Chapter 45: Deep Anomalies

Shen Jianxin walked forward. Not long after, he furrowed his brows slightly and looked at Lu Changfeng, who was following closely behind. "You?!"

Lu Changfeng maintained a calm expression and said, "Lead the way, please!"

"You, mere ninth-layer Circulating Heaven realm, think you're qualified to follow me?" Shen Jianxin glanced at Lu Changfeng and scoffed.

Lu Changfeng's expression remained serene, without a single word of response. He merely cast his gaze upon the steep rock walls beside them.

Seeing this, a flash of murderous intent flickered across Shen Jianxin's eyes.

"Very well!" He smiled and said, "Then Junior Brother Lu had better keep up, for I walk rather quickly!"

With that, Shen Jianxin's figure flickered, and he darted forward like a shooting arrow. Seeing this, Lu Changfeng pulled himself together and followed right behind him.

Along the way, they encountered quite a few disciples. These disciples of the Heavenly Sword Peak were moving forward at a slow pace, having to proceed with utmost caution in order to resist the surrounding sword light.

As Shen Jianxin and Lu Changfeng swept past them, they kicked up gusts of fierce wind, which could not help but fill the Heavenly Sword Peak disciples with shock.

Soon, the two of them arrived at an arena-like valley. Before Lu Changfeng lay a gigantic crater stretching a thousand zhang across. The sword light erupting from the center of the crater was exceptionally fierce, rivaling even the full-strength strike of a cultivator in the first layer of the Circulating Heaven realm.

A good number of Heavenly Sword Peak disciples were already waiting here.

"Descending from this point marks the heart of the Sword Burial Valley!"

"This place is extremely perilous, yet the flashing sword lights also harbor numerous legacies of the Sword Dao. If you can endure them, the benefits will be immense!"

"Everyone, proceed according to your capabilities!"

"Understood!" The Heavenly Sword Peak disciples bowed slightly toward Shen Jianxin.

"Junior Brother Lu, although you are here to choose a weapon, I must still offer you a word of advice: know when to stop!"

"This place is perilous. Should anything happen to you, I certainly won't come to your rescue!" Shen Jianxin turned his head to look at Lu Changfeng as he spoke.

"Mhm!" At this moment, Lu Changfeng's mind was entirely consumed by the crater below, and he merely gave Shen Jianxin a faint response.

"Hmph, what a piece of work! Senior Brother Shen kindly advised you, and yet you show such ingratitude?"

"Indeed! It would be best if he just died down there!"

"I reckon he's clearly terrified by the Sword Burial Valley! If he wants to run, he'd better do it now while he still can!"

The Heavenly Sword Peak disciples immediately broke into a chorus of sneers and jeers.

Ignoring them, Lu Changfeng walked forward. As he advanced, the figures of those around him were gradually obscured by the surging blades of sword light.

A long while later, a hundred-zhang-wide bizarre black rock appeared before him. Countless long swords were stabbed into this massive stone. Strands of turbulent sword intent billowed outward from the hollows upon the rock's surface.

On the hills surrounding this strange rock, there were also numerous long swords, most of which were broken or shattered. The surrounding sword light wailed and howled like a mournful dirge. The entire scene felt gloomy and bone-chilling.

"Sword Burial Valley... a true valley of buried swords!" Looking at the scene before him, Lu Changfeng could not help but feel a pang of melancholy in his heart.

Most of the swords here had been left behind because their masters were slain or because their swords were casually discarded. Yet, these long swords still carried the indomitable will of their original owners, buried here as though guarding something eternal.

The surging sword light had already reached the strength of the seventh or eighth layer of the Circulating Heaven realm, or even the early Dan Realm. Even though Lu Changfeng had not yet approached the bizarre rock, he could still feel a stinging sensation across his skin.

Taking a deep breath, Lu Changfeng stepped forward.

Hum—!

In an instant, his arrival seemed to provoke the wrath of these long swords. Countless sword beams charged fiercely toward Lu Changfeng, their terrifying might seemingly intent on tearing him to shreds.

"Stand down!" Lu Changfeng's eyes flashed slightly as a trace of spiritual consciousness rippled around him.

In a split second, those ownerless sword lights seemed to sense something; they shattered instantly, dissolving into tiny specks of starlight that rained down upon the pitch-black earth.

Swords possess a spirit. They had already perceived that although the person before them possessed low cultivation, his comprehension of the Sword Dao was something no ordinary visitor could ever hope to match.

In his past life, Lu Changfeng was the Supreme Sword Emperor of the Three Thousand Star Domains. Subduing these spiritual swords was naturally as easy as turning over his hand for him.

"What is going on? The riot of the spiritual swords in the Sword Burial Valley has just vanished?"

"Damn it, could this fellow surnamed Lu actually possess the ability to suppress these sword lights?"

"Hmph, I bet the Peak Master of Moon Cold Peak must have given him some secret pointers!"

The Heavenly Sword Peak disciples inside the Sword Burial Valley turned pale with shock as they looked at the abruptly quieted sword light, their faces etched with astonishment.

Shen Jianxin furrowed his brows slightly. He had already visited the Sword Burial Valley three times, and every single time he had had to exhaust all his strength just to reap a meager harvest here. Moreover, such a phenomenon had never occurred on any of those occasions. Therefore, he concluded that this matter was undoubtedly linked to Lu Changfeng!

"What a truly troublesome fellow!" Shen Jianxin knitted his brows tightly, staring fixedly in the direction where Lu Changfeng had vanished.

Lu Changfeng remained completely unaware of the kind of profound shock he had inflicted upon the Heavenly Sword Peak disciples.

At this moment, he strolled leisurely toward the deeper recesses of the valley. As he moved forward, the spiritual swords all around him converged their momentum, signaling their submission. Furthermore, quite a few spiritual swords actively approached Lu Changfeng, eagerly attempting to acknowledge him as their master.

Lu Changfeng did not even spare these long swords a single glance. After all, he had not yet reached the core area, and the spiritual swords here simply failed to catch his eye.

"Earth-grade high-tier... and it has even birthed a sword spirit... truly not bad!" Pausing before a particular long sword, he lightly stroked its blade and replied indifferently, "Still, it is not enough!"

As Lu Changfeng continued onward, he arrived at a vast, open clearing. The sword light here was even more ferocious; ordinary Dan Realm cultivators would never dare approach it lightly. Yet, relying on his own overwhelming aura, Lu Changfeng was able to forcefully subdue the sword Qi.

Gazing at the surrounding swords, he murmured, "As expected, the spiritual swords in the depths are mostly of the Earth grade... but... it is still not enough!"

Lu Changfeng's eyes flickered. While suppressing the spiritual swords with his spiritual consciousness, he had also perceived an even more unyielding and defiant sword intent rising from the deepest depths. Yet, just as he attempted to investigate, that aura vanished completely without a trace.

Arriving at the very center of the valley, he surveyed the surrounding swords and began searching for the aura he had sensed earlier. He picked up the blades one by one to examine them.

After an unknown passage of time, just as Lu Changfeng was about to give up, his peripheral vision caught sight of a stone rod planted obliquely into a stone tablet. There was not a single spiritual sword in the vicinity of this tablet.

"Oh?" Witnessing this, a hint of puzzlement flashed in Lu Changfeng's eyes. He slowly walked toward the stone tablet.

"There are actually no other spiritual swords contending for this spot?"

"Rather peculiar!"

Murmuring thus, he reached out his hand, intending to pull down the "stone rod."

"Boom—!"

Instantly, the "stone rod" let out a resonant hum, and waves of immense sword light surged forward to attack Lu Changfeng.

"Still has a temper, do you?"

Lu Changfeng's expression remained unchanged as a flash of pleasant surprise crossed his eyes. Raising a hand to block, he unleashed a vast torrent of spiritual consciousness before him.

Hum—!