I Have a Sword

"Greetings, Fellow Daoists!"

Everyone glanced at the shadowy figure without speaking, but they remained on guard, ready to attack if the shadowy figure made any sudden movement.

Zhou Fan smiled. "We're just passing by. Please forgive us for disturbing you."

Zhou Fan opened her palm, and a storage ring containing five Ancestral Veins flew toward the shadowy figure.

Seeing the Ancestral Veins inside the ring, the shadowy figure's demeanor became even more amiable.

"It's nothing, really." It smiled and put the ring away before asking, "Are you going up ahead?"

Zhou Fan nodded. "Yes."

The shadowy figure hesitated for a moment before saying, "The Abyss of Heaven is up ahead, and it's a very dangerous place. You must be careful there."

Zhou Fan asked, "The Abyss of Heaven?"

The shadowy figure explained, "A mysterious cultivator came here long ago and fought one of the guardians of this realm. The place where they fought eventually became the Abyss of Heaven. The guardian was defeated, and its soul became a vengeful spirit that has been haunting the depths of the abyss since then."

Zhou Fan asked, "Was the guardian a Path Creation Realm expert?"

The shadowy figure replied, "Yes."

Everyone present became solemn.

They were only half a step away from the Path Creation Realm, but they knew that the gap between a half-step Path Creation Realm expert and a "true" Path Creation Realm expert was immense.

Zhou Fan asked, "A vengeful spirit?"

The shadowy figure nodded, looking quite solemn as it explained, "Yes, but it is an extremely powerful vengeful spirit. You really have to be careful."

The black-robed middle-aged man suddenly asked, "What lies beyond the Abyss of Heaven?"

"A mysterious pagoda," replied the shadowy figure.

The black-robed middle-aged man asked once again, "Are there divine items in the pagoda?"

The shadowy figure stared at the black-robed middle-aged man and replied, "Guess."

The black-robed middle-aged man's expression froze. He did not show it on his face, but he was feeling quite frustrated deep inside.

Zhou Fan turned to the group and said, "Everyone, the path ahead is dangerous. You should consider retreating if you can't take the risk."

Everyone fell silent. Should they go? The vengeful spirit of a Path Creation Realm expert was up ahead, and the idea of facing it made them feel a bit intimidated.

How about retreating? They had already come this far, and they were unwilling to leave so easily.

Everyone fell into deep contemplation, mulling over the best decision.

Just then, the black-robed middle-aged man said, "I'll go."

Everyone looked at the black-robed middle-aged man, who smiled and explained, "Everyone, this might be our last chance to become a Path Creation Realm expert. After all, we're definitely inside the ruins of a Tier Four civilization. If we leave now, there's a low chance that we'll encounter a place like this again. And that's exactly why I want to take this gamble."

Everyone was quiet for a while before they eventually nodded. Clearly, they were all willing to continue their journey.

They ultimately thought that they'd never be satisfied if they were to leave now.

Zhou Fan nodded. "Let's proceed, then."

"May I join?" the shadowy figure chimed in.

Everyone looked at the shadowy figure.

"I want to take a look at it as well," explained the shadowy figure.

Zhou Fan smiled. "What should we call you?"

The shadowy figure replied, "I'm a Lightning Beast, so just call me that."

Zhou Fan glanced at the dark clouds in the sky and asked, "Do you cultivate by devouring tribulation lightning?"

The Lightning Beast nodded. "Yes."

"I see," Zhou Fan nodded and said, "Let's go."

The group continued on their journey, but the Lightning Beast didn't board the ship. Instead, it swam ahead of the group.

After a while, the Lightning Beast suddenly stopped swimming. Everyone turned, and their expressions became solemn.

It looked like the ocean up ahead had been carved open, revealing a seemingly boundless abyss.

The Abyss of Heaven!

A black pagoda could be seen in the distance, but the abyss was between the black pagoda and the group of people outside.

The black-robed middle-aged man looked at the Lightning Beast and asked, "How do we get there?"

"If I know how to do that, do you really think that I'd be out here?" the Lightning Beast calmly replied, "What's up with the dumb questions?"

The black-robed middle-aged man's face darkened. Damn it, this thing's so polite to Lady Zhou, so why is it so rude to me? This is so frustrating!

Just then, Ye Guan frowned. The ancient character inside the tiny pagoda was trembling. It was reacting to something!

Ye Guan looked up at the distant pagoda. The reason behind the trembling had to be inside that pagoda.

Zhou Fan chimed in, "I have a way to go there, and we'll be able to avoid that vengeful spirit as well."

Everyone looked at Zhou Fan at the same time.

"However..." Zhou Fan's voice became solemn. "It's going to put a huge strain on me."

"Don't worry about it, Lady Zhou," an old man hurriedly said, "We won't let you suffer a loss. We're willing to compensate you with Ancestral Veins."

The others nodded as well, expressing no objections to the old man's suggestion.

"It's not about the money." Zhou Fan opened her palm, revealing a small black bell appeared in her hand.

"This item is a heirloom of my family. In addition to concealing auras, it is capable of withstanding three full-force attacks of a Path Creation Realm expert, but it has a major drawback—it can only be used once every one hundred years."

Only once every one hundred years!

Everyone was astonished, and then they fell silent. There was no way they could make up for that kind of heirloom with mere Ancestral Veins.

"I must confess, but I'm a member of my Great Zhou's Imperial family. The competition for the heir position is quite brutal, so I'd lose an important trump card if I were to use this life-saving artifact here. Haaa..."

Ye Guan glanced at the troubled-looking Zhou Fan, but he didn't say anything in the end.

Just then, the black-robed middle-aged man said, "Lady Zhou, how about this? If you're willing to use that artifact for us, then we will owe you a favor. If you need us to do anything in the future, we're not going to refuse. What do you think?"

In contrast to the black-robed middle-aged man's readiness to owe Zhou Fan a favor, the others seemed a bit hesitant about the idea. There were karmic consequences of owing someone a favor, and those consequences were unpredictable.

Thus, they'd wanted to just spend Ancestral Veins.

Zhou Fan smiled and remarked, "Fate has brought us together, so you don't need to feel troubled, and you don't need to owe me any favors. I will take you all there."

With that, Zhou Fan got ready to activate the so-called heirloom in her hand.

Everyone was stunned by Zhou Fan's words, but then their expressions became complicated.

"Hahaha!" The black-robed middle-aged man laughed and remarked, "Lady Zhou, you are truly a lady with a noble heart. However, I, Xue Yue, am not the kind of person who'll take advantage of others. My skin is not that thick, so I hereby declare that I owe you a favor, Lady Zhou. If you ever need anything in the future, just call me. If I don't respond to your call, then my Dao heart will shatter, and I will die a horrible death."

Everyone's expression changed at the black-robed middle-aged man's declaration.

Ye Guan glanced at Zhou Fan. He and the others had seen through what she was trying to do.

After all, the people here were old monsters who had lived for tens of thousands, if not millions of years. How could they fail to see her scheme?

However, they could understand the black-robed middle-aged man's thought process.

Zhou Fan had a way to cross the abyss and avoid the vengeful spirit, but she had no obligation to help them.

If they wanted to take advantage of her kindness and play dumb, they'd ultimately suffer.

With that in mind, some stepped forward, expressing that they owed Zhou Fan a favor.

In the end, Ye Guan was the only one who had yet to declare that he owed Zhou Fan a favor, and he attracted everyone's attention.

Ye Guan glanced at the abyss, but he was still unwilling to owe anyone a favor, so he asked, "Master Pagoda, can you help me out here? Wait, can you even withstand the crossing?"

"You just have to trust in the quality of my pagoda," Little Pagoda replied.

Ye Guan was silent.

Zhou Yuan suddenly said, "Young Master Ye, my brothers and I can fight."

Ye Guan smiled and shook his head. There was no way he'd let Zhou Yuan and the others fight that vengeful spirit.

They'd most likely die against it, as it was a "true" Path Creation Realm expert.

Ye Guan stared at Zhou Fan and was about to speak when Zhou Fan transmitted, "Young Master Ye, I'm not trying to play any tricks here. The artifact is indeed a family heirloom and can only be used once every one hundred years, but don't overthink it. You don't have to feel like you owe me a favor. I consider you a friend, after all. Talking about favors between friends is like talking about money between husband and wife—tumultuous."

With that, Zhou Fan activated the black bell in her hand.

Boom!

The black bell trembled violently, and then it expanded, enveloping everyone present.

Under Zhou Fan's control, the black bell floated forward. The black bell concealed their auras, allowing them to hide from the restrictions all over the place.

Ye Guan glanced at Zhou Fan.

Sensing Ye Guan's gaze, Zhou Fan turned and smiled before focusing on the black bell.

Soon, everyone found themselves above the abyss.

The pitch-black abyss seemed bottomless from above. It was an incredibly terrifying sight.

Everyone's expressions became solemn at the sight.

Ye Guan's eyes were solemn as well, as he could feel a faint threat to his life.

He felt like he was in danger!

A true Path Creation Realm expert? Ye Guan stared into the bottomless, pitch-black abyss.

The Qingxuan Sword inside the tiny pagoda quivered, ready to strike at a moment's notice. Ye Guan dared not put his faith in the black bell. In a place like this, trusting oneself was always the safer bet.

Rumble!

A terrifying aura suddenly shot up from the depths of the abyss.

Boom!

The black bell trembled violently, and everyone felt a wave of dizziness. Then, they heard a terrifying crack.

Moments later, countless cracks appeared all over the black bell at once.

Everyone's faces changed drastically.

Zhou Fan made the black bell move away.

Just as they were about to pass through the abyss, a towering black hand shot up from the depths of the abyss and punched the black bell.

Boom!

The black bell shattered into pieces.

Zhou Fan's face turned grim and she growled, "Liar, you promised me that it can handle three attacks!"

Rumble!

A horrifying wave of energy swept toward everyone. It engulfed them in the blink of an eye and dragged them into the bottomless abyss.

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