Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Another heavenly intelligence jade pendant projected everything Li Guanqi described. The projection flickered and blurred, but everyone could make out a man and woman kneeling before Cao Zhennan, begging for mercy. Cao Zhennan clutched a little boy in a death grip—the young Cao Yan.

The truth became undeniable. The mighty Southern Heavenly King was shameless, lowly scum. The projections unmasked him completely, showing the world how he had betrayed his family and killed his own sister to seize the throne.

Cao Zhennan’s pupils trembled. Everything had been done in extreme secrecy, and it had been many years since then. How does this bastard know so much?!

Every person connected to this matter had been disposed of.

“You’re looking for death!”

Cao Zhennan lost his mind. He slammed his fist into the two light screens. But there were too many people watching, and many had already recorded the scene with their own projection stones. News spread like the wind.

Li Guanqi’s smirk widened as Cao Zhennan descended into madness. He didn’t want to just kill Cao Zhennan. He wanted everyone to know what kind of person he was.

Terrifying aura erupted from Li Guanqi. No longer holding back, he swung both swords and released all three techniques of the Heavenly Destruction Sutra in rapid succession. The final move, Immortal-Slaying Slash, was released through the Yanluo Sword. The technique was already the most powerful in the sutra, but now it carried an additional weight as heavy as a mountain.

The sword lights swelled as they shot toward Cao Zhennan. No matter how powerful his attacks, how terrifying his flames, how strong his magical treasures—the three sword lights rendered everything useless.

The world fell silent. Everyone held their breath. They expected Cao Zhennan to die in the next moment. But hundreds of zhang away, Li Guanqi suddenly dropped to one knee, blood spraying from his mouth.The sword lights had almost touched Cao Zhennan, but Li Guanqi had forcefully dispersed them because Cao Zhennan had ducked behind the blood-drenched Cao Yan.

“Shameless!” Li Guanqi cursed under his breath.

Cao Zhennan gripped Cao Yan’s shoulder blades, raising him as a human shield. The crowd cursed him inwardly. Finally, everyone saw Cao Zhennan’s true nature for themselves.

Hiding behind Cao Yan, Cao Zhennan laughed like a maniac. “Come! Come kill me!”

“You’re so pitiful,” Li Guanqi said. “What you’re doing is laughable.”

Cao Zhennan grabbed Cao Yan’s arm and tore it off with brute force. Cao Yan, initially unconscious, woke up from the pain, letting out a deep groan. Li Guanqi realized Cao Yan’s teeth had been pulled out.

Li Guanqi reached out through space and seized the throat of Cao Zhennan’s father. He drove his hand into the old man’s mouth and ripped off his jaw. He hurled the jawbone aside, stepped forward, and glared at Cao Zhennan with bloodshot eyes.

“You bastard!” Li Guanqi roared. “Touch him again and see what happens!”

Cao Zhennan howled with laughter, looking at Li Guanqi with seething hatred. Cao Zhennan knew that even if he survived today, he had become a joke to the entire Black Sect Territory. All the guests in the broken domain had become spectators. No one dared speak up or help him. They all watched coldly, barely hiding the disgust in their eyes.

Everyone realized the situation wouldn’t end peacefully. The blind swordsman showed no signs of stopping. He had identified himself as Cao Yan’s big brother and the golden-haired swordsman as his second brother. Li Guanqi’s group had arrived seeking revenge.

Pfft!

Blood gushed. Cao Zhennan, fully unhinged, tore off Cao Yan’s other arm.

“Hahah! Did you really think you could threaten me with my father? You think I’d be afraid? Do you think I’m that kind of person?”

Cao Zhennan ducked behind Cao Yan’s shoulders, glaring at Li Guanqi with blood-red eyes. He knew that while Cao Yan still breathed, Li Guanqi wouldn’t dare kill him. Cai Zhennan licked blood from the corner of his mouth and glanced at Cao Yan with contempt.

“My brother-in-law never liked me much,” he murmured. “Hahaha. In the end, he still died by my hand. Tsk tsk... Cao Yan, did you really think you found that precious herb by luck? If I hadn’t trapped you, your parents would’ve easily escaped the Southern Territory. Still, I’m surprised that final trick I planted in your body didn’t kill you... Must have been because of him, wasn’t it?”

Watching Cao Zhennan’s madness, Li Guanqi realized Cao Weiyi was no longer a valid bargaining chip. The old man stared at Cao Zhennan with wide, reddening eyes. Tears welled up. Finally, he closed his eyes in resignation. The despair hurt worse than any physical wound.

With a flash of cold light, Li Guanqi slashed Cao Weiyi’s body into countless pieces.

Powerful flames roared, consuming everything. An Illusory Refinement Realm cultivator had vanished from the world without a trace. The crowd stood speechless.

To their surprise, Cao Zhennan remained calm. Only a flicker of emotion crossed his eyes when his father gave him that long, final look.

“Hooo…” Li Guanqi exhaled and shot forward in an unpredictable pattern.

Cao Zhennan’s eyes widened as Li Guanqi’s silhouette blurred. Countless spatial tears appeared around them.

A white radish, tugging on Li Guanqi’s hand, suddenly appeared beside Cao Zhennan. Cao Zhennan reached to crush Cao Yan’s heart, but a flash of cold steel sliced both his arms off.

Li Guanqi drove his fingers into Cao Zhennan’s abdomen.

“Ahhh!‌”Cao Zhennan screamed.

He pulled his hand free and seized Cao Zhennan’s head like an eagle’s talons. Cao Zhennan’s skull cracked audibly.

Buzz!

Ye Feng emerged, blood-drenched, holding a human head.

Across the sky, a spatial tear opened, revealing a domain engulfed in flames. Xiao Chen limped out, clothes tattered, a dozen bloody holes in his body. When he saw Ye Feng, he broke into a grin and shook his silver spear as if showing off.

Buzz!

The temperature plummeted. Meng Wanshu emerged calmly. The two frozen corpses behind her shattered.

Hisss!

The bystanders drew in a sharp breath. Four people had killed five Illusory Refinement Realm cultivators. All of Cao Zhennan’s helpers had died.

The attackers were… extraordinarily powerful.

Li Guanqi cradled Cao Yan in his arms, eyes filled with pain and pity.

“Save him first!”

Meng Wanshu tapped her finger. A luminous pill appeared, swirling with light. She fed it to Cao Yan.

Flames ignited beneath Cao Zhennan’s feet. Li Guanqi’s killing intent surged.

Suddenly, three terrifying auras descended, and a sword light shot toward Li Guanqi.

Meng Wanshu huffed coldly and appeared behind him in a flash. She swung her sword. Sword Heart Realm sword intent. Her sword light froze everything in its path.

Boom!

The incoming sword light shattered. Xiao Chen and Ye Feng rushed to Li Guanqi’s side, their eyes fixed on the distant sky.