Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Rumble! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The whole of Di Kun City quaked violently. No one knew what was happening. Rocks rained from above—first pebbles, then boulders, then splintered shards of metallic mechanisms. The trap ensnaring Zhou Zhi sprang open, and the screens imprisoning the other Daxia Sword Sect disciples shattered in succession.

Only the barrier above the Thousand-Mechanism Array held, its surface rippling under the unrelenting barrage of falling debris. The disciples rushed into the array, forming a protective circle around Li Guanqi.

Jiang Su, though still pale, had recovered from most of her injuries. She hurried to Zhou Zhi’s side, asking him to lean on her.

“Send a few people to search for an exit,” Zhou Zhi said, his voice weak. “Check your jade slips. If they’re working, call for the others still in the city to meet us. Everyone else, guard Junior Brother Li while he breaks through!”

A chorus of assent followed, and the disciples moved quickly.

Meanwhile, Li Guanqi remained oblivious to the chaos around him. With Sword Spirit no longer suppressed, her voice finally echoed in his mind, tinged with disbelief. “You... you swallowed a piece of Star Lightning Vine?!”

Li Guanqi replied in a panic, “There’s no time for questions! If this keeps up, I’m going to explode!”

In mere breaths, the vital qi in his dantian had condensed to a terrifying density. The sheer volume of spirit qi released by the Star Lightning Vine far outpaced his ability to refine it.

Sword Spirit licked her lips. “There’s too much Spirit Qi of Heaven and Earth. You won’t be able to absorb it all. Give it to me.”Li Guanqi had no time to think, so he yelled, “Take it! Take it! Just hurry!”

With a satisfied smirk, she formed a series of hand seals. Li Guanqi’s bloated belly started to shrink visibly. She absorbed the spirit qi that almost caused his dantian to explode.

”Unbelievable,” she mused. ”To stumble upon such a treasure... you’re far luckier than you deserve.”

“Lucky? I almost died!”

Sword Spirit shook her head and swept her hand through the air. The Star Lightning Vein in his dantian moved into his spirit platform. His mind gradually steadied, his breathing deepened, and his aura dramatically changed. The loud, quaking world around him didn’t affect him at all.

His Saint Spirit Root, normally unchangeable, improved thanks to the Star Lightning Vine. He could feel that the vital force in his dantian now carried a faint trace of lightning power. He seized control of the moment, channeling his cultivation technique to refine the torrent of spirit qi into vital qi. Even the air around him trembled.

Suddenly, he felt like he’d been plunged into a lightning pool. Then came pain. Searing, crackling pain.

Meanwhile, Sword Spirit thought to herself, There’s still a little energy left in the Star Lightning Vein. We could give it to the dragon egg to make it last for another year and a half. But if we’re going to upgrade that brat’s spirit root... we’ll need a lot more than this.

Boom!

Li Guanqi’s aura broke through to the late Foundation Building Realm. His dantian platform expanded, and his meridians thickened, accelerating the flow of vital force throughout his body.

When his eyes snapped open, a cacophony of sounds assaulted his ears. Rising to his feet, he felt the world shake as his fellow disciples frantically swung their blades in the chaos. Massive chunks of stone rained from above, and he quickly realized what was happening. He shouted, “Senior Brothers, let’s get out of here!”

The space ten zhang behind them twisted and distorted, and then a spatial crack appeared. Zhou Zhi urgently ordered, “Everyone, leave immediately!”

“Yes, Senior Brother!”

“Hurry! This place is about to collapse!”

Boom!

Every surviving Daxia Sword Sect disciple had regrouped—thirty in all, Li Guanqi included. They raced for the spatial crack.

Suddenly, Li Guanqi paled. “Ye Feng!”

Zhou Zhi stiffened. “Damn! Duan Xiong and Ye Feng are still up there!”

Looking at the darting specks of light across the jade slip, Li Guanqi steadied himself before jumping onto the elevated platform.

“I’ll get them! Go, now!”

Not long after, he spotted Duan Xiong hurrying toward him, supporting a pale-faced Ye Feng.

Rumble!

The entire place shook again. A massive boulder, a full zhang wide, plummeted toward them. When it was less than three zhang away from them, Li Guanqi shot up into the air. He drew his Emerald Wolf Sword in one fluid motion, its blade crackling with purple lightning that danced along its edge. He struck the boulder with terrifying force, splitting it cleanly in two.

Ye Feng and Duan Xiong’s jaws dropped, not knowing what to say.

Li Guanqi landed on the ground and kicked them up into the air. “Fly! Now! What the hell are you waiting for?! You want to get buried alive?!”

Duan Xiong lamented, “Junior Brother Li, I... I can’t fly while carrying another person.”

Li Guanqi lifted Ye Feng with both his arms. Despite his weakened state, Ye Feng managed to murmur, “Awesome, Brother Li...”

When they reached the bottom level, Li Guanqi spotted Zhou Zhi by the exit, waving frantically. “Guanqi! Hurry! The secret realm is collapsing!”

Boom!

The red screen shattered, and the countless rocks on top of the screen fell.

Boom! Boom!

Li Guanqi hurled Ye Feng forward, then Duan Xiong. Zhou Zhi caught them both and shoved them through the crack. “Hurry!”

Boom!

Stone tiles exploded as Li Guanqi dashed through the crack, pulling Zhou Zhi with him.

They had made it.

Rumble!

The secret realm behind them let out a final, thunderous rumble. Even the grand palace atop Heavenly Sword Mountain that housed it began to crumble.

Within moments, the space in the realm twisted, warped, and vanished from the world entirely.

Outside, Li Guanqi looked around. All the highest-ranked elders were present. Even the sect master was there.

Li Guanqi’s chest tightened as he looked at the survivors.

Fifty of them had entered, but only thirty-two returned.