Chapter 496 - Prisoner On Death Row

He Yuanting dragged the black stone cage back to the Great Profound Sword Sect with Li Guanqi still inside. The moment he returned, the sect’s mountain erupted in bright golden light. A thick barrier rose around it.

The sect grounds were now completely sealed. No one could leave or enter.

The disciples who saw the protective array activate exchanged uneasy looks.

“He Yuanting really is furious this time.”

“Of course he is. His son was killed by the guy He Yuning brought back to the sect!”

“Yeah, some people are wolves in sheep’s clothing.”

“I heard the guy’s famous in the Daxia Territory.”

“What’s the use of being famous? That’s He Yuanting!”

News of He Yuning being stabbed in the heart and hovering near death spread across the entire Central Prefecture. Everyone who heard was shocked.

Li Guanqi said nothing along the way. Words would be useless. All he could do was wait for He Yuning to recover and recount what had truly happened.

Li Guanqi was deathly pale, unable to use his vital force or divine consciousness. Stone spikes pierced his limbs and clavicle, and he had no way of stopping the bleeding. Every movement sent waves of agony through him. He gazed worriedly at Nine Heavens, who had also been captured and locked up.

Sword Spirit was equally anxious. She didn’t dare reveal herself in front of He Yuanting. He was a Combined Body Realm cultivator who would sense her presence the moment she acted. The sword coffin was with him too, so she couldn’t even communicate with Li Guanqi.

He Yuanting moved like lightning, loud rumbles trailing in his wake.

Every disciple they passed dropped to their knees, heads bowed, not daring to speak.

He Yuanting hurled Li Guanqi’s cage a hundred zhang into the air above the plaza.

“No one approaches within a hundred zhang of him without my express command!”

The chains on Li Guanqi extended outward, lashing themselves around surrounding stone pillars and stabbing into the ground. Nine Heavens was chained up in the same fashion, suspended mid-air.

Li Guanqi’s limbs were stretched wide, the weight of the stone cage pressing down on his back. The chains bit through his flesh, tearing at his body. He made no sound despite the agony.

Nine Heavens suffered the same fate, its massive body pulled taut in the air.

Everyone stared at the thirty-zhang-long dragon suspended above them. It was a true dragon, incomparable to the demonic beasts who merely carried dragon blood.

The disciples eyed the pool of golden blood on the ground with naked greed, but no one dared approach. He Yuanting’s commands were no joke.

Li Guanqi watched He Yuanting disappear with He Yuning.

Powerful cultivators shot into the air across the sect grounds, heading urgently toward the main pavilion.

Li Guanqi did not know whether He Yuning would survive. If he died, it wouldn’t matter if Li Guanqi had ten thousand reasons—He Yuanting would still kill him.

He remembered the knife intent his grandfather had left within the sword coffin. However, his dantian and sea of consciousness were sealed, preventing him from finding it. He also knew the knife intent would only attack Sword Spirit.

And without his sword, Sword Spirit could not help him.

His only hope was Peng Luo.

Peng Luo could travel through boundaries. Perhaps he could slip out of the sword coffin and send a message to his grandfather, or even Gu Yong.

How did I fall into such a fatal trap from Cang Lu’s pathetic schemes?

It was just like last time.

He hadn’t detected a single problem along the way, and he’d been extremely cautious.

That old man from the Green Sun Palace had definitely been Cang Lu in disguise. When inspecting the sword intent, Cang Lu must have stolen some of Li Guanqi’s aura. That was how he’d captured the Red Lotus Sword with that black thread.

Li Guanqi had walked straight into the trap, oblivious to anything amiss. He couldn’t understand how his powerful divine consciousness had failed to detect Cang Lu.

Waves of pain crashed against his mind. His thoughts grew hazy, his strength reduced to that of a slightly strong mortal. The stone locks that pierced his flesh didn’t just suppress his power—they drained it, keeping him in a perpetually weakened state, barely able to stay conscious. Even Nine Heavens’ eyes had gone empty.

Crash!

Nine Heavens twisted its body in agony, and the chains clanged. A bloody mist burst from its wounds as mysterious golden patterns flared across the locks. Its aura weakened sharply.

“Nine Heavens! Stop... moving...”

Watching Nine Heavens' plight pushed Li Guanqi’s fury at Cang Lu to its limit. He started reaching for the stone lock embedded in his clavicle, the stone grating against bone with every movement. Blood trickled down the chains.

Li Guanqi roared in fury,

“Ahhhh!”

With sheer force, he slowly wrenched the stone spikes from his body.

His skin ripped, and blood gushed out.

Crash! Crash!

The six chains rattled violently.

The surrounding disciples of the Great Profound Sword Sect stared in disbelief, drawing sharp breaths.

Li Guanqi was no longer a powerful cultivator half a step into the Illusory Refinement Realm. He was essentially a mortal.

His eyes were bloodshot, and his face contorted in a snarl. With both hands, he ripped out the locks piercing his clavicle.

Blinding golden patterns erupted across the six chains.

The golden patterns spread to the tip of the spikes, and the lock that had almost left his body was driven back in.

Then, the triangular spikes expanded from their initial width of three fingers to the width of a bucket, transforming into a hook. It resembled a butcher’s hook, refusing to let go of his flesh.