First, what caught her eye was still the countless skeletons scattered across the ground. There weren’t many intact skeletons; the majority were disassembled, as if deliberately destroyed. Most of the human skeletons had decayed, with only a few dressed in the attire of Xuantian Sect disciples remaining relatively whole. Bao Gu roughly counted, identifying the remains of thirty to forty Xuantian Sect disciples.
Trembling, she approached the skeletal remains of the Xuantian Sect disciples, now reduced to white bones, and forced herself to examine them despite the shivers in her heart. On the severely decayed clothing and bones, she found no fatal wounds. Near the invisible barrier at the perimeter, a few skeletons in clothing were positioned as if they had been crawling forward; some remains clearly showed signs of suicide, either sitting or lying down with swords not far from their bodies, creating a chaotic scene of scattered bones.
These skeletons, along with the invisible wall she encountered earlier, led Bao Gu to suspect that all the creatures who died here were trapped to death.
This realization terrified Bao Gu, and she couldn’t help but wonder if she would end up the same way. She reassured herself, “No, no, it won’t happen. As long as I’m alive, there’s hope.” She recalled a wilderness biography she had read, which stated that ghosts linger in the mortal world because they have unfulfilled wishes. The male ghost that dragged her here must have wanted her to fulfill some wish; those who died here must have been left behind because they couldn’t fulfill his wish.
Bao Gu told herself that as long as she could find out the ghost’s purpose for bringing her here, she might find a way to leave. She couldn’t help but curse the Xuantian Sect’s higher-ups for their irresponsibility. As immortals of the Xuantian sect, they should have exorcised the ghosts and cleaned up the place, considering how many had died here—and how many more might die, perhaps including herself. “Pah, pah, pah, may I live a long life without such ill fate! I refuse to die!” Bao Gu was so scared she was nearly in tears. So many powerful predecessors had died here, and she had only just begun her cultivation, having reached only the first stage of Qi Refining. How could she possibly escape?
Shivering, Bao Gu held back the tears welling up in her eyes, sniffling continuously, and forced the tears back, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. She told herself, “Since it’s a dead end anyway, I might as well fight for a chance at life. Look for a way to live, don’t think about dying.” She steadied her mind and surveyed her surroundings once more.
Her gaze swept past the skeletons as she scrutinized the environment for anything suspicious.
It seemed to be a large courtyard, evident from the collapsed rockery, the stone table rolling on the ground, and the fallen pavilion next to the dried-up pond. Bao Gu walked over to the dried-up pond and looked inside, only to see a layer of skeletons covering the bottom, mixed with turtle shells and fish bones. The courtyard walls and the houses on both sides had collapsed, with numerous skeletons scattered across the ruins at the edge of the courtyard.
The place with the most deaths in the courtyard was around the edges and at the center, where a large sword, about four feet tall and as wide as a palm, stood straight in the ground, surrounded by a halo of red, yellow, green, black, and white lights.
All around the large sword were skeletons, and it seemed that someone had cleared the bones near the sword, leaving only two skeletons within three feet of it, while the rest were piled chaotically beyond that distance. Of the three skeletons lying next to the sword, two had been moved, while one remained in a half-kneeling position, its bony hands still clutching the hilt as if trying to draw the sword in its dying moments.
Bao Gu knew it was a valuable sword, evident from the light it emitted.
Could these people have died fighting over this sword? But that didn’t make sense; judging by the decay of the skeletons, they clearly died many years apart.
Bao Gu scanned the courtyard again and noticed many weapons scattered about, all dull and nearly decayed to dust.
All the other weapons had decayed, yet that colorful sword stood proudly, still shining, surrounded by skeletons. Wasn’t that strange?
Very strange! Bao Gu wanted to try pulling out the sword to find out the truth, but she dared not. The skeletons around the sword were enough to tell her that it was not easy to pull out.
Bao Gu knelt down respectfully and kowtowed on the ground, saying, “Ghostly ancestor, I didn’t mean to intrude here. Since I’ve come, let’s consider it fate. If you have any unfulfilled wishes, please tell me, and I will help you fulfill them!” She had been scared half to death by the ghost earlier, but now she was eager for it to appear and tell her what it wanted her to do.
The ghost did not appear, and the silence remained unbroken.
Bao Gu knelt on the ground, tears welling up as she stared at the strange sword. Gritting her teeth, she swung her axe and charged at the sword, striking it with all her might.
With a loud clang, Bao Gu felt a sharp pain in her arms as the axe was knocked out of her hands. She shook her numb and painful arms, tears welling up again, almost crying. She wiped away her tears and looked at the sword, which stood unmoved, while the bony hands that had been clutching it had fallen to the ground. The skeleton, now lying face down, had a waist token hanging from its belt. Bao Gu picked up the token, which looked like jade and had an inscription: “Lingyun Peak’s Master, Ziguang Zhenjun.”
The master of Lingyun Peak must have been powerful, and even he died here. How could she survive?
Bao Gu took several deep breaths, her lips trembling, barely holding back the urge to cry out loud. She pursed her lips tightly, holding back the sobs, and with tears in her eyes and trembling hands, she wanted to retun the token to Ziguang Zhenjun but she hesitated for a moment, thinking that if she could survive and return, it would be good to inform the sect about Ziguang Zhenjun’s death, using the token as proof. She put the token into her storage bag.
Bao Gu made a round of the area, saying, “Predecessors, please don’t blame me. It’s not that I covet your belongings, but you all died here. If I take some things from you to bring out, I can inform others of your fate and have you properly buried. I don’t know you, but your belongings can serve as proof of your identity. You wouldn’t want to die here unnoticed, right? Bless me to leave safely, and I will deliver the message for you.” After saying this, she still heard no response, so she bent down to pick up the scattered relics.
These relics were scattered around, seemingly intact, but they turned to dust at the touch.
The only things that could be held intact were the tokens on the bodies of those with neat clothing. These tokens represented the identities of their owners, mostly direct disciples and inner disciples of Lingyun Peak, with a few from other peaks and regions of Xuantian Sect, including two elders, a mountain guardian, and an ancestor.
Bao Gu collected dozens of tokens and finally understood why Lingyun Peak was so sparsely populated; most of its disciples had died here. It was truly unfortunate for Lingyun Peak to have such a haunted place.
What shocked Bao Gu the most was that only a Nascent Soul realm powerhouse could be called an ancestor, a Nascent Soul ancestor. As for “elder,” it was merely a position within the celestial sect, but one had to be highly skilled and powerful to hold such a title.
This ghost was truly vicious, capable of killing even elders and Nascent Soul ancestors.
The identities of these token owners shattered Bao Gu’s last illusions. If elders and Nascent Soul ancestors, who were hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of times more powerful than her, died here, how could she, with her mere first-stage Qi Refining strength, hope to survive? No wonder some chose to commit suicide here; it was better to die swiftly by the sword than to be trapped to death.
No, she couldn’t die. She had survived three years of drought and famine, and now that she had entered the celestial sect, she refused to die without a fight.
The ghost that had disappeared reappeared next to the colorful sword!
Bao Gu shouted excitedly, “Ghostly ancestor!” She stood up, ready to negotiate with the ghostly ancestor and ask about his unfulfilled wishes, but the ghostly ancestor disappeared without a trace again.
What kind of ghost was this? So vicious, causing the death of so many, yet silent!
Bao Gu sat back down, feeling hungry. She took out roasted wolf leg meat from her storage bag and nibbled on it. Even if she were to die, she would die full.
After about the time it took for a meal, Bao Gu’s stomach was filled with wolf leg meat. Suddenly, she heard the sound of birds chirping and flapping wings. Overjoyed, Bao Gu stood up and looked in the direction of the sound, only to see the ghostly ancestor holding the wing of a large eagle with a wingspan of six to seven feet, walking back. The eagle cried and flapped its wings, but it couldn’t break free.
The ghostly ancestor carried the eagle by its wing back to the courtyard before releasing it, then disappeared near the colorful sword.
The eagle immediately soared towards the sky once freed.
But with a thud, it crashed into a light barrier and fell, dazed.
Yes, it was a light barrier. As it was getting dark, Bao Gu could clearly see a circle of light enveloping the courtyard. Bao Gu felt a stirring in her heart and quickly looked at the colorful sword, realizing that the light barrier was formed by the light emitted from the sword. The colorful sword continuously released circles of light that spread outward. Bao Gu could clearly see the rings of light spreading like ripples in all directions, reaching as far as she could see.
The eagle, just before hitting the ground, flapped its wings and flew up again. This time, it didn’t fly towards the sky but horizontally towards the collapsed courtyard wall. Bao Gu saw its speed was extremely fast; with a flap of its wings, it stirred up a gust of wind, then folded its wings and slammed into the light barrier.
Blood splattered on the light barrier and quickly disappeared.
The eagle fell to the ground, its wings and legs twitching a few times before becoming still.
Was it dead?
Suddenly, Bao Gu saw the eagle rapidly shrink. Its plump body seemed to become smaller. Bao Gu thought it was an illusion, but upon closer inspection, she was shocked to see the flesh on the eagle’s legs rapidly disappearing, turning into white bones right before her eyes.
With the mountain wind blowing, feathers were carried away.
In just a few breaths, the eagle was reduced to a pile of feathers and bones, looking as if it had been dead for some time.
This terrifying and eerie sight made Bao Gu’s legs go weak, and she collapsed to the ground, staring at the eagle for a long time before regaining her senses.
Bao Gu connected the events she had encountered, seen, and experienced. The old woman she met outside the bamboo forest said it was forbidden territory, and aside from bamboo, there was not a single living creature. After entering the bamboo forest, she had been heading towards the direction of the sword. The ghostly ancestor had not appeared until she turned to leave, at which point it suddenly caught her and dragged her into this courtyard, where the strange sword continuously released light circles.
It was highly likely that the range of the light circles covered the bamboo sea, creating a death zone. The reason for this death zone was the ghostly ancestor continuously capturing creatures that entered the bamboo sea and trapping them in the courtyard covered by the sword’s light, leading to their deaths. Creatures that entered the bamboo sea and walked in this direction were ignored by the ghostly ancestor, but those who tried to leave or walked in other directions were captured and brought here.
Perhaps those who died around the sword were not greedy for treasure but seeking a way out.
Bao Gu didn’t understand why the sword and the ghostly ancestor did this. If they wanted to absorb the essence and blood of these creatures for some purpose, why not do it while they were alive? Why wait until they were dead to absorb it? Wouldn’t it be better to absorb it while they were alive? Absorbing it after death would lose much of the life essence. Bao Gu couldn’t help but wonder if absorbing the essence and blood of the dead was a way of recycling waste, and if capturing them served another purpose.
Bao Gu’s gaze fell once again on the strange colorful sword, and countless questions arose in her mind.
It wasn’t until it was completely dark that Bao Gu stood up. She took a deep breath and walked towards the sword. She reached the sword, stared at it, bit her lip, and reached out with both hands to grasp the hilt of the colorful sword.
The moment her hands touched the hilt, she suddenly felt a tremendous suction force from the sword, drawing away the Qi from her dantian. Her scant Qi was instantly sucked dry, and she felt something else being absorbed from her body. A voice echoed in her mind, “Xuantian is immortal, the legacy is everlasting, Xuantian is immortal, the legacy is everlasting…” The voice pierced her mind like steel needles, causing her to scream in agony. A vast power surged from the sword, spreading in all directions, and the overwhelming force entered her meridians! If her meridians were streams, then this force was the ocean, and under the impact of this immense power, Bao Gu felt excruciating pain throughout her body. Her vision went dark, and she collapsed to the ground. In the moment before she lost consciousness, she finally understood how those who died next to the sword had perished.
Bao Gu didn’t see that after she grasped the sword and had her Qi and other powers sucked out, the sword suddenly unleashed a powerful force that turned the surrounding broken walls, palace foundations, and endless piles of bones into dust.
In the thick layer of dust, only Bao Gu, with blood seeping from her nose and mouth, lay on the ground.
The colorful sword disappeared, everything around turned to dust, the light barrier enveloping the courtyard vanished, and the circles of light spreading outward also disappeared. Only the ghostly ancestor stood beside Bao Gu, dissipating like a wisp of breeze as if he had fulfilled some wish.
Author’s note:
Bao Gu: Celebrate, a stroke of luck, an opportunity, those who survive great disasters are destined for future blessings.
The powdered bones: Damn it! Ghostly ancestor, damn you, you brought us all here just to find a Five Elements Root?! Xuantian Sect hasn’t accepted a Five Elements Root for tens of thousands of years! Give me back my tears, we died so unjustly!
Ghostly ancestor: Are you blind? Didn’t you see the five elemental lights of red, yellow, green, black, and white on the sword? If you had sent a Five Elements Root earlier, I wouldn’t have had to wait here for tens of thousands of years with only a wisp of undying obsession! I’ve been waiting until the flowers are almost withered! Until I’m about to dissipate, so weak that I can only survive by absorbing your essence and blood!
Nascent Soul ancestors and elders: Oh my god, you catch us as easily as catching chicks, and you call that weak!
Ghostly ancestor with a smirk: I am weak, what about it? I’m completely dissipated now, and you’re still arguing with me!
The powdered bones: We let you kill us and then turn us into dust, what more do you want?
Ghostly ancestor and the powdered bones together turn to look at Bao Gu lying on the ground—envy, jealousy, and hatred, right?
Bao Gu: Ghostly ancestor, did you give me the sword? Where is it? Why don’t I see it?
Ghostly ancestor angrily: Find it yourself!
The powdered bones echo: Find it yourself!
