9: The first cry of the green blade

The market in Qingyun City was bustling with crowds and a cacophony of noise.

Ye Chen walked along the bluestone-paved streets, his gaze sweeping across the dazzling array of shops on both sides. Medicinal Pill pavilions, weapon shops, material stores... everything one could need was there, but he didn't stop. He headed straight for the most magnificent five-story building in the center of the market.

Ten Thousand Treasures Tower.

The tower was built of Black Ironwood and Lapis Lazuli. Two lifelike stone beasts stood at the entrance, emitting an invisible pressure. Those entering and exiting were either rich or noble, and most possessed formidable auras.

Ye Chen, dressed in simple green robes, was unremarkable in the crowd. However, his steady gait and calm eyes carried an undeniable temperament. He presented the silver VIP card given to him by Ye Qingxue. The guards' expressions immediately turned solemn as they respectfully invited him inside.

The first-floor hall was extremely spacious, lined with counters and shimmering with the glow of treasures. The sounds of transactions were constant. The rich Spiritual Qi mixed with the strange scents of various medicinal herbs and Ores.

A pretty maid in a uniform dress approached him with a smile. "Welcome to Ten Thousand Treasures Tower, Young Master. How may I assist you today?"

"A sword," Ye Chen said succinctly. "A spirit weapon rank sword."

A flash of surprise crossed the maid's eyes. Not many customers directly requested a spirit weapon, especially one so young. Her attitude became even more respectful. "Young Master, please follow me to the second floor. The weapons section is there."

Following the maid to the second floor, the environment was much quieter than the first. Various weapons—sabers, spears, swords, and halberds—were displayed in individual glass cases, radiating cold light and varying levels of spiritual fluctuations.

Ye Chen walked directly toward the area displaying longswords.

"This 'Autumn Water Sword' is Yellow Rank Low Grade, forged from Cold Iron. Its blade is like autumn water..." the maid introduced expertly.

Ye Chen glanced at it and shook his head slightly. It was a good sword, but its spirituality was too soft, which didn't match the sharp and fierce intent he pursued.

He looked at several more but was dissatisfied with all of them. Either the spirituality didn't match, or the price far exceeded a thousand Spirit Stones.

Just as he was feeling slightly disappointed and preparing to check other counters, his peripheral vision caught an inconspicuous display case in a corner. Inside lay a longsword of simple, even somewhat old-fashioned design. The scabbard had fine signs of wear, suggesting it was quite old. The price tag: eight hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

What attracted Ye Chen wasn't its appearance, but a faint yet exceptionally resilient sense of sharpness coming from within the scabbard that his Divine Soul perceived. This intent was extremely restrained; had it not been for his unique Divine Soul, it would have been nearly impossible to detect.

"That sword, bring it out for me to see," Ye Chen pointed to the corner.

The maid was taken aback and looked a bit conflicted. "Young Master, that 'qingfeng sword' was reportedly found in a ruin by a customer many years ago. Its material is unknown and its spirituality is obscure. It has been ignored for years, and the tower's appraisers have judged its value to be low..." She kindly reminded him, thinking Ye Chen might have misjudged it.

"No matter, just bring it," Ye Chen's tone was calm but brooked no argument.

The maid had no choice but to take the key, open the case, and hand the ancient sword to Ye Chen.

The sword felt slightly heavy in his hand, heavier than it looked. As Ye Chen gripped the hilt, a strange sense of familiarity surged in his heart. He slowly drew the sword from its scabbard.

The blade wasn't a bright snowy white, but rather a dull dark grey. It even had some fine, wind-eroded marks, making it look quite ordinary. However, as he tried to inject a sliver of Spiritual Qi, a sudden change occurred!

Clang—!

A faint but clear sword cry suddenly rang out! A faint golden pattern flashed across the dark blade, and the restrained sharp intent erupted instantly. Though it fell silent again in a moment, it startled the maid into covering her mouth.

A light of pleasant surprise erupted in Ye Chen's eyes!

This is the one!

This sword was definitely not as simple as it appeared! Its material and its inherent spirituality were both extraordinary. That moment of resonance made him feel as if this sword were tailor-made for him!

"I'll take this one." Without hesitation, Ye Chen handed his VIP card to the still-shocked maid.

After completing the transaction and deducting eight hundred Spirit Stones, Ye Chen quickly left Ten Thousand Treasures Tower with the ancient sword named "Qingfeng." He didn't return to the courtyard but instead left the city again, seeking a quiet, secluded forest.

Impatiently, he wanted to fully understand this sword and also try the Myriad Worlds Sword Tomb!

Sitting cross-legged on a bluestone, Ye Chen placed the qingfeng sword across his knees and stroked the cool blade with both hands. He closed his eyes and focused, slowly injecting more refined Spiritual Qi while attempting to communicate with the blade using a wisp of his past life's Sword Sovereign intent.

Hum...

The qingfeng sword hummed again, this time for longer. The dark grey of the blade seemed to flow, and the wind-eroded marks faintly formed a fragmented, profound pattern in Ye Chen's perception. An ancient, desolate, yet incomparably sharp aura diffused from the depths of the blade.

Although he still couldn't fully activate the sword's power, Ye Chen could feel that a preliminary connection had been established between him and the sword. Using sword techniques with this weapon would definitely be far more powerful than using his bare hands or fingers!

"Good sword!" Ye Chen couldn't put it down. He had a premonition that these eight hundred Spirit Stones were an absolute bargain.

After familiarizing himself with the qingfeng sword, he took a deep breath and sank his consciousness into the System.

"System, start the Myriad Worlds Sword Tomb Elementary exploration!"

[Consuming one Elementary exploration attempt to open the Myriad Worlds Sword Tomb...]

[Warning: Within the Sword Tomb, danger and opportunity coexist. The host's consciousness enters. While there is no danger of the Physical Body perishing, if the consciousness is severely damaged, it will seriously affect the real-world Divine Soul. Please be cautious!]

[Teleportation beginning...]

The scene before his eyes instantly distorted and shattered! A powerful suction came, and Ye Chen felt as if his consciousness were traveling through endless time and space.

The next moment, he "appeared" on a desolate, dead land.

The sky was an eternal, unchanging dusky yellow, with no sun, moon, or stars. Beneath his feet was cracked black earth, where broken weapons could be seen everywhere, rusted and stuck into the mud, stretching to the horizon. Tattered war banners flapped in a wind from nowhere, making a sound like sobbing.

The air was filled with dense Sword Qi and Sword Intent of various attributes—some sharp, some domineering, some feminine, some scorching... They intertwined, collided, and annihilated each other, forming a chaotic and dangerous force field.

This was the Myriad Worlds Sword Tomb! The burial ground of countless sword experts and divine weapons!

Ye Chen felt his consciousness body tremble slightly under the pressure of the omnipresent Sword Intent. He moved forward cautiously, not daring to touch the broken swords that seemed dormant but might actually contain terrifying Sword Intent.

[Absorbable residual Sword Intent discovered: Wind Erosion Sword Intent (Weak). Absorb?]

The System's prompt rang in his ear. Ye Chen looked at a broken sword nearby that was almost completely weathered, with only half the blade remaining. Above it hovered a wisp of nearly invisible aura carrying the sense of decay and cutting.

"Absorb!"

That wisp of weak Wind Erosion Sword Intent was guided by the System and merged into Ye Chen's consciousness. For a moment, he seemed to see the owner of this sword honing their skills in endless sandstorms, eventually witnessing the fragment of both sword and person being weathered by time. His understanding of "wind" and "erosion" deepened slightly.

[Sword Intent Insight +1.]

Ye Chen's spirits lifted, and he continued exploring. He found that not all broken swords had Sword Intent to absorb; many had completely lost their spirituality. Furthermore, the Sword Tomb was full of hidden dangers.

Swoosh!

An invisible Sword Qi shot from nowhere, grazing his consciousness body and bringing a sharp, intense pain that dimmed his consciousness form by a fraction.

He quickly dodged, becoming more cautious.

Along the way, he absorbed several more wisps of weak Sword Intent. Some were "Heavy Sword Intent," allowing him to sense its weight; others were "Flowing Water Sword Intent," letting him experience its continuous nature.

Although these Sword Intents were weak and mixed, they greatly broadened his horizons, ensuring his understanding of the "sword" was no longer limited to the single path of his previous life.

He didn't know how much time had passed—perhaps a moment, perhaps a long time—when the System's prompt rang again:

[Elementary exploration time is about to end. Detected a high concentration of a single Sword Intent reaction 300 meters ahead, suspected to be a complete Low-Rank Sword Intent Legacy. Proceed? Risk: High!]

Ye Chen looked in that direction and saw a longsword, relatively intact and dark red, stuck in a pile of rocks. Visible, scorching, and violent auras swirled around the blade.

"High risk, high reward!" Ye Chen gritted his teeth, and his consciousness body turned into a streak of light, rushing toward that dark red longsword!

The closer he got, the stronger that scorching and violent Sword Intent became, as if it wanted to ignite and tear apart his consciousness!

Just as he was about to touch the sword, the dark red longsword suddenly jolted!

Boom!

A highly condensed, almost physical crimson Sword Qi, like a volcanic eruption, slashed down at Ye Chen's consciousness! Before the Sword Qi even reached him, that terrifying intent had already frozen his consciousness, nearly causing it to dissipate!

"Not good!" Ye Chen was horrified. He desperately mobilized the mixed Sword Intents he had just absorbed, along with his own weak Sword Sovereign will, to set up a thin layer of defense in front of him.

Bang!

The crimson Sword Qi struck! The defense shattered instantly!

Ye Chen's consciousness body was sent flying like it had been hit by a heavy hammer, becoming extremely illusory, as if it would vanish at any moment.

[Warning! host's consciousness has suffered heavy damage! Forced exit from Myriad Worlds Sword Tomb!]

The scene before him receded rapidly. The next moment, Ye Chen snapped his eyes open, returning to the real-world forest.

Pfft!

His face was deathly pale as he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood. His head throbbed with needle-like pain, and his Divine Soul was withered. The damage to his consciousness had actually affected his Physical Body!

However, deep in his eyes, besides pain, there was a trace of irrepressible excitement.

Because at that final moment, when the crimson Sword Qi shattered his defense, he had clearly captured a sliver of true intent at the core of that Sword Intent—it was the ultimate "Explosion" and "Destruction"!

Although he failed to obtain the Legacy, the insight from that brief glimpse was of immeasurable value!

Enduring the sharp pain, he sat cross-legged and began to regulate his breathing while repeatedly recalling and digesting the gains from this Sword Tomb trip in his mind, especially the lingering charm of that final "Explosion" Sword Intent.

The qingfeng sword lay quietly on his knees, seemingly breathing along with him.