The Birth of Sword God-Chapter 41 - 40: Female Protagonist

"Could it be that this is the mystery of my Spiritual Embryo?" Chu Huaixu fell into deep thought.

Seeing the illusion realm had been broken, Han Shuangjiang noticed he was still pondering with a frown and decided not to disturb him.

To her, as long as he didn’t notice the puddle left behind by her, he could do whatever he wanted.

At this moment, she curiously glanced back.

All ten paths led to this clearing paved with green slate.

"Before the illusion realm, was it really a labyrinth?" she thought.

"Are the others still trapped inside, while I was so lucky to choose correctly at all ten intersections?" She still found it hard to believe.

Besides, Han Shuangjiang had another question in mind.

"Where is the next stage?"

There was nothing here, and there was no road ahead.

It can’t be that this Secret Realm is just a trick, and this is the end, with nothing left by the departed senior?

As someone new to the Daoist Sect, she didn’t realize that such things do happen; some old tricksters intentionally mess with future generations.

Of course, those cases are extremely rare.

Chu Huaixu, unable to fully comprehend the black Little Sword in his Sea of Consciousness, also began to look around to figure out the next step.

In front of him was a stone wall. He walked up and examined it closely, casually tapping, and indeed found a secret mechanism.

He pressed hard on a protruding part, and a stone gate opened up.

It was clear that the focus of this stage was the previous illusion realm, and the mechanism wasn’t hidden deeply.

After exchanging a glance, the two of them walked forward together.

The stone gate closed again, as if it had never opened.

Along the way, Chu Huaixu muttered, "The illusion realm in front should still be usable, right? It hasn’t been destroyed, has it?"

"What’s the matter?" Han Shuangjiang asked, puzzled.

"When Liu Chengqi and the others get out of the labyrinth, it can trap them!" Chu Huaixu said, as if it were the most obvious thing.

The Big Ice Cube faintly uttered a sound. She hadn’t thought of that at all.

Chatting as they walked, they soon reached the end of the stone path.

Before their eyes was an underground river.

It was about fifty meters wide.

On the other side of the underground river stood a stone pillar over a meter tall.

On top of the stone pillar seemed to be something resembling a compass.

Beyond it, there was another stone gate.

"What is that?" Han Shuangjiang also noticed the compass.

"That is a Spirit Plate." Chu Huaixu, more knowledgeable than her, replied.

He explained, "It’s used to measure the grade of Spiritual Embryos."

He hadn’t expected that there would be a Spirit Plate placed in front of this stone gate.

Under normal circumstances, checking someone’s Spiritual Embryo grade can be done through blood.

Someone like Li Chunsong, a great cultivator of the Seventh Realm with wide knowledge, could deduce that Han Shuangjiang had a Profound Yin Body from a drop of blood.

However, ordinary cultivators lack such cultivation. Someone like Liu Tianfeng, even with Han Shuangjiang’s blood, would likely make a wrong judgment at best—thinking it an Upper Grade Spiritual Embryo!

In reality, Spiritual Embryos are divided into ten levels, with the lowest three levels as Lower Grade, the middle three as Middle Grade, and the top three as Upper Grade. Beyond that, the Super Grade is a rarity in a century!

Unless one is above the Fifth Realm, even if someone with an Upper Grade Spiritual Embryo stands before them, they couldn’t tell which level within the top three it belongs to, let alone if it’s a Super Grade Spiritual Embryo.

The Spirit Plate serves to make this detailed distinction.

But this thing is expensive to produce, typically only used by medium to large sects.

Sects like the Joy Sect, a third-rate sect, without any great cultivators, rely on the most primitive methods—blood testing.

Han Shuangjiang’s Profound Yin Body, a once-in-a-century occurrence, would be a hidden gem anywhere.

Upon seeing the Spirit Plate, a smile appeared on Chu Huaixu’s face.

"This thing is expensive. We can sell it to the sect for Contribution Points," Chu Huaixu said.

Hearing the word ’expensive,’ the poor soul next to him started staring at it incessantly.

Chu Huaixu turned to look at her and said, "I knew I made the right choice bringing you along; you’re my lucky star."

Han Shuangjiang felt a little embarrassed by his insistence, but maintained her stern little face and asked, "Why do you say that?"

He pointed forward and said, "Clearly, this senior had some bias against Spiritual Embryos."

"Look, there’s a Spirit Plate here, and a stone gate behind it."

"I reckon if the grade measured isn’t high enough, that stone gate simply won’t open!"

Chu Huaixu couldn’t help but recall an ancient online novel he read on Earth, with the first Chapter titled ’The Fallen Genius’.

But even Xiao Yan at least measured "Fighting Qi, Third Rank!"

When he placed his hand on the Spirit Plate, it was only the lowest among the lower grades, a pitiful Level 1 Spiritual Embryo.

Of course, with this Big Ice Cube’s talent, opening the Stone Gate was just a minor issue.

Thinking of this, Chu Huaixu smiled at Han Shuangjiang and said, "So, you are my key."

"What do you mean by yours or mine." Han Shuangjiang’s cheeks turned a very light pink from his words.

One moment I’m a lucky star, the next a key, utter nonsense!

But she more or less agreed with Chu Huaixu’s reasoning, otherwise why put a Spirit Plate there?

She looked toward the underground river up ahead and said, "So we just need to cross the river?"

"It definitely won’t be that simple." Chu Huaixu stared at the river.

He walked toward the underground river, crouched down, and examined it closely.

The water of the river was very clear, but the flow was very slow.

On the stone wall beneath the river, there were four holes, and it seemed there were mechanisms as well.

Two giant stone walls on either end rose up, appearing as if they would fall down and block the flow of water.

"This Secret Realm can only be accessed by mortals or those at the Acupoint Opening Stage."

"For us, we can only swim across," Chu Huaixu said.

If their cultivation level was higher, they could simply leap across, but they couldn’t do that.

"Moreover, since this is part of the test, I suspect using other methods to get across will also be hindered." He analyzed based on his experience.

Chu Huaixu looked around, picked up a small stone, and threw it forcefully toward the opposite bank.

Sure enough, the stone hit an invisible barrier, spreading a semi-transparent ripple that couldn’t be penetrated.

The stone fell into the river, without triggering any unusual occurrences.

He continued his attempts, throwing several more stones into the river, even choosing an extremely large one on purpose.

As before, there was still no reaction.

"I guess there’s an array that only activates when a person goes down," Chu Huaixu remarked.

He had quite a diverging way of thinking and continued searching around for something, "I wonder if there are any mice or such, to test if the array activates when living creatures enter the water."

Han Shuangjiang looked at him, seriously suspecting that if Liu Chengqi and others were standing by the river now, this Dead Fox would kick them in to test the waters.

The Big Ice Cube thought to herself, "Since Liu Chengqi isn’t here, does that mean... it’s just me?"

"Shall I try going into the water first?" she suddenly said.

Chu Huaixu was startled: "Huh? Don’t be ridiculous!"

Han Shuangjiang’s deep dark eyes stared straight at him and she said earnestly, "I’m serious."

Seeing him hesitate to nod, she pointed to the other side of the river.

"Besides, didn’t you say that only I might be able to open that Stone Gate, so of course, I have to go into the water," she said.

"I’m not familiar with the type of array it is." Chu Huaixu looked at her, stating the facts.

Though he had extensive experience in venturing into secret realms, he wasn’t all-knowing.

"No matter, this Secret Realm was originally prepared for disciples at the Acupoint Opening Stage, it shouldn’t be too difficult," Han Shuangjiang seemed very nonchalant.

"If we don’t dare to try even this, what’s the point of seeking the Supreme Dao?" she retorted to Chu Huaixu.

Han Shuangjiang, young as she was, strangely exuded an air of a mature woman, and saying such things made her seem even more commanding.

Chu Huaixu looked at her, muttering to himself, "Truly a character with the Female Protagonist script from ’Borrowed Sword’."

Within the player community, she had more female fans than male fans.

Because the grown-up Han Shuangjiang was really striking, perfectly meeting the "sister slays me" standard.

"Let me give it a try first, at least." He made one last stand: "After all, I’ve opened five acupoints and you only four, right?"

Yes, overnight Han Shuangjiang had astonishingly managed to open another acupoint through cultivation, which was terrifying!

Hearing this, she looked behind and asked, "Is there enough time now?"

"If the Illusion Realm outside is still effective, there should be ample time, they won’t break through quickly." Chu Huaixu shrugged and continued:

"Of course, if they do come in, I can just kick Liu Chengqi in."

Han Shuangjiang: "..."

——This Dead Fox is surely thinking that way!

The Profound Yin Body looked at him and said, "It’s good that there’s plenty of time."

With that, she sat cross-legged beside Chu Huaixu, beginning to cultivate the ’Ice Purity Formulas.’

After performing a circulation with remarkable ease, she opened her beautiful eyes.

"Now, I have five acupoints too," she said.

...