Urban Martial Saint

After the two ate something and rested for a while to regain their strength, they got up and walked into Wu Tianchi’s cave.

Having entered three caves in a row, they were quite familiar with the situations inside. So, as they walked in, their speed was quick, and it didn’t take long before they reached the end of the cave.

This cave was exactly the same as the one with Buddhist texts and Taoist incantations, with nothing particularly special, nor that oppressive feeling. At the end of this cave, there was still a stone platform.

Ye Qing and Yin Xianzi had already been in two such caves, so they knew what to do. Upon reaching this spot, they tacitly moved forward and swept away the dust on the stone platform, revealing its original appearance.

Actually, there wasn’t much dust accumulated on this stone platform, which was quite different from the previous two platforms. This implies that the time since people last entered this cave isn’t very long, perhaps just a few decades.

After sweeping off the dust, some inscriptions were revealed on the platform. These characters were recognizable to Ye Qing and Yin Xianzi because they were written in modern Huaxia script, and the content was very simple, consisting of just two characters and a punctuation mark.

Immortality?

Ye Qing and Yin Xianzi were both taken aback. What could these two characters possibly mean?

Clearly, it was a question. However, just considering it literally, these two characters conveyed quite a bit of meaning. The simplest interpretation is that the person who etched these characters was asking if immortality was possible.

Yet, if you consider a different perspective or tone, it becomes completely different. Perhaps someone was mocking—immortality? Ha, how could immortality be possible?

The profound beauty of language lies here: the more words used, the simpler the message; the fewer words, the more complex and hard to guess the meaning becomes.

With a change of tone or perspective, the meaning of these two characters changes entirely, and no one can truly know what the person who wrote them intended to convey.

Ye Qing and Yin Xianzi exchanged glances, both filled with confusion. It seems neither understood what the person intended to express.

Unable to discern any further, Ye Qing decided to put the two characters aside for now and looked around.

Unlike the previous two caves, beside these two characters were not carved patterns, but three deep sword marks.

It was unclear whether these three sword marks were intentionally left or inadvertently carved. The three intersecting sword marks were deeply embedded into the stone platform, indicating the immense strength of the sword wielder. However, while others left patterns, this person left three sword marks. What could this mean?

Ye Qing stared at the sword marks for a while and suddenly felt a chill run through his body, shuddering involuntarily. It was quite astonishing; for a moment, he felt an indescribable sense of danger, and he became instinctively alert.

Ye Qing quickly looked around, trying to see if there was actual danger looming. However, everything around remained unchanged; there was no sign of danger, which puzzled him. What was causing this unease?

”Be careful!” At that moment, Yin Xianzi suddenly spoke, ”Ye Qing, step back two steps.”

Ye Qing didn’t know why Yin Xianzi asked him to step back, but he believed she wouldn’t harm him, so he took two steps back.

Seeing Ye Qing retreat, Yin Xianzi slowly took a step forward, walking up to the stone platform. Ye Qing watched her from behind, seeing her slowly extend her right hand, with the index and middle fingers forming a sword finger posture, gradually pointing towards the three sword marks. It seemed as if she had been gathering strength for a long time, as she suddenly raised her hand and swept across, simulating the direction of the sword marks with her sword finger.

Ye Qing watched from the side, not knowing what Yin Xianzi was doing, filled with confusion. However, before he could see clearly Yin Xianzi’s exact actions, a fierce Qi Force suddenly rushed towards him. The cold, chilling aura made him feel as if he was being targeted by dozens of sharp Sword Auras.

This feeling greatly startled Ye Qing, and the fierce aura forced him to retreat two more steps before he could barely withstand it.

Looking at Yin Xianzi again, she also seemed to be enduring great pain. However, she kept gritting her teeth and enduring it. After a while, she slowly extended her right Sword Finger, following the direction of the second Sword Mark, and swung again.

However, just as she stretched out halfway, she let out a muffled groan and flew backward.

Ye Qing was taken aback, not knowing what happened to Yin Xianzi, hurriedly reaching out to catch her. But, just as Yin Xianzi was about to crash into him, a sharp Sword Qi also suddenly rushed over, directly knocking Ye Qing away. He didn’t manage to catch Yin Xianzi, instead being blown away just like her.

After landing, Ye Qing felt his blood surging, hurriedly circulating his Inner Strength, barely suppressing the turbulent blood within. Despite this, a trace of blood still seeped from the corner of his mouth, indicating how strong the impact was. Additionally, he had several scratches on his body, akin to wounds made by a Longsword. Although not deep, the sight of these wounds was indeed startling; how did these markings come to be?

Yin Xianzi’s condition was not much better than Ye Qing’s. After all, she was closer to the Stone Platform, and when the force came out, she bore the brunt of it. Ye Qing could barely hold back from spitting blood, but she coughed up a mouthful of blood, with multiple scratches on her body, injured even more severely than Ye Qing.

”Yin Xianzi, are you okay?” Ye Qing hurriedly asked.

Yin Xianzi waved her hand at Ye Qing, sat cross-legged, and after cultivating for a long time, her pale complexion improved slightly. She slowly raised her head, looked at the Stone Platform ahead, and said in a deep voice, ”Amazing! Amazing!”

”What’s amazing?” Ye Qing asked in surprise, looking at the Stone Platform, ”Yin Xianzi, what was that force just now? Could there be someone else in this Cave?”

”No!” Yin Xianzi shook her head, pointing at the Stone Platform, and said in a deep voice, ”That force is from the power contained within these three Sword Marks on the Stone Platform!”

”Huh?” Ye Qing was stunned, looking at Yin Xianzi in amazement. He couldn’t understand what Yin Xianzi was saying. What does it mean to have power contained in Sword Marks? A corpse retaining Inner Strength for a thousand years is one thing, but for these three Sword Marks to contain power, that’s incredible!

Seeing Ye Qing’s confusion, Yin Xianzi immediately explained, ”You’ve heard of Formations, right?”

Ye Qing nodded; not only had he heard of them, but he had also witnessed them. The Stone Formation outside the Shen Family Manor was a living example of a Formation. Ye Qing still remembered how Handsome Fatty Wang was trapped in that Stone Formation for an entire day without escaping. It was there that Ye Qing truly witnessed the power of Formations. Moreover, Medicine King Mountain was said to be sealed by a great formation, which is why no one has been able to enter.

”The ancients developed Qi Men Formations with different ingenious uses, and among them, some were specifically used to store power.” Yin Xianzi looked at the three Sword Marks on the Stone Platform and said, ”These three Sword Marks complement each other, forming a mutually reinforcing pattern, creating a power-storing Formation. This Formation maximizes the preservation of the power from these three Sword Marks. The power you felt earlier is the Sword Qi from these three Sword Marks!”

”Something like this exists?” Ye Qing widened his eyes in shock, staring at the three Sword Marks on the Stone Platform, ”Sword Marks can contain Sword Qi?”

”When a person’s Inner Strength reaches a certain level, even a casual action can send Vigor Power surging. However, truly being able to lock that power is something I’ve only heard of, never seen!” Yin Xianzi said in a deep voice, ”And this was something my Master was told by my Grandmaster. When my Grandmaster roamed the Jianghu in his early years, he personally saw a young man punch a mountainside, leaving a Fist Imprint. Those who passed by were swayed by that punch’s power for seven days and nights until the power dissipated. Later, my Grandmaster became a Grandmaster of a Generation, with strength far beyond the Five Uniques. However, he still couldn’t lock power. Until his death, my Grandmaster couldn’t figure out how that young man sealed Vigor Power, and that was his greatest regret in life!”

As Yin Xianzi spoke, she fixed her gaze on the three Sword Marks on the Stone Platform and said in a deep voice, ”When I heard my Master speak of it before, I didn’t take it seriously, thinking my Master was exaggerating. I never imagined I’d encounter such an existence today. These three Sword Marks not only contain immense Sword Qi but also hide a rare Sword Technique. If one could learn this Sword Technique, it would undoubtedly multiply their strength!”

”Really?” Ye Qing carefully examined the three Sword Marks, memorizing their positions. If they truly contained a rare Sword Technique, it would certainly be useful to learn it later.

”You don’t need to memorize these things; it’s useless.” Yin Xianzi saw through Ye Qing’s thoughts and said, ”The key part of this Sword Technique is its Sword Intent. To grasp its Sword Intent, one must draw out the Sword Qi from within and explore the Sword Intent within it. However, the power of these three Sword Marks is something no one in the world could withstand. Learning this Sword Technique is simply impossible!”

Upon hearing this, Ye Qing suddenly understood what Yin Xianzi had been doing earlier. With her extensive knowledge and broad experience, Yin Xianzi knew the hidden rare Sword Technique within the three Sword Marks as soon as she saw them. Earlier, she had been simulating the trajectory of the Sword Marks to draw out the Sword Qi within. Unfortunately, her power was insufficient, unable to withstand the power of the Sword Qi, and she was knocked away.