Swordsman only snapped out of his stunned daze when Lin Feng recalled the Crimson Soul Flying Sword hovering protectively before him and then stowed it away. He stared at Lin Feng, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Lin Feng… you… you've been hiding your cultivation level too?"
Lin Feng blinked, genuinely puzzled. "Hiding? No. I'm just Foundation Establishment, second layer. Would I bother hiding that?"
"Truly just Foundation Establishment second layer?" Swordsman's lips twitched slightly. "You're honestly not Golden Core? You're not lying to me?"
Lin Feng chuckled dryly. "Of course I'm not lying. Why would I? I'm not like you, pretending to be Foundation Establishment when you're clearly Golden Core."
Swordsman hesitated, gesturing vaguely towards where the sword had vanished. "But… you have a flying sword…"
Lin Feng tilted his head, a playful glint in his eye. "Oh? And what rule says a Foundation Establishment cultivator can't have a flying sword? That exquisite little pagoda of yours… I doubt it's something an ordinary Golden Core early-stage cultivator 'should' possess either, wouldn't you say?"
Swordsman's eyebrows shot up. His gaze flickered thoughtfully for a moment before he suddenly threw his head back and laughed, a hearty, unrestrained sound. "Hahaha!! Right! Right you are!! My apologies, I was being far too narrow-minded! I should have guessed ages ago that ordinary standards simply don't apply to you! No wonder you act so boldly, not even giving a damn about the Young Master of the Absolute Sword Sect! You really are something else! Haha!!"
'And you're probably no less 'simple' yourself…' Lin Feng thought wryly to himself. Aloud, he changed the subject. "Alright, let's deal with these bodies. We can split their belongings once we get out?"
"Don't even mention splitting!" Swordsman waved a dismissive hand. "You killed them both. I didn't lift a finger. The spoils are entirely yours. I don't take unearned gains."
Lin Feng narrowed his eyes slightly, studying Swordsman. "Truly don't want any?"
"Truly—" Swordsman's gaze involuntarily drifted towards the Mixed Gold Umbrella lying beside Loong Qing's corpse. He swallowed almost imperceptibly before shaking his head firmly. "—truly not. I couldn't possibly snatch a friend's rightful spoils, now could I?"
"Fine then. I'll collect everything." Lin Feng wasted no time. With a flick of his wrist, several fireballs shot out, engulfing the corpses of Loong Qing and Loong Xiao, reducing them swiftly to drifting ash. He then gathered their remaining possessions into his storage ring.
Silently, Lin Feng's estimation of Swordsman's character rose another notch.
After Lin Feng finished clearing the immediate area, Swordsman walked to the edge of the vertical shaft, cradling his longsword thoughtfully. His gaze was fixed downward. "Judging by the state of those two Loong Golden Core cultivators, they definitely suffered at the claws of that Ice-Eye Serpent. Though whether they managed to injure the beast significantly is anyone's guess… And that serpent was hot on their heels, relentless. Why did it suddenly abandon the chase? Could it have sensed us up here… and gotten scared?"
"I doubt that's the reason," Lin Feng countered, also frowning in thought. "If it knew we were here, it would likely have charged straight up to devour us both." A sudden spark lit his eyes. "Wait… When I first explored down there and encountered the serpent, it chased me too. But when that strange phenomenon erupted, it immediately broke off the pursuit and rushed back towards the depths. Thinking about it now… perhaps it won't venture too far from that Spirit Spring pool! It's probably terrified someone might steal the treasure while it's away!"
"Hmm, that's plausible," Swordsman nodded slowly, then his expression grew more speculative. "But it's likely more complex than that. The beast's retreat felt abrupt, almost panicked. Like it suddenly detected some critical anomaly and had to rush back immediately. Perhaps…"
Lin Feng caught his meaning instantly, his own eyes widening slightly. "Perhaps… someone else got close to the Spirit Spring pool! That's why the serpent was so desperate to return and protect it!"
"Exactly!" Swordsman slammed a fist into his palm. "That's highly likely!! The entire mountain is shrouded in that phenomenon right now. I can sense cultivators swarming everywhere outside, many locked in combat. It's inevitable others would think to delve deep underground! And there could easily be other access points! Someone must have approached the Spirit Spring from another direction!"
Reaching this conclusion ignited a fierce urgency in Swordsman. His face darkened with indignation. "Damn it all to hell!! Someone's trying to steal our Spirit Spring! Unacceptable! Lin Feng, we need to head back down immediately!!"
"…" Lin Feng was momentarily speechless. Swordsman had already claimed ownership of the Spirit Spring without a shred of certainty. He felt a surge of caution. "Don't be rash. We don't know if our speculation is correct. Charging down there recklessly again… if we run into that serpent head-on, escaping a second time won't be guaranteed."
Swordsman puffed out his chest, radiating bravado. "Leave that to me!! It's not as dire as all that. If a fight becomes unavoidable… I'll unleash my ultimate technique, pouring everything I have into it. Even a Tier 4 beast won't walk away unscathed! Killing it might be beyond me, but buying us enough time to escape? That's well within my power!"
"What?!" Lin Feng's eyes flashed with sudden intensity. He took a step closer, his voice dropping. "You said you could seriously injure it? How certain are you?"
Swordsman closed his eyes briefly, clearly running calculations in his mind. When he opened them, his gaze was steady. "Eighty percent."
"Eighty percent…" Lin Feng's eyes darted back and forth rapidly. A whirlwind of emotions warred within him – excitement battling caution, ambition wrestling with fear. Several tense seconds passed. Finally, his gaze hardened with resolve. He clenched his jaw. "You're right. Fortune favors the bold! I'll take that gamble with you!! Swordsman… I have a plan…"
Simultaneously, deep within the earth.
Wei Wuyi of the Absolute Sword Sect and Long Tian'ao navigated the winding subterranean tunnels, drawn inexorably towards the source of the increasingly dense and potent worldly spiritual energy. Before long, they reached what seemed like a dead end.
"Huh? No path forward?" Long Tian'ao frowned at the solid rock wall blocking their way, turning questioningly to Wei Wuyi.
Wei Wuyi offered a faint, knowing smile. "The path isn't gone. Merely buried by time. We simply need to reopen it."
He raised a hand, preparing to summon his flying sword. Long Tian'ao, however, quickly interjected with deferential eagerness. "Elder Wei, allow me to handle such a trivial task! Spare you the effort."
Turning to face the obstructing rock, Long Tian'ao gathered his true essence. He curled the fingers of his right hand into a sword gesture and thrust it forward decisively. "Go!!"
"SHIIIING!!"
At his command, the golden flying sword sheathed on his back sprang to life. With a resonant, clear chime, it transformed into a streak of golden light, shooting towards the rock face.
"BOOM!! CRACK! SHHHKKKT!!"
The solid rock offered no more resistance than soft tofu. Long Tian'ao's flying sword carved through it effortlessly, cleaving a passage more than ten meters deep. As the last fragments fell away, another tunnel was revealed beyond.
The moment the connection was made, a faint, cool draft wafted through from the other side, carrying with it a surge of spiritual energy far richer than anything they had encountered thus far.
"It's just ahead now!! Let's go!!" Wei Wuyi's face lit up with barely contained excitement. He surged forward, Long Tian'ao close on his heels.
Very soon, they arrived at the Ice-Eye Serpent's lair – the funnel-shaped cavern housing the precious Spirit Spring pool.
"That… that is… a Spirit Spring! A Spirit Spring!! Hahaha! To think we'd find a Spirit Spring here!! Excellent! Truly excellent!!"
The moment Wei Wuyi's eyes fell upon the shimmering pool nestled at the cavern's end, his usual composure vanished completely. He echoed Loong Qing's earlier reaction with unrestrained, ecstatic laughter.
"Spirit Spring? The legendary Spirit Spring?! And so much of it?!" Long Tian'ao, hearing Wei Wuyi's declaration, was instantly electrified. His eyes shone with greedy intensity as he fixed them on the pool ahead.
"This volume of Spirit Spring… it's utterly priceless!!" Wei Wuyi declared, his voice trembling with fervor. "With this, the Absolute Sword Sect's power will soar! We might even ascend to become a Fifth-Rank Sect! Quickly! We must collect every drop!!"
Consumed by avarice, Wei Wuyi took a step towards the beckoning pool.
"Hmm?! Beware!!"
His triumphant advance was brutally interrupted. Wei Wuyi's expression contorted into sudden, profound shock. He whirled around with impossible speed. His sharp warning rang out as his right hand snapped upwards. A streak of icy light erupted from his sleeve – his flying sword, launched with lethal precision towards a point high on the cavern wall dozens of meters behind them.
Long Tian'ao, caught completely off guard by his elder's abrupt action, barely had time to register the movement.
"SWOOSH!!"
Almost simultaneous with Wei Wuyi's strike, a section of the cavern ceiling he targeted exploded violently outward. From the shower of rock and dust, a beam of frigid, white energy shot forth like a giant crossbow bolt, its speed terrifyingly matched to Wei Wuyi's flying sword!
"BOOOOM!!!"
The two projectiles collided mid-air with catastrophic force. The icy beam shattered into dissipating mist. Wei Wuyi's flying sword was violently deflected, spinning wildly away.
"HISSSSSSSS!!!"
An ear-splitting shriek of pure, unadulterated fury ripped through the cavern, vibrating the very stone. Wei Wuyi and Long Tian'ao spun towards the source. The Ice-Eye Serpent erupted from the newly made hole in the ceiling. Its colossal, lantern-like eyes blazed with murderous intent, fixed unwaveringly on the intruders. Without a moment's hesitation, gathering its immense body, the serpent launched itself downwards in a furious, earth-shaking charge!