Chapter 363: Sword Cavern’s Pagoda

When the huge metal doors slammed shut behind him, Yan Liqiang jumped. He couldn’t help but stop and turn around to look behind him.

The metal doors were tightly shut and would only open after a week. Hence, he had to stay inside the Sword Cavern for another seven days before he could exit.

Many disciples in the sect yearned for the opportunity to enter Sword Cavern because if they were fortunate enough, they would be able to obtain a powerful sword technique in the cavern within a week. If they were unlucky, not only would they walk away empty-handed, they might even need to trouble the elders to rescue them from the Sword Cavern and that would be extremely mortifying.

No one told Yan Liqiang what was inside the Sword Cavern. When Elder Guo briefed him on the apprentice ceremony yesterday, he only told him that everything would depend on his luck after he entered the Sword Cavern. He also informed him that there was a stone table not far from the cave’s entrance. On the stone table was a medicine bottle which contained seven Inedia Pills, concocted with Divine Sword Sect’s secret recipe. Taking each pill a day would enable him to spend seven days in the Sword Cavern. Events that transpired inside the Sword Cavern were considered classified information that must not be divulged to anyone.

Recalling Elder Guo’s instructions in his mind, Yan Liqiang calmed himself down before he proceeded to venture deeper into the Sword Cavern.

The Sword Cavern’s passage was a downward slope. From the looks of it, the entire cavern seemed to be inside the Tiankui Peak mountain range. Although it was freezing cold outside the Sword Cavern, it was not cold at all inside.

There was no light in the Sword Cavern. However, one would notice the countless blue sparkling lights on the cavern walls if they walked a little further. Those were probably some kind of residual ores like fluorite that looked like blue fireflies, illuminating the Sword Cavern and giving it a mysterious atmosphere.

“This place kinda looks like the night club I went to once in my previous life…” Yan Liqiang looked at the glowing blue Sword Cavern before his eyes and mumbled to himself. He then smiled and wandered deeper into the Sword Cavern with great curiosity.

Not long after that, a stone table came into Yan Liqiang’s view. As expected, there was a medicine bottle on it. Yan Liqiang picked it up, shook it twice, and heard the pills inside it. He stashed the medicine bottle and continued walking. After walking about ten li along the winding passage and reaching the center of the mountain, a huge underground cave appeared before Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang’s jaw dropped when he saw the massive cave because it was surrounded by colorful crystals. The entire cave looked as though it was a crystal house out of a fantasy realm. Walking into the cave, his reflection was on the dome ceiling and everywhere beneath his feet. As soon as he arrived, Yan Liqiang sensed that the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth here seemed to be a hundred times more abundant than the outside world for some unknown reason. Just by standing here, the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth quietly moisturized and entered his body through his skin and pores. Even if he was breathing normally, he felt the energy brimming inside his body. The burst of energy was extremely refreshing.

In the middle of this cave was a translucent, nine-layered lofty pagoda sculpted out of a crystal. The structure that was like the work of the Gods sparkled brilliantly.

Yan Liqiang was stared at this crystal pagoda in a daze for a long while. He looked around the cave and didn’t notice any other exits either. This place seemed to be the end of the Sword Cavern.

He circled around the pagoda while carefully observing it. The pagoda was really massive. He wondered what kind of skills it took to construct it. The massive pagoda had four sides. There was a door on each side, each labeled with a single word above them — ‘Life’ , ‘Separation’ …

‘Death’ and ‘Parting’.

“What does that mean?” Yan Liqiang mumbled to himself. He walked around the pagoda for three rounds, looking at the four doors, but he couldn’t make any sense of it. He only had a hunch that since he was here and the pagoda was here, he should take a look inside. The four doors outside the pagoda seemed to represent choices, but he had no clue what would await him behind the doors.

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Yan Liqiang wandered around the pagoda a few more times indecisively before he finally clenched his teeth. “I’ve lived two lives and died once in this life! To be able to survive through all that is all thanks to great fortune. Therefore, I shall walk through the Death door. After all, there’s this thing called Heidegger’s conception of being-toward-death. So I’m going to see what is behind that door. In any case, Elder Guo also said that the Sword Cavern won’t kill me!”

After he decided his next course of action, Yan Liqiang made a beeline toward the ‘Death’ door.

The Death door was tightly shut. Yan Liqiang pushed it lightly to find that it didn’t even budge. He had no choice but to take a deep breath, focus, his Qi on hands, and place them against the icy crystal doors. Pushing with the force from his entire body, the door finally creaked open…

The moment it opened, a thought flashed across Yan Liqiang’s mind. The door was extremely heavy. If it were someone else, they might not be able to open it. It would seem like those who came out of Sword Cavern empty-handed after a week might just be those who couldn’t even push the door open.

It was pitch black behind the door. Even if Yan Liqiang had trained his eyes to be able to see in the dark, he still couldn’t see a thing beyond the door.

However, since he had opened the door, there was no way for him to retreat. Without any hesitation, he stepped through the door. The moment he got in, the door shut behind him with a bang. Yan Liqiang put on his guard, but he suddenly felt as though he had been hit on the head. The darkness before his eyes then lifted as colors burst into his vision…

……

“Achoo…!” Yan Liqiang woke up with a sneeze. A young and beautiful face came into view. The person had an adorable smile on her face while she was tickling his nose with a green foxtail grass.

He could hear the ocean waves. Apart from the familiar beautiful face, he could also see the blue sky over his head and the gently swaying coconut trees. He was lying on a hammock, enjoying the rare sunshine, the sandy beach, and the companionship of the beautiful girl.

Everything before his eyes seemed so familiar. The girl before him was none other than Lu Jiaying. When Yan Liqiang saw her lovely face, nothing but tender sweetness gushed forth from his heart.

“Hahaha, come chase me…!” When Lu Jiaying saw that Yan Liqiang had woken up, she ran away with laughter that rang out like melodious silver bells, leaving behind a trail of footsteps on the beach…

Yan Liqiang got up from the hammock and habitually gave chase. As soon as he took two steps, he felt a sudden, cold pang in his mind. It shook his sea of consciousness. Part of the frozen memories in his brain suddenly thawed at this very moment.

He reacted at once and made a clever move by stopping.

This scene was from the time he took Lu Jiaying on an October trip to Phuket in Thailand. Like any man who was madly in love, he felt as though he was the happiest man in the world back then. In his eyes, Lu Jiaying was the most beautiful woman in the world. That was the happiest and most unforgettable time of his life.

…What’s going on? Isn’t everything in the past now? Am I dreaming? How can a dream feel so real?

No, this isn’t a dream! This is… an illusion…!

“Oh, what’s wrong, dear? Do you feel unwell?” Lu Jiaying came running back again when she realized that Yan Liqiang didn’t chase after her. Her gaze on him was filled with deep concern.