A Blind Swordsman's Sword Coffin

An old man with frazzled hair in simple hemp clothing appeared in the distance. He took three steps forward, but that was enough to appear in front of You Ming.

His skin was a withered yellow, and he was very thin, with slightly sunken cheeks and murky eyes. His aura was at the late Combined Body Realm, but he kept his head bowed.

“Ancestor Liu! Ancestor Liu has come out of closed-door cultivation!”

“Ssss... Ancestor Liu was forced out of seclusion! Just how powerful is this intruder?!”

“Hmph! How dare he cause trouble at our doorstep?! Who does he think he is?!”

The sight of the old man deeply moved the elders. Most of them had only heard tales of a powerful ancestor in their family, and many had even believed he was long gone.

But what their ancestor did next made their jaws drop.

The old man dropped to his knees before the man in black robes, pressed both palms to the ground, and kowtowed. “Liu Peiyuan of the Liu family greets Blood Sovereign You Ming. My juniors had eyes yet failed to see Mount Tai. Please forgive them, Blood Sovereign.”

The threads on You Ming’s fingers snapped, and Liu Xiaochen quickly pulled his hand out of his mouth.

He lay panting, eyes hollow, body trembling. He felt like he’d just brushed against death itself.

You Ming appeared before the old man. He scratched his cheek and frowned. “Peiyuan, it’s only been about two thousand years. Why do you look so terrible, like a frail old dog?”

Liu Peiyuan swallowed and answered cautiously, “We’re just humble cultivators toiling away at the Dao... We can’t compare to you, Blood So—”

You Ming didn’t wait for him to finish. He pursed his lips and drove his fingers into Liu Peiyuan’s hair. He squinted, then gripped Liu Peiyuan’s head and smashed it into the ground.

Bam!

“Oh, Peiyuan.”

Bam!

The stone tiles shattered. Blood streamed down Liu Peiyuan’s forehead.

“You...”

Bam!

The ground within ten zhang sank. His forehead was a mask of blood.

“You put me in a tough spot.”

Bam!

Thud!

The mountain peak trembled. The pavilions on the slope collapsed, and boulders rolled down the mountainside.

Liu Peiyuan’s face was a bloody ruin. You Ming hauled Liu Peiyuan up, cocking his head to study him.

You Ming said calmly, ”The Demon Abyss your Liu Clan is responsible for... seems to have been opened. Peiyuan, tell me... do you think this is an oversight on your part?”

The Liu family’s realm fell silent aside from a few strangled gasps. Those who had spoken earlier wished they could bury their heads in the earth. They trembled uncontrollably.

Liu Peiyuan was shocked. His eyes were so swollen they were mere slits, and his mouth was bleeding.

“Blood Sovereign...” he managed, voice low. “I... I truly did not know about this!”

You Ming released his grip, and Liu Peiyuan crashed to the ground. He wiped the blood from his hands on his robes and looked around. “The Ancient Clans vowed to go into hiding, but the Liu family doesn’t seem to be taking that vow seriously. When I used the Blood Beast Heavenly Array to breach your realm’s boundary, I could sense several large holes in it.”

Liu Peiyuan’s eyes went wide, pupils trembling. He swallowed hard and stammered, “No... Blood Sovereign... That’s impossible... We... We...”

Bam!

You Ming smashed his head into the ground once more and dragged it from the crater, looking at Liu Peiyuan with impatience. “Peiyuan... since when did you learn to talk back?”

“I remember when you were my sword servant,” he murmured, his gaze cold. “You’d never have dared to talk like this.”

Liu Peiyuan went white, terror gripping his very soul. A lifetime’s worth of terrifying memories crashed over him in a single wave. He didn’t dare fight back. His gaze dropped in submission.

You Ming burst into maniacal laughter. He stepped on Liu Peiyuan’s face, gathered his black robes, and ground his foot down on Liu Peiyuan’s cheek. The laughter stopped. Only the sound of crushing bone remained.

You Ming looked down at the old man in the crater and cocked his head. “That’s right. As a dog, you’ve got to be obedient. If I say there are holes, then there are holes.”

The air hung heavy. No one knew who You Ming was, but they could all see he was deranged. Still, no one doubted his strength. They were terrified.

Many went pale at You Ming’s words, especially the patriarch, Liu Xiaochen, who lay weeping on the ground. He felt a suffocating pressure in his throat, as if it were being strangled, cutting off any sound.

Everything You Ming had mentioned was a closely guarded secret, known to only a handful within the Liu family. Every one of them understood the consequences of an outsider learning such things. None of them would have leaked a word.

Liu Xiaochen glanced up and accidentally locked eyes with You Ming. He was so frightened he almost leaped out of his skin. You Ming gave a bright smile that slowly turned into something unsettling.

Realization struck Liu Xiaochen. He tried to scream, “No! No!”

Whoosh!

You Ming extended his slender fingers. Blood-red threads burst from his fingertips and pierced a youth in luxurious turquoise robes. He had a handsome face and wore a white jade headpiece. A flicker of pain crossed his black eyes, and his face paled.

“Yunxuan!” Liu Xiaochen screamed in a panic. He had experienced the sensation of being controlled by the threads, and he was terrified that You Ming would harm the youth.

But the threads retracted almost as soon as they’d entered. Drops of blood trailed after them. You Ming licked the blood from the threads, eyes half-closed.

Liu Yunxuan collapsed to his knees, pale and shaking. He stared down at the stone tiles, too terrified to look up. A breath later, You Ming’s eyes opened. Light flashed within them.

He clasped his hands behind his back, tapping one against the other.

A devilish smirk spread across his demonic, handsome face. His gaze slid to a youth standing among the crowd.

Whoosh!

An unstoppable force dragged Liu Yunxuan toward You Ming.