"Go!"
Lin Changsheng gave a low shout, and the two figures became afterimages as they darted into the secret chamber.
The secret chamber was roughly twenty-odd zhang square, with rough stone walls and two stone tables, one on either side.
The middle-aged cultivator beside the stone table on the left was Ji Cangming, the former Deputy Hall Master of the Condensed Jade Sect's Technique Transmission Hall whom Duan Tianya had met before.
On the stone stool to the right sat a woman in white.
Her plain white martial attire outlined her slender, graceful figure, but the chill in her eyes and brows was so oppressive that the sight of her inspired fear.
She was Leng Jingfei, the Impermanence Sect's Battle Hall Master. Lin Changsheng had seen her portrait before.
The most unfathomable of all was the mysterious figure on the third stone stool.
This person was wrapped tightly from head to toe in an ink-black cloak, its hood concealing the face so completely that only a patch of shadow was visible.
This cloak had an impressive provenance: it was the Black Cloak Spirit Talisman, one of the Impermanence Sect's Eight Great Spirit Talismans.
This spirit talisman could conceal one's aura and block probing by divine souls, making it a rare treasure.
For a time, the atmosphere in the secret chamber grew heavy.
Everyone studied one another, each harboring their own thoughts, and no one spoke first.
At last, Leng Jingfei broke the stalemate. She looked at Duan Tianya, a trace of appreciation flashing through her eyes:
"Fine swordsmanship. To comprehend sword-light division with only Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivation-you are indeed a rare Sword Path genius."
When Duan Tianya was not killing, his face was gentle and handsome, like a wandering swordsman of the martial world.
Hearing Leng Jingfei's praise,