Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Rumble!

Thunder crashed, shaking the heavens.

Li Guanqi was drenched in blood, but his eyes blazed with confidence. As his primordial soul slowly solidified, his aura grew ever stronger.

Violent energy spread across the land.

Boom boom boom!

Three thick bolts of lightning fell from the sky, accompanied by deafening crashes. The surrounding cultivators clapped their hands over their ears and sealed them with vital force. Even so, many still bled from the pressure.

Li Guanqi was charred black all over. His head snapped upward, and he launched himself toward the descending lightning, sword in hand.

Each bolt was thick enough for a man to wrap his arms around. They struck in a “品” formation, their combined pressure so immense it seemed the heavens themselves were determined to kill Li Guanqi.

Li Guanqi looked up, endless lightning radiating from him. His two heavenly flames spread a thousand zhang in every direction. The space within this radius warped, becoming his vital force domain.

Lightning flashed. Heavenly flames flickered. A surge of vital force coursed through his two dantians. His primordial soul was a tiny sliver away from completely solidifying.He activated the Dragon-Elephant Subduing Sutra. Blood rushed through him, muscles swelling. The bottleneck to its fifth tier loosened under the heavenly tribulation lightning.

Li Guanqi stood at the center of his domain and launched himself into the air. The space within a hundred zhang of his former position collapsed.

“Haaarghhhh!!”

The crowd saw the sky dim as terrifying sword intent erupted.

“Yanluo Sword Intent!”

Crack crack!

Two audible cracks split the air. Li Guanqi’s heart shuddered, and his thoughts flowed more smoothly than ever before. His sword intent, which had been stuck at the Sword Courage Realm, finally advanced to the Sword Heart Realm.

Far away in the Sword Abyss of the Great Profound Sword Sect, the sword intent he’d left behind erupted in tandem. Terrifying sword qi ravaged the bottom of the abyss.

His sword spirit void buzzed. Flames and lightning twisted around his sword. Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip. “Soul Dissolution, Yanluo!”

Boom!

The pitch-black sword in his hand grew heavier.

“Ten Thousand Jun!”[1]

This was the Yanluo Sword’s Soul Dissolution ability—it could shatter any attack, provided Li Guanqi had the physical strength to swing a blade weighing ten thousand jun. It was why Sword Spirit had been steadily increasing the sword coffin’s weight before leaving the Soaring Heavens Territory.

Li Guanqi’s left arm swelled as he glared at the descending bolts. He twisted, activated the Traceless Darkness Step, and split into three afterimages, each slashing upward.

He unleashed the three sword techniques of the Heavenly Destruction Sword Sutra.

“Crouching Demon!”

“Heavenly Destruction Technique!”

“Immortal-Slaying Slash!”

Three sword lights shot out, so powerful they were almost solid. The sword lights were infused with potent sword intent, lightning vital force, and violent heavenly flames. They surged upward as if to split the heavens in half.

All light seemed to vanish for a moment. All that remained in the crowd’s eyes were the destructive bolts of lightning and the youth swinging his sword against them, throwing his mortal body against the heavens.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The entire city trembled.

Meng Wanshu clasped her hands before her chest, watching the lightning and billowing dust with worry.

In contrast, Ye Feng was unbothered. He shook Peng Luo, who was foaming at the mouth with his eyes rolled back.

“This thing’s probably really nutritious in a soup…” Ye Feng muttered.

Vital force ravaged the land. The scattered lightning flattened all structures within three thousand zhang, leaving broken buildings and shattered walls everywhere. Luckily, the tribulation had given warning signs, allowing everyone to evacuate beforehand.

The crowd watched in puzzlement, uncertain whether Li Guanqi had broken through.

The plaza had long been destroyed, replaced by a vast crater. At its heart lay a figure charred completely black.

One of his fingers twitched. His pure white eyes snapped open, and a powerful aura erupted.

Buzz!

Even from thousands of zhang away, the cultivators could sense his power. It unnerved them.

Li Guanqi opened his eyes. He had never felt the Spirit Qi of Heaven and Earth so clearly. The golden figure in his dantian now had a face. His primordial spirit looked exactly like him.

He connected with the primordial spirit, feeling as if he was the spirit and the spirit was him.

Later, in the Illusory Refinement Realm, this primordial spirit’s strength would let him create clones.

Li Guanqi rose from the crater and soared into the air.

Through his divine consciousness, he sensed that Cang Lu was still a thousand zhang away, not having moved at all. And now he sensed a unique aura on Cang Lu he’d never noticed before.

“It’s a clone...” Li Guanqi murmured. “This person, my long-time nemesis, is just a clone...”

He didn’t know how to feel. He’d suspected it before, but his repeated probing had made him dismiss the idea.

Now at the Illusory Refinement Realm himself, he couldn’t fathom how powerful Cang Lu must be to create a clone that had reached the Illusory Refinement Realm.

No matter how he examined it, Cang Lu had no primordial spirit. Instead, his body contained only fragmented, artificial soul pieces.

Whoosh!

The Yanluo Sword shot into his hand.

His robes were burned black, and only the bottom part remained, revealing his lean muscles and wound-ridden back.

Boom!

Everyone was shocked—his Illusory Refinement Realm aura was perfectly stable.

Li Changqing’s eyes widened. Pointing at Li Guanqi, he stuttered, “H-h-he swallowed the final three bolts too?? A spirit-martial double cultivator? That’s... almost inhuman! He has the physical strength of a tier-six demon?!”

Meng Wanshu sighed with relief, resting her hands behind her.

She blushed, her beautiful eyes fixed on Li Guanqi. “You’re still you. You’ve always wanted to become stronger.”

Strum! Strum!

The guqin music ended, and Cang Lu slowly rose to his feet.

Their eyes met. Without a word, both erupted with maximum power, releasing their vital force domains.

Li Guanqi’s sword prison spread a thousand zhang across the sky. His two heavenly flames expanded, forming a cage.

This battle would only end when one of them was dead.

1. 1 jun equals 30 jin, which is approximately 15 kilograms or 33 pounds. ☜