Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Xuan Lin glanced at Li Guanqi’s side and quickly lost interest. He turned away, flicking a crimson jade slip etched with the image of a flaming qilin toward him.

“I’m from the Divine Treasure Territory. If you ever make it there, look for me.”

Li Guanqi caught it casually and nodded. He didn’t feel much toward Xuan Lin either way, but a jade slip was a jade slip. He might as well make a new acquaintance.

A spark of fire flashed beneath Xuan Lin’s feet, and he vanished.

Qi Rongxuan looked toward the Heavenly Intelligence Map, awe flickering in his eyes. With his experience, it wasn’t hard to tell that the artifact had already recognized a master and that its spirit was gone. Only Li Guanqi would know how that happened.

The old man beside Qi Rongxuan studied Li Guanqi deeply but said nothing. Instead, he bowed and asked, “Young Master Li, could you open a passage so we can contact the Pavilion Master? The situation isn’t quite as we agreed upon, and I need to report it.”

Li Guanqi’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. He even sighed innocently. “Of course, no problem at all. Honestly, I don’t even know what happened. The Heavenly Intelligence Map suddenly acknowledged me as its master, and then the spirit just foamed at the mouth and died.”

Qi Rongxuan’s mouth twitched at the blatant nonsense.

Li Guanqi thought for a moment and asked, “By the way, when are your experts getting here? The Hell King could already be outside waiting to snatch the Heavenly Intelligence Map. Don’t forget that you promised to protect me.”

This kid’s heart must be pitch black, Qi Rongxuan thought.Still, he said respectfully, “Please rest assured, Young Master Li. The Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion never breaks its word.”

Only then did Li Guanqi, half-doubting, open a small rift in space to allow contact with the outside world. Just as the Qi Rongxuan took out his jade pendant, its ancient surface flashed wildly. Light burst forth in waves, almost forming a solid sheet.

Everyone froze. Just how many people were trying to contact him at once?

The three behind him exchanged uneasy looks. Something wasn’t right.

Only Sword Spirit, standing quietly behind Li Guanqi, wore a faint, knowing smile.

Qi Rongxuan himself was baffled. Before the mission, he had handed off all his duties. Why were there suddenly so many urgent messages?

Puzzled, he infused the token with vital force.

Buzz!

—Qi Rongxuan! Whatever you do, do not provoke Li Guanqi!

—Qi Rongxuan, answer me! Don’t mess with him!

—Old Qi, I’m begging you. If you hear this, I’m begging you, don’t provoke him!

—Even if he tells you to kneel and lick his feet, you do it!

—Answer me! Please, for heaven’s sake. Don’t provoke him!

The frantic voice of an old man, almost in tears, echoed through the air.

Qi Rongxuan swallowed hard, his face stiff. His neck creaked as he slowly turned to the others, pointing shakily at the jade pendant. “This voice… It’s the Pavilion Master of the Grand Pavilion of the Daxia Territory, isn’t it?”

The old men behind him felt their throats go dry. The Pavilion Master seemed to be crying.

One of them whispered, “Maybe you should speak with him first?”

Qi Rongxuan jolted back to himself, cleared his throat, and bowed toward the jade pendant. “Pavilion Master Gu, we’ve just wrapped things up here. There’s been a small unexpected—”

Rip!

Li Guanqi looked sideways. Ten paces away, space itself tore open as an overwhelming force ripped through the barrier from the outside.

Sword Spirit gave a cursory glance, hesitated for a heartbeat, then faded into nothingness.

From the darkness of the rift, a sweat-drenched old man’s head popped out. He wore a white cloud-patterned robe, his back slightly hunched, his face thin and wrinkled. What little hair he had clung wetly to his forehead.

His sharp eyes swept across the space, and the moment they landed on Li Guanqi, they lit up. He hurried out of the rift and stopped just three chi before Li Guanqi, smiling so widely his face nearly folded in on itself.

Li Guanqi didn’t even see him move. There wasn’t the slightest ripple or spiritual fluctuation. He couldn’t sense the man’s presence at all, as if he were an ordinary, frail mortal.

But Li Guanqi knew very well that this plain, unassuming old man was none other than the Pavilion Master of the Daxia Territory’s Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion. His cultivation was fathomless, likely no weaker than the Hell King’s.

The old man bowed slightly, grinning from ear to ear. Even Qi Rongxuan thought it looked a little too flattering.

The old man ignored everyone else’s stares and said cheerfully, “Young Master Li, truly a fine young man. Talented and extraordinary! To have reached the late Divine Transformation Realm already… Your ascension to the Illusory Refinement Realm is only a matter of time! The Daxia Sword Sect must be blessed indeed to have produced someone like you. Truly the fortune of our Daxia Territory!”

Li Guanqi frowned slightly, feeling uneasy. When had anyone ever seen a mighty expert at the Combined Body Realm fawning over someone and piling on compliments? Anyone in his position would feel uncomfortable.

He opened his mouth to reply, but the old man raised a hand to stop him.

“I know, I know. No need to explain. The matter with Cang Lu has nothing to do with our Pavilion. But since you’ve had doubts, I, Gu Yong, must show some sincerity.”

He pointed at Qi Rongxuan and barked, “Tomorrow—no, now. Send three high-grade spirit veins to the Daxia Sword Sect!”

Qi Rongxuan’s eyes bulged. “Three? High-grade? Pavilion Master, we—”

Gu Yong jumped and smacked him on the head. “Pavilion Master? Pavilion Master what? Do what I say! And send some manuals, treasures, herbs—everything! Consider it my apology to Young Master Li!”

Li Guanqi swallowed hard, his mind reeling. Three high-grade spirit veins? Don’t tell me the Intelligence Pavilion belongs to my grandpa?

The thought made his eyes light up. He probed, “Um, Senior Gu?”

“Yes, little friend, please speak.”

“Since you’re being so generous. Is the Intelligence Pavilion, by any chance, owned by my grandfather?”

At the mention of Li Guanqi’s grandfather, Gu Yong nearly dropped to his knees. “Little friend, please don’t ask. I’m begging you. Just take everything quietly. If it’s not enough, I’ll give you more. Just… please don’t tell him.”

Li Guanqi’s mouth twitched. He would never have imagined that a lofty, untouchable Pavilion Master would act so miserably in front of him. And it was all because of his grandfather.