Chapter 209 – The Cave Heaven Ruins
Enticed by the enormous reward, the middle-aged cultivator struck without hesitation. Even though his target had formed an Immortal Golden Core and could fight across realms, he himself was not at the early Golden Core stage but the late stage — two full minor realms above. With that advantage, he was confident he could kill his target.
After that, he could carry the corpse back to claim a reward big enough to change his fate.
His opening move was the quintessential demonic cultivator's treasure — the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.
This banner's reputation as the most classic of demonic treasures was well-earned: the more vengeful spirits it contained, the stronger its power.
Once unfurled, the sky instantly dimmed. Vengeful wraiths surged forth from it, diving toward Gu Mo.
"Die!"
The middle-aged cultivator pushed the banner's power to the limit. He needed to end the fight quickly — the banner's commotion wasn't small, and if he dragged this out, righteous cultivators would notice.
But he had full confidence in his Ten Thousand Souls Banner. He had poured most of his effort into refining it, massacring several mortal cities in secret to harvest a vast number of vengeful spirits. The more spirits it held, the greater the explosive power.
At full strength now, his banner could unleash the might of a peak Golden Core cultivator.
With that level of force, killing an early Golden Core was a breeze. Even if his opponent had a life-saving treasure, it wouldn't matter.
He had another trump card prepared — the Heavenly Demon Bewitching Sound.
This was a soul-based attack that could briefly confuse an enemy, causing them to miss their chance to use a life-saving tool — unless they carried a passive-trigger type treasure.
Such treasures were incredibly rare, on par with spirit artifacts, since they needed a certain level of sentience to judge danger on their own. Possessing such sentience meant the item was already on the verge of becoming a true spirit artifact.
Crafting a passive life-saving item from such a prototype alone showed how precious they were.
Other detection methods — like using a formation to sense danger — did exist, but they were rigid. Enemies could easily trick the item into triggering prematurely, wasting it and possibly getting the wielder killed.
From what he knew of the Great Yan Sword Sect's current foundation, they clearly couldn't produce such a treasure.
Unless the sect had sold everything it owned just to keep this Immortal Golden Core disciple alive — in which case, he'd have no complaints. After all, nothing was ever a 100% guarantee. Still, he estimated his odds of killing his target today at over ninety percent.
The mournful wails of vengeful spirits and the eerie, bewitching tones circled around Gu Mo's ears. Another Golden Core might have already succumbed, but Gu Mo's expression remained calm. He raised his sword.
In an instant, a blazing sun appeared, flooding the dim sky with light. Under its radiance, the wraiths evaporated like frost in the morning sun.
"What?!"
The middle-aged cultivator's expression changed sharply. That sun wasn't real — it was formed of sword intent. And this pure yang sword intent was the nemesis of all evil spirits and ghostly wraiths.
An opponent with an Immortal Golden Core was already a nightmare for the demonic path. Now, this opponent had also mastered such pure yang sword intent. If allowed to grow, he would be the bane of all demonic cultivators.
The oppressive aura of that blazing sun snapped the middle-aged man back to his senses. He knew he couldn't kill his target — not quickly, anyway.
If that was the case, then fleeing and reporting this sword intent to his superiors would still earn him a hefty reward.
But just as the thought of retreat arose, a sudden sense of mortal danger erupted in his chest. If he ran, he would die.
If he stayed, righteous cultivators would arrive and he'd also be doomed.
"I want to see what you can do to keep me here!"
Facing certain death, the middle-aged cultivator's fighting spirit flared.
With a low roar, demonic flames surged skyward from his body. He had clearly activated a battle-boosting forbidden technique. This was the source of his claim that no one below Nascent Soul could take him down.
Though costly, this art could push his strength to the peak of the Golden Core realm for a short time. At this moment, he could proudly say — unless a Nascent Soul True Lord struck, no one could…
But before he could finish that thought, Gu Mo's move shattered his confidence.
Gu Mo had originally intended to test his swordsmanship in a proper duel, but the opponent had gone all-out from the start and then used a forbidden technique to reach peak Golden Core power.
In that case, Gu Mo could only respond in kind.
His full strength meant mobilizing all twelve sword cores in his body to form the Heavenly Twelve Sword Fiends Array, pairing it with his great sun sword intent, and unleashing the move — Great Sun Golden Crow Sword.
This sword strike had been verified by Xuan Tianhen himself to hold the power of a Nascent Soul Sword Lord.
"No… impossible!"
The middle-aged cultivator's soul trembled at the sight of the blinding golden crow-shaped sword light. A mere early-stage Golden Core… unleashing a Nascent Soul Sword Lord's strike?!
What kind of monstrous talent was this? If word got out, the demonic sect would surely dispatch a Nascent Soul demon to eliminate him.
Such a prodigy could one day surpass the Great Yan Sword Sect's founding ancestor.
Unfortunately for the middle-aged cultivator, he would never have the chance to deliver this crucial information.
The dazzling, searing sword light passed through him, severing both his demonic energy and his life force.
"As expected — powerful!"
Gu Mo let out a long breath. When sparring with his master Xuan Tianhen before, he couldn't tell how strong this move really was. Now he knew: even a peak Golden Core demonic cultivator could be slain in one stroke.
The only pity was that such a full-force blow couldn't be used in quick succession.
Of course, this was only his full-power strike — not his ultimate one. His true limit was this sword, enhanced with Immortal Power.
But unless facing a Nascent Soul True Lord, there were few below that level who could withstand his full strike.
He said "few" because he had heard of certain elite true disciples from top sects whose combat power was astonishing.
"Still a huge loss…"
After the middle-aged man died, Gu Mo searched the body. A late-stage Golden Core demonic cultivator should have carried many treasures.
And he did — but they were all of the demonic path. To a demonic cultivator, priceless; to Gu Mo, utterly useless.
Taking out a message talisman, Gu Mo sent word to the Great Yan Sword Sect to come handle the aftermath. Killing a demonic infiltrator counted as righteous alliance credit, which could later be exchanged for rare treasures once the righteous–demonic war began.
As for himself, he continued toward the location of the cave heaven ruins.
"This should be it."
Flying high on his sword, Gu Mo swept the barren ground below with his divine sense. After more than a month of travel, he had finally reached the spot Qian Tao had described.
According to Qian Tao, the entrance was a boulder that wasn't truly a boulder — but an illusion.
Find it, pass through, and you'd enter. Qian Tao had stumbled into it by accident back then.
Because the entry method was so simple, Gu Mo had rushed here, fearing others might discover it first. Otherwise, he could have taken his time.
"Found it!"
His eyes fixed on an unremarkable rock. Without a specific goal, it was impossible to pick it out from the countless other stones scattered across the wasteland.
But when you knew what to look for, it wasn't so hard — Gu Mo had found it easily.
Approaching, he reached out. His hand passed straight through. Without hesitation, he stepped in.
The scenery shifted abruptly — the barren land transformed into a lush forest. The spiritual energy here was far denser.
Gu Mo knew he'd entered the cave heaven. This was only the outer perimeter, which according to Qian Tao's intel, was fairly safe and devoid of treasures.
Beyond the forest lay the true ruins — full of danger. Qian Tao's hired companions had died to the place's defenses, and only Qian Tao had escaped thanks to a life-saving treasure.
"Well then, let's see."
Taking a deep breath, Gu Mo pressed forward. Anyone capable of owning a cave heaven treasure was no weakling, and whatever they left behind would surely include deadly traps.
Fortunately, this cave heaven was damaged. Even if great killing formations remained, they couldn't operate at full power. With his tombstone moss, he was confident he could reach the core and obtain the Void Crystal Core.
And at the root of his confidence — this was only an avatar. Even if it died, he could condense another.
But if he succeeded, he could forge his own cave heaven treasure — something of immense significance.
Stepping out of the forest, he saw vast spirit fields ahead. This wasn't surprising — one of a cave heaven's main uses was farming and livestock raising.
What did surprise him was the sight of people working the fields.
Sweeping them with his divine sense, he realized they weren't people at all — they were puppets.
True automated farming. Of course, these puppets could also defend against intruders — whether spirit insects, beasts, or cultivators.
Qian Tao had first been trapped by a formation, then beset by these puppets. His companions were slain, and he had barely escaped.
"These puppets are Golden Core level? No wonder he lost."
The materials alone were third-grade — strong enough for Golden Core use. Using such costly resources just for farming showed the original owner's deep wealth. Gu Mo could destroy them, but there was no need.
Who knew what other defenses might trigger if he did?
Changing direction, he found abandoned fields and broken puppets — further proof of the cave heaven's damaged state.
"This will do."
Choosing a spot without puppets, Gu Mo took out a lump of third-grade tombstone moss and pressed it against the dim formation barrier.
The array was damaged enough that a Golden Core could break through, but Qian Tao had done that before and triggered some unknown ban that trapped him.
Gu Mo wasn't going to brute force it. With the moss, he could slip in silently.
Soon, the moss had chewed an opening. Gu Mo entered quietly, leaving no sign.
Suppressing his aura to the minimum, he headed toward the center.
Along the way, he passed several spirit fields shrouded in formations. Some were abandoned, but one was still active — and instead of spirit grain, it held spirit herbs.
Not just any — these were fourth-grade herbs.
No, more precisely, they were originally third-grade herbs that had, over countless years, naturally grown into the fourth grade.
He spotted a fourth-grade Sunlight Glaze Flower, and fourth-grade Swordheart Bamboo — the latter perfect for forging a flying sword of spirit-weapon quality.
A fourth-grade Swordheart Bamboo had already developed spiritual awareness — a major advantage over mineral materials. Protecting that spiritual essence during forging would yield a sword embryo with sentience — the makings of a spirit artifact.
There were also several rare third-grade plants here that had likewise advanced over time.
"All good stuff…"
Gu Mo's eyes gleamed at the field.
But he knew his main goal was the Void Core. Only after obtaining it could he think of collecting other treasures.
For now, every thought had to stay fixed on finding that core.
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