In the faction to the right, however, Wu Ming of Cold Crow Peak steepled his fingers under his chin, his dark nails gleaming faintly in the shadows. The others had their eyes half-closed, as if lost in thought, while at their head, Shen Wuya wore a smile but remained motionless.

Their apparent obliviousness stood in sharp contrast to the fervent response from the left.

"Since half of the Elders are in agreement, this matter is settled."

Bi Yuan’s expression was placid. With a flick of his sleeve, he was the first to stride out of the hall.

"Follow me, everyone."

Cui Yu and the others followed without hesitation. After a moment of silence, Shen Wuya slowly trailed behind. Soon, the group had followed the Sect Leader to the edge of a sheer cliff.

Before them was a deep chasm that stretched for a thousand zhang, as if a god had split the whole of Qingwei Mountain in two with an axe.

Gang Wind howled at the mouth of the abyss. Down below, one could faintly see black and red Evil Qi churning like a living thing, at times condensing into the shape of swords and blades, at others taking the form of a Fierce Beast.

From deeper within, the ceaseless clang of countless clashing weapons echoed, as if millions of lost souls were locked in a desperate battle at the bottom of the abyss.

"This is the entrance to the Sword Burial Abyss."

Bi Yuan stood with his hands clasped behind him, his Profound Daoist Robe whipping in the baleful wind. "Thousands of years ago, when the Taoist Sect was founded, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was exceptionally dense. The first Ancestral Master used the Nine Heavens Thunder Summoning Technique to split the mountain open, harnessing the Earth Vein Evil Qi to temper weapons. Before undergoing Soldier Resolution, disciples from every generation would cast their personal swords into this abyss."

Xu Yunfan concentrated his vision and looked closely, seeing that the walls of the abyss were densely studded with weapons.

The top layer was mostly Mortal Iron, long since corroded into jagged, crimson rust. A hundred zhang down, swords that gleamed with a cold light began to appear, their bodies wreathed in multi-colored Sword Qi. Deeper still, at the very bottom of the abyss, seven faint, rainbow-like lights darted about like roaming dragons. Each time they collided, they stirred up ripples of Evil Qi visible to the naked eye.

"When I entered the abyss to choose my sword, I saw a Profound Nether Ice Soul Sword fly up from the very bottom."

Bi Yuan flicked a finger, and a stream of Pure Yang True Qi shot into the abyss, instantly causing dozens of weapons to hum in response. "But as for exactly how many Divine Weapons there are... even now, I don’t know for sure. All I can say is that there are a great many of them. After thousands of years of accumulation, the number is greater than you could possibly imagine."

At this, a hint of a sigh escaped Bi Yuan.

Back then, when the Celestial Demons invaded, the Taoist Sect bore the brunt of the assault. The Sword Burial Abyss endured great turmoil. These are secrets passed down from one Sect Leader to the next.

He suddenly turned to Shen Wuya, a faint, unreadable smile on his face. "Even the Cyan Nether Sword that Junior Brother Shen retrieved back then was merely from the middle layers. I hear there are even Tier Eight Divine Weapons in there, you know."

Shen Wuya’s expression froze, and his fingers tightened within his sleeve. The Sect Leader’s words were a clear jab at a sore spot; Bi Yuan knew full well that Shen Wuya had failed to reach the true core of the Sword Burial Abyss back then.

’That old dog. He’s clearly just getting back at me for what I did in the hall earlier.’

"The time is 1:45 PM."

Bi Yuan suddenly raised a hand. A blast of Pure Yang True Qi—so powerful it even shook Xu Yunfan—erupted from his palm, transforming into a ten-zhang-long crimson beam that shot into the abyss.

Instantly, the churning Evil Qi receded like an ebbing tide, revealing a Bronze Ladder that spiraled down the chasm wall.

Bi Yuan gave a solemn warning. "Remember, you only have four Hours. If a weapon offers itself to you, do not be greedy. In the Sword Burial Abyss, it has always been that a man chooses the weapon, but more importantly, the weapon chooses its master."

"Yes, Master. I will remember!"

Xu Yunfan took a deep breath and stepped into the Sword Burial Abyss.

In an instant, a wave of Evil Qi so thick it felt tangible washed over him. It felt like a thousand tiny needles piercing his skin, and his muscles tensed involuntarily.

The weapons in the abyss seemed to sense his presence, and they began to tremble and hum. The sharp auras they released carved marks of varying depths into the rock walls.

He descended the Bronze Ladder at a slow pace. With every step he took, ancient runes would glow on the bronze beneath his feet, dispelling the Evil Qi that tried to coil around him.

These were Dao Patterns, carved by the Taoist Sect’s Ancestral Masters in an age when Primordial Spirit was still dense, and they had a truly wondrous effect.

The rock walls on either side were studded with weapons: rust-spotted Broken Blades, Longswords that glinted with a cold light, and even strangely shaped Exotic Weapons. All of them, nourished by the Evil Qi, gave off a faint, eerie glow.

Upon reaching a depth of one hundred zhang, the mist suddenly parted.

Xu Yunfan’s pupils constricted. Around a bend in the ladder ahead, an old man with shoulder-length white hair sat cross-legged!

The old man’s eyes were shut tight. A Green Blade Long Sword lay across his lap.

The sword was unsheathed, its blade as clear as autumn water. The Sword Aura it pulsed formed a three-zhang-wide vacuum around the old man, repelling even the Evil Qi.

What was even more startling was that the old man’s breathing was in perfect sync with the sword’s hum, as if man and sword had long ago become one.

’A master from the Taoist Sect?’

A jolt went through Xu Yunfan. He tensed subconsciously, his Blood Qi surging within him, ready to be unleashed. He was prepared to react instantly if the old man made a single hostile move.

Seeing that the old man remained unresponsive, sitting as still as a statue, he cautiously edged past him and continued his descent.

"How interesting."

The hoarse voice, tinged with a playful tone, echoed between the chasm’s dark walls.

The white-haired old man had now risen to his feet. As his withered fingers caressed the Longsword, the blade hummed, resonating with the Evil Qi from the abyss floor.

Even more shockingly, as the old man stood, the swirling Evil Qi parted before him as if before a king, clearing a path on the Bronze Ladder.

The old man said nothing more, simply following behind Xu Yunfan at an unhurried pace. His footsteps and the sword’s hum blended in perfect harmony, creating a sort of ancient rhythm.

Xu Yunfan, completely oblivious, continued to descend rapidly. The old man’s steps weren’t fast, but his movements were ghostly; with a single stride, he would cross four or five lengths of the bronze walkway.

It took Xu Yunfan a full Hour to traverse the thousand-zhang distance.

When he finally set foot on the floor of the Sword Burial Abyss, the sight before him took his breath away.

The bottom of the abyss was a bronze platform, one hundred zhang in diameter. Its surface was covered in intricate runes, and in the center stood seven bronze pillars. Wrapped around each pillar were Profound Iron Chains as thick as a child’s arm.

The other end of the chains disappeared into the bottomless chasm beneath the platform. The faint GROAN of the chains straining could be heard, as if they were restraining some colossal beast.

Even more astonishingly, dozens of Divine Weapons floated in the air between the seven bronze pillars.

A completely crimson Long Spear, its tip constantly dripping a liquid like molten rock.

A Nine-Sectioned Purple Gold Mace, each section wreathed in lightning.

A phantom dragon coiled around a Bronze Ancient Sword...

Below these Divine Weapons, seven Longswords had become streaks of rainbow light, darting about like fish. Every time they neared one of the bronze pillars, the chains would shudder violently.

"You have a good eye, kid."

The old man’s voice suddenly sounded right beside his ear. Xu Yunfan’s expression changed drastically. He whipped his head around, only to find the old man standing just three feet away.

The old man’s withered finger was pointing down, past the pillars and chains, into the bottomless abyss below.

"If you want the truly top-tier Divine Weapons... they’re still further down."

Xu Yunfan instinctively took a step back, his muscles instantly tensing. The veins on his neck bulged like coiling Qiu Longs, and the Blood Qi in his body began to boil.