Wu Tao carefully examined the pond, looking for a long time. Finding nothing amiss, he said calmly, "Open it!"
"Yes, yes, my lord, I'll open it right away."
His life on the line, Zhang Tong dared not delay. He rummaged through his storage bag and produced a faint golden, mysterious formation talisman.
The moment he tossed the talisman into the pond, a rumbling sound suddenly emanated from the center of the water.
Shortly thereafter, a large hole suddenly opened in the center of the lake. Dense spiritual energy poured out, and a deep passage appeared.
...
"Tsk tsk, quite a remarkable feat."
Wu Tao praised inwardly at the sight.
This sealing formation had completely isolated the dense spiritual energy fluctuations within.
Moreover, it hadn't employed any illusionary formations or similar techniques from the outside.
Instead, it had utilized human mechanisms in conjunction with the formation to maximize its concealment.
"Let's go!"
Wu Tao said to Zhang Tong, then led the way inside.
Zhang Tong stood at the edge of the dark, gaping entrance, his expression shifting. He craned his neck and looked back outside several times.
However, in the end, he didn't dare to turn and flee and obediently followed behind Wu Tao into the passage.
Wu Tao seemed oblivious to Zhang Tong's earlier hesitation or his subsequent obedient following, continuing along the passage.
The passage was dark and devoid of light, but that did not impede Wu Tao. A Sun-Illuminating Stone he held lit up, like a miniature sun, casting its light towards the deepest part of the passage.
"What a pity..."
Wu Tao glanced back slightly at Zhang Tong, who was following closely behind him, treading cautiously.
With such an unworthy descendant, the Zhang family, even if there were any survivors, would have no inherent aid in staging a comeback and avenging their clan in the future.
If this ancient sword cultivator's legacy cave mansion were to be preserved, and if a peerless genius were to emerge among future generations, it might not be impossible for them to rebuild their glory from the ruins, reach the peak, and ultimately achieve revenge.
Alas, man's plans are no match for heaven's. How could the ancestors buried beneath the Zhang family's land have foreseen that their descendants would be so timid and useless?
The passage was long and deep. Wu Tao and Zhang Tong walked for a full two to three hours before reaching its end.
Within the ancient sword cultivator's legacy cave mansion lay countless 'Myriad Immortal Swords,' a veritable sea of swords.
An immeasurable number of immortal swords, gathering the power of gold and earth, and absorbing the essence of sword qi from the mountains, converged to form a vast expanse.
Each immortal sword radiated a terrifying sword intent, standing tall between heaven and earth.
At a glance, there were more than ten thousand, a hundred thousand, a million, a myriad of flying swords, far more than that.
...
This sea of swords was magnificent.
As Wu Tao felt a sense of awe, he couldn't help but marvel at the might of ancient great cultivators.
In this sea of swords, the immortal swords themselves were the least remarkable.
However, at the very head of the expanse, something caught the attention of both Wu Tao and Zhang Tong.
This object stood out like a crane among chickens, unique and singular.
...
A broken sword, as vast as a mountain, lay at the center.
The broken sword was a hundred zhang high, piercing straight up. The colossal sword soared into the clouds, positioned above tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of immortal swords, as if it were the king of swords, the ancestor of immortal swords.
Sensing the aura emanating from the broken sword, Wu Tao's expression gradually turned solemn.
At first glance, this mountain-like broken sword appeared ordinary, without the slightest fluctuation of spiritual energy.
A divine sense sweep revealed that the broken sword was forged from common iron, no better than a prized sword held by an ordinary martial artist.
...
However, this was only to deceive mortals. The ancient aura on the broken sword clearly spoke of its extraordinary past.
Fierce and unyielding, invincible, capable of cleaving the sky, irresistible, always victorious, its brilliance shone through eternity.
...
This was not any tangible power, but a remnant of a state of mind, unchanged through tens of thousands of years of vicissitudes.
One could only imagine the power of this colossal sword in its prime.
"This is indeed the relic of an ancient sword cultivator's sacred land. Zhang Tong didn't lie to me!"
Wu Tao nodded inwardly. Having confirmed it with his own eyes, all doubt vanished from his mind.
...
At this very moment, the entire Sea of Myriad Swords suddenly vibrated!
Indeed, the millions of immortal swords in the Sea of Myriad Swords all trembled in unison.
Hummmmm!
An innumerable, metallic clang of swords echoed, creating a terrifying spectacle.
...
Seeing this, Wu Tao's heart sank. A cold smile touched his lips as he glanced at Zhang Tong, who had been keeping his head down behind him.
He made some calculations in his mind, seeming to understand something.
"Hmph!"
With a light grunt, Wu Tao suddenly grabbed Zhang Tong with both hands, then moved swiftly, throwing Zhang Tong, who was standing behind him, into the Sea of Myriad Swords not far away.
With a "thud," Zhang Tong was completely submerged amongst the myriad swords.
...
Wu Tao let out a cold laugh and immediately retreated at extreme speed, back towards the entrance of the passage.
Wu Tao and Zhang Tong moved in opposite directions, instantly creating a vast distance between them.
By the time Zhang Tong's face contorted in despair, Wu Tao had already reached a safe location.
Zhang Tong, filled with terror, turned pale. However, he was now too late to retreat, having hesitated for just a moment too long.
Whoosh, whoosh...
The air in the Sea of Myriad Swords suddenly condensed, followed by waves of sharp sword qi and an incredibly domineering aura that spread out like a vast net, enveloping Zhang Tong.
In an instant, the countless sword qi that had risen from nowhere found its target: Zhang Tong, the intruder.
Silently, countless sharp sword qi shot fiercely towards Zhang Tong.
At this moment, Zhang Tong was utterly terrified, feeling as though he had suffered a lifetime of misfortune.
...
After a moment of hesitation, a look of pain flashed across Zhang Tong's face, but he finally steeled himself.
He fiercely slapped his storage bag at his waist, and a strange, pale yellow jade talisman appeared in his hand.
Without any time for further hesitation, Zhang Tong gripped the jade talisman and applied forceful pressure with his palm.
Instantly, the talisman was crushed into pieces, and a thick, earthy yellow light erupted from within. Zhang Tong did something else, and the rich earthy yellow light began to spread from his hand.
Immediately, Zhang Tong was covered in a faint layer of earthy yellow light, like a suit of armor. Zhang Tong, who had been in a state of extreme panic, calmed down considerably once this earth-yellow light armor appeared on him.
"Earth Attribute Armor Talisman!"
Standing in a safe spot, Wu Tao's eyes widened in surprise upon seeing Zhang Tong produce the pale yellow jade talisman.
He knew what the talisman was. The "Tai Yi Immortal Sect's Record of Myriad Treasures" contained information about this type of talisman.
Attribute Armor Talismans were a form of high-level talisman.
They were created by infusing the spiritual energy of a cultivator with profound cultivation into a jade talisman, then sealing it with forbidden secret techniques. When needed, it would be crushed, and the spiritual energy within would be transformed by the restrictions into an armor that covered the user, protecting them.
However, Attribute Armor Talismans varied in grade and attribute. The weakest ones only contained the true essence of a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, forming white armor with the lowest protective effect, capable of only resisting the attacks of a peak Qi Condensation stage cultivator for a few breaths.
Such high-level talismans were treasures that were difficult to acquire even for outer disciples of the Tai Yi Immortal Sect, one of the overlords of the vast Qingzhou.
Among the tens of thousands of outer disciples, very few had even seen an Attribute Armor Talisman.
The Attribute Armor Talisman Zhang Tong produced was pale yellow, one grade higher than the white ones.
It contained the spiritual energy of a Core Formation stage cultivator with earth attributes. Even a cultivator at the peak of Foundation Establishment would take more than ten breaths to break through the earth-yellow light armor.
...
However, under the relentless assault of the continuously shooting sword qi, Zhang Tong felt like a lone boat tossed about in a great storm, on the verge of capsizing at any moment.
In reality, this was precisely the case. The earth-yellow armor only lasted for a few breaths before it shattered and disappeared.
"No..."
With a "boom" of explosion.
A moment later, the loud noise subsided, and peace was restored.
Only a pool of blood and a mass of indistinct human flesh now marked the ground.
Wu Tao's figure slowly reappeared nearby. He didn't even glance at the mangled remains of Zhang Tong, but instead, his gaze lingered thoughtfully around the Sea of Myriad Swords.