Chapter 20: Unexpected Encounter in the Cave

Ye Ming, with rare uncertainty and suspicion, fixed his gaze intently on something nestled in Bai Yue Ning’s embrace.

Warmth?

Bai Yue Ning halted abruptly, swiftly scanning her surroundings until she was sure they were momentarily safe. Only then did she carefully draw from her bosom a piece of black metal, neither gold nor iron. The instant it touched her fingers, she felt a distinct warmth—no illusion. The metal shard, previously cold and lifeless, now seemed awakened from within by some mysterious force; its temperature was clearly above ambient, and rising ever so slowly.

The crooked, enigmatic symbols etched on its surface appeared clearer under the valley’s dim light, faintly shimmering with elusive glimmers.

“It’s really growing warm!” Ye Ming confirmed, his senses keener than Bai Yue Ning’s touch. “There’s some change in its energy, too. Still faint, but no longer dormant... it’s as if something has activated it.”

Bai Yue Ning turned the metal piece over in her hands, infusing it with spiritual power, probing with her divine consciousness, yet it remained as inscrutable as ever—like casting a stone into the sea. She could not discern its inner workings, nor fathom the cause of this change. It simply continued to emit that inexplicable heat.

“Its reaction seems to be pointing in a direction,” Ye Ming observed, tracking the subtle shift in energy. “The hotter end is vaguely oriented... northeast?”

Northeast? Bai Yue Ning lifted her gaze toward that direction. It led deeper into the Sword-Soaked Valley, where the terrain grew more treacherous and complex, the sword aura saturating the air felt more ancient and overwhelming, intimidating any who looked upon it.

Was this metal shard trying to guide them somewhere? Or was it resonating with something in that direction?

“What now? Should we follow it?” Ye Ming asked. “This thing is uncanny—it might really conceal some great secret. Who knows, it could be the key to a legendary martial inheritance!”

Bai Yue Ning stroked the warm metal shard, her gaze steady and contemplative. There was no doubt of the risk. Yet this sudden anomaly was the first occurrence in the Sword-Soaked Valley that defied conventional explanation, perhaps an opportunity to uncover the valley’s hidden secrets.

“Better to be cautious,” she decided at last, stowing the metal shard close to her body once more.

Bai Yue Ning adjusted her course, proceeding warily northeast. This time, her guide was not only Ye Ming’s perception of energy, but also the increasingly enigmatic metal shard.

The deeper they ventured, the more perilous their surroundings became. Massive shattered stone pillars jutted from the ground like remnants of a giant’s weapons. The air was heavy with oppressive force, and the earth was riddled with bottomless crevices from which chaotic sword auras erupted in stormy bursts.

Ye Ming’s guidance and the metal shard’s warmth pointed to the same area: a vast, smooth stone wall split as if by a single sword stroke. Below the wall lay heaps of rubble and decayed metal fragments, forming an inconspicuous slope. At the base of this pile, barely visible, was a narrow opening just wide enough for one person to pass through, half-shrouded by debris.

The mouth of the cave exuded a deep, eerie aura, as if it led into the bowels of the earth. The shard in Bai Yue Ning’s embrace grew hotter, even trembling lightly.

“This is it!” Ye Ming declared. “There’s a strong energy reaction inside, and it’s unusual—unlike any I’ve sensed before. The shard’s reaction is stronger, too!”

Bai Yue Ning scrutinized the cave’s entrance, finding no trace of formation or trap, only the marks of age and ruin. She brushed aside the vines and stones, and a rush of cold, damp air, laden with rust and dust, swept over her.

Inside, darkness reigned, unfathomable. She summoned a flicker of spiritual light at her fingertips to illuminate the path ahead. Beyond the entrance was a narrow passage sloping downward, its crafted edges worn smooth by time, resembling a natural fissure beneath the earth.

The walls were moist, covered in dark moss, the air so thick it threatened to suffocate. Bai Yue Ning slipped sideways into the passage, her mind sharply focused.

The corridor twisted downward, descending ever deeper. The oppressive sword aura gradually faded, replaced by a heavier, more profound presence. After walking for about the time it took a stick of incense to burn, she heard faint water sounds ahead, and dim ghostly light filtered through.

Rounding a bend, her view suddenly opened up.

A modest underground cavern appeared before her. Stalactites hung from the ceiling, dripping water into a small pool below, sending ripples outward. The pool was not large, but its water was strangely milky and emitted a faint chill.

The cavern’s light source came from the center of the pool, where a small stone platform protruded. Atop it lay a single skeleton, long since decayed to bare bone. The garments and flesh were gone, leaving only a skeleton seated cross-legged, as if meditating through countless ages.

In front of the skeleton rested a dull black ring, ancient in style.

But the most striking feature was on the cavern wall. It was covered in dense carvings of symbols and pictographs—not the script used in today’s cultivation world, but an older, more primal form. Many were blurred, eroded by moss and water.

The metal shard in Bai Yue Ning’s embrace became scorching hot. The strange symbols on its surface seemed to resonate with the wall’s markings, faintly glowing.

“These symbols—they’re the same!” Ye Ming exclaimed. “The shard and the carvings on the wall come from the same source!”

Bai Yue Ning approached the wall, studying it carefully. She could not read the script, but some of the images depicted processes of forging, quenching, and inscription—perhaps the record of a sword-crafting art? Yet it was far more intricate and profound than any method she knew. Some images even showed celestial bodies and earth veins, majestic and mystical.

Her gaze finally settled on the skeleton and the ring. This predecessor, who had passed away here, must have been the owner of the cave and the creator of the wall carvings. To have carved out such a sanctuary and left such esoteric inscriptions, he must have been a figure of tremendous stature in life.

She stepped forward and bowed respectfully to the skeleton. Whoever he was, death demanded reverence, and this place was a legacy he had left.

After paying her respects, her eyes turned to the ring. It had no spiritual energy and looked utterly ordinary. Cautiously, she extended a finger toward it.

The ring, which had lain quietly for ages, suddenly transformed into a barely visible stream of light—not darting toward her, but shooting straight into her embrace.

The metal shard exploded in searing heat and powerful suction. The stream of light merged into her bosom and vanished.

At the same time, the scorching shard rapidly cooled, returning to its original cold, lifeless state, as if everything had been a hallucination.

Bai Yue Ning immediately retrieved it, noticing a subtle change—a faint alteration in its surface, now smoother. An imperceptible notch at the edge appeared to have been mended. The strange symbols seemed just a shade clearer.

“The ring was absorbed by the shard?” Ye Ming’s disbelief echoed. “What on earth is this thing? It can devour objects?”

Bai Yue Ning held the once again cold shard, gazing at the unreadable secrets on the cavern wall, then at the silent skeleton.

This cave concealed secrets even deeper than she had imagined.

And this unexpected metal shard—its uncanny nature and importance far exceeded her original expectations.