Courtyard Check-in: Starting with a Small World of Cultivation

Inside the Sword Tomb Cave, just as the three spirit swords had recognized their masters, a cacophony of footsteps and shouts erupted from the cave entrance. Chen Yu gripped the Demon-Slaying Sword tightly; its blade felt warm to the touch, and its dark edge gleamed with a chilling light in the cave's dim illumination.

"At least five people, all cultivators." Daoist Jingxu closed his eyes to sense them, his expression grave. "The two leaders have extremely strong auras, undoubtedly at the seventh level of Qi Refining. The three behind them... are Zhao Tieshou and his group."

Su Man gripped the Flowing Moon Sword tightly, its silvery blade trembling slightly: "Seventh level of Qi Refining... We've only just received the inheritance, we haven't even digested it yet, can we possibly defeat them?"

"We have to fight, even if we can't win." A cold glint flashed in Chen Yu's eyes. "This cave only has one exit. Either we fight, or we're trapped here and die."

He carefully tucked the newly acquired jade slip of the "Mysterious Daoist Canon" close to his body, and then held several talismans to his left hand—a fireball talisman, a water escape talisman, and a Mind-Enlightenment talisman he had just signed in with. Although the Mind-Enlightenment talisman was originally for comprehension, it could improve reaction speed in a crisis, so it was still useful.

"System, check-in for today." Before the battle, Chen Yu didn't miss any opportunity to improve.

[Ding! Japanese visa successfully obtained]

[Received: Basic Swordsmanship Tips (Small), Excerpt from an Ancient Sword Manual from 1964, Healing Elixir "Rejuvenation Powder" x3, Sword Tassel (Spiritual) x1, Message Crane x2]

Sword techniques flooded his mind. Though not advanced, they included fundamental principles such as grip, power generation, and footwork, perfectly suited for his newly acquired Demon-Slaying Sword. The ancient sword manual contained several ancient sword moves, one of which, "Breaking Army Slash," caught Chen Yu's attention—a desperate move for the weak to defeat the strong. The Rejuvenating Powder could heal both internal and external injuries, and the sword tassel tied to the hilt slightly enhanced the sword's spirituality. The communication paper crane, infused with spiritual energy, could fly a hundred miles to deliver messages.

Chen Yu quickly tied the sword tassel to the hilt of the Demon-Slaying Sword, and then gave a bottle of Rejuvenating Powder to Jingxu and Suman respectively: "Take it immediately if you are injured, saving your life is the most important thing."

The footsteps grew closer, and voices could already be heard.

"...This is it! The tremor just now came from this side!"

"Be careful, there may be traps inside the cave."

"What's there to be afraid of? Uncle Zhang and Uncle Liu are both experts at the seventh level of Qi Refining. What are they afraid of in this abandoned cave?"

Three familiar voices—Zhao Tieshou, a tall, thin man, and a cold, beautiful woman. There were also two heavy footsteps, which must be those two "junior uncles."

Chen Yu and his two companions retreated to the depths of the Sword Tomb Cave, using a thick stalactite pillar for concealment. They activated their Spiritual Eye Technique and peered through the gaps in the pillar to observe the direction of the entrance.

Five figures burst into the hall. Leading them were two elderly men in their fifties; one wore a gray Taoist robe, his face gaunt, and he held a whisk; the other wore black tight-fitting clothes, his face full of fierce features, and he carried a thick-backed broadsword on his back. The two men exuded strong spiritual energy, standing there like two small mountains, radiating an overwhelming sense of oppression.

Behind them were Zhao Tieshou and his two companions, all wounded, clearly having suffered losses while breaking the formation.

"The Mysterious Cave... truly lives up to its reputation." The gray-robed elder surveyed the hall, a greedy glint in his eyes. "The spirit-gathering array in this hall alone is worth the price of admission."

The burly man in black looked at the three forks in the road: "Senior Brother Zhang, which way should we go?"

"The Scripture Pavilion!" The gray-robed elder said without hesitation. "The inheritance of cultivation techniques is fundamental. Junior Nephew Zhao, take some men to check the alchemy room and the sword tomb. Report back immediately if you find anything."

"Yes, Uncle Zhang!" Zhao Tieshou responded, leading the tall, thin man and the woman toward the right-hand Sword Tomb passage.

We bumped right into each other!

Knowing there was no way to avoid it, Chen Yu made a decisive move: "Strike first! Master Jingxu will deal with Zhao Tieshou, Su Man will handle that woman, and the tall, thin one will be mine. Let's finish this quickly, without alerting those two old men!"

The three of them suddenly sprang up from behind the stone pillar!

"Who goes there?!" Zhao Tieshou exclaimed in shock, his throwing knife already out!

But this time, Chen Yu was prepared. With a swing of the Demon-Slaying Sword, the pitch-black sword light, like a black dragon emerging from the abyss, actually severed all three throwing knives! The blood-red runes on the sword lit up, emitting a righteous aura that could suppress evil spirits—Zhao Tieshou's throwing knives were stained with the blood of human lives, which was exactly what the Demon-Slaying Sword could counter!

"A spirit sword?!" Zhao Tieshou exclaimed in surprise.

The tall, thin man's staff swept across! Instead of retreating, Chen Yu advanced, stepping out of the footwork from the ancient sword manual. His figure moved like a fish, passing through the gaps in the staff's shadow, and his Demon-Slaying Sword pierced straight for the opponent's throat!

The tall, thin man hurriedly parried with his staff, but the Demon-Slaying Sword suddenly changed its move, pressing down with its tip and slashing at his wrist—it was the "Cloud Piercing Style" from the ancient sword manual!

"Swoosh!" Blood splattered! A deep, bone-revealing gash was slashed across the tall, thin man's wrist, and the staff flew out of his hand!

On the other side, the Taoist priest Jingxu's Green Bamboo Sword clashed with Zhao Tieshou's. The Green Bamboo Sword appeared delicate, but its swordplay was continuous and full of vitality, perfectly countering Zhao Tieshou's powerful throwing knives. After several exchanges, Zhao Tieshou was forced to retreat step by step.

Su Man was not yet familiar with the Flowing Moon Sword, but its lightness and agility, combined with her already nimble movements, allowed her to barely block the cold and beautiful woman's twin swords. However, the woman's swordsmanship was ruthless, with each move potentially fatal, and Su Man quickly found herself struggling to defend herself.

"Quickly finish this!" Chen Yu knew he couldn't delay; if he alerted the two old men in the hall, they would surely die.

He bit his tongue, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the Demon-Slaying Sword! This was the "Blood Sacrifice Sword Technique" recorded in the Xuanzhen Daozang, which briefly activated the power of the spiritual sword with his own blood essence, at the cost of severely damaging his vital energy afterward, but he couldn't care less about that at the moment.

The Demon-Slaying Sword drank blood, its blade humming, and black light surged forth! Chen Yu felt as if the sword had come alive, communicating with him telepathically. He then unleashed the strongest move from the ancient sword manual—

"Breaking Army Slash!"

With a single sword strike, sword energy crisscrossed the cave! The tall, thin man felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, followed by a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw a deep sword wound that slashed diagonally from his left shoulder to his right abdomen, revealing the bone!

"You..." He stared wide-eyed and slowly collapsed.

Chen Yu turned and lunged at Zhao Tieshou. The Taoist Jingxu understood, and his Green Bamboo Sword suddenly transformed into countless bamboo shadows, trapping Zhao Tieshou for a moment! In that instant, the Demon-Slaying Sword arrived!

Zhao Tieshou roared, unleashing twelve flying knives in quick succession, forming a protective net of blades. But the black light of the Demon-Slaying Sword tore through the net of blades like a hot knife through butter, piercing through Zhao's heart with a single strike!

"Uh..." Zhao Tieshou looked down at the sword in his chest, his eyes filled with disbelief, and then collapsed to the ground.

Sensing danger, the aloof woman feigned an attack and attempted to flee. But Su Man's Flowing Moon Sword suddenly accelerated—she had a sudden inspiration, channeling all her spiritual power into the sword, and the silvery-white sword light, like moonlight, instantly enveloped the woman's entire body!

"Flowing Moon Sword Technique - Moonlight Overwhelms the Heavens!"

This was a sword move that automatically entered her mind when she grasped the Flowing Moon Sword, and she instinctively unleashed it now.

The woman screamed in agony as dozens of fine sword wounds appeared on her body, blood gushing out as she collapsed to the ground.

The battle ended in less than ten breaths, but the commotion had already alerted those outside.

"What's going on?!" roared the burly man in black. "Junior Nephew Zhao?"

The footsteps were rapidly approaching!

"Let's go!" Chen Yu grabbed the staff that the tall, thin man had dropped, and then searched Zhao Tieshou's body and found a storage bag—a low-level storage magic item with only one cubic meter of space, but it was better than nothing.

The three rushed into the depths of the sword mound. Sure enough, there was a hidden exit at the back of the cave, leading to a narrow natural crevice.

As soon as they entered the crevice, the gray-robed old man and the black-clad giant rushed into the Sword Tomb Cave.

"Junior Nephew Zhao!" The burly man in black, his eyes bloodshot with rage, saw Zhao Tieshou's corpse. "Who did this?! Show yourself!"

The gray-robed elder was much calmer. He crouched down to examine the wound: "A sword through the heart... The swordsmanship is fierce, and it's a spirit sword. It seems someone arrived before us and even obtained the Sword Tomb's inheritance."

He looked towards the crack: "Chase them! They can't have gone far!"

Inside the crevice, Chen Yu and his two companions struggled to move forward. At its narrowest point, the crevice was only a foot wide, requiring them to squeeze sideways. The stone walls were slippery and covered in moss, and the ground was dredged into pools of varying depths.

"Where does this road lead?" Su Man asked breathlessly.

"I don't know, but it's better than facing two Qi Refining Level 7 experts." Chen Yu was also breathing heavily—the Blood Sacrifice Sword Technique he had just used had consumed too much energy, and his face was pale, with only 30% of his spiritual power remaining.

Taoist Jingxu took out a compass from his robes and infused it with spiritual energy: "This direction... leads deeper into the mountain. Strange, the concentration of spiritual energy is still increasing."

The further they went, the wider the crevice became. After traveling about a mile, the view suddenly opened up—it was a huge, naturally formed cave!

The cave is about twenty zhang high and thirty zhang wide, with countless stalactites hanging from the ceiling and the ground covered with glowing moss and mushrooms, turning the entire space into a deep blue. Most remarkably, in the center of the cave is a pool of emerald green water, which exudes a rich spiritual energy and even condenses into a light mist.

"A spiritual spring!" exclaimed Daoist Jingxu. "This is the core of the cave's spiritual vein!"

Chen Yu used his spiritual eye technique to see, and indeed, there was a spiritual vein node beneath the pool, with spiritual energy gushing forth like a spring. The concentration of spiritual energy in this pool was at least thirty times that of the outside world! Cultivating here for one day was equivalent to cultivating for a month outside!

But none of the three had the mind to cultivate—the pursuers were closing in from behind, and there was no way to retreat!

"Look there!" Suman pointed to the depths of the cave.

Behind the pool, there is a tightly closed stone door on the rock wall. The stone door is simple and ancient, with intricate array patterns carved on it, and in the center is a groove for the Big Dipper—exactly the same as the one on the stone platform outside.

"This is..." Chen Yu's heart stirred, and he took out the Seven Keys.

The seven keys flew automatically to the stone door and embedded themselves in the grooves. The stone door vibrated and slowly opened!

Behind the door was a small stone chamber, only about three zhang square. The chamber was empty except for a stone table, on which sat a jade slip, a jade bottle, and a palm-sized token.

The jade slip was inscribed with the four characters "Xuanzhen's Last Words." Chen Yu picked it up, infused it with spiritual power, and Xuanzhenzi's voice rang out again:

"Those who come later, reaching this room means you have passed the three trials and are facing a life-or-death crisis. This room is my backup plan. Inside are three items: First, a jade slip of the 'Mysterious Escape Technique,' containing the basics of the 'Five Elements Escape Method,' which, once mastered, allows one to escape using objects of the five elements; second, a bottle of 'Foundation Building Pills,' containing three pills, which can help those who have reached the peak of Qi Refining break through to Foundation Building; third, a 'Cave Mansion Token,' which allows temporary control over some of the cave's restrictions, including... awakening the guardian spirit beasts."

A guardian spirit beast! Chen Yu's spirits lifted.

"However, the token can only be used once and requires life essence to activate. After the spirit beast awakens, it will attack all unauthorized intruders, including the token holder—unless the token holder can prove that they are the 'destined one.' How to prove it? It's simple: survive the spirit beast's attack for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."

The sound ends here.

Chen Yu, Jingxu, and Suman looked at each other in bewilderment.

"This is..." Su Man smiled bitterly, "We're surrounded by pursuers in front and spirit beasts behind. Are we courting death?"

Taoist Jingxu pondered, "Not necessarily. Senior Xuanzhenzi left this room for a profound reason. Perhaps... when the spirit beasts attack, those two old fellows will also be caught up in it. We just need to outlast them."

Chen Yu nodded: "That makes sense. Moreover, we have the 'Mysterious Escape Technique.' If we can grasp even a fraction of it during the battle, we might actually be able to escape alive."

He quickly assigned tasks: he would study the jade slip for escape techniques, Jingxu would study the cave dwelling token, and Suman would be in charge of guarding the entrance to the rift—voices could already be heard from the entrance of the rift, the pursuers had arrived!

Chen Yu pressed the jade slip to his forehead, and a vast amount of information flooded his mind: the Five Elements Escape Technique, consisting of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, allowing one to conceal or move using objects of the five elements. He already knew the basics of "Water Escape," but the jade slip contained the complete version, which allowed one to escape using any body of water, even in the rain.

"Water...pool water..." Chen Yu looked at the spiritual spring pool in the center of the cave.

At that moment, a roar came from the entrance of the crevice: "Found you! Get the hell out here!"

The old man in gray robes and the burly man in black rushed out of the crevice and were taken aback by the sight of the cave. But soon, their gazes were fixed on the three people in the stone chamber behind the pool.

"Hand over the inheritance, and I'll spare your lives!" the gray-robed elder said coldly.

Chen Yu stood up, holding the cave token in his hand—Jingxu had already figured it out; it required three people to drip their blood simultaneously to activate it.

"Want to pass it on? Sure." Chen Yu suddenly smiled, "But we'll have to ask it for its permission first."

He bit his finger and dripped blood onto the token. Jingxu and Suman followed suit.

Three drops of blood merged into the token, causing it to burst forth with dazzling golden light! The entire cavern trembled violently, and the pool water churned and boiled!

A deafening roar came from the depths of the cave, ten times stronger than the last one! Stalactites fell from the cave ceiling, and the ground cracked!

"Not good!" The gray-robed elder's expression changed drastically. "He's awakening the guardian spirit beast!"

But it was too late.

The pool of water burst open, and a colossal figure rose from it! It was... a giant tortoise? No, it was a strange beast with a dragon's head and a tortoise's body! Its shell was three zhang in diameter, covered with mysterious patterns; its dragon head was ferocious, its eyes like lanterns, radiating a terrifying pressure from a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator!

"A dragon turtle?!" Daoist Jingxu exclaimed in disbelief. "The legendary auspicious beast has been guarding this mansion for three hundred years!"

The dragon turtle scanned the cave, its gaze first landing on Chen Yu and his companions, then shifting to the gray-robed elder and the burly man in black. It let out a low growl, its voice filled with anger at being disturbed.

"Split up and run!" The gray-robed old man made a quick decision, and the two fled in opposite directions.

But the dragon turtle opened its mouth and spewed out two jets of water like dragons emerging from their cave, chasing straight after the two! Wherever the water jets passed, the stone walls collapsed, their power terrifying!

The burly man in black swung his sword at the water column, but the thick-backed blade was sent flying by the force of the water! He screamed in agony as the water slammed him against the stone wall, breaking his bones and tendons!

The gray-robed old man waved his whisk, creating layers of light screens that barely blocked the water column, but he was still shaken so badly that he spat out blood.

The dragon turtle turned its head to look at Chen Yu and the other two, its eyes flashing with golden light.

"The time to prove it has come." Chen Yu gripped the Demon-Slaying Sword tightly. "Hold on for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn!"

The dragon turtle growled, and a thinner jet of water shot out—it seemed to know that these three were the awakeners, but a test is a test, and it would show no mercy.

Chen Yu unleashed the Water Escape Technique he had just mastered with all his might! His figure blurred instantly, merging with the water column, and the next moment he appeared on the other side of the pool—the escape technique was a success!

But the exertion was immense, and his face paled even more.

The Taoist priest Jingxu's Green Bamboo Sword transformed into a bamboo forest phantom, gradually weakening the power of the water column. Su Man's Flowing Moon Sword, on the other hand, drew streaks of moonlight, attempting to deflect the direction of the water column.

The time it takes for an incense stick to burn becomes exceptionally long when one is on the verge of life and death.

Inside the cave, water columns crisscrossed, sword energy overflowed, and the screams of the gray-robed old man and the roars of the black-clad giant could be heard from time to time.

Chen Yu and his two companions struggled to withstand the dragon turtle's attacks, teetering on the brink of death with every breath.

But their eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Because life lies in this desperate situation.