Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Liu Yunxuan was shaken to the core. He stared at the pair of feet before him, dropped to his knees, and kowtowed without hesitation.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

By the first thud, his forehead was already bloody. After three kowtows, he pressed his face and palms flat against the ground, not daring to move. He did not want to die.

“I am Liu Yunxuan of the Liu family,” he said, voice trembling. “Greetings, Blood Sovereign.”

You Ming had learned many things through the youth’s blood. He eyed him with great interest.

A blood-colored light illuminated You Ming and solidified into a tall-backed throne. The throne was entirely blood-red, emanating a nauseating stench. It exuded a sickening odor, as if ten thousand animals had been slaughtered within a sealed chamber.

A dense pile of skulls lay beneath the throne, each as translucent as white jade. You Ming sat down, leaned back, and crossed his legs.

“You were the one who snuck out, right?”

Liu Yunxuan was terrified, but he answered honestly. “That’s correct, Blood Sovereign…”

Still in the crater, Liu Peiyuan turned ashen. Despair filled his eyes. His lips trembled, but he couldn’t get a word out. With You Ming’s temper, the Liu family would likely pay for his mistake with their lives. But You Ming didn’t rage as he had expected.

“You’re very smart,” he said, clearly amused.

“I wouldn’t dare hide anything from you, Blood Sovereign,” Liu Yunxuan said quickly.

You Ming raised a hand, forming a large red-and-black pavilion. Only You Ming, Ancestor Liu Peiyuan, Patriarch Liu Xiaochen, and Liu Yunxuan were inside.

The pressure on them eased, and Liu Xiaochen hurried over to kneel beside Liu Yunxuan. He kowtowed hard. “Blood Sovereign, the Liu family did not intend to break the rules. Yunxuan… He just wanted to sneak out to see the Daxia Territory.”

Pfft!

A powerful force crushed Liu Xiaochen’s throat and ripped a chunk of flesh out.

Boom!

Liu Xiaochen’s body twisted at an unnatural angle and slammed into the ground.

You Ming looked down at him and said coldly, “Did I ask you to speak?”

He turned to Liu Yunxuan with a teasing smirk, finding the whole thing fascinating. He rapped the armrest of his throne, studying the youth.

“You only snuck out once, but you managed to bring a Yin source[1] back. You think you’re smart, don’t you?”

Liu Yunxuan and Liu Xiaochen were stunned. Their faces paled.

Liu Peiyuan had been in closed-door cultivation and knew nothing about any of this. He was so furious that blood surged up his throat, but he forced it back down. He knew You Ming hated it when people dirtied his Hell Blood Pavilion.

You Ming knew who the girl was. Her name was Yu Sui’an, someone the territory lord’s grandson cared deeply about, and the same girl who had triggered a major war.

He closed his eyes, countless thoughts flashing through his mind. When he opened them again, there was a teasing light in them. “You know, you’ve caught quite an impressive little girl.”

Before opening his eyes, he had sent Liu Peiyuan and Liu Xiaochen out of the pavilion. Only Liu Yunxuan remained inside, shaking like a leaf.

Outside the pavilion, Liu Peiyuan stared blankly ahead.

“Look at what you two did…” he said, voice hollow. “The Liu family… is finished…”

Liu Xiaochen lay exhausted on the ground. Strangely, he didn’t argue. You Ming was just too powerful, so powerful that they didn’t have the courage to fight back. Still, he spoke to Liu Peiyuan through voice transmission. “There’s still an opportunity. The Blood Sovereign seems to treat Yunxuan differently. Maybe the Liu family will benefit from this tragedy.”

Liu Peiyuan ignored him, unable to grasp how such a colossal idiot had managed to become the patriarch of the Liu family.

Time crawled. Every second felt like an eternity.

Whoosh!

After an unknown amount of time, Liu Yunxuan appeared alongside You Ming, a lost look in his eyes.

You Ming rested his hands behind his back and smiled. “Let’s go. Take me to the seal.”

Liu Peiyuan sighed in relief. He helped Liu Xuan up and bowed. “This way, please. The seal is underneath the main pavilion.”

You Ming nodded. He reappeared on the altar with the seal, bypassing all surrounding barriers. His gaze fell upon the seal’s large array, which had been resealed before. He pursed his lips.

The others had barely arrived when a ray of blood-colored light shot from his hand and shattered the array.

Boom!

The barrier broke apart.

“Blood Sovereign, no!” Liu Xiaochen shouted. “There are—”

Roar!

Bone-chilling roars echoed from below the black altar. A surge of demonic qi billowed upwards, and an Abyssal Demon, over one zhang tall, erupted from the depths.

The Abyssal Demon’s aura rivaled the mid Illusory Refinement Realm. You Ming was tall, but he only reached the Abyssal Demon’s waist. He didn’t even glance up when the demon glared at him and swung its claws.

The claws were about to connect when an indomitable burst of aura erupted from him. The Abyssal Demon was crushed against the altar’s edge, unable to rise.

The boulders flanking the altar cracked. Web-like fractures spread in all directions.

You Ming let out a cold huff, then instantly shredded the demon into countless pieces with his blood-red threads.

The others watched in terror, afraid to even breathe.

Blood-colored vital force flowed from You Ming, forming countless runes that merged into a blood-red array, ten zhang wide, covering the cracks in mere moments.

Buzz!

The moment the array formed, it drained every drop of spirit qi from the realm. All the plants withered, and countless cracks splintered the surrounding space.

Liu Peiyuan’s eyes widened. One array had nearly collapsed the entire realm.

You Ming turned slowly to look at Liu Yunxuan, eyes as dark as the abyss.

He opened his mouth to speak.

1. 鼎炉 (ding lu), literally meaning “cauldron.” This term refers to girls used as sources of Yin energy for male cultivators through sexual means. ☜