Chapter 14: The Secret Path at the Peak, A Pile of Bones

Although Daoist Li had instructed him not to approach the forbidden area at the mountaintop, he was confident that as a grandmaster, he had the strength to wade through that uncharted water.

The third person Daoist Li mentioned should be the “Ten Miles Sword God”. He also wanted to see what the legendary Sword God looked like.

Lin Ran was a man of action. Last time he attempted, he was exhausted halfway through his exploration. But this time, he felt unprecedentedly relaxed.

Soon, he arrived at the top of Mount Sword.

It was different from what he imagined the place to be, which was a place covered with layer after layer of array formations. It turned out that there was nothing special about it despite being called a forbidden area.

The view at the mountaintop was good. There were no demon or Sword God. It was as if everything he heard about what was on the mountaintop was just a rumor.

Lin Ran’s gaze was instantly attracted by the sword marks on the rock wall.

“This is—”

In the eyes of commoners or martial artists, these sword marks were just random slashes. Only Martial Masters or above could understand one thing or two about how skilfull these slashes were.

He ran his fingers over the rock wall and could tell that these sword marks had been there for a long time. Even so, he could still sense this person’s outstanding sword technique and the lingering sword intent.

With his eyes closed, Lin Ran could see a figure brandishing his sword across the air, bringing out cold and intimidating sword intents. He danced back and forth around this place with his sword, as if he was alone in this enormous world.

Lin Ran’s heart skipped a beat. Feeling the sharpness in every strike, he couldn’t help but sigh. “Incredible swordsmanship.”

Lin Ran believed that this was the place where the Ten Miles Sword God was cultivating.

He was totally amazed by such masterful swordsmanship and couldn’t imagine what his true strength was.

“It’s a pity that I can’t see Sword God in person.”

Lin Ran was about to go down the mountain when he saw something from the corner of his eye. “Wait a second!”

He stopped in his tracks and observed the sword marks on the rock wall again. He realized that these marks were all pointing in one direction!

It had to be noted that the sword marks were ever-changing and hard to control even by the sword wilder. For all sword marks to point in one direction, this required extreme precision and mastery. It showed that the Sword God must be in a terrifying realm.

“Sword God must have done it intentionally.”

Lin Ran walked towards the direction the marks pointed at and came to a rock wall covered in vines. Beside it was a cliff.

“What’s different about this rock wall?”

Lin Ran frowned and pondered. He knocked on it and realized that it was hollow.

He picked up the branch on the ground and waved it. The rock wall split open, and a dark cave appeared in front of him. There was actually a secret passage here!

A cold aura immediately gushed out, causing goosebumps to appear all over his body.

Lin Ran couldn’t sense what was inside the hole, but after some thought, he walked in. Since he was already here, there was no reason for him to give up.

Perhaps the Sword God had not left yet and was still in this cave.

The cave was pitch-black and extremely narrow, as if there was no end to it. Lin Ran had a feeling that this place was connected to hell.

Lin Ran felt an extremely sharp sword intent and subconsciously reached out to touch the rock wall. Just as he had guessed, it was filled with sword marks.

Unlike the marks outside, these sword marks were sharp and filled with killing intent. There was also an indescribable murderous aura, indicating that the sword wielder was in a state of extreme uneasiness.

Lin Ran retracted his hand and walked on. He gradually felt his footsteps getting heavy, as if he was shackled by a mountain. He had a feeling that if he continued on, he would probably be affected by the killing intent in the sword marks and lose his mind.

“What happened to Sword God?”

He was certain that these marks were left behind by the Sword God. Otherwise, they would not carry such a powerful pressure.

It was said that sword intent could represent a person’s state of mind. Outside the cave, the sword marks were orderly, showing people the whereabouts of the secret cave.

Only those with outstanding talent in the Sword Dao could discern it.

But now, all these sword marks were in a mess and could easily affect one’s mood. They could even trigger the dark side of one’s heart, causing one to go astray.

Something serious must have happened at the mountaintop. Thinking of this, Lin Ran couldn’t help but speed up, wanting to get to the bottom of it.

The deeper he went, other than the sharp sword energy, there was also an extremely evil aura, causing the surrounding temperature to drop. The cave almost reached the point of freezing.

Fortunately, Lin Ran had the Formless Sword Body and was not affected by the evil aura. Even so, he still felt a little uncomfortable.

After walking for a long while, the path finally opened up, and light shone in from the countless small holes.

With the help of the light, Lin Ran finally saw the scene in front of him clearly. There were sword marks everywhere, even on the ceiling. They intertwined into a huge net that surrounded him, wanting to stifle him.

Lin Ran felt suffocated. He forced himself to look away from the violent sword marks.

“How did this happen!”

After seeing the scene in front of him, Lin Ran’s pupils constricted and he was stunned on the spot. It was as if a huge hammer had smashed down, making him black out.

Lin Ran revealed an expression of panic. After entering the Martial Master Realm, this was the first time he panicked.

What appeared in front of him was not the Sword God, but a pile of bones!