Qin Sang sensed Le Rou’s emotions gradually calming down, nodded, and reassured Le Xing, "Don’t worry. Your sister’s spiritual consciousness directly touched the sword mark, and the residual killing intent within it impacted her mind, making it difficult to shake off. Fortunately, she wasn’t harmed; after a good sleep, she’ll be fine."

Upon hearing Qin Sang’s explanation, Le Xing forced herself to suppress her worry as she held the still slightly trembling Le Rou tightly, casting a fearful glance at that sword mark.

What kind of person left such a dangerous mark that even you can't even touch with spiritual consciousness?

She held her own spiritual consciousness tightly within her primordial spirit space, not daring to let a sliver slip out.

Qin Sang turned and raised his head, and, just as he suspected, he found an almost imperceptible fissure in the ceiling of the cave dwelling.

One could imagine someone standing above the cave dwelling, perhaps even on the water’s surface, and with a light stroke of their sword, sending sword qi piercing down through the lake, disregarding the illusion array and barrier, stabbing through the cave dwelling, and leaving a perfect sword mark right on the stone bed.

It was likely that Sage Cangli hadn’t been in the cave dwelling at that time; otherwise, he would have been split in half with a single strike. However, he was ultimately still dragged out and couldn’t escape his fate.

Now, Qin Sang was certain that only Senior Qingzhu could have left such a sword mark!

Only someone who had cultivated the

Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment

could sense the distinctiveness of the residual sword qi in the mark. The killing intent within the sword qi shared the same origin as the killing symbol in the

Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment

!

As far as Qin Sang knew, on Shaohua Mountain, Senior Qingzhu was the only one who had truly cultivated the

Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment

to completion, maintaining his sanity against the corrosion of killing intent and even reaching the Golden Core Realm.

This was a sword mark left by a Golden Core master!

Had it not been for the fact that this sword mark had been around for a long time, with more than ninety percent of its sword qi and killing intent dissipated, Le Rou’s spiritual consciousness would have been shattered by the killing intent upon contact with the mark, her primordial spirit withering to death.

But what surprised and shocked Qin Sang even more was the purity of the killing intent in this sword mark, even purer and more extreme than the fifth killing symbol!

Qin Sang had assumed that Senior Qingzhu had since switched to another cultivation art, but it now appeared he had pursued the path of slaughter relentlessly.

Could it be that he discovered something beyond the fifth stage?

Why was it never stored in the Treasure Tower Peak?

Sitting cross-legged before the stone bed, Qin Sang released his spiritual consciousness, allowing it to make contact with the sword mark.

Being a Foundation Building cultivator, he didn’t have to fear an ancient sword mark, and he had also practiced the

Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment

, so there was no need for trepidation.

Qin Sang sat still, like a withered tree.

Le Xing didn’t dare disturb him, worried about both Le Rou’s state and whether they would still be able to use this cave dwelling after the sword mark had compromised it.

"Hmm…"

After a while, Le Rou stirred and slowly awakened. Le Xing’s face lit up with joy, and she urgently whispered, "How do you feel now? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"My head… it hurts…"

Le Rou held her head, her eyes dazed, still disoriented. When her gaze fell upon the stone bed, her eyes filled with intense fear, and she shrank back into Le Xing’s arms, her voice trembling. "That crack… inside… it’s terrifying…"

"What did you see?" Le Xing asked curiously.

"I… it felt like I’d fallen into a sea of corpses and blood…"

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

…

"Phew…"

Several hours later, Qin Sang finally opened his eyes. After carefully contemplating the experience, his earlier suspicions were confirmed: Senior Qingzhu had progressed to a higher stage in the Dao of Slaughter. Even if he hadn’t uncovered the Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment beyond the fifth stage, he had certainly acquired a new secret art aligned with that path. ŔâŊОBƐꞨ

After a moment of thought, Qin Sang summoned his ebony sword, visualized the killing symbol, and released a strand of sword qi, which landed squarely on the sword mark.

A faint glimmer of sword light flickered, neutralizing the remaining sword qi within the mark.

"I’ve cleared the residual sword qi on the mark. You needn’t fear it any longer."

Qin Sang sheathed his ebony sword, but before the Le Sisters could express their relief, he continued firmly, "Now, shouldn’t you both fulfill your promise?"

Le Xing suppressed her excitement. "We’ll follow you back to Wenyue Market and hand over the spiritual spring objects as agreed."

Although the barrier had been breached, the naturally-formed illusion array remained undamaged. As long as the Le Sisters were careful, they didn’t need to worry about others seizing their cave dwelling.

The three quickly returned to Wenyue Market, where, with the Le Sisters’ confirmation, they retrieved the tree root from Granny Jing. Acting as a witness, Granny Jing only required Qin Sang and the sisters to buy a carving from her shop as compensation.

Qin Sang selected a peachwood sword before promptly taking his leave, heading straight for Tianhen House.

After researching the case records there, he returned to Shaohua Mountain to consult with Senior Brother Wen and a few other familiar sect members. He then made his way to Treasure Tower Peak, meticulously combing through various records.

Back in his cave dwelling, Qin Sang pondered the findings of his recent investigation.

He was now nearly certain that Senior Qingzhu was indeed the Sword Demon.

From the emergence of the immortal residence to Senior Qingzhu’s defection from Shaohua Mountain, a decade or so had passed, during which he had been in seclusion. When he had finally split the mountain and left, the sect had deliberately suppressed news of it, avoiding any external uproar.

The so-called case only became public knowledge after the Sword Demon assaulted the Yuanshen Sect, with bodies, each confirmed to have come from the immortal residence, found in succession.

Rumors circulated linking the Sword Demon to Senior Qingzhu, though none were verified.

Some of Qin Sang’s fellow disciples had heard whispers of this, but Shaohua Mountain had erased all traces of Senior Qingzhu, while both major sects seemed to have intentionally downplayed the matter. Given how much time had passed, no one had cared enough to pursue further investigation, treating it as little more than a legend.

Following the Sword Demon’s assault on the Yuanshen Sect, he vanished without a trace. Some believed he had perished in a siege by the Yuanshen Sect, while others speculated he had escaped the Small Cold Domain unscathed.

Theories abounded, but all were mere conjectures.

There was one lead on Senior Qingzhu’s whereabouts: a Shaohua Mountain disciple was said to have encountered him on the Ancient Immortal Battlefield and even been saved by him, though that disciple had long since passed away.

No one knew if Senior Qingzhu was still alive. If he hadn’t broken through to the Spiritual Infant Realm, his lifespan would have nearly run its course.

Qin Sang’s concern with Senior Qingzhu was due to the

Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment

. Treasure Tower Peak held only a fragment of it; Senior Qingzhu might have uncovered the remaining sections.

If possible, Qin Sang didn’t want to switch to a different cultivation art. This one was among the best suited for him, not only accelerating his cultivation speed but also allowing him an additional life-bound astra once he reached the Golden Core Realm, which would give him a significant edge in combat.

Of course, that depended on his ability to form a Golden Core.

For now, such goals felt distant, and there was no need to rush.

Once he entered the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, he could investigate slowly. Even if Senior Qingzhu had perished there, finding his remains or relics would be just as valuable.