Ancient Teleportation Array

Countless powerful sword intents hovered in the void, each bearing a terrifying pressure. As Qin Sang walked past, he did not disturb them, which was likely thanks to the ebony sword and the killing talisman. This ancient hall only permitted disciples who cultivated the Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter to enter; if anyone else trespassed, their soul would instantly be devoured by ten thousand swords. With every step Qin Sang took, a stone sword was stirred, unleashing a strike of sword intent. He swung his sword to parry, comprehending the essence within each sword intent. Sometimes, it was an image of someone practicing swordsmanship, executing exquisite sword maneuvers. Other times, it was a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, a lone figure standing with a sword, murderous intent reaching the heavens. Or it might be an esoteric beam of sword light in the void, with no indication of where it came from or where it was headed. ... None of them were alike, but each was as brief as a fleeting glimpse, the backdrop hazy, with only the sword intent reasonably clear. How much one could comprehend depended entirely on oneself. Qin Sang could only do his utmost to memorize as much as possible. As expected, the further along he went, the stronger the sword intents grew. If he had relied solely on his own strength, he could only have advanced warily, step by step, and it would have been impossible to proceed so freely. The ebony sword clashed with the sword intent. Whenever there was a sign he could no longer hold out, Qin Sang immediately withdrew the sword, allowing the sword intent to slash into his origin soul space, where it was dispersed by the jade Buddha. Along the way, he committed many things to memory. They were exceptionally profound and obscure; most could not be comprehended at once, but he etched them into his mind. Qin Sang could not help sighing in admiration—this was the advantage of having a heritage. Oftentimes, what confounded a cultivator was merely a thin membrane that could be pierced with a single poke. Some could receive guidance from their sects or teachers and easily break through. Others stumbled about like headless flies, potentially never finding the threshold in their entire lives. These stone swords were certainly not left behind by a single person. Not one sword intent was identical. Though they had all cultivated the same manual, they had embarked on different paths. There was too little information, mere traces in the snow. With Qin Sang's discerning eye, he could not tell what cultivation realm these swordsmen had possessed, but their strength had undoubtedly been immense. Possessing so many experts and such tremendous might, why had this sect fallen? Time flew like a weaver's shuttle; seas turned into mulberry fields. Even they had failed to attain eternity. Of their heritage manual, only a fragmented scroll remained, and among countless ancient texts, not a single record could be found. Everyone had vanished without a trace, obliterated in the river of time, leaving behind only these pathetic sword intents sealed within these stone swords as their sole legacy. Only through them could one catch a glimpse of the ancient forebears' former glory. ... The Sword Path was very long. Walking through the forest of swords, step by step, darkness peeled away before his eyes layer after layer, yet he still could not see the end of the Sword Path. Suddenly, Qin Sang paused. He finally spotted something different. At the end of the Sword Path was a stone door! Opened by who knew whom, the stone door stood half-ajar, the space beyond equally dark. Qin Sang's gaze swept quickly, not missing even the gaps between the stone swords, but he found nothing out of the ordinary. Senior Qingzhu's remains were likely still ahead! Qin Sang's expression darkened slightly. Generally speaking, a great sect would not have just one trial ground, and each place usually held only one type of trial. Could there be other trials ahead? Granny Jing had never mentioned this variable. This place was very likely a trial ground prepared for Core Formation stage cultivators. The jade Buddha could only protect his origin soul; though he could easily cross this Sword Path, he might not survive other trials. At this thought, Qin Sang's heart grew heavier. He quickened his pace and walked toward the stone door. *Creak...* Qin Sang pushed open the stone door with force. When he saw the scene inside, his expression visibly relaxed. Inside was actually a modest ancient hall, square-shaped and far smaller than the Sword Path outside. There were no other trials. The ancient hall was deathly quiet, devoid of any apparent danger. A false alarm. Standing before the door, Qin Sang carefully took in the ancient hall. Though dim, it was small enough that everything could be taken in at a glance. The walls and floor were built of green stone bricks, identical to those outside, but there were no stone swords here, making the space feel quite vacant. The only object was a person-high altar in the center of the stone hall. Its edges appeared to be carved with many strange runes, resembling a spirit array. Inside, there were no remains of Senior Qingzhu! Qin Sang frowned deeply. This outcome caught him by surprise. Back then, Senior Qingzhu had made a brief appearance on the Ancient Immortal Battlefield before vanishing completely. Calculating the timeline, it roughly aligned with the previous opening of Ziwei Palace. Moreover, Granny Jing had been utterly certain that Senior Qingzhu had disappeared inside this ancient hall. The information she provided should have been reliable; everything Qin Sang had encountered before entering this hall matched her words. Where had things gone wrong? Unwilling to give up, Qin Sang hastily inspected the hall's walls, hoping to find a hidden door, but there was none. Finally, Qin Sang's gaze fell on the altar in the center of the hall. He tested the waters with a step, and seeing no anomaly, swept straight toward the altar. The altar was square, with stone steps descending on all four sides. Taking a few steps up onto the altar, Qin Sang saw the full layout of the spirit array on it, and a sense of familiarity immediately welled up within him. "Could this be... an ancient teleportation array?" Qin Sang murmured in astonishment. The spirit array on the altar took the shape of an Eight Trigrams diagram, its eight corners pointing directly to the Eight Trigrams positions. Within it were densely packed mysterious runes and symbols. At present, all eight corners were empty, but they featured eight distinct indentations intended for spirit stones. Upon seeing this spirit array, Qin Sang immediately thought of the ancient teleportation array at Shangyuan Qingjing Palace. He had used it twice before, and the memory was deeply etched into his mind. The two shared an identical design, and even more than ninety percent of the ancient restrictions and runes inside were the same. The difference was that the one before him was much smaller than the one at Shangyuan Qingjing Palace, its center only large enough for one or two people to stand on. In addition, the ancient runes within this spirit array were even more numerous than in the one at Shangyuan Qingjing Palace, packed extremely tight within the narrow space, almost crowding together. Seeing this, Qin Sang did not even need to test it to be certain: this was indeed an ancient teleportation array! The end of the Sword Path was actually an ancient teleportation array. Could the forest of swords outside have been meant to protect the array, rather than serve as a trial? Where did this ancient teleportation array lead? Could it be that Senior Qingzhu hadn't died back then, but had taken this ancient teleportation array and left the Lesser Cold Domain? Qin Sang could not help letting his thoughts run wild. He studied the ancient teleportation array intently and ultimately confirmed that it was fully intact. If the other half of the teleportation array on the other side was undamaged, one would only need to insert spirit stones into the eight corners for it to function normally! "Hm?" Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed man-made carvings on a stone pillar at the edge of the altar. Qin Sang's expression shifted. He dashed over to the stone pillar and found a line of writing left behind on it. The handwriting was extremely hurried and barely legible, clearly scrawled in haste. Beside the writing, two intricate patterns firmly caught Qin Sang's eyes. Two killing talismans!