Chapter 651: Chapter 651: Relics

Watching Song Jian leave, the shopkeeper took out a stack of parchment from his bosom. Carefully examining it, each sheet was imprinted with the map depicted by the skeletal figure, with the location of the “Sword Control Hall” specifically marked in red ink.

“How can I only sell each map once?” The shopkeeper selected a sheet from the pile and placed it on the counter. He stashed the remaining papers back into his robe, muttering to himself, “At least I sold you the original. You didn’t suffer a loss. Still, I don’t know if anyone will want these maps without the skeleton’s performance…”

The skeletal remains and the coffin were real. Every sunset, the skeleton would creep out of the coffin to depict the fragmented map. The shopkeeper then made several identical copies of the map.

However, without the performing skeleton, many people might doubt the map’s authenticity, considering it contained locations unexplored even by the Qingyun Sword Sect or the Red-sun Sect.

…

Upon returning home, Song Jian took out an empty Sword Stone to craft a new Sword Formation.

The capabilities of regular Sword Array Stones were no longer sufficient for him. Nowadays, Song Jian quietly produced large scale Sword Formations, such as the Seven Stars Sword Array and the Great Sun Golden Light Sword Array he intended to create that day.

Song Jian found that his Light Strike skill was perfect to incorporate into the Great Sun Golden Light Sword Array. Here, it was inconvenient for him to deploy Light Strike. But if he used the Great Sun Golden Light Sword Array, no one would suspect anything even if they saw him.

Moreover, the Great Sun Golden Light Sword Array was powerful, comparable to simultaneously executing five or six Light Strikes. Whether in single combat or facing a group, it was very effective.

The Great Sun Golden Light Sword Array was composed of five Sword Stones. The more complex the Sword Formation, the more Sword Stones were required. A single Sword Stone could not accommodate the complete formation— it could only store part of it. To use, multiple Sword Array Stones needed to be applied together to form the full Sword Array.

Having completed the final stroke, a silvery light flew out from the Sword Stone in Song Jian’s hand, lightly landing into a wooden box beside him. This newly created Sword Array Stone suddenly burst into a dazzling golden light.

The other four Sword Array Stones on the table also emitted light simultaneously, as if responding to each other.

The golden light merely shone for a moment before slowly fading. In its place, the previously transparent Sword Stones had turned into Sword Array Stones emitting a faint golden glow.

“Whew, it’s finally finished…” Song Jian looked slightly weary. The more complex the Sword Formation, the more delicate the operation required. Any minor mistake could potentially render the entire Sword Stone useless.

The creation of the Great Sun Golden Light Sword Array had taken up four to five days of Song Jian’s time. He used over a hundred Sword Stones just for testing, but it was all worth it for a successful creation.

“The Great Sun Golden Light Sword Array and the Seven Stars Sword Array are the most powerful attack Sword Arrays I have mastered.” Song Jian placed the finished Great Sun Golden Light Sword Array into his inventory and began pondering the type of Sword Array to create next.

Just then, a voice suddenly sounded outside his door.

“Is Song Jian living here?”

Song Jian realized he should craft a defensive Sword Array next. It didn’t need to be highly protective, but at the very least it should have soundproofing and sonic transmission capabilities.

Had someone called him while he was crafting the Sword Array, it would have distracted him and affected the creation of the Great Sun Golden Light Sword Array.

“Coming!” Song Jian quickly tidied up his table, got up, and walked towards the door.

Upon seeing the people standing outside, Song Jian was taken aback.

“Eldest Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother. What brings you two here?” Song Jian asked in surprise.

Standing outside his room was Chang Qinghe and Jian Qi.

“Haha, Song Jian! Our Master asked us to bring you into the secret realm and look after you. But we didn’t expect you to enter the secret realm before us.” Chang Qinghe laughed.

Jian Qi maintained his cool demeanor, not uttering a single word – his expression somewhat arrogant.

“Hehe, Senior Brother, I was suddenly assigned to a task by the Sword Array Hall. There was no time to report to our Master,” Song Jian laughed. “Are you going into the secret realm to complete tasks or delve deeper into the exploration?”

The full extent of the Holy Yuan Secret Realm was still unknown. Apart from the Gathering Area, Qingyun Town, the secret realm was brimming with dangers. Many disciples of the Qingyun Sword Sect didn’t return after leaving Qingyun Town.

But despite the dangers, the rewards were equally significant. Almost every day, Song Jian heard stories of disciples finding treasure while exploring the secret realm and making great advancements in their cultivation.

This led to an increasing number of Qingyun Sword Sect disciples venturing to explore the secret realm. However, this was a result deliberately encouraged by the Qingyun Sword Sect. Hence, Song Jian wasn’t surprised to see his senior brothers.

“We discovered some ruins last time. It seems that a capable individual once lived there for a while and left quite a lot of valuable items.” Chang Qinghe shared. “We only explored the outskirts with Jian Qi last time. We’re planning to delve deeper this time. How about it, junior brother? Would you like to accompany us?”

“Ruins?” Song Jian felt a bit uneasy. He was worried that the ruins his senior brothers had found were the Sword Control Hall depicted by the skeletal remains.

“I’m relatively weak. If I tag along, I’m afraid I might slow you two down,” Song Jian laughed, shifting his gaze to Jian Qi.

“Hmph, stingy! ” Jian Qi rolled his eyes at Song Jian. “I underestimated you before. I didn’t expect you to become a Sword Array Master in such a short time. It seems I misjudged. I’m apologizing for the things I previously said to you. Happy now?”

Ever since the news of him officially becoming a Sword Array Master spread, Jian Qi, who previously underestimated him, changed his attitude.

However, despite his apology, he still came across as quite domineering.

“Stop joking, Second Senior Brother,” Song Jian said with a smile. “As long as you two aren’t bothered by me, I would be happy to explore the ruins with you.”

“Great! We knew our junior brother wasn’t a coward!” Chang Qinghe clapped. “But to be clear, in the ruins, each of us will acquire treasures relying on our own ability. If the three of us spot something simultaneously, the division will be based on the amount of effort each put in. Sound fair?”

“Fair enough!” Song Jian nodded in agreement.

“Alright! If there are no issues, let’s set off now. The location of the ruins is quite far from Qingyun Town.”

After a simple preparation, Song Jian, with a regular longsword slung across his back, followed his senior brothers out of Qingyun Town.

…