Huang Rong from The Return of the Condor Heroes: Brother Jing, let's get a divorce.

After squeezing forward another hundred steps or so, the road ahead suddenly opened up.

The passage widened again, and the stone holes on both sides disappeared.

The road is blocked.

A huge circular cave appeared before the three of them.

The cave is surrounded by dark entrances; a rough count reveals at least eight.

"It's over."

Yang Guo stopped in his tracks.

Lu Wushuang loosened her arms, panting heavily, her chest heaving violently.

That stretch of road had terrified her; her legs were still trembling.

After letting go, she realized that her arms were so sore she could barely lift them; she had been carrying him the whole way and her bones were stiff.

She looked down at her clothes, which were all wrinkled and clung to her body, revealing the shapes of everything that should and shouldn't be exposed.

She quickly tugged at her collar, thinking that thankfully the hole was as dark as the bottom of a pot, so no one could see anyone else.

Cheng Ying also released Yang Guo's hand, took half a step back to the side, and straightened the hem of her clothes.

The man's body heat still lingered in her palms.

The heat lingered in her palms and wouldn't dissipate. Unconsciously, she rubbed her hands against the outside of her thighs a couple of times, and the more she rubbed, the more itchy her palms became.

She cursed herself for being dramatic. It was just holding hands for a short distance, was it really that big of a deal?

But when she looked down, she saw that all five of her fingers were covered in red marks, the marks left from when she pinched Yang Guo's hand.

They pinched him so hard, but he didn't utter a single sound from beginning to end.

"Which way?" Yang Guo asked.

Cheng Ying ignored his teasing, took out a compass from her package, and walked to the center of the cave.

The terrain here is extremely complex.

The eight openings are all different in shape, and the wind direction is turbulent and intertwined.

She held the compass, watching the pointer move, and muttered incantations.

This is what she excels at. She started learning it at the age of five and has been practicing it for a full fifteen years.

Whenever she held the compass in her hand, she felt calm and could temporarily suppress all the chaotic thoughts in her mind.

She walked to each hole, dipped her finger in the soil, and smelled it.

Yang Guo stood behind her watching her work.

The woman squatted there, holding a tray in one hand and picking up mud in the other, her head slightly tilted and her ears perked up to listen to the wind. She looked just like the archaeologists he had seen in documentaries in his previous life.

A woman who is focused is somewhat attractive, but not in the same way she is in bed.

A thought popped into his mind: If this girl were in his previous life, she would definitely be a top student at a 985 university. After graduation, she could easily pass the civil service exam and rise all the way to the provincial level.

It took a full half-incense stick's time for Cheng Ying's brows to completely relax.

She put away the compass and pointed to the very inconspicuous, low hole on the far left, which was only half a person's height.

"Go this way."

"This is the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, with the Life Gate located in the Dui position."

"The other seven cave entrances are either stagnant pools of water or the lair of snakes."

"If you take one wrong step, you won't be able to get out."

Looking at her serious expression, Yang Guo's eyes showed a rare hint of solemnity.

If he had wandered around aimlessly on his way in, he would have taken at least three times the amount of unnecessary detours, and might even have gotten stuck in a dead end.

He had seen plenty of beautiful faces in his past life, but women with real talent in certain fields were truly rare.

It looks good, but it's not that it's functional.

If someone possesses both qualities, then they deserve to be looked at more highly.

"The people trained on Peach Blossom Island are indeed very capable."

Yang Guo looked at Cheng Ying and spoke.

His tone was calm, without any mockery or frivolity.

Cheng Ying was stunned.

She turned her head and looked into Yang Guo's eyes.

Since she met this man, all she has heard are all sorts of foul language, threats, intimidation, and lewd harassment.

This was the first time he had ever praised her so earnestly, in such an approachable tone.

Moreover, it was a compliment to her specialty skills.

Cheng Ying's heart skipped a beat for no reason.

She didn't understand why she panicked over a single serious remark from this man.

When he scolded her, manipulated her, and took advantage of her, her heart was filled with hatred and shame, which actually helped her stay calm.

But then he said something sensible, and she didn't know how to respond.

The sense of shame caused by being forcibly bound with the mark was diluted slightly at that moment by a strange sense of belonging.

She turned her head away, avoiding Yang Guo's gaze, and gripped the jade flute tightly again.

"Let's go, don't waste time."

Her voice was no longer as harsh as before, but had gained a warmth that a normal person should have.

Lu Wushuang stood to the side, her eyes darting around.

She had clearly seen her cousin's expression just now. Her ears turned red after being praised, and although she said, "Let's go," her fingers gripping the flute were clenched so tightly they turned white.

She thought to herself that her cousin looked exactly like her when Yang Guo first praised her for being "not stupid" in Zhongnan Mountain.

The three of them lowered their heads and crawled into the low hole on the far left.

The entrance to the cave was low, and Yang Guo, being tall, had to bend over to get through.

Cheng Ying led the way, and as she bent over to crawl through the hole, her soaked long shirt sagged down from her waist, clearly outlining the contours of her waist and hips.

Yang Guo followed behind, his gaze meeting hers at eye level, watching the curved waistline sway in the firelight.

His lips twitched, and he quickly looked away, thinking to himself that this girl was deliberately walking in front of him to mess with him. From this angle, she could have been convicted of disorderly conduct in his past life.

As you walk down this path, the surrounding temperature begins to drop, and the stuffy feeling of the geothermal heat completely disappears.

There were no snakes either.

Not a single snake could be seen.

The air in the passage became dry, and the mud underfoot disappeared, replaced by smooth stone slabs.

"Husband, there are no more snakes."

Lu Wushuang breathed a sigh of relief, her courage growing, and took two quick steps forward, holding the tinderbox.

"Don't run around."

Yang Guo grabbed her collar and pulled her back.

Lu Wushuang was pulled so hard that she stumbled and bumped the back of her head into Yang Guo's chest.

She mumbled "it hurts," but didn't struggle.

My back was pressed against his chest, warm and cozy, much more comfortable than in this cold cave.

She hesitated for a moment before standing up straight, wondering if she should stay a little longer.

Something's strange.

Cheng Ying said from the side.

The stone slabs here are definitely not natural; the edges have very obvious signs of artificial polishing.

How could there be a man-made stone path in the underground snake nest in these deep mountains and forests?

Cheng Ying squatted down and touched the seams of the stone slab.

Her fingers were very nimble; she could tell from the touch that the stone slab was at least seventy or eighty years old.

The chisel marks have been worn very shallow, but the angle and depth are extremely precise, which is not the work of an ordinary stonemason.

Who would go to such lengths to pave a road in this godforsaken place?

Walk another dozen or so feet, and the road comes to an end.

The firelight shone over there.

What blocked their way was not a snake pit filled with golden snakes.

Instead, it was a huge stone gate about two zhang high.

The stone gate is perfectly embedded in the rock strata, and its surface has been polished to an extremely smooth finish without any gaps.

Above the gate are four large characters.

The characters are vigorous and powerful, each stroke exuding a domineering force that can cleave mountains, and their sharpness remains as compelling as ever after the passage of time.

There was no signature.

"Where is this place?"

Lu Wushuang raised the tinderbox high, her eyes wide with excitement. "Husband, there must be treasure inside!"

Yang Guo stared at the stone door, his blood rushing faster.

The Chongyang Sword Intent surged wildly through his meridians, resonating strongly with the lingering artistic conception on the stone gate.

He recognized those four characters.

His fingers were trembling, not from fear, but from craving.

He had only experienced this feeling in his previous life when he saw limited edition sneakers being released, but today's experience was a million times better.

Sword Tomb.

We've really found it.

In his previous life, he read Jin Yong's original works no less than twenty times. Dugu Qiubai's sword tomb was only written in a few hundred words in the book, but what every martial artist dreams of is all behind this door.

Sharp swords, soft swords, heavy swords, wooden swords, and the legendary supreme state of being free from material attachments after the age of forty, where even grass, trees, bamboo, and stones can be used as swords.

He reached out and placed his hand on the cold stone door.

The burning sensation in his palm, aroused by the sword intent, was a hundred times more exciting than when the two women were pressed against him in the narrow passage.

There was a saying on the internet in my past life, what was it again?

Beauty can be deceiving; true strength is what matters.

At this moment, he wholeheartedly agreed with that statement.

Cheng Ying stood behind, watching Yang Guo's hand resting on the stone door.

She noticed that the hand was trembling, not from weakness, but from uncontrollable excitement.

This man has never shown this expression since he entered the cave, even when he was flirting with her.

His entire demeanor changed at that moment; all his previous roguishness vanished, leaving only the yearning of a martial artist facing an unparalleled opportunity.

She couldn't quite describe the feeling in her heart.

"Wushuang, bring the tinder closer."

As the firelight approached the stone door, some dark red marks, dried over many years, were visible along the edges of the door cracks—marks left by the passage of time.

"You all step back."

Yang Guo turned his head and gestured for the two women to step back three steps.

Lu Wushuang obediently retreated, but still tiptoed forward to peek her head out.

After taking three steps back, Cheng Ying took one more step back.

She could sense the aura emanating from that door, which was of the same kind as the Chongyang Sword Intent emanating from Yang Guo, but it was more than ten times stronger.

The sheer pressure made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

Yang Guo stood firm.

He poured his pure Yang internal energy into his arms without reservation.

Instead of pushing, he placed both hands on the center of the stone gate.

The five claw marks on his back burned with pain from the internal force, and the tender flesh under the scabs twitched along with them.

He gritted his teeth to suppress the pain.

"open!"

With a loud shout, a tremendous force slammed down on the stone gate.

The stone gate emitted a dull, harsh grinding sound, and dust fell in rustling sounds.

He forcefully pushed open the two doors, creating a gap about a foot wide.

Yang Guo's arm muscles were taut like iron bars, with veins bulging from his forearms all the way to his shoulders.

Lu Wushuang watched from behind, her mouth slightly agape, her eyes fixed on the bulging muscles on his back, her Adam's apple bobbing.

Cheng Ying glanced at it subconsciously, then quickly shifted her gaze to the stone gate.

An extremely stale air seeped out from the crack in the door, carrying the scent of time.

There was no glitter of gold or silver jewelry there.

There was only endless darkness and a chilling aura that made all martial arts practitioners tremble.

The aura rushed through the crack in the door, causing Lu Wushuang's tinderbox to flicker.

Lu Wushuang shivered, goosebumps rising all over her body.

Cheng Ying's face paled, and her hand holding the jade flute tightened unconsciously.

This oppressive feeling isn't directed at anyone; it's just there, and it makes it hard to breathe.

Yang Guo's eyes were frighteningly bright.

He stared at the foot-wide crack, and a slow grin spread across his face.

He knew that behind the door lay an unparalleled opportunity that could change his martial arts realm.

When he read this passage on his phone screen in his previous life, he thought, "Dugu Qiubai is really awesome."

Now he stands in front of this door, thinking about something else entirely.

The era of Lao Tzu is coming.