My disciples are all villains.

Bzzt!

The Demon Sword was still vibrating. Without the enhancement of the inscriptions, the Demon Sword was much weaker now.

Lu Zhou did not have time to concern himself about the sound from the tunnel. He conjured up his Primal Qi to suppress the Demon Sword!

Jiang Aijian said, "O-old senior… I... I…" He pointed at himself.

Lu Zhou glanced at him and asked, "You want it?"

Jiang Aijian scratched his own head sheepishly.

The Demon Sword was huge. It was nearly half a man's height, and it was broad and thick. Having lost the power from the inscriptions, it looked extremely ugly. The blade was crude and uneven. 

Lu Zhou loosened his grip and pushed forward with his palm.

Bam!

The huge Demon Sword flew toward Jiang Aijian.

Jiang Aijian was overjoyed as he grabbed the Demon Sword and landed a few palm prints on the blade. The remaining inscription power dispersed in the air. The Demon Sword was finally silent.

"Thank you, old senior… Ten years… I'm willing to be at your beck and call for ten more years, old senior!" Jiang Aijian looked at the Demon Sword lovingly.

Little Yuan'er and Qin Jun looked at him speechlessly.

Lu Zhou did not mind the Demon Sword. His instincts told him that the inscriptions' power was the basis of the Demon Sword's strength. The Demon Sword without the inscriptions was like an item without a soul. It was not attractive to him. Perhaps, only a collector like Jiang Aijian would treasure it.

Jiang Aijian produced a rope from his pocket and tied the Demon Sword onto his back while he carried Dragonsong before himself. There was no need to describe how happy he was at this moment. His joy was almost palpable. The happiest moment in a person's life was when they obtained the thing that they wanted the most after all.

Creak! Creak! Creak!

The sound from the tunnel was getting louder and louder.

The others at the tunnel again. The cultivators who survived had no intention of leaving.

Qin Jun's voice trembled as he said, "That's the tunnel to the Imperial crypt… I think it's been connected since a long time ago."

Jiang Aijian said awkwardly, "Old senior, shall we… come back another day?"

"Hm?"

"I'll go… I'll go." Jiang Aijian waved his hands at once. After all, he could not possibly allow anyone else to dig up his ancestral graves.

Qin Jun looked at Jiang Aijian in confusion. It was one thing for Jiang Aijian to be eccentric, but why was Jiang Aijian so enthusiastic about this task? He had heard of Jiang Aijian before. He knew that this man loved swords and his own life the most. That tunnel seemed extremely dangerous. Was Jiang Aijian not worried about his life?

Jiang Aijian cautiously ventured carefully over to the tunnel with the Demon Sword on his back. He was now at the entrance of the tunnel…

All of a sudden, a black mass shot out from the tunnel!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Jiang Aijian instinctively conjured up his protective energy and engaged the black entity in a battle.

The others immediately identified what that black mass was.

"A coffin!"

"Good heavens! It's a coffin!"

The remaining cultivators were paralyzed with fear. Their knees went weak. They were already injured by the cluster of swords to begin with. They were in no condition to run away!

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The coffin spun full circle in the air as it crashed toward Jiang Aijian.

Fortunately, Jiang Aijian cultivated Dao Invisibility that allowed him to move nimbly. With his energy and footwork, he dodged the coffin's attacks. He was merely pushed back.

"What's wrong with me today? Why is my luck so rotten?" Jiang Aijian rode on the momentum of the blows and retreated from the tunnel back to where the others were.

The coffin did not resume its attacks. It merely hovered at the entrance of the tunnel.

"A living dead?" Qin Jun frowned.

"The dead can never come back to life. There's no such thing as the living dead. It's someone trying to play tricks," Jiang Aijian said.

The others stared at the coffin.

A moment later, a deep and hoarse voice sounded from the coffin. "Who trespassed into the Mausoleum of Swords?"

Little Yuan'er glanced at Jiang Aijian and said, "Go and talk to him. It might be your ancestor inside that coffin."

"…" Well, she was not wrong.

After all, the coffin did emerge from the tunnel. Naturally, only bodies of the members of the Imperial family were kept in the Imperial crypt.

Upon hearing this, Qin Jun looked at Jiang Aijian in shock. 'He's someone from the Imperial family? Or is the little girl just teasing him?'

Jiang Aijian scratched his head and said, "My name's Jiang Aijian… How should I address you, senior?"

A deep voice rang from the coffin. "A young man?"

Jiang Aijian examined himself. 'What's wrong with being young? I'm strong and handsome, like a jade tree in the wind…'

The voice continued to ring from the coffin. "There's only one person under the heavens who could break the Demon Sword… That person should come forward."

Whoever or whatever it was in the coffin was smart.

Jiang Aijian glanced at Lu Zhou. No wonder. The old senior had concealed his aura. At this moment, he seemed like a weak old man. That was why the coffin had overlooked Lu Zhou's presence.

"It's you?" Lu Zhou finally spoke.

Upon hearing Lu Zhou's words, everyone was shocked.

'They know each other?'

The coffin was silent for some time before it spoke again, "As expected, it's you."

Lu Zhou stroked his beard and said, "I thought you're long dead… I didn't expect you to be hiding here."

Whoever was in the coffin gave a peculiar laugh. "Old friend, everyone dies… I'm just waiting for it ahead of time here."

Lu Zhou nodded, but he said, "I'm afraid that's not the case. The Demon Sword, the Seven Terminal Formation, the inscriptions… You think you can find a way to extend your life, don't you?"

'Extend your life?'

Everyone caught the crux of the matter.

Since the beginning of time, the cultivators who stood at the peak were all searching for ways to extend their lives. Some even searched for eternal life. This was only limited to the elites.

The coffin replied with a question, "Aren't you the same?"

Lu Zhou was slightly taken aback. Outwardly, his expression was calm as he stroked his beard and said, "No… I've come to terms with life and death a long time ago."

The coffin hissed. Then, it said, "By my calculations, your time is almost up. Are you still defending the Evil Sky Pavilion?"

As soon as these words rang in the air, the cultivators had a horrified expression on their faces. If they still did not understand what was going on, then, they were fools. The old man who stood before them was the Evil Sky Pavilion's patriarch, Old Villain Ji, who dominated the lands!

"He's Old Villain Ji?"

"This..."

The cultivators started crying after consecutive blows to their mental states. Their faces contorted as they cried, and they were beside themselves with fright.

"Run… run!"

They survived the cluster of swords, survived the monk, Kong Yuan, and survived the Demon Sword… However, now, there was the f*cking villain whom they feared the most! They would run away even if they had to risk their lives! The dozen or so cultivators fled while disregarding the protests of pain from their bodies.

Lu Zhou did not mind these cultivators from the minor sects… If they were of the ten great sects, he would have killed them without batting an eyelid. However, he had no quarrel with the minor sects. He decided to let them be. He looked at the coffin as he stroked his beard. "Gong Yuandu, although I'm older than you, I'm going to live longer than you."

A contemptuous laugh rang from the coffin. "Perhaps."

"Were you hiding in the Mausoleum of Swords just to search for a way to attain eternal life?" Lu Zhou asked.

"That's not all to it…" Gong Yuandu said in his hoarse voice, "I'm also gaining insight about the path of the sword and my cultivation method."

"Gaining insight into the path of the sword?"

"All my life… I've always wanted a showdown with you, Brother Ji. Alas, time and tide wait for no man… My cultivation base is slowly returning to the world around me."