153. The Sword-Sealing Box

Lingyu wiped the water stains from her body, crossed her legs, and sat not far away, quietly watching the group of people.

Six against four, the weak overcoming the strong—though the battle had ended swiftly, the price they paid was severe. Gu Hao and Mo Chen had both suffered relapses of their injuries and were directly unconscious, while Fu Yuanqing and Duan Feiyu had depleted their reserves immensely, their strength dropping significantly. The ones in the best condition were she and Xu Zheng, who were practically uninjured and merely needed time to recover.

By now, the anger Lingyu had felt from being coerced had faded quite a bit. These people were not entirely shameless; when danger struck, they had not pushed her to the front lines as expendable pawns. Of course, this did not mean she didn't mind. If she grew strong enough in the future to step all over them, she wouldn't hold back!

"Brother Yuan, how far is that place from here?" Xu Zheng turned to ask Fu Yuanqing, his tone calm.

Fu Yuanqing paused for a moment, pondered briefly, and said, "Not far now. About... half a day's journey should get us there."

Xu Zheng then looked at the water surface connecting to the outside. "Will the water here be affected by the tide?"

"Does Brother Xu want to know if people can hide out here for a long time?" Fu Yuanqing pointed toward the depths of the cave. "If the cave were flooded during high tide, the ground would definitely be damp. But the ground here is completely dry."

Xu Zheng nodded slightly. "In that case, let's leave the two junior brothers here. When we come back out, we can pick them up."

"This..." Fu Yuanqing hesitated slightly, glancing at Lingyu. Although he had pulled Lingyu in to balance the numbers, the only companion he truly trusted was Gu Hao. Leaving Gu Hao behind here was equivalent to being left entirely on his own.

Seeing his hesitation, Xu Zheng said indifferently, "Then we can wait here for ten days or half a month. It's not like I'm in a hurry."

Fu Yuanqing hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth. "Let's scout the cave first and make a decision after we've seen it." Ten days or half a month was simply too long, yet leaving Gu Hao behind like this truly worried him.

After a brief thought, he raised his gaze to Lingyu. "Fellow Daoist Cheng."

Lingyu shifted her gaze toward him.

"I must trouble you to keep an eye on Junior Brother Gu..." He hesitated, then changed his phrasing. "No. I'll still have to trouble you to scout the cave. What do you think—"

Lingyu neither refused nor agreed. She simply said coldly, "Does Fellow Daoist Fu not worry that I might just go through the motions and brush it off?"

"It's fine," Fu Yuanqing said. "I presume Fellow Daoist Xu would not let Fellow Daoist Mo be placed in danger."

Did that mean Xu Zheng would go with her? Was this meant to keep them mutually monitored? Lingyu thoroughly disliked the calm and composed tone in Fu Yuanqing's voice, as if he had already calculated that they would act exactly as he envisioned.

Just as she was about to refuse, she saw that Xu Zheng had already turned and headed deep into the cave, casually dropping a parting instruction: "Junior Brother Duan, go ahead and treat Junior Brother Mo first."

"Understood," Duan Feiyu acknowledged, helping Mo Chen up as he prepared to channel his true qi.

As for Fu Yuanqing, he similarly began treating Gu Hao's injuries.

Lingyu thought for a moment, and ultimately got up to follow.

Never mind, it was just a small matter.

This underwater cave was massive; they had walked for half an hour without reaching the end. Lingyu guessed that the underwater portion of the island must be a colossal mountain beneath the sea. The deeper they walked, the lower they went—they were probably already far beneath the ocean's surface.

The cave itself was surprisingly clean. Aside from scattered mineral deposits, there were no dangerous entities, save for a few mineral-eating spirit beasts that they casually dispatched along the way.

After making a full circle like this, an hour passed. Xu Zheng, walking behind her, suddenly asked, "What school does your sword technique belong to?"

Throughout the entire walk, the two of them hadn't exchanged a single half-sentence. On one hand, there was nothing to say; on the other, they were simply not on the same wavelength.

When Xu Zheng suddenly asked this, Lingyu was momentarily startled, her brow arching upward as she said leisurely, "Young Master Xu, isn't that question rather inappropriate?" A cultivation technique was one of a cultivator's most closely guarded secrets—which cultivator would casually reveal it to others?

Xu Zheng said, "It's not like I'm asking you to recite the sword technique. What are you so nervous about?" Pausing briefly, he continued, "I can tell that your sword technique bears some resemblance to the Purple Qi Lightning—disassembling a sword formation and then combining them for use. Yet the Purple Qi Lightning can be split up for multiple people to use, whereas yours requires slow cultivation, only combining upon reaching the Golden Core stage. If you can tell me the key points, I will reward you with a treasure. How about it?"

Lingyu stopped, turned around, and swept her gaze over Xu Zheng from top to bottom. "Fine. First take out the treasure. If it satisfies me, I'll consider it."

Such an attitude made her lack of trust in him blatantly obvious. Xu Zheng frowned, though in the end he said nothing. He fished an item from his robe and tossed it over.

Lingyu reached out and caught it, feeling a slight weight in her palm. It was a metal box, roughly the size of a palm, perfectly square and with an archaic design. The surface was engraved with minimalist cloud patterns, and the lid was inlaid with a ring of pearls and jades—red, yellow, blue, green, cyan, white, and purple, featuring every imaginable color arranged in a circle.

"This is..." Lingyu paused slightly. She couldn't tell what material the box was made of, but she could easily recognize that it was a Dharma treasure!

Magic implements were divided into spiritual implements and Dharma treasures. Qi-refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators used spiritual implements, while those at the Golden Core stage and above used Dharma treasures. This was not something cultivators of their tier had any business wielding.

"This item is called the Sword-Sealing Box, which I acquired by chance," Xu Zheng introduced calmly. "It can store all kinds of sword qi, regardless of attribute. Every single bead in this circle of jade is of the utmost grade. Different colors represent different attributes..."

"Wait!" Lingyu cradled the Sword-Sealing Box, feeling as though it were burning hot in her hands. "Is this thing a Dharma treasure?"

Xu Zheng nodded. "Indeed. And a high-tier Dharma treasure at that."

Lingyu’s expression remained calm, but her inner world was in an absolute uproar. A high-tier Dharma treasure—what kind of concept was that? The materials used to forge a Dharma treasure were without exception rare and precious. Even with Lingcang's vast wealth, after cultivators reached the Golden Core stage, the most they could do was buy one or two low-tier Dharma treasures just to tide themselves over, and then spend decades slowly hunting down suitable materials to forge their destined natal Dharma treasure!

Generally speaking, Golden Core cultivators did not possess many high-tier Dharma treasures; the vast majority only had their natal Dharma treasure at the high tier, while everything else was low or middle tier. This alone showed how scarce high-tier Dharma treasures truly were.

Yet here Xu Zheng was, casually pulling out a Dharma treasure and telling her it was high tier?

Did he even have any idea what a high-tier Dharma treasure cost? Without hundreds of thousands of spiritual stones, nobody should even dare dream of a high-tier Dharma treasure! Even a Golden Core cultivator had to spend decades of hard work just to forge a single one!

To use an item like this to trade for the key points of her sword technique? Even if the technique she practiced was a top-tier secret manual from her sect's scripture pavilion, it wouldn't even amount to one-tenth of a high-tier Dharma treasure's value!

"Young Master Xu," Lingyu said, trying her absolute best to speak calmly, "you aren't asking to trade for the entire sword technique, are you?"

"If Fellow Daoist is willing, I wouldn't mind." Xu Zheng paused, then added, "However, you have a master and lineage, so you undoubtedly practice a top-tier cultivation method that strictly prohibits external leakage."

"So, you only want me to tell you where the key points of this sword technique lie?"

Xu Zheng acknowledged it straightforwardly. "Just now, when we slew the demonic cultivator, I could see that your sword technique is exceedingly peculiar. It incorporates multiple attributes yet remains remarkably harmonious, while also containing a multitude of variations. I estimate that after reaching the Golden Core stage, these sword qi can be directly combined into a sword formation. Am I right, or am I wrong?"

She had to admit, Xu Zheng's insight was razor-sharp, accurately summarizing the traits of the *Five Elements Myriad Sword Scripture*.

Lingyu did not deny it. She stared at the Sword-Sealing Box in her hands for a long time before carefully weighing her words and speaking: "Firstly, a sword technique and a sword are a sword cultivator's most fundamental secrets. Even though you aren't asking for the technique itself, telling you the key points is practically no different from handing over the whole thing. Secondly, do you even know the value of a high-tier Dharma treasure? If this thing really is a high-tier Dharma treasure, never mind one sword technique—I could trade ten of them for it." She raised her head and looked at Xu Zheng. "Young Master Xu, are you certain you're in your right mind?"

The corners of Xu Zheng's mouth lifted in a barely perceptible arc, the smile vanishing in a flash. "Why do you think I'm out of my mind?"

"Because this transaction..." Lingyu furrowed her brows, pausing for a long while before spreading her hands in a confession. "Fine, I admit I have shallow horizons and was struck dizzy by a high-tier Dharma treasure."

Xu Zheng finally laughed—a laugh devoid of any mockery or sarcasm. "What you're struggling with boils down to two things. First, the value of the sword technique and the Sword-Sealing Box do not match. Second, this sword technique is something you cultivate yourself, so its value to you far exceeds market price. If the exchange succeeds, I take a complete loss—and a heavy one at that. As for you, even if you obtain a high-tier Dharma treasure, having the sword technique you cultivate leaked out is an extremely perilous matter."

Lingyu nodded earnestly. "That's why I think this isn't a good transaction for either of us."

"Yet you are very tempted." Xu Zheng's gaze lowered slightly as he looked at her. "So, you want me to back out of the deal so you won't have to wrestle with the decision anymore."

The two of them fell silent for a long moment.

Lingyu let out an exasperated sigh. She had to admit Xu Zheng had guessed correctly. She truly wanted the Sword-Sealing Box—not just because of the value of a high-tier Dharma treasure, but because of its utility. Storing all kinds of sword qi was one of the core requirements of the *Five Elements Myriad Sword Scripture*; if she could acquire the Sword-Sealing Box, it would be an immense help to her. If she managed to store enough sword qi, the moment she formed her core and became able to use the Sword-Sealing Box, she would be able to assemble a sword formation in a very short span of time. However, having her sword technique leak out was indeed a terrifyingly dangerous prospect...

More importantly, in a good transaction, both parties must get what they want. For Xu Zheng to produce an item that vastly exceeded the value of what was being traded made her deeply uneasy.

When an item yielded an exchange value far exceeding its own worth, it was abnormal. And whenever things behaved abnormally, demons were invariably at work.

"Are you worried that once I understand the traits of your sword technique, I'll turn against you?" Xu Zheng seemed to know what she was thinking.

"Yes! How can I be certain that after the deal is done, you won't take the opportunity to eliminate me and snatch the item back? Since you've already harbored the intent to kill for treasure, no matter how great the price you paid, you wouldn't care. Young Master Xu, let's forget it. I'm timid." Steeling her resolve, Lingyu tossed the Sword-Sealing Box back to him, deciding to give it up.

Just as she turned to leave, Xu Zheng's voice came from behind her: "Wait. What if I told you that your sword technique is of immense use to me?"

***

*(Note: Pending revision)*