Following the secret route gleaned from the soul search, Han Li found the true entrance to Venerable Xuan Gu's Cave Abode in a mountain hollow concealed by a natural illusion formation deep within Poison Dragon Marsh. It was a narrow fissure in the rock, barely wide enough for one person to pass through. Without precise directions, it would have been almost impossible to find.
An exceptionally sophisticated concealment restriction guarded the entrance. Had Han Li not possessed powerful spiritual sense and obtained the control incantation, he would never have detected it. Following the incantation, he sent out several streaks of spiritual light. Ripples spread across the fissure, revealing a flight of stone steps leading downward.
A rush of yin energy struck his face, purer than that outside yet carrying the decaying breath of countless years. Han Li circulated his cultivation art and cautiously stepped inside.
The stone steps wound downward between smooth walls covered in long-faded runes. The passage was utterly silent, with only his own footsteps echoing through the emptiness. After descending roughly a hundred zhang, the space suddenly opened up before him, revealing an immense underground cave abode.
Several luminous pearls embedded in the ceiling cast a faint, eerie glow. At the center stood an ancient jade meditation cushion, upon which sat a complete skeleton in black Daoist robes, its legs crossed! The bones were translucent as jade, with a faint metallic sheen. Their survival through countless years without decaying spoke to the profound cultivation their owner had possessed in life. This had to be the abode's master-Venerable Xuan Gu.
Three objects lay before the skeleton: a pitch-black bone slip, a palm-sized dark-gold bell, and a short blade that was black from end to end, without the slightest luster.
There was nothing else in the cave abode. Its simplicity bordered on desolation.
Han Li did not rashly approach. He carefully swept his spiritual sense through the entire abode, confirming that no hidden restrictions or traps remained before turning his gaze to the three objects. Anything an ancient cultivator had left behind with such solemn care could hardly be ordinary.
He first drew the black bone slip into his hand from a distance. It felt icy cold, its material neither metal nor jade. When he probed it with his spiritual sense, a flood of information poured into his mind.
It began not with a cultivation art, but with the final words Venerable Xuan Gu had left behind:
"I took the title Mysterious Bone. Born in ancient times, I swept across Heavenly South, slaughtering as my heart pleased. Yet the Heavenly Dao is fickle. In the end, I fell beneath the Nascent Soul heavenly tribulation, my soul scattered into nothingness, leaving only these remains. Here they await one bound to me by fate, who will inherit my Dao lineage."
"Throughout my life, I sought neither longevity nor carefree freedom. I believed only in slaughter! By taking lives, I could seize their spiritual essence, plunder their fortune, and prove my Dao! Thus I created the Profound Fiend Asura Art, entering the Dao through killing and feeding war with war! Yet this art violates the harmony of heaven, and its bloodlust is too heavy. Only those of unwavering will and decisive ruthlessness may cultivate it. All others will suffer its backlash, their souls utterly annihilated!"
"Young one of a later age, if you obtain this slip, then fate has bound you to me. The bell is the Soul-Seizing Bell, capable of shaking an enemy's soul. The blade is the Shadow Blade, without shadow or form, made expressly to pierce protective astral energy. To receive my legacy, you must swear a binding heart-demon oath. Should your cultivation one day bear fruit, you must settle a karmic debt for me by slaying the descendants of the traitor Ghost Spirit Child..."
The final words ended abruptly, brimming with bitter unwillingness and sky-swallowing killing intent.
What followed was the complete cultivation formula for the Profound Fiend Asura Art, along with the incantations for wielding the two magical artifacts. The art was incomparably domineering. Its core lay in plundering an enemy's essence, energy, and spirit through slaughter to nourish oneself. It increased cultivation far faster than ordinary arts, but demanded extraordinary strength of character. Moreover, every breakthrough into a major realm required enduring an extremely perilous "fiendish energy backlash." The slightest mistake could send the cultivator into qi deviation.
Proving the Dao through slaughter... the Profound Fiend Asura Art... A brilliant light blazed from Han Li's eyes! This art might as well have been made for him! It achieved the same wondrous end by a different path as the Slaughter System in his mind, and was even more systematic and domineering! If he could combine it with the system, his cultivation speed would reach an unimaginable level!
As for the heart-demon oath and the karmic obligation to slay the traitor's descendants, Han Li paid them little mind. The path of cultivation was already a struggle against heaven to seize one's fate. Becoming entangled in karma could hardly be more ordinary. Power was the true foundation!
Without hesitation, he followed the bone slip's instructions, using his blood essence as a catalyst to swear a binding heart-demon oath before Venerable Xuan Gu's remains. The instant the oath took effect, he seemed to feel an invisible tether settle upon his soul.
Then he picked up the small dark-gold bell-the Soul-Seizing Bell. Following the incantation, he infused it with a trace of dark spiritual power. The bell trembled gently, releasing an almost inaudible chime. Even Han Li felt his spiritual sense waver slightly. If rung against an unsuspecting enemy, it could leave a cultivator of the same rank momentarily dazed! It was an excellent weapon for underhanded attacks!
Finally, his gaze fell upon the black short blade-the Shadow Blade. It was utterly inconspicuous, and he could not even sense any spiritual power fluctuations from it. Yet when he activated it with the prescribed incantation, the blade slowly vanished in his hand, as though merging into the air! Only through his spiritual sense could he vaguely detect an exceedingly faint fluctuation.
Without form or shadow, made to pierce protective defenses... Han Li was overjoyed. With this blade in hand, his assassination methods would be like a tiger given wings! Even the protective spiritual light of a Foundation Establishment cultivator might not fully withstand a sneak attack from it!
After committing the bone slip's contents to memory, Han Li destroyed it. He carefully put away the Soul-Seizing Bell and the Shadow Blade, then bowed deeply before Venerable Xuan Gu's remains. "Senior Mysterious Bone, I will remember the kindness of your legacy. If I gain the ability someday, I will settle your karmic debt."
After bowing, he lingered no longer. His business here was finished, and his gains had far exceeded his expectations. It was time to leave.
Just as he turned to go, he caught sight of a stone slab beneath the jade meditation cushion whose color seemed slightly different from its surroundings. His interest stirred, and he stepped forward to inspect it carefully. Sure enough, he found a hidden compartment. When he opened it, there was no treasure inside, only a jade slip made of ordinary material.
He probed it with his spiritual sense. Inside was only a crude map marking a remote corner of the Heavenly South Continent, with a brief annotation beside it: "Possible... spatial node?"
A spatial node?
Han Li's heart shook violently! As far as he knew, spatial nodes usually connected different realms or secret domains, offering danger and opportunity in equal measure! Had Venerable Xuan Gu left this map because he had discovered a passage to some unknown land?
He committed the map to memory and destroyed the jade slip. This information might prove immensely useful at some point in the future.
After leaving the cave abode, Han Li sealed the entrance once more and erased every trace. His cultivation had now reached the Qi Refining Ninth Layer. With a supreme slaughter-based cultivation art and uncanny magical artifacts in his possession, his strength had undergone a heaven-and-earth transformation.
He looked toward the Seven Mysteries Sect, a piercing chill gleaming in his eyes.
"Mo Juren... it's time to return and settle our accounts once and for all."
With a flicker, he became a faint shadow that all but blended into his surroundings and raced toward the edge of the marsh. His return journey was destined to be anything but peaceful. And anyone who tried to bar his way would become a stepping stone for honing his Dao of slaughter and raising his cultivation!
His journey into Poison Dragon Marsh had not only greatly increased Han Li's cultivation, but also granted him an ancient legacy of the Dao of slaughter perfectly suited to him. It had truly laid the foundation for his life of ruthless decisiveness, a demon descending upon the nine heavens! The waters of the Southern Heaven Cultivation World were about to boil because of him!
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