chapter 14

The sword light condensed from above like the divine punishment of the heavens, striking the surface of the pool and sending waves rippling across it, causing even the Tomb-Guardian Beast's illusory form to stagger back half a step.

As the thick fog dissipated, the figure suspended in the air caught the attention of the surrounding cultivators.

It was a swordsman, wearing a coarse cloth mask, with a sword sheath on his back.

At this moment, his sword remained sheathed, yet several sword seals floated around him. The Tomb-Guardian Beast, having never faced such a threat, let out a fierce roar. In response, the sword seals above changed their formation in an instant, transforming into a rain of sword light that rained down on the fog pool.

"A swordsman?!"

"He hasn't drawn his sword!"

Among the crowd, Su Yi's gaze remained fixed. The ancient seal, the Tomb-Guardian Beast… What was being suppressed here was undoubtedly an invaluable relic left from ancient times. His gaze shifted slightly, locking onto the swordsman above the fog pool. The sword seals that were striking down—who was the one behind them?

In the world of cultivation, there were many types of cultivators, but those who practiced swordsmanship were known as swordsmen. To become a true swordsman, one had to practice swordsmanship, and the highest level of cultivation was the unity of heart and sword.

The cultivator descending from above, not drawing his sword but engaging in a confrontation with the Tomb-Guardian Beast, had already reached the stage where he could control the sword seals with his heart. In the entire Eastern Chu region, only a swordsman at the Transformation Stage (Huashen) could achieve such a level. This cultivator was undoubtedly a great power at the Transformation Stage.

All eyes were on the swordsman, but upon closer inspection, they also noticed another figure—a cultivator in red—who followed closely behind him. After the sword seals descended, the red-robed cultivator dropped a talisman to the ground. It landed like a spell formation, dispelling the surrounding malevolent spirits.

"There's more! There's a talisman cultivator too!"

"Two Transformation Stage cultivators arrived?! How could the news have spread so fast?" One of the Su family cultivators whispered.

Su Yi remained silent, his eyes narrowing. The Su family and the Cangxue Sect were the first to receive news about the anomaly in Nanwu Mountain, but that didn't mean other sects hadn't also gotten word.

The "Four Gates of the Mountain" and the "Eight Great Families"… Which faction did the two newcomers belong to?!

At that moment, in an unnoticed corner, a figure suddenly leaped down from the upstream of the fog river. The corpse-filled waters became more turbulent under the influence of the Yin energy. Within just a few breaths, the figure pierced through the shattered mirror surface of the fog pool, plunging into the deep waters below.

Above, the swordsman struck again, sending a sword beam at the Tomb-Guardian Beast. The sword seals formed by his two fingers didn't stop.

He lowered his gaze, surveying the entire fog pool. The malevolent Yuan Ying stage creatures formed from the mist were being devoured and disappeared one after another by the Tomb-Guardian Beast… But that wasn't what he was looking for. He quickly searched, and suddenly, he spotted a living corpse in the fog pool.

The living corpse had not been devoured by the Tomb-Guardian Beast and stood firm under the influence of the sword seals. A familiar mark appeared on its forehead—exactly like the blood-scorching Yin evil spell from the desolate forest of Nanwu Mountain.

Found it.

The swordsman's sword seal pointed at the living corpse, locking it in place, when the Tomb-Guardian Beast let out a furious roar.

The sword seal was broken by the Yin energy, and the living corpse was swallowed by the pool, disappearing from view. The swordsman quickly dodged the Tomb-Guardian Beast's attack, and as his hand touched the sword hilt, he suddenly remembered something. He released the hilt and didn't draw the sword.

On the shore, the cultivators watched the Tomb-Guardian Beast and the swordsman face off. The white-haired elder's murky gaze scanned the Tomb-Guardian Beast, and under the light of the swordsman's sword, things that were previously concealed by the mist became clearer. Suddenly, his face changed slightly as he saw something. He turned to the two young cultivators nearby, his voice lowered: "Friends, this Tomb-Guardian Beast has an ancient god's seal on it. This is something from ancient times… It's under a prohibition."

The swordsman above heard the words and looked down at the white-haired elder.

Jiang Xingfeng, upon hearing this, exclaimed, "The ancient god's seal… Hiss, I've heard my teacher speak of it. It's not easy to deal with."

The ancient seal, the Tomb-Guardian Beast, the ancient god's seal…

This was enough to show that this creature was far more valuable than a mere burial ground for an ordinary great cultivator. If it were simply a Tomb-Guardian Beast, it was likely just guarding the tomb of the owner here. But with the ancient god's seal on it, this beast was no ordinary Tomb-Guardian Beast. It was an ancient fiend that required both the ancient god's seal and the ancient seal to suppress it.

Forget about the fact that this ancient fiend had only reached the peak of the Transformation Stage in terms of pressure. Its cunning nature would make it difficult to deal with.

The main priority now was to control this fiend and wait for other cultivators from the outside to arrive… If they were careless, Nanwu Mountain could easily become the next "Magic Abyss" of the Extreme North.

The swordsman looked at the increasingly agitated Tomb-Guardian Beast. His sword vibrated subtly, and he calmly said, "If necessary, I'll draw my sword to block it. You should send a message to Tianlu Mountain and the Gu family…"

Before he could finish, he suddenly noticed something. His expression changed, and he quickly shouted, "Get back! Quickly!"

The two quickly retreated. The Tomb-Guardian Beast, feeling the pressure from all sides, roared at the sky. The spiritual boat shook violently, and the white-haired elder could no longer continue observing. He had to focus on controlling the boat and finding a safe landing spot.

"It's gone mad!"

"What is that thing?! The surrounding Yin winds are intensifying!"

"Steady your mind!"

The surroundings of the fog pool were almost in chaos, yet the deep pool itself remained oddly calm, as if under the suppression of the Tomb-Guardian Beast, it was as still as stagnant water.

The stench of rotting corpse water filled the air, but Su Yi was not distracted by these things. He didn't even pay attention to the surging Yin energy around him. The Yin energy that had once again condensed in his barren dantian was drawn by him, and he quickly swam toward the location of the inkstone in his sight. The closer he got, the more he could feel the inkstone hidden at the bottom of the pit gradually stimulating his sea of consciousness.

The Yin energy in the fog pool impatiently climbed toward Su Yi's body, as if it were biting at his exposed wounds. His wounds cracked open again, and his blood was swarmed and drained by the countless strands of Yin energy.

At that moment, Su Yi saw the culprit. It turned out that the shadow of the ferocious beast above the fog pool was merely an illusion. Beneath the water in the pool, there was another, much smaller ferocious beast that resembled the one above. This beast was now coiled on a massive inkstone formed from condensed ink energy. Countless strands of Yin energy poured from its jaws, as though the entire fog pool was its domain.

The Tomb-Guardian Beast at the bottom of the pool noticed something. As it drew closer, it realized that this person was the same human it had seen above the fog pool. It had originally planned to devour this human, feeding on his flesh and blood to replenish itself, but it hadn't expected this human to voluntarily enter its domain.

A meal delivered to its door… The greed in its eyes was clear. The tail that had been wrapped around the distant living corpse immediately loosened and, with a sweeping motion, rolled toward Su Yi.

Su Yi, originally focused on how to get closer, was caught off guard as the Tomb-Guardian Beast attacked first.

He immediately gave up resistance, letting the Tomb-Guardian Beast coil him in and drag him deeper into the pool. The further he went, the denser the Yin energy became, suffocating him. His expanding meridians were on the verge of bursting, and the totem in his dantian spun faster and faster. For a moment, Su Yi felt like his consciousness was about to vanish entirely.

The Yin energy at the bottom of the pool was overwhelming. His body absorbed everything indiscriminately, both black and white, and if this continued, before he could even reach the Tomb-Guardian Beast, his body would collapse under the massive circulation of energy.

Stay calm… Su Yi gritted his teeth, the sharp pain pulling a sliver of clarity back into his mind. He forcefully suppressed the totem's violent movement, and the Yin energy that had been redirected by the Eye Totem immediately stopped. At that moment, he abruptly grabbed the tail wrapped around his waist.

As he grabbed the tail, the Yin energy was strangely absorbed by him.

The Tomb-Guardian Beast, focused on dealing with the cultivators above, was momentarily distracted and almost struck by the sword seals from the swordsman. It lowered its head in fury, only to realize that its power was rapidly draining!?

Most of its physical form was out attacking the cultivators outside, but now, within its domain in the pool, this human was forcefully absorbing the power of its very essence. The Tomb-Guardian Beast struggled desperately to shake off Su Yi, but he clung to the tail, refusing to let go.

Above the fog pool, the white-haired elder leaped into the air, controlling the spiritual boat to hold the Tomb-Guardian Beast's leg down for the two Transformation Stage cultivators. "Friends, the rest is up to you."

Jiang Xingfeng, his mind filled with the ancient god's seal, muttered, "Even with the prohibition on it, this is still an ancient fiend. I heard from my master, it's not easy to deal with." He scratched his head. "Leave it to us. We've never fought an ancient fiend before. How do we kill it?! Gu Qi, what do you think?"

The swordsman narrowed his eyes and suddenly said, "Something's wrong with it."

Jiang Xingfeng blinked. "Isn't it fierce enough?"

"It's slowing down," the swordsman replied, keenly observing the bottom of the pool. The pitch-black depths were barely visible, but from the moment their confrontation began, the beast had been paying more attention to the depths of the pool than to the swordsman, as if wary of something.

Beneath the fog pool, Su Yi felt the hunger inside him start to diminish. The Eye Totem greedily siphoned the Yin energy from the pool's water, and his sea of consciousness grew clearer. The closer he got, the more he could clearly see the Tomb-Guardian Beast's abnormalities.

The Tomb-Guardian Beast's mouth was holding a small, shrunken inkstone. It seemed that the inkstone in its mouth was the true source of the entire beast's power, and the beast itself. After spotting the inkstone in its mouth, Su Yi wasted no time. He climbed up the Tomb-Guardian Beast's tail, using it as leverage to leap onto its back.

At that moment, the Tomb-Guardian Beast, focused on fighting the cultivators above, stiffened. Seeing that its Yin energy techniques were being absorbed by the swordsman, it immediately grew agitated and wanted to expel the intruder from its waters. Just as it extended a claw to press down on the human in front of it, the illusion of the beast above the pool was suddenly attacked from all sides.

Several sword energies pierced through the fog pool's defenses and struck the waters below.

The sword light broke through the Tomb-Guardian Beast's defenses, diving straight into the stone tablet beneath its body, resembling a tomb gate. The moment the stone tablet was struck, the Tomb-Guardian Beast let out a mournful howl.

Su Yi saw the sword light above flicker, and the light plunged into the inkstone beneath the Tomb-Guardian Beast. Cracks appeared on the surface of the inkstone, and the Tomb-Guardian Beast's movements slowed. At that moment, the Eye Totem inside Su Yi's body sensed his actions, and uncontrollably erupted, forcing a burst of the Yin energy it had just absorbed. It pushed Su Yi forward, sending him straight into the path of the Tomb-Guardian Beast.

Su Yi raised his eyes and saw the Tomb-Guardian Beast's fanged mouth, its Yin energy solidifying into sharp, menacing teeth. He couldn't afford to resist the rebellious totem within his body anymore. In the instant the Tomb-Guardian Beast was struck again by the sword light from above, he suddenly reached his hand into the beast's mouth and grabbed the pearl it was holding.

A sharp pain surged through his shoulder as he felt his entire arm was about to be torn off by the Tomb-Guardian Beast. But his grip on the pearl didn't falter. As he struggled with the beast, he forcibly tore the pearl out of its mouth, despite the tremendous resistance.

The Tomb-Guardian Beast let out a silent scream, and the shockwave from the scream caused Su Yi's ears to bleed.

At that moment, the Tomb-Guardian Beast's phantom above the fog pool flickered for a moment. The swordsman standing high above saw this opportunity and seized it. He split his sword technique into seven, each small sword crackling with thunderous energy, and they all shot toward the Tomb-Guardian Beast's phantom, piercing its limbs and joints.

In an instant, the Tomb-Guardian Beast's entire phantom deflated like a punctured balloon, and the surrounding Yin energy began to surge in all directions.

Jiang Xingfeng's pupils contracted slightly, and he quickly formed a defensive seal with both hands, protecting the cultivators behind him. He cast another formation to suppress the violent Yin energy, beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead. "Gu Qi!"

The swordsman's expression shifted slightly, and he raised his sword technique.

In the deep pool, the Tomb-Guardian Beast counterattacked, swallowing Su Yi whole.

At the same time, Su Yi pressed the pearl into his mouth.

The pearl melted the moment it entered, and a surge of massive Yin energy poured into his body. His overwhelming hunger began to subside, and the once pure white Tomb-Guardian Beast, now devoid of the pearl, was struck by the sword technique from above. A strong sense of threat surged through Su Yi's heart, and he looked up to see blinding light—the enormous swords floating above him.

The massive swords were now clearly visible in his field of vision. Their pure and condensed sword energy was so sharp it seemed to pierce his eyes, and the sword tips pierced through the high-altitude Tomb-Guardian Beast's phantom, directly pointing at him.

The Eye Totem in Su Yi's dantian immediately went into overdrive. He gritted his teeth, and in that critical moment, the Yin energy in his body was once again activated. It violently pushed away the Tomb-Guardian Beast's fangs, allowing him to crawl out.

At that moment, the sword techniques from above dropped straight down, and the corpse water in the deep pool began to churn.

The water surged, carrying Su Yi away toward the distance.

Suddenly, the sky split open, and a dragon-like flash of lightning shot down. The sword light pierced through the thick Yin energy above the fog river and deep pool, like a white rainbow stabbing into the depths of the pool, directly striking the gray-blue stone gate emitting ghostly light. With this powerful strike, the stone gate cracked under the sword light, and the Tomb-Guardian Beast's phantom almost disintegrated. The stone gate shattered, and the seal at the top of Nanwu Mountain cracked open, causing several deep fissures to spread, eventually collapsing in an instant.

Around the fog pool, the white-haired elder hurriedly manipulated the spiritual boat to protect the cultivators around him. He gazed at the distance, a thoughtful look in his murky eyes. On the surface, it seemed like two Transformation Stage cultivators had worked together to break the situation, but just moments ago, he had noticed the Tomb-Guardian Beast weakening.

He couldn't help but look toward the bottom of the pool. What else was down there?

The Yin wind dissipated in an instant, and the entire Yin energy that had enveloped Nanwu Mountain seemed to be gradually dispersing.

At the same time, the high-altitude seal collapsed and vanished, transforming into countless specks of starlight.

"An ancient Yin-formation formed by the Yin energy," Jiang Xingfeng muttered, lowering his head to look at the injured cultivators nearby, including the members of the Su family. "Tch, this thing also has Transformation Stage peak cultivation. With just a few Golden Core cultivators from the Su family daring to challenge it… Oh, it seems the Su family's young master is looking at you."

He noticed the swordsman's silence and quickly changed the subject. "What's wrong?"

The swordsman's gaze was fixed on the bottom of the river, and he said in a deep voice, "It's gone."

Jiang Xingfeng paused. "Gone? What do you mean, gone?"

The dense mist above the fog pool slowly dissipated, and the Tomb-Guardian Beast's phantom vanished. There was nothing left in the surrounding pool.

The swordsman spoke again, his voice calm yet carrying a hint of unease. "That fiend… I didn't kill it."

Not only that, but the living corpse with the strange handprint on its forehead was also gone. The entire fog pool seemed empty except for the scattered corpse water.

Jiang Xingfeng's face changed slightly. He quickly moved toward the surface of the pool.

The swordsman lowered his head, and among the scattered rubble, he saw a person lying there.

It looked like a person, but their body was covered in blood, and they appeared to have been washed up by the rising river water. Their body was so filthy that it was hard to recognize their features, but just one glance, and the swordsman was reminded of the bloodstains he had seen earlier in the withered forest.

The swordsman leaned forward, quickly arriving at the pile of rubble. As he reached out to touch the person, his hand was immediately covered in bright crimson blood.

The moment the smell of blood reached his nose, veins on the swordsman's neck tightened. Just as he hesitated, the "dead" person suddenly flipped over, grabbing his wrist while sitting up and lunging forward, knocking the swordsman's mask off in one swift motion.

The blood smeared across the swordsman's face, and the nauseating scent of blood filled the air.

What is this smell—?

The swordsman's vital energy surged uncontrollably, his energy spiraling wildly through his meridians. Even suppressing the Tomb-Guardian Beast in the deep pool hadn't triggered such a loss of control. He quickly grabbed his sword on his back, but before he could stabilize himself, the person who had sprung up kicked him squarely in the face.

In an instant, the person turned and jumped into the pool.

The swordsman leaned forward, preparing to pursue, but his two fingers formed a sword seal. However, the uncontrollable energy within him surged violently, opening his acupoints in a rush.

"Gu Qi, what was that thing just now—?" Jiang Xingfeng darted over but stopped in his tracks when he saw the swordsman wipe the blood from his face, then noticed the sharp fangs protruding from the swordsman's mouth. His face turned pale. "Gu Zizhou, your teeth have grown!"