Chapter 208: The Heavenly Sword Tomb

Upon hearing this, the Core Formation cultivators looked down toward the fourth Inverse Element Stone Sword they were carrying, and their expressions turned strange.

Beneath this indestructible sword, a line of small characters had appeared:

“The number one sword cultivator of the Tiannan region was here.”

It seemed as if it had been forcibly carved there, the strokes sharp as swords, giving a sense of tension and latent power.

“What’s going on… wasn’t this line here before?”

“Could it be… that those inner sect elders who came to test did it?”

“Impossible. Vice Dao Lord Xiong once said that although this Inverse Element Stone Sword has no offensive power, it is indestructible, comparable to an immortal artifact!”

“Then who did it?”

“All of you remember this: keep this matter buried in your stomachs, pretend you saw nothing. If Vice Dao Lord Xiong finds out, we’ll all be in deep trouble!”

“Of course!”

“Right, right. We absolutely cannot tell.”

“By the way, what do you think Tiannan… what place is that?”

“Probably some obscure little place…”

Amid a cacophony of voices that grew quieter, the group of Core Formation cultivators carried the fourth Inverse Element Stone Sword toward the square, bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun.

…

Xiong Shan, along with Elder Mo Xie and the ten others including Han Li, did not fly far but landed directly at the foot of the back mountain of Heavenly Sword Peak, standing in the void before a golden cliff face.

He shook his sleeves, and four golden sword qi flew out from his robe, spiraling in pairs and vanishing into a certain spot on the cliff face.

At first, the cliff showed no change, as if the golden sword qi had sunk like stones into the sea, but the next moment, the surface of the cliff blazed with golden light. Countless dazzling golden runes leaped out from the cliff surface, intertwining in midair to form a somewhat peculiar pattern, like the diagram of a sword formation.

Where the golden light enveloped, the cliff face gradually turned translucent.

“Hehe, so this is the famous entrance to Brother Xiong’s Heavenly Sword Tomb. Today, I am truly enlightened.” Elder Mo Xie chuckled upon seeing this.

Xiong Shan’s expression was solemn; he did not respond to Elder Mo Xie. His incantations continued, and as he waved his sleeves, streams of golden sword qi flew out and merged into the formation diagram, making it increasingly clear.

“Heavenly Sword Tomb…”

Han Li looked curiously at the formation diagram before him. Through it, he could vaguely see a black tunnel emerging on the cliff face.

However, in the eyes of Qi Liang beside him, including Zhu Feng and the others, a hint of excitement appeared.

“Brother Qi, what’s the matter?” Han Li transmitted his voice upon seeing this.

“Brother Li hasn’t been in the sect long, so it’s normal not to know about the Heavenly Sword Tomb… Vice Dao Lord Xiong Shan is a famous sword fanatic in the sect. It’s said he has collected countless famous swords. This Heavenly Sword Tomb is where he stores his swords, and it’s very famous within the sect. But this place is extremely mysterious; almost no one in the sect has seen it. I never thought he would bring us to the Heavenly Sword Tomb today. It seems he wants to refine his treasure inside.” Qi Liang transmitted back.

“Oh, I see.” Han Li nodded thoughtfully, also feeling a stir of interest.

At this moment, Xiong Shan’s spellcasting had reached its final stage. The golden light on the cliff grew brighter, gradually turning from transparent into a thick golden light curtain, with countless prohibition runes flickering on it.

Several dull thuds sounded!

Seven indentations appeared on the golden light curtain, arranged in a circle.

Xiong Shan’s incantations suddenly stopped. He waved his hand, and seven white lights shot out, revealing seven crescent-shaped golden talisman-like objects.

He pointed with a spell, and the seven golden talismans flew out, embedding perfectly into the indentations on the light curtain.

Buzz!

The golden light curtain spewed out countless runes, gradually thinning. After a full quarter of an hour, the light curtain completely disappeared.

A black tunnel appeared, pitch-black and leading to an unknown place. Even divine sense could not probe inside, clearly indicating some profound isolation prohibition.

“Let’s go!” Xiong Shan walked in first.

Elder Mo Xie stepped in without a word, and Han Li and the others naturally followed closely.

After everyone entered the tunnel, golden light swirled on the cliff face, and the tunnel entrance turned back into the cliff.

The black tunnel was not short; they walked for a full quarter of an hour before reaching the end, where a huge green stone door stood, inscribed with countless runes, looking extremely ancient.

Xiong Shan waved his hand, took a token from his waist, and gently shook it toward the green stone door. A faint green light appeared on the door’s surface, as if it had awakened from a long slumber.

After all the green light twisted, it gradually condensed into a formation diagram even more complex than the one on the cliff outside.

Then, Xiong Shan raised his hand, and with a series of whooshing sounds, nine small green swords shot out, each piercing into nine spots on the stone door.

The formation diagram on the green stone door flashed wildly for a moment, then gradually faded.

Creak!

The huge stone door slowly opened!

At that moment, a dazzling light suddenly shone from within.

The light was too sudden. Everyone outside, including Elder Mo Xie, instinctively closed their eyes. Their bodies were enveloped by the dazzling light, and they vanished from the tunnel.

When Han Li opened his eyes again, he heard a whistling wind in his ears, as if countless powerful sword intents filled this world, rushing toward them with an extremely fierce momentum.

After steadying himself, he glanced around. Everywhere he looked was lush green. Before him lay a vast grassland spanning a thousand miles.

On the grassland, countless dome-shaped green grave mounds rose, and on each mound was inserted a flying sword, numbering over a thousand.

Among these dense grave mounds, ten huge black stone pillars were scattered, each a hundred miles apart. The entire Heavenly Sword Tomb grassland seemed to be divided into ten regions with these pillars as the core.

In these regions, three teams of cultivators were stationed, each team led by a Mahayana cultivator, accompanied by nine other Integration cultivators, totaling three hundred people.

Han Li’s gaze swept across the grassland before him, taking in the layout. His face showed only slight surprise, but inwardly he was deeply shocked.

Among these grave mound flying swords, some were slender like willow leaves, some broad like palace doors, some exuded a chilling aura that froze the surrounding grass into icicles, and some were wreathed in blazing flames, turning the area within a hundred feet into scorched earth…

Each sword swayed slightly, emitting a trembling sound. The astonishing sword qi soared to the heavens, cutting the white clouds above into fragments, preventing them from coalescing.

Some flying swords trembled violently from time to time, emitting harsh scraping sounds, as if trying to pull themselves out of the grave mounds. Whenever this happened, the cultivators stationed nearby would form hand seals and jointly suppress them.

But there were simply too many flying swords on the grassland. Suppressing one only to have another rise, it was a lively scene.

However, these cultivators seemed long accustomed to this, handling it methodically without any panic.

Any one of these unruly flying swords would be a treasure that could make an Integration or even a Mahayana cultivator willing to spend their entire fortune to obtain. Some of higher quality would even make True Immortal cultivators who had cultivated for ten thousand years feel envious.

When these flying swords gathered together and appeared before the world, no matter how calm one’s mind, they could not help but be shocked, for this was not something that could be achieved by sheer wealth alone.

These True Immortal cultivators, without exception, all used flying swords as their natal treasures and were proficient in sword control techniques. So when they saw this sight, the shock in their hearts was even more intense.

Zhu Feng’s expression changed repeatedly. He finally averted his gaze with difficulty and looked up at Xiong Shan with admiration, exclaiming:

“I have long heard that Dao Lord Xiong’s Heavenly Sword Tomb is extraordinary. Now that I have seen it with my own eyes, I realize that past rumors not only did not exaggerate but actually fell short. I’m afraid no one in our entire Candlestick Sect can surpass Dao Lord Xiong. Truly breathtaking, breathtaking…”

His words were somewhat flattering, but everyone present did not find them grating, for they thought the same, just hadn’t said it.

“It’s nothing. I have spent tens of thousands of years searching everywhere and exerting great effort to collect these. It was no easy feat to gather the one thousand and eighty flying swords needed for today’s sword formation.” Xiong Shan waved his hand and said, though a hint of pride flashed in his eyes.

Han Li, however, paid no attention to this. His gaze was fixed on the northwestern direction of the Heavenly Sword Tomb grassland.

Because in that area, on seventy-two round grave mounds, seventy-two green flying swords were inserted. The swords trembled continuously, emitting thin strands of golden electric arcs, as if trying to break free from the mounds.

These seventy-two green flying swords were none other than Han Li’s long-sought natal flying swords, the “Green Bamboo蜂 Cloud Swords”!

At this moment, these swords seemed to sense Han Li’s presence and struggled even more fiercely. The electric arcs around them grew brighter, on the verge of a full eruption.

Seeing this, Han Li’s pupils contracted slightly, and his mind raced.

Of course, he wanted to retrieve his swords immediately, but asking Xiong Shan directly was impossible, and trying to forcibly take them by himself would be suicide.

These thoughts flashed through his mind like lightning. Almost immediately, he suppressed his impulses and directly severed his spiritual connection with the Green Bamboo蜂 Cloud Swords.