A Blind Swordsman's Sword Coffin

In the end, Li Guanqi could no longer bear to listen to the old men bicker. Their argument had nearly come to blows. He rose and pulled Meng Wanshu up with him.

“Gu Li, take us for a walk. There’s nothing for us to do here.”

Gu Li set down his talisman brush and smiled. “Alright. I was itching to leave anyway.”

He turned to Xiang Huaizhi and bowed respectfully. “Uncle Xiang, I’ll take them out for some fresh air.”

Xiang Huaizhi was busy arguing with Han Yuan and the others. Without even turning around, he waved them off, plainly telling them to hurry up and leave.

Once the three of them were outside, Gu Li finally breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at Li Guanqi and pondered for a moment. “I know of a lightning pool in the great void that has been gathering power for a thousand years. Would you like to bring Nine Heavens inside?”

Li Guanqi’s eyes lit up. He already had more than enough medicinal pills to aid Nine Heavens’ recovery, but a soak in the lightning pool would be ideal. Nine Heavens could absorb its power to refine the energy within its body.

Gu Li smiled and slapped a talisman onto each of them before placing another on himself. Silver light shimmered around all three, and they vanished in an instant.

Not long after leaving the Gu clan’s realm, the three of them arrived in a vast expanse of the void.

Boom, boom, boom!

Thunder rumbled as lightning-element power churned and gathered in the distance. A massive lightning pool, a thousand zhang across, came into view.

Li Guanqi felt an immense pressure radiating from within the lightning pool. His eyes sharpened, and he murmured softly, “What a place. How did you find it?”

Gu Li puffed out his chest and waved the talisman in his hand. “Did you think the talismans I stuck on you were just carrying you across a distance?”

Li Guanqi closed his eyes and scanned his surroundings. Only then did he realize the three of them stood inside an independent realm tucked within a spatial interlayer, perfectly concealed.

An amused smile played at the corner of his mouth. “The Gu clan’s foundations run far deeper than I imagined.”

Gu Li laughed and pointed to himself. “Have you forgotten what my family does? This pool formed from accumulated pill tribulation lightning. It’s excellent for tempering the body. Want to take a dip?”

He paused before adding, “Just stay away from the center. The lightning within the innermost hundred zhang came from the tribulations triggered when my father refined a tier-eight pill.”

Li Guanqi had not particularly cared before, but that last detail piqued his interest. He cracked his knuckles, eager to try.

He reached into his storage, pulled out three large jade bottles, and tossed them to Gu Li.

Gu Li stared at the bottles, each half as tall as a person, momentarily stunned. Then something clicked, and his face lit up with wild elation. He grabbed one of the bottles and tore off its seal. A powerful, majestic dragon aura spilled out.

Gu Li stammered, “Real... real dragon blood! You actually brought it? But Nine Heavens is injured. Is this alright? This won’t do, it won’t do... this really won’t do!”

Li Guanqi smiled. “Relax and keep it. This is blood Nine Heavens lost from its injury. I didn’t take it by force.”

Gu Li breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought Li Guanqi had drawn the blood himself, which had given him quite a fright.

Whoosh!

Nine Heavens’ enormous form appeared in the void. The moment it emerged, it opened its eyes. Its cold gaze locked onto Gu Li with barely contained fury.

Without a word, Gu Li reached into his storage ring and pulled out more than a dozen jade cases. He opened them and tossed gleaming medicinal pills to Nine Heavens one after another as though they cost nothing.

Nine Heavens hesitated at first, but as soon as the fragrant pills reached its muzzle, it instinctively opened its mouth and swallowed them.

Gu Li continued tossing pills as he spoke. “Eat as many as you want, Nine Heavens. I’ve got plenty more! Once you’re finished, you can sleep in the lightning pool. When you wake up, I’ll find four ink jiao dragons[1] to keep you company! Trust me, Nine Heavens. Make yourself at home. If you need anything, just tell your little brother here.”

Nine Heavens let out a lightning-laced burp and stared wide-eyed at Gu Li, as though it could not quite believe what it had just heard. The pure lightning energy churning in the nearby pool was a great tonic for it as well.

But at the words “four ink jiao dragons,” Nine Heavens’ expression shifted into something hard to describe.

Nine Heavens lowered its enormous head toward Gu Li and, to everyone’s surprise, nuzzled him. Gu Li leaned closer and whispered something into its ear.

Li Guanqi could not make out what Gu Li had said, but he could feel a surge of excitement from Nine Heavens.

Gu Li and the dragon exchanged a conspiratorial glance. Then, to Li Guanqi’s astonishment, Nine Heavens channeled its inner power to mend its surface wounds and handed all its shed dragon scales over to Gu Li. With a flick of its tail, it raised its head high and dove into the lightning pool.

A sense of foreboding crept over Li Guanqi when he saw Gu Li turn to leave. “Don’t tell me you’re planning to steal ink jiao dragons from the Nine Dragon Immortal Sect...”

The way Gu Li was trying to sneak off said it all. He spun around with a sheepish grin. “Ahem. I already promised Nine Heavens. Besides, if Nine Heavens sires offspring with them, the Nine Dragon Immortal Sect will probably shower the Daxia Sword Sect with gifts. Everyone wins.”

Meng Wanshu’s lips curved faintly. Only Gu Li could have dreamed up such an outrageous way to curry favor. Then again, his plan made sense. Dragons were notoriously lustful creatures.

It might actually turn out well.

“Brother Qi, just let Gu Li go. Nine Heavens was badly injured, and the damage reached its very foundation. But with the Dragon Scale Divine Wood, all those medicinal pills, and the lightning pool, it should be able to use this opportunity to break through in one go. If the Nine Dragon Immortal Sect has any sense, they’ll be more than willing to send those jiao dragons over.”

After thinking it through, Li Guanqi had to admit they had a point. The matter with Ye Bingxin had already strained his relationship with the Nine Dragon Immortal Sect. If Gu Li made the trip, he could clear up the misunderstanding and establish proper ties between them. Ye Xuan would likely be glad to see that happen as well.

“Haha, I’m off then, Brother Li! Take your time with Sister-in-law Meng. This lightning pool is yours to use as you please.”

With that, he bolted. Li Guanqi stared at the silver light flickering on Gu Li’s departing figure and blinked. “Those spatial fluctuations... He left a spatial talisman coordinate in the Ethereal Immortal Territory?”

Meanwhile, in the identity registration hall of the Ethereal Immortal Territory, spirit runes suddenly lit up across a desk. Silver light flashed, and Gu Li appeared standing squarely on top of it.

Everyone in the hall stared in bewilderment at the young man who had materialized out of nowhere. The black-armored man’s face darkened at once. “You brat! Who the hell gave you permission to leave a spatial rune here?”

Gu Li crossed a thousand zhang in a single step, leaving only his laughter behind. “Sorry, uncle! I won’t do it here next time!”

The black-armored man stared at the footprint on the steps outside the entrance, the corner of his mouth twitching. He flicked a finger and shattered the step, finally dispersing the faint glow of the spatial rune embedded in the footprint.

“Who taught that brat to leave spatial runes everywhere...?”

He turned to the others. “What are you all gawking at? That brat is a peak tier-seven enlightened talisman master. Even I would like to get a few talismans from him. Come on. I’ll take you all to register.”

1. Jiao (蛟) are mythological aquatic dragons. ☜