Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Li Guanqi smiled and stepped before the three men, personally offering each of them a jade vial. “This junior, Li Guanqi, is deeply grateful to you all for lending your strength today. I will remember this kindness. Should you ever require my help, please do not hesitate to ask. I will not refuse.”

Han Yuan and the other two exchanged glances. That promise alone was worth far more than they had expected. They had thought themselves mere shadows beside Meng Jiangchu and Xiang Huaizhi, hardly worth mentioning. Yet with those few words, Li Guanqi had raised their standing to an entirely different level.

To return the favor, the three of them brought out a trove of precious spirit herbs and medicinal pills, offering them to Li Guanqi without hesitation.

The Gu clan had received two shares of dragon blood, so Gu Changsheng was naturally generous in return as well.

Xiang Huaizhi would have loved to claim Nine Heavens for himself, but he understood that future opportunities to acquire dragon blood would be far more plentiful for him than for others, so he gave generously as well.

Once the pleasantries were over, Xiang Huaizhi licked his lips and smiled coldly. “Now that matters here are settled, shall we pay the Yu clan a visit?”

The others smiled without a word, tore open the void, and stepped through one by one.

Together with Li Guanqi and the others, the six Mahayana Realm cultivators formed a force that only the Nine Great Imperial Cities could hope to match.

Within the Yu clan’s territory, an azure-robed swordsman sat on the eaves of a tall pavilion, his expression grim.

Nothing remained of the mockery Nangong Xuandu had directed at Xiang Huaizhi. What he had seen inside the Yu clan had killed any desire to laugh.The entire Yu clan estate lay in ruins, with bodies strewn across the shattered ground. Only a handful of their people remained, kneeling and trembling. High overhead, an inverted sword of azure light hundreds of zhang long hung like a blade of judgment.

The estate was sealed by an azure barrier, ensuring no one could escape.

The commotion had drawn more than a few onlookers, but every one of them kept their distance, standing far off in the sky to watch, for that sword qi was simply too sharp. None dared draw close.

Nangong Xuandu’s face was dark with fury, and the onlookers were confused. None of them knew when such a formidable swordsman had appeared in the Ethereal Immortal Territory, much less how the Yu clan had offended a cultivator of his caliber.

The void trembled as several powerful auras appeared above the barren mountain range.

Boom!

The auras erupted, tearing countless rifts through the void within a hundred li. Every hidden onlooker was stunned. These newcomers had to be Mahayana Realm cultivators to shatter the Ethereal Immortal Territory’s space with their auras alone, and judging by the dense web of cracks, they were formidable even by that realm’s standards.

The onlookers gulped as they stared at the fractured void.

The wind howled, and the sky darkened. The clouds above hung so low that they seemed to be directly above their heads. Though it was noon, darkness had already swallowed the land. Every gaze remained fixed on the torn void.

Six figures slowly emerged from the spatial rifts.

“Six! Six Mahayana Realm cultivators! What in the world did the Yu clan do?”

“Who did the Yu clan offend? What happened!”

“Six Mahayana Realm cultivators, plus that azure-robed swordsman. That makes seven!”

“Look! Isn’t that the man Qin Wushang personally welcomed at the city gates? He’s standing beside the Five Yang Ghost Emperor!”

“That’s Yanluo Sword Li Guanqi! It really is him! That man is a walking disaster. The Yu clan barely crossed paths with him, yet look what became of them…”

The powerful onlookers immediately retreated thousands of zhang, unwilling to be dragged into the mess.

Xiang Huaizhi looked toward Nangong Xuandu, who stood on the top floor of a tower, and frowned. He had rarely seen the man radiate such icy killing intent.

Even more surprising, Nangong Xuandu had not so much as glanced at him upon his arrival. Normally, he would have started taunting Xiang Huaizhi the moment he appeared.

Li Guanqi also sensed that something was wrong. An oppressive weight hung in the air.

Nine Heavens lay coiled around Li Guanqi’s wrist, contentedly savoring the natural treasures he had just received. The blood that had flowed from his wounds was worth far less than what he had gained in exchange. He wondered whether he should collect his own blood the next time he was injured, then trade it to those old men for more goodies.

Nine Heavens’ eyes gleamed. He congratulated himself on how clever he was.

Peng Luo had withdrawn into the realm within the sword coffin to cultivate in seclusion and reintegrate his split body.

Nangong Xuandu opened the azure barrier and let the group through.

The moment the barrier opened, a stench of blood assailed their senses, as overpowering as the reek of a slaughterhouse where pigs were butchered year-round.

None of them were strangers to carnage, so they paid it little mind.

Xiang Huaizhi took a deep breath and asked carefully, “Nangong, what happened? Why are you so furious?”

The Yu clan had numbered several hundred. Nangong Xuandu had begun his massacre at the main gate and swept through the entire estate. Ruined buildings and crumbling walls were everywhere, with mangled corpses scattered among the rubble.

Li Guanqi scanned the area with his divine consciousness. Nearly all the dead amid the ruins either knew pupil techniques or had fox tails dangling from their waists.

Nangong Xuandu took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and sighed. “I can hardly believe such a vile clan still exists in this day and age. Come with me. I’ll show you what hell on earth looks like.”

He did not even greet Li Guanqi. Instead, he pulled out his wine gourd and took several swigs.

The group followed with mixed feelings. Han Yuan and the others still had no idea what was going on, while the rest knew nothing about Li Guanqi’s conflict with the Yu clan.

The deeper they ventured, the more extensive the destruction became and the higher the cultivation of the corpses they encountered. The rear courtyard had been completely destroyed. More than twenty Illusory Refinement Realm and Combined Body Realm cultivators lay dead among the ruins.

The true extent of Nangong Xuandu’s fury was becoming clear.

Their expressions grew grave. Li Guanqi sensed something and spoke to Peng Luo telepathically. “Peng Luo, keep an eye on Yun Jie. Don’t let her sense anything.”

Peng Luo replied simply, “Understood.”

One by one, they filed into the shattered spatial fragment that formed the Yu clan’s inner domain.

The interior was dark and silent. The stench of blood struck them again, several times stronger than before.

Someone lit a torch on the wall, and in the spreading firelight, the entire inner domain came into view.

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