251: Chapter 251 Eerie Dark Red Pages

The door on the left was pitch black, carved with hideous ghosts and struggling human figures, emitting a gloomy and fearful aura; on the lintel were carved two ancient characters: 'Heart-Questioning'.

The door in the middle was dark gold and incredibly heavy, depicting tragic scenes of clashing weapons and life-and-death struggles, emitting a brutal and murderous aura; on the lintel was carved 'Edge-Sharpening'.

The door on the right was a hazy white with swirling halos of light, appearing as if countless figures were practicing various exquisite sword techniques, emitting an aura of change, Comprehension Ability, and Dao rhymes; on the lintel was carved 'Dao-Imparting'.

"It seems the Opportunity of this Sword Pavilion is not obtained directly from these floating light orbs."

Jing Wutian said slowly, "The real Legacy is likely behind these three doors.

Only by passing the tests behind the doors can one receive the true recognition of the Hidden Sword Pavilion and obtain its core treasures."

The floating light orbs were good, but they were clearly secondary rewards, or perhaps gifts for those who passed the basic tests.

The things behind those three gateways were the true core essence of the Ancient Sword Manor!

"These three doors have vastly different auras; it seems they are meant for different types of tests."

Ye Yiyi's beautiful eyes flickered. "Heart-Questioning, Edge-Sharpening, Dao-Imparting... how should we choose?"

Everyone looked at each other, weighing their options.

Choosing a door meant facing different dangers and opportunities.

Just then, among the three men in cloaks who had remained silent, the leader suddenly spoke in a raspy voice: "Why choose?

Each by their own ability; the capable shall take more!"

Before his voice had even faded, his figure blurred and transformed into a streak of black smoke, charging straight toward the door of 'Edge-Sharpening'!

The other two cloaked men followed closely behind!

Their movements were extremely fast, and they seemed to be using some kind of secret technique as their auras flickered, approaching the door of 'Edge-Sharpening' in an instant!

"Thinking of snatching it first? It won't be that easy!"

Sikong Changhe roared. He loved combat the most and was most interested in the door of 'Edge-Sharpening'; how could he allow others to touch it?

He brandished his long spear, intending to intercept them.

However, another cloaked man waved his hand back, and a gray palm wind swept toward him, forcing Sikong Changhe to pull back his spear to defend.

In that brief delay, the three cloaked men had already touched the door of 'Edge-Sharpening' and vanished in a flash!

"Dammit!" Sikong Changhe stomped his foot in anger.

"Let's go as well!"

Jing Wutian made a decisive choice; having enough confidence in his sword heart, he chose to walk toward the door of 'Heart-Questioning'.

Ye Yiyi hesitated slightly before following him; her poison technique was treacherous, so perhaps the 'Heart-Questioning' trial would be easier for her to find a weakness.

Zhao Chengzhi was expressionless as he also walked toward the door of 'Heart-Questioning'.

Zhao Qing of the Governors Mansion looked at the remaining door of 'Dao-Imparting' and then at the floating light orbs filling the air. After pondering for a moment, he said to his subordinates, "Our strength might not be enough to pass the three doors' tests. It would be more secure to try and collect these floating treasures here instead."

He led the people from the Governors Mansion and began to cautiously attempt to communicate with those light orbs.

For a time, only Ye Tian, Hou Xiaojie, the Mini Dragon Ape, and a few Loose Cultivators who deemed their strength insufficient remained at the entrance.

"Senior Brother, which door are we going to?" Hou Xiaojie asked.

Ye Tian's gaze swept across the three doors.

The 'Heart-Questioning' trial pointed directly at the original heart and was unpredictably dangerous.

The 'Edge-Sharpening' trial focused on actual combat, which suited him perfectly.

The 'Dao-Imparting' trial emphasized Comprehension Ability, which aligned with his recently improved insights into the Sword Dao.

All seemed like viable options.

But just then, the chaos bead in his robes sent out a strong throb, pointing not toward any of the doors, but toward an inconspicuous, dark red sword-shaped stone pillar on the side of the hall that was covered in fine cracks!

That stone pillar looked ordinary and even somewhat dilapidated, appearing completely unremarkable amidst the surrounding treasure light.

But the chaos bead's sensation could never be wrong!

Ye Tian's heart stirred.

Could there be another secret there?

Keeping his expression neutral, he said to Hou Xiaojie, "Stay close to me. We're in no rush to enter a door."

He led Hou Xiaojie and the Dragon Ape, walking seemingly at random through the hall, but in reality, he was gradually approaching that dark red stone pillar.

As the distance closed, the sensation from the chaos bead became increasingly burning.

At the same time, Ye Tian also felt that although the stone pillar was dilapidated, it faintly emitted an extremely subtle Sword Dao essence that was loosely connected to the aura of the entire Sword Pavilion.

Just as he walked within ten zhang of the stone pillar, the three cloaked men who had just entered the door of 'Edge-Sharpening' were actually thrown back out of the door in a wretched state!

The leader's cloak was torn, revealing a pale and sinister face with blood leaking from the corner of his mouth; the other two also had disordered auras, having clearly suffered a great loss inside the door!

"What powerful Sword Qi! I almost got stuck in there!"

The Sinister Man roared, still shaken.

Their failure caused the others who had intended to enter the door of 'Edge-Sharpening' to feel a chill in their hearts.

Almost simultaneously, the door of 'Heart-Questioning' also flashed with light, and Jing Wutian, Ye Yiyi, and Zhao Chengzhi stumbled back out with pale faces.

Jing Wutian's sword heart was stable, so he was relatively fine, though his eyes were somewhat dazed.

Ye Yiyi's veil was stained with blood, and her aura was fluctuating.

Zhao Chengzhi even let out a muffled groan, his mind clearly having suffered significant trauma!

"What a terrifying Heart-Questioning!"

Jing Wutian took a deep breath, his heart filled with lingering fear.

The three doors' tests were actually all this difficult!

This scene caused the people from the Governors Mansion and the Loose Cultivators who had not yet entered to completely give up on the idea, focusing all their attention on trying to collect the floating light orbs.

Ye Tian saw all of this and gained a clearer understanding of the dangers behind those three doors.

However, most of his attention was still on that dark red stone pillar.

He quietly extended his Divine Sense toward the stone pillar.

When his Divine Sense touched the cracks on the surface of the stone pillar, the pillar vibrated slightly, and a red light flashed.

Ye Tian felt the scene before him change; he wasn't pulled into some space, but rather, he saw the interior of the stone pillar!

It was not solid, but instead hidden within was a tiny spatial node, and at the center of the node floated a dark-red book page that was as thin as a cicada's wing!

On the page were carved countless extremely fine blood-red patterns, emitting a terrifying Sword Intent filled with slaughter and destruction, yet also carrying a hint of immortal resonance!

The level of this Sword Intent far exceeded any sword technique he had ever seen, and was even more terrifying than the 'Zhenyue Sword Intent' he had just glimpsed a sliver of!

"What... is this thing?"

Ye Tian's heart was jolted.

Was this what the chaos bead desired?

Just then, that dark-red book page seemed to sense his prying and trembled slightly, sending a streak of blood-red Sword Intent along his Divine Sense to silently pierce toward Ye Tian's Sea of Consciousness!

It was not only fast and fierce, but also exceptionally sinister!

It left one with no time to make any reaction at all!

The hair all over Ye Tian's body stood on end!

This attack was too bizarre!

He didn't even have time to activate the liuguang sword!

At the critical moment, the chaos bead in his Sea of Consciousness suddenly erupted with light!

A cool current of air swept back out, colliding with that wisp of blood-red Sword Intent!

"Sizzle!"

With only a faint sound of melting, the blood-red Sword Intent was instantly purified by the power of the chaos bead.

But Ye Tian still felt a slight pain in his Sea of Consciousness, like being pricked by a needle.

And that dark-red book page, after launching this strike, seemed to have exhausted its strength; its light dimmed, and it receded back into the depths of the stone pillar's node, with no further movement.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye, and outsiders noticed nothing.

A cold sweat broke out on Ye Tian's back.

That was close!

If not for the chaos bead, his Divine Sense would likely have been severely damaged by that strike just now!

What exactly was that book page?

Why did it contain such terrifying Sword Intent and why was it hidden in such a secret place?

He suppressed the turbulent waves in his heart, keeping his expression calm on the surface.

That book page was too dangerous; with his current strength, he couldn't even touch it, let alone collect it.

But the reaction of the chaos bead and the terrifying Sword Intent shown by the page both indicated that this item was absolutely extraordinary!

"It seems the secrets of this Sword Pavilion are deeper than imagined..."

Ye Tian's gaze was profound.

For now, it was more important to deal with the tests of the three doors and improve his strength.

He glanced at Jing Wutian and the others, who were currently regulating their breath and preparing to try again.

Then he looked at the door of 'Dao-Imparting' that no one had bothered with.

"Xiao Jie, Dragon Ape, we're going through the door of 'Dao-Imparting'."

Ye Tian made his decision.

Having just finished comprehending the Dao at the Sword Monument, he was in peak condition; perhaps the door of 'Dao-Imparting' was more suitable for him, and perhaps he could even find a clue on how to safely collect that dark-red book page.

With a hint of caution and even more expectation, he walked toward the door of 'Dao-Imparting' where halos of light were swirling.