Chapter 29: Stirring Unrest, Shadows in Black Emerge

Inside the cave, the air seemed to solidify.

That obscure and icy spiritual probe brushed lightly over the cracks in the stone at the entrance.

Bai Yuening’s entire body tensed in an instant; her breath stilled, every trace of spiritual power withdrawn to its utmost. Her grip on Ye Ming’s hand was steady as ever, yet a thread of unease rippled through her heart.

In the end, their presence had been revealed!

“Tch, did a fly catch the scent and come buzzing over?”

Ye Ming was more than a little irritated at having his confidence after advancing abruptly interrupted, and there was a hint of anger at being spied upon. His senses were now exceptionally keen; though the spiritual probe was well-concealed, it could not escape his awareness.

“What a sneaky coward—clearly up to no good!”

The probe lingered at the cave mouth for several breaths, seeming unable to ascertain the situation within, yet unwilling to leave. It grew more cautious, incrementally increasing its force, attempting to breach the crude barrier that separated the cave.

Bai Yuening’s gaze was frosty—she could not sit and await doom. The interloper was clearly suspicious; once confirmed, the consequences were unpredictable.

Her mind raced, and she decided in a flash.

Just as the probe swelled again, about to brush the edge of the barrier, Bai Yuening’s wrist snapped, sending her longsword stabbing swiftly toward an empty spot at her side and behind her!

The razor-sharp aura contained in the [Hundredfold Tempered Steel] blade was suddenly unleashed, condensing into a brilliant blue arc of sword energy, which shot forth from the sword!

The sword energy was fierce, but did not shoot toward the cave entrance—instead, it slashed viciously at an unoccupied section of the inner stone wall.

A muffled boom thundered through the cave, stone fragments flying, dust billowing. The powerful spiritual fluctuations and sword intent instantly filled the cramped space, violently scattering and disrupting the probing consciousness.

At the same instant, Bai Yuening slid close to the ground—not toward the entrance, but in the opposite direction. She vanished soundlessly into the thickest cloud of dust, where the shadows were deepest, suppressing her presence until she seemed to disappear entirely.

Outside the cave, the master of that spiritual probe was clearly startled by this sudden eruption of power. He could sense a strong sword energy surging within—a commotion not easily ignored. Yet after the burst, the inner auras were thrown into chaos, impossible to distinguish.

Had someone suffered a mishap in training? Or was something being deliberately concealed?

A brief moment of hesitation.

And that instant was all Bai Yuening needed.

As the dust settled, the scene inside the cave became faintly visible. Apart from a fresh sword mark on the stone wall and the drifting haze, it seemed utterly empty.

The light at the cave mouth dimmed.

A figure appeared there, melting into the shadows, utterly silent. The newcomer wore the distinctive black garb of an inner-sect disciple—tall and thin, his features obscured by the gloom at the entrance. Only his eyes could be clearly seen, glinting coldly and greedily as they swept rapidly across the cave.

His gaze immediately fastened on the new sword mark, a flash of suspicion and surprise in his eyes. Then he scanned every corner meticulously, not missing a single irregularity.

Curled into the deepest shadow, Bai Yuening’s heartbeat remained steady, her spiritual power dormant, her body temperature lowered until she was indistinguishable from the surrounding stone. She could feel that gaze and probe pass over her hiding place several times, but thanks to her perfect concealment and the lingering chaos of power in the cave, they never paused.

“This bastard is really thorough!” Ye Ming’s irritation was barely contained. “Shifty-eyed rat—he’s up to no good! Whatever happens, we can’t let him find us!”

The man in black found nothing, his brows furrowing in frustration. He was certain he’d heard a remarkable sword’s song and sensed a flash of treasure—no ordinary occurrence. But now, aside from traces of combat or a cultivation mishap, there was nothing.

Had the person fled? Or were they still hiding?

His gaze flickered, debating whether to advance further into the cave. His foot hovered, then dropped. The Sword Burial Valley was fraught with peril; to barge into a stranger’s lair was to risk ambush.

In the end, greed outweighed caution. He decided to risk a look.

Just as his right foot was about to cross into the cave, a barely perceptible ripple of spiritual power drifted from deeper in the canyon to his side and behind. Along with it came low beastly growls and the faint clash of metal.

Someone was fighting there—and making quite a commotion!

The man in black whipped his head around, a ruthless glint of decision in his eyes. The clues here were vague, but the disturbance yonder promised real opportunity.

He hesitated no longer. After one last sweep of the chaotic cave, his figure blurred and retreated, vanishing from the entrance in a flash, racing toward the source of the noise.

Silence returned to the cave, only drifting dust settling slowly.

Bai Yuening remained motionless, maintaining absolute stillness and concealment.

“Gone? Really gone? Or is it a trick?”

Ye Ming’s voice held a note of doubt, his mind constantly probing their surroundings.

“Wait,” Bai Yuening replied in her heart, offering just a single word.

Time trickled by.

A stick of incense burned down. The entrance remained undisturbed, and even the sounds of the distant battle slowly faded away, then ceased entirely.

Only then did Bai Yuening let out a slow, pent-up breath, her muscles relaxing slightly, though her eyes remained grave. She crept to the edge of the entrance, watching for a long while through the cracks in the stone, until she was certain the chilling spiritual probe had truly withdrawn.

“That was close…” Ye Ming finally breathed easier, his tone quickly turning indignant. “That bastard tried to rob us while we were down! If I weren’t so full and lazy right now, I’d love to go out there and teach him a lesson!”

But Bai Yuening was not so optimistic. She recalled those cold, greedy eyes and the inner-sect attire, analyzing calmly, “That man should be an inner-sect disciple. Though he didn’t find us, he’s certainly suspicious now, especially regarding your existence. He’s memorized this place, perhaps even my general aura. We must be more cautious in the future.”

“So what if he’s from the inner sect? Sneaking around doing dirty deeds like this!” Ye Ming snorted, but his tone grew serious. “Still, you’re right. Having someone like that on our trail is trouble. Looks like we’ll have to be even more discreet next time we have a feast.”

After this disturbance, this place was no longer safe.

Bai Yuening swiftly erased any traces of herself from the cave—especially the sword mark, disguising it to look like a natural split in the rock. Then, she wrapped Ye Ming carefully in a new gray cloth, making sure that the extraordinary brilliance of the sword’s body was completely hidden.

She stepped out into the valley, where the light was fading, and the sword’s baleful aura grew ever more restless as night approached.

Wasting no time, Bai Yuening chose a path opposite to the direction the man in black had gone, pushing her movement arts to their limits until she vanished among the tangled shadows of the shattered rocks.

Behind her, the cave that had been her brief refuge was swiftly swallowed by the Sword Burial Valley’s eternal twilight and deadly miasma, as if nothing had ever happened.

Yet the seed of future trouble had already been sown.