Chapter 56: Patriarch Devour-Heart

Off the east coast of Qingdao, a mountain shaped like a giant inverted sword thrust straight into the clouds.

At the foot of the mountain, three figures paused to look up.

"That is the entrance to the Sword Tomb."

Han Qi pointed to the half-hidden stone gate halfway up the mountain. "It is said that for a thousand years, no one has ever come out of the core region alive."

Ye Xiao gripped his broken sword tighter, the blood-red patterns on the blade growing slightly warm.

Ever since setting foot on this island, the broken sword had become unusually active, as if responding to some call.

Du Mao kicked away a rune-engraved pebble near his feet. "It seems someone has arrived ahead of us."

Scattered around the pebble were fresh bloodstains and fragments of garments belonging to the Profound Yellow Sect.

A cold glint flashed in Ye Xiao's eyes. "Xu Beichen..."

The three of them climbed upward along a path forged by their predecessors.

The closer they got to the stone gate, the sharper the sword qi permeating the air became, making their skin feel as though it were being pierced by countless fine needles.

More than twenty cultivators had gathered on the platform before the stone gate, divided into several factions and keeping a wary eye on each other. Most conspicuous was a seven-member vanguard team from the Profound Yellow Sect; they occupied the best position, though Xu Beichen was nowhere to be seen.

"Trash from the Yin-Yang Academy dare come to the Sword Tomb?"

A Profound Yellow Sect disciple sneered.

Just as Ye Xiao was about to retort, the stone gate emitted a sudden, thunderous rumble and swung open.

Dense black mist surged forth like a living entity. The two cultivators standing closest were swallowed instantly, leaving only shrill, miserable screams echoing in the air.

"Watch out!"

Han Qi formed hand seals, raising an ice wall in front of the three of them.

When the black mist struck the ice wall, it produced a sizzling, corrosive sound.

The crowd stirred, and some began to back away.

The Profound Yellow Sect leader sneered, "Those afraid to die can get lost right now!"

With that, he was the first to charge into the stone gate.

Ye Xiao and his two companions exchanged glances and followed closely behind.

The moment he passed through the stone gate, Ye Xiao felt a dizzying spin of the heavens and earth.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a deep, gloomy corridor, both stone walls studded with rust-covered ancient swords.

"Senior Brother Du? Han Qi?" Ye Xiao looked around, only to discover he was entirely alone. The blood-red patterns on the broken sword flickered erratically, as if guiding the way.

He pressed forward following the sensation, when suddenly the ground beneath his feet vanished!

The stone slabs flipped over, revealing a deep pit below bristling with sharp spikes. In a flurry, Ye Xiao thrust his sword into the stone wall, barely managing to hang onto the edge of the pit.

With two swift whooshes, dozens of poison-tipped arrows shot out from the walls on either side.

Ye Xiao swung his body, his broken sword scraping a shower of sparks against the stone wall, and leveraged the momentum to flip back onto solid ground. All the arrows missed their mark.

"The very first trial is this brutal..."

Wiping away a cold sweat, Ye Xiao proceeded with even greater caution.

After turning three bends, the sound of combat drifted from ahead. Holding his breath, Ye Xiao drew closer and saw Han Qi being assaulted by three human-faced spiders.

Her ice spikes had pierced the abdomen of one spider, but two more were closing in from behind.

"Duck!"

Ye Xiao shouted loudly as his broken sword flew out of his hand, pinning one of the spiders to the wall.

Hearing the cry, Han Qi dropped low and unleashed a backhand ice blade that dispatched the final one.

"Where is Du Mao?"

Han Qi asked, panting heavily.

Ye Xiao shook his head. "We got separated. This place seems to feature spatial arrays."

The two proceeded together, encountering various traps and mutated demonic beasts along the way.

In front of a sword pool, they stumbled upon five cultivators slaughtering one another in a scramble for a glowing short sword.

"Don't mind them."

Ye Xiao pulled back Han Qi, who had wanted to step forward and investigate. "There is something wrong with that sword."

Sure enough, the moment the sole surviving cultivator managed to grasp the short sword, his entire body rapidly shriveled, transforming into a leather-wrapped skeleton. The short sword drank its fill of vital blood and erupted with an eerie red glow.

"A malevolent weapon!"

Han Qi's face turned pale.

Yet Ye Xiao's broken sword suddenly trembled violently, as if attempting to lunge toward that short sword.

Forcibly suppressing the anomalous movement of his blade, the two took a detour and left. After passing through a plaza covered in sword scars, the space ahead suddenly opened up.

In the center of a massive circular chamber floated a crystal sarcophagus.

Beneath the sarcophagus was a bottomless black hole, with eight chains extending from the coffin to the surrounding stone walls.

"Is this the core of the Sword Tomb?"

Han Qi asked in astonishment.

Instead, Ye Xiao stared intently at a gray tome floating above the crystal sarcophagus—the cover clearly bore the characters *Chaotic Sword Classic*!

Just as he prepared to step forward, a familiar voice sounded.

"I have waited for you a long time, Junior Brother Ye."

Xu Beichen stepped out from the shadows, the immortal bone on his chest radiating a pristine white light. Behind him stood two gloomy-looking elders, both at the peak of the Condensation Core Realm.

"Xu Beichen!"

Ye Xiao's eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and the broken sword emitted a humming resonance.

Xu Beichen smiled contemptuously. "You want this?"

He shook a jade box in his hand; through the translucent lid, a crystalline bone could be seen inside. "Do you want the *Chaotic Sword Classic*?"

These words completely ignited the fury in Ye Xiao's chest.

Without another word, his broken sword surged with bloody sword qi and went straight for Xu Beichen's throat!

"Clang!"

Xu Beichen easily parried the blow. The light of the immortal bone flared brilliantly, and with a backhanded palm strike, he drove Ye Xiao back several steps.

"The fifth layer of the Mansion Establishment Realm? You've improved quite a bit."

Xu Beichen feigned surprise. "Too bad you're still trash in front of me!"

Spitting out a mouthful of blood and foam, Ye Xiao suddenly smiled. "Is that so?"

The Blood Divine Scripture within his body surged frantically, and the demonic beast vital blood he had absorbed along the way ignited instantly! His aura climbed steadily, reaching the peak of the sixth layer of the Mansion Establishment Realm in the blink of an eye.

Xu Beichen's expression shifted slightly, but he quickly regained his composure. "A secret art that overdraws your potential? You won't last long."

The two clashed once more, their sword lights resembling rainbows.

Every time Ye Xiao's broken sword collided with Xu Beichen's longsword, it absorbed a trace of the immortal bone's energy. Realizing something was amiss, Xu Beichen turned his attacks even more ferocious.

"Blood Dragon Break!" Seizing an opportunity, Ye Xiao unleashed a fatal strike as his broken sword transformed into a blood-colored dragon shadow that lunged at Xu Beichen.

This was the second sword of the Nine Dragons Sword Art!

Xu Beichen dodged hastily, but his left shoulder was still slashed open.

Laughing out of extreme anger, he snapped, "Courting death!"

The immortal bone suddenly detached from his chest and hovered above his head, casting down a curtain of light.

"The Immortal Bone Domain?" Han Qi cried out in alarm. "Ye Xiao, retreat quickly!"

But it was already too late.

Enveloped by the light curtain, Ye Xiao felt as though he had fallen into a quagmire, his movements slowing down more than tenfold.

Xu Beichen leisurely raised his sword, aiming at his heart. "Farewell, Junior Brother Ye."

At that critical juncture, Han Qi hurled three ice crystal talismans.

The talismans detonated, and an extreme chill temporarily froze the operation of the light curtain. Seizing the opportunity, she grabbed Ye Xiao and flew backward.

"Trying to run?" Xu Beichen shattered the ice crystals and prepared to pursue them, when the entire Sword Tomb suddenly shook violently!

The chains on the crystal sarcophagus snapped one after another, and thick, ink-like black mist billowed from the black hole. A hoarse voice reverberated through the space.

"Hehehehe, you suppressed me for a thousand years, and now I'm finally out!"

The black mist condensed into a gigantic human face, gazing greedily at everyone present. The Profound Yellow Sect elder standing closest had barely turned around before he was ensnared by the black mist, sucked dry into a withered corpse in the blink of an eye.

"Devart... Devour-Heart Old Ancestor?!"

Xu Beichen's face turned ashen; he could no longer spare a thought for hunting down Ye Xiao. "Fall back! Fall back quickly!"

However, the exit had already been sealed by the black mist. The wild laughter of the Devour-Heart Old Ancestor cracked the stone walls. "Since you've all come, become this deity's nourishment!"

Struggling to his feet, Ye Xiao discovered that the broken sword was frantically absorbing the black mist in the air, the blood patterns on its blade turning a dark purple.

Even more terrifyingly, he felt something creeping up the hilt and tunneling into his body...

Han Qi steadied the crumbling Ye Xiao. "We must..."

Her words cut off abruptly. Within the black mist, a stooped figure slowly emerged, a withered, claw-like hand pointing straight at Ye Xiao!

"An inheritor of the Blood Divine Scripture? Excellent, this deity happens to need a new body..."