456: Lin Tian: "So hasty?"

"This... is this really where the Immortal Sword Manor is located?"

Lin Tian looked around.

All he could see was charred earth and strange rocks; not even a single weed was in sight.

This deathly silent giant crater didn't seem to have anything to do with the name 'Immortal Sword Manor,' which sounded so full of Immortal Qi.

"It might as well be called Mass Grave Manor."

He muttered in a low voice.

Su Ming ignored his glibness, his brow slightly furrowed.

The ancient records of the Nine Heavens Immortal Sect couldn't be wrong; the location of the Immortal Sword Manor must be within this Skyfall Crater.

He slowly closed his eyes.

His Divine Sense spread out like an invisible tide, carefully sensing every inch of space in this heaven and earth.

After a long time, Su Ming's Divine Sense touched an extremely obscure and abnormal fluctuation.

It was a patch of nothingness that was completely out of place with its surroundings.

A long while later.

Su Ming abruptly opened his eyes and looked toward a black abyss floating in the air.

"Found it. The entrance is there."

Lin Tian looked in the direction he pointed and immediately sucked in a breath of cold air.

"Holy crap! They set up their home inside an abyssal rift?"

That abyss gave Lin Tian a feeling of extreme danger.

It felt as if his soul would be swallowed up if he looked at it for even a second longer.

"Let's go in."

Zhuge Qing spoke, but the expression on his face was far from relaxed.

"Let's hope the people of the Immortal Sword Manor still harbor goodwill."

He wasn't worried about the abyss, but about human nature.

A hidden Sect that established its gate in such a desperate place would surely have members with eccentric temperaments.

As uninvited guests, no one could say for sure whether they would be driven out immediately.

"The situation inside the abyss is unknown. You all enter my Void World first, and I will scout the way alone."

Su Ming suggested in a heavy voice.

Among everyone, he was the one with the highest attainment in Space Law.

The others had no objections and nodded one after another.

A moment later, after everyone had entered the Void World.

Su Ming's figure moved, and he charged into the black abyss floating in the air without hesitation.

When he entered the abyss and saw the scene before him clearly.

Even with his Heart-Nature, his pupils couldn't help but contract slightly.

This wasn't some Sect's grand hall, nor was it some blessed land.

It was... a battlefield!

The twisted corpses of Eerie Creatures floated quietly in the endless darkness.

These Eerie Creatures were massive, their bodies covered in pitch-black tentacles, and all signs of life had long since vanished from them.

Countless eerie tentacles, severed limbs, and large patches of black blood solidified into crystals formed a shocking picture.

"What... exactly happened here?"

Huge waves of shock surged in Su Ming's heart.

He moved his body, carefully avoiding the floating corpses while observing closely.

The deaths of these Eerie Creatures were extremely gruesome; almost no part of their bodies was intact, and the wounds were smooth, as if they had been instantly sliced by some extremely sharp weapon.

Su Ming ignored the surrounding scenes and continued deeper.

The further in he went, the larger and more densely packed the corpses of the Eerie Creatures became.

Suddenly, Su Ming's gaze was drawn to the largest creature's corpse.

That Eerie Creature was shaped like a giant whale, its body ten thousand zhang long, yet it only had a single wound on its body.

A sword scar that pierced from its head all the way to its tail.

The sword scar was as smooth as a mirror, and a faint, domineering, and peerless Sword Intent still lingered at its edges.

Su Ming hovered before that sword scar and reached out, his fingertip lightly brushing over it.

An icy aura that seemed capable of severing all of eternity followed his fingertip and stabbed straight into his Divine Soul.

"What powerful Sword Intent."

Su Ming's heart tightened.

He had only ever felt Sword Intent of this level from the Sword Emperor Remnant Soul.

"What's that?"

At the end of the dark abyss, a massive fragment of land floated quietly.

Su Ming stopped and sent out his Divine Sense.

The edge of the land was shrouded in a nearly transparent Barrier.

"It's here."

Su Ming's figure swayed slightly, and his entire being merged into the folds of space, instantly vanishing from the spot.

Void Concealment.

Without causing any ripples, he had already penetrated that thick Barrier.

The scene before his eyes instantly distorted.

There was no mountain of corpses or sea of blood as he had expected, nor was there a strict sword formation.

The fresh scent of grass and trees washed over him, and the crisp chirping of birds reached his ears.

Sunlight greeted his face.

Warm light poured down, illuminating the continuous ridges of fields below.

Su Ming landed on a small dirt path, feeling a bit dazed.

How was this the world-renowned Immortal Sword Manor? It was clearly a secluded paradise away from the world.

He waved his hand to open the Void World and let everyone out.

As soon as Lin Tian landed, he was completely dumbfounded.

"Little Junior Brother, are you sure this... this is the Immortal Sword Manor?"

He pointed at an old yellow ox leisurely grazing in the distance, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.

"Where's the promised 'Ten Thousand Swords Returning to the Ancestor'?"

"Where are the promised Immortal Emperor experts?"

Zhuge Qing was also somewhat surprised; he crouched down, pinched a bit of soil, and brought it to his nose.

"The soil is fertile, and there is no Killing Intent."

He stood up and looked toward a few simple thatched huts in the distance.

"Returning to simplicity, great skill without artifice."

Su Ming did not speak.

He keenly sensed that every blade of grass and every flower here, though appearing ordinary, contained a trace of subtle Sword Intent.

He discovered that this seemingly casual pastoral setting...

...was actually shrouded in an extremely powerful Sword Intent.

This meant that the moment they stepped into this place, they had already been discovered.

"Someone is coming."

Su Ming warned in a low voice.

At the end of the path, a youth wearing coarse linen clothes with his pant legs rolled up...

...was carrying a basket of freshly picked herbs, walking slowly toward them.

When the youth saw Su Ming's group, he didn't show surprise or hostility; instead, he revealed a simple and honest smile.

"Guests, what is your purpose for coming here?"

His voice was refreshing, and no cultivation fluctuations could be heard.

Lin Tian leaned over and stared at the youth for a while.

"Little brother, we've come because of your reputation; we want to join the Immortal Sword Manor!"

Lin Tian chuckled and pulled a Storage Ring from his robe, handing it over.

"Look, could you introduce us?"

When the youth heard the words "join the Immortal Sword Manor," his movement of picking up the herb basket suddenly froze.

Immediately, as if he had become a different person, he grabbed Lin Tian's hand.

"Join the Immortal Sword Manor?"

The youth's eyes shone with light, and his enthusiasm made Lin Tian's skin crawl, causing him to instinctively want to shrink back.

"That's wonderful! I agree!"

"From now on, you are members of the Immortal Sword Manor!"

The youth didn't even glance at the Storage Ring; he directly patted his chest and announced in a clear, loud voice.

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone, including Su Ming, was dumbstruck.

"That... that simple?"

Lin Tian had originally prepared a bellyful of flattering words.

He had even mentally prepared himself to be rejected, but the other party had nodded without a second's hesitation.

This didn't feel like entering some top-tier Sect; it felt more like being recruited by a press gang on the side of the road...