Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Nine Heavens was in great pain, but despite its injuries, it kept ripping into the Suanni’s flesh. It coiled around the Suanni like a snake, bit into its neck, and swung its head to tear a chunk free.

The Crimson Lightning Suanni thrashed wildly to break free, leaving deep wounds across Nine Heavens’ body. It wrenched loose and retreated more than a thousand zhang, leaving a trail of blood in its wake. A large chunk of flesh was missing from its white neck, blood staining its entire body.

This was a contest of raw physical strength. The two demonic beasts fought with savage violence, but neither showed a hint of fear.

They collided again, exchanging mighty blows.

Nine Heavens breathed heavily. The Crimson Lightning Suanni outranked it in tier, yet Nine Heavens matched it blow for blow without hesitation.

Nine Heavens feinted an opening, baiting the Suanni to attack.

Pfft!

The Suanni fell for the bait. Its claws sank deep into Nine Heavens’ flesh, but the dragon coiled tighter around the Suanni’s waist, constricting with crushing force. It drove its own claws into the Suanni’s shoulders and pinned it to the ground.

Ice-cold killing intent flashed in Nine Heavens’ eyes. It looked down at the Suanni, opened its jaws, and began to gather dragon breath.

The Suanni struggled madly. Meng Wanshu, who had rushed over, gripped her sword with both hands and poured everything she had into her next strike.Screech!

The blade sang out, and a ray of sword light burst forth. The surrounding space froze.

The Crimson Lightning Suanni’s eyes filled with terror, and the mysterious mark on its third eye lit up.

Nine Heavens drove its claws into the Suanni’s third eye and ripped the flesh away. The Suanni froze, despair in its eyes. Terrifying lightning erupted from its body.

Meng Wanshu ignored the violent bolts destroying her hands and brought her sword down.

“Frigid Hell Slash!”

A hundred-zhang-long ray of sword light shattered the lightning and slammed into the Suanni. Nine Heavens kept the lion pinned and sprayed dragon breath onto its head.

Boom!

The Suanni let out a final, desperate roar. Endless lightning shot from its body, turning everything within a hundred li into a prison of crackling energy.

Nine Heavens coiled around Meng Wanshu, shielding her from the blast. The violent lightning was the Suanni’s death knell.

Meng Wanshu’s strongest attack had cleaved half the lion’s head apart. Nine Heavens’ dragon breath shattered the other half. Peng Luo, who had collapsed nearby, managed a grin.

“We’ve won,” Peng Luo said. Then he passed out.

The scales on Nine Heavens’ back were flipped and charred, and its body was covered in blackened wounds. But Meng Wanshu, whom it had shielded, escaped the last explosion unscathed.

Nine Heavens began to sway but was caught by a gentle force. It opened its eyes and gazed weakly at Meng Wanshu. Its breathing steadied.

Her heart ached as she looked at Nine Heavens. Still cradling her injured arms, she fed Nine Heavens healing pills and set it down gently. The dragon was severely injured, and its aura was very weak. There was not a single patch of intact flesh on its body.

Meng Wanshu forced herself to approach the carcass despite her injuries. She dissected the Suanni and extracted its massive heart, sealed it in ice, and stored it away. She dug out its demonic core, which was the size of two heads, and put that away as well. Finally, she cut off a chunk of flesh, peeled the skin away, and dragged it over to Nine Heavens.

The flesh of powerful demonic beasts was a rich source of nourishment for other demonic beasts. Nine Heavens dug in eagerly.

With the demonic core stored, Meng Wanshu let out a sigh of relief. Then every instinct screamed danger. Still looking down, she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave. A flash of cold light shot toward her heart from behind.

Meng Wanshu was still severely injured, and Nine Heavens was in no condition to save her. The attacker had sealed the surrounding space. No matter how hard she struggled, she could not move.

This person’s at the Combined Body Realm!

Two consecutive explosions rang out as her earrings and necklace shattered. The ice-cold sword light sliced through the skin on her back. She forced her head around and saw a figure in a red mask and a black cloak.

Her sword spirit strained to protect its master, but the overwhelming spatial force held it fast.

Beneath the mask, the attacker’s lips curled upward. As the blade was about to pierce her heart, a brilliant golden light burst forth between them, and a projection of a golden spear punched through the man’s skull.

The spear light blazed so brightly it seemed like it could tear a tunnel between the upper and lower worlds.

Far away in the seventh territory, Long Hou’s eyes snapped open. He vanished from his residence and appeared in a hidden study. “Someone attacked Wanshu!”

The old man in the study squeezed the golden brush in his hand until it snapped. He narrowed his eyes and nodded. “I understand.”

He thought for a moment, then said, “You Ming.”

The space in the corner of the room warped. A man in purple-black robes dropped to one knee, head bowed. “Territory Lord, You Ming reports for duty.”

Su Xuan rose and clasped his hands behind his back. After a moment, he drew out his pipe and lit it. The dim glow of the room deepened his sullen expression. He massaged his brow.

The rising smoke did nothing to mask the killing intent in his eyes.

With his back to You Ming, he said, “Go to the Daxia territory. A mysterious organization has appeared there recently, and the Gu family is becoming active again. Find out if the two are connected. Or if the Gu family is pulling the strings.”

You Ming rose slowly. He was slender and slightly pale, with sunken cheeks, a high nose, and long, narrow eyes that gleamed with a demonic red light. His thin lips curved just enough to reveal white canines. He looked like a refined but slightly unhinged noble.

He bowed slightly and said, “Yes, Territory Lord.”

After You Ming departed, Su Xuan narrowed his eyes. “Could it be you lot… Hmph. Three thousand years, and you still can’t sit still…”

Su Xuan puffed away, thoughts racing. He tapped his pipe and murmured, “It’s unfair… Gu Yong, Jiangchu.”

Two more figures appeared at the door, bowing low. Neither carried their usual arrogance. Their eyes were wide with shock, as every person in the study was stronger than the two of them combined.

Meng Jiangchu had been on edge since he sensed that Meng Wanshu was in danger. He calmed down only after Long Hou appeared and told him what had happened.

Su Xuan pushed the door open, helped them to their feet, and said, “Come. I’m taking you somewhere.”