There was a specific reason why Liu Chen could not simply teleport directly to his destination. Although he had now refined and used a second Fixed Immortal Travel Gu to cross from the Northern Plains to the Eastern Sea, its power relied on the user having a concrete, personal impression of the target location. Since Fang Yuan had never visited this remote island in his previous life, Liu Chen had no visual data within the inherited memories to facilitate a direct jump to Eyebrow Island specifically. He could only teleport to the general region and traverse the remaining distance manually.
Riding atop the silver streak of his Imperial Sword Flight killer move, Liu Chen looked down at the vast, shimmering expanse of the Eastern Sea. Most of the Gu worms within his current combat system were being heavily suppressed by the regional pressure of the area. As an intruder from the Southern Border who had crossed two regional boundaries in rapid succession, his personal cultivation effectiveness was nearly halved. Furthermore, maintaining a complex killer move was an immense drain on a Gu Master's reserves; even an ordinary Rank 5 expert would find it difficult to sustain such a flight for long periods.
However, Liu Chen was an anomaly. He possessed three powerful means of essence restoration that made his recovery speed faster than even a Ten Extreme Physique: the Sky Origin Sword Gu, the Heavenly Essence Treasure Monarch Lotus he had just obtained from the Lang Ya Land Spirit, and the continuous time acceleration of the Three Watches Gu. With his Yellow Gold Primeval Essence purified to its absolute peak quality by the Nine Eyes Liquor Worm, he could fight or fly for three days and three nights without ever fearing depletion.
During the flight, Liu Chen was pursued by a massive flock of Large Billed Pelicans numbering over three hundred. Faced with the aerial threat, he didn't waste time in a dogfight. He urged a Rank 5 Double Strength Gu from his system inventory , one of the unsuppressed rewards immune to regional pressure increasing his flight speed fivefold. He tore through the sky like a comet, successfully shaking off the ferocious birds in minutes.
Two hours later, the silhouette of Eyebrow Island appeared on the horizon. The island was a masterpiece of nature, covered in lush, vibrant vegetation and shaped like the slender, graceful eyebrow of a woman.
Liu Chen landed on the pristine beach, his thoughts drifting to the history of this place. In the original timeline, a Shang Clan City Gu Master named Dugu He would be shipwrecked here three hundred years from now. By luck, Dugu He would discover the inheritance hidden within a monolithic boulder and eventually become a world renowned Sword expert. But today, that legacy belonged to Liu Chen.
Liu Chen walked toward the center of the island until he found a two meter high rectangular rock. It sat abruptly in a clearing, appearing as if it had been placed there by a giant's hand.
Without hesitation, he withdrew a Rank 4 Ground Fire Gu from his inventory. As he activated the Gu, intense orange flames gushed from the earth like surging waves, wrapping the boulder in a localized inferno. To protect himself from the heat, Liu Chen urged his Burning Firefly Gu, which acted like a spiritual vacuum, devouring the stray flames around him while focusing the heat entirely on the stone.
Under the relentless scorching, the rock began to groan.
Click, click, click.
Fine cracks appeared in the center of the monolithic slab. Sunlight filtered through the gaps, and Liu Chen vaguely spotted the shimmering hilt of a magnificent sword embedded deep within the stone.
He ceased the fire and used the Burning Firefly Gu to swallow the remaining embers. Once the area was clear, he activated his White Jade Gu for defense and stepped into the jagged gap in the rock.
The sword was breathtaking pure white like Lantian jade, its blade shimmering with a chilling cold light. The hilt was intricately carved with ancient cloud patterns, exuding an atmosphere of simplistic mystery.
"The sword in the stone... just like the legends of King Arthur," Liu Chen muttered. He reached out and grasped the hilt. The steel was freezing to the touch.
He pulled with all his might, but the sword didn't budge an inch. It felt as if the weapon were fused to the very foundation of the island. Liu Chen gritted his teeth, his Innate Strength surging through his arms, yet the sword remained immovable.
Just as he was beginning to feel frustrated, the sword suddenly erupted with a dazzling, harmonious light. The radiance covered his entire body like a curtain. He felt a sudden, powerful induction a resonance between the sword and the White Bone Sword Gu he had refined back on Bai Gu Mountain.
A wave of joy flooded his heart. He realized the threshold of this inheritance: the sword was actually a specialized Gu that would only release its lock if it sensed the aura of a true Sword Master. This was why Dugu He succeeded in the future; his own Sword Finger Gu had resonated with this blade. For Liu Chen, carrying the White Bone Sword Gu and the full depth of the Nameless Sword Path True Inheritance, the resonance was not a threshold to struggle across , it was a door opening to welcome him home.
Liu Chen tightened his grip. This time, the resistance vanished. With a smooth motion, he drew the sword from the stone. The weapon hummed in his hand, its will fully submissive to his own. He had secured the core of the Ping Duhe inheritance without following a single trial.
As the sword was pulled from its stone pedestal, something unexpected happened , the rock that served as the base slowly shifted and realigned, opening a winding downward staircase that descended into the depths like a complex mechanical puzzle.
Liu Chen stepped carefully onto the stone steps, feeling a slight vibration underfoot with every movement. As he descended, the walls of the passage gradually revealed their treasures: they were inlaid with fist sized pearls that radiated a brilliant light, illuminating the entire subterranean space as clearly as broad daylight.
Liu Chen marveled at the wondrous scene, but as he walked, a slight noise echoed behind him. He looked back to see the entrance of the passage slowly closing, the stones merging back together as if driven by a huge, automated mechanism. His heart tightened with a momentary chill; he realized he could no longer return the way he came. To leave this place, the only path was forward , to fully accept the inheritance.
He took a deep breath, settled his mind, and continued the descent. Some time later, he finally emerged into a vast underground hall, approximately the size of a football field. A path made of smooth rocks wound through the center of the space, extending into the distance as if guiding him.
Near the entrance to this hall, four crystal clear swords were inserted into the ground. Sealed within each translucent blade was a Gu worm. Liu Chen recognized the setup immediately; the crystal swords were merely protective shells. The key to preserving the insects was the hidden sword path refinement within the glass.
The stone platform holding these four swords was inscribed with an ancient, solemn text that had weathered the ages but remained legible:
"Descendant of later generations, since you have entered this place, it proves you are a Sword Master with the potential to inherit my mantle. The Gu here will allow you to condense a peerless killing move… If you can wield it proficiently, you will be qualified to receive my full inheritance, either rise to fame across the world or perish here." Ping Duhe
In the center of the platform, the specific requirements for this killing move were engraved:
Sword Shadow Leaves Marks
Rank 3 Sword Shadow Gu, Rank 3 Imperial Sword Gu, Rank 2 Sword Mark Gu, and Rank 2 Sword Qi Gu.
Liu Chen gazed at the list of Gu and the control methods described, and a surge of amazement welled in his heart. Not only did this killing move start with a Rank 3 Gu foundation, but the complexity of controlling so many insects simultaneously was beyond the imagination of an ordinary Master. It was this strict standard that highlighted the power and uniqueness of Ping Duhe's techniques.
The more Liu Chen looked, the more he felt that Ping Duhe was no idle man. His name had not been wasted in the Eastern Sea; his attainment in the Sword Path and Gu refinement was definitely at the master. It was no wonder Dugu He in the original timeline would be so impressed that he changed his name to "He" just to express his respect for this ancestor.
Liu Chen reached out and effortlessly crushed the crystal shells. With a series of crisp cracking sounds, the four grubs fell into his palm. He pushed aside the outer remnants and refined the four Gu insects , the Sword Shadow, Imperial Sword, Sword Mark, and Sword Qi incorporating them into his aperture instantly using the crushing pressure of his Rank 5 Thousand Li Earthwolf Spider.
Liu Chen knew that for an ordinary Gu Master, triggering even a single Killer Move was the limit of their capability in battle. A move is called a killer move because it is overwhelmingly powerful, but it also requires a massive amount of Primeval Essence and physical energy. If multiple Gu are activated in tandem, the consumption increases exponentially.
Throughout history, countless people had placed their hopes on such moves, only to be interrupted during activation, suffering a lethal backlash and dying tragically.
However, Liu Chen was not afraid of these risks. Inside his aperture, he now possessed a refined set: Sword Shadow Gu, Sword Qi Gu, Sword Scar Gu, and the Edge Sword Gu. When he urged all four simultaneously, the Yellow Gold Primeval Essence in his sea decreased by 30% in an instant, but thanks to his triple restoration system , the Sky Origin Sword Gu, the Monarch Lotus, and the Three Watches Gu working in concert, it began to recover at a visible rate almost immediately.
As the seconds passed and he maintained the activation for four breaths, the killer move finally manifested.
The Sword Shadow Gu was a rare Sword Gu that could attach to the user's hand to form an illusory blade shadow. Its sharpness was extraordinary; not even a Rank 3 defensive Gu could withstand its assault. After his continuous attempts, Liu Chen succeeded in fusing the Sword Shadow and Sword Qi together. This allowed the shadow to materialize and fly freely through the air like a sentient blade.
He then cleverly incorporated the power of the Sword Scar Gu, further enhancing the lethality of the flying shadow. Finally, the inclusion of the Edge Sword Gu made the materialized shadow extremely flexible, allowing it to dance and strike according to Liu Chen's every whim.
Liu Chen was ecstatic. He could feel an unprecedented smoothness and ease in the move's execution. It was as if this killing move had been tailored specifically for him; even using it for the first time, he felt no rustiness at all.
"It seems I truly have a unique advantage in Sword," Liu Chen sighed quietly to himself.
Since there was no suitable target in the hall to verify the full extent of the move's power, he decided to cancel the activation and conserve his energy. He looked around and found that his environment remained unchanged despite the display of power. He stepped onto the rocky trail and continued forward, ready to explore the deeper reaches of Ping Duhe's legacy.