Ten thousand people harbor mutual distrust. A thousand struggle to unite their strength. A hundred speak in different tongues. Ten share the fire in their blood.

Su Ji's gaze was firmly locked onto the purple sandalwood box.

Su Jiu also noticed something was wrong. She quickly walked over to Su Ji's side and followed his gaze.

"Senior Brother, what's wrong?"

This was the first time she had ever seen Su Ji reveal such an expression.

After all, this guy usually acted like he didn't care about anything, as if he would just use the collapsing sky as a blanket.

Even when facing five Golden Core elders earlier, he had handled it with ease.

Moreover, he couldn't tell good items from bad ones.

He relied entirely on his intuition and personal preference.

Just a moment ago, he had casually tossed aside several decent treasures, which she had to help gather up.

But now, he was just staring at a plain-looking wooden box, acting as if he had been struck by an immobilization spell.

Su Jiu was somewhat curious. What exactly was it that could make him lose his composure like this?

Su Ji did not answer her.

His mind was a bit of a mess at the moment.

Carved onto the purple sandalwood box in bold, flowing strokes were two Chinese characters.

Two Years ( )

He was all too familiar with this style.

A sense of familiarity welled up within him.

This was clearly a giveaway question.

Seeing that he remained silent, Su Jiu leaned in closer to carefully examine those ancient divine runes on the wooden box that she could not understand at all.

"Senior Brother, the restriction on this... can it be dispelled?"

In her eyes, these ancient divine runes were written with vigorous strokes and contained some profound rhythm. It had to be an extremely advanced restriction technique.

Su Ji snapped back to reality. He glanced at Su Jiu, the solemnity on his face vanishing without a trace, replaced by a peculiar smile.

"It can."

As he spoke, without explaining further, he suddenly reached out and grabbed Su Jiu's fair, tender left hand.

"What are you doing?"

Su Jiu jumped in fright, instinctively trying to pull her hand back.

"Don't move."

Su Ji's voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable tone.

"Undoing this restriction requires a little catalyst."

Before he even finished speaking, a flash of spiritual light flickered at his fingertips, gently slicing a tiny cut on Su Jiu's delicate index finger.

A drop of crimson blood slowly seeped out.

Su Jiu felt the sting and furrowed her elegant brows, but seeing Su Ji's focused expression, she bizarrely did not struggle anymore.

Holding her hand, Su Ji carefully smeared that drop of blood onto the blank space within the parentheses on the wooden box.

Immediately after, he used his own fingertip, dipped in that drop of blood, to write a single character stroke by stroke inside the parentheses.

Half.

The moment the final stroke fell.

Click.

A soft sound echoed.

The layer of flowing light restriction covering the purple sandalwood box cracked inch by inch like a shattered mirror, eventually turning into specks of fluorescent light that dissipated into the air.

The box opened.

Su Jiu watched, dumbfounded.

Just like that... it opened?

Just by using her blood to write a divine rune she completely couldn't understand?

Wasn't this a bit too trifling?

However, a doubt lingered in her mind. "Why did it have to be my blood to open it?"

"Could it be..."

Su Ji replied without a second thought, "No other reason. I'm just afraid of pain."

She looked up at Su Ji, really wanting to give him a beating.

But she found that Su Ji wasn't looking at her at all; he had already impatiently brought the box over.

Su Ji opened the wooden box.

A faint scent of ink wafted against his face.

Inside the box, there were no peerless treasures as one might imagine, nor were there any earth-shattering magical artifacts.

There was only a yellowed slip of paper and a seemingly ordinary thread-bound book.

Su Ji first picked up the slip of paper.

Written on the paper in a somewhat ugly handwriting were a few lines of small text.

"Ten thousand people will half believe and half doubt."

"A thousand people will struggle to work together."

"A hundred people will not speak the same language."

"Ten people will ignite their blood together."

"I will not speak of surrender."

Su Ji looked at these lines of text and fell silent.

He could feel a bone-deep loneliness between the lines.

And a determination to die with honor rather than survive in disgrace.

"Senior Brother, what does it say on this?"

Su Jiu leaned over curiously.

"Nothing."

Su Ji casually brushed her off and put the paper away. "Just a riddler."

His gaze fell onto the thread-bound book.

On the cover of the book, three large characters were also written in Chinese.

[Desolate Meteor Sword]

Su Ji's heart skipped a beat.

He flipped the book open.

On the first page, there were two lines of text.

"Only those who cultivate the [Desolate Meteor Fallen Dragon Art] may practice this sword art."

"If you are afraid, do not practice it. If you practice it, do not be afraid."

Sure enough...

Everything was just too coincidental.

He continued to flip through the pages.

"This sword is unranked, formless, and shapeless."

"When the sword is drawn, it can sever the sun, moon, and stars."

"When the sword falls, it can sever the karma of reincarnation."

"With one strike of the Desolate Meteor, all things return to the void."

The entire text was filled with such off-the-charts edgy lines.

Yet, Su Ji's blood boiled with excitement as he read it.

This was the kind of grandeur a sword cultivator should have!

He wished he could find a place right now to go into secluded cultivation and practice it.

He carefully tucked the [Desolate Meteor Sword] into his robes, keeping it close to his chest.

This was his capital for settling down and acting profound in front of others in the future; he couldn't afford to lose it.

Having done all this, he clapped his hands in satisfaction, preparing to take Su Jiu and leave this palace that he had pretty much thoroughly looted.

Mainly, the feminine scent here was a bit too strong.

He would find some unlucky elder to renovate it, and then he would move in.

However, the very moment he picked up the [Desolate Meteor Sword]...

A sudden change occurred.

The purple sandalwood box in his hand suddenly, without any warning, projected a faint blue screen of light.

Within the screen of light, the blurry figure of a man slowly emerged.

His facial features were indiscernible; one could only vaguely make out his tall, straight posture and long hair draped over his shoulders.

Su Ji's nerves instantly tensed.

He subconsciously pulled Su Jiu further behind him, his hand already resting on the hilt of his Wind Chant Sword at his waist.

Again?

Why did all these senior experts he encountered love to play these mysterious, ghostly charades?

Su Jiu also had a vigilant look on her face. She could feel that although this projection of light did not emit any oppressive aura, it gave her an indescribably profound feeling.

The blurry figure did not seem to notice their nervousness.

He simply stood there quietly. A moment later, a gentle yet somewhat exhausted male voice slowly echoed in their minds.

"I know you have many doubts in your heart."

Su Ji's heart gave a sudden thump.

Great, it was this opening speech again.

His ears were almost growing calluses from hearing it so much.

"But no one can dictate your path."

"The path is beneath your own feet."

"Stay or leave as you wish."

These words made Su Ji slightly taken aback.

Stay or leave as you wish?

So easy to talk to?

Shouldn't the old monsters in his impression all be saying things like, "Boy, you have an affinity with this Venerable One, so I shall bestow this heaven-defying serendipity upon you"?

How come the style was completely different when it came to this guy?

Before Su Ji had time to think deeply about it, the voice sounded again.

"Living a carefree life for a hundred years is fine too."

"The barrier of Great Xia has only a hundred years left."

"Naturally, someone will come to take your life then."