The spatial fluctuations from the cross-realm teleportation finally subsided completely.
Lin Che opened his eyes and was the first to step out of the ancient, dimly lit teleportation array nestled in a remote valley. Underfoot was hard, yellowish soil. The spiritual energy here felt somewhat impure and thin, far inferior to some of the blessed spots in the Canglan Realm.
Looking out, the outline of a small city with grey walls was faintly visible in the twilight. No banners flew from its battlements, and no powerful defensive formations could be sensed. The silence was abnormal.
"Is this... the Profound Heaven Realm?" Lin Ying followed close behind, looking around curiously. Her small nose twitched as she sniffed the air. "The spiritual energy seems pretty average... Huh? I smell roasted rock goat! With perilla leaves!"
Luo Jiayin was the last to emerge, gently brushing her sleeves. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly. "The teleportation array is poorly maintained, and there are no guards nearby. Such lax security is illogical."
"Where there's abnormality, there's often a scheme," Lin Che nodded, concealing his aura and suppressing his cultivation to the mid-Gold Core stage. "Let's enter the city first. Ying'er, mind your tongue. Observe and listen more, ask less."
"Got it, Brother!" Lin Ying replied, but her gaze was already locked onto the wisps of cooking smoke rising from within the city.
The three entered Qingyan City.
The streets were broad but desolate. Shops on either side saw few customers. The occasional cultivator who passed by walked quickly, their expressions a mix of wariness and weariness. What struck Lin Che most was their attire—completely varied, with no uniform style, and the spiritual energy around them mostly impure and muddled. They were all rogue cultivators.
"Brother, look," Lin Ying transmitted her voice secretly, munching on a honey-preserved spirit fruit she had just bought. "Not a single person in sect robes. So weird."
It was indeed strange. The Profound Heaven Realm was an upper realm; it should have been teeming with sects and disciples. Yet, this city felt like an abandoned gathering place for rogues.
Walking further into the city, near an inn named "Guest's Peace," there was a slightly more popular eatery, its signboard reading "Hundred Flavors Tower," though the characters were faded. Lin Ying immediately stopped moving.
Moments later, they were seated at a table by the window on the second floor. Lin Ying devoted herself to a table of local spirit cuisine, her cheeks stuffed like a hamster's. Luo Jiayin sipped her tea leisurely, her divine sense spreading out silently like quicksilver, covering the main hall.
Lin Che's attention, however, was drawn to two cultivators drinking at the next table. Both were at the late Foundation Establishment stage, their faces weathered. They had only two small dishes and a pot of cheap wine on their table, speaking in hushed, worried tones.
He picked up his wine cup and walked over slowly, a warm smile on his face. "Greetings, fellow Daoists. I am Lin Feng, traveling with my sister. Finding the customs of this city quite unique, I have some doubts. May I trouble you for some clarification?"
The two men, seeing Lin Che's composed demeanor (though he displayed Golden Core cultivation) and polite words, relaxed their guard slightly. The older-looking man clasped his hands. "You are too polite, Daoist. This humble one is Zhao Mang, and this is my sworn brother, Zhao Yong. Qingyan City is remote. What puzzles might we clear up for you?"
Lin Che sat down smoothly and refilled their cups. "As we traveled, we noticed all the fellow cultivators in the city are solitary rogues, without a single sect disciple in sight. Could it be the Feng Shui here is unfavorable for establishing sects?"
Zhao Mang exchanged a bitter, indignant look with Zhao Yong and forced a smile. "Sects? You jest, Daoist. There were two minor sects a few years back—'Green Wood Sect' and 'Black Rock Gang.' Though insignificant, they offered some shelter. But after the Profound Sword Sect's claws reached here..."
He paused, glanced warily out the window, and lowered his voice further. "The Profound Sword Sect demanded exorbitant 'territorial tribute.' The two sects couldn't afford it. When they resisted, they were repeatedly suppressed, their disciples humiliated, resources plundered... Within three years, their gates were broken, utterly erased."
Zhao Yong continued, his voice filled with hatred. "Since then, who dares to establish a sect? The Profound Sword Sect is powerful. They didn't neglect this Qingyan City either, setting up a 'City Patrol Office' run by a few outer sect disciples, specializing in bullying us rogues. We have to pay a 'safety fee' every month. In street fights, they always side with the local thugs who serve them... Those with any connections have fled deep into the mountains. Those left behind are mostly like us, with nowhere else to go."
"To think they are so tyrannical?" Lin Che frowned. "And you all just endure this oppression?"
"What choice do we have?" Zhao Mang's smile was bleak. "They have abundant resources; their disciples at the same level often overpower us rogues. Years ago, a few late Foundation Establishment fellow Daoists united to resist. They were found dead outside the city the next day, their dantians shattered. That was a bloody lesson."
Zhao Yong's eyes suddenly lit up slightly, and he lowered his voice to a near whisper. "However... around last year, an organization called the 'Broken Sword Sect' emerged, specializing in targeting the Profound Sword Sect's peripheral forces. Ruthless and secretive, they've taken out the strongholds in several nearby small cities in succession. Their reputation is fierce. But no one knows their origins. They appear and vanish like ghosts."
"Broken Sword Sect?" Lin Che's heart stirred.
"Yes. And there's another rumor, not sure if it's true." Zhao Mang's voice was almost inaudible. "I heard that in a lower realm called the Canglan Realm, a 'Slaughter God Pavilion' appeared. They slaughtered the forces the Profound Sword Sect sent down, even defeating a Patriarch! Recently, those scum at the City Patrol Office have been much more restrained. Probably because the main sect is... stewing in anger."
A glint flashed in Lin Che's eyes. He drained his cup expressionlessly. "Thank you both for the information. It seems the Profound Heaven Realm is even more treacherous than I imagined."
After a bit more small talk and confirming details about the inn and the city, Lin Che finally clasped his hands and took his leave.
Returning to his table, Lin Ying was full, sipping a cup of spirit fruit juice. Luo Jiayin looked at him inquiringly.
Lin Che set up a soundproof barrier and briefly relayed what he had heard.
"The Profound Sword Sect's roots here run deep, their methods brutal," Luo Jiayin mused. "This 'Broken Sword Sect'... might be worth noting."
"Brother, are we going to have to fight again?" Lin Ying's eyes sparkled, eager.
"First, we settle in. Then we plan our moves." Lin Che tapped the table lightly with his finger. "The rogue cultivators here hold deep resentment towards the Profound Sword Sect but dare not speak out. For this Broken Sword Sect to rise quietly, they must have some backing. We are newcomers; direct conflict is unwise. But this sect... might be an entry point."
That night, the three stayed at the "Guest's Peace" inn. Lin Che sat quietly in his room, his divine sense spreading like a net, carefully perceiving the slumbering small city. Suppression, resentment, a faint glimmer of hope... various emotions flowed through the night. From the direction of the City Patrol Office, a few auras belonging to the Nascent Soul stage lurked, carrying the sharp sword intent unique to the Profound Sword Sect.
And in the deeper darkness, another sharp, resolute, almost fragmented aura seemed to flash by like an undercurrent.
[Ding! Host has arrived at key Profound Heaven Realm outpost 'Qingyan City' and successfully obtained initial intelligence. Triggering Volume 3 Main Exploration Quest: 'Riddle of the Broken Sword'.]
[Quest Requirement: Investigate the background, objectives, and primary methods of the 'Broken Sword Sect'.]
[Quest Reward: Based on investigation results, reward 'Insight into Profound Heaven Realm Factions' (intel), Slaughter Points, and potential mysterious contact channels.]
Lin Che slowly opened his eyes, reflecting the unfamiliar stars of the Profound Heaven Realm outside the window.
A new game board had quietly been laid out. And the first move now rested upon a mysterious "Broken Sword."