’t fly either. They could only rely on their own strength and movement techniques.

“Azure Dragon Serpents, Frost Bears, Blue-Flame Lions, Crimson-Horned Bulls, Scarlet Sun Celestial Deer, and Demon Night Panthers…”

Peng Luo stared wide-eyed at the enormous shapes appearing before them, naming each one as though reciting from a list, his voice thick with disbelief. In the outside world, nearly all of these great demons were extinct or on the brink of extinction.

Her sword swept through the air with the graceful agility of an immortal maiden, leaving afterimages behind her. Every strike she made was enough to drive a great demon into a frenzy.

Most of the beasts were at tier six or tier seven, posing little threat to either of them on their own. But there were far too many, stretching beyond sight as they charged toward Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu like an endless beast tide. The ground shook, and the thunder of their pounding hooves continued incessantly.

Suddenly, Li Guanqi raised his sword and severed the head of a great demon. Nine Heavens’ eyes snapped open, a vicious light flashing in their golden depths. He spiraled upward around Li Guanqi, his enormous body expanding until it blotted out the sky, then slowly lowered his massive head to gaze down at the countless great demons filling the forest.

Roar!

A deep and majestic dragon’s roar echoed across the entire mountain range. Nine Heavens’ draconic might[1] swept outward like the authority of the heavens, suppressing everything beneath it. Every great demon in the Illusory Forest collapsed to its knees, unable to move.

The bloodline suppression exerted by an ancient true dragon was overwhelming. Many of the tier-six great demons’ eyes rolled back as they fainted on the spot, wetting themselves in terror. Even the tier-seven great demons prostrated themselves like loyal subjects before their sovereign, not daring to raise their heads.

However, one enormous Frost Ape glared at Nine Heavens, its blood-red eyes flashing with a ferocious glint. Standing more than thirty zhang tall, the giant ape rose to its feet, beat its chest, and roared defiantly.

A trace of icy killing intent flashed through Nine Heavens’ eyes. He opened his jaws and unleashed a furious roar before charging forward, his massive dragon claw sweeping toward the ape.

The Frost Ape was already approaching the peak of the seventh tier. It twisted aside, grabbed a nearby ancient tree, and swung itself away at astonishing speed.

But Nine Heavens’ thick tail was already waiting for it. A cold light gleamed across the scales covering his tail, and lightning-element power surged around his body.

The tail’s sweep across the forest obliterated every ancient tree within a hundred zhang, and several tier-six great demons caught in its path were reduced to clouds of blood.

Nine Heavens twisted his enormous body, unleashing the full force of his tail.

Bang!

Terrifying power erupted. The giant ape crossed its arms before its chest, but Nine Heavens’ tail shattered them on impact and slammed into its torso. Its chest caved in, blood soaking its fur as the blow sent it hurtling through the air.

The light in the ape’s eyes dimmed considerably. And before it could regain its balance, Nine Heavens seized its head with one claw and unleashed another thunderous roar.

Roar!

An icy gleam flickered in Nine Heavens’ vertical pupils. Under the crushing pressure of his roar, not a single great demon dared to raise its head, much less meet his gaze. Nine Heavens’ claw tightened, and the giant ape’s skull cracked with a sickening crunch.

Then Nine Heavens opened his jaws and released a blast of dragon breath, erasing half of the giant ape’s body from existence.

Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu watched from nearby in stunned silence, their hearts trembling. For the first time, Li Guanqi witnessed the overwhelming might Nine Heavens possessed as a true dragon—the sovereign of all great demons.

1. This term was previously translated as “dragon’s might.” Following internal discussion, we’ve changed it to “draconic might” and will update earlier occurrences accordingly.

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