The passage within Myriad Sword Cave was about thirty feet wide. Both rock walls were embedded with densely packed ancient swords—dagger swords only inches long, heavy swords over ten feet in length. Though their blades were covered in a thousand years of dust, they still glimmered with the faint flowing light of Sword Souls. Whenever Ling Yun and his group passed by, the ancient swords trembled slightly, their Sword Soul auras streaming along the silver-red sword patterns of the Sky-Rending Sword, making the pale golden radiance on its blade ever richer, as though it had merged with the entire Myriad Sword Cave.
"The Sword Souls of these ancient swords have yet to disperse. If Blood Fiend Hall refines them into demonic essence, the inheritance of the sword path in the Spirit Realm will likely be severed." Chu Feng looked at the ancient swords on the walls, his eyes filled with heartache. His Lightning Element Sword Intent unconsciously wrapped around a short sword, trying to protect its Sword Soul.
Ling Yun nodded. A strand of Chaos Sword Intent gathered at his fingertips as he lightly brushed a heavy sword beside him. The instant the Sword Intent touched the blade, the heavy sword let out a clear cry, and its Sword Soul radiance flowed along the Chaos Sword Intent into the Sky-Rending Sword. Sword Elder's voice rang out in his dantian. "These were all the life-bound swords of ancient sword cultivators. Blood Fiend Hall's Sword Soul Furnace is meant to extract these Sword Souls and inject them into the Myriad Soul Banner, doubling the power of that evil artifact. The altar is ahead—hurry! Qingyuan's Wood Spirit Body aura is growing weaker and weaker. The demonic array has likely already drained much of her strength!"
Ling Yun's heart tightened, and he quickened his pace. The Sky-Rending Sword trembled more violently, as if urging him to reach the altar at once. After turning past the final bend, the view suddenly opened up. A circular altar roughly five hundred feet in diameter stood before them. A black stone pillar rose from its center, wrapped in black demonic chains. Su Qingyuan was bound to the pillar, the pale green radiance of her Wood Spirit Body being drawn away by the chains and flowing into six black array eyes around the altar. Red light flickered within them. It was the Soul Devouring Spirit Refining Array, created specifically to extract the origin power of special constitutions.
"Qingyuan!" Ling Yun cried out, about to rush forward when a streak of black Sword Qi blocked his path. From the eastern side of the altar, a black-robed middle-aged cultivator slowly emerged. He held a blood-glowing demonic sword, and the demonic aura around him surpassed even Liu Cang's. His cultivation had actually reached the late Sword King Realm. He was Blood Fiend Hall's Blood Blade, Wei Tu, the man responsible for refining the core of the Myriad Soul Banner.
"Ling Yun? I never expected you to make it this far." Wei Tu sneered. With a light flick of his blood-glowing demonic sword, the array eyes around the altar lit up at once. "What a pity—you're too late! Thirty percent of this girl's Wood Spirit Body origin has already been extracted. In another half hour, it will become the core of the Myriad Soul Banner. Then, when Lord Blood Demon Venerable unifies the Spirit Realm, it will be only a matter of time!"
"If you dare touch a single hair on her head, I'll make sure your soul scatters and your spirit is destroyed!" A flash of ruthlessness crossed Ling Yun's eyes. The silver-red sword patterns on the Sky-Rending Sword surged, and the ancient swords embedded in Myriad Sword Cave's walls trembled together. Their Sword Soul auras rushed toward him like a rising tide. "Myriad Swords Return to Origin!"
At his low shout, hundreds of ancient swords flew out from the rock walls and spun around the Sky-Rending Sword, forming a massive sword wheel. Pale golden Sword Soul radiance intertwined with silver-red Sword Qi across the wheel as it slashed toward Wei Tu. Wei Tu's expression changed. His blood-glowing demonic sword swept out, and black Sword Qi collided with the sword wheel, only to be purified instantly by the Sword Soul radiance. The shockwave forced him back three steps.
"Brother Xiao, Captain Chu, help me hold back the demonic cultivators at the array eyes. I'm going to save Qingyuan!" Ling Yun shouted as he leaped toward the center of the altar. Xiao Zhan and Chu Feng understood immediately. Xiao Zhan's broad-backed saber cleaved out golden lightning, striking straight at the demonic cultivator by the western array eye. Chu Feng's Lightning Element Sword Intent condensed into a sword net, trapping the demonic cultivator at the eastern array eye. Li Yan set up an earth-element defensive array to block sneak attacks from the surrounding demonic cultivators, while Zhang Wei's Water Element Sword Intent turned into flowing light, ready at any moment to heal the group. Their coordination was seamless, instantly throwing Blood Fiend Hall's deployment into disarray.
Ling Yun rushed to the stone pillar and swung the Sky-Rending Sword at the demonic chains. The instant the blade touched them, the chains gave off a sizzling sound of corrosion. Black demonic aura surged along the blade into the Sky-Rending Sword, only to be instantly devoured by the Sword Soul radiance within. With a clang, the demonic chains snapped. Su Qingyuan collapsed weakly into Ling Yun's arms, her face pale, the radiance of her Wood Spirit Body so faint it was nearly invisible.
"Ling Yun... you came..." Su Qingyuan spoke weakly, gathering a thread of pale green light at her fingertips. "They... wanted to extract my Wood Spirit Body... to refine the core of the Myriad Soul Banner... Beneath the altar, there is... a clue to the Heaven and Earth Sword Box..."
"I know. Rest first—I'll help heal your injuries." Ling Yun carried Su Qingyuan to the edge of the altar. Zhang Wei immediately stepped forward, her Water Element Sword Intent merging with the radiance of Su Qingyuan's Wood Spirit Body and nourishing her damaged meridians. Ling Yun turned to Wei Tu, his eyes filled with killing intent. "Wei Tu, today I will cleanse the Spirit Realm's sword cultivators of a demonic cultivator like you!"
Seeing Su Qingyuan rescued, Wei Tu's eyes flashed with madness. He thrust his blood-glowing demonic sword into the altar. "Since I can't refine the core, then all of you can be buried with me! Soul Devouring Spirit Refining Array—Detonate!" He intended to ignite the demonic aura in the array eyes, destroy the entire Myriad Sword Cave, and perish together with Ling Yun's group.
"Not good! Stop him!" Chu Feng shouted, unleashing his Lightning Element Sword Intent with all his strength, only for Wei Tu's black Sword Qi to block him. Just as the demonic aura in the array eyes was about to explode, the Sky-Rending Sword suddenly hummed, its blade pointing toward the ground at the center of the altar. There was a pale golden sword box imprint there—the seal of the Heaven and Earth Sword Box!
"It's the seal of the Heaven and Earth Sword Box!" Sword Elder's voice carried excitement. "Use your Chaos Sword Intent and the Sword Soul Origin of Myriad Sword Cave. Pour them into the imprint, and you can temporarily suppress the demonic aura!"
Ling Yun acted at once, forming hand seals with both hands. His Chaos Sword Intent merged with the Sword Soul radiance around him, transforming into a pale golden pillar of light that poured into the imprint at the altar's center. The moment the pillar touched the imprint, the array eyes around the altar shook violently. The red demonic aura was instantly suppressed by the pale golden light, and Wei Tu's body was bound by the pillar as well, leaving him unable to move.
"Impossible! What power is this?" Wei Tu's eyes were full of disbelief.
"It is the inheritance power of the Ancient Sword Venerable!" Ling Yun shouted. The Sky-Rending Sword, carrying the pillar of light, stabbed straight into Wei Tu's dantian. "Five Elements Demon Devouring Slash—Sword Box Version!" The pale golden pillar intertwined with silver-red Sword Qi and instantly pierced through Wei Tu's dantian. The black demonic aura was completely devoured by the Chaos Sword Intent and Sword Soul radiance. Wei Tu let out a shrill scream before his breath ceased.
With the demonic aura in the array eyes suppressed, the Sword Soul aura of Myriad Sword Cave gradually returned to calm. Ling Yun walked to the center of the altar and looked at the sword box imprint on the ground. It glimmered with faint golden and green radiance—the first two attribute Sword Souls required by the Heaven and Earth Sword Box.
"Sword Elder, is this the seal of the Heaven and Earth Sword Box?" Ling Yun asked.
"That's right!" Sword Elder's voice was filled with satisfaction. "As long as you gather the nine attribute Sword Souls of metal, wood, water, fire, earth, lightning, ice, space, and time, you can open the seal and obtain the Heaven and Earth Sword Box. You can already invoke the metal and wood Sword Souls. Next, you only need to seek out the Sword Soul Origins of the other attributes in the Spirit Realm."
Under Zhang Wei's treatment, Su Qingyuan's complexion gradually regained its color. She walked to Ling Yun's side, holding a green-glowing Soul Awakening Grass in her hand. "This is the Thousand-Year Soul Awakening Grass I found in the Misty Forest. It can nourish Sword Souls. Perhaps it can help you sense Sword Souls of other attributes."
Ling Yun accepted the Soul Awakening Grass, warmth rising in his heart. He looked at the companions beside him—Xiao Zhan carried his saber over his shoulder and grinned, Chu Feng wiped down his lightning sword, Li Yan and Zhang Wei cleared away the lingering demonic aura around the array eyes, and Su Qingyuan's eyes were full of concern. The crisis in Myriad Sword Cave had been temporarily resolved, but Blood Fiend Hall's threat remained. The search for the Heaven and Earth Sword Box had only just begun, and the struggle within the Spirit Realm still stretched far ahead.
"Let's leave Myriad Sword Cave first and return to Golden Sword City to recover." Ling Yun tightened his grip on the Sky-Rending Sword, its Sword Soul radiance weaving together with its silver-red sword patterns. "Blood Fiend Hall will not let this go. We need to raise our strength as soon as possible, gather the Sword Souls, and obtain the Heaven and Earth Sword Box before we can truly oppose Blood Demon Venerable!"
The group turned and left the altar. The ancient swords in Myriad Sword Cave's rock walls rang out once more, as though seeing them off. Beneath the dark crimson sky, a streak of pale golden Sword Soul radiance shot out from Myriad Sword Cave and soared into the heavens. It was the light of hope for the Spirit Realm's righteous path, and the new beginning of Ling Yun's pursuit of the true essence of the sword path and his search for the truth behind his family's destruction.
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