Wandering Swordsman |

Duan Qianya immediately swam to the stone gate, and by the moonlight, he saw the stone gate clearly. He was shocked and his eyes shone brightly.

He approached the stone gate, his fingertips lightly tracing the character "武" (Wu, meaning martial arts). An ancient and powerful aura surged from his fingertips straight into his mind, as if countless martial arts principles were exploding within his consciousness! He abruptly closed his eyes, his heart churning: "That's right... this is definitely the 'Tomb of the Martial God'!... I've finally found it!"

He suppressed his excitement and slowly swam around the giant structure, his gaze sweeping over every inch of the stone wall and every crack like that of a hawk.

The water flowed silently, but his heart pounded like a drum. After confirming that there were no other entrances or mechanisms, he slowly swam to the stone gate, placed his hands on the cold stone surface, and quickly mobilized his internal energy. His true energy surged like a river, pouring into his palms.

"open!"

With a low shout from within, like a dragon's roar calming the water, the runes on the stone gate suddenly lit up, their blue light surging, as if a sleeping behemoth had opened its eyes.

The moment the stone gate opened, it was as if the world calmed down.

Although the deafening roar was underwater, it sounded like an ancient thunder beast howling in the abyss, piercing through layers of water and striking eardrums, making everyone's heads buzz and their hearts almost skip a beat.

The water surged, and mud and sand rose, spreading slowly like smoke and mist. The heavy stone gate receded inch by inch, as if awakening from a thousand-year slumber and opening a crack leading to the underworld.

A deep, dark passage extends from behind the door in a downward slope, straight and narrow, like the throat of a giant beast, swallowing the light and leading to an unknown abyss.

Duan Qianya's eyes were like torches. He leaped into the water and swam in first. The water left a silver trail behind him, and his soaked robe clung to his back, outlining his sturdy and imposing figure.

Behind them, the elders and disciples followed closely in, their movements as nimble as fish, yet all held their breath and focused intently, their palms pressed tightly against the hilts of their swords, wary of every undercurrent and shadow.

The passageway was low, allowing only two people to walk side by side. The stone walls on both sides were smooth as a mirror and icy to the touch, as if they were not carved by human hands, but rather formed naturally from the earth's veins.

The walls are covered with runes, like vines entwining or star charts flowing. Each line is inlaid with tiny fragments of fluorite, which shimmer and pulsate with blue light, as if they were breathing.

The light was unlike any human lamplight; it was more like the whispers of a sleeping soul, flickering with the pulse of the water, as if the entire passage was slowly "pulsating."

The water flow slows down here, as if caught in an invisible spider web, requiring twice the usual effort to move forward.

Everyone felt the water pressure gradually increase, their limbs become heavy, as if an invisible force was pulling them from the shadows, trying to keep them out.

Duan Qianya frowned slightly, his internal energy quietly circulating to protect his heart meridian. His gaze was sharp as a knife, sweeping over every inch of the stone wall, not daring to slacken in the slightest.

"Be careful." He uttered two words with a slight movement of his lips, his voice distorted in the water, yet clearly reaching the ears of every disciple. The group nodded, their eyes meeting, all revealing the solemnity and awe in each other's eyes.

After swimming for an unknown amount of time, a faint light suddenly appeared ahead. At first, it was like fireflies, then like moonlight, and finally—the view opened up before us!

A vast, suffocatingly large secret chamber suddenly appeared before our eyes!

Even more shocking is that there is air in this secret room!

Duan Qianya was the first to break through the water. The moment his head broke the surface, the crisp air rushed into his lungs like a sweet spring, and the long-lost feeling of breathing made him almost tremble.

He took a deep breath, as if reborn, and then leaped, his wet clothes clinging to his body and water dripping from his hair, landing steadily on the stone platform. Water droplets slid down his resolute chin, hitting the stone surface with a crisp "plop."

He didn't bother wiping himself; his eyes were completely captivated by the scene before him, and his pupils contracted violently in the light.

The chamber's domed ceiling soared into the darkness, seemingly connected to the earth's core. Countless luminescent stones, as dense as a galaxy, were embedded in its walls, silently suspended between the stones, emitting a soft yet bright bluish-white glow. The light was not dazzling, but enough to illuminate every corner, making the entire chamber as bright as day, yet possessing a tranquility and sanctity that seemed otherworldly. The shifting light made time seem to stand still, a thousand years passing in an instant.

The stone wall is covered with intricate bas-reliefs, the craftsmanship exquisite, the lines sharp and swift. Each scene is incredibly lifelike: a lone figure stands atop a mountain peak, wielding a long sword, battling a gigantic white tiger, the sword's light like a rainbow, tearing through the sky; another depicts him swinging his sword, the river's flow halted, the waves frozen, and the heavens and earth changing color. Each one seems to freeze a moment of ultimate martial arts mastery, the figures' expressions lifelike, the resolute and proud gazes in them sending a shiver down Duan Qianya's spine, as if he were looking directly at the figures on the stone wall.

He walked slowly forward, his feet treading on a layer of fine luminous stone chips, each step landing on "stars". Suddenly, he bent down and picked up a scattered luminous stone chip from a crevice. It was no bigger than a thumb, but it shimmered with light, was as smooth as jade, and seemed to contain a swirling galaxy, faintly emanating spiritual energy.

Duan Qianya stared at his palm, his heart trembling: This stone is of excellent quality, flawless, and has an inner radiance... If it were to appear in the martial world, it would surely attract merchants from all over the world to fight over it, and even one of them would be priceless!

Suddenly, the voice of Elder Zhao Zihan from the outer sect broke the silence of the secret chamber. He called out with a mixture of urgency and surprise, "Sect Leader, there are six small stone doors around here!"

Duan Qianya then snapped out of his daze. Just now, his attention had been completely drawn to the exquisite stone carvings and the dazzling luminous stones, as if he were in an ancient martial arts hall, so immersed in it that he couldn't extricate himself.

Only after hearing Elder Zhao's reminder did he realize that he had overlooked such an important detail.

The six small stone doors stood quietly all around, as if they had been waiting for them to discover them, but he ignored them.

Duan Qianya frowned slightly, inwardly blaming himself for his negligence. He slowly shifted his gaze from the luminous stone in his hand and began to carefully examine the six stone doors.

Each stone door is meticulously crafted from a single piece of bluestone, making it incredibly hard and with a mirror-like surface. Even after years of erosion, it shows no signs of wear.

The carvings on the stone gates are lifelike, with each of the six gates depicting a different type of weapon: sword, knife, spear, club, hammer, and whip.

These patterns seem to contain some profound meaning, as if each door hides a secret that no one knows.

"It seems these stone gates are no ordinary objects," Duan Qianya said in a deep voice, a hint of solemnity flashing in his eyes.

So Duan Qianya, along with six elders and more than twenty elite disciples, arrived at the stone gates. They gathered around the first stone gate, which was engraved with a long sword pattern. The sword was shaped like a dragon, with a winding and twisting blade and an extremely sharp tip, as if it might burst out of the air at any moment.