Brother, Stop Joking... Are You Trying to Kill Me?

Boom!!! The two figures crossed in a split second, and the brilliant sword light instantly shattered. Countless dazzling sword rays crisscrossed around Lin Wujiu in that very instant! In half a breath, a hundred sword strikes of eerie glow! The tangled, intersecting sword lights seemed veiled in a sinister radiance, completely enveloping Lin Wujiu. Mists of blood burst from all over his body, adding over a hundred fresh wounds! Every single gash was deep enough to expose bone! For a fleeting second, Lin Wujiu even suspected that Li Guanqi wanted to kill him! Thud! Lin Wujiu collapsed to the ground, drained of every last trace of immortal primal energy. As he lay on the floor, a bloody imprint stained the ground beneath him. His chest heaved as he gasped for air in ragged bursts. With the immortal primal energy in his dantian completely spent and his spirit worn down to the absolute limit, he was weak to the point of collapse. Yet right at that moment... Wearing his ghost mask, Li Guanqi swapped to the Red Lotus sword, eerie crimson threads swirling around his body as he flashed over in an instant! Stepping over Lin Wujiu's body, he held Red Lotus in a reverse grip with both hands and looked down at Lin Wujiu. Watching Li Guanqi stand over him in utter silence, a flicker of dread welled up in Lin Wujiu's heart. "Brother... stop joking around..." Li Guanqi was also severely depleted of immortal primal energy, but he knew that now was the best opportunity! Dropping to one knee, he reversed his grip on Red Lotus and slowly aimed the tip at the center of Lin Wujiu's forehead. At this moment, Lin Wujiu genuinely panicked. His right thumb pressed against the final ancient ring, and he spoke in a remarkably calm voice: "You couldn't... really want to kill me, could you?" Beneath the mask, Li Guanqi's voice slowly drifted out. "This is my secret. Do you trust me?" With that, Li Guanqi slowly looked up toward the pitch-black void. He knew that Lin Jinting was definitely outside right now. With such a massive commotion, there was no way he wouldn't come. Lin Wujiu's lips were pale, his eyes darting frantically. He claimed it was a secret, but looking at his posture now, Lin Wujiu felt like Li Guanqi was about to murder him! If this sword plunged into his forehead, his brains would be scrambled into mush... His throat bobbed slightly. Frowning, Lin Wujiu stared fixedly at Li Guanqi. "Really?" Li Guanqi took a deep breath and gave a slight nod. "Really!" Lin Wujiu gritted his teeth and steeled his heart. As if psyching himself up, he roared, "Come on! Thrust it in!!!!" Squelch!!!! Without even giving Lin Jinting time to react, Li Guanqi drove the sword fiercely downward! Boom!!! A formidable power erupted in an instant. Li Guanqi unleashed the power of his Sword Ruins to the absolute limit, the crimson mark on the tip of Red Lotus shimmering with an uncanny red glow. The sword tip instantly sank into the center of Lin Wujiu's forehead! A mysterious, profound, and mighty aura burst forth in an instant! Red veins crept into the eyes behind the ghost mask as he let out a great roar: "Ruins—Open!!!!" Buzz! In that flash, the writhing Spirit Absolution blood threads morphed into the runic radiance of the Spirit Realm's ruin-opening formation! In the blink of an eye, the blood-red formation expanded outward, covering a radius of ten zhang! Buzz! Lin Wujiu's body levitated as though manipulated by an invisible hand. The tip of Red Lotus remained submerged in his glabella. The sight was eerie in the extreme. Above the Lin family estate. Boom, boom, boom! Several auras soared into the sky. Two afterimages flashed past in an instant, arriving beside Lin Jinting and looking down at Lin Wujiu's courtyard. The fat old man narrowed his eyes and asked in a deep voice, "Jinting, what kind of aura is this...?" The middle-aged man beside him also frowned heavily, eyes narrowing into slits as he spoke with a grim tone: "Such a terrifying aura... yet I have never seen it before!" Lin Jinting's brows knitted slightly. He had seen everything that had just occurred. In his perception, Lin Wujiu's aura had not suffered the slightest damage; rather, he had entered an extraordinarily profound state. He, too, had no way of knowing what this was. However, he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. This proved that Li Guanqi had no intention of killing Lin Wujiu. Yet at that very moment, an abrupt change occurred! The sky above the entire Lin estate shifted colors as the clash of weapons and the chiming of blades rang in everyone's ears. Lin Wujiu's consciousness had sunk away; he had no idea what was happening outside. He found himself wandering aimlessly through a pitch-black void. Just as he was lost in bewilderment, Li Guanqi's voice unexpectedly echoed in his mind: "Guard your heavenly spirit, and follow your true heart." Hearing this, Lin Wujiu slowly sat cross-legged and emptied his mind. The moment he emptied his consciousness, an inexplicable aura began to guide him. Suddenly! Faint wisps of spiritual light flickered ceaselessly deep within his heart. Immediately after, within the pitch-black void, a longsword forged from the spiritual light of his inner heart materialized out of thin air! Three feet long, its hilt cast in dark gold, its entire body lustrous, the blade was razor-sharp, glinting with a chilly glint. Lin Wujiu slowly opened his eyes. Looking at the longsword floating before him, his gaze filled with shock. "This sword..." "It looks just like the one from my childhood dream!" He vaguely remembered that when he was young, before he had ever begun cultivating, he had watched his father practice swordplay in the courtyard. Afterwards, he had dashed back to his own small yard, swinging broken branches until he was drenched in sweat. That night, he had seen a sword in his dream. The sword he swung in that dream was identical to the one before his eyes! His face flushed with excitement, Lin Wujiu slowly reached out and caressed the sword with utmost care... At this moment, his mind and heart resonated with the ruins artifact, and countless profound insights welled up within him. Yet the moment his fingers gripped the sword, his original companion sword radiated a blinding brilliance... Immediately after... the sudden crack of metal shattering rang out. Snap! Crack, crack, crack! Bang! The instant the sword burst apart, the light on the sword before Lin Wujiu dimmed, and his consciousness was ejected from the pitch-black void. When he opened his eyes, what greeted him was Li Guanqi, drenched in sweat and deathly pale... Lin Wujiu quickly scrambled up and supported the swaying Li Guanqi, asking in a grave voice, "Brother Li, are you alright?" Li Guanqi had already removed his mask. Slumping limply to the ground, he waved a dismissive hand. At this moment, very little immortal primal energy remained in his body, and his divine sense was utterly exhausted! There was no helping it; Lin Wujiu's cultivation realm was too high, so opening the ruins for him had been a bit of a stretch for Li Guanqi. Even so, he was delighted that his idea had actually worked. Li Guanqi's eyes flickered, and with a lift of his hand, Red Lotus sensed his summon and floated to his side. Li Guanqi raised an eyebrow and spoke in a raspy voice, "Try it with my sword." "Only by remembering that feeling from before can you mobilize that sword and affix the ruins artifact to your companion sword." Lin Wujiu was still dazed and bewildered; he only knew that he had gained an incredible ability. Yet he had also seen his companion sword shatter... That was a grade-two immortal artifact! He reached out toward Red Lotus, but Red Lotus darted behind Li Guanqi to hide. Li Guanqi gave a helpless chuckle, gently patting Red Lotus as he laughed. "Don't be so stingy. You're used to eating fine grain, but an occasional taste of coarse chaff won't hurt." Lin Wujiu's face twitched at those words. "Could you not say that right in front of me?" Only then did Red Lotus reluctantly drift over to Lin Wujiu's side. The moment Lin Wujiu gripped the hilt, his expression changed drastically! He instantly sensed that this sword of Li Guanqi's was no ordinary weapon! He couldn't even fathom its exact grade. His immortal primal energy flowed through it without the slightest obstruction, and the blade was razor-sharp, as if capable of cleaving through all dharmas of the world. Marveling with wide eyes, he couldn't help exclaiming, "What a fine sword..." As his words fell, Red Lotus let out a soft hum, as if urging him to hurry up. Feeling slightly awkward, Lin Wujiu closed his eyes to focus his mind. With a thought, he connected to the longsword deep within his glabella. The ruins artifact manifested, affixing itself to the Red Lotus sword. Boom! An incomparable, brilliant sword light erupted from the blade, spitting scarlet radiance more than three feet long. Lin Wujiu felt the sword's power surge by roughly thirty percent in an instant! The sight left him stunned and speechless. Yet Red Lotus broke free from his grip and swayed in midair. On its way back to Li Guanqi's side, the tip of the blade turned back, seemingly casting Lin Wujiu a look of utter disdain.