Inside the Cave

The cave stretched on and on. Jing Wen walked another several hundred yards, yet still saw no end.

Just then, a low roar suddenly sounded from deep within the cave, followed by the sound of something heavy being dragged.

Jing Wen's heart tightened. Without hesitation, he hurled the Fire-Starting Talisman forward while swiftly retreating, pressing close to the rock wall with his guard up.

The Fire-Starting Talisman traced an arc through the air and landed on an open patch ahead. Firelight flared, illuminating the depths of the cave.

Sixty yards ahead, a demonic beast the size of a calf lay on the ground. Dark azure scales covered its entire body, and two curved horns grew from its head. Its scarlet eyes stared fixedly at Jing Wen, thick saliva dripping from the corners of its mouth.

Beside the beast lay a cultivator's corpse. Its clothing was torn, and a savage claw wound marked its chest. It had long since stopped breathing. The Storage Bag at its waist had also been ripped open, spilling its contents across the ground.

"Azure-Scaled Beast!" Jing Wen recognized the creature at a glance.

Although the Azure-Scaled Beast was only at the qi refining stage peak, its scales were hard and its claws and fangs sharp. Worse still, its saliva had a paralyzing effect. Ordinary late qi refining cultivators were no match for it.

What alarmed him even more was that, although the corpse's cultivation aura had dissipated, the remaining magical artifact fragments clearly indicated a late qi refining cultivator. Even someone at that level had died here.

Seeing that Jing Wen had discovered it, the Azure-Scaled Beast roared again and kicked off the ground, pouncing toward him like an arrow loosed from a bow. A foul wind carrying a paralyzing presence rushed into his face.

Jing Wen was ready. With a tap of his toes, he glided several feet sideways while forming a hand seal. The Nine-Turn Wandering Sword split into two and shot toward the beast's eyes.

The Azure-Scaled Beast reacted swiftly, tilting its head to evade one flying sword, but the other sliced open a wound in its neck. Azure blood spurted out.

Wounded, the Azure-Scaled Beast grew even more frenzied. Its body abruptly curled, turning into an azure blur as it pounced again.

Its speed indeed far surpassed that of ordinary qi refining stage cultivators. Its charge as an azure blur was swift and vicious, but that was all it had to offer.

Qi refining stage demonic beasts had little intelligence to begin with, and this one possessed nothing but instinctive ferocity, with no method to its attacks.

More importantly, the defense the beast prided itself on had become a weakness-his casual flying sword strike had already pierced its scales. Its defenses were considerably weaker than those of ordinary qi refining stage demonic beasts. Its only advantage was its explosive speed.

Once he understood this, Jing Wen felt more confident, and a measure of composure entered his wary stance.

Jing Wen held nothing back. The instant he poured spiritual power into the Dark Tortoise Shell, it swelled to the height of a person. Mysterious dark-gold patterns surfaced across it as it securely enveloped his entire body.

At the same time, he formed a hand seal with his right hand, and the Nine-Turn Wandering Sword transformed into a three-foot-long sword in midair.

Before the Azure-Scaled Beast could reach him, Jing Wen guided it with a sword seal and shouted, "Split!"

The long sword instantly divided into three identical azure-lit flying swords. They hovered before him in a triangular formation, their blades pulsing with keen sword qi.

With a point of his finger, the three flying swords whistled through the air, striking respectively at the Azure-Scaled Beast's head, torso, and the vulnerable points of its limbs.

The Azure-Scaled Beast went berserk. Ignoring the harassment of the other two flying swords, it endured the shallow bloody cuts their blades inflicted and rammed straight into the Dark Tortoise Shell!

Clang! Amid the resounding impact, layers of dark-gold ripples spread across the Dark Tortoise Shell, dispersing all the beast's tremendous force. Its massive body was driven several steps backward, unable to advance another inch.

Jing Wen changed his sword seal again. Like maggots clinging to bone, the three flying swords circled the Azure-Scaled Beast. Their blades extended another three inches and stabbed furiously into the gaps between its scales.

Shhk! Shhk! With several sharp sounds, the Azure-Scaled Beast's hard scales broke in succession, sending azure blood spraying. Agony drove it to roar repeatedly, and its speed dropped by more than half.

Jing Wen was just about to command the flying swords to deliver a killing blow.

Then he suddenly noticed a concealed stone door in the rock wall behind the Azure-Scaled Beast. The door bore the same patterns as the wall, and a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy seeped from those markings.

Although faint, this spiritual energy was extraordinarily pure, far purer than any he had encountered before.

The instant Jing Wen's attention strayed, the Azure-Scaled Beast roared. Its body suddenly expanded, and an azure halo appeared over its scales.

Alarm bells rang in Jing Wen's mind. This was the Azure-Scaled Beast's desperate last resort. Once unleashed, its strength would surge, but afterward, it would fall into a weakened state.

He drew a deep breath and hesitated no longer. With an abrupt change of his sword seal, the three hovering flying swords accelerated, circling the beast at tremendous speed to form an azure sword net. They continually harried the vulnerable points all over its body, forcing it to divide its attention to defend itself.

The Dark Tortoise Shell remained before him as he guided the swords again with his right hand. The three flying swords suddenly merged into a single enormous sword ten feet long. Cloud patterns swelled across its blade as it slashed toward the wound in the beast's neck with staggering might.

Sensing the mortal threat, the Azure-Scaled Beast tried to turn its head and dodge, but the lingering force of the sword net restrained it. It could only watch the enormous sword descend.

With a sharp shhk, the Nine-Turn Wandering Sword's full-force strike pierced precisely into the wound in its neck, sinking several inches deep. The fierce sword qi carried by the blade instantly swept through the meridians inside its body.

"Awooo-!" The Azure-Scaled Beast let out a shrill scream and struggled violently. But with its meridians damaged, its movements grew increasingly sluggish. Finally, it collapsed heavily to the ground, twitched a few times, and stopped breathing.

Jing Wen breathed a sigh of relief and withdrew his sword seal. The Nine-Turn Wandering Sword became a streak of azure light and flew back into his Storage Bag, while the Dark Tortoise Shell shrank and was put away as well. He quickly walked over to the stone door, his gaze settling on its patterns.

He reached out to touch the stone door. The fluctuation of pure spiritual energy grew clearer, and a wisp even flowed through his fingertips into his body, enlivening the spiritual power in his dantian.

There must be something unusual behind this stone door. Perhaps it's some senior cultivator's cave dwelling, or it holds treasures born of heaven and earth.

Jing Wen's interest stirred, but he remained wary. That late qi refining cultivator had clearly come for whatever lay behind this door, only to die at the Azure-Scaled Beast's claws.

He carefully examined the markings on the stone door and discovered that they formed a simple Spirit Gathering Array. Its focal point was a recess in the center of the door.

Jing Wen pondered for a moment, then suddenly recalled a diamond-shaped Azure Jade Stone among the scattered belongings beside the cultivator's corpse. Its shape closely resembled that recess.

He hurried back to the corpse and searched through the scattered items. Sure enough, he found the Azure Jade Stone.

Jing Wen rubbed the smooth, warm jade with his fingertips. The flowing spiritual patterns on the stone door glimmered faintly, as though resonating with it.

He gazed at the stone door that barred the unknown, a ripple stirring in his eyes.

Coincidence? A trap? Or an opportunity?

Countless possibilities flashed through his mind: an Ancient Cultivator's Cave Dwelling, a Lost Legacy, a Sealed Monster, a Trial Illusion Array...

Yet none had any solid evidence to support it.

With too few clues and too many guesses, he would only be more likely to stray down the wrong path.

After a long while, he suddenly chuckled, his eyes clear as though freshly washed.

Forget it. Why think so much? There's only one crucial question-would what lies behind this door be useful to me?

He calmly considered the possibilities one by one:

What if it's a magical artifact?

He already had two top-grade artifacts, the Nine-Turn Wandering Sword and the Dark Tortoise Shell. He could not control any more; they would only become a burden.

What if it's a magical treasure?

Only Golden Core masters could wield such things. With his qi refining cultivation, he could not even summon one, let alone use it.

What if it's a cultivation manual?

He cultivated a secret art of the Black Fiend Cult, and his spiritual root was the rare "Baleful Bead." He could not practice ordinary five-element cultivation arts at all.

What if it's spirit medicine?

With Han Li supplying him with spirit medicine, he already had no shortage of millennium spirit medicine. Even Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Medicine would merely require a little more time.

What if it's a pill?

Even if it truly was a legendary Sixth-Rank Pill, he could neither determine its authenticity nor understand its medicinal properties.

If he rashly swallowed it and it contained a restriction, a poison trigger, or a Heart-Demon Gu, would he not be seeking his own death?

At this thought, Jing Wen's gaze grew even calmer.

There might be treasure behind the door, but for him, it would not necessarily be an opportunity. It might well be a calamity instead.

Moreover,

What if it's a trap?

Ancient cultivators often laid their schemes with precious treasures as bait, luring cultivators into their nets to possess their bodies, refine their souls, or turn them into array focal points...

Their methods were sinister and vicious, impossible to guard against fully.

When risk and reward were so severely out of balance, Jing Wen never gambled with his life.

He put the jade into his Storage Bag, took a step back, and gave the silent stone door one final look. His voice was calm but firm:

"I have no shortage of spirit medicine now, I have ways to preserve my life, and my cultivation is steadily improving... I lack nothing."

"This place can wait until I've formed my Golden Core. It won't be too late to return and explore it then."

With those words, he turned and left. His figure disappeared into the thin mist among the trees, his steps light, without the slightest reluctance.

The wind passed over the stone door, and the vines swayed gently, as though that long-sealed door had never been disturbed.