321: Exploring the Way with Oneself, Whispers from the Sword Tomb

The starship stopped at a considerable distance from that strange Star Domain.

Ahead lay the Ten Thousand Swords Burial.

It was a graveyard of the Universe.

There were no stars, only broken giant swords, like tombstones, haphazardly stuck into the remnants of a shattered continent.

Each giant sword was unimaginably massive. Some had broken tips, others were covered in cracks, but even as mere remnants, they still exuded chilling, deathly Sword Intent that soared into the sky.

Billions of Sword Intents converged, forming a visible, spacetime-distorting force field. Any matter that approached it would be instantly torn to dust.

Inside the bridge, there was a profound silence.

The warm tea fragrance from before had long been dispersed by the murderous aura of this Star Domain.

Lin Fan stood before the viewport, quietly observing this deadly realm.

He could feel that each Sword Intent represented the final obsession left behind by a Sword Dao powerhouse who had once reached the pinnacle, at the end of their life.

This was the ultimate destination for a Sword Cultivator.

It was also a top-tier death dungeon.

He turned around and looked at Li Hanyue.

"I'm going in."

He took out a Jade Talisman shimmering with soft light and gently handed it to her.

"This 'Concentric Talisman' will allow you to sense my life status in real-time. If its light extinguishes, it means I'm dead." Lin Fan's tone was calm, as if stating a trivial matter.

"Each time I die and revive, I will transmit the newly explored areas and Sword Intent characteristics back through this talisman."

"You are responsible for recording and mapping out a safe route to the core."

This was their plan.

To use his life to scout the way for her.

Li Hanyue said nothing, merely extended her fair hand and accepted the Jade Talisman.

Her fingertips were somewhat cold.

Lin Fan smiled, said no more, and walked alone towards the airlock.

The moment the hatch opened, a torrent of Sword Intent, sharp enough to pierce the Soul, surged towards him.

Without the slightest hesitation, he stepped out... Inside the starship bridge.

Li Hanyue sat quietly, her gaze fixed intently on the Jade Talisman in her hand.

The Jade Talisman emitted a warm glow, like a steadily beating heart.

The light was Lin Fan's life.

Suddenly, the light flickered violently, as if struck by a tremendous impact!

Li Hanyue's heart also tightened abruptly.

Almost at the same time, at the periphery of the Ten Thousand Swords Burial.

Lin Fan's figure had just stepped into the range of the Sword Intent force field, not even having time to react.

An overwhelmingly domineering Imperial Sword Intent, as if reigning over the world and controlling the life and death of all beings, shot up from the remnant of a golden giant sword and slashed down at him!

There was no room to dodge.

No possibility of resistance.

In the face of that Sword Intent, Lin Fan felt as small as an ant.

Puff.

A soft sound.

His body, along with his Divine Soul, was instantly cut into primordial nothingness.

Inside the starship, the light of the Jade Talisman in Li Hanyue's hand suddenly extinguished.

The world, at this moment, seemed to plunge into darkness.

Her breathing stopped.

The knuckles of her hand, tightly clutching the Jade Talisman, turned pale from the exertion.

Even though she had long known this would be the outcome.

Even though she knew Lin Fan couldn't truly die.

But when she

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Time, at this moment, became incredibly long.

Just as she was about to lose control and rush out of the starship.

Buzz!

The extinguished Jade Talisman lit up again.

The light was still warm and steady.

He was back.

Li Hanyue's tense body instantly relaxed, as if all her strength had been drained away.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, her clear, cold eyes held nothing but absolute calm and focus.

She unfurled a blank Jade Slip and quickly inscribed the information she had just received from the Concentric Talisman.

It was information about a Sword Intent, and a death coordinate... [You have been completely erased by 'Imperial Sword Intent'...]

[Death Rating: A!]

[Congratulations on receiving reward: Imperial Sword Intent Resistance (slight)!]

[Congratulations on receiving reward: Sword Dao Comprehension Shard x3!]

Inside the bridge, Lin Fan's figure reformed at the Resurrection Anchor.

He felt the slight increase in his understanding of Imperial Sword Intent in his mind, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

A good start.

Although it was only an A-grade rating, the income was good.

He didn't linger for a moment, not even glancing at Li Hanyue.

He was afraid that seeing the worry in her eyes would shake his determination to

"Second time."

His figure vanished from the bridge again.

For the second time, he stepped into the Ten Thousand Swords Burial.

This time, he avoided the range of that golden giant sword.

But he only advanced less than a hundred meters.

A silent Assassin Sword Intent, as if from the Nine Nether, emerged from a crack in the shadows, instantly piercing his glabella and annihilating his Divine Soul.

Inside the starship, the light of the Jade Talisman extinguished again.

Li Hanyue's hand, holding the Jade Slip, trembled slightly, but her actions didn't pause as she quickly recorded the second death coordinate.

After a breath, the light reignited.

Lin Fan's figure rushed out for the third time.

This time, he was directly

For the fourth time, he was frozen by a cold and deathly Undead Sword Intent, his Soul shattered into ice crystals.

Fifth time... Sixth time... Death, in a continuous cycle.

Inside the starship bridge, the Concentric Talisman flickered wildly between extinguishing and reigniting, like a candle flame buffeted by a fierce wind.

Each extinction represented a complete death.

Each rekindling brought back valuable intelligence.

Li Hanyue was completely engrossed in her work, like the most precise instrument, painstakingly piecing together the data Lin Fan exchanged with his life onto that Star Map Jade Slip.

A safe map leading to the depths of the Ten Thousand Swords Burial, paved by death, was gradually taking shape in her hands.

She didn't look up, nor did she shed tears.

But her increasingly tight grip and the cracks she unconsciously squeezed into the edge of the Jade Slip revealed her inner torment...

After his seventh resurrection, Lin Fan frowned slightly.

Although these peripheral Sword Intents were diverse, their intensity was limited. The highest he could achieve was an A-grade rating, and the returns were getting lower and lower.

And each death wasted several breaths of time on resurrection and recording.

The efficiency was too low.

With a thought, he brought up the System interface.

[Command: Increase the probability of 'comprehending Sword Intent at the moment of death' to 100%.]

[Estimated consumption of 'reality interference points': 5000 points.]

Another five thousand points.

Lin Fan's eyelids twitched, but he still chose to confirm without hesitation.

"Execute!"

You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a cub!

Having done all this, he took a deep breath and rushed out for the eighth time!

This time, he no longer probed cautiously.

He pushed his speed to the extreme, transforming into a streak of light, madly advancing towards the interior of the Ten Thousand Swords Burial along the safe route Li Hanyue had just mapped out, formed by seven death experiences!

Chii! Chii! Chii!

Innumerable violent Sword Intents brushed past him.

Imperial Sword Intent, Assassin Sword Intent, Confucian Dao Sword Intent... Each time a Sword Intent swept past, a massive amount of comprehension instantly flooded Lin Fan's mind.

His Sword Dao cultivation, at this moment, surged wildly at an unprecedented speed!

This map, drawn with his life, became his perfect parkour track at this moment!

Finally, he broke through the outer Sword Intent maze.

The scene before him suddenly opened up.

At the very center of the Ten Thousand Swords Burial was an open space.

There were no earth-shattering giant swords there, only a plain-looking stone sword, seemingly carved by a Mortal with a casual stone, quietly stuck in the ground.

All the Sword Intents seemed to fear it, not daring to approach.

Lin Fan's heart pounded.

This was it!

Without any hesitation, he used his last bit of strength to reach out towards the stone sword.

Just as his fingertip was about to touch the stone sword.

An indescribable, terrifying will, transcending time and space, awakened from within the stone sword.

That will had no form, no power.

It merely...

Boom—!!!

Lin Fan's figure, along with the space for ten thousand li around him, along with countless Sword Intent remnants, was utterly... erased from this Universe in that instant.

[You have been completely erased by the will of an 'Unknown Existence', traces of your existence have been eliminated...]

[Death Rating: SS!]

On the starship's anchor point, Lin Fan's figure painfully reformed amidst intense flashes of light.

SS-grade death!

A surge of ecstasy welled up in his heart.

However, before he could even check the unimaginably generous rewards.

An ancient, hoarse whisper, as if it had traveled through billions of years, echoed without warning directly in the deepest part of his Soul.

"Interesting little bug..."

"You carry 'His' scent..."