Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Li Guanqi’s guess about his grandfather’s identity was actually very close to the truth. Even now, after breaking through to the Combined Body Realm, he was still far from the level Su Xuan stood at.

Whenever he recalled the traces of aura Su Xuan had revealed, they were still far beyond his comprehension. Li Guanqi now had a bold guess: his grandfather was surely at least in the Tribulation Realm.

Of course, Li Guanqi had no idea that the ancestor of the Yu clan, one of the nine great clans of the Ethereal Immortal Territory, was already dead… His grandfather had killed a Tribulation Realm expert in less than half the time it took to burn an incense stick.

Both Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu treasured every quiet moment they could share. Night fell, and silver moonlight blanketed the earth. Crickets chirped rhythmically around them as the cries of cicadas rose and fell in the distance.

Li Guanqi set down his wine cup and took out a jade pendant. “Brother Ji, help me look into whether the Lu clan and the Zhu clan have been getting close recently.”

Soon, Ji Yuchuan’s voice came through the pendant.

—They made a move against you?

Li Guanqi didn’t elaborate. He only asked Ji Yuchuan to keep a close eye on the Lu clan’s recent movements.

***

Guanyun Pavilion.Tang Ru and Xi Yunhuai, seated nearby, had naturally heard Li Guanqi’s instructions as well.

Ji Yuchuan frowned slightly and said coldly, “So the Lu clan really did move against Pavilion Master Li!”

Xi Yunhuai frowned as well. “But so much time has passed, and even our agents planted within the ancient clans haven’t uncovered any information about the Lu clan. I never expected them to actually dare make a move against him! Is Pavilion Master Li all right?”

Ji Yuchuan shook his head. “He’s fine. But we need to thoroughly investigate what the Lu clan has been up to. Uncle Xi, I’ll leave this matter to you. I can’t leave the pavilion right now.”

Xi Yunhuai frowned slightly. He had been helping the Daxia Sword Sect inscribe formations lately, so he had little time to spare. Still, he didn’t refuse. Rising to his feet, he said, “All right. Tomorrow I’ll tell Sect Master Lu that I won’t be coming over for the next few days.”

Tang Ru pursed his lips. He wanted to volunteer to handle it himself, but digging into the movements of ancient clans required real strength, and his cultivation was only at the mid Divine Transformation Realm. Even within the Guanyun Pavilion, he couldn’t be considered especially powerful.

When Li Guanqi first recruited him, Tang Ru had barely reached the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm. In so short a time, he had already broken through to the Divine Transformation Realm and pushed on to its middle stage.

Tang Ru stood up. “Brother Ji, Uncle Xi, why don’t I take charge of this instead?”

Xi Yunhuai looked at Tang Ru in surprise. Tang Ru merely tucked his hands into his sleeves and smiled warmly. “Qian Qiusui can manage Guanyun Pavilion’s affairs for the time being, leaving me free to focus on this. I have my own connections and means as well. Leave it to me.”

Ji Yuchuan said gravely, “No, Tang Ru. Don’t blame me for being blunt, but investigating the Lu clan is too dangerous with your current strength. If someone has to do it, I’ll send one of my clones.”

“Let me handle it,” Tang Ru interjected firmly. “I won’t investigate them in person. Guanyun Pavilion has no shortage of powerful experts these days!”

Xi Yunhuai laughed and joined in. “Old Ji, just let Tang Ru handle it. He doesn’t need to go himself. He can coordinate everything from behind the scenes.”

Unable to dissuade him, Ji Yuchuan could only nod. He handed Tang Ru a thick stack of talismans and said solemnly, “All right, then I’ll leave it to you. These are special talismans. If you encounter any danger, slap them onto yourself immediately. Understood?”

Tang Ru accepted the talismans with a grin and nodded. “Don’t worry, Brother Ji.”

After leaving the room, he departed with Guanyun Pavilion’s Cloud Shadow Guards.

Xi Yunhuai sat across from Ji Yuchuan, hands tucked into his sleeves. “You slipped quite a few Spirit-Gathering Talismans into that stack.”

Ji Yuchuan lowered his gaze as he poured the tea. “Little Tang’s cultivation has progressed too slowly lately. He’s worked day and night to earn money for Guanyun Pavilion, while the gap between him and the Pavilion Master’s sworn brothers has only continued to widen. Little Tang was one of the first people to meet Li Guanqi, but now they’re several major realms apart. Whenever Little Tang sees Ye Feng, he turns a little awkward, even though Ye Feng treats him the same as ever. For all his fierce pride, he’s begun lowering his head and making himself small without even realizing it.”

Xi Yunhuai raised his teacup and sighed. “Yes… An ordinary person could never endure such an enormous disparity. I’ll see if I can find a way to help him as well. Keeping Tang Ru cooped up in Guanyun Pavilion is a complete waste of his talents. What Pavilion Master Li needs most at his side right now is a strategist. Yes, a strategist!”

Ji Yuchuan looked up at Xi Yunhuai, his eyes gleaming. “Exactly. There’s no need to worry about Pavilion Master Li’s combat strength. What he lacks is someone skilled in deduction and calculation!”

Xi Yunhuai’s eyes lit up, and he leaned closer. “You mean… you want Tang Ru to follow the path of a Yin-Yang Diviner?”

Ji Yuchuan raised his teacup, partially concealing his face. His eyes glinted above the rim. “Why not? Little Tang’s temperament is perfectly suited to that path!”

The two continued talking for quite some time.

Tang Ru left the territory with the Cloud Shadow Guards. A man dressed entirely in black robes stood respectfully behind him. He was a Combined Body Realm powerhouse, while the Cloud Shadow Guards accompanying them included two Illusory Refinement Realm elders.

Gu Chuan, the leader of the Cloud Shadow Guards, said solemnly, “Elder Tang, what do we do next?”

The corners of Tang Ru’s lips curved upward as he replied softly, “We find out where the Lu clan is hiding, of course!”

He waved his hand, and several jade slips appeared in his palm. He sent a single message through them. “Help me investigate the location of the Lu clan.”

The jade slips flashed faintly, and several spatial fluctuations vanished into the void.

Tang Ru narrowed his eyes and cast a cold glance at the void. “They dared make a move against him, so we’ll chop off their claws! Oh, right. Find a way to contact the Gu clan. There must be a traitor among them. Otherwise, no one could have known the spatial coordinates of their lightning pool. Investigate anyone who has spent long periods away from the clan, especially those who returned recently.”

Gu Chuan’s eyes lit up. Tang Ru’s reasoning was solid. If they could identify the spy within the Gu clan, that person would likely know where the Lu clan was hiding.

Several spatial ripples spread through the air, and Gu Li’s voice sounded from Tang Ru’s jade slip.

—You’re one of Brother Li’s men? Give me a moment. I’ll send you the list. Remember to be discreet when you investigate. Most of the names on it are elders of our Gu clan.

***

Ethereal Immortal Territory.

Gu Li frowned as he transmitted the information to Tang Ru, slightly displeased. Tang Ru’s request had been relayed by one of his cousins from a branch of the Gu clan.

In other words, Guanyun Pavilion had infiltrated the Gu clan’s network in an astonishingly short time. Or rather, Guanyun Pavilion had been operating behind the scenes from the very moment Gu Li established ties with Li Guanqi.

***

Tang Ru smiled as he idly toyed with his jade slip. It contained the names of every Gu clan member who had recently returned to the clan.

Behind him, a chill ran down Gu Chuan’s spine. Tang Ru might only be in the mid Divine Transformation Realm, but his methods never failed to strike fear into others. Within Guanyun Pavilion, his authority was second only to Li Guanqi’s and Ji Yuchuan’s, surpassing even Xi Yunhuai’s.

Yet Tang Ru had no idea what awaited him next.