Yue Linghuan’s expression was dark and unpredictable; far from being useless, he was a figure who could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with, or even surpass, the very top tier of the younger generation across the entire Cloud Realm! If such an individual could be considered trash, what did that make Yue Linghuan himself?

Instantly, his brow furrowed again as he replayed the preceding events, realizing that something felt deeply amiss. The moment this thought struck, Yue Linghuan’s face flushed an even deeper crimson, overwhelmed by shame.

At that moment, Zong Shou’s killing intent had been palpable, almost a physical substance, as if the next instant could see him instantly slain on the spot. It had completely prevented him from calmly assessing Zong Shou’s true strength.

Recalling it now, he suspected there had been considerable deception involved. “Did the City Lord sense that Zong Shou was, in fact, only strong on the outside?” The silver-armored, gray-haired elder asked, carefully observing his expression.

Seeing Yue Linghuan stare back in confusion, he sighed faintly. “In truth, even when we departed, this old servant had some suspicions.

However, in my assessment, he still retained considerable reserves of strength. Furthermore, I was completely intimidated by him, my will to fight utterly destroyed.

I had not the slightest confidence, nor even the courage to turn and trade blows. Therefore, City Lord, there is no need for shame.

This person is among the few, in my long life, whose combat power beneath the Seventh Tier has been the most terrifying—he has mastered Sword Intent and Fist Intent. Under the Celestial Rank, he is nearly invincible—” Yue Linghuan’s expression softened slightly.

What he could least tolerate was the cowardice that made him retreat without a fight. He had a magnificent opportunity to slay Zong Shou, yet he let it slip away due to his own faint heart.

Just then, Yue Linghuan’s eyelids suddenly flickered open as he saw a staggering figure suddenly crash into his field of vision from a fork in the path ahead. Clad in white, with a graceful figure.

Yet, his left arm was missing, leaving a mess of bloody flesh. “Xiong Yu?” Yue Linghuan froze, staring intently at the woman.

Her face was ashen, utterly wretched, devoid of the cheerful smile she once possessed. The elegant and transcendent aura was completely gone.

Upon spotting him, Xiong Yu also frowned but did not approach. Instead, she staggered toward the other side, stumbling away.

“City Lord, shall we summon her over?” a Spirit Master beside him inquired, squinting and bending slightly. The others also held dangerous glints in their eyes.

Yue Linghuan was tempted, but then shook his head slightly. “There is no need.

You all know the rules of the Blazing Bear Clan. With Xiong Ba still around, even if we control her, it is useless.

Our current great enemy remains Zong Shou—” He then added darkly, “What concerns me more is the retinue that accompanied her: those seven Grandmasters of the Black Tortoise Sect and the two Rejuvenation Spirit Masters. Not a single one is following her!” Only then did those around him realize the implication, sucking in a sharp breath of cold air, their expressions instantly shifting in alarm.

Xiong Yu was grievously wounded and fled alone. The others were nowhere in sight.

There was likely only one possibility—those Sixth Tier powerhouses had already perished by Zong Shou’s hand! But how long had it been since they left?

At this moment, even the silver-armored expert dared not confirm whether Zong Shou had truly been weak on the inside when he forced them to leave. ※※※※ After searching the vicinity for Zong Yuan and Gong Yue to no avail, Zong Shou could only give up and continue toward the core of the Labyrinth Cave, the location of the ‘Great Hall.’ When he arrived, the stone chamber, spanning three hundred zhang in circumference, was indeed sparsely populated, with only about a hundred people remaining.

The rest had likely gone elsewhere. This place also featured twenty-six patterns along the two sides of the cave wall.

However, these were not murals, but points of varying sizes, densely chiseled into the stone. At a quick glance, they resembled stellar constellations, but upon closer inspection, these points bore no connection to the stars in the heavens.

Anyone with no comprehension of the Martial Dao, or who had not visited the preceding seven chambers, would be utterly confused, knowing not what to make of it. Zong Shou, however, felt a sudden brightening before his eyes.

These points seemed like conduits, a central hub, linking the previous murals, sword marks, incomplete sword formulas, and the profound meanings hidden in the other four locations into an almost complete Sword Intent. Of the twenty-six patterns, only eighteen were genuine, and they were not entirely independent of each other, as they each contained significant flaws that required reference to the others to complete the true sword techniques.

“So that’s how it is. No wonder that person earlier said one needed to understand at least half the patterns to master a single sword technique and comprehend a Sword Intent—” Zong Shou experienced a sudden enlightenment, followed by a slight smile.

“True Dragon Sword Intent, is it?” He brought his middle and index fingers together, made a slight gesture, and a martial artistic notion, similar yet distinct from the Raging Thunder Sword Intent, immediately flowed from him. This was the Thunder Dragon Sword— For a Martial Cultivator, once the Martial Dao Force is comprehended to its peak, one can enter the Celestial Rank.

Once the Martial Dao Intent is grasped, the leap from Celestial Martial Grandmaster to Martial Venerable is merely a matter of accumulating time. And at this very moment, a Sword Intent coveted by countless Martial Cultivators was being displayed by him with utmost ease.

In reality, the patterns and sword formulas recorded here were still limited to the level of Martial Dao Force, and even contained a small, crucial part missing. Yet, Zong Shou used his own profound martial comprehension and the dozens of Sword Intents he mastered in his previous life to forcefully elevate this Thunder Dragon Sword to the level of Intent!

The people surrounding him, who had been quietly meditating on the patterns, all sensed the change and turned to look, shock first flashing in their eyes. Then, as they regained their composure, envy and jealousy followed.

Apart from those who recognized Zong Shou, no one paid attention to his age. The world was full of secret methods for preserving youthful appearances.

“If the Nine True Dragon Sword Intents are like this, then what about the legendary Nine-Nine Dragon Shadow Sword, rumored to be a Tenth Grade, Saintly Spirit level scripture? Is it truly hidden within those markings?” Zong Shou gazed upward at the expanse, which appeared only as a uniform expanse of gray and white, without any particular texture.

However, upon closer inspection of this seemingly smooth surface, he could discern several subtle protrusions—precisely nine of them. As this vision registered, Zong Shou’s mind instantly exploded with a resounding boom.

The textures from the seven chambers, each with its different trajectory, began to crisscross and intertwine violently in his consciousness. It was a chaotic mess, but when the nine points were superimposed upon it, a pattern immediately emerged.

The chaos ceased, and with only slight adjustment, rudimentary forms began to appear. “It really is the Nine-Nine Dragon Shadow Sword, just as I thought—” If this place were more appropriate and he didn’t wish to be stared at by the crowd as if he were mad, Zong Shou would have burst into loud laughter out of sheer elation.

All the mysteries were solved. Combined with the nine cave entrances he used to enter and the nine Dragon Gates beneath Mount Converging Dragon, the entire pattern of the Labyrinth Cave was now under his complete control.

“This sword formula must still be missing something. The Old Man of Dragon Shadow favored the number nine.

There must be a ninth stone chamber in this Labyrinth Cave, the most crucial one! If I’m not mistaken, the three entrances to the Inner Sect region that Jin Buhui spoke of must also be within it—” While frantically calculating and deducing in his mind, Zong Shou’s heart gave a slight stir.

He pulled out the map he had taken from Xue Shuifan and focused intently on the upper left corner. His expression then became exceedingly strange.

This map was actually genuine— Centuries later, there would naturally be changes, but a hundred years ago, this area of the Labyrinth Cave must have looked much like this! Zong Shou felt a wave of strangeness.

What on earth were these people trying to pull off? Without dwelling on it, Zong Shou tucked the map away and strode purposefully toward a cave entrance on the left.

Though the Labyrinth Cave was vast, Zong Shou now knew it like the back of his hand. It took him only fifteen minutes to reach the location marked on the map, which was on the southeast side of the cave.

According to Xue Shuifan’s map, an entrance leading directly to the ninth chamber should be nearby. Nine drops of True Dragon Blood were also hidden in the vicinity.

However, when Zong Shou arrived, he searched everywhere to no avail. All directions led to dead ends; there was nothing suspicious.

He did run into plenty of suspicious people, however—groups of three or five, all seemingly searching for something themselves. They scrutinized Zong Shou with fierce gazes, but upon realizing his aura and soul power were completely absent, they lost interest, though a flicker of astonishment or slight derision still lingered on their faces.

Zong Shou checked almost every nearby chamber before finally stopping in a narrow cavern. It was a cul-de-sac, not very deep, visible entirely from the entrance.

And at this moment, not a single person was present. As he gazed at the bare stone wall ahead, Zong Shou felt an incredibly peculiar sensation well up inside him.

According to his deductions, the entrance should be right here. Yet, everything his eyes saw, his soul sense perceived, and his breath touched, clearly told him this was an absolute dead end—a path of no return.

“This so-called Old Man of Dragon Shadow isn't much of a good person either, why so many twists and turns?” He muttered internally, then took a deep breath and simply closed his eyes. Following his own calculations, he walked straight ahead for twelve steps, then turned right.

In his memory, this spot was now the stone wall. Zong Shou suppressed the urge to open his eyes, letting go of all memory concerning that stone wall.

He stepped forward once more, and immediately felt a giant azure dragon roar in his mind, opening its bloody maw to tear at him. Zong Shou tried several times to shatter it with his will, but to no avail.

Finally, an idea struck him: he modulated his surrounding aura to simulate the Taiyi Dragon Sword from within the Nine True Dragon Sword Intents. Sure enough, the azure dragon shadow collapsed and disintegrated.

As his foot descended, it passed through the empty space unimpeded, landing directly on the ground. —That stone wall truly did not exist!

But he had no time to ponder. Propelled by an alien force, Zong Shou was forced to take another step involuntarily.

This time, it was a giant black dragon coiling through the sky. A total of nine steps, each one manifesting an ancient true dragon.

When Zong Shou finally stopped and opened his eyes again, the scene before him had transformed into a vast stone cavern. (To be continued)