Chapter 930: Ascending to the Peak of Shushan

Su Ming had already checked everyone's information.

Everyone's skill proficiency had seen tremendous improvement!

Basically, everyone now possessed top-tier epic skills.

It seemed they... were truly working hard to keep up with his planned progress.

At barely 21 or 22 years old, they had already reached level 65!

And it wasn't just one person; it was everyone.

This speed, if spoken of, would surely be unbelievable to anyone.

Chirp!

A crisp cry rang out.

Xiao Ming's wings pierced through the clouds, transforming into a streak of black light that landed on Su Ming's shoulder in an instant.

Dark blue light flickered in its eyes, and its beak appeared even sharper; it seemed to have undergone a great evolution!

Back then, Su Ming had sent it off to act independently while also keeping an eye on Ji Yao, Ni Shuang, and the others as they cultivated within the sect.

Furthermore, Su Ming had told it that it could slaughter and evolve on its own whenever it encountered demonic beasts.

Thus, Xiao Ming's various attributes had also seen a massive increase.

Its agility had officially broken through the 1,000-point mark.

"Two years without seeing you, and you've grown quite a lot," Su Ming said with a smile.

He felt that the childishness in Xiao Ming's eyes had faded, replaced by a hint of heroic spirit.

Perhaps it was not far from reaching full maturity.

"So, are you all ready to activate the great formation?" Su Ming asked.

"Naturally." Yan Ze nodded, his expression solemn.

Immediately, the group stepped forward and arrived upon the formation.

Just like the first time, Jiang Yunqing was responsible for applying buffs to everyone.

The others were responsible for activating the formation.

Wan Wu had been training with Su Ming during this period, and his level had also reached 66.

The five of them stood upon the great formation.

In an instant, the formation, carved into the ground with sword marks, roared to life with light!

The winds and clouds of heaven and earth shifted; dark clouds gathered, blotting out the sun.

The spiritual energy above the formation transformed into a pillar of light, surging violently into the firmament.

Soon, the pillar of light turned into a phantom bridge of blue radiance, extending toward the other side of the cliff and emitting a fluorescent glow.

The bridge was carved with countless profound and complex sword marks and Dao patterns.

Su Ming gazed toward the opposite side of the cliff.

The scenery there changed in an instant.

From a barren cliff, it transformed into a magnificent high mountain!

A sword sect stood atop the peak, known as the Shushan Sword Sect!

The mountain was so grand it reached the clouds, making it difficult to see the summit.

This phantom bridge only led to the mountainside.

Su Ming could see that there were flights of stairs on the mountain, forming a long path leading to the peak, numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

"Is this the Shushan Sword Sect!?" Jiang Yunqing was somewhat stunned.

"This is countless times larger than the Cold Lotus Ice Peak Sect," Ni Shuang murmured.

"This... I'm afraid this must be the largest sect in this world."

Even someone as composed as Yan Ze could not help but speak in a low voice.

Su Ming looked at the Shushan Sword Sect on the opposite side, a hint of hesitation emerging in his eyes.

The great formation he had dreamed of opening for so long had finally been activated!

He had opened the path to the Shushan Sword Sect!

For a hundred years, countless class-holders and Venerables of the human race had come to this dungeon.

Only Su Ming had succeeded in opening the path to the Shushan Sword Sect.

But what made him hesitate was...

The Shushan Sword Sect was shrouded in waves of deathly aura.

There was not a shred of sword intent within, no trace of cultivators, and no flying swords.

Inside the sect at the summit, one could even smell the stench of corpses.

Su Ming was most sensitive to death, so even before entering, he could feel that deathly, gloomy darkness.

This did not resemble the aura a sword-cultivation sect should have at all.

Su Ming opened his Eye of Insight and looked up.

Suddenly, the purple clouds in the sky transformed into hideous, writhing ghosts.

The once-clear Shushan became like a mountain of hell, making Su Ming's scalp tingle.

The Eye of Insight could see the essence of things; the Shushan Sword Sect currently looked like a land of death.

However, since it was already opened, there was no turning back.

If he were to be timid, Su Ming would no longer be Su Ming.

He retracted his Eye of Insight and, leading everyone, stepped onto the phantom bridge, heading toward the Shushan Sword Sect.

When they reached the center of the bridge, an old man's voice echoed in everyone's hearts.

"Junior cultivators, go back."

The person's voice sounded somewhat weary.

"No," Su Ming said calmly.

Since they had come, and had yet to obtain the secret treasure, how could they leave?

"Sigh..."

The lingering voice became somewhat sorrowful, mixed with a hint of regret; the tone was extremely complex before finally dissipating into the heavens and earth.

Su Ming's intuition was very sharp; he felt that the boss might be right here...

"Everyone, be careful," Su Ming warned.

The group nodded and followed him deeper inside.

They crossed the long bridge.

Finally, they arrived at Shushan.

The moment they landed, a terrifying demonic wind swept past, passing through everyone's bodies.

Everyone frowned, sensing a dangerous aura.

"Could this Shushan Sword Sect have already been occupied by the demon race?" Yan Ze's expression was cold as he speculated in a low voice.

"No wonder when we were cultivating, the senior brothers and sisters said that the human race is currently weak, bullied endlessly by the demon race, and that mortal villagers and commoners are drowning in blood," Jiang Yunqing murmured.

The group began to climb the stairs.

The stairs made of bluestone formed a long path, and along the way, one could see many sword steles inserted by the roadside.

On the massive black steles were engraved thousands of words regarding sword-cultivation etiquette and the essentials of sword-sheathing postures.

Furthermore, Su Ming even saw notes on precautions for killing demons, though they were written in ancient script.

"This Shushan Sword Sect seems to have once been the strongest sect in this world, tasked with the duty of protecting the human race."

Su Ming said to himself.

"The sect's rules here were to take the extermination of demons as their own responsibility and to maintain order between the demon race and the human race."

"This sect should have originally been the anchor balancing the power between humans and demons."

"But did something happen that caused all these sword cultivators to die?"

Su Ming frowned, staring at the surrounding broken steles, speculating in his heart.

The group continued upward, heading toward the summit.

As they drew closer to the sect gate at the top, the stairs became increasingly dilapidated.