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The Long Bright Pearl cast a gentle light within the deep cave, so quiet that only Lin Yue's own breathing could be heard.
The two corpses, sitting opposite each other, along with the rusty iron sword floating in the air, formed a fence blocking Lin Yue's path.
And beyond the 'fence,' at the end of the cave, was the Stone Wall Secret Door.
"Apologies," Lin Yue said, giving a slight bow. Without touching the rusty iron sword between the two people, he lifted his robe and raised a leg, preparing to step over directly.
However—
"Hmm..."
As a faint clear sound echoed, Lin Yue had just extended his leg a little when he felt a sudden chill at his toe.
Silently, a part of his boot's pointed tip, along with a small piece of white sock, broke off from his foot, gently flicked aside by an invisible force, and fell to the ground.
"What happened?"
A chill shot through Lin Yue's heart, and he instinctively drew his leg back.
Looking down, he found that the thick sole of his special climbing boots was missing a section at the tip, faintly exposing his toes.
The cut was incredibly smooth, as if sliced by an extremely sharp blade in an instant.
He nearly lost a toe.
"Could it be... this sword?"
Lin Yue immediately suspected the rusty iron sword held by the female skeleton, though he found it hard to believe.
The blade was so rusted that it hadn't even moved, so how had it cut him?
Was it the sword's own Sword Qi or Sword Intent?
Before, when Lin Yue first entered this cave, he was daunted by the two corpses, and he hadn't realized that there was a secret door at the end of the cave, so he never tried to step over these skeletons.
Now it seemed he had perhaps violated some kind of prohibition?
Lin Yue stepped back slightly, then picked up the Long Bright Pearl and drew closer to examine the rusty iron sword.
The four-foot long sword had its tip embedded in the male skeleton's chest, with the rusty blade pointing upwards.
It looked utterly ordinary.
Lin Yue furrowed his brows.
Before, he'd felt some inexplicable dread towards this murderous iron sword. Despite its rusted blade, just looking at it made him shudder, so he hadn't dared to touch it.
Even considering it could be a treasure, he was still too afraid to touch it.
In hindsight, not touching it was the right decision.
"Does it not allow me to go through? Or perhaps it does not allow me to step over?"
Lin Yue contemplated while gazing at the rusty iron sword.
From his reading of those Daoist texts over these past days, a high cultivator's magic treasures reportedly had some degree of sentience.
There were even legends in the Three Religions Holy Land about Sect Treasures having 'Artifact Spirits.'
Perhaps, this rusty iron sword was a spiritually endowed magic treasure?
If so, it made sense.
There was a saying, 'The sword is the sovereign of a hundred weapons.'
And another, 'The sword is the instrument of a gentleman, unyielding and righteous, a blade of integrity.'
Passing beneath it with a sword crossed above would indeed be a disgrace.
That explained it.
Or perhaps this sword simply did not want him to go through?
"Hey, can you speak? If you don't want to deal with me, can you allow me to pass? If you understand, tremble once; if not, tremble twice."
Lin Yue tried to communicate amiably with the rusty iron sword, though he never received even the slightest response.
"No Artifact Spirit has come to talk." He sighed helplessly.
It seemed that while the sword had some sentience, it wasn't enough to manifest an Artifact Spirit.
"Never mind, let's experiment a bit."
Lin Yue thought for a moment and then turned to leave the cave.
After a while, he returned to the cave with a bare branch, once more standing before the two corpses, attempting to pass the branch over the sword.
Meanwhile, he observed the rusty iron sword carefully.
"Hmm..."
Another faint clear sound echoed; the rusty iron sword suddenly quivered slightly, and the branch's tip silently broke off, the short segment flicked back by an invisible force.
Lin Yue noted the missing segment of the branch in his hand and nodded slightly, "Indeed, it doesn't allow passing over, but what about below?"
He attempted to pass the branch below, to the side, or even against the wall, but each time a section of the branch was cut off, it was mercilessly flung back.
"Doesn't allow passing?"
Lin Yue furrowed his brow slightly.
What to do now?
Must he wait to uncover the sword's secret before thinking of passing through?
Today's secrets were already received this morning, and he would have to wait at least another eight to nine hours.
Waiting here so long without returning to Qingdu might arouse Baili Fengzhi's suspicions.
If the next secret turned out unrelated to the sword, he would have to wait twelve more hours.
By then, Xiahong Lie's bloodline awakening would be complete, and even if he learned the sword's secret, it might be too late.
Therefore, he must cross now.
"There must be another way."
Lin Yue crouched on the ground, eyes narrowed slightly, scrutinizing the rusty iron sword and the female skeleton under the light of the Long Bright Pearl, silently pondering a method.
How was he supposed to bypass this rusty iron sword?
He also studied the female skeleton, hoping to find some inspiration.
The female skeleton wore a robe of white with gold-threaded cloud patterns, still pristine and pure, evidently of extraordinary quality, though its sect was unknown.
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