Taixu Passage

The storeroom was neither a treasure vault nor an armory. It held no treasures and no weapons of any recognizable style.

The rows of cabinets mostly contained all kinds of oddly shaped vessels and ritual implements, as well as various ancient, archaic musical instruments, bells, and cauldrons.

The objects were arranged quite neatly, and some even had plaques indicating when and where they had been discovered.

An Jing looked at an object that was neither quite a halberd nor anything else, resembling the fang of some ferocious beast.

[Life Artifact Ya Ge, Year Two of Tianxing, excavated in the Chenli Witch Wilderness. Holding it could strengthen bones, sharpen teeth, invigorate the blood, and fortify one's life. Corresponds to the Fate Grid 'Tiger Ox Rushing Snake'—those without the Fate Grid who held it would suffer a strange deterioration of their wits.]

An Jing then looked at a small bronze bell.

[Life Artifact Rust-Patterned Bell, Year One of Longshuo, excavated in Hanhai Baichuan. Its vibrations could startle the soul, awaken the spirit, and summon spirits. Corresponds to the Fate Grid 'Morning Bell and Evening Drum'—taboo; its nature is unknown.]

An Jing pondered. Every object stored here was a so-called "Life Artifact," corresponding to some kind of "Heavenly Mandate Fate," and each had its own strange properties.

But only a small number had known uses. Although they knew most of the stored artifacts possessed peculiar qualities, they did not know what Fate Grids they corresponded to or what effects they had.

In the center of the storeroom stood an empty cabinet.

[Life Artifact Life-Nurturing Vessel, Year Five of Tianbao, excavated in the Daoxu Ancient Land. It gathered essence and qi, nourishing life with life. Corresponds to the Fate Grid 'Borrowing Qi to Return Soul'—those without the Fate Grid who held it would suffer a double loss of soul and blood.]

"Gathering essence and qi, nourishing life with life..."

Thinking of the medicinal mash in the water vat, An Jing's eyes filled with killing intent. "Looks like this is the tool used to refine 'medicinal ingredients' into 'great medicine.'"

Was that what awaited the children in the dungeons? To be reduced to such "great medicine"?

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

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

That might be the Life-Nurturing Vessel... So it had been in Vice Envoy Yao's hands all along.

He really hadn't hidden it at all.

He let out a deep breath, his gaze dark and unfathomable, and continued looking around.

The Life Artifacts in the storeroom weren't especially precious. The Life-Nurturing Vessel belonged to the most valuable tier.

An Jing didn't touch anything carelessly. Those taboos had clearly been tested with human lives. He merely looked for any tools he might need.

[An Jing]

After entering the storeroom, the Sword Spirit had fallen silent for a while. Only now did it guide him again: [The left corner.]

An Jing looked toward the left corner, where a sharp, cold gleam of spirit light suddenly appeared.

It was a corner of the storeroom, filled with all manner of dim, shadowy objects. But now, one of them was shining with its own divine light.

It was a broken sword.

The broken sword in the corner had a simple, ancient shape. Apart from the hilt, its blade had almost completely snapped off at the base. It was dull and dark, covered in rust, and looked hardly better than scrap.

But An Jing froze. He could tell that this sword... had a hilt exactly like the Rusty Sword in the "Qingjing Sword Temple" taught to him by the mysterious sword voice!

Only, the Rusty Sword in the Qingjing Sword Temple was still whole, while the Rusty Sword before him had only its hilt left, broken beyond repair and rotting like scrap.

Lowering his eyes, An Jing read the plaque.

[Life Artifact Broken Blade, Year One of Jingchang, found in the Northern Frontier. Its purpose is unknown, as are its corresponding Fate Grid and taboos. It is presumed to be related to a Fate of war and killing.]

Jingchang was the Da Chen dynasty's current era name. It was the first year after the Frost Calamity in the Northern Frontier, and the first year An Jing and his family had spent fleeing for their lives.

The broken sword was utterly unremarkable. Its use was unknown, as was the Fate Grid it corresponded to. Its blade was rotten, making it entirely useless as a weapon, so it had been kept as one of the lowest-grade Life Artifacts.

And yet, at that very moment, it was glowing.

"Take hold of me."

The clear, mysterious voice—or rather, the voice of the broken sword—grew more distinct, as though it were speaking right beside his ear. "Visualize the 'Qingjing Sword Temple.'"

The broken sword was covered in rust and looked incredibly fragile.

An Jing slowly stepped forward and grasped the hilt. A chilling, murderous sensation surged from his palm straight into his chest.

But it wasn't unpleasant. On the contrary, An Jing felt as though the sword were an extension of his arm, connected to him by blood.

"Hmm?"

He stilled his breath and settled his mind, visualizing the Rusty Sword. To his astonishment, the broken sword vanished from his hand—and deep within him, in the shadowy depths of his Divine Sea, the faint outline of a sword appeared!

Within his Divine Sea, the hilt of the broken sword grew more substantial, and some of the rust flaked away. Its blade regained a little of its sharpness, glimmering with silver light.

"Unbelievable!"

With another thought, the broken sword returned to An Jing's hand. This wondrous sight was beyond anything he could have imagined—but considering that the broken sword's Sword Spirit had previously taught him the Cunsi Method from afar, perhaps it wasn't all that unbelievable.

"Your constitution can actually withstand my Sword Fiend—this is Geng Metal Malice!"

The mysterious voice—or rather, the Sword Spirit—was just as astonished. "What kind of constitution and Fate Grid do you have?"

But soon it seemed not to care. "This is excellent. You won't be eroded by my Sword Fiend, and in the future, you may even be able to temper your body with it."

"I thought I'd have to make you endure it for a while. This saves us the trouble."

But just then, the clamor of approaching footsteps suddenly rang out.

"Are they here? They're not moving very quickly. It shouldn't be a search... A routine inspection?"

An Jing immediately lifted his head. He listened closely to the direction of the sound, his brows furrowing. "I didn't leave any traces, but if they search the storeroom, I won't be able to hide."

"What should I do?"

Clutching the broken sword, An Jing hid beside the door. "Someone's approaching. They'll definitely inspect the storeroom."

"If I'm found, I probably won't be killed, but I'll definitely be watched closely. I won't have the freedom to move around that I do now, posing as Senior Brother."

"There's nothing I can do. I could cover my face and force my way out, but I might not be able to beat them."

"That's true," the Sword Spirit said. "These Demonic Cult disciples may have shaky foundations, but they all possess Internal Breath. They're proper martial artists."

"And although you have a decent foundation and are only one step away from Internal Breath, you haven't reached it yet."

"You could deal with one of them, but you're still no match for them now."

"I know."

Though the footsteps outside had already reached the courtyard, An Jing still calmed himself. "You must have prepared for this already. Tell me what to do. I'll do it."

The Sword Spirit admired An Jing's composure. "Hold the sword. Circulate the 'Qingjing Sword Temple.'"

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

At that moment, the Rusty Sword in his Divine Sea faintly overlapped with the broken sword clutched in his hand. From the break in the blade, a sliver of silver swordlight seemed to grow.

It trembled, spilling visible halos of light.

"What is this?"

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

An Jing recalled the icy sensation he had felt when he first grasped the sword. Using the broken sword as his anchor, he began to sense.

In an instant, six other points of light appeared in his mind. Three were dim and hidden, seemingly in some extremely distant place. One was not far away, yet equally faint. Another was very close, almost overlapping with An Jing himself, but flickered uncertainly, as though it were sealed.

Only one shone with a steady, brilliant light.

"Open your eyes. Aim at the steadiest one and slash."

At the Sword Spirit's words, An Jing opened his eyes without hesitation and swung the sword through the air.

Then, to his utter disbelief, he saw the broken sword cleave open a pitch-black fissure in the space before him.

Beyond the deep, shadowy fissure, it seemed another world awaited him.

"What in the world is going on..."

Even with An Jing's extraordinary mental fortitude and the Qingjing Sword Temple to steady him, his mind blanked for a moment. But he quickly recovered. This might be his only chance to escape safely!

"Go in."

The Sword Spirit spoke softly. "This is our only chance to escape the cage."

Click!

The sound of a key entering the lock rang out at the storeroom door. Without the slightest hesitation, An Jing stepped forward and crossed into the fissure.

Click!

The storeroom door opened, and a small group of disciples entered to check for signs of intrusion.

"Nothing unusual." After looking around, the man leading them grumbled, "What's Vice Envoy Yao up to, sending us to inspect the Medicine Manor in the middle of the night? The old man doesn't really think someone can escape from the dungeon, does he?"

"It looks like someone's moved something..." one disciple muttered after looking around, but another immediately retorted, "Are you an idiot? Didn't Captain Chen and the others come by this morning to take the Treasure Vessel?"

Soon, after confirming there was no one inside or outside the storeroom, the Tianyi Sect disciples closed the door and left. "Sigh, living in these remote mountains and forests, still being this paranoid. I think Vice Envoy Yao's getting a little senile."

"Who isn't? Who'd want to stay in a place like this? I hope we get transferred back to Da Chen soon..."

Meanwhile...

"We're about to travel to another world."

The Sword Spirit's voice rang out in An Jing's mind, clear and ringing. "You won't be able to stay in the other world for long unless you find my fragments and strengthen my abilities."

"The nearest fragment to you is in Xuanming Valley, behind Xuanming Manor. Don't worry. The Demonic Cult will hold its initiation ceremony there. You'll find a chance to get inside."

"Grip the hilt, circulate the Qingjing Sword Temple, and swing an empty slash. You'll be able to enter the other world or return to Huaixu. You have exceptional talent, and with the skills your Past Life Wisdom has given you, as long as you advance to Internal Breath in the other world without drawing their attention, ordinary Demonic Cult disciples won't be a threat to you."

"I don't doubt that I can break through to Internal Breath, but how can I hide it from the Manor Master?"

An Jing replied, "He's already reached Internal Strengthening, and he has the 'Divine Anomaly' of the observation path. I might not be able to keep him from noticing if I break through to Internal Breath."

"You've learned the Qingjing Sword Temple. Stay 'serene' and keep your mind steady, and I can help you hide it, at least from anyone below the Divine Treasury realm."

The Sword Spirit said, "But don't let your guard down. The other world has many resources and dangers I don't understand either. You could make use of it, or be killed by it. Anything is possible."

"The fate of both of us rests in our own hands."

"I understand. I'll seize this opportunity." An Jing's mind was crystal clear. From the moment he stepped toward the fissure, he had known that his fate rested in his own hands—in his own sword.

He crossed through the fissure.

Before An Jing's eyes lay darkness, which gradually gave way to light.

It was a vast underground ruin. A colossal steel dome supported the earth and the sturdy stone walls around it, solid and silent.

It should have been pitch-black deep underground, but broad patches of translucent, glowing vines and grasses provided a faint light, allowing him to make out the place as a whole.

"This place is..."

An Jing looked around the enormous underground ruin. Its structure was quite ancient, and it seemed to be a collapsed Tiange Main Hall, sacred and solemn. Row upon row of fallen metal pillars were covered in exquisitely detailed cloud patterns and phoenix seals. It was an ancient beauty, perfectly blending grandeur and solemnity with delicate refinement.

He took a small step back, trying to see the entire ruin before him. Suddenly, An Jing started. He had stepped on something hard yet brittle. The Mysterious Steps activated at once, making no sound, but he had crushed it completely.

He looked back and widened his eyes. In the faint glow of the luminous vines, he saw a... or rather, a mass of corpses!

Great heaps of bodies in uniform, now reduced to white bones, were scattered all around. An Jing had just accidentally crushed the bones of one of them.

"Wait?!"

But what truly astonished An Jing wasn't the skeletal remains. It was what they held in their hands.

The objects in the corpses' hands... were things An Jing knew very well from his previous life, but had never seen in this life.

—They were guns.

Not long guns or short guns, wooden guns or iron guns...

—They were firearms. Rifles.