Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

A faint light illuminated the entire domain.

The shattered domain fragment spanned several dozen li across. One ruined dungeon after another emerged from the darkness.

A rancid stench assaulted their nostrils. Li Guanqi’s foot slipped beneath him. He looked down and found himself standing on the intact pelt of an adult Fire-Eyed Demon Fox. No one knew how many years it had been rotting there, its fur black and slick with decay.

The stone tiles beneath had long since been stained black with blood. The sticky filth underfoot was a foul mixture of water, rotting flesh, and debris.

Dozens of iron frames fitted with shackles stood farther ahead. More than ten dried skeletons still hung from them.

Everyone’s spirits sank at the sight, but they continued deeper into the dungeon.

Li Guanqi spotted a jade box atop a relatively clean platform. Its pristine white surface stood out starkly amid the endless squalor.

“Bunch of animals!” Han Yuan exclaimed.

They hadn’t yet figured out why the Yu clan had captured so many demon foxes, though Li Guanqi already had his suspicions.

Nangong Xuandu raised a hand and opened the jade box.Inside lay more than ten pairs of crimson eyeballs, gleaming like pearls.

Nangong Xuandu drew a deep breath. “The Yu clan developed its pupil techniques by absorbing the power from the eyes of demon foxes! Their rapid rise over the years was suspicious enough, but who would have imagined such a filthy secret lay behind it? Tens of thousands of demon foxes have died in this domain alone. Who knows how many more the Yu clan has slaughtered for their eyes over the years?”

Li Guanqi’s mind reeled. Everywhere he looked, demon fox corpses lay piled carelessly like refuse. Flies swarmed over the rotting bodies, feasting on their flesh as the dead foxes stared blankly upward through hollow eye sockets.

No one knew what they had endured before they died.

Li Guanqi’s chest tightened with pity, and he murmured, “Peng Luo.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Take Yun Jie back to Daxia Sword Sect and settle her in the domain of one of the secluded peaks.”

“Understood.”

Everyone could tell that these demon foxes differed from ordinary demons, but no one cared to investigate further. The Yu clan’s method was crooked and heretical, and it had required the wholesale slaughter of an entire race of demon foxes.

Xiang Huaizhi’s chest heaved with fury. He raised a hand, sending a surge of Crimson Sun flames sweeping toward the jade box.

Li Guanqi’s expression changed. “Stop!”

The flames froze in midair. Xiang Huaizhi frowned at him. “What are you planning, boy? Let me warn you now. If you’re thinking of using those demon fox eyes, I’ll be the first to stop you. If you dare stray down such a crooked path, Nangong and I will beat you to a pulp.”

Li Guanqi had no choice but to explain Yun Jie’s situation. “Those eyes may be able to make her stronger.”

Xiang Huaizhi and Nangong Xuandu exchanged a glance. Nangong Xuandu frowned. “Have you considered that seeing them might drive her mad?”

Li Guanqi sighed softly and shook his head. “She was imprisoned in this dungeon the entire time. She’s already seen everything she should have and everything she shouldn’t. If the eyes allow her to inherit the power of her own kin, perhaps some good can still come of this.”

Nangong Xuandu tossed him the jade box. “Be careful. Use your judgment.”

Li Guanqi nodded. He had no intention of giving the eyes to Yun Jie right away.

Just then, Peng Luo sensed a spatial interlayer deep within the domain, with several presences inside.

Li Guanqi paused and gestured for everyone to wait. Peng Luo led the group to the interlayer, then entered alone.

Before long, space split open to reveal dozens of Fire-Eyed Demon Foxes crammed into the narrow spatial interlayer.

An elderly demon fox stood among them, blood seeping from both eyes. His crimson irises had faded to an ashen gray. It seemed the hidden interlayer had been created through his innate ability.

The surviving demon foxes were grievously wounded and extremely weak. Some had been flayed over most of their bodies, while others were missing an eye. During the chaos of Nangong Xuandu’s attack, they had done everything they could to flee into the spatial interlayer.

The strongest among them stepped forward. More than half his crimson fur had been torn away, leaving his body a bloody ruin. Even his fox tail had been severed.

The man dropped to his knees and prostrated himself before Li Guanqi, his voice choked with tears.

“Benefactor, I beg you to take in my people. I am Yun Shan, chief of this clan. As clan chief, I am willing to sign a contract. All I ask is that you shelter us and give us a place to live and recover.”

His eye sockets were empty, revealing only two blood-soaked hollows. He was a tier-six great demon, yet his spirit had been broken.

In the crowd, Li Guanqi saw Yun Jie tearing up. Overcome with emotion, she fell to her knees and repeatedly slammed her forehead against the ground. Each impact echoed through the place. After only two kowtows, her forehead had already split open and begun to bleed.

One after another, the remaining members of the clan collapsed to their knees behind her.

Peng Luo looked at Li Guanqi with a pleading expression.

It was a rare sight. Sharp-tongued and stubborn as Peng Luo could be, he had never once asked Li Guanqi for anything.

Everyone looked at Li Guanqi.

“The decision is yours,” Xiang Huaizhi said.

Li Guanqi drew a deep breath, then looked at the demon foxes and spoke with quiet resolve. “Very well. From this day forward, you may rest and recuperate within the Daxia Sword Sect. We will sign the contract once we return. You will have the same rights as the Spiritfish Clan, but you must never betray the sect. If you break this agreement, I, Li Guanqi, will personally wipe out your entire clan.”

As he spoke, Li Guanqi produced the contract scroll he had used with the Spiritfish Clan.

Yun Shan’s expression grew resolute, and his conviction only deepened. After all, Li Guanqi had known Yun Jie was a Fire-Eyed Demon Fox, yet he had still rescued her.

Boom!

Li Guanqi’s group led the demon foxes outside, and Xiang Huaizhi incinerated the entire domain. Li Guanqi noticed the resentment qi that had permeated the domain weakening and disappearing, its darkness and cold vanishing like smoke.

Li Guanqi was in a foul mood. The scene had stirred up memories he would rather have left alone.

Meng Wanshu sensed something was wrong and gently took his hand. “Are you all right?”

Li Guanqi shook his head. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, forcing a faint smile. “I’m fine.”

But a thought gradually took root in his mind. He… wanted to go back and see how Yun Chuxue was doing.

He had no intention of disturbing her life. He only wanted to catch a glimpse of her from a distance. The little girl should be seven or eight years old by now.

But Li Guanqi dismissed the thought almost as soon as it appeared. Perhaps it’s better not to disturb her again.

He had made too many enemies and did not want to drag her back into his troubles.

After they left the domain, Xiang Huaizhi raised one hand and set the entire Yu clan territory ablaze.

Crimson flames tens of thousands of zhang high descended from the heavens like divine punishment. The flames transformed into spirit swords and poured down upon the earth.

Rumble!

Boom! Boom boom!

No one implicated in the Yu clan’s crimes was spared. Only a few dozen uninvolved clan members survived, most of them elderly people, women, and children. They were exiled to the Daochan Territory.

The Yu clan had been exterminated.