Hearing this sound, Ye Yunfei and Hun Lao immediately turned their gazes towards a stone table upon which rested several jade slips covered in a thick layer of dust.
The voice from earlier had indeed emanated from one of those jade slips on the stone table.
Beside this stone table stood an ancient altar.
*Buzz...*
Just as Ye Yunfei and Hun Lao were examining the jade slips, a withered, aged figure rose from one of them.
It was an old man condensed entirely from sword energy.
The old man's gaze swept over Ye Yunfei and Hun Lao before finally settling on Ye Yunfei.
"Very good. A human youth has come," the old man said, nodding as he looked at Ye Yunfei.
"Greetings, Elder," Ye Yunfei performed a respectful bow.
Although he didn't know this old man's specific identity, nor could he currently perceive his true strength, any being capable of appearing in this place was certainly no ordinary individual!
"Mmm," the old man nodded again.
"I am the Tomb Guardian of this place. My task is to guard this Sword Tomb."
"Senior, I presume a powerful master of the Sword Dao is interred within this Sword Tomb," Ye Yunfei asked curiously.
"That buried within this Sword Tomb is indeed a Sword Cultivator. However, if you wish to know the specific circumstances within, you'll have to see if you have the fortune to enter," the old man replied.
"Can I enter?" Ye Yunfei quickly asked.
"There are ten cultivation jade slips here. Each jade slip records a single sword art. If you can cultivate any one of these sword arts to its entry-level within five hours, you will be qualified to enter the Sword Tomb," the old man stated.
"Can I choose whichever sword art I wish?" Ye Yunfei asked after a moment's thought.
Since he had already come this far, he might as well try to enter.
Thus, Ye Yunfei didn't ask what exactly was inside the tomb or what benefits entering might bring, as he suspected the old man wouldn't answer such questions anyway.
"Yes. Any of them will do," the old man nodded.
"Good, then I will attempt it."
Ye Yunfei immediately released his Soul Power, probing into the cultivation jade slips on the stone table.
Indeed, each of these jade slips recorded a sword art!
Ten in total!
"'One Sword to Pacify the World'!"
Suddenly, Ye Yunfei discovered, within one of the jade slips, a sword art named 'One Sword to Pacify the World'.
"This must be the heavens assisting me! I'll choose this one!" Ye Yunfei rejoiced inwardly.
He had long since cultivated this very sword art and had gained a certain degree of personal insight into it.
"Elder, I choose this sword art!" Ye Yunfei declared, pointing at the jade slip that recorded 'One Sword to Pacify the World'.
"Good. You may begin your comprehension now. Right here."
The old man flicked his sleeve, sending that jade slip floating to a position right in front of Ye Yunfei.
Ye Yunfei received the slip, found a spot on the platform to sit cross-legged, and placed the jade slip before him.
*It seems the Ancestor of the Murong Family must have come to this platform all those years ago and obtained the 'One Sword to Pacify the World' sword art here. To have arrived at this platform successfully indicates the Murong Ancestor was undoubtedly a Half-Emperor, most likely a Perfected Half-Emperor, and possessed exceptionally powerful combat prowess; otherwise, he would never have made it this far. However, the fact that only this sword art, and none other, was passed down through the Murong Family suggests he never actually entered the Sword Tomb. In other words, the Murong Ancestor failed to cultivate 'One Sword to Pacify the World' to its entry-level on this very platform! Thus, the version passed down by the Murong Family is absolutely not the complete 'One Sword to Pacify the World'. Fortunately, I now finally have the chance to obtain the complete version.*
Ye Yunfei released his Soul Power, probing into the jade slip before him, and began comprehending the sword art recorded within.
Very quickly, he discovered many differences between the 'One Sword to Pacify the World' he himself cultivated and the version inscribed in this jade slip.
*It seems that although the Murong Ancestor might have been a Perfected Half-Emperor, his talent in the Sword Dao was truly mediocre. He muddled through his cultivation of this sword art and completely misunderstood many key aspects.*
Ye Yunfei gave a bitter mental smile.
The original power of 'One Sword to Pacify the World' could have been much greater, but the Murong Ancestor's Sword Dao aptitude was too ordinary. He cultivated haphazardly based on his own flawed understanding, diminishing the power of this sword art by at least half.
Subsequently, Ye Yunfei focused his mind on comprehending the sword art inscribed in the jade slip.
At the same time...
In the distance, the beings from the Main World also began to move, their figures darting as they charged towards the base of the massive tomb, also wishing to ascend to the platform.
Xiao Tingting and the other disciples of Sword-Guarding Manor had already regrouped with a large contingent of the faction's experts.
These Sword-Guarding Manor experts were all Half-Emperors, most of them old-timers who had cultivated for long periods, sharp sword rays spitting from their bodies as their auras pressed intimidatingly on their surroundings.
Hence, the Main World beings temporarily refrained from provoking the Sword-Guarding Manor forces.
"Elders, we were nearly all killed by those Main World beings. Fortunately, a certain young lord acted righteously and saved us..."
Xiao Tingting recounted their earlier experiences in detail to the assembled Sword-Guarding Manor experts.
"A young man saved you... His cultivation realm was only at the Early Stage of Half-Emperor? Does such a monstrously talented youth exist within our Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds? What is his name?" a grey-robed elder inquired, puzzled after hearing her account.
"I... I don't know his name. He never told us," Xiao Tingting replied somewhat awkwardly.
They had spent quite some time in his company, yet he hadn't even offered his name.
This fact made her feel a sense of defeat.
Given her beauty and background, countless outstanding young men from across the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds would line up to pursue her if she merely stepped outside. Yet here she had encountered a man who seemed completely indifferent to her.
"Hmph! Elders, although that kid saved us, he showed absolutely no respect for our Sword-Guarding Manor. Along the way, he ignored and cold-shouldered us completely, even giving us unpleasant looks. Moreover, during exploration and treasure-seeking, he monopolized any and all treasures he came across.
In short, that kid looks down upon our Sword-Guarding Manor, holding us in the utmost contempt!"
At this moment, a blue-shirted man standing beside Xiao Tingting suddenly snorted coldly and spoke up.
This blue-shirted man, like Xiao Tingting, possessed strength at the Early Stage Half-Emperor level and was considered one of Sword-Guarding Manor's top monstrous disciples.
He hadn't dared say anything in Ye Yunfei's presence earlier, but he had already quietly harbored resentment. Because he liked Xiao Tingting, and had witnessed her attempts to ingratiate herself with Ye Yunfei along the way. Now, hearing Xiao Tingting praise Ye Yunfei again, he finally couldn't hold back.
"Deng Shun, how can you say such a thing? If that young lord hadn't acted to save us, we would all be dead!
And who says he monopolized all the treasures? Aren't these precious items gifts from that very young lord? Given our strength, we had no hope of seizing those treasures ourselves. If not for his generosity in gifting them, we would have obtained nothing."
Hearing the man's words, Xiao Tingting couldn't help but fly into a rage.