Chapter Two: The Sword Cage

Dim and silent, only the sound of Yu Qi's footsteps echoed continuously through the space.

Walking along this passage was tedious and dull. Everywhere he looked were dark stone walls and dim firelight, casting a heavy weight upon his heart.

After pressing on for another quarter of an hour, Yu Qi finally spotted a glimmer of light ahead. Knowing he was nearing the end, he quickened his pace and ran toward it.

The closer he drew to the exit, the brighter the tunnel became.

Before long, Yu Qi arrived at the source of the illumination.

However, having been plunged in darkness for so long, the sudden, brilliant light forced him to shield his eyes with his left hand. Once his vision adjusted, he lowered his arm to survey his surroundings.

It was a circular chamber, as if someone had hollowed out the very core of the mountain. Embedded in the surrounding stone walls were countless glowing pearls. Though a single pearl emitted only a faint glimmer, there were hundreds of them here, and their collective radiance was enough to illuminate every corner of this subterranean space. In the center of the clearing stood a stone statue.

"So... so many night-glowing pearls." Staring at the gems, Yu Qi swallowed hard. Night-glowing pearls were incredibly precious, and the sheer abundance of them here left him utterly astonished.

Under the glow of the pearls, Yu Qi walked straight toward the central statue. He had originally imagined that a legendary divine weapon would be hidden here, but looking around now, there was nothing but the walls lined with pearls and the sculpture in the center.

Carved from solid stone, the statue depicted a middle-aged man with flowing long hair. Beneath his sharp, sword-like brows was a pair of piercing eyes. A disdainful smirk played on his lips, and his fingers were clasped together, resting atop the hilt of a longsword thrust deep into the ground. He carried an air of absolute supremacy. Even though it was just a statue, Yu Qi could still feel a prideful, overbearing aura emanating from it.

Looking at the sculpture, he felt a sense of familiarity, yet he could not recall where he had seen this face before.

After pondering for a moment, he remembered seeing a portrait hanging behind the patriarch in the clan's main hall, and the figure depicted in that painting seemed to match this very sculpture.

As the realization struck him, shock washed over Yu Qi's face. His eyes filled with deep reverence, and he knelt before the stone statue. "Yu Qi, a twelfth-generation descendant of the Yu family, pays respects to the Ancestor of the Yu Clan."

After performing three deep kowtows, Yu Qi stood up. The reverence in his eyes had not faded in the slightest. This was the founder of the Yu family, a legendary figure who was once one of the world's peak experts. His swordsmanship had reached a transcendent realm; legend had it that his swordplay could strike fear into the hearts of gods and demons alike.

Yet even the strongest of cultivators must eventually face the end of their lifespan. Not long after founding the Yu family, he passed away. Without his intimidating presence, former enemies descended upon the Yu family. Fortunately, his successor possessed great martial prowess and managed to repel the invaders.

However, as generations passed, the Yu family's overall strength gradually declined. By Yu Qi's generation, their power was a mere shadow of its former self, which was why they had met with such a devastating catastrophe.

While Yu Qi was still sighing with emotion, cracks suddenly appeared on the stone statue before him. They spread rapidly, web-like, across the entire structure. Terrified by the sight, Yu Qi scrambled backward in a hurry.

Brilliant light burst forth from the fissures, and the crumbling of the statue accelerated, as if something inside were trying to break free.

Boom!

The statue collapsed with a resounding crash. A beam of pale blue light soared into the air as if breaking its shackles, swirling continuously before a translucent figure gradually materialized.

Yu Qi watched the sudden phenomenon in utter bewilderment. But when he looked at the figure in the air, his face froze in sheer astonishment.

For that figure looked exactly like the man carved into the stone statue.

Staring at the phantom in mid-air in disbelief, Yu Qi mumbled, "Ancestor..."

The figure clearly possessed consciousness. Noticing the dazed Yu Qi below, he frowned slightly. An ethereal voice drifted from his lips. "Did I not instruct Yu Changsheng to forbid all clan members from entering the Sword Cage? Why has a junior like you appeared here?"

Yu Changsheng was the ancestor's direct successor, and the Sword Cage had been designated a forbidden ground starting from his generation.

Hearing the phantom's words, excitement surged in Yu Qi's heart. He had actually met the ancestor of the Yu family, the legendary expert who once looked down upon the world.

He fell to his knees once more and bowed deeply to the phantom. "Yu Qi pays his respects to the Ancestor."

The phantom suddenly swept down toward Yu Qi, circling and inspecting him. Only when he sensed the Yu family lineage flowing in Yu Qi's veins did he ask, "Tell me, where is Yu Changsheng?"

Not daring to lift his head, Yu Qi replied respectfully, "Replying to the Ancestor, Ancestor Changsheng passed away of old age long ago."

Hearing this, the phantom froze for a moment before asking again, "How much time has passed since my death? Who is the current patriarch? And why has an ordinary clan member like you managed to enter this place?"

Hearing his ancestor's questions, Yu Qi answered hastily, "Ancestor, this disciple is ignorant and only knows that I belong to the twelfth generation."

After a brief pause, tears streamed down Yu Qi's face. "Ancestor, our Yu family... has been wiped out. I am the sole survivor of the entire clan. This disciple was incompetent and lacked the skills to defend them. In search of a chance for revenge, I had no choice but to enter the forbidden ground. I beg the Ancestor not to blame me."

"What? My Yu family has been destroyed?" The phantom of the Yu family ancestor trembled violently.

A glimmer of hope rose in Yu Qi's eyes. Looking up at the phantom, he pleaded, "This disciple begs the Ancestor to take action and tear the murderers of our clan into ten thousand pieces!"

He gazed at the ancestor expectantly, believing that if only the ancestor intervened, all their enemies would surely be annihilated.

"To think the Yu family has fallen to such a state," the phantom sighed, his eyes filled with a trace of bitter resignation. "I am merely a wisp of soul attached to the weapon spirit before my death, devoid of any martial power. Now that the stone sculpture sealing me has shattered, it won't be long before I fade from this world entirely."

Hearing the ancestor's reply, Yu Qi's face turned ash-pale. He clenched his fists tightly. If even the ancestor could not help him, how could he ever hope to avenge his family on his own?

"Ah, well. Perhaps this is simply fate. Yu Qi, let me ask you: do you know why I established this forbidden ground?" the phantom asked once more.

Naturally, Yu Qi had no idea, and could only shake his head.

The phantom drifted back toward the center. "The reason I named this place the Sword Cage was to imprison a sword."

"To imprison a sword?" Yu Qi listened, his mind filled with questions.

"Yes, my personal sword." The phantom drifted to another corner, gazing at the night-glowing pearls on the wall before continuing. "My sword had long birthed a weapon spirit, which accompanied me through years of slaughter and warfare. As you know, the stronger a person becomes, the greater their greed. Even I could not resist desire. Because of this, the weapon spirit that followed me developed a malevolent side. Thus, I entered the Sword Cage and declared it a forbidden ground, not wishing to be disturbed."

"In the end, I expended my entire life's cultivation to purge its wickedness, and perished as a result. However, unable to bear the thought of my sword being buried away from the world forever, I left behind a wisp of my soul within it, sleeping here alongside it. My hope was that one day, someone from the Yu family would awaken its sword intent and reveal its glory to the world once again."