Chapter 20: The Black Sword

The moment Lin Chuan’s foot touched the rocky platform below, a piercing chill shot up from his soles straight to his crown. Immediately, a sharp, shrill scream exploded inside his mind, as if countless steel needles were simultaneously piercing his brain.

“Ah!”

He groaned softly, and his vision was suddenly engulfed by a sea of black shadows.

Those shadows twisted and writhed, sometimes morphing into terrifying human faces, at other times into withered, ghostly claws, greedily lunging at him.

Lin Chuan felt something within him being forcibly drained, his blood seeming to boil and evaporate.

“His blood energy is being sucked away!” Xiao Pang’s voice suddenly rang out, unusually serious.

“If this continues, you’ll become one of them!”

“Are you still watching the show?!” Lin Chuan yelled in his mind. “Are you just going to watch your dad suffer?”

“Relax, I’m coming!” Xiao Pang replied.

In an instant, an extremely faint yet boundlessly vast spiritual power burst forth from the Blood Spirit Ring.

The ring on Lin Chuan’s hand suddenly grew scorching hot, emanating invisible ripples. The attacking evil souls, like snow under the scorching sun, let out piercing screams as their bodies rapidly vaporized.

“Hiss—ah!”

Hundreds, even thousands, of malevolent spirits turned into wisps of blue smoke in the blink of an eye, then were drawn by some mysterious force, flowing into the Blood Spirit Ring like countless tributaries converging into the sea.

The entire process took only a few breaths, and the platform regained its calm, as if the terrifying scene had never occurred.

Lin Chuan exhaled deeply, wiping the cold sweat from his brow. “Could you act a little sooner next time?”

“I just wanted you to experience the dangers of the cultivation world!” Xiao Pang teased mischievously. “Besides, gathering more soul power benefits everyone—wow! These evil souls are of good quality this time!”

Lin Chuan ignored him and called upward, “It’s safe now! Come down!”

At the cliff’s edge, Wang Tiezhu and the other two stared in disbelief at what had just transpired below.

They only saw Lin Chuan enveloped by black mist, which then suddenly dissipated for no apparent reason.

“Child… child’s urine is that powerful?” Wang Tiezhu stammered, unconsciously reaching for the small bottle hanging at his waist.

Zhang Lin swallowed nervously. “Looks like that strange book Lin Chuan has isn’t just bragging…”

Li Yu blushed and murmured softly, “Then does that mean we have to…”

The three exchanged glances, then, gritting their teeth, each took out the “child’s urine” Lin Chuan had given them and poured it over themselves without hesitation.

The sticky liquid trickled down their hair and faces, the pungent, acrid smell making them frown deeply—but when it comes to survival, who cares about the smell?

“I’ll go first!” Wang Tiezhu closed his eyes and jumped down, drenched like a drowned rat.

Zhang Lin and his wife followed closely behind. After landing, the stench made Lin Chuan involuntarily take a step back.

“You guys... you didn’t have to be so thorough…”

“Safety first!” Wang Tiezhu said seriously, glancing around with caution. “Brother Lin, you said before that we’re not children, so being close to you is the only safe way?”

Lin Chuan stifled a laugh and nodded. “Right. Better not to stray more than three feet from me.”

Without hesitation, the three clung to Lin Chuan like chicks following their mother.

---

The mixture of sweat and the foul scent of urine was so overwhelming that Lin Chuan nearly fainted.

“Hahaha! These three clowns!” Xiao Pang laughed until he nearly fell over. “If I were an evil spirit, I’d steer clear of this smell too!”

“Shut up!” Lin Chuan cursed silently, then solemnly said, “Stick close to me. We’re going down.”

Thus, the four began their descent into the abyss in a ridiculously comical formation—Lin Chuan leading, with the other three practically glued to his back.

At every new platform, fresh waves of evil souls attacked, only to be turned to dust under Xiao Pang’s covert control.

After more than half an hour of jumping, the four finally reached the bottom of the Soul Devouring Abyss.

Even the fearless Zhang Lin gasped coldly upon seeing the scene before them.

Bones.

Everywhere as far as the eye could see lay a vast sea of bones.

Some were weathered and shattered, others still retained their skeletal form intact. Countless empty eye sockets silently stared at the intruders, as if conveying the despair of their former lives.

“How many people must have died here…” Li Yu’s voice trembled as she instinctively gripped her husband’s arm.

Wang Tiezhu crouched down, carefully avoiding a skull. “Judging by the distribution of these bones, it doesn’t look like they died in battle… more like…”

“Like they all died here together,” Lin Chuan interjected, his brow furrowed. “Probably from some large-scale soul attack.”

“Smart!” Xiao Pang praised unusually. “They were instantly drained of their souls and died. This place is no joke…”

The four cautiously advanced, the crunching of bones beneath their feet piercing the eerie silence of the abyss floor.

After walking about a hundred feet, Lin Chuan suddenly stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Zhang Lin asked warily.

Lin Chuan said nothing, his gaze fixed on something ahead.

Leaning quietly against the rock wall was an extraordinary skeleton.

Unlike the other gray, decayed bones, this skeleton was crystal-clear like jade, faint spiritual light flowing over its surface. Even more strikingly, it tightly gripped a jet-black long sword, the blade intact and gleaming with a cold metallic luster in the dim light.

“This is…” Li Yu gasped, covering her mouth in surprise.

“A remnant of a powerful cultivator,” Lin Chuan said gravely, a flicker of excitement in his eyes. “At least a Martial Realm being, whose bones have become immortalized after death.”

Wang Tiezhu rubbed his hands eagerly, eyes shining. “That sword must be a treasure!”

Lin Chuan did not rush forward, instead asking Xiao Pang in his mind if it was safe.

After absorbing the evil souls along the way, Xiao Pang’s soul power had returned to the level of the Black Tortoise Realm. Though not high, his soul essence was so advanced that even peak Earth Realm warriors could not harm him.

“This sword is barely worth noticing. Whether you keep it or sell it, it’s good. And you’re likely to gain some unexpected benefits,” Xiao Pang replied calmly.

---

Hearing this, Lin Chuan stepped forward.

As he drew closer, the black sword seemed to sense something; the blade trembled slightly, emitting a low hum.

“Lin Chuan! Be careful!” Zhang Lin shouted anxiously.

Lin Chuan waved him off, crouching before the skeleton.

Up close, he noticed a shocking crack across the chest bone, from the collarbone to the ribs—clearly a fatal blow from a sharp weapon.

“Forgive me, senior,” Lin Chuan whispered, reaching for the sword’s hilt.

The moment his fingers touched the handle, an abrupt change occurred!

The black sword suddenly burst forth with dazzling black light, a chillingly cold energy surged up his arm into his mind.

His vision darkened as his consciousness was forcefully pulled into a strange scene—

Under a sky thick with dark clouds, a black-robed swordsman wielding the black sword stood alone against dozens of formidable foes.

The swordsman’s face was stern, his swordsmanship fierce, each strike accompanied by black rifts tearing the space itself. But overwhelmed by numbers, eventually, a brilliant golden light pierced his chest…

“Ah!”

Lin Chuan screamed in agony, jerking his hand back and staggering several steps. The vision was so vivid he could almost feel the swordsman’s unyielding resentment and fury at death.

“Xiao Pang! Didn’t you say it was safe?” Lin Chuan shouted in his mind, accusing him.

“I said you could take the sword, not that you wouldn’t feel a little pain doing it,” Xiao Pang teased maliciously. As an old friend and closest brother, he enjoyed seeing Lin Chuan suffer a bit, as long as it didn’t threaten his life.

Lin Chuan sighed, already accustomed to such tricks.

Suddenly, a strange sword technique memory inexplicably appeared in his mind, as if it had been with him from birth.

“Xiao Chuan! Are you okay?” Li Yu asked anxiously.

Lin Chuan shook his head, about to reply when the skeleton suddenly cracked and crumbled into dust, vanishing into the air, leaving only the black sword clanging onto the ground.

Even stranger, the sword slid automatically to Lin Chuan’s feet, as if waiting for him to pick it up.

“This…” Zhang Lin’s eyes widened. “The sword has recognized its master?”

Wang Tiezhu’s eyes nearly popped out with envy. “Brother Lin, your luck is unbelievable!”

Lin Chuan hesitated a moment before grasping the hilt again.

This time, nothing unusual happened. The black sword was cool to the touch, perfectly weighted, as if custom-made for him.