Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Li Guanqi led the others through the void, crossing a thousand li in an instant. They were back in the Northern Territory of the Azure Cloud Continent.

As they approached the sect grounds, Li Guanqi grew excited. He had been away for a long time again. He had left alone, but this time he was returning with four others.

When he left, he had only been at the Divine Transformation Realm. Now, was at the Illusory Refinement Realm.

Li Guanqi let out a long breath. Ye Feng was also a little nervous, rubbing his palms restlessly. “Boss, I’m so nervous!”

Li Guanqi smiled. “Why?”

“Nothing… I’ve been gone for too long, and I didn’t even contact my parents. I’m afraid they’ll be mad. It’s been a few years since I’ve seen them. I wonder how they are.”

Li Guanqi glanced at him and slapped his head. “Don’t worry. They’re doing well. I paid them a visit the last time I was here.”

“Huh? You went to visit my parents?”

“Yes. They were having a minor issue at the time, and I helped them resolve it.”

Ye Feng looked down and fell silent for a while. He wanted to express his gratitude, but it seemed too formal. He scratched his head and grinned. “Hehe. I knew you’d look out for me. I wonder how my accidental master is doing.”Li Guanqi burst into laughter. “Elder Tu probably still doesn’t know that his accidental disciple is now an Illusory Refinement Realm cultivator.”

Joking around, they soon arrived in the area within the Daxia Sword Sect’s jurisdiction.

The spirit qi in the air thickened noticeably. More animals roamed about, and occasional beast roars echoed in the distance. They weren’t high-tier demonic beasts, but the mountains all had array seals to guard against them.

Treacherous peaks rose like stone pillars around them. Rivers meandered through the valleys, glinting under the sun. More signs of civilization appeared in the distance, with various sects established on the mountains.

Li Guanqi frowned. He hadn’t seen those sects before, and he didn’t know when they had appeared. They had built their sects very close to the Daxia Sword Sect.

“Hmph!”

He let out a cold huff, concerned that outsiders might have been bullying the Daxia Sword Sect in his absence.

An invisible barrier suddenly appeared in front of them. Li Guanqi frowned. This barrier was at least a hundred li away from the actual sect grounds. And how could the Daxia Sword Sect be wealthy enough to erect such a distant barrier?

Countless terrible scenarios flashed through his head.

Ye Feng asked, “Boss, should we test our jade slips?”

Li Guanqi took out a purple jade slip, his brow furrowing.

“Uh…. Boss, why is your jade slip different from mine?”

Li Guanqi looked at Ye Feng’s jade slip. It was much simpler than his.

“Cough cough… Well, I’m an elder now, so that’s probably why they’re slightly different.”

Ye Feng’s eyes widened. “What the hell did you do the last time you returned?! You became an elder?!”

Xiao Chen pursed his lips. “Brother Ye, I don’t mean to butt in, but you shouldn’t be jealous when your brother’s doing better than you...”

Meng Wanshu covered her mouth and laughed. They were like children who had never grown up.

Buzz!

Li Guanqi pressed his jade slip against the barrier. A powerful spatial force surged through it, shining with five-colored light and rippling across its surface. A hundred-zhang-wide gap opened.

The moment the barrier opened, they all froze. A thirty-zhang-wide path of white jade hung mid-air, extending for hundreds of zhang.

Many people stood in the distance. Sect Master Lu Kangnian, Ling Daoyan, Qin Xian, Li Nanting, Shen Lan... All the peak masters, administrators, and ceremonial elders were present. Behind them, a dense crowd of Daxia Sword Sect disciples stood on both sides.

Li Guanqi’s eyes reddened.

Boom!

He took a step forward and gave a fist salute.

The disciples all followed suit. Lu Kangnian smiled and exclaimed, “Welcome home, Li Guanqi, elder of the Daxia Sword Sect! Though your journey outside was filled with many trials, you have finally returned to your sect!”

The greeting thundered across the heavens.

All the sect masters and elders of the nearby sects rose into the air a hundred zhang below, greeting him in unison. Their voices echoed repeatedly across the mountains.

Li Guanqi’s chest tightened. He’d been away for too long. Though he never said it out loud, he’d missed home.

He broke into a grin. He and Ye Feng changed into their sect robes and straightened their collars. Vital force surged through them, cleansing the dust from their bodies.

They stepped forward solemnly and gave a fist salute, bowing to the disciples.

“I, Li Guanqi, disciple of Heavenly Lightning Peak, have returned to the sect!”

Ye Feng’s eyes were red. Looking at the familiar faces, he realized how much he had missed them. It was difficult to suppress the emotions welling up within him.

“I, Ye Feng, disciple of Heavenly Metal Peak, have returned to the sect!”

The Daxia Sword Sect now had three thousand disciples, and almost all of them were strong enough to fly. They all looked up excitedly Li Guanqi—he was the idol they worshipped. Occasionally, they would learn something about him from their elders, and it would always be something insane.

A senior brother who had joined the sect just a few years prior had already become a powerhouse. He was so strong that even the wind and rain arrived at his whim. And he always fought fearlessly, even in foreign territories.

“Ahh! Senior Brother Li is so handsome! I hear he’s even stronger than the sect master now!”

“Of course! I heard that he just came back from the Divine Treasure Territory. Do you guys think that incident was…”

“Shhh! Careful.”

The disciples chattered excitedly, thrilled to see Li Guanqi. The legendary tales of his adventures had always inspired them, filling them with excitement for the future.

Lu Kangnian hurried forward to pull Ye Feng and Li Guanqi up. Seeing them, his grin stretched so wide it nearly reached his ears.

He winked at Li Guanqi and let out a hearty laugh.

“Hahaha! Come, let’s talk in the main pavilion.”