The Sword of the Mortal World

"Some questions need answers," Zhou Chi said, standing outside the grand hall, his gaze fixed on the triangular-eyed priest and the stout priest.
One was kneeling, the other sprawled on the ground.

"How many cultivators are there on Sacred Spirit Mountain, and what realm has the mountain lord, Lingxiao Shangren, reached?"
The stout priest, his face contorted in pain, looked utterly defeated.
The triangular-eyed priest, still kneeling, wailed, "Immortal Master, we’ve only just arrived on the mountain! How could we know such things? We’re just here to tend the fire!"

Zhou Chi shook his head. "I don’t believe you."
Hearing this, the stout priest began to sob. "We may not be much to look at, but we’re cowards at heart..."
"We’re just unlucky souls!"

The triangular-eyed priest, terrified, quickly covered his junior’s mouth, afraid the fool might say something to anger the killer before them. If Zhou Chi decided to strike them down, it would all be over.
Zhou Chi didn’t bother responding. Instead, he crushed the black talisman in his hand. A wisp of black smoke instantly shot out from his palm, streaking toward the distant mountain peak.
Clearly, the talisman was a means of communication. Now that it was destroyed, the entire Sacred Spirit Mountain would soon know what had happened here.

Sure enough, moments later, countless tendrils of black smoke began to spread from the distant peaks, darkening half the sky.
"It’s getting dark!" the stout priest exclaimed, looking up in shock.
"Shut up!" the triangular-eyed priest hissed through gritted teeth.

Zhou Chi watched the black smoke with an impassive expression.
"What’s the rush? Whether you die now or later, it’s all the same."
...

...
On Sacred Spirit Mountain, at the peak of Bone-Gathering Summit, a cavern of bones stood shrouded in swirling, ever-shifting malevolent energy.
The entire cavern was constructed from human bones, with the ceiling adorned with skulls. The sight of the pale skulls staring down was enough to send chills down anyone’s spine.

In one corner hung a bone lantern, crafted entirely from a human skull. A ghostly green flame flickered inside, casting an eerie glow and emanating a sinister aura.
While the scene differed from the murals in the grand hall, the overall atmosphere was eerily similar.
Throughout the cavern, agonized screams echoed endlessly.
Phantom shadows drifted up and down the bone walls, their forms faint and indistinct.

At the center of the cavern, a gaunt Daoist priest sat cross-legged on a cushion. He wore a gray robe embroidered with strange symbols, and black tendrils of malevolent energy flowed in and out of his nostrils as he cultivated.
This was the mountain lord, Lingxiao Shangren.
But in the next moment, the sound of footsteps echoed through the cavern, jolting Lingxiao Shangren from his meditation. His eyes snapped open, revealing a pair of glowing green orbs.

Before him stood a young man in simple clothing, holding an iron sword. Blood dripped from the blade, falling to the ground with a steady drip, drip, drip.
"Who are you?!" Lingxiao Shangren demanded, his voice cold but tinged with unease. He hadn’t expected to encounter a sword cultivator in his own domain.
"Xuan Zhao, head disciple of Qi Mountain’s inner sect. Sent by the Law Hall to investigate Sacred Spirit Mountain’s crimes of slaughtering commoners for cultivation."

Zhou Chi didn’t hide his origins.
"Qi Mountain?!"
Lingxiao Shangren’s expression turned grim. He was well aware of this sword sect from the eastern continent.

In terms of sect strength, ten Sacred Spirit Sects wouldn’t match a single Qi Mountain.
"But Qi Mountain is far to the east, in Sishui. Why would they send someone to Jingzhou?!"
Lingxiao Shangren had chosen Jingzhou precisely because it was a lawless region, devoid of any powerful sects. Yet now, this young man claimed to be from Qi Mountain, which was thousands of miles away and had no influence here!

Zhou Chi frowned. He, too, had been puzzled when he received the mission. But since Sacred Spirit Mountain was engaged in heinous acts, he had no reason to refuse.
"I don’t know. But... it’s time for you to die."
Zhou Chi flicked his sword and glanced around the bone cavern. It must have taken countless lives to build such a place.

Lingxiao Shangren had already acted the moment he posed his question. Thick black smoke erupted from his body, filling the cavern in an instant.
"All flash, no substance."
As Zhou Chi uttered these words, a brilliant sword light erupted, cutting horizontally through the air. A dazzling white line split the darkness, shattering the black smoke and cleaving it in two.

"Ah! You’ve reached the Heavenly Gate Realm?!"
Lingxiao Shangren let out a cry of pain as he was sent crashing into the bone wall behind him, blood spurting from his mouth.
Zhou Chi didn’t respond. He stepped forward into the cavern and swung his sword again.

Strike while the enemy is weak.
Another sword light illuminated the cavern.
Lingxiao Shangren roared and slammed his palm against the bone lantern. Instantly, countless black phantoms surged out, their wails piercing as they lunged at Zhou Chi.

The bone lantern was a treasure he had refined over many years, its power fueled by the lives of countless innocent people.
But in the next moment, the phantoms scattered like rats before the sword light, unable to withstand it for even a moment.
The sword light tore through everything, shattering the bone lantern in its path.

"Don’t kill me! I have many treasures in the mountain! I’ll give them all to you! All of them!"
Lingxiao Shangren screamed, desperate to save his life.
But Zhou Chi’s sword didn’t falter. It swept past, severing all of Lingxiao Shangren’s lifeforce.

"Nonsense. After I kill you, those treasures will be mine anyway."
Zhou Chi glanced around.
Moments later, the malevolent energy in the cavern dissipated, leaving only the bones.

...
...
Back in front of the grand hall, Zhou Chi found a relatively clean spot and pulled out a leather-bound notebook from his robe.

The notebook was ordinary, its cover worn smooth from frequent use.
He flipped through the pages until he found the entry for Sacred Spirit Mountain.
With a stroke of his brush, he crossed out the name.

Then he pulled out a piece of paper from the notebook and read it.
"Xuan Zhao, during this investigation, do not act on your own. Follow the plan precisely, and report all developments to the sect immediately..."
"If you repeat your previous mistakes, the Punishment Hall will deal with you severely!"

Zhou Chi tore the paper into strips and tossed them into the wind. Just as he was about to put the notebook away, he noticed another slip of paper inside.
...
...

He pulled it out and saw a line of hastily scrawled words.
"Zhou Chi, don’t tell anyone about what I told you last time. It seems the sect master doesn’t plan to make it public..."
"And stop acting recklessly! If you lose your position as head disciple, who’s going to look out for me?"

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