This was when Yang Hao’s Sensitivity Art began to kick in again. Although the Empire’s training programs didn’t place much emphasis on the Sensitivity Art, Yang Hao had increasingly realized that his own Sensitivity Art had great potential. For instance, not long ago, he had used it to locate the treasure hidden by Hun Yuanzi. Later, he had also used it to discover various medicinal herbs.
Now, Yang Hao’s Yuan power had grown even stronger, and naturally, his Sensitivity Art had become even sharper. Therefore, when he sensed that there was something worth searching for deep inside the cave, he was certain it must be something truly valuable.
Spurred on by his heightened senses, Yang Hao decided to venture deeper into the cave.
“Yang, don’t say I didn’t warn you,” X13 began to whine again. “The danger level in here is rising sharply. It would be best not to go any further.”
“We’ve come this far—turning back now would be embarrassing,” Yang Hao patted his belly confidently. “Relax, I’ve got divine protection.”
“If I were you, I wouldn’t rely on that snoring guy,” X13 said coldly.
“You can hear him?” Yang Hao was surprised. After all, Hun Yuanzi communicated with him on a mental level—others usually only heard Yang Hao speaking.
“I can even hear the voice of God. What’s one soul?” X13 sometimes had a cool edge to him.
Yang Hao seized the moment like a drowning man grasping at a straw. “Then quickly get God to protect us.”
“God hates me,” X13 muttered gloomily. “No one likes me.”
Yang Hao looked at this pessimistic guy and nearly lost his mind. Fortunately, his Sensitivity Art was growing stronger and stronger. He reached a very narrow corridor—barely wide enough for one person to pass through. Even stretching his arms out would get him stuck. Inside, bones were piled up like a small mountain.
“It seems the treasure is right here,” Yang Hao stared at the pile of white bones. “Do you think it’s rude for me to dig up someone else’s remains?”
“You could ask yourself—would you care if someone dug up your bones after you died?” X13 replied.
“I wouldn’t mind,” Yang Hao quickly justified himself and jumped onto the pile of bones, frantically digging through. At least a thousand lives had been buried here. Those who had come before him in search of treasure had brought plenty of equipment and tools, but most of the technology had long since rotted away with the corpses. After digging for a while, Yang Hao only managed to unearth five swords of various shapes.
“What’s this?” Yang Hao pulled out one of the short swords.
With a swish, a cold gleam filled the entire corridor, amplifying the illumination from X13’s light several times over. Even Yang Hao, who had drawn the sword, felt a chill that seemed to pierce through to the bone.
“A great sword!” Hun Yuanzi was awakened by the sword’s glow and exclaimed in admiration. “This is top-quality. Back in my time, it would have made an excellent flying sword for cultivation.”
“So it’s worth keeping?”
“Of course, my clever apprentice! You’ve really struck gold this time. These five swords are definitely no ordinary weapons. Once you infuse them with Yuan energy and add enchantments, they could fetch a high price,” Hun Yuanzi said with the tone of a shrewd merchant.
“Sell them?” Yang Hao had originally planned to use them himself.
“Of course sell them! Do you think you can use five swords at once? One is more than enough,” Hun Yuanzi said, as if just realizing something. “Oh, wait—where is this place? It’s so dark.”
“Inside the Dark Beast’s lair!” Yang Hao announced proudly. “You were the one encouraging me to come in here. You have to protect me, you know?”
“The Dark Beast’s lair?” Hun Yuanzi’s tone was completely different from a few days ago. “You actually came?”
“What do you mean ‘actually came’? Didn’t you say it would be fine?”
“Well, I was just talking off the top of my head. I didn’t expect you to actually listen,” Hun Yuanzi replied awkwardly. “But with these five swords, maybe your luck will turn for the better.”
X13’s voice cut in at an inconvenient moment: “I don’t want to ruin the mood, but as a robot, I must remind you—the previous owners of these five swords are already dead. So…”
“So what?” Hun Yuanzi asked, not yet grasping X13’s personality.
“So now it’s just a matter of time before someone digs up your corpses,” X13 sighed. “I don’t have bones. I’ll rot faster.”
“Stupid robot! With me, Hun Yuanzi, around, do you think my apprentice will die?” Hun Yuanzi, realizing that X13 could hear him, became eager to argue.
“As a robot and philosopher, I only care about facts,” X13 analyzed coldly. “The fact is, thousands of people have been buried here. These five swords have changed hands hundreds of times, yet they remain here. This means that every time someone found the swords, they strapped them to their waist…”
“And then?” Yang Hao, feeling the cumbersome sword handles at his waist, felt a bad premonition rising.
“And then they became part of this pile of bones,” X13 continued his pessimistic theory. “So whoever takes these five swords will die.”
“You’re saying these swords are just bait?” Yang Hao’s heart raced. He forced out a few bold laughs toward the darkness ahead of the corridor. “Hahaha! Who here wants to kill me?”
His dry laughter echoed repeatedly through the long corridor, bouncing back from the black void in endless reverberations, creating an eerie atmosphere.
Even more ominous, not far ahead of Yang Hao, two green glowing objects appeared. They looked like the eyes of a wolf in the night—emitting a jade-green glow and moving in a strange, floating way that sent chills down the spine.
“My clever apprentice…” Hun Yuanzi’s voice changed.
“What is it?” Yang Hao’s legs trembled.
“That stupid robot might be right,” Hun Yuanzi shouted in alarm. “Run, quick!”
Before Hun Yuanzi could finish, Yang Hao had already reacted swiftly, turning to run outside. But in that moment, he finally understood what it meant to be too greedy—and why so many people had died for these five swords.
Yang Hao had gotten stuck in the narrow corridor. It was already tight enough for a single person to pass through, but now with five swords strapped to his waist, the protruding hilts had jammed into the corridor walls, pinning him completely in place.
Yang Hao couldn’t move forward or backward, but the green glowing objects behind him floated closer and closer. As expected, they belonged to something’s eyes—but definitely not a wolf’s.
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