Chapter 15

The Sword Tomb, the Sword Tomb! Standing before the Sword Tomb, Jiang Chen stared at the two rows of stone carvings, lost in thought. After a long while, he finally lowered his head and saw many stones piled up to form a large grave. This grave faced the valley, overlooking the vast expanse, and it was clear that the Sword Demon himself was a great hero. Just the Sword Tomb alone was strategically placed, showing that this person was a man of both literary and martial talent, with extraordinary ambitions. However, he regretted being born too late and having no chance to meet this predecessor hero.

For a moment, his heart was filled with pent-up emotions, and Jiang Chen could not hold back. He felt a surge of true energy flowing through his body, more vigorous than ever before. At that moment, he suddenly let out a long howl to the sky, and the echoes reverberated for a while. Breathing in the wind, he felt a surge of clear energy in his chest and abdomen, as if he could fly away with the wind.

After a moment, Jiang Chen composed himself, bowed respectfully, and then lifted the first sword, revealing three long swords lying side by side. Between the first and second swords was a long stone tablet. The three swords and the stone tablet were placed on a large bluestone.

Jiang Chen knew that Yang Guo, after sixteen years of arduous cultivation, had advanced in his martial arts and had initially grasped the realm of the wooden sword. Therefore, the black iron heavy sword was no longer needed and was returned to the Sword Tomb. This was a good thing, but he could not take it away, which made him somewhat disappointed.

After a brief moment, with a sense of reverence, Jiang Chen carefully picked up the first sword. Below the sword, he saw two lines of small characters carved on the stone:

"Sharp and fierce, invincible, used to challenge the heroes of the Yellow River before the age of twenty."

Looking at the sword, he saw that it was about four feet long, gleaming with a green light, truly a divine weapon!

He couldn't help but think that Dugu Qiu Bai, a genius, must have already possessed extraordinary martial arts skills by the age of twenty, and his swordsmanship was even more formidable. With such a sword that could cut through iron like butter, it was no wonder that the heroes were at a loss, and the sword was truly sharp!

At this time, Dugu Qiu Bai might not have reached the peak of his martial arts, but there was no doubt that this was the most satisfying period of his life!

Killing all his enemies and defeating all the heroes was the most vivid portrayal of his life.

With a sigh, Jiang Chen put the sharp sword back in place and picked up the long stone tablet. Below the stone tablet, he saw two lines of small characters carved on the bluestone:

"Purple Star Soft Sword, used before the age of thirty, mistakenly injured a righteous person, and was discarded in a deep valley."

Jiang Chen thought, "One sword is missing here, it turns out it was discarded. How it mistakenly injured a righteous person, this story will probably never be known."

To be able to catch Dugu Qiu Bai's eye, it was clear that the Purple Star Soft Sword was also a divine weapon. But Dugu Qiu Bai could decisively discard it after making a mistake, showing his resolute nature and wise judgment, which was far beyond the ordinary.

At least, if it were Jiang Chen, he would not have the same breadth of mind now!

After a moment, when he looked at the second sword, Jiang Chen knew that this was the black iron heavy sword used by Yang Guo sixteen years ago. As soon as he picked it up, he felt its weight, which was very different from the previous sharp green sword.

Although the sword looked black and unremarkable, it was extremely heavy, far surpassing any ordinary weapon. A sword over three feet long weighed no less than seventy or eighty pounds, much heavier than the heaviest weapons on the battlefield. Fortunately, Jiang Chen was well-prepared and had great strength, so the weight of the sword was not a problem for him, but for ordinary people, it was too heavy.

Holding the black sword, he saw that both sides of the blade were blunt, and the tip was round like a hemisphere. He couldn't help but think, "This sword is so heavy that, unless one has innate strength, how could an ordinary person use it skillfully? Moreover, the tip and edges are not sharp, which is quite unusual." Looking at the stone carvings below the sword, he saw two lines of small characters:

"Heavy sword without a sharp edge, great skill without artifice. Used to dominate the world before the age of forty."

Jiang Chen muttered the eight characters, "Heavy sword without a sharp edge, great skill without artifice," and felt a sense of enlightenment. He had inherited the martial arts of Qiu Qianren and had some understanding of the realm of using heavy as light, not much different from Yang Guo. Seeing these two lines containing Dugu's sword intent, he was greatly moved.

After a long time, Jiang Chen put down the heavy sword and picked up the third sword, which was the wooden sword. It was light and seemed weightless. Below the sword, he saw two lines of small characters:

"After the age of forty, not bound by material things, grass, trees, bamboo, and stones can all be used as swords. From then on, I refined my skills, gradually reaching the realm where no sword is better than a sword."

This was a higher realm of martial arts, which Jiang Chen could not understand. Even Yang Guo, after sixteen years of hard cultivation, had only just grasped the realm of the wooden sword, and for the even higher realm of no sword, he had no clue. How much more so for Jiang Chen, a novice!

He respectfully placed the wooden sword back in its place and sighed deeply, saying, "The skills of the predecessor are truly unimaginable." He wondered if there were any sword manuals or other relics under the bluestone, so he reached out and lifted the stone. Below the stone, he saw only the solid rock of the mountain wall, with nothing else, which made him somewhat disappointed.

Fortunately, Jiang Chen had not expected much. His main purpose was to find a divine weapon to use against Jinlun Fawang. Now that his goal was achieved, and he had gained a lot of strange snake gallbladders to enhance his strength, his gains were already considerable. If he was still unsatisfied, it would be too greedy.

He took the first green sword in hand, thought for a moment, and named it "Pojin," meaning to defeat Jinlun Fawang. Satisfied, he carefully put the stones back in place to cover the sword.

Leaving the Sword Tomb, Jiang Chen thought about the sword manual he still needed. He was reluctant to dig up the remains of his predecessor, but after some hesitation, he could not resist and returned to the cave where Dugu Qiu Bai had lived. Standing before the pile of stones, he bowed and said, "Predecessor Dugu, my actions today are out of necessity. I hope you can forgive me."

Alright, he was a bit greedy, but he thought that Dugu Qiu Bai would not want his sword techniques to be buried forever. After bowing, Jiang Chen did not waste any more time and started to move the stones.

Although he had earlier speculated that the stone tomb was built by the divine bird, he did not really believe it. Dugu Qiu Bai was a hero of his time, undefeated in his lifetime, and he might not have wanted his remains to be seen after his death. Even if the divine bird was intelligent, it might not have understood the need to bury the dead.

Therefore, the pile of stones might not contain Dugu Qiu Bai's remains. Perhaps he had built the tomb himself, and his true remains were buried elsewhere, or perhaps they were scattered in the mountains and rivers, which would be fitting for his identity.

With this thought, he worked even harder. With his current strength and martial arts, it didn't take long to clear the pile of stones.

Sure enough, after clearing the stones, there were no human or animal remains inside. There was only one thing: a rough stone box about a foot long.

Jiang Chen walked over and carefully opened the stone box. Inside was a silk book with four large characters on the cover:

"Dugu Nine Swords."

Looking at the sword manual, Jiang Chen was momentarily overwhelmed with emotion. After a long while, he finally calmed down and put the book away. He then carefully covered the stone box with the stones, bowed three times, and left the cave quickly.

No matter what, he had obtained the sword manual in a less than honorable way. Although he was deep in the wilderness with no one around, he did not dare to stay long. After all, Yang Guo knew this place, and if he came to pay respects to Dugu Qiu Bai at this time and they met, Yang Guo's intelligence would quickly notice that the stone tomb had been disturbed. In that case, they might end up in a confrontation, and even with his current martial arts, he could not afford to take any risks in Yang Guo's world, where the protagonist's aura could lead to unpredictable outcomes.

He imagined himself fighting Yang Guo, already having the upper hand, but suddenly slipping and being struck by Yang Guo's Desolate Palm, resulting in his defeat.

"The protagonist is the most ruthless existence in the world. If I can't avoid him, can I at least hide from him?" This was why Jiang Chen immediately fled after obtaining the sword manual, and he indeed did so. As for the integrity of a top martial artist, well, what is integrity, and how much does it cost per pound?

Page break for AD start

Page break for AD end