Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 94 - 79: Leap of Faith

In fact, Li Fengyun left Qingyun City late at night on the 17th to leap off the cliff at Qingfeng Mountain in search of an adventure. This wasn’t just superstition stemming from novel plots—though he had indeed experienced such a cliff-jumping adventure himself. But this time, going to Qingfeng Mountain to jump off a cliff was based on his own rigorous logic.

His idea was very straightforward. The Original Sword Essence is a relic of the Primordial era, and its rarity lies in the fact that the method of making it has long been lost. It can only be found by digging through the desolate relics from the Ancient Era. After the Dark Era and over two thousand years of Xiangzhou’s history, the desolate relics on the Xiangzhou Continent have long been almost completely excavated.

Even the Li Family itself had organized the digging of numerous desolate relics, among them several super-large relics, with quite fruitful returns, including the Original Sword Essence. But as time went by, the resources in these desolate relics became increasingly scarce, and the supply of Original Sword Essence and similar items was cut off.

To this day, throughout the Xiangzhou Continent, only the Saint Sect can stably produce Original Sword Essence, and the quantity is very limited.

But no matter what, if one wants to find Original Sword Essence, they must go to the desolate relics. This basic logic is always correct. And around Qingyun City, the closest is the Trial Cave beneath Qingfeng Mountain.

The Trial Cave indeed has excavation value. Even though over the years it has been thoroughly developed by the Li Family, with the upper six levels even sectioned off for young cultivators as a real-combat training ground to fight Demon Essence and accumulate experience... on the other hand, the lower part of the Trial Cave leads straight into the Netherworld, endless, and no one dares claim they’ve reached the end.

Historical records show that in September of the year 1178 of the Xiangzhou calendar, the Li and Lu families of Qingyun City joined forces and invited several scholars from the Cyan Lotus Academy to delve into the Trial Cave. The team was led by three experts at the peak stage of the Rain Cover Realm, fully equipped with Divine Armor and a vast amount of spirit talismans and elixir pills, armed to the teeth. Their goal was to reach the deepest part of the Trial Cave.

The group departed from Qingyun City on September 3 and arrived at the Trial Cave beneath Qingfeng Mountain on the 4th. Without pausing, they plunged straight in. Progress was smooth on the 5th and 6th, with continuous updates on the team’s findings reaching the surface. However, from the 11th onward, they completely lost contact, as if they had vanished into thin air.

It wasn’t until late October, when many believed they were trapped in the relic and had met with misfortune, that the team of explorers reappeared in the public eye, each one exhausted and disheveled.

As it turns out, after delving deep into the Trial Cave, they found the underground caverns seemed endless. No matter how deep they ventured, there was always a deeper space beneath them. At the same time, the further they went underground, the stronger the Demon Essence they encountered.

Of course, the Demon Essence, being inferior creatures, even if strong, were only equivalent to a Cloud Surge Realm cultivator. For the explorers, unless countless waves of Demon Essence swarmed them, they posed little threat. On the contrary, the continuous appearance of Demon Essence hinted at an important secret hidden in the depths of the Trial Cave.

Then they continued their journey, paying no heed to how far they had traveled, focused solely on heading down, down, and down... Until more than half a month later, even the bravest and most aggressive members of the exploration team began to feel a chill of terror.

Given their pace, traveling for more than half a month should have been enough to cross from the southernmost tip of the Xiangzhou Continent to the northernmost tip. Yet they still hadn’t reached the bottom of the Trial Cave, with deeper spaces still open for exploration beneath their feet. Meanwhile, their contact with the surface had been completely severed back on the 7th day of their underground journey. Even tools like Life Lamps and Celestial Talismans had lost their efficacy, as though they had entered a completely isolated cave dwelling.

The array of anomalies finally made the team too afraid to continue on, deciding instead to turn back. After another half a month, they finally returned to the surface, feeling as if a lifetime had passed.

That exploration, although it failed to reach the bottom of the Trial Cave, illustrated the issue perfectly by not reaching it. Since then, the endless nature of the Trial Cave beneath Qingfeng Mountain has become a golden rule recorded in numerous geographical records.

Endless desolate relics imply endless desolate relic treasures.

Though the resource reserves of the Trial Cave are notoriously scant—after all, that exploration team spent over a month and brought back only a handful of desolate relic treasures, most of which, like soil and rock specimens, held no real value—

But at the very least, it harbors the potential.

It was this realization that made Li Fengyun determined to head to the Trial Cave. With his peak-stage Mountain-Overturning Realm strength, he was more than ten times stronger than the peak Rain Cover Realm expedition over a thousand years ago. He could certainly delve deeper in three days than they did.

And perhaps, he could acquire the Original Sword Essence, which only exists in the desolate relics.

——

Having listened to Li Fengyun’s explanation, Shen Qingming’s eyes couldn’t help but turn red.

Just a random remark by Grandpa at a birthday banquet, and Father actually... and even got hurt so badly.

How foolish I must have been before to think that a father like this could not love me?

And as Shen Qingming fell into self-reproach, Lu Xin was also filled with regret. If she hadn’t carelessly mentioned seeking adventure by jumping off a cliff before bed, would Fengyun have ended up this way? What if something really had gone wrong...

As everyone fell silent, Wang Jiu asked, "Where exactly did you encounter it in the Trial Cave? How did the confrontation go? Judging from your injuries, it doesn’t look like you were defeated after a hard fight; rather, it seems like you voluntarily offered yourself up."

Li Fengyun said, "Yes, indeed, I did voluntarily send myself there... It’s shameful to say, but before the other side made a move, I didn’t notice its danger for quite some time."

Afterwards, while operating his Primordial Spirit and nurturing True Essence, Li Fengyun recalled the strange encounter within the Trial Cave.

"I encountered it on the seventeenth level of the Trial Cave."

"The seventeenth level?!" Lu Xin couldn’t help but interrupt, his voice full of astonishment.

Too close!

The Trial Cave is deep and endless, with over a hundred levels that have been fully explored so far. The top six levels are open to younger cultivators for combat training. Below the sixth level, however, is sealed off by Immortal Techniques to prevent a large amount of Demon Essence from escaping the Trial Cave and disturbing the surrounding areas.

But actually, inside the restricted area, there are several zones classified by safety index. The seventeenth level is basically a semi-safe zone where three to five Cloud Surge Realm cultivators can walk freely.

According to the current division of the Trial Cave zones by the Li Family, only below the fiftieth level does the area become dangerous due to the sudden increase in Demon Essences, and below the hundredth level is an absolute forbidden zone into which cultivators below the Rain Cover Realm are prohibited from entering.

And now, Li Fengyun had encountered an Upper-Rank Demon General on the seventeenth level, capable of gravely injuring a Peak Stage Mountain-Overturning Realm expert?!

"Li Rong, has the Trial Cave been confirmed to be closed?"

Li Rong nodded, "Yes, after the master returned, Uncle Hong had someone inform them to immediately close the Trial Cave."

Lu Xin further instructed, "It’s not enough. Please arrange for two elders above the Mountain-Overturning Realm to lead a team to suppress the situation. Notify the Cyan Cloud Association if needed."

"Understood."

While Lu Xin was busy arranging emergency measures, Li Fengyun continued to recount his ordeal.

"In fact, the entire Trial Cave felt strange; from the moment I reached the seventh level, I sensed a notable difference in the atmosphere compared to usual. Although the number of Demon Essences hadn’t increased, their frequency and patterns of appearance followed a vaguely unnatural order. For instance, on the seventh level, I encountered three small Demon Essences and, after slaying them, soon faced a small group of Demon Essences that retaliated as if avenging their comrades. After eliminating that group, until I reached the twelfth level, I didn’t encounter any more sizable groups of Demon Essences. In hindsight, it felt as if they were deliberately avoiding...," Li Fengyun pondered with a furrowed brow, "Simply put, the Demon Essences seemed to possess a unified will."

Li Jinglun, listening in, was astonished, "Demon Essences? Unified will? How’s that possible? They’re mere chaotic beings without intelligence, lesser than livestock, even insects. If they could possess a unified will, it would completely overturn existing theoretical doctrines!"

Wang Jiu confirmed, "Demon Essences indeed lack intelligence; they’re inferior cannon fodder created by the Demon Race for attrition warfare, not even included in the Demon Race’s ranks. Yet as expendables, Demon Essences are highly obedient, capable of being commanded by higher-ranked demons without any cost... Li Fengyun, try to recall in detail the location and time of your encounters with the Demon Essences, and describe the battles as precisely as you can."

Li Fengyun nodded, "As for the locations, I encountered three large Demon Essences each on the 7th, 9th, 10th, and 13th levels. The battle process went as follows..."

A moment later, Wang Jiu nodded, "A typical Demon Race’s suicidal reconnaissance, gathering target information through suicidal attacks by multiple Demon Essence squads in various directions, including strength, direction, and personality traits. Judging by the frequency and method of your encounters with the Demon Essences, they likely figured you out after the fifteenth level."

Li Fengyun furrowed his brow and said, "Indeed, as I delved into the seventeenth level, I suddenly heard a faint cry for help, barely audible yet directly beside my ear, evidently someone using magic to call for help. I was already wary of the Trial Cave’s anomalies, so I wondered if a Li family explorer had ventured too far into the forbidden area and met with misfortune... When I tracked the sound, I indeed saw a young cultivator, about seventeen or eighteen, drenched in blood and collapsed on the ground, his aura exceptionally weak."

Hearing this, Lu Xin couldn’t help but ask, "Couldn’t you tell it was disguised as a Demon General?"

Li Fengyun said, "I couldn’t tell at all, and the True Essence circulation within the opponent’s body genuinely followed the cultivation technique taught by the Li Family..." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Upon hearing this, Wang Jiu suddenly said, "Check for any recent missing persons from the Li Family; this is clearly a soul-snatching trap."