In the midst of the sky, a scintillating sword aura spans the heavens and earth. The ancient, long sword in the hand of the white-bearded elder is raised high, his cold expression fixed upon the defeated Zhang Long, a mocking smile appearing on his face.

    Zhang Long forcefully exhaled a breath, exhaustedly lifting the half-broken iron sword. Although he had no strength to block it, he couldn't let himself die too shamefully. At least, he thought he should try to intercept it.

    Yet before the white-bearded elder could strike, his sword aura dispersed in an instant. Following it was a violent shaking of the entire pure white space, as if an earthquake had struck.

    A series of 'bang bang' sounds erupted suddenly in the pure white space, as if porcelain was shattering. Cracks of varying sizes and depths appeared from all directions, in the heavens and on the earth.

    The white-bearded elder's expression solidified, his eyes scanning the surroundings. A 'click' sound suddenly echoed in his mind, as if something bad had occurred. An ominous thought instantly arose, causing him to turn stiffly and glance at Zhang Long.

    As if he recalled something, the white-bearded elder, with a serious face, suddenly flashed a smile, "It seems your words are not false. The young master you mentioned is indeed extraordinary, possessing such abilities. Well then, well then. It's time to make an understanding as to why you have protected our Saint Sword Sect for ten thousand years."

    With that, the white-bearded elder's eyes locked onto Zhang Long.

    Zhang Long's sturdy body trembled, tightly grasping the broken sword in his hand, unconsciously retreating half a step back. But he saw the white-bearded elder's right index finger gently lift up, pointing towards his forehead.

    However, in the blink of an eye, before Zhang Long could react, the white-bearded elder's figure appeared right in front of him, and his double pointed at his forehead.

    A fierce gale rose abruptly, blowing the hair in front of Zhang Long's forehead into disarray. The listless cheek felt the fierce wind blowing over it without so much as a flicker.

    Suddenly, Zhang Long felt as if something was surging into his body.

    "If your young master wants you to come here and say these things to me, it is likely that he also wishes to obtain my assistance. Haha, I did not intend to get involved in these matters, but it seems I have no choice now. Well then, since I already bear a grudge against Zhang Tianlin, if I can cause him trouble, it would be my pleasure."

    After withdrawing his hand, the white-bearded elder let out a bitter laugh, his face expressing full helplessness.

    Zhang Long touched his forehead, "What did Senior do to me just now?"

    "The time will come, and then you will know."

    The white-bearded elder shook his head without speaking, looking up at the already cracking pure white space. His figure was also gradually disappearing. He lowered his head and looked at Zhang Long, as if he were an elderly person on his last legs, with a voice filled with a slight rasp. "Young man, before I leave, please help me with something."

    Zhang Long lowered his hand from his forehead, asking without hesitation, "What is it?"

    "I've also given you the Holy Sword Clasp of our Saint Sword Sect. As a favor for this matter, please don't annihilate our sect."

    The white-bearded elder had lost all the arrogance from before, his eyes pitifully staring at Zhang Long. His figure was becoming increasingly faint, and in just a moment, he had disappeared completely, leaving only his head, as if it were about to vanish from this world.

    Zhang Long pondered for a moment before lowering his head, looking at the old man with only one eye remaining, and solemnly nodded, "Alright."

    After several hours of taking the blood pill, Chen Mo's cultivation in the realm of Qi and Blood had successfully broken through to the fourth grade.

    He pulled Long Fei's hand and retraced his steps from the entrance he had pierced with a sword, back to the waterfall, then back to the giant stone array in the first trial.

    At this moment, there was no sign of Li Yijian and Luo Shan within the giant stone array. It could be assumed that after multiple attempts without success, the two had given up.

    Chen Mo did not linger at this place, but continued to head outwards, exiting the cave and making his way towards Pingzhen Town to distance himself from the Saint Sword Sect.

    However, just as Li Yijian and Luo Shan left the cave, a sword aura suddenly descended from the sky, like a meteor falling to earth.

    "Watch out"

    After experiencing the battle with the gatekeeper, Long Fei Wu's alertness had increased significantly. In the moment of leaving the cave, her entire body's nerves were tense. Upon sensing the approaching hostility, she pulled Chen Mo's hand with a sudden pull, pulling him into her embrace, and then retreated backward while holding him.

    Chen Mo was caught off guard and collided with Long Fei Wu's inflated chest muscles. He was momentarily dumbfounded, then twisted his head to look elsewhere and became confused for a while again.

    Above the void, an old man in white robes, holding a relic of ancient dust, slowly descended from the sky, his face contorted with a mocking smile.

    Xu Zhen

    On both sides of Xu Zhen were two other individuals, each wielding a sword and jumping down. They sized up Chen Mo and Long Fei Wu with unfriendly eyes.

    "I really didn't expect it. Not long ago, when I saw the two of them leap down into the dark space beneath that waterfall as if seeking death, I thought they would be killed. But I never thought they would survive."

    "Xu Lao, your information seems to be incorrect. Looking at them like this, they don't seem to be in a hurry. Their condition is like they just went for a walk, not like they're in danger. Are you sure that the dark place is really dangerous?"

    Zhao Wanli and Xue Xing stood on both sides of Xu Zhen, puzzled and asked.

    Xu Zhen twitched an eyebrow, his expression somewhat unnatural, "The ancestor's teachings were passed down that the dangers in that dark place are no less perilous than the third level. In theory, they couldn't have survived...".

    Xu Zhen was also somewhat stunned. He had also thought about trying his luck in the dark place. However, when he stood on the water's edge and looked down, he felt an inexplicable suffocation. It must be filled with death energy.

    The ancestral saying is definitely without error. Only he doesn't understand why Chen Mo and Long Fei Wu can come up from there unscathed.

    "Let this matter be set aside for now. Since these two are important to the Wine Sword Immortal, we should continue with the original plan and take them down first, using them to coerce the Wine Sword Immortal."

    Xu Zhen spoke up.

    Chen Mo snorted with disdain and fixed his eyes on Xu Zhen, who was speaking earnestly, and said with a smile, "Mr. Xu, if you know that the dark place is extremely dangerous, do you know that the more dangerous a place is, the more likely it is to gain an opportunity?"

    Xu Zhen was taken aback, his expression changing slightly. "What do you mean by that?"

    "Here is the territory of your Saint Sword Sect, and if you don't have any backup, why would I dare to come out so boldly?"

    "Do you mean that you found an opportunity in the dark place? And this opportunity is enough to let you win against us?"

    Xu Zhen raised an eyebrow, asking tentatively.

    Chen Mo does not speak, but his expression at this moment already says everything.

    Xu Zhen burst out into loud laughter, "Haha, it's impossible. The secret treasure left by our ancestors can't be hidden in a place like that. If it is really hidden there, he wouldn't have left us a note about it. Furthermore, a thousand years ago, the new Sword God of our sect, Li Zhengyi, also went there and confirmed that the treasure was behind the door of the third level...".

    Chen Mo chuckled, "Who told you that the dark place hides a secret treasure left by that sword god from ten thousand years ago?"

    Hearing this, Xu Zhen frowned and his face was filled with confusion. In contrast, the Venerable Zhao Wanli standing next to him was suddenly shocked, as if he had just remembered something. His pupils constricted all of a sudden...