As Qin Ao stepped into the stone passage, the stone slab behind him slammed shut with a boom, cutting off the last trace of daylight. Darkness surged in like a tide.
He held his breath, whipped out his phone, and switched on the flashlight. With his other hand brushing against the cold stone wall, he felt his way downward step by step. His footsteps echoed through the deep, cavernous tunnel.
His breathing was kept incredibly light; his ears twitched slightly, catching every strange sound within the passage. Based on his experience, it was impossible for a place like this to be without traps.
Sure enough, just as his third step landed, the stone slab beneath him suddenly sank with a click!
Boom—
Dozens of holes burst open in the stone walls on both sides, and a cold, sinister light flashed!
Qin Ao's pupils constricted sharply. His body moved faster than his thoughts—he threw his head back violently.
A poisoned crossbow bolt grazed the tip of his nose, the fierce wind scraping his cheek with pain. Immediately followed by a second bolt, a third... the arrows poured down like a torrential rain!
Fuck!
Suppressing the searing pain in his leg, he performed a combat roll, dodging into a recess in the wall. Thud-thud-thud! The arrows nailed into the stone wall behind him, their shafts trembling violently.
But before he could even catch his breath, the stone slab within the recess suddenly flipped over—it was a flipping trap!
Qin Ao plummeted downward. Below him yawned a deep pit filled with sharp spikes!
In this critical moment, he fiercely jammed his dagger into a crack in the stone. Zi-la! A string of sparks flew, and his descent abruptly slowed.
However, the dagger could not withstand the weight and was bending little by little...
Creak...
Amidst the groaning sound of metal about to snap, Qin Ao suddenly let out a roar. He engaged his core and swung with explosive force!
Bang!
Using the inertia, he flung himself toward the opposite wall, his five fingers hooking like iron claws onto a stone ridge. The spikes below were less than three inches from his toes, their tips glistening with the venomous green glow of poison.
Hoo...
Cold sweat beaded on Qin Ao's forehead, but the corner of his mouth curled into a ferocious grin. He examined the wall carefully and discovered an inconspicuous dent every three feet—this was the lifeline left for those attempting to pass.
Moving like an ape between the walls, he finally climbed back to the main passage.
But the moment he found his footing, an eerie red light suddenly lit up the ground ahead!
Damn, here we go again—
He narrowed his eyes. Ten steps away on the stone floor, seven stone slabs of a slightly lighter color were arranged densely, forming the shape of the Big Dipper.
And at the end of the passage, a stone statue holding an axe was slowly raising its arm—obviously, one wrong step would trigger an attack from the statue.
Qin Ao crouched down, his fingertips lightly touching the first stone slab.
Weng...
The slab sank slightly, but the statue remained motionless. But when he stepped onto the second slab, the sound of mechanisms engaging—ka-ka—suddenly echoed through the entire passage!
Wrong!
He instantly retreated. The statue's giant axe had already crashed down!
The blade smashed into the ground, sending gravel flying, and a crack snaked its way right to Qin Ao's feet.
It's not in order...
He stared at the slabs, suddenly noticing extremely shallow carvings on the edge of each stone. Recalling the text on the stele from before, a spark of inspiration flashed through his mind—it was the character "Kill" (殺)!
The seven strokes of the character "Kill" were scattered across the seven slabs; they had to be stepped on in the order of writing.
Taking a deep breath, Qin Ao leaped out on one foot!
First step, the horizontal stroke! The statue stood still.
Second step, the left-falling stroke! The wind from the axe grazed his back.
Third step... Fifth step...
When he stepped on the final dot, the statue suddenly froze with a click, and a hidden door cracked open in its chest. Only then did Qin Ao exhale.
He wiped the blood from his face and limped into the hidden door.
Beyond the door was a circular stone chamber. In the center of the room, a skeleton clad in tattered Taoist robes sat cross-legged.
The bones were white as jade, glowing with a cold light amidst the pale blue phosphorescent fire. The skeleton's hands were folded on its knees, holding a dark red tome.
Three bloody words on the cover pierced his vision: The Seven Kills Technique.
Qin Ao's pupils contracted sharply. He dragged his injured leg forward, leaving bloody footprints on the stone floor with every step.
The moment his fingers touched the tome, the skeleton suddenly shattered with a crunch, crumbling into powder that drifted away. Only the book remained, landing firmly in his palm.
He opened the first page. The first line was carved as if by a knife and axe:
The world we inhabit is a massive cage.
Qin Ao's heart trembled. He continued reading:
In the ancient times, there was a True Immortal named Chen Chang'an. In his pursuit of eternal life, he used billions of living souls as a sacrifice to refine the entire world into a cage.
When mortals cultivate to the realm of Celestial Man, they cannot advance an inch further until their lifespan is exhausted. They are then devoured by the cage, turning into nourishment for the Supreme Vault.
The so-called Ascension is merely a scam; the so-called Heavenly Dao is nothing but a man-made shackle.
I spent a thousand years creating the "Seven Kills Technique" to break barriers with slaughter and open a path with blood.
To those who come after me: if you dare to kill Heaven, kill Earth, kill all sentient beings—only then can you shatter this cage and behold the True Immortal!
Suddenly, the last line of text ignited into blood-colored flames.
Countless images exploded in Qin Ao's mind: Above the firmament, a massive hand covering the sky crushed the stars. Below the Nine Hells, billions of vengeful souls wailed in a river of blood.
And he himself stood at the peak of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, slashing his knife toward the void...
Suddenly, a long, resonant bell tolled. A blurred voice echoed in his mind:
From the day the bell rings, the next thousand years shall belong to the descent of the Path of Slaughter!
Cough!
Qin Ao spat out a mouthful of blood, only to find that the Seven Kills Technique in his hand had turned into a stream of light and drilled into his brow.
Simultaneously, a violent energy rampaged through his meridians. His broken bones made ge-ge sounds as they knit back together, and his eyes gradually turned blood-red.
A surge of killing intent grew ceaselessly in his heart.
He saw the walls of the stone chamber revealing dense blood-colored runes—the cultivation method of the Seven Kills Technique!
Kill man, kill Heaven, kill Earth, kill all sentient beings... Prove the Dao through slaughter!
The more you kill, the stronger you become! The more you kill, the faster your cultivation!
In this world, I am the protagonist!
Qin Ao licked the blood from the corner of his mouth and suddenly laughed maniacally.
Good! What a cage!
He picked up his dagger and slashed a bloody gash in his palm, letting the blood drip onto the powdered remains of the skeleton.
I, Qin Ao, owe no one anything in this life! Old thing, your wish—I will fulfill it for you!
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