Underground Palace

Inside the Underground Palace, beneath the stairs.

The path seemed endless, winding this way and that. Liu Xiaowen had no idea how long he had been walking.

First, he encountered a sea of fire that tested his cultivation. He had to circulate his qi to withstand it, enduring a quarter of an hour before he emerged. Then came a stone gate that tested his qi and blood. It weighed thousands of pounds and nearly exhausted his strength. Finally, swarms of insect monsters descended on him. He fought until his eyes were bloodshot and his magical power was spent before making it through. He barely managed to pass the remaining trials as well.

Though these trials were difficult, they were still within his ability to handle. Yet the farther he descended, the closer that terrifying, rank odor seemed to draw, as though some enormous creature, vast as a whale or flood dragon, waited below to swallow him whole the moment he appeared.

Now only one trial remained.

At the end of the path, a stone chamber appeared. He entered, but could see none of its four walls, as though it stretched without limit. Dense black mist rose, and something enormous began to move-something like a flood dragon or serpent, yet also like an armored insect. Its huge body scraped across the ground with an ear-piercing screech.

Liu Xiaowen pressed his hand to his sword, ready to strike. Holding his breath, he remained still and recalled the moves of the Congming One-Qi Sword Art. Though young, his experience slaying demons alone in the mountains allowed him to steady his body and mind now, tracking the creature's position.

A gust swept the thick mist aside, and something like a mass of metal came crashing down. Liu Xiaowen rolled away, then twisted at the waist in midair. Earth Baleful Fire flowed onto his sword as he thrust straight at it.

By the fire's light, Liu Xiaowen finally saw the creature in full. Its upper body was a giant scorpion the size of a white elephant, while its lower half was a serpent's body as thick as a water vat. It looked as though the two creatures had been cut apart and stitched together, grotesque and uncanny.

His blade struck its enormous, axe-like pincer. With the aid of Earth Baleful Fire, it pierced roughly a finger's depth into the shell, scorching a ring of lustrous white armor black and releasing a foul stench.

To a creature this huge, the wound was barely more than an itch. Instead, it roused the monster's ferocity. It let out a shrill, whistle-like shriek, and its serpentine body writhed, about to surge right into Liu Xiaowen's face.

I can only keep maneuvering now. I can't meet it head-on.

The monster's aura was fully at the late Fetal Breath stage, its might terrifying. Refined through secret methods, it was far more formidable than any demon Liu Xiaowen had ever seen. He could only keep ducking and weaving beneath it, not daring to confront it directly. For now, he had no choice but to maneuver around it and fight a battle of attrition.

Meanwhile, aboard the ship on the lake.

A long time had passed since the younger members of the various clans entered the Underground Palace, yet there was still no sign of anything happening.

Although Xu Xuan's expression remained composed, he was deeply uneasy. He knew nothing of the conditions inside the Underground Palace, only that the formation would transport someone out before they suffered a fatal injury. Lesser injuries, however, were inevitable.

Xiao Wen, don't push yourself.

Beside him, Liu Qiuqi looked no better. With his own son inside, he was certainly anxious as well. Of all the clans, the people sent by the Zhu Clan appeared the calmest, as though victory was already assured.

Wisps of cloud drifted beneath their feet, rising past Xu Xuan's calves and giving him the distinct illusion that he was no longer in the mortal world.

"Let's wait a little longer. They should all have reached the last few trials."

Zuo Mohe spoke quietly beside him, evidently somewhat confident.

The formation outside the Underground Palace suddenly flickered, and someone was transported out. Cries immediately rose from the Wu Clan's side. Clearly, it was one of their younger members.

"The Wu Clan really does seem to be finished. With Wu Heyong gone, the descendants left behind are good for little."

Lowering his voice, Liu Qiuqi spoke to the two men beside him.

"The Wu Clan neighbors my Hollow Sword Gate, just to our north. During the Demon Calamity, they cowered in the rear, shut their gates, and delivered everyone under their rule straight into the demons' mouths. This is their retribution."

Zuo Mohe spoke neither loudly nor softly, just loud enough for the Wu Clan members nearby to hear. The master of the Hollow Sword Gate evidently held a longstanding grudge against them. Now he showed no mercy with his words and laughed.

"Enough. The people from the immortal sect are watching. This is no time to fight."

Liu Qiuqi stopped Zuo Mohe, afraid the two groups might come to blows over a disagreement.

"With the Wu Clan eliminated, six remain. Excluding the place reserved for the Longevity Monastery's direct disciple, that leaves five competing for three. Who knows which clans will lose?"

Xu Xuan looked toward the Underground Palace, worry in his eyes. A faint flicker of purple lightning passed through his pupils.

The White Jade Ancient Stele bobbed within his qi sea. He seemed to see an enormous, mountain-like cocoon appear on the horizon and split open. Something huge, resembling both insect and beast, emerged. Savage-looking incantation markings appeared around it, falling from the sky straight into the Underground Palace.

The vision startled him, but a moment later, he completely forgot what he had just seen. He only felt that something was wrong, and his heart tightened.

In an inner chamber of the treasure ship, the old Daoist was still calculating something on his fingers.

"Master, has that venomous creature chosen its host yet?"

The blue-robed Daoist still stood below his seat. With no sign of movement from the Underground Palace after so long, he was growing worried.

"Ximing, wait a little longer. Perhaps their struggle has yet to become fierce enough. This Red-Fighting Centipede accords with the impulse to fight and contend savagely, and it comes from Shu. When the time comes to compete for places to be cleansed in the spirit spring, these people from the plains are bound to fight until true fury flares."

"Master, Cunsi also has some blood of the Shu Kingdom. That great shaman specifically instructed him to come as well. Surely it won't settle on him-"

The blue-robed Daoist called Xi Ming seemed to have thought of the worst possible outcome. Worried for his own disciple, his expression darkened.

The old Daoist stopped his calculations and replied, seemingly with some uncertainty:

"Impossible. We first had him enter a secret passage with no fighting or contention, then reserved his place so he would not have to take up arms. We also instructed him to silently recite the Pure Heart Mantra at all times. With his heart as calm as a still lake, he cannot possibly form a connection with it."

"Besides, the Longevity Monastery's allotted fortune still endures, and we have a True Person presiding over us. That should keep the venomous creature from approaching."

"I wonder what Divine Ability that person in the Wilderness of Witches intends to cultivate through this?"

Somewhat reassured, Xi Ming turned to another question.

"I hear it is the [Poison-Viewing Assembly]. Five people must be found, each possessed by a venomous creature and linked through the Divine Ability. They will then enter the Wilderness of Witches together and fight to the death, nurturing a true gu."

"It is, after all, a true attainment of the shamanic way. Its mysteries are beyond our ability to fathom."

Xi Ming sighed with feeling. Though the affair was rather sordid, that person in the Wilderness of Witches had promised benefits the Longevity Monastery could not refuse. Their True Person had therefore helped send four people over. Now only someone with the bloodline of the Shu Kingdom remained to be found.

Venomous creatures were little in evidence in the world now, and gu poisons did not flourish. It remained to be seen whether that person in the Wilderness of Witches could succeed. If [Calamity Poison] returned to its rightful place, all the poisonous insects beneath heaven would have their true lord.

"Master, your disciple has one more question. If that person in the Wilderness of Witches lacks only this Divine Ability to complete the undertaking, why scheme against the Sword Dao passed down from Ancient Shu?"

Xi Ming looked outside, his gaze seeming to pass through the decking toward Xu Xuan and Zuo Mohe.

"This matter has far-reaching implications. I searched the ancient records and learned only that, in antiquity, the great shaman who held the path of [Calamity Poison] formed an insect cocoon when attaining the Dao. It stood within the Shu Kingdom like a towering mountain. A true sword immortal of Shu split that mountain-cocoon with a single stroke. The six desires opened, the seven emotions scattered, and the eight sufferings fell away, helping that great shaman escape the tribulation and attain a Golden Core."

"Now that a successor wishes to attain this path, naturally they must follow their predecessor's example. Thus, they sought out the Sword Dao lineage passed down from Ancient Shu, intending to refine its inheritor into a Witch Sword and reenact the ancient event."

Looking thoughtful, Xi Ming said quietly:

"Those above are still keeping a close watch. Each clan will only allow that person in the Wilderness of Witches to take one person away. Otherwise, if their allotted fortune suffers a loss, there will be trouble."

Outside the chamber, Xu Xuan and Zuo Mohe were still exchanging insights on swordsmanship, thoroughly enjoying their conversation.

Liu Xiaowen's struggle had reached a critical point. Earth Baleful Fire surged over the enchanted sword in his hand as he twisted and leaped, dodging the giant scorpion's pincers. Earlier, a sweep of its serpent tail had sent him flying into a wall, breaking several bones and making him cough up mouthfuls of blood.

His magical power was nearly exhausted, while the monster before him showed no sign of tiring at all.

What should I do?

He calmed his mind and focused on the monster's lower half. Its serpentine body bristled with armored scales, but beneath its belly there were only fine scales, offering less protection. Perhaps he could cut it open there?

He advanced with his sword raised. His heart had never beaten so fast. He could almost see the monster's organs and entrails already.

All that remained was one stroke.

Keeping close to the monster's front, he circled beneath it, risking a direct hit from its pincers. One enormous pincer crashed down and grazed his right leg, instantly robbing it of all sensation.

My chance.

He slashed, using the sword art's most basic move, [Long Breath Moves with the Clouds]. His sword's momentum unfurled, cutting easily into the monster's softer belly before churning within.

Liu Xiaowen had already used the final measure of the [Fire Prayer] token, igniting every last bit of his magical power. Earthly Baleful Fire surged and exploded inside the monster's belly, releasing a scorched stench.

The enormous pincer descended, about to crush him, but gradually slowed until the creature finally lost all signs of life.

An exceedingly subtle aura emerged around him. He only felt his eyes burning slightly red, while something scarlet seemed to crawl past the corner of the wall.

(End of chapter)