Chapter 2017: The Undying Sword Intent
Lin Feng and the others also heard that miserable scream, and a chill immediately rose in their hearts. This ruin was somewhat eerie; the entire space of the ruins felt cold.
"It seems someone has encountered danger. This ruin is even more terrifying than I imagined—there wasn't even the sound of a fight," Drifting Snow Princess murmured to herself. The ancient land exuded an aura that made one deeply uncomfortable.
Despite their vigilance, they continued forward. This space was far vaster than they had imagined, likely much larger than the castle that covered the ruins.
"It looks like there's someone ahead," Sword Blind spoke up first again. His eyes were blind, but his senses were sharper than the others'.
"Are you sure that's a person?" Lin Feng asked Sword Blind. He had only seen a wisp of green smoke flash by, so fast that his eyes couldn't keep up.
"I sensed blood energy. It should be correct," Sword Blind said calmly. Lin Feng and the others extended their divine sense, but they couldn't find any trace.
"The legacy left by the Saint King ancestors of the ancient times—finding even a trace of it is as hard as reaching the heavens," Drifting Snow Princess said with some emotion. Generation after generation entered this place, once every hundred years, never stopping. What they sought was merely that glimmer of hope to find their ancestors' legacy. Ever since the ancient war of the saints and the dissolution of the Qi Tian Holy Dynasty, none of the imperial dynasties of Qi Tian Holy Capital had produced a Saint-level expert. Even the essence of the ancient saints' teachings had vanished with their ancestors. As time passed, the loss grew more severe. By now, countless years later, even the dynasties that hadn't collapsed had lost the heaven-defying divine abilities and techniques their ancestors cultivated. Perhaps only a faint shadow remained.
Beyond that, they also couldn't find the method to become a saint. This might be why none of the imperial dynasties of Qi Tian Holy Capital had produced a Saint King-level expert in all this time. They couldn't take that final step beyond the Saint Emperor peak. Even if someone had managed to step out, they still couldn't reach the Saint King realm—they were only half-finished products.
However, even half-saints were extremely rare. A half-saint had already broken through the limits of restraint, with one foot stepping into the legendary peerless Saint King realm. As long as they took that final step, they could become king of Qingxiao Land, unrivaled and supreme.
"Whoosh!" Suddenly, a fierce demonic wind rose from behind. Lin Feng and the others spun around instantly and saw a massive black eagle extending terrifying claws toward them. The giant eagle spewed black air currents, emitting a stench of corpses.
Drifting Snow Princess directly struck out with a palm force, washing away the foul wind with a surge of water. Sword Blind shot out like a beam of light, his sword descending from the sky and slashing down.
A sharp screech suddenly rang out. The giant eagle actually used its flesh claws to clash directly with Sword Blind's sword. A terrifying dark light, like dark metal, collided with the sword light, causing the giant eagle to let out a miserable cry. It circled back into the air, then suddenly charged in the direction Lin Feng and the others were heading.
There, an old man's figure appeared, seemingly from nowhere. The old man reached out his hand, and the giant eagle actually descended, landing quietly on his palm.
"Hmm?" Lin Feng and the others' pupils contracted slightly. This old man had powerful blood energy, very much like a human, but his strength gave an unfathomable feeling. He had likely stepped into the Emperor realm. Wasn't this sealed world supposed to forbid Emperor-level humans from existing? Moreover, such a figure had appeared inside these ruins.
Clearly, this person wasn't someone from the imperial dynasties who had entered the ruins, but someone who had been here all along.
"Senior, are you human or a living being?" Lin Feng asked the old man.
But the old man only showed them an eerie, sinister smile. Then his figure flickered and vanished without a trace, as if he had never appeared. Only a few afterimages remained imprinted in their eyes.
"Human or living being?" Their eyes flickered. Not far from Lin Feng and the others, a group of figures approached. It was Yan Prince and his group. They too stared at the spot where the figure had disappeared, their expressions grave. If there were Emperor-level human cultivators inside this secret realm, it would definitely not be a good thing.
"Have you found anything?" Yan Prince asked Lin Feng and the others.
"Have you, royal brother?" Drifting Snow Princess asked in return.
Yan Prince stared at Drifting Snow Princess for a moment, then stepped forward without responding.
Lin Feng and the others also moved forward. At this moment, dangers were everywhere in the ruins. Some lone experts had encountered various degrees of attack. Only those gathered in groups had avoided danger, as the battle power of these assembled forces was formidable, and the living beings didn't dare act rashly.
"Someone's there." Lin Feng and the others suddenly looked in a certain direction. There, Lin Feng saw a group of figures, one of whom he was very familiar with—Ji Shang.
"My Tianci Dynasty invited him, but I didn't expect Ji Shang to join people from another dynasty," Drifting Snow Princess also saw Ji Shang's figure and said to Lin Feng, "Those are from the He family of Tianyuan Ancient Capital. Several members of the He family are disciples of the Fate Temple. Although the younger generation of the He family doesn't have the great fate divine abilities of their ancestors, they still have considerable skills. They might discover something."
"The He family." Lin Feng's expression darkened. Back in Holy City Central Continent, he had naturally heard of the He family. He also knew that the Ying family had invited He Xiao of Tianyuan Ancient Capital to use the Eye of Fate, which was how they learned that he and Old Man Xiao had killed Ji Qingsong. He hadn't expected to encounter He Xiao's descendants today.
"They were invited by the Qin Dynasty. Besides Ji Shang, there are also geniuses from your Holy City Central Continent. Have you seen them?" Drifting Snow Princess asked Lin Feng.
"I know Yin Gutian," Lin Feng said. Yin Gutian's arm had recovered, likely because the Yin clan had spent considerable resources to help him regenerate his severed limb.
"And there's Ying Mo, a member of the Ying family, one of Ying Cheng's younger brothers. You might not be familiar with him, as he doesn't cultivate in Holy City Central Continent but in Qi Tian Holy Capital. This person has a great reputation in Qi Tian Holy Capital and is very formidable," Drifting Snow Princess said. The people over there also saw them. A cold light shot toward Lin Feng—it was Ji Shang. His eyes were extremely sharp, as if trying to shake Lin Feng's soul.
Lin Feng's expression was indifferent, without any fluctuation. Drifting Snow Princess said, "Let's follow them. We might find something."
It wasn't just Drifting Snow Princess who thought this way. Yan Prince had the same idea and followed behind the Qin Dynasty group. With the He family members present, the chances of finding something left by the ancients were greater.
At this point, they didn't even know where they were in the ruins. It all seemed aimless. After some time, they arrived before a mountain peak. The He family member stared at the mountain and said, "Level this mountain."
As soon as he spoke, several people struck simultaneously. In an instant, massive palm prints materialized like heavenly palms, slashing down from the void. With a rumbling explosion, the mountain shattered and crumbled under the palms, shaking the earth.
Beneath the collapsed mountain, a slope appeared.
"There's a cave entrance." The crowd's eyes focused. A figure stepped forward and charged toward it. But at that moment, a sharp screech rang out. A giant eagle directly grabbed his body and pulled him down inside. Then blood splattered, accompanied by miserable screams. Not even bones remained.
"Is he inside?" Lin Feng and the others stiffened. Then a hand appeared from the cave. The old man's figure slowly floated up, still wearing that eerie, chilling faint smile. The giant eagle rested quietly on his shoulder, its claws and beak still stained with blood.
"That giant eagle's speed and power are terrifying." The crowd's hearts tightened.
"The clothes he's wearing." At that moment, someone noticed the clothes draped over the mysterious old man. They seemed tattered and inconspicuous, but upon closer inspection, they were covered in mysterious characters and mural patterns, exuding an ancient, weathered aura.
"Are those relics from the ancients?"
"Senior, may I ask who you are?" Someone asked the old man. But he only smiled, his body slowly drifting backward, soon disappearing.
"What kind of existence is this?"
"He looks like a human cultivator, with strong blood energy, but it doesn't feel like he has a human aura. He's like a ghost."
"There seems to be something in that cave," the He family member said at that moment.
"I sense it too. It seems to be sword energy, very powerful sword energy." Someone stepped forward and looked into the cave. Their expressions froze instantly. Inside, there was a web of sword light woven into sword intent that had existed for who knows how long without dissipating. Beneath this sword curtain lay a human skull.
"A giant cave, a mysterious old man, undying sword intent, a skull." The crowd murmured. At that moment, someone directly struck out with a palm force. A rumbling sound echoed as the cave exploded, seemingly expanding wildly. But the sword curtain still hung there, as if it would never disperse.
"Whose sword intent is this? Sword intent preserved from ancient times, undissipated even now. Could it be from an ancient saint?"
Even attacks couldn't disperse it. If this sword energy were used to kill, how terrifying would it be?
PS: It's been a long time since I asked for flowers. It's a miserable sight, brothers!