Chapter 53 - 45: New Dungeon - Ancient Cultivator’s Sword Tomb

Chapter 53: Chapter 45: New Dungeon - Ancient Cultivator’s Sword Tomb

"Excuse me, student, why are you wandering around here?"

A Third High School teacher looked at Lu Chen, who was wearing a First High School uniform, with a very strange expression. Why would a First High School student run over to the outside of their Third High School’s Cultivation Chambers? He hadn’t heard of any recent joint exams between their schools.

Facing the teacher’s inquiry, Lu Chen calmly replied, "Hello, sir. I’m here to catch up with an old classmate. His classmates said he came to the Cultivation Chambers for seclusion, so I figured I’d look for him here."

"Oh, so that’s how it is." The teacher wasn’t too suspicious of Lu Chen’s answer. After all, whether in the First High School or the Third High School, quite a few students treated their school’s Cultivation Chambers as their second homes. Therefore, it wasn’t uncommon for people from outside the school to come looking for someone here after failing to contact them. He had merely been curious as to why a First High School student was here.

"Do you need me to help you contact your old classmate?"

Lu Chen hastily waved his hand. "No, no need. After giving it some thought, I’ve decided not to disturb him. We are all seniors in high school, after all. We should focus our energy on cultivation. I’ll take my leave now, sir."

The Third High School teacher watched Lu Chen’s retreating back with a bewildered expression. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off, but he just couldn’t put his finger on what exactly it was. He wondered what exactly was wrong.

Meanwhile, after walking out of the Third High School, Lu Chen pulled his phone out of his jacket. His eyes lit up with excitement as he stared at the new Dungeon icon that had appeared in the upper right corner of True Cultivation.

[Dungeon: Ancient Cultivator’s Sword Tomb]

Looking at the newly activated Dungeon, Lu Chen secretly clenched his fists. It had worked! His deduction was absolutely correct. As long as he got close to certain Ancient Ruins or a Secret Realm, he could activate the corresponding Dungeon. That was why, even though he hadn’t been able to enter the Third High School’s Cultivation Chambers, he had still activated a brand-new Dungeon.

From the looks of it, his theory regarding the activation conditions for Dungeons was flawless. It wasn’t just the Third High School; perhaps he could also go check out Luocheng Second High School and some famous historical sites. They should all be able to activate Dungeons as well. At this thought, Lu Chen felt as if countless Experience Points were beckoning to him.

Once his excitement subsided, Lu Chen shifted his attention to the new Dungeon, the Ancient Cultivator’s Sword Tomb. Although he hadn’t clicked on the new Dungeon to check its specific details yet, he could roughly deduce its nature just from the name. If he guessed correctly, the content of this Dungeon would definitely revolve around Sword Cultivators. If so, as long as he could clear this Dungeon, not only would he gain a massive amount of Experience Points, but his Sword Dao proficiency would undoubtedly see a significant improvement as well.

With these thoughts in mind, Lu Chen took a taxi straight back to the First High School and dove headfirst into the school’s Cultivation Chambers. Thanks to his outstanding performance in the mock exams, he had earned quite a few Academic Credits. Renting a Cultivation Chamber was no longer a massive expense for him. He could completely treat this place as his second home.

As for his previous promise to find Old Chen after returning, it had long been thrown to the back of his mind. The cultivation resources Old Chen offered? They completely paled in comparison to clearing a Dungeon!

[Dungeon: Ancient Cultivator’s Sword Tomb]

[Minimum Requirement: Qi Cultivation First Level]

[Description: The hidden sword repository of Ancient Sword Cultivators. Due to special circumstances, most of the Spirit Swords here have had their blades broken and their spirits extinguished. A portion of the Spirit Swords has even fallen into the evil path, feeding on flesh and blood to transform into Sword Demons that roam the Sword Tomb.]

[Note 1: Death inside the Dungeon will not affect the main body.]

[Note 2: The Dungeon refreshes once every three months.]

[Note 3: Immersion Mode can be selected upon starting the Dungeon.]

"It really is a different Dungeon, yet it has the exact same Qi Cultivation First Level requirement..." He grumbled inwardly, "True Cultivation’s game designer, have you ever actually played the game you designed?!"

Lu Chen shook his head speechlessly. Ceasing his complaints about the virtually useless minimum cultivation requirement, he prepared to enter the new Dungeon immediately. Right at that moment, a new prompt appeared.

[System has detected that the player possesses an innate companion Spirit Sword. A ’Copy’ of it can be brought into the Dungeon. Upon clearing the Dungeon, you can choose whether to merge the Copy into the main Spirit Sword...]

[Name: Ink Flood Dragon Sword]

[Grade: First Realm (1%)]

[Trait 1 - Blood Ink: Can devour enemy blood to nourish itself and upgrade the Spirit Sword’s Grade.]

[Trait 2 - Ink Spirit (0/5): Can imprison the souls of those it slays and summon them for battle when necessary.]

"I can bring a Copy of the Ink Flood Dragon Sword into the Dungeon?" Lu Chen muttered, staring at this unprecedented prompt.

His brain worked in overdrive. He wasn’t wondering why the Ink Flood Dragon Sword could enter the Dungeon in the form of a Copy. Rather, he was wondering whether his own avatar within the Dungeon would also appear as a Copy. If that were truly the case, it would perfectly explain the mechanics of Infinite Resurrections, infinite loops within the Dungeon, and the fact that his real body only received boosts after he successfully cleared a Dungeon.

However, Lu Chen didn’t dwell on these minor details for too long. All he needed to understand was that the Dungeons could make him stronger.

True Cultivation, start!

[You have initiated the Dungeon: Ancient Cultivator’s Sword Tomb. Would you like to enable Immersion Mode?]

[Yes]

With the activation of the Dungeon, Lu Chen’s vision instantly went black. When he opened his eyes again, the scenery before him had undergone an earth-shattering transformation. An unfamiliar, desolate, and largely collapsed Sword Pavilion came into view, set against an eerie world outside where a red moon hung high overhead and drifting ashes filled the sky.

"Is this... the Ancient Cultivator’s Sword Tomb?" Lu Chen murmured, gazing at the massive, partially collapsed Sword Pavilion not far away.

Seeing the rusty and broken swords scattered everywhere across the plaza in front of the Sword Pavilion, he inexplicably fell deep into thought. Initially, he had assumed that the so-called Ancient Cultivator’s Sword Tomb was something akin to a graveyard. A place where Ancient Cultivators would either bury their Spirit Swords in their tombs as burial objects, or plant them at the head of their graves to serve as tombstones.

Yet, the reality seemed vastly different from his imagination. This so-called Ancient Cultivator’s Sword Tomb was not, in essence, a graveyard for individual Spirit Swords. Rather, it was more like a dedicated repository for the personal swords of generations of Sword Cultivators—commonly known as a Sword Pavilion.

The reason this place had been reduced to a ’Sword Tomb’ was perhaps tied to a tragic, devastating battle that had once occurred here. Lu Chen was able to deduce this because, in addition to the massive number of remnant and broken swords surrounding the Sword Pavilion, there were also countless corpses and withered bones scattered about.

Lu Chen took a few steps forward and suddenly stopped. He crouched down and brushed aside the thick layer of ashes accumulated on the ground. Shortly after, a Disciple Token covered in rust and dried blood clearly revealed itself. Lu Chen picked up the token and carefully examined the tiny text inscribed upon it.

"Cyan Cloud Sect, Sword Concealment Peak, Seventy-Second Generation Inner Sect Disciple... Lü Hengjiang."

"...So this place is also part of the Cyan Cloud Sect?"

Lu Chen looked at the deathly silent plaza in front of him, and the towering, dilapidated, and decaying Sword Pavilion behind it. His feelings became inexplicably complicated. First, there was the tomb of the zombified, rotting Cyan Cloud Sect disciples; now, there was the devastated Sword Pavilion of the Sword Concealment Peak. Just what exactly had happened to the Cyan Cloud Sect, a once-flourishing sect possessing countless experts, to reduce it to such a state?

Harboring these thoughts, Lu Chen stood up and walked toward the nearby Sword Pavilion. But before he could take more than a few steps, several gaunt corpses covered in rotting flesh slowly stood up from the ground, staring at him with eyes glowing red.

Aside from the corpses’ hideous appearances, the weapons in their hands were also incredibly peculiar. They were Blood and Flesh Evil Swords covered in fleshy tumors, constantly pulsating like beating hearts. The tumors at the hilts had completely fused with the corpses’ arms, with countless blood vessels extending down their arms and inserting into their bodies. It looked as though the swords had parasitized the dead bodies.

Lu Chen halted in his tracks, staring at the dozen or so eerie Sword Demons that had suddenly appeared before him. The Ink Flood Dragon Sword, worn on his right index finger, materialized, transforming into an ink-black Spirit Sword that landed firmly in his grasp.

Lu Chen raised the Ink Flood Dragon Sword, aiming it at the multitude of Sword Demons. With an expressionless face, he said, "Spirit Swords turning on their masters, stealing their bodies to survive... You lots have truly fallen far. Come, let me see just how depraved the Sword Intent upon your bodies has become."

As his words fell, the hideous Sword Demons swarmed forward. The battle erupted in an instant.

Author’s Note: The second update will be uploaded before ten o’clock. Having a cold is really unbearable. Thankfully it’s the weekend; I laid down for half a day to get some rest.