I am a swordsman in a strange city

Chapter 95 Dreamlike Cave Journey and Corpse Slaying

Pei Ju went there with the intention of solving his own problems, but in the end he performed the 'Heart Sword' there, showing off his inner demon-slaying sword.

Then he listened to his family history and left.

To be honest, it wasn't that bad.

To be honest, I wasn't really disappointed.

He returned home, opened the door, took out a chair and sat down in the hallway. He felt comfortable in the sunlight, but also a little sleepy.

Sitting there, he actually dozed off, just like his grandfather had done years ago.

In his half-asleep state, he seemed to dream of a door, through which someone was spying on him. On this person's face was a bloody wound.

He couldn't see the face clearly, but Pei Ju knew that it was the person who wanted to parasitize him last night.

He's still here; he's not dead yet.

But he clearly didn't dare to get any closer.

So he got up and headed toward the huge door, and the person spying on him immediately disappeared into the darkness.

Pei Ju arrived at the door and squeezed through it. He looked into the boundless darkness behind the door but couldn't see anything. He carefully walked in. The darkness was endless, but he remembered the cave he had been to before, and so this darkness became a cave. He went deeper and deeper into the darkness.

There are natural steps, or perhaps stone steps carved out by predecessors, leading step by step deeper into the darkness, where there is not a sound.

He kept going deeper and deeper, as if something in the darkness was drawing him there, and unknowingly he went into the depths.

He felt himself getting colder and colder, but he still didn't know to turn around, as if something deep inside was calling to him.

Just then, he seemed to see something before his eyes, in the darkness ahead, below what looked like steps, where a person was standing.

This person was tall and slender, dressed in a Taoist robe, wearing a golden crown, with a whisk draped over his arm, standing there looking into the deeper and deeper darkness below.

As if she heard the noise behind her, she turned around and saw that the other person was wearing a mysterious mask with black and white patterns interwoven on their face.

"Senior Sister Yu?" Pei Ju was very surprised to see Senior Sister Yu here.

He was certain that this was Senior Sister Yu, because only Senior Sister Yu possessed such an aura—mysterious and powerful.

He also saw a hint of surprise in Yu Shijie's eyes.

However, Senior Sister Yu did not speak, but instead made a shushing gesture to her mouth.

Pei Ju immediately shut his mouth, but his voice still seemed to have startled something mysterious in the darkness.

The darkness was no longer tranquil; it seemed to surge forth.

Senior Sister Yu turned around and pulled him upwards. When he followed her back, he found that the gate he had entered through was gone.

He also found that his body felt heavy, as if he were frozen, and he couldn't keep up with Yu Shijie's pace. However, Yu Shijie's hands were very strong and felt very warm.

However, Senior Sister Yu seemed to know with certainty which direction she was heading.

Finally, he saw a glimmer of light in his eyes. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a door, and light was shining through it.

When they reached the huge door, Senior Sister Yu stopped and asked, "Why are you here?"

"I don't know either," Pei Ju said naturally.

"This isn't the place you should be at right now," Senior Sister Yu asked.

Pei Ju couldn't help but ask, "Senior Sister Yu, where is this?"

“This is the depths of the Dark Cave,” said Senior Sister Yu.

"A secluded cave?" Pei Ju was somewhat puzzled.

"It's not convenient to talk about these things here. After you go back, call my name through a spirit communication ritual, and we'll communicate again. Don't wander around on your own, understand?" Senior Sister Yu spoke rather urgently and very firmly.

Before Pei Ju could say anything, Yu Shijie pushed him, sending him into the light outside the door.

In an instant, it felt like stepping from icy water into warm sunshine.

His consciousness returned quickly, and he felt his body, but at that moment his body couldn't help but tremble violently, and it took him a while to recover.

When he regained control of his body, he sat up and saw that the sun in the sky was actually moving towards the west.

That means he's been sleeping here for a long time. He remembers that when he sat here to sleep, it was only noon, and now the sun is almost setting.

"Senior Sister Yu?" He rubbed his temples.

Pei Ju read it aloud with some disbelief. He felt it was like a dream, somewhat blurry, and he even found it hard to believe it was real.

However, he still went inside and closed the door.

A spirit communication ritual was performed.

He learned this spirit communication ritual from Senior Sister Yu. Apart from swordsmanship, everything Senior Sister Yu taught him was taught on a whim, but this ritual was specifically taught to him.

He entered the cabin, where the painting that had been hanging was gone, but the nine stars above his head were still there.

This is Beidou.

The Big Dipper is associated with killing, but it also points out directions, and of course, it has many other meanings as well.

Pei Ju knew that this was set up by his maternal grandfather back then, and the two door gods were still here at that time, but the paintings were no longer there.

However, his grandfather performed a formal ceremony for him to enter the family, and he sensed that door in his consciousness.

He set up a spirit communication ritual here.

This spiritual ritual has a name: "The True Name Communication Ritual Guided by the Big Dipper." He didn't know if it was unique to Senior Sister Yu, but he put some effort into learning it back then.

It's not that the ritual is overly complicated, but rather that it requires a touch of spiritual guidance. The real key lies in the 'Big Dipper constellation.' Generally, one needs to arrange the Big Dipper constellation using a cloth, but the mystery of this ritual is that when you are skilled enough, you can directly use the Big Dipper constellation in the sky as your guide.

Moreover, there are many variations of this ritual, especially when you are lost, you can use this ritual to find your way.

Above, the Big Dipper and two auxiliary stars are positioned, with nine lamps corresponding below.

He sat in the bowl of the Big Dipper below, closed his eyes, began to silently recite prayers, and lit the petition in his hand.

Another key point is that you need to be able to communicate with that door.

Now he understood why his grandfather had made changes to this small house back then. He had obviously created a unique ritual by fusing the "Yulei", "Shentu", and the Big Dipper Star Lord.

Pei Ju's consciousness began to float, and then he saw a huge stone gate, on which two blurry statues seemed to be watching him.

The door opened slightly, and he walked to the door and into it.

He silently recited his senior sister's name in his heart.

"Xijiang, Dongxiang District, FZ City, Senior Sister Xionglan Xiongyu..."

As he repeated this message in his mind again and again, a figure slowly emerged from the darkness behind the door.

A golden-crowned Taoist priest emerged from the darkness step by step. Her figure seemed to come from nothingness or from the depths of darkness. The darkness that clung to her was swept away by the whisk in her hand. The faint light emanating from her body made her look like a deity who had been banished to the mortal world.

"Senior Sister Yu," Pei Ju called out.

"Hmm, tell me first, why did you appear there today?" Senior Sister Yu said calmly and indifferently.

So Pei Ju told her what had happened to him.

Senior Sister Yu pondered for a moment and said, "That person who is just like you is neither a ghost nor not a ghost; you could say it's another personality of yours."

"What?" Pei Ju asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Before, in the temple world, you entered it as a consciousness. There was a body and a support in it. Later, the mountain lord in that temple world died, and your consciousness returned. The consciousness left behind there did not dissipate, so it became a ghost and came out with you. It became a house spirit in the sword hall, and it may be simulating your life. It sees itself as you, or in its heart, it is you. It only realized that it was not you when you came back, so it wanted to truly become you."

"He is a part of you. Your demon-slaying sword did not kill him. You can kill other monsters that invade your mind and body, but it is difficult for you to kill him. Moreover, the more he comes into contact with you, the harder it will be to kill him, because he now resides in your heart and will tempt you to do dangerous things."

"For example, when I led you into that 'dark cave' before."

"What exactly is that dark cave?" Pei Ju asked once again.

"There are many interpretations of the secluded cave. Some call it the Netherworld Cave, the final resting place of the dead," Yu Daoren explained. "It is also the place where your grandfather traveled in spirit."

Pei Ju only learned today that the place his maternal grandfather had traveled to in spirit was this so-called Netherworld Cave.

"Grandpa, why did you go there?" Pei Ju asked.

"This is not something you can know right now. You still cannot bear the secrets of the Dark Cave. The more you know, the greater the Dark Cave's erosion will become. Eventually, your dreams will be occupied by the Dark Cave and slowly swallowed up."

“The Dark Cave is a place that buries all secrets and all life. Once it has its eye on you, it is hard to escape.”

Pei Ju suddenly thought of the Cave Club and couldn't help but ask, "What is its connection to the Cave Club?"

"The Crypt Club is just an organization that exploits the divinity of the Dark Cave. Because of its frequent contact with the Dark Cave, the club members will gradually be devoured."

Pei Ju then realized that the dark cave actually possessed divinity, giving him the feeling that it was alive.

He suddenly remembered that his senior sister had asked him to practice swordsmanship in a cave in the West River. Was she waiting for the day when he could cleave through the darkness with a single sword strike?
"The reason I had you swing your sword at the cave is so that one day when you are entangled by darkness, you can sever the darkness's entanglement with a single strike and not be swallowed up. As for the rest, I'll take care of it. I will find my master, and I will go in myself to unlock the secrets within."

Pei Ju was a little uncomfortable when Senior Sister Yu suddenly uttered such bold words, because she had always been aloof and quiet, as if she had no purpose and only focused on meditation and stargazing.

"Senior sister, were you also wandering in the Netherworld before?" Pei Ju suddenly thought of this and asked.

"Okay!" the senior sister replied.

"Senior Sister, is there anything I can do to help?" Pei Ju felt like an ignorant child in front of Senior Sister Yu. His ambition since childhood was to support the family business, revitalize the Pei Clan's Demon-Slaying Sword Hall, take over his grandfather's job, and relieve his grandfather of his burdens.

But after his grandfather died, all of this seemed to have become something ethereal and unreal, because he realized that even if he had done these things, no one would have seen them, and the person he most wanted to see them could no longer see them.

"Your current goal is cultivation. Is your sword sharp? Can you sever the entanglements of the mortal world? Can you sever the darkness?" Senior Sister Yu's question made Pei Ju feel somewhat ashamed.

"You get caught up in trivial matters, hesitant and indecisive, lacking clarity of mind and spirit, and trapped in the adoration of others online. Is your sword still sharp?" Senior Sister Yu asked Pei Ju coldly.

Pei Ju felt somewhat ashamed.

"Do you know why I wanted you to go to Southeast Asia?" Senior Sister Yu asked.

“Because the gang there was left behind by my grandfather,” Pei Ju said.

"If Master cared about a mere gang, how could he abandon it? I sent you there because it's a mixed bag of people. You have to use your sword to carve a bloody path through it. Your sword needs to be tempered by real blood and fire."

Senior Sister Yu's voice was stern, as if she had been keeping an eye on his life since he returned to Haishi.

But judging from her senior sister's tone, Pei Ju knew that she was very dissatisfied with his performance over the past period of time.

"Senior sister, I've disappointed you," Pei Ju said.

“No, I had no expectations of you, but your grandfather and maternal grandfather did, and you disappointed them,” said Senior Sister Yu.

"Then shall I go to Southeast Asia now?" Pei Ju said.

"No, it's not the right time yet. I'll let you know in a while," Senior Sister Yu said. "Once you get there, if your sword is sharp enough, you'll get a spot in the Extraordinary Master Tournament. This will be a globally watched tournament, the first time you'll be able to compete against extraordinary geniuses from all over the world. Only if you can stand out from the crowd will you be qualified to go with me to explore the Netherworld."

Pei Ju suddenly became excited, and his previously depressed heart began to boil.

"Senior sister, I will not let you down, nor will I let Grandpa and Grandfather's spirits in heaven down," Pei Ju said loudly.

"Good, it's good to have this determination, but everything is about action, not words. What you need to do now is to cut off that 'self,' which is called cutting off the past in Buddhism and cutting off the three corpses in Taoism."

“Normally, you would have no chance of successfully severing your corpse, but now there is such a thing that can allow you to achieve that goal. I will come to Hai City in a while and teach you the method of severing your corpse,” Senior Sister Yu said quickly.

(End of this chapter)