Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

When Li Guanqi hiked up to the peak, he froze. He had never seen anyone set an array to gather heavenly tribulation lightning into a pool.

Below him was a lightning pool, a dozen zhang deep. Tendrils of lightning braided and twisted around one another, like a purple sea of blinding electric light. The lightning spirit force in the air was active, and the thick spirit qi condensed into a thin layer of mist. Thunder rolled and electricity hissed, like a thousand beasts bellowing at once.

Li Guanqi stood at the pool’s edge and swallowed hard.

Sword Spirit gradually took form at the edge. She glanced down and gave a small nod. “This lightning pool’s been building for a long time. It should be just enough.”

Li Guanqi didn’t know what she meant by “just enough.” He pulled out every vial of demonic beast blood he had, then spread his arms. “What do I do now?”

“Take off your clothes and jump in,” Sword Spirit said, her voice calm.

He nearly choked. “What? Take off my clothes? Jump in? This is a heavenly tribulation lightning pool. You expect me to jump straight in?”

Sword Spirit snorted. “It only has a trace of the heavenly tribulation lightning’s aura. The rest is ordinary lightning. What is there to fear? Besides, without a lightning pool’s help, you’ll have a hard time mastering the first level.”

Li Guanqi gritted his teeth. The technique’s power was just too tempting. He hesitated, then looked at her and mumbled, “Uh… could you turn around?”

Sword Spirit’s gaze flicked down for a beat, then she laughed. “I’ve seen it already! What’s there to hide?”He stared at her awkwardly, then figured he had nothing to lose. Once he had made up his mind, bolstered by his natural shamelessness, he stripped off all his clothes without a second thought.

In the end, Sword Spirit averted her gaze stiffly.

Seeing her reaction, Li Guanqi laughed heartily, planted his hands on his hips, and stood at the pool’s edge. “Whew! This is liberating. Sister Sword Spirit, don’t be shy! I thought you were experienced! This… Hey!I’m not ready yet—”

Crash!

A sudden shove sent him over the edge into the lightning pool.

Sword Spirit glanced at Li Guanqi, who peeked his head out of the lightning. She said, “You need to drink all the blood, then refine it in your body and absorb the strength contained within. Only then can you unlock the first level of the Dragon-Elephant Subduing Sutra.”

He took a deep breath and shouted, “Don’t worry about me!”

Sword Spirit gradually disappeared.

Lightning slammed around him. He felt nervous, but he gritted his teeth and deactivated the vital force barrier he’d erected around the surface of his skin.

Boom!

In a single breath, his skin blistered and blackened. All his hair burned away, including his eyebrows. He was left smooth and shining from head to toe, with bare skin where his hair had once been.

The surrounding lightning power flowed into him through every pore. His limbs went numb, and he couldn’t move.

He swallowed a spirit fruit he’d bought previously, which could supposedly sharpen his comprehension abilities. A refreshing clarity washed over him, allowing him to think clearly even while in the pool.

Wave after wave of intense pain tortured him. He bit down hard and accidentally chewed off a chunk of his lower lip. The taste of blood shocked him awake. He fumbled for the jar of demonic beast blood and stared at its size. The jar was half his height.

He gulped and shouted, “Sister Sword Spirit? I don’t have to drink all of it, do I?”

No answer came.

The jar was enormous, and he had eight of them.

Purple electrical arcs continuously snaked from his body. Enduring the pain, he tipped his head back and downed as much blood as he could.

His stomach swelled. When he set the jar down, his eyes rolled back. He fought the urge to vomit. Demonic blood smelled worse than wastewater and felt like a ball of fire in his gut.

Aside from their cores, demonic beasts stored a significant amount of power in their blood. Chu Xingxian had secured blood from fourth-tier demonic beasts, which were comparable to Nascent Soul Realm cultivators.

Waves of strength battered Li Guanqi’s nascent soul. He trembled and began to circulate his vital force, activating the Dragon-Elephant Subduing Sutra.

As his nascent soul refined the blood’s strength, he grasped more of the technique. Encouraged, he drew in the surrounding lightning to support the blood refinement process.

After a while, he had refined all the blood he’d consumed. But the jar still sat half full in front of him.

He pinched his nose and forced down the remainder, then clapped a hand over his mouth to stop himself from retching. The stench triggered his gag reflex, but he fought it down and continued to refine it.

Four hours later, he felt the power of the elephant rising in his blood.

He drank the second jar, then the third and fourth. His eyes nearly rolled to the back of his head. His entire body turned very red, and his muscles bulged.

He was taller and bigger than before. Even his scars were slowly fading away.

Vital force surged through his body, and he refined the lightning that wove into his body. The process was extremely painful. It felt like a blade slicing off his flesh and bones. He gritted his teeth so hard that his gums bled. However, he knew he had to hold on, no matter what.

Ahhhh! Refine the goddamn blood! He screamed soundlessly in his heart, trying to make himself hold on.

His aura steadied and strengthened. After finishing the last jar, a tremendous burst of energy erupted from his body, and his aura skyrocketed to the mid Nascent Soul Realm.

A golden dragon and a white elephant coalesced beside him. The holograms roared at the heavens, and his physical strength soared.

By then, he had absorbed half the lightning in the pool. His comprehension greatly increased, and he grasped the fundamentals of the technique.

Over the next three days, more holograms manifested until there were four dragons and four elephants. He had reached the fourth level of the Dragon-Elephant Subduing Sutra.

Buzz!

When the final tendril of lightning in the pool faded, he slowly opened his eyes. Two bolts of lightning leaped from his eyes and carved a crater into the ground ahead.

Li Guanqi slowly stood up. He was now half a head taller and very muscular. His burned skin peeled away, revealing fair skin underneath.

His eyes shone brightly. He clenched his fists and threw a punch.

Boom!

Half of the mountain peak shattered.

He savored the power surging through him. The suffering had been worth it.

He felt like he could easily kill a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator with raw physical strength alone.

A breeze blew across his bare skin, and he suddenly felt too exposed. He looked down, then scrambled to put his clothes back on.