Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Li Guanqi straightened his robes. The Face-Changing Bug wriggled, and his appearance transformed entirely, with a head of golden hair now standing out strikingly. He admired his new look, exaggeratedly flicking his hair just like Ye Feng, lips curling with satisfaction.

Buzz!

He frowned, a flash of icy killing intent passing through his eyes.

The entire passageway shuddered. A terrifying spatial force surged up, tearing at his flesh with irresistible strength. The exit, just within reach moments ago, was now rapidly drawing farther away.

Vital force roared through his body. He pushed his sprint technique to the absolute limit as he tore at the space ahead. Yet he still couldn’t catch up to the vanishing light curtain.

Crack! Crack crack!

The space around him grew chaotic, spatial forces twisting wildly and tearing toward him.

Li Guanqi’s techniques erupted at full power, vital force rampaging like a storm. His qi surged, pushing his physical strength to its peak. In the span of a heartbeat, he gripped the Red Lotus Sword and slashed with everything he had.

“Heaven Opening, Sword-Unsheathing Technique!”

Boom!The passage collapsed. Devastating power flooded over him instantly.

In a single breath, the flesh of his upper body split open in bloody gashes. His bones cracked under the unbearable pressure.

Boom!

A surge of sword light erupted skyward, carrying fierce sword intent and flames.

Rip!

Just as the spatial storm was about to grind him into dust, the sword light split open a narrow crack in space.

Li Guanqi’s chest caved in, and his ribs shattered. He spat a mouthful of blood. The crushing spatial force twisted his arm into a grotesque shape, breaking it completely.

Veins bulged across his neck, his face darkening to a congested purple as beads of blood seeped from his skin. The moment he saw that sliver of a crack, he stepped directly into it.

He didn’t know where it went, but anywhere was better than death.

Rumble!

The passage collapsed entirely, and the void returned to silence.

***

Boom!

In the pitch-black emptiness, a woman in white sat cross-legged beside Li Guanqi’s unconscious body. Her face was expressionless, her eyes unfocused and lost in thought.

Suddenly, a soft sound of surprise echoed from deep within the void, followed by an elderly voice.

“Well, well… I didn’t expect to find such a treasure here.”

“Hm? A spirit?”

Sword Spirit snapped back to reality, gaze calm as she looked into the darkness, saying nothing.

A long silence passed before the old voice spoke again, this time tinged with threat. “You intend to protect him?”

Only then did Sword Spirit speak. “Make a move, and you die.”

Silence. The void was deathly still, frighteningly quiet. Over ten breaths later, the old presence cautiously retreated and disappeared.

Sword Spirit lowered her head to glance at Li Guanqi, whispering words only she could hear. “Don’t worry. I’ll guard you.”

***

No one knew how much time passed before Li Guanqi finally stirred. The moment he opened his eyes, the pain from his injuries made him bare his teeth.

He cursed under his breath. “Which bastard closed the passage?!”

He didn’t believe it was Chu Menglan. She knew better than to cross him. It couldn’t be due to a lack of spirit stones either. Qi Rongxuan had inlaid them personally.

The only possibility was that the other two major sects had come knocking.

Indeed, at that very moment, the three factions had gathered before the trans-territory transport array. The atmosphere was incredibly tense.

Chu Menglan pointed her sword at the man before her and shouted furiously, “Lu Ke! Do you have a death wish?!”

The man in blue robes merely sneered, completely unafraid. He toyed with two fish pearls in his hand. “Chu Menglan, your Profound Phoenix Pavilion is breaking the rules. You dared activate the array while the control rights are still being contested?

“Do you have any idea how many resources it costs to maintain the array after each activation?”

A tall, middle-aged man with a cold expression stood to the side, a folding fan in his hand, observing silently.

Chu Menglan narrowed her eyes. “If anything happens to the person inside, both your Heavenly Demon Sect and Dark Shadow Sect will be buried with him!”

Just as Lu Ke was about to retort, the air beside him tore open, forming a pitch-black rift. An elderly man stumbled out in panic and, without a word, slapped Lu Ke across the face.

The slap wasn’t strong, but the humiliation was enormous.

Lu Ke froze, stunned. “Who?! Who the hell dares—”

He didn’t finish before the old man, Qi Rongxuan, slapped him again.

“‘Who, who, who’?! I’m your daddy!”

Lu Ke stood there, bewildered. He couldn’t figure out why the old man had shown up, or what had made him so angry.

Qi Rongxuan ignored him entirely and rushed to Chu Menglan. “What happened?! Has he arrived?!”

Chu Menglan shook her head bitterly. “He was almost out… He was almost through when the Heavenly Demon Sect forcibly shut the array.”

Qi Rongxuan’s face twisted with fury. Though his cultivation was inferior to the three sect masters, his status far outweighed theirs.

Lu Ke finally realized he might have caused a disaster. Not just anyone could make Qi Rongxuan react like that. Who was in that passage?

“Heh… Elder Qi, why have you come personally?” he asked weakly.

Qi Rongxuan ignored him. Instead, he pulled out a distinctive jade slip. His next words made the temperature plummet.

“Someone has attempted to take Young Master Li’s life. I request authorization for the Heavenly Intelligence Guard to eradicate the Heavenly Demon Sect and Dark Shadow Sect.”

His voice held no emotion. He spoke lightly, as if commenting on the weather. Yet that single casual sentence was a death decree.

Lu Ke and the cold-faced man paled instantly.‌ “Elder Qi! Elder Qi! He might not be dead yet!”

“Yes! Elder Qi, please show mercy! We truly didn’t know the person inside was of such high status!”

Qi Rongxuan narrowed his eyes, killing intent surging. “Whether he’s dead or not, the moment you dared close the passage, your fates were sealed.”

Before either man could reply, Qi Rongxuan and Chu Menglan vanished. The two remaining men exchanged terrified looks, then bolted at full speed.

“Run!”

It was the only thought in their minds. The Heavenly Intelligence Guard was not a force they could ever hope to withstand.

***

Li Guanqi gritted his teeth as he set his broken arm, then glanced at Sword Spirit and chuckled. “If my body weren’t this tough, I wouldn’t have survived even the first wave of spatial shredding.”

Sword Spirit smiled faintly and vanished from the void. “Practice your sword well.”