Void Passage

The storage room was not a treasure vault, nor was it an armory; it contained no precious treasures or any standard weaponry.

Rows of display cabinets held mostly strange-looking vessels and ritual objects, along with various primitive musical instruments, bells, and tripods.

The various artifacts were arranged quite neatly, and some even had nameplates indicating when and where they had been discovered.

An Jing looked at an object that resembled a ge-halberd, yet looked more like the fang of some ferocious beast.

[Life-Artifact Ya Ge, Year 2 of Tianxing, excavated from the Chenli Witch Wilderness. Holding it can harden bones and sharpen teeth, invigorate blood and strengthen life. Corresponds to the life-fate 'Tiger Ox Rushing Snake'—those without the fate who hold it will suffer a corruption of the mind.]

An Jing then looked at a small bronze bell.

[Life-Artifact Rust-Patterned Bell, Year 1 of Longshuo, excavated from the Hanhai White River. Its vibration can startle the soul, awaken the spirit, and summon spirits. Corresponds to the life-fate 'Morning Bell and Evening Drum'—taboo unknown.]

An Jing was lost in thought. Every artifact displayed here was a so-called "Life-Artifact," corresponding to a certain "Heavenly Life-Fate," and each possessed peculiar properties.

However, only a small portion had their specific effects discovered; for the vast majority of the stored artifacts, while it was known they possessed strange qualities, their corresponding life-fates and effects remained unknown.

In the center of the storage room, there was an empty cabinet.

[Life-Artifact Life-Nurturing Vessel, Year 5 of Tianbao, excavated from the Daoxu Ancient Land. Gathers essence and collects qi, using life to nurture life. Corresponds to the life-fate 'Borrowing Qi to Return Soul'—those without the fate who hold it will suffer the destruction of both soul and blood.]

"Gathers essence and collects qi, using life to nurture life..."

An Jing thought of the medicinal paste in the water vat, and a surge of killing intent flared in his eyes: "It seems this is the tool used to refine 'medicinal materials' into 'Great Medicine'."

Were the fates of those children in the dungeons simply to be reduced to such 'Great Medicine'?

As for where the Life-Nurturing Vessel was...

An Jing suddenly thought of the dark gold vessel on the desk of Vice Envoy Yao in the Medicine Pavilion.

That might be the Life-Nurturing Vessel... It turned out it had been in the hands of Vice Envoy Yao all along.

He really hadn't hidden it at all.

Taking a deep breath, An Jing's gaze turned profound as he continued to observe.

The Life-Artifacts in the storage room were not particularly precious; the Life-Nurturing Vessel was of the highest tier among them.

An Jing did not touch these items recklessly; it was clear that the taboos had been tested with human lives. He was merely observing to see if there were any tools here that he needed.

[An Jing]

Ever since entering the storage room, the Sword Spirit had been silent for a while, but now it continued to guide him: [Left corner.]

An Jing looked toward the left corner, where a cold, spiritual light suddenly flickered.

This was a corner of the storage room, filled with various dim objects, but now, one artifact was manifesting its own divine light.

It was a broken sword.

The broken sword located in the corner had an archaic design. Except for the hilt, the blade was broken almost from the base. It was entirely dull and lusterless, covered in rust, and looked little better than scrap metal.

But An Jing was slightly stunned, because he could tell that this sword... was identical to the rusty sword hilt from the 'Qingjing Sword Temple' that the mysterious sword voice had taught him!

It was just that the rusty sword in the Qingjing Sword Temple was still complete, while the one before him was nothing but a hilt, broken and decayed like refuse.

Lowering his eyes, An Jing looked at the nameplate.

[Life-Artifact Broken Blade, Year 1 of Jingchang, appeared in the Northern Frontier. Effect unknown, corresponding life-fate unknown, taboo unknown. Speculated to be a life-fate related to military slaughter.]

Jingchang was the most recent era name of the Da Chen dynasty, the first year after the Frost Calamity in the Northern Frontier, and also the first year An Jing's family had fled as refugees.

The broken sword was unremarkable, its utility unknown, its corresponding life-fate unknown, and given that its blade was decayed, it was useless as a weapon; thus, it was kept as a lowest-grade Life-Artifact.

Yet at this very moment, it was glowing.

"Grasp me."

The clear, mysterious voice—or rather, the voice of the broken sword—became more distinct, as if ringing right beside his ear: "Visualize the 'Qingjing Sword Temple'."

The broken sword was covered in rust, looking incredibly fragile.

He stepped forward slowly and grasped the hilt. A chilling, murderous sensation surged from his palm straight into his heart.

But it was not painful; instead, An Jing felt a sense of connection, as if it were an extension of his own arm, a bond of blood.

"Hm?"

Holding his breath and entering a state of stillness, he visualized the rusty sword. An Jing was stunned to find that the broken sword had vanished from his hand—and within his body, in the mysterious Sea of Consciousness, a sword shadow had faintly emerged!

In the Sea of Consciousness, the hilt of the broken sword was more solid, the rust had peeled away slightly, and the blade had regained a hint of sharpness, flashing with a silver light.

"Incredible!"

As his divine sense moved again, the broken sword returned to An Jing's hand. This miraculous scene was truly beyond his imagination—though considering the Sword Spirit had previously taught him the meditation technique from afar, it wasn't entirely inconceivable.

"Your constitution can actually withstand my sword malice—this is the Geng Metal Malice!"

The mysterious voice—or rather, the Sword Spirit—was also quite surprised: "What exactly is your constitution and life-fate?"

But soon, it dismissed it: "This is excellent. You will not be eroded by my sword malice; in the future, you might even be able to use my sword malice to temper your body."

"I had intended to let you endure it for a while, but this saves me the trouble."

But it was at this very moment that noisy footsteps suddenly rang out.

"Are they here? The speed isn't fast, so it shouldn't be a search... is it just a routine inspection?"

An Jing immediately lifted his head, listening intently to the direction of the sound, his brows furrowed. "I didn't leave any traces, but if they search the storage room, there's no way I can hide."

"What should I do?"

An Jing gripped the broken sword in his hand and hid behind the door. "Someone is approaching now; they will definitely check the storage room."

"If I'm discovered, I probably won't die, but I'll certainly be placed under heavy guard. I won't have the freedom of movement I have now as the senior brother."

"I'm out of options. Perhaps I could mask my face and force a breakthrough, but I'm not sure I can beat them."

"That is true." The Sword Spirit said, "Although these Tianyi Sect cultists have shallow foundations, they all possess Internal Breath and are legitimate martial artists."

"And while your foundation is decent, you are only one step away from Internal Breath, but you are not yet at that level."

"Dealing with one might be fine, but you are not a match for all of them right now."

"I know that, of course."

Even though the footsteps outside had already reached the courtyard, An Jing calmed his mind. "You must have been prepared for this long ago. Tell me what to do, and I will follow."

The Sword Spirit appreciated An Jing's composure. "Grip the sword. Circulate the Qingjing Sword Temple."

An Jing gripped the sword and circulated the Qingjing Sword Temple, visualizing the rusted sword in his mind.

At that very moment, the rusted sword in the Divine Treasury subtly overlapped with the broken sword An Jing held in his hand. Where the blade was broken, a wisp of silver sword radiance vaguely emerged.

It vibrated, overflowing with a visible halo of light.

"This is?"

Even with his eyes tightly shut, he could still perceive it. An Jing was quite astonished, and the Sword Spirit said, "Sense my aura, my fragments."

An Jing recalled the chilling aura he felt when he first gripped the sword. Using the broken sword as a conduit, he began to sense.

In an instant, six other points of light appeared in his mind. Three were dim and fading, seemingly in an extremely distant place; one was not far away but equally dim; and one was very close, almost overlapping with An Jing himself, though it flickered unsteadily as if sealed.

Only one shone with a stable radiance.

"Open your eyes, aim at the most stable one, and slash."

The Sword Spirit commanded, and An Jing did not hesitate. He opened his eyes, gripped the sword, and slashed into the empty air.

Then, he saw the impossible: the broken sword sliced a pitch-black crack into the space before him.

On the other side of the deep, dark fissure, another world seemed to be waiting.

"What on earth is happening..."

Even though An Jing's spirit was incredibly resilient and stabilized by the Qingjing Sword Temple, his brain stalled for a moment. But soon, he realized that this might be his only chance to escape safely!

"Go in."

The Sword Spirit said softly, "This is our only chance to break free from this cage."

Click!

At that moment, the sound of a key entering the lock of the storage room door rang out. Without the slightest hesitation, An Jing stepped forward and crossed into the fissure.

Clack!

The storage room door opened, and a small squad of cultists entered to check for traces.

"Nothing unusual." They looked around, and the leader complained, "What is Vice Envoy Yao doing, calling us to inspect the medicine manor in the middle of the night... Does the old man really think someone could escape from the dungeon?"

"It looks like something was moved..." one cultist muttered after looking around, only to be immediately refuted by his own men: "Are you stupid? Didn't Captain Chen and the others come by this morning to take the Treasure Vessel?"

Soon, confirming that there was no one inside or outside the storage room, the group of Tianyi Sect cultists closed the door and left. "Sigh, being so paranoid in the middle of the deep mountains and forests, I think Vice Envoy Yao is getting a bit neurotic."

"Who isn't? Who wants to stay in this place? I really hope to be transferred back to Da Chen soon..."

Meanwhile.

"We are about to head to another world."

The Sword Spirit's voice rang out in his heart, clear and resonant. "You cannot stay in the other world for too long unless you can find my fragments to strengthen my abilities."

"And the closest fragment to you is right here in the Xuanming Valley behind Xuanming Manor. Don't worry, these cultists will hold an initiation ceremony there, and you will find an opportunity to enter."

"Grip the hilt tightly, circulate the Qingjing Sword Temple, and slash the void; you will be able to enter the other world or return to Huaixu. You have excellent talent, and combined with the techniques brought by your past life's wisdom, as long as you advance to Internal Breath in the other world without drawing their attention, the average cultist will be of no concern to you."

"I don't doubt I can break through to Internal Breath, but how am I to deceive the Manor Master?"

An Jing replied, "He is already at Internal Strengthening and possesses an 'extraordinary' observation ability. If I break through to Internal Breath, I may not be able to escape his eyes."

"You have already learned the Qingjing Sword Temple. Maintain 'tranquility' and keep your mind stable, and I can help you hide—at least until you reach the Divine Treasury realm."

The Sword Spirit said, "But do not be careless. The other world has many resources and dangers I am not aware of. Use it, or be killed by it; anything is possible."

"Your fate and mine are in our own hands."

"I understand. I will seize this opportunity." An Jing's heart was incredibly clear at this moment. From the moment he stepped into the fissure, he knew that his fate was in his own hands, and in his own sword.

He crossed the fissure.

What appeared before An Jing's eyes was pitch black, then gradually, light emerged.

This was a deep underground ruin, a massive steel dome supporting the earth and stone, with sturdy stone walls all around—solid and silent.

Deep underground, where it should have been pitch black, vast patches of bioluminescent, translucent vines provided a faint glow, allowing one to roughly make out the entire scene.

"This is..."

An Jing looked around this massive underground ruin—the structure was incredibly classical, appearing to be a collapsed celestial pavilion hall, sacred and solemn. Rows of toppled metal pillars were covered in an abundance of intricate cloud patterns and phoenix seals, a type of classical beauty that perfectly fused grandeur and solemnity with delicate refinement.

Stepping back slightly to get a better view of the ruins, An Jing was suddenly startled, as he had stepped on something hard yet fragile. In an instant, he activated Mysterious Steps, making no sound, yet he had completely crushed it.

Looking back, An Jing's eyes widened, for under the dim light of the glowing vines, he saw a... or rather, fields of corpses!

Large numbers of corpses wearing uniforms, now reduced to skeletons, were scattered all around; An Jing had just accidentally crushed the bone of one of these corpses.

"Wait?!"

But what truly shocked An Jing was not these skeletal remains, but what was in their hands.

In the hands of these corpses... were things An Jing was very familiar with from his past life, but had never seen in this one.

--That was a gun.

Not a long spear or a short spear, not a wooden spear or an iron spear...

--That was a firearm rifle.