Firmament Sword

Xu Luo was taken aback for a moment. ”Then what about our Xu Family’s title of Grand General of National Guardian?”

”Isn’t there still you?” Xu Su said with a smile. ”You’re already the Seven-Colored Mighty General, so being promoted to Grand General of National Guardian would be perfectly reasonable. Given your relationship with Qiqi, His Majesty probably won’t be too suspicious of you. This is the real reason why he rewards you heavily when you accomplish something, but always downplays Father’s achievements.”

”Are you kidding me? I don’t want it!” Xu Luo said, rolling his eyes. ”Do you have any idea? I don’t even care about the fiefdom His Majesty granted me. If I could, I’d give it all back to him...”

”I can tell,” Xu Su sighed softly. ”We two brothers are both wise enough. If it were some other young men clinging to power, they would probably fight tooth and nail for the title of Grand General of National Guardian. But if that were the case, His Majesty wouldn’t have anything to worry about.”

”Exactly. What can brothers fighting amongst themselves possibly accomplish?” Xu Luo said with a laugh.

Xu Su continued, ”The most likely scenario is that they’ll groom one of our children to take over the rank of Grand General of National Guardian. That way, the Xu Family’s influence remains, but the new Grand General of National Guardian would be too young and easier to control...”

Xu Luo’s mouth twitched. He understood Xu Su’s meaning and asked, ”Don’t tell me our Xu Family ancestors... all went through this?”

Xu Su laughed. ”What do you think? Otherwise, go back and look through the family records. Every few generations, you’ll find an ancestor who was known only for wining and dining, but was actually exceptionally talented... Do you really think they wanted to be like that?”

”So it’s because they feared their achievements would outshine the emperor...” Xu Luo murmured. ’I’d rather stay far away from Cangqiong than live that kind of life!’

Xu Su gave Xu Luo a deep look and said, ”Perhaps you’ll be the one who is different!”

As the two brothers talked, they reached the end of the passage. Their path was once again blocked by a pair of tall stone doors.

Xu Su glanced at the insignia on the door, raised his palm, and was about to press it when Xu Luo grabbed his arm, frowning slightly. ”Something’s not right,” he whispered.

”What’s not right?” Xu Su asked.

Xu Luo said, ”Getting in... seemed a little too easy.”

”Too easy?” Xu Su gasped, looking at his younger brother as if wondering if he’d lost his mind. He chuckled and said, ”You’re overthinking it, aren’t you? This journey... has been anything but easy. Think about it—all those traps and secret passages. If it weren’t for your magical eyes, how could we have passed through so smoothly? Anyone else would have died countless times over by now.”

Xu Luo’s brow remained furrowed. ”It still doesn’t feel right,” he muttered. ”Those traps were indeed powerful, and an ordinary person would have a hard time getting past them. But... what if a Martial Artist even stronger than a Sword Venerable came here? What would happen to them against those traps?”

”Stronger than a Sword Venerable?” Xu Su’s mouth twitched slightly. ”I can’t even imagine that.”

”I can,” Xu Luo said. ”Though the traps are powerful and ingenious, against a truly supreme expert, they would only be a minor nuisance. It would be difficult for them to actually trap or kill someone...”

”So what? Are you suggesting this isn’t an ancient tribe’s settlement, but a meticulously designed trap?” Xu Su asked.

Xu Luo replied, ”That’s not what I mean. I’m thinking, if we can spot these potential problems, wouldn’t the expert who designed all these intricate traps have thought of them too?”

”Then... what should we do?” Xu Su asked.

Xu Luo narrowed his eyes, carefully examining the two tall stone doors before them. The patterns on them were desolate and ancient, covered in a thick layer of dust, as if they had been sealed away by the unfathomable depths of history.

”I get it!” Xu Luo suddenly shouted, making Xu Su jump.

”What do you get? Don’t make such a fuss,” Xu Su chided.

Xu Luo’s eyes lit up as he looked at Xu Su. ”Have you noticed? Everywhere else we’ve been on this path has been clean, without a speck of dust. But here...”

As he spoke, Xu Luo pointed at the two huge stone doors. ”These are covered in dust! Don’t you find that a bit strange?”

”You’re right...” Xu Su had also noticed the problem by now. ”Why is there suddenly so much dust in this specific spot?”

Xu Luo thought for a moment, then raised his hand and sent a gust of palm wind toward the stone doors. He didn’t use much force, but a strong gale seemed to sweep through the passage, making Xu Su’s scalp tingle.

He could hardly imagine what realm his younger brother had reached.

As the dust was blown off the stone doors, the scene that revealed itself left both brothers stunned.

What had seemed to be two enormous ancient doors was, once the dust settled, revealed to be nothing at all! There were no doors there, just empty space!

”How could this be?” Xu Su stared at the scene in astonishment, rubbing his eyes hard. ”I swear I just saw a set of doors here,” he muttered. ”How is there... nothing now?”

Xu Luo also stared at the sight before them, bewildered... It was an inky blackness that absorbed all light, like the maw of a giant, man-eating beast!

A rotten stench began to drift out from within, a smell like decaying corpses that made one want to retch.

”We’ve been tricked!” Xu Luo said, looking at Xu Su just as the ground beneath their feet suddenly gave way!

”Son of a...” Xu Su had only gotten half the curse out when his hand, reaching for Xu Luo, was grabbed by Xu Luo’s own outstretched hand.

At the critical moment, both brothers had the exact same thought: ’I can’t abandon my brother!’

”Not good!” In that instant, Xu Luo activated the Shaking Light Step, but he suddenly felt a vast, immense suction force from below, rendering all his resistance futile!

The two brothers, along with Master Mao, were dragged by this irresistible force, tumbling into an unknown space.

RUMBLE!

The entire passage let out a deafening roar and began to collapse.

Viewed from high above, the entire Great Marsh was churning and boiling like water in a pot.

Countless beasts, fiends, xeno-beasts, and Spirit Beasts living in the Great Marsh scattered and fled in a mad frenzy.

An earth-shattering change occurred in the Great Marsh. At the location of the Ancient Ruins, an enormous vortex had appeared, swallowing everything in its vicinity!

The vortex grew larger and larger until it eventually encompassed the entire Great Marsh. Almost nothing could escape its terrifying pull.

The Ice Spirit Beast had shot into the sky the moment the disturbance began. With its four limbs wrapped in water vapor, it fled into the distance as if riding the clouds.

By the time the terrifying vortex had spread across the entire Great Marsh, its center... looked like a colossal black hole, emanating a bone-chilling aura!

SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH!

A dozen or so figures streaked over from the distance.

As they drew near, the leader, an old man, looked furious. He stamped his foot and beat his chest, crying, ”Dammit! Someone beat us to it! The Ancient Ruins have opened!”

Standing beside the old man was a stunningly beautiful young woman who asked with a naive expression, ”Grandpa, is this huge commotion the opening of the Ancient Ruins? Who could be so powerful that they can open an entire ruin?”

”Alas...” The old man sighed in frustration, his gaze complicated as he looked at the enormous vortex that had swallowed the entire Great Marsh and affected an area of a hundred li. ”It must be an expert from one of the major sects,” he said gravely. ”We got the news too late!”

”It’s just some ruins left by people from the past. What’s there to fight over?” the young woman asked with a charmingly innocent air.

”You don’t understand. Never underestimate the people of the Ancient Era. The Cultivators back then were far more powerful than anyone today! Even the supreme experts of the major sects can’t compare,” the old man said with a sigh of admiration. ”If we could obtain a Cultivation Technique left behind by them and cultivate in seclusion for a few years, we would surely become one of the most influential figures of this age!”

”Oh, what a pity!” the young woman said, but her eyes, shaped like crescent moons, held not a trace of regret.

The others around the old man all looked at the young woman with doting expressions. She was their little princess, the pride of their sect, and their future!

”I was hoping we could find some treasures in these Ancient Ruins this time, something that might help you break through your bottleneck and reach the Sword King Realm. Alas, it seems we don’t have such luck...” the old man sighed, looking dejected.

”Grandpa, you shouldn’t be too greedy!” the young woman said with a mischievous smile. ”I’m already a super-duper-expert, right?”

”Heh heh...” The old man was amused by the young woman’s antics and shook his head slightly. As imposing as he was, who else but his most beloved granddaughter... would dare speak to him, the Tiger King Su Dongling, in such a way?

”Forget it... Anyone who can open Ancient Ruins of this scale must be a person of great destiny and fortune. We have no need to provoke such a person. Let’s go back.”

Having lost the chance to enter the Ancient Ruins, the Tiger King Su Dongling waved his hand dispiritedly, sighed, and prepared to leave.

But the young woman stared at the old man with her adorable eyes, puffing her cheeks out in a pout without saying a word. The others all pretended not to notice and averted their gazes.

”Ahem... Qianqian, you see, it’s not that Grandpa is breaking his promise. It’s just that someone has already beaten us to these Ancient Ruins. We’re not the kind of bandits who murder and rob, so there’s no reason for us to stay here...” The old man’s mouth twitched, and he spoke with a troubled expression.

Before they came, he had sworn to his granddaughter that he would show her the ruins left behind by the great powers of the Ancient Era...