Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Nine Heavens casually tossed the giant ape’s corpse aside. When he turned toward Li Guanqi, he lowered his massive body to the ground, his enormous head slowly coming to rest before him, clearly inviting Li Guanqi to climb on.

The corners of Li Guanqi’s mouth lifted slightly. “There’s no need for this.”

He understood what Nine Heavens was trying to do: he wanted every demonic beast in the forest to know that the human cultivator before them was his master. But Li Guanqi did not want Nine Heavens to lose his authority in front of the demonic beasts, so he reached out, stroked his snout, and gave him a gentle pat.

Nine Heavens narrowed his eyes contentedly before slowly rising again. His enormous body remained protectively beside Li Guanqi, and as he walked past the great demons, his draconic might grew even stronger. The tier-seven great demons trembled uncontrollably beneath the pressure.

After witnessing the great demons bow in submission, Li Guanqi felt a quiet swell of emotion. However, he then frowned, finally understanding why this forest was called the Illusory Forest.

Everything visible from the outside had been an illusion. Any cultivator who ventured inside unprepared would struggle to survive against the hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of great demons lurking within.

Meng Wanshu sighed beside him. “This really is unbelievable… If it had been just the two of us, we’d have fought ourselves to exhaustion just killing them all.”

Peng Luo’s eyes suddenly darted around, and a sly look crossed his face. He climbed onto Nine Heavens’ head and grabbed hold of both horns. Nine Heavens shook his head uncomfortably but did not throw him off

Li Guanqi glanced back and saw Peng Luo standing with his hands on his hips and his chin held high, gazing proudly down at the great demons kneeling below. The smug look on his face was almost unbearable. “Heheh. This feels great.”

Then Peng Luo seemed to remember something. He leaned close to Nine Heavens’ ear and whispered to him.Nine Heavens immediately stopped and looked down at the Scarlet Sun Celestial Deer near his feet, releasing a series of rhythmic dragon calls. The great demon slowly rose and cautiously moved to the front of the group to lead the way.

Peng Luo’s eyes lit up, and he sent Li Guanqi a voice transmission. “Master, follow it. It can lead us to the exit of the forest.”

Meng Wanshu’s eyes brightened. She had not expected Peng Luo to be so reliable when it mattered. He had even thought to ask Nine Heavens to find the exit.

A moment later, though, Peng Luo spoke again, more guarded now. “Master, from what I can tell… these great demons are confined to this forest. None of them have ever set foot in the other regions.”

As Peng Luo spoke, he suddenly realized the flaw in his own reasoning. “Uh... It seems this realm contains more than just the forest. There are other regions too!”

Holding Red Lotus Sword in his hand, Li Guanqi irritably replied, “Wasn’t that obvious?”

Before long, the Scarlet Sun Celestial Deer led them through the territories of numerous great demons and into the deepest part of the mountain range. They were surrounded by mountains, each standing at least eight hundred zhang tall, their summits nearly hidden among the clouds.

The Scarlet Sun Celestial Deer brought them to the point where two mountains met, then lowered its head and looked down into the valley below.

Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. An enormous fiery-red array platform stood at the bottom of the valley, almost entirely buried beneath overgrown grass. The sight gave him a vague sense of foreboding.

Though the Scarlet Sun Celestial Deer had guided them there, it refused to descend into the valley. Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes and said softly, “Let it go.”

Nine Heavens withdrew its draconic might. Once Nine Heavens had fully drawn back his aura, the deer ran away, stepping on flames. The sounds of demonic beasts gradually returned to the forest as well.

After descending, the three of them arrived before the array platform. A small stone stele stood beside it, but its inscription was heavily weathered and difficult to read.

After examining it carefully, Li Guanqi finally managed to make out the words. Complete the trial, obtain the token.

Li Guanqi frowned. Does that mean there’s no avoiding the trial?

He was wary of trials found inside ancient realms and ruins. What appeared to be a reward sometimes concealed danger.

Li Guanqi looked at the mountains behind the valley and frowned again. The region beyond the trial grounds had to lie just past them, hidden by the surrounding peaks. Even without completing the trial, they might still be able to cross the valley and reach the next realm.

Li Guanqi stood at the edge of the array platform and pondered for a long time before saying softly, “Let’s not rush into this so-called trial. I’ll go up and take a look first.”

Meng Wanshu frowned. “I’ll come with you. That way we can watch each other’s backs.”

Li Guanqi didn’t argue. He simply nodded. “All right. Stay behind me once we’re up there.”

He left Nine Heavens and Peng Luo beside the array platform and quickly headed toward the summit with Meng Wanshu.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Li Guanqi’s movements were incredibly light and fast. With his formidable physical strength, surging vital force, and sprint technique working in unison, he transformed into a streak of white lightning racing up the mountain.

Behind him, Meng Wanshu moved with ethereal grace, her slender figure twisting and weaving through the air as quickly as he did.

Whoosh!

Li Guanqi landed atop the crown of a pine tree at the summit, and Meng Wanshu arrived right behind him.

Looking into the distance, he saw what appeared to be a river of stars cascading from the heavens. It was an enormous waterfall formed entirely of spirit qi, its thunderous roar reverberating through the clouds. Mist billowed from the torrent of pure spirit qi below, and patches of lush greenery adorned the cliff behind the falls. Even the heavy mist could not conceal the multicolored spirit light glowing within.

Wave after wave of powerful spirit qi spread through the air. Li Guanqi’s eyes lit up as he murmured, “The valley blocked all the sound, so we couldn’t hear the waterfall at all from the other side... That cliff must have a bunch of rare spirit herbs and plants!”

The cascading water suddenly parted, and a streak of seven-colored light flashed before Li Guanqi’s eyes.

His heart jolted. He narrowed his eyes and murmured, half in disbelief, “Could that be… a Seven-Colored Glass Flower? There’s no way I could be that lucky, is there?”

A brilliant light shone in Meng Wanshu’s beautiful eyes as she whispered, “I... I think I saw it too, near the top of the waterfall.”

Li Guanqi took a deep breath and launched himself forward with all his might, gripping his sword tightly. Whatever it took, he had to try.

As he began to fall, Li Guanqi stamped down against empty air. The force propelled him several hundred zhang farther up the mountain.

Watching him race into the distance, Meng Wanshu suddenly recalled the warning carved into the stele at the forest entrance. An ominous feeling rose within her. Driven by that mounting dread, she immediately took off after him.

But just as Li Guanqi was still fixed on the distant spirit river and waterfall, his heart suddenly tightened, and a chill ran down his spine.

Boom!

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