Chapter 594: 祭台

Countless powerful sword intents hovered in the void, each carrying a terrifying pressure.

Qin Sang had not alerted them on his journey, likely thanks to the Ebony Sword and the killing talismans.

This ancient hall only permitted disciples who cultivated the *Primordial Spirit Nurturing Sword Chapter* to enter. If anyone else trespassed, they would immediately be devoured by ten thousand swords.

With every step Qin Sang took, a stone sword was disturbed, unleashing a sword intent.

He swung his own sword to parry, comprehending the essence within each sword intent.

Sometimes, it was a person practicing swordplay, executing exquisite moves.

Other times, it depicted mountains of corpses and seas of blood, with a lone figure standing sword in hand, exuding monstrous killing intent.

Or it was a mysterious sword light in the void, appearing from nowhere and going nowhere.

Each one was unique, yet all were fleeting glimpses, very brief, with a hazy background. Only the sword intent itself remained somewhat clear, allowing one to grasp as much as possible.

Qin Sang could only do his best to remember more.

As expected, the further he advanced, the stronger the sword intents became.

If he had relied solely on himself, he would have had to proceed cautiously, very slowly, unable to advance with such freedom.

When the Ebony Sword clashed with a sword intent and showed signs of faltering, Qin Sang immediately withdrew his sword, allowing the intent to cut into his primordial spirit space, where it was dispersed by the Jade Buddha.

Along the way, he memorized many profound and abstruse concepts. Most of them he couldn't immediately comprehend, but he engraved them in his mind.

Qin Sang couldn't help but sigh, realizing this was the benefit of having a legacy.

Often, what troubled cultivators was merely a thin barrier that could be easily pierced.

Some received guidance from their sects or masters and easily overcame it.

Others stumbled aimlessly like headless flies, perhaps never finding the entrance in their lifetime.

These stone swords surely weren't left by a single person, as no two sword intents were alike. Although they all cultivated the same technique, they had each taken different paths.

The information was too scarce, like fleeting imprints in snow. With Qin Sang's discerning eye, he couldn't even determine the cultivation levels of these sword wielders, but their strength must have been immense.

With so many masters and such a powerful sect, why did they perish?

Time flew, and great changes occurred.

Even they could not achieve eternity.

The inherited cultivation method was reduced to a mere remnant, and countless ancient texts contained not a single record.

All of them vanished without a trace, obliterated by the river of time, leaving only a pitiful sword intent sealed within each stone sword, a sole mark.

Through these, one could glimpse the splendor of the ancients.

The sword path was very long.

Qin Sang walked through the sword forest, step by step, as layers of darkness peeled away before him, yet he still hadn't reached the end of the sword path.

Suddenly, Qin Sang paused. He finally saw something different.

At the end of the sword path, there was a stone door!

The stone door, opened by someone unknown, was ajar, revealing darkness within.

Qin Sang quickly scanned his surroundings, not even overlooking the gaps between the stone swords, but found nothing unusual.

Senior Azure Bamboo's remains were very likely still ahead!

Qin Sang's expression subtly darkened. Generally, major sects wouldn't have just one trial ground; a single location usually offered only one type of trial. Could there be other trials ahead?

This variable had not been mentioned by Old Woman Jing.

This place was likely a trial ground prepared for Core Formation cultivators. The Jade Buddha could only protect his primordial spirit; while he could easily pass through this sword path, he might not be able to overcome other trials.

Thinking this, Qin Sang's mood became heavy, and he quickened his pace towards the stone door.

*Creeeaaak…*

Qin Sang pushed open the stone door, and upon seeing the scene inside, his expression visibly relaxed.

Inside was a small, square ancient hall, much smaller than the sword path outside. There were no other trials, and the hall was very quiet, seemingly without danger.

It was a false alarm. Qin Sang stood at the entrance, carefully examining the ancient hall.

Although dim, it was fortunately not large, and the entire hall was visible at a glance.

The walls and floor were constructed from blue stone bricks, just like outside. However, there were no stone swords here, making it appear quite empty.

The only object was a man-high altar in the center of the stone hall. The edges of the altar seemed to be carved with many strange runes, resembling a spiritual array.

Senior Azure Bamboo's remains were not here!

Qin Sang frowned deeply; this outcome was unexpected.

Senior Azure Bamboo had briefly appeared in the ancient immortal battlefield before vanishing completely. By calculation, the timing roughly coincided with the last opening of the Ziwei Palace.

And Old Woman Jing had been very certain that Senior Azure Bamboo disappeared in this ancient hall. The information she provided should be reliable, and everything Qin Sang encountered before entering this hall matched her description.

Where was the problem?

Qin Sang was unwilling to give up, so he hastily checked the walls of the ancient hall, hoping to find a secret door, but unfortunately, there was none.

Finally, Qin Sang's gaze fell upon the altar in the center of the stone hall. He tried taking a step and, seeing no anomaly, directly moved towards the altar.

The altar was square, with steps extending down from its four sides.

Qin Sang ascended the altar in a few steps and, upon seeing the full view of the spiritual array on it, immediately felt a sense of familiarity.

"This... could it be an ancient teleportation array?" Qin Sang murmured in astonishment.

The spiritual array on the altar was shaped like a Bagua (Eight Trigrams), with its eight corners pointing towards the Bagua positions. It was densely covered with mysterious symbols and runes. Currently, all eight corners were empty, but there were distinct eight grooves meant for embedding spirit stones.

Upon seeing this spiritual array, Qin Sang immediately recalled the ancient teleportation array in the Shangyuan Pure Palace.

He had used it twice before, and the memory was very vivid.

Both arrays had the exact same shape, and even over ninety percent of the ancient restrictions and runes within them were identical.

The difference was that this array was much smaller than the one in Shangyuan Pure Palace, with its center only accommodating one or two people.

Furthermore, the number of ancient runes in this array was even greater than in the Shangyuan Pure Palace's array, appearing extraordinarily dense within the narrow space, almost squeezed together.

At this point, Qin Sang could confirm without even trying that this was indeed an ancient teleportation array!

The end of the sword path was an ancient teleportation array? Was the sword forest outside protecting this ancient teleportation array, rather than being a trial?

And where did this ancient teleportation array lead?

Had Senior Azure Bamboo not died back then, but instead used this ancient teleportation array to leave the Minor Cold Region?

Qin Sang couldn't help but let his imagination run wild. He gazed at the ancient teleportation array, finally confirming that it was perfectly intact. If the other half of the teleportation array on the receiving end was also undamaged, it could be used normally by simply inserting spirit stones into the eight corners!

"Huh?"

Just then, his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of man-made carvings on one of the stone pillars at the edge of the altar.

Qin Sang's expression changed, and he quickly moved to the stone pillar, where he indeed saw a line of writing left by someone.

The handwriting was very messy, barely legible, clearly written in haste.

And next to the writing, there were two very complex patterns that firmly caught Qin Sang's gaze.

Two killing talismans!