Chapter 4535: Sword Testing Stone

Lu Yin stared at the figure standing in front of Old Sixth with its back to him. It was human and not a skeleton, but how was that possible? Were there actually living humans in the Death Megaverse?

Huh? No, that’s not quite right. Is that stone? A stone shaped like a human?

At the finish line, Old Sixth looked at the stone figure that had suddenly appeared before them, and the toad’s expression became more solemn than ever. "You’re actually participating in this competition to become an Abyssalal?"

In front of Old Sixth, the stone man said nothing. It simply raised its right hand that held a sword and then slowly lowered the blade to hold it upside down. The sword edge flickered uncertainly.

Old Sixth growled, "How were you actually allowed to leave the Nethersea? That shouldn’t be possible. You—"

Before the toad could finish, the stone man’s sword slashed out. The blade cut down diagonally, the sharp edge slicing through the void. Old Sixth let out a strangled cry, "You just attack without warning?! You have no sense of the rules at all!"

The toad managed to avoid the slash while kicking at the stone man. The stone swordsman reversed his blade to point the sharp edge at Old Six. The toad appeared to be extremely wary of this opponent, and they immediately retreated. While avoiding the blade, they threw out a palm strike: Anura’s Star-Plucking Hands.

Stars were pulled down one after another to smash against the stone man's sword.

The stone man held its sword, no longer either attacking or defending. It simply allowed the Anura’s Star-Plucking Hands to strike, and yet the stone body remained completely unharmed. Then, the sword in its hand fell, creating afterimages. The afterimages merged with one another, releasing another slash.

Old Sixth flipped over. The slash sliced through the void at where the toad had just been standing. Old Sixth appeared calm, but Lu Yin saw that a thin line of blood had appeared on their body. The Seven-Treasure Anura had been wounded.

Just who was this opponent? This stone man actually made it look as though Old Sixth's defenses were nonexistent. From the moment that the battle had first begun, Old Sixth had not dared to receive even one slash of the sword head-on, and they had instead retreated multiple times because of the blade.

Old Sixth opened some distance from the stone man and then glanced at where they were bleeding before staring at the stone man again. "If your master knew that you were taking part in a competition to become an Abyssal and that you are working for the Death Megaverse, he would only mourn."

The stone man still said nothing, but the edge of the sword produced a soft ringing. A sudden flash transformed into a slash of a sword.

Old Sixth saw nothing more than a flash of light. They dodged again, twisting to the side as they spun around. A steel fork appeared in the toad’s hand and thrust forward in a vicious stab.

The steel fork struck the stone man. Nothing even attempted to obstruct it. The blow produced a tremendous clang, but the stone man did not suffer even the slightest bit of harm. It lowered its sword again, and as it did so, the entire void was cut into countless pieces.

Lu Yin stared. Was this an unseen world?

Old Sixth was being completely overwhelmed. They had landed two attacks on the stone man, yet neither had had any effect at all. Lu Yin was well aware of just how powerful Old Sixth's attacks were, having personally experienced them, but neither blow had managed to do anything to the stone man. This was a terrifyingly powerful opponent.

Old Sixth won’t lose, will they?

Lu Yin simply watched.

Still at the finish line, Old Sixth kept dodging the stone man's attacks while the stone man simply tanked all of the attacks, never dodging or evading. Despite this, it never suffered any damage at all. Seeing this made Lu Yin's heart pound.

This stone man’s defenses were probably approaching those of a three-law powerhouse, but how could its defenses be so ridiculously powerful?

However, its attacks were just as limited. The stone man only had three offensive moves: dropping the edge of his sword, a slash, and something that resembled an unseen world. Even when these three moves were used in succession, Old Sixth was able to dodge everything.

The two were currently locked in a stalemate. The battle continued for a long time with neither side able to do anything to the other.

It looked like it might continue for much longer. Old Sixth had no intention of using any power related to their cosmic laws, perhaps because the toad knew that it would be useless even if they did.

Lu Yin watched Old Sixth grow increasingly impatient and grew somewhat uneasy himself. Lu Yin did not want Old Sixth to lose.

Regardless of why the Seven-Treasure Anura was in the Death Megaverse, at the very least, because of Thousand Machinations, Old Sixth had treated Lu Yin fairly well. As for the stone man, Lu Yin knew nothing about its background at all. He was more inclined to think of the stone man as a traitor.

The Death Megaverse had been one of the main driving forces behind the destruction of the Nine Ramparts. If this stone man was not a traitor, how could it have stayed within the Death Megaverse? After all, it was clear that it had not been granted Bone Script.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Yin headed for the finish line. He proceeded slowly, stopping along the way to test when the stone man and Old Sixth would detect him.

Lu Yin continued bit by bit as he continued forward. Finally, he took one more step, and Old Sixth’s head suddenly turned to look over at Lu Yin. "You didn’t leave?"

The stone man did not seem to care about Lu Yin. It simply continued to attack Old Sixth.

Lu Yin replied, "I left, but after thinking things over, I was worried about you, so I came back."

Only an idiot would believe that. Old Sixth grimaced as they tightened their grip on the steel fork. "It’s good that you didn’t leave. Hurry up and find a way to get this damn thing away."

"What is this thing?"

"Swordstone."

"Swordstone?"

"It is a sword testing stone, the sword testing stone of your Nine Ramparts."

Lu Yin was shocked, "The Nine Ramparts' sword testing stone?"

Old Sixth was panting. "Yes! You have an obligation to get this thing away. It is a sword testing stone of your human civilization’s Nine Ramparts. It belonged to the Eighth Rampart, to the Divine Swordsman."

"I don’t understand," Lu Yin replied while staring at Swordstone. Was this another connection to the Nine Ramparts?

"What is there to not understand? The Rampart Warden of your human civilization’s Eighth Rampart was known as the Divine Swordsman. He was one of the most powerful beings with a sword in the entire Aevum Inch. Since he was a sword master, he naturally had a sword testing stone. This thing was the Divine Swordsman's sword testing stone. It was originally just a huge rock, but after being used by the Divine Swordsman to test his sword day after day, it was not only never split open, but it even gained awareness.

"After your Nine Ramparts were destroyed, this thing was taken away by the Death Megaverse. Because it worshiped the Divine Swordsman, it used itself to test its sword every day and carved itself into the form of a human. Just look at it. It almost has the same appearance as that Divine Swordsman of yours. It carved itself to have this look.

"Also, its swordsmanship comes from the Divine Swordsman. Though simple, it is hard to withstand. Getting cut by this thing is no joke."

Lu Yin observed the stone man. As Old Sixth shifted positions, Lu Yin finally got a clear look.

The stone man had the appearance of a middle-aged man. He had a refined appearance, but there was also something strikingly heroic about his bearing. His face was covered with sword scars, and his entire body was covered with other marks.

Had it really carved this appearance onto itself?

"Why is it competing to become an Abyssal?" Lu Yin did not understand.

Old Sixth answered with a strange shout, "How would I know? This thing has always been kept in the Nethersea. Occasionally, creatures from the Death Megaverse have used it for practice, and it’s always just stayed in one place and not moved. I never dreamed that this thing would fight me for the position of Abyssal!

"Even if it has self-awareness, it doesn’t speak to anyone. It’s really damn strange."

As the toad spoke, they turned to shout at the stone man, "Hey, look behind you! There’s a human right there, the same kind of creature that you worshipped before!"

The stone man paid no attention, instead simply slashing its sword at Old Sixth again, forcing the toad to jump all over the place. Old Sixth was extremely frustrated.

This was the Divine Swordsman's sword testing stone, something that had previously withstood the Divine Swordsman's sword. Old Sixth's attacks could not damage it at all.

It was no wonder why this thing’s slashes could injure Old Sixth. After all, it had carved itself into its current shape. The sharpness needed for that was not something that a body of flesh and blood could endure.

Lu Yin had also learned another piece of the Nine Ramparts' history. The Eighth Rampart? The Divine Swordsman?

He remembered that Ancestor Shan had mentioned once seeing an enormous candle in the Aevum Inch. That candle was very likely the Eighth Rampart's guardian artifact, the Heart-Questioning Candle. If that was true, it meant that the Eighth Rampart still existed. In that case, was the Divine Swordsman also still around?

"Hey, why are you spacing out? Hurry up and help me deal with this thing!" Old Sixth shouted.

Lu Yin just shrugged. "If you can’t deal with it, how am I supposed to?"

"You’re human, unlike me. This fellow might not attack you, so move it away."

Lu Yin did not react.

"Hurry up! Move it away!" Old Sixth urged.

Lu Yin finally replied, "Why don’t you listen to what you are saying?"

Old Sixth swung their steel fork, meeting a point that had become a slash. The toad flipped over backward and then looked over at Lu Yin. "Just trying won’t cost you a bit of flesh. Besides, you don’t even have any flesh."

"I’m still afraid of being chopped to pieces."

"Things won’t go that far. I’ll help you."

"I’m the one helping you," Lu Yin emphasized.

Old Sixth finally lost their patience. "Who cares who’s helping who!? It doesn’t matter!"

Lu Yin somberly replied, "That won’t do at all. It seems that you are a bit unclear about the current situation, so I think that it would be best for me to just leave."

Old Sixth raised a brow and leaped behind Lu Yin, blocking his path of retreat. "You are the one who doesn’t understand the situation!"

Lu Yin turned back to look at the stone man. Old Sixth had already left the finish line in order to block his path, so the stone man was no longer attacking. It simply stood there calmly. Lu Yin was not far from the finish line, but Old Sixth was a little farther away than Lu Yin, though not by much. It was just enough for the toad to block Lu Yin's path back to Joy City.

Lu Yin stared at Old Sixth. "Are you forcing me?"

The toad grinned. "You are highly regarded by Thousand Machinations, managed to reach this place alive, and even dealt with a powerful enemy. You’ve even taken one of my own attacks directly. That is quite impressive. You are not weak. Help me deal with that Swordstone, and you can name your terms."

Lu Yin’s voice dropped low. "Too dangerous."

A huge eye suddenly appeared above Old Sixth's head. Lu Yin was no stranger to this battle technique; it was Anura Eye. "What’s dangerous? It, or me?"

Lu Yin stared at Old Sixth for a moment and then softened his tone. "Believe it or not, I have a way to get far away, and you can’t stop me."

Old Sixth sneered. "Believe it or not, I am able to catch up to you. If you don’t help me, then once I become an Abyssal, you can forget about ever having an easy life again. Withered Requiem is useless and spends every day obsessed with their music. I have plenty of ways to drag you over to my Abyss."

"That’s assuming that you can even become an Abyssal."

"I definitely can."

"If you come after me, how will you explain yourself to Thousand Machinations?"

Old Sixth sneered again. "There are many creatures that Thousand Machinations regards highly. You may be special, but compared to an Abyssal like me, you are far from enough. Besides, they don’t know everything."

Lu Yin answered in kind, "You really do already see yourself as an Abyssal."

Old Sixth openly threatened him, saying, "That stone man is very powerful, and it is very hard for me to injure it, but there are still ways to get it away from here. Do not underestimate me. If you refuse to help, then whatever price I am forced to pay to deal with that stone man will ultimately be repaid by you."

Lu Yin sighed. "You really are completely shameless."

Old Sixth’s voice grew cold and arrogant. "There are simply certain prices that I don’t want to pay. With your help, things will be much simpler."

Lu Yin still did not understand. "How can you be certain that I can even help you?"

"Humans are different. I’ve heard some rumors that human skeletons aren’t attacked when they approach Swordstone. At first, quite a few human skeletons approached it, and because of this, it was eventually moved to the Nethersea so that human skeletons couldn’t come into contact with it any longer."

"Are Human skeletons not allowed to go to the Nethersea?"

"Correct. There are no human skeletons in the Nethersea."

Lu Yin turned to look at Swordstone. "Why is it competing to become an Abyssal?"

Old Sixth rolled their eyes. "I want to know the answer to that question even more than you."

Lu Yin looked away. "Fine. I can help you, but I have some conditions."

Old Sixth said, "I told you from the beginning to name your terms. I won’t force you to help for nothing. Speak."

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