Chapter 464: 439 Spirit Tablet

After Tang Zhao finished writing, he felt as if he had exhausted all his strength.

This was all he could do; what changes would occur after writing the name were beyond his control.

As the brush fell to form the line, the text flickered once and automatically adjusted to the same size as the characters above, just like a signature in the same guestbook. His name was truly listed after those shining names, without any sense of incongruity.

Immediately following, with a few creaking sounds, the pearl-inlaid gate slowly pulled open.

Tang Zhao let out a sigh of relief.

To tell the truth, he had been suppressing his fear just now, trying not to think about what would happen if the gate wouldn't open and there was no way out in front or behind, leaving him truly sealed in this tiny space. His current reliance was gone, his sword was nowhere to be found, and a Sword Guest was still a mortal of flesh and blood; without supplies, he would truly die if he didn't eat or drink.

He might just end up like that Dongjun Envoy, sealed in a narrow coffin and dying quietly...

Fortunately, the worst-case scenario did not happen.

Heaven finally opened that door for him.

As the gate opened, a brilliant light shone forth.

Tang Zhao squinted slightly, adapting for a moment, before looking into the room.

Inside was an extremely large Stone Chamber; at first glance, he saw countless candles lit all around.

Those candles were all burning slowly, and the room was brightly lit.

The four walls of this room were inlaid with countless pearls; there were top-quality pearls as large as dragon eyes, and also tiny crushed pearls the size of rice grains, each one emitting a lustrous glow under the candlelight. In the room, the candlelight and pearl light intertwined, brilliant and magnificent.

Amidst the radiance, one could see the floor piled high with flowers, forming a large wreath.

These flowers were mostly chrysanthemums, as well as sunflowers; their colors were already primarily yellow, white, and other light shades, and in the candlelight, they seemed to melt into the light itself.

Tang Zhao's face was bathed in the pearl light, and he almost thought a banquet was being held here. He was stunned for a moment, and even more astonished that in this enclosed room without even a window, how could the candles burn forever? And why could he not smell the smoke of incense and candles?

Immediately after, he saw what was placed in the center of the wreath.

A round box.

To call this box a jar would be too shallow, and to call it a coffin would be too small; it looked a bit like an ash urn. Its color was black but inlaid with dark gold patterns, exquisite yet revealing a sense of solemnity and reverence. The circle surrounding the urn was entirely composed of blooming sunflowers, their flower heads all facing the box, as if the sun were inside that box.

Tang Zhao looked up again; at the very front was a long table, on which sat an incense burner, and in the center was a wooden tablet.

It was a spirit tablet.

Tang Zhao sighed—he was not surprised; this was indeed a Spirit Hall for offerings.

He walked forward a few steps and saw the words written on the wooden tablet:

"The Spirit Tablet of the late Jinwu Sword, Ju Qingzhu."

Jinwu Sword...

Ah?!

Is it that Jinwu Sword?

That Jinwu Sword, the Sun Sword itself, one of the four crucial corners of the Sun Domain?

Tang Zhao immediately thought of Caiyun Gui; it was precisely because the Jinwu Sword had fallen and the Immortal Sword was without a master that the sect had gone mad searching for the Sun-Holding Envoy, causing chaos at the Qianxian and even chasing him to the Human World to hide.

So the former Jinwu Sword was buried here?

He had thought it would at least be enshrined within the mountain gates of Caiyun Gui.

This also made sense—Tang Zhao immediately thought of many connections; Baiyujing had originally withdrawn from the Sword Domain. There must have been a great battle in the Sword Domain back then; the Jinwu Sword might have fallen at that time, and the Ruyi Sword might have been a comrade-in-arms of the Jinwu Sword, helping to collect the remains, set up the spirit tablet, and then withdraw from the Qianxian back to the Human World; this also made sense.

Perhaps the Ruyi Sword itself had also been damaged and could no longer hold on, so it retreated to the Human World to recuperate.

Of course, she should have only brought back the Jinwu Sword Guest himself, while the Jinwu Sword remained in the Sword Domain, which was now the Suiyu, still waiting for its new Sword Guest.

If that were the case, then the time of the Jinwu Sword's fall should have been in the 40th year of the Yuan era, one hundred and seventy years ago. Those powerful swords had collectively paid their respects to the Jinwu Sword in the 40th year; perhaps that was the Jinwu Sword's funeral, and later, when the Ruyi Sword returned to the Human World, there was a period when no one came to pay respects.

By the 46th year, that mysterious person named Zhenzi came to pay respects to the Jinwu Sword, and later, people came one after another. Although Tang Zhao did not know who they were, he guessed they must all be Sword Guests of the Human World, coming to admire this Jinwu Sword.

Until one hundred and twenty years ago, that great disaster interrupted all the offerings. This Spirit Hall also sank into the Shadow, and outsiders could no longer find it.

In that case, there should be quite a few Sword Guests who knew about this place; why did no one record it? The official records also had no information. The only record regarding this place was a piece of music and a novel; it was truly absurd.

Tang Zhao walked around the wreath once and did not see an obvious exit, his heart tightening again, but he still encouraged himself: Look carefully, there must be an exit; this is not a tomb, but a place for people to pay respects, so it surely cannot be a place where one can enter but not leave; it might be hidden, but it should be there.

Arriving before the spirit tablet, Tang Zhao saw the incense burner offered there, and on the incense burner was also inlaid a shining pearl.

Three sticks of incense were inserted in the burner, also burning just like the candles, with wisps of fragrance, as if someone had just offered a stick of incense to the Jinwu Sword.

Tang Zhao's heart stirred; he looked around, but there was no extra incense. The Sword Image in his hand transformed into the shape of a straight stick of incense, and standing before the incense burner, he silently prayed:

"Senior Jinwu Sword, this junior is Tang Zhao. Although this junior has not had the fortune to know you, you are a Senior Sword Immortal who supported the Sword Domain and resisted the Heavenly Demons; this junior holds you in the highest regard and feels heartfelt admiration. Having chanced upon your spirit tablet, I cannot help but offer incense and pay my respects.

This junior is currently trapped in a difficult situation; I hope your spirit in heaven will protect me so I may escape this calamity, and also protect my companions so they are all safe and sound, and protect Baiyujing so it may see the light of day again...

By the way, please protect your Jinwu Sword so it may find its next Sword Guest as soon as possible; that would be good for everyone."

After finishing the prayer, Tang Zhao put away the incense in his hand and was just about to continue circling the room to check carefully for an exit when he suddenly felt something. He retreated abruptly, leaning against the wall to hide his back—his weak point—and raised his brows, saying:

"Who is it?"

"Aqin—"

In the darkness, the white fox scrambled with all four limbs, pouncing toward a young girl.

The girl was lighting a lamp in the darkness, her body appearing almost transparent in the lamplight. Her expression had been filled with sorrow and panic until she saw Ling Baoyu running over with the lamp in her mouth, at which point she finally revealed a slight smile.

But she did not reach out her arms to hug the white fox; instead, she extended one hand to make a "shh" gesture.

The white fox paused for a moment and continued to run forward, but did not call out again. It just stopped at Aqin's feet as it approached. The light from the two lamps overlapped, and the halo made them feel much safer.

Aqin picked up the white fox, and the two of them, carrying the lamp, stepped one by one into a partition under a staircase. Aqin gave a light push, and a door opened beside the partition; there was actually a secret room here.

Ling Baoyu was not surprised at all; she also knew there was a secret door in this place. She also knew that other parts of this building had hidden rooms and secret passages; she could count one, two, three of these places even with her eyes closed.

Because this was Yutang, the sleeping quarters of the Ruyi Sword, and also the place where they had often come and gone and even grown up.

Although it was now shrouded in Shadow and no longer looked as it once did, they were far too familiar with it; even with their eyes closed, they would not be mistaken.

"It should be safe here." Closing the door, Aqin let out a sigh of relief.

Ling Baoyu said: "What's wrong, being so careful? Could there be other dangers besides the Shadow?"

Aqin nodded and said: "I just landed over by the Wenxin Hall, and before I could even stand steady, I heard a terrifying snoring sound inside. When I got closer to look, it was an Shadow Giant lying in the hall."

Ling Baoyu said, "A giant? Is it even more giant than the Colorful Cloud Warrior?"

Aqin sighed, "It is different. It is not a giant condensed from Shadow, but a Shadow Giant."

Ling Baoyu nodded slowly; she could hear the distinction in that.

In other words, that is not a false shape constructed by Shadow, but a natural living creature, very likely a henchman of Wangliang.

It seems that although the main body of Wangliang is not here, it has still arranged for a backup to act as Town Guardian. Regardless of those small places outside, the Inner Gongcheng must still be defended. Since it could be left behind, its strength is presumably extraordinary.

"And there is not only one." Aqin's face grew paler, "There are several such monsters in the main hall at the center of Yutang. They look very powerful, Aunt; it seems they are not easy to deal with. We are in danger."

Ling Baoyu said slowly, "Whether we can deal with them or not, I will only know after seeing them with my own eyes. You hide for a moment, and I will go to scout out the reality of the situation—rest assured, when it comes to hiding, I lose to no one."

Aqin nodded. Although she had been startled just now and instinctively fled, she did not intend to back down. Having finally come to Yutang, she should find a way to resist upon seeing the enemy. Even if she could not drive away Wangliang, she would feel slightly more at ease if she could eliminate a few enemies.

Ling Baoyu asked, "Have you seen Tang Zhao?"

Aqin shook her head and said, "I hid here and there near the main hall for a while, and besides the enemies, I didn't see the two of you. I ran all the way to the East before I saw you, Aunt. Did you not see him either? Did he fall to the West?"

Ling Baoyu shook her head and said, "I circled over from the West, and he was not in the West either. The Shadow there is too thick; even holding a Lamp, I cannot illuminate three feet of ground. Perhaps we missed each other? There are only a few of us companions here; we cannot just get lost like this. We must find him."

Aqin said, "Indeed, this Brother Tang has great skills; it would be best if we fought side by side."

Ling Baoyu snorted, "I don't count on him to fight. Although his Sword counters Shadow, he is only a Sword Guest; how much strength can he have? I am a Sword Hero! Speaking of the skills of a Talisman Sword Master, that teleportation array he made was too unreliable. Three people separated by such a distance—is this teleporting? This is throwing! The accuracy is so poor!"

Aqin said, "Is that because the teleportation array is not easy to use? You can't blame him."

Ling Baoyu said, "That was a teleportation array arranged by His Highness."

Aqin fell silent. She could not say that His Highness was unreliable, so she changed the subject, "Where could he have gone? I hope he didn't land in the arms of a monster."

Ling Baoyu said, "That is hard to say. He does have skills. If he is within Yutang, even if he landed beside a monster, he wouldn't vanish without a sound. But I am afraid he didn't land in Yutang."

Aqin said, "It shouldn't be too far off, we are all in the city."

Ling Baoyu said, "It won't be too far, but there are other palaces nearby. If he landed in the South, he might have landed in Zibeique. That place is sealed, and we cannot enter; we can only wait for him to come out on his own. The most troublesome thing is if he landed in the East."

Aqin thought for a moment and exclaimed in a low voice, "Zhugong?"

Ling Baoyu said, "Yes, if he is in Zhugong, then there is absolutely no way. We have never entered that place; it has always been sealed shut. Once you go in, how do you come out?"