Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman - Chapter 5 To Win With Virtue, Gifting The Sword Coffin

Meng Jiangchu’s coughed at the words. “To win people over with virtue…”

Su Xuan turned to Meng Jiangchu and spoke softly, “You should have already guessed my identity.”

“But I don’t want anyone to know that you… put in such a tremendous effort to decipher fate and waited here for me to arrive fifteen years in advance.”

“Now, what’s your choice?”

Meng Jiangchu’s heart skipped a beat; he hadn’t expected the other party to have figured it out already!

Meng Jiangchu exhaled and smiled. “I give up. After all, Wanshu is still here.”

“I quite like this Guanqi kid, so I won’t take the risk.”

“But I’d like to ask, what exactly is that thing?”

Su Xuan gazed deeply at Meng Jiangchu and chuckled softly. “How surprising, a distinguished… hehe, you’d actually leave behind offspring with a mortal, even if it’s just a clone.”

“I’ll tell you, but you must leave this place in the next few days.”

Then, the old man’s voice suddenly appeared in Meng Jiangchu’s mind.

Meng Jiangchu frowned in puzzlement, sighed, and spoke softly with his hands behind his back. “Alright, I won’t make it hard on you. We’ll leave this place as a family in three days.”

After the two of them had departed, Su Xuan sat alone under the tree and retrieved the two black pieces from the chessboard.

With a wave of his hand, clarity returned to the world, as if nothing had happened at all.

The old man sat under the tree, hands behind his back, muttering to himself. “Indeed, winning people over with virtue is the right way!”

“Those two are quite sincere for Domain Masters who’ve cultivated for so long.”

But as he pondered this, the old man sat under the tree, hands clasped in his sleeves, murmuring, “Meng Jiangchu, Zhang Qixuan, Lu Tiancheng.”

“Is there anyone else I’ve missed?”

“Tsk tsk, it seems that Domain Master Zhang Qixuan of the Mystical Door Domain and Domain Master Meng Jiangchu of the Divine Treasure Domain know how to be sensible…”

After delivering this remark, the old man raised his head, calculated something in the sky with his fingers, and mumbled, “Almost time… For the rest of the journey, that young brat will have to figure it out on his own.”

“Time to go home and check in on him!”

—-

The following morning, Li Guanqi reluctantly woke up, sporting two rather stylish black eye circles from a night of poor sleep.

But even in his groggy state, he sensed a surge of heat in front of him. Startled, he instinctively kicked out, and the old man nonchalantly blocked the kick, scolding him with a touch of annoyance, “Did you give laxatives to Old Zhao’s pigs, you rascal?”

Li Guanqi couldn’t help but grin and replied, “You didn’t let me fight back, so I had to make up for it somehow, right?”

Su Xuan let out a hearty laugh and then got up, commenting, “Well, those three pigs must have had quite the night. That pigpen… truly a work of art!”

“All right, get up, finish your exercises, and meet me in the backyard.”

After freshening up, Li Guanqi got out of bed and began his morning drills. However, it was far from simple stretching. Bare-chested, Li Guanqi revealed a well-defined muscular physique, intricate and mysterious patterns forming across his musculatur. With one hand, the young man repeatedly squatted while holding a 300-pound millstone. As his qi and blood flowed, his skin turned red.

The old man watched with satisfaction. Over the years, he had built an incredibly robust foundation for Li Guanqi’s cultivation. Although Li Guanqi was unaware, he had long surpassed the peak of the Body Tempering Realm.

His internal organs, blood, bones, and physique far exceeded those of an ordinary person. While a sect disciple in the Body Tempering Realm was considered qualified if they could lift a 100-pound stone with one hand, Li Guanqi, despite his seemingly frail appearance, could effortlessly lift a massive stone weighing 600 pounds with one hand. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators struggled to lift a stone weighing a thousand pounds over their heads.

From the beginning of Li Guanqi’s cultivation, his grandfather had imposed a strict rule: no harming ordinary people. They must not exploit their strength to oppress the weak. In the radiant sunlight, Li Guanqi’s body emitted white vapor. The old man quickly handed him some clothes.

“After you’ve soaked in the medicinal bath, come find me in the backyard. There’s something important I need to discuss with you.”

Li Guanqi accepted the clothes, dressed himself, and although his expression appeared somewhat somber, he nodded. With his sensitive nature, he couldn’t have missed the old man’s intentions.

Su Xuan observed silently. In the pursuit of cultivation and longevity, many aspects of the journey had to be undertaken alone to make it more magnificent. He couldn’t shelter Li Guanqi forever, even though taking him away might secure a lifetime of worry-free existence.

But if it were that simple, how could I deserve to be Su Xuan’s grandson? Li Guanqi pondered.

He knew that his grandfather had likely stayed by his side throughout the latter part of the night. After all, that was the only explanation for his unexpectedly restful sleep, and he knew that sooner or later, this dreaded moment would come.

Just the thought of the medicinal bath was enough to make Li Guanqi grimace and clench his teeth. He had no clue about the contents of the bath, but once inside, it felt as if thousands of steel needles were having a field day, poking and prodding every inch of his body. The agonizing sensation would have brought an ordinary person to their knees, but somehow, he had endured it year after year.

In the backyard, after Li Guanqi had finished his medicinal bath, he found the old man seated behind a desk, pen in hand, ready. Without hesitation, Li Guanqi removed his shirt, his back turned to the old man.

The old man spoke softly, “This is the last time. Endure it.”

Li Guanqi couldn’t resist a mischievous grin as he quipped, “Come on, Grandpa. I’ve been through worse. I can handle this.”

The old man affectionately patted the young boy’s head, muttering about him being a “cheeky rascal.”

Then, with a swift hand, he dipped a generous amount of viscous liquid from a jade plate and began drawing mysterious patterns on the boy’s back with his pen. Despite the movement of the pen, the Li Guanqi’s body remained as still as a rock.

But beads of sweat formed on his forehead, and an occasional muffled groan escaped his lips.

Li Guanqi silently endured this excruciating pain. If the medicinal bath felt like steel needles, the current agony was akin to having his flesh sliced and bones scraped. The sharp pain was a hundred times more intense than the medicinal bath.

Finally satisfied, the old man couldn’t help but chuckle, “Aren’t you worried I might be trying to do you in, you cheeky brat?”

After a moment’s pause, the young man turned his head, grinned at the old man, and replied, “Grandpa, if you wanted to harm me, you wouldn’t have spent all these years going into the mountains to find herbs for me. You could have just left me to freeze to death on the streets eight years ago.”

With that, Li Guanqi lowered his head, continuing to dress himself.

“Grandpa…”

“Hmm?”

“Are you planning to leave?”

“Yes.”

“Will we see each other again after this?”

“Yes!”

Su Xuan turned to pack his belongings, his eyes betraying a hint of emotion, and he raised his head slightly. The old man, who had turned around, suddenly conjured something larger than the Li Guanqi himself out of thin air. Looking at the boy, who had called him “Grandpa” for eight years, the old man spoke with deep sincerity.

“The path of cultivation is long and treacherous. You must be cautious of those who are not related to you but treat you excessively well.”

“Some ancient creatures who have been cultivating for thousands of years and are hopeless in their breakthroughs may resort to unscrupulous means like body possession.”

Although the young man had heard these words countless times throughout his life, he nodded with a serious expression.

“My departure this time is a last resort, fraught with danger. I dare not take you with me.”

“After tomorrow, you can finally leave the mountain for good.”

“This sword coffin is the most important gift I can give you!”

“Remember, you must never part with it. Carry it with you at all times!”

The young man gazed at the pitch-black sword coffin before him, adorned with countless mysterious patterns. He was genuinely curious. He knew about sword scabbards, but what was a sword coffin?

This object was over four feet tall, towering over him. Moreover, the old man hadn’t told him anything about this sword coffin; he had simply instructed him to carry it. Li Guanqi attempted to lift it but found it impossible!