"A sword case?"
Chen Jinshu's initial excitement faded slightly as she saw the object revealed within the wooden box.
She had been hoping for a peerless sword—never did she imagine it would be just a sword case.
"What's the point of having a sword case without the sword?" she muttered, shaking her head slightly. Just as she reached out to close the box, a sudden burst of blue light flashed from within the sword case.
"Could it be… this thing has gained a will of its own and can understand what I'm saying?"
Her earlier disappointment quickly gave way to curiosity.
For a man-made artifact to develop sentience was no small feat. Only spiritual tools that had reached the absolute pinnacle could manage such a thing.
She'd only ever heard of cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage possessing spirit-bound weapons with sentience. Could it be that she'd stumbled upon a sentient treasure?
That thought lit up her gaze with delight. This was probably the most valuable thing she'd gotten from scavenging Shadowpeak Finch's fortune so far.
After all, even adding up all the spirit stones she'd found, there weren't even fifty. And she had less than ten spiritual herbs.
Still, even with this mysterious sword case glowing, she didn't dare carelessly break the golden array seal protecting it. What if some monster was hiding inside, playing tricks?
"I should investigate the former owners of Ink Plum Courtyard first."
Chen Jinshu promptly closed the wooden box and plastered it with layers of sealing talismans to prevent anything from escaping.
"Senior Brother Qian owes me a favor, doesn't he? Time to cash it in."
She quickly tidied herself up and made her way toward Ju'an Hall. Half an hour later, Chen Jinshu made a detour to the archives. By the time she returned to Ink Plum Courtyard, the sun was already setting. Now in her hands was a copy of the records detailing the previous owners of the courtyard.
As luck would have it, she also picked up a scroll on her way out. She didn't dare open it—who knew what questionable things might be inside?—and handed it off to Senior Brother Qian at Ju'an Hall.
Then, she found a jade pendant lying by the path. As fate would have it, she bumped into its owner soon after and returned it on the spot.
Inside her room at Ink Plum Courtyard, Chen Jinshu sat reading a reproduction of records related to the Xuanming Cave Realm.
The Xuanming Cave Realm was one of thirty-six minor realms first discovered and governed by the founders of the Xuanming Sect. Though small in scale, it was a treasured training ground that countless disciples dreamed of entering.
Rich with resources and legacies, many who ventured into the realm emerged with great fame. Her interest in the cave realm all traced back to the mysterious sword case she unearthed from the hot spring.
According to the records she got from Qian Yidong, Ink Plum Courtyard had seen five prior owners—she was the sixth.
Of the five before her, only three were still alive. Those three had already advanced to the rank of Golden Core elders and naturally moved to better residences. She looked into each one's background. All three were spiritual plant cultivators—spell-based cultivators with little interest in swordsmanship.
If the sword case were truly valuable, they'd never have left it behind.
As for the other two…
One had died centuries ago in the sect's campaign against demonic cultivators—he practiced blade techniques.
The last one vanished inside the Xuanming Cave Realm. Her nameplate didn't shatter until four years later, marking her official death—a major loss to the sect's Medicine Peak.
That disciple was none other than Shan Zhiqing, a once-in-a-century genius in alchemy.
Back when Chen Jinshu was still low in cultivation, Shan Zhiqing was already a top-grade first-rank alchemist. Compared to Peng Qi, the so-called alchemy prodigy, Shan's talent was on a whole other level.
Unfortunately, for reasons unknown, Shan Zhiqing became obsessed with the sword. Just before forming her foundation, she abandoned the alchemy path and took up sword cultivation.
Even the peak master of Medicine Peak couldn't stop her.
Later, in pursuit of the Seven-Leaf Swordgrass—a rare plant that could enhance swordsmanship—she won first place in the outer sect competition to gain entry to the Xuanming Cave Realm.
It should've been a joyous occasion.
But after exploring the cave realm for a month, Shan Zhiqing failed to return before the realm closed.
The Xuanming Cave Realm's opening intervals were unpredictable: sometimes every five years, sometimes ten, even up to twenty years. Each time, the realm remained open for only one month. Anyone who didn't leave in time would have to wait for the next opening—if they could survive that long.
After thorough investigation, Chen Jinshu now suspected that the sword case she found had once belonged to Shan Zhiqing—and was the source of her sudden obsession with swordsmanship.
"But the cave realm isn't even known to be that dangerous. Why did Shan Zhiqing disappear? And why leave the sword case behind?"
According to sect lore, the Xuanming Cave Realm was filled with mountains and dense forests, inhabited by spirit beasts and brimming with spiritual resources—some even rumored it contained ruins of ancient sects.
Yet relic inheritance was extremely rare. Most disciples only walked away with spirit herbs or stones. Survival rates were high. Typically only one or two would die due to spirit beast attacks. But somehow, even with those slim odds, Shan Zhiqing was one of the unlucky ones.
"Could the problem lie with those ancient ruins?" Chen Jinshu grew more convinced the more she thought about it.
Recalling how Shan Zhiqing abandoned alchemy and dove headfirst into swordsmanship, Chen Jinshu suddenly lost her earlier interest in the sword case. No matter how precious it was, in the end—it was just an external object.
Her true goal was to strengthen herself.
She quickly stowed away the cave realm materials and activated her spiritual field.
Within the space, the Xuanming Ice Lotus—her assigned assessment spirit plant—had mostly recovered from its earlier damage at the root. The seedling had now grown to three inches tall.
"If all goes well, it should pass the upcoming assessment." A smile touched her lips as she gently poured more nutrient elixir onto the plant.
Five Days Later
As twilight approached, Chen Jinshu had just finished tending to the Frost Pool Herb Garden when she heard the familiar call from the Medicine King Hall:
"Daoist Gu Zhēnrén is about to give a lecture! All disciples, please make your way to the Medicine King Hall!"
At the sound, Chen Jinshu hurried toward the mountaintop.
Moments later, she arrived at the grand hall.
It was already filled with disciples—unsurprisingly, someone had taken her usual seat.
She quickly found another spot with a decent view.
As she sat, she noticed everyone around her taking out their cultivated spirit plants. She followed suit, retrieving her own Xuanming Ice Lotus from her storage pouch.
It sat nestled in a smooth jade bowl about seven or eight inches wide. Two lotus leaves, no larger than her palm, spread out lush and vibrant, glowing faintly with spiritual light.
At the center, a sharp bud reached upward—unbloomed, yet promising.
To have grown it to this state was already a significant feat.
She glanced around subtly, only to see many others with fully bloomed spiritual flowers—brilliant in color and radiating pulses of energy.
"Wait… am I the only one whose spirit plant isn't blooming? Their plants look way too perfect." A trace of doubt clouded her eyes.
But as she identified a few of the species, realization struck like lightning.
Someone was cheating.
One disciple's flower was a Yellow Gardenia, a plant that took a full year to mature. After just half a month, it should barely be sprouting.
And yet this idiot had somehow coaxed it into full bloom. Or perhaps… they'd simply replaced it with a mature one.
Or maybe they'd drawn Yellow Gardenia as their assigned plant but failed to cultivate it properly—dozing through lectures—and now resorted to cheating…
"Enough! Bring out your spirit plants—I'll inspect them one by one!"
Daoist Gu Zhēnrén voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
Nervous energy swelled in her chest.