Chen Wentian paused his steps.

“We’re here.”

A large clearing was just ahead around the bend of the forest path. He could already hear many human voices and sense their strong auras.

“Time for me to leave.” Chen Mo whispered in his ear.

The shadow fox had already turned its body intangible.

“Alright. Stay close, don’t get too fat from rabbits,” Chen Wentian said.

Chen Mo chuckled, “I’m not that bad. You should lighten up and find a nice girl. Maybe there will be a talented lass here that catches your eye.”

Chen Wentian didn’t answer as he felt his companion slither off his body and into the thick brush of the forest to terrorize the local rabbit population. He silently withdrew a purple sword from his spatial bag and tied the sheath to his back. This was holy ground for sword cultivators and he had to act the part.

He walked forward a short way and entered the clearing. Immediately, he was hit by a wave of spiritual energy. It was an amalgamation of sword intent and sword aura, a mixture of several schools and sects as well a distinctive and powerful entity, more powerful and profound than anything he had ever felt before.

Two stone pillars straddled the trail that disappeared into what looked like a small village. The metal sign that hung across was carved with the following words.

“Dugu’s Cavern, a legacy of the mythical hero, Dugu Qiushen. Glory to the way of the sword. Glory to the human way. May the next generation follow in my footsteps."

This was his target, Dugu's Cavern, a holy place for sword cultivators in the subcontinent. The cavern was a mysterious construct. It was a straight, narrow hole of unknown depth that contained peerless sword energy left over by the unimaginable expert. This sword energy prevented immortals, even Spirit Lords and Spirit Kings, from coming close, as if the place was always intended for mortals.

Thus, it became a training ground for mortal cultivators and immortal disciples to come and hone their sword arts and understanding of the sword. It was declared by the Eastern Sword Alliance to be a paradise for sword cultivators. Anyone that sought the way of the sword was welcome.

The Eastern Sword Alliance was a loose organization of major sword sects in the Eastern Sanmu Subcontinent. All sects were allowed to join but the only ones with the capability to make decisions were the immortal sects. These included the four old legacies; Mount Huang Sect, Mount Tai Sect, Mount Xiong Sect, and Mount Yun Sect. The newcomer the old guard was the Tower of Swords and there was supposedly some conflict between the other four and the tower.

This was all Chen Wentian knew from rumors. His background didn’t give him much in terms of knowledge about the subcontinent and its various cultivation sects and factions. He was also solely focused on his cultivation and couldn’t care less who liked or disliked who.

Chen Wentian stepped through the pillars, ignored the feeling of being watched. As he passed wooden buildings and tents, several pairs of eyes strayed his way, their owners being disciples and elders of various sects. Seeing that he was a loner whose attire didn’t match any known sword school, their attention quickly waned. Loose cultivators and strays were quite common here but nobody cared about them. People from cultivation schools only cared about their competition which was the other schools.

He reached the vicinity of the cavern where there was a metal stele five or six times taller than any man and wider than a table. From a distance, it looked like an oversized sword that had been stabbed into the ground.

An elder with graying hair sat nearby, his spiritual energy blocking Chen Wentian’s way. The man coughed lightly and got up, straightening his deep red robes. Two short swords hung from his waist, longer than daggers but smaller than any normal sword.

“Ho ho…” The elder coughed lightly and got up. “Welcome to Dugu’s Cavern, young swordsman. My name is Mo Tengda of the Mount Yun Sect. State your name and affiliation… and your cultivation…”

His eyes lit up, “Oh? This is my first time seeing someone so young and so powerful!”

Chen Wentian gave a respectable bow, “Senior, I am Chen Wentian, no affiliation.”

Mo Tengda shook his head and chuckled, “The old get older and the young get more powerful. It is the way of the world… If only my junior brothers could be as good as you… Young Chen, you wish to try your luck in Dugu’s Cavern?”

“I do.”

“Good!” Mo Tengda waved at the stele. “Touch this.”

Chen Wentian extended a hand and touched the metal, which felt immeasurably heavy and sharp. A strand of sword energy emerged and wrote his name in tiny, barely legible characters at the top with thousands of others. These names were separated into ten sections, with most of the names in the first three sections. The number of names sharply dropped off after the fourth section and there was only one name in the eighth section, named Peng Duan.

“Good, good.” Mo Tengda nodded as Chen Wentian stepped back, “This sword is tied to Dugu’s Cavern and is a historical record of everyone that has tried to enter. Nobody knows how it works but it is totally accurate. The cavern is separated into ten major levels. The first nine levels contain nine steps which you can see as faint lines here. The tenth level is the limit and it has no more steps. As you go deeper, your name will automatically move down. If you die for some reason inside, your name will disappear.”

“It seems quite difficult to get to the deepest levels?” Chen Wentian asked.

He managed to scan all of the names and found Mo Tengda among thousands of others at the fourth level. An experienced and powerful swordsman such as him only reaching the fourth level was a testament to just how difficult Dugu’s Cavern was.

“Indeed. The cavern is filled with supreme sword Dao; the amalgamation of peerless sword intent, energy, aura, and spirit. The intensity of the sword Dao increases with each step and you can only use a sword Dao of your own to resist if you don’t want to die a quick death. How deep you can go depends on your understanding of the sword only, not your cultivation.  But generally, cultivators at the Ming Focusing Realm can reach the first major level. Those at the Spirit Initiate Realm can reach down to the third major level. As for you… maybe you can reach the fourth major level, maybe the fifth? It will depend on your talent. But if you try too hard, you may just leave your life in there.”

“Thank you, Elder Mo.” Chen Wentian said with another bow.

“Off you go.” Mo Tengda said and returned to his comfortable chair.