Almighty Genius

Chapter 2172 - 1666: Sword Cemetery

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This is an extremely large cavern, at least over a thousand square meters…

Throughout the cavern, the stone walls are adorned with some luminous pearls, releasing a faint glow which slightly illuminates the cavern, allowing the interior to be vaguely visible.

Even when Qin Fang turned off his flashlight, with his eyesight, he could still see the inside clearly…

But it was precisely because he could see clearly that he was so astonished. The scene before him was truly breathtaking.

"Sword Tomb, this is the true Sword Tomb!"

Looking at the scene before him, Qin Fang spoke with complete admiration, for this enormous cavern was indeed a Sword Tomb… a graveyard of swords!

In this Sword Tomb, stands a forest of treasured swords, varying in size and length, definitely numbering in the thousands, possibly even ten thousand or more… This was Qin Fang's first impression upon seeing it, although not entirely accurate, it wouldn't be far off.

A Sword Tomb is a crucial area for every Sword Cultivator Sect. Almost every sword cultivator, when about to or already having passed away, would have their sword buried here in the Sword Tomb…

Similarly, every disciple officially stepping into the ranks of sword cultivators would come to the Sword Tomb to find a sword suitable for themselves, and this sword would accompany them for life. Truly, "As long as the sword lives, the person lives; when the sword dies, the person dies"!

The thousands of swords buried here in the Sword Tomb represent the many sword cultivator experts of the sect…

Of course, some of these treasured swords may have been wielded by several sword cultivator experts since their creation, having more than one master. This indicates the sword cultivators in this sect far exceed this number.

However, a Sword Cultivator Sect might have existed for a very long time, from its establishment, development, prosperity to decline… perhaps lasting decades, centuries, or even thousands of years, passing down through generations with thousands or even tens of thousands of disciples, which isn't particularly absurd when counted.

But everyone in the Martial World knows that sword cultivation is the easiest to enter yet the hardest to advance… true sword cultivators are experts, and those able to have their treasured swords buried in the Sword Tomb are among the most skilled elite.

The sword takes pride in its master…

If the sword's master isn't powerful enough, no matter how great the sword's power is, it will end up unknown, or even taken away someday…

But if the sword's master is powerful enough, with formidable strength, they can unleash the great attack power of the sword, naturally making the sword renowned.

The swords before him were the best of each generation in this Sword Cultivator Sect, each possessing a glorious history…

"With numbers reaching thousands… just how powerful was this sect?"

However, the problem followed. Qin Fang couldn't help but have this question arise in his mind.

Almost to verify his suspicions, Qin Fang deliberately entered the Sword Tomb to inspect the swords… to see if there were some among them that didn't belong.

As Qin Fang knew, the advancement of sword cultivator experts was extremely difficult, so naturally, the number of true sword cultivator experts was relatively scarce… but with so many swords here, it was very suspicious.

If there were impostors among them, then even if their numbers were increased several times, it wouldn't be an issue… but Qin Fang felt that these swords didn't seem to be impostors; they might genuinely have existed.

To verify his guess, Qin Fang also slowly approached the Sword Tomb, casually getting close to these swords that had been buried for countless years.

"Huh, this is…"

Qin Fang casually approached a sword that looked rather good. Using the faint glow of the luminous pearls on the stone walls, Qin Fang could clearly see the sheen shimmering on the sword, indicating it was of no ordinary quality.

However, when Qin Fang approached the sword, he unexpectedly discovered something… to be precise, a few brief sentences carved into the stone next to the sword.

"Sword Name Songyang, Seventh-generation disciple Song Li buried!"

And of course, Qin Fang slightly focused his gaze to pay attention, clearly reading the words next to the sword.

These words undoubtedly revealed the name of the sword and its former master…

Unfortunately, Qin Fang couldn't possibly have heard of this disciple's name before, no matter how illustrious he was in the Martial World. Countless years have passed, the Martial World having seen many generations come and go. Even the most genius of names have vanished.

Except for those whose brilliance is unparalleled, whom perhaps even thousands of years later, people remember their names…

But apart from these individuals, even those geniuses who were not too inferior back then and overshadowed by these unparalleled figures at the time, still face being forgotten even after a millennium or more today.

"Sword Name Green Willow, Tenth-generation disciple Lin Qiuyue buried!"

"Sword named Return Wind, buried by the thirteenth-generation disciple Zuo Qiuming!"

Subsequently, Qin Fang proceeded to examine several more treasured swords, and without exception, alongside each sword were their names and some information about their previous owners... Some swords even had two to three names recorded beside them.

This was expected after all—this place being a Sword Tomb, leaving such inscriptions is quite ordinary...

But what astounded and terrified Qin Fang was that these swords were remarkably high-quality. While slightly inferior to Qin Fang's Flowing Shadow Divine Sword, they were undoubtedly excellent swords.

Any sword found here, if thrown into the Martial World, would be sought after by many martial artists specializing in swordsmanship... Despite being centuries old, these swords remain sharp with little sign of damage or rust.

"So many treasured swords..."

Qin Fang checked several more swords, and almost without exception, all were of good quality. He even found a sword only slightly inferior to his Flowing Shadow Divine Sword... They were practically of the same rank.

Although Qin Fang examined only a tiny portion of these thousands of swords, having left ninety-nine percent unchecked, he now firmly believed that these swords were genuinely valuable and not simply filling the numbers.

This certainty left Qin Fang deeply surprised; this reality was... too terrifying.

"Could this be the Sword Tomb of Shushan Sword Sect?"

At this moment, Qin Fang's mind couldn't help but conjure up this notion.

In the Martial World, only one sect seems capable of producing so many sword cultivator experts and possessing such a long-standing legacy—the Shushan Sword Sect. It alone might have such terrifying heritage.

However...

"Is this possible?"

Even Qin Fang found his idea somewhat absurd...

Shushan Sword Sect had long since fractured and even vanished. Its legacy had been severed, its old grounds razed, leaving nothing behind... Naturally, Shushan's disciples vanished, and its Sword Tomb, as a place of heritage, completely disappeared as well.

Yet, even in disappearance, most remains should be within Shushan... How could it possibly end up over several thousand miles away on some Little Island in Star Continent?

"But besides Shushan Sword Sect, which sect could possess such heritage?"

Even after ruling out Shushan Sword Sect, Qin Fang couldn't fathom a sect with equivalent heritage, not even the once-dominant South Sea Purple Bamboo Sword Sect in the South Sea.

"No matter... however formidable the sword cultivation sect, it likely perished within the annals of history!"

Still, Qin Fang wasn't one to get stuck in an intellectual rut. He investigated the swords further and discovered that the sect seemed to have lasted for about thirty-three generations... He indeed found no treasured swords buried from the thirty-fourth generation!

Qin Fang meticulously checked several times before confirming this detail.

Thirty-three generations of disciples imply the sect has a history of at least five or six hundred years... and potentially even longer.

This long-lasting heritage shocked Qin Fang, pointing once again to the Shushan Sword Sect!

Yet, as mighty as the Shushan Sword Sect was, it had long since perished entirely, within the past two or three hundred years, with no one claiming themselves as its disciples anymore, nor aligning with other sects like Qingcheng, Emei, or Songyang.

Qin Fang had no knowledge of Shushan Sword Sect's past events, nor was it relevant to him... But Qin Fang grew keenly interested in this Sword Tomb.

"Given this Sword Tomb has endured for centuries and buried thousands of exceptionally well-crafted swords, could it possibly contain swords rivalling the Flowing Shadow Divine Sword or even the Ten Great Divine Weapons?"

Such thoughts preoccupied Qin Fang's mind.

The spiritual essence of swords is something only Divine Swords possess...

Even if one could forge a sword comparable to the Ten Great Divine Weapons, lacking spiritual essence would prevent it from reaching that tier...

This was the reason Qin Fang hesitated to upgrade his Flowing Shadow Divine Sword despite having gathered all necessary forging materials. He might succeed in upgrading but lose a precious opportunity.

Only one chance exists to forge, and to advance to the rank of Ten Great Divine Weapons, only one attempt is allowed...

Missing this chance means there won't be another.

Qin Fang wished to avoid wasting such an opportunity, thus he tirelessly sought the right moment for upgrading, aiming to understand the true nature of spiritual essence... he needed to encounter the Ten Great Divine Weapons at the very least...

(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your endorsement votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)