Golden Soul Cleansing, the Famed Blade Shadowless

Yan Tieyi rubbed his hands in anticipation.

Even at his age, he had rarely had the chance to enjoy a First-Rate Sect's secret grounds. He looked excited.

"Can I withstand the pressure at the very back?"

Lu Chenyue glanced at him and smiled without answering.

The three of them headed inside.

The deeper they went, the heavier the pressure grew. Yan Tieyi slowed, his shoulders and back tensing as his breathing grew rougher.

Yang Xiao walked between them and felt little strain. Lu Chenyue led the way with an easy bearing, plainly long accustomed to the pressure. Invisible Sword Qi stirred the hem of his robe.

The secret grounds had been carved downward alongside the Sword Pool. Broken swords were embedded in the stone walls on every side. Some had only half a blade left; others had lost even their hilts. Rust had swallowed their blades, obscuring their original colors.

Yang Xiao glanced around and reckoned there were no fewer than several hundred.

"They all failed during tempering," Lu Chenyue said with a smile.

"So many weapons enter the pool that some are bound to break. We embed the pieces in the walls as markers. They've become a sight unique to the Sword Pool's secret grounds."

Before long, they saw several meditation cushions at the far end of the chamber. A low stone railing separated them from the Sword Pool's core, which they faced directly.

A glimmer of golden light shone through from the pool and fell across the floor like a thin sheet of gold leaf.

Lu Chenyue pointed to the two rows within. "The ordinary cushions are enough to cleanse the mind. Those two or three at the very front face the core and have always been reserved for the mountain's most important disciples."

In the past, one