I was a mineral prospector in Chengdu, who transmigrated into the body of a mortal sword immortal.

Li Bai lay slumped on the stone platform, each breath aggravating his wounds. Waves of excruciating pain shot through his calves, blood still flowing, pooling into a small, dark red puddle beneath him. He gritted his teeth, tore off a tattered piece of his clothing, and with trembling hands began to bandage his wounds. The moment the cloth touched the wound, the pain made his vision blur, almost causing him to faint. But he couldn't faint; fainting meant death. He forced himself to stay conscious, using the last of his strength to tighten the bandage. The bleeding temporarily stopped, but the burning pain deep within the wound told him the risk of infection was extremely high. He leaned against the cold stone wall, looking at the shackles on his wrists—that tiny crack, in the absolute darkness, seemed like his only hope at this moment.

dark.

Absolute, all-consuming darkness.

There was no light, no sound, only the ceaseless gurgling of the underground river and his own heavy, trembling breaths. Li Bai closed his eyes, trying to circulate the remaining true energy in his dantian. Dry. Like cracked earth, with only a few scattered drops of moisture. The strike he had just delivered to kill the strange fish had almost exhausted his last strength. The shackles remained heavily locked on his wrists, suppressing the flow of spiritual energy; the loosening sensation from the crack was negligible.

He needs time.

I need to regain even the slightest bit of strength, I need to think about how to leave this place, and I need to treat the deep, bone-revealing wound on my leg.

But darkness never gives people time.

**one**

The sound was coming from downstream.

At first, it was faint, like the murmur of water hitting rocks. But Li Bai immediately became alert—the sound was wrong. It wasn't flowing water, but the sound of splashing, heavy and rhythmic, like some large creature swimming in the water. Immediately afterward, a low roar arose, not a single sound, but two or three intertwined, echoing in the empty underground riverbed, carrying a primal ferocity.

Li Bai suddenly opened his eyes.

The darkness remained, but he could sense something approaching.

He held his breath and listened intently. The splashing grew clearer and faster. The roars became more urgent, filled with the excitement of a predator. Then, he saw the light.

A pale green light spot.

Three, underwater, were rapidly approaching the stone platform where he stood. The points of light were small, but in the absolute darkness, they were as blinding as will-o'-the-wisps. Their movements were not in a straight line, but swayed from side to side, clearly the eyes of creatures swimming in the water.

Li Bai's heart suddenly tightened.

He struggled to stand up, but the sharp pain in his calf made him stumble and almost fall back onto the stone platform. He could only kneel, staring intently at the three increasingly close, eerie green lights. With the faint light from the lights themselves, he could barely make out the ripples on the water's surface and the white splashes caused by the creatures swimming.

The distance was shortened to ten zhang.

Five zhang (approximately 10 meters).

Three zhang (approximately 10 meters).

Just as the points of light were about to hit the edge of the stone platform, they suddenly rose to the surface. With a splash, three enormous black shadows broke through the water and climbed onto the lower rock platform below the main stone platform.

With the help of the moss scattered on the rock wall, which emitted a faint blue-green fluorescent light, Li Bai finally saw what they looked like.

Those were three creatures he had never seen before.

Resembling monitor lizards but much larger, each one the size of an adult leopard. Their bodies are covered in grayish-white bony armor, tightly joined pieces like natural armor. The surface of the bony armor is rough, covered with fine lines, gleaming coldly in the glow of the fluorescent moss. Their heads are flat and broad, with protruding snouts and mouths full of sharp teeth like rows of barbed daggers, revealing crimson gums when they open their mouths in a low growl. Their eyes are the source of the eerie green light—no pupils, the entire eyeballs like two luminous emeralds, strange and terrifying in the darkness. Their limbs are thick and strong, with curved claws at the tips of their toes, gripping firmly onto the slippery rocks. Their tails are thick and long, ending in a ring of bony spikes, like natural maces.

Three-headed bony armored lizard.

They had clearly lived in this absolutely dark underground world for many years, their eyesight deteriorated, but their glowing eyes could still sense faint light and heat. Their sense of smell and hearing must have been exceptionally developed. At this moment, they were raising their heads, their eerie green eyes fixed on Li Bai on the stone platform, their nostrils flaring as they sniffed the air for the scent of blood and living creatures.

A low growl emanated from deep within their throats, accompanied by the sizzling sound of wet, sticky mucus.

**two**

There was no time for a standoff.

The bone-armored lizard on the far left moved first. It propelled itself forward like a cannonball, its bony armor scraping against the rock with a piercing screeching sound, and lunged straight at Li Bai on the stone platform. Its speed far surpassed that of common ground beasts.

Li Bai's pupils suddenly contracted.

He was stuck on the edge of the stone platform, with a steep cliff behind him, leaving him nowhere to retreat. His lower leg was severely injured, severely limiting his movement. The shackles were still on, hindering the flow of his spiritual energy. His true essence was depleted, and he couldn't even muster the explosive power he had just unleashed when he killed the strange fish.

Life or death hangs in the balance.

Almost instinctively, he wanted to mobilize the remaining true essence in his dantian and resonate with the Azure Lotus Sword—but the shackles acted like iron hoops, firmly locking the flow of spiritual energy. The true essence stirred within his dantian, yet it could not break through those shackles.

That's too late.

The bony lizard's gaping maw was almost in front of me, its stench and heat spraying onto my face, its eerie green eyes like two will-o'-the-wisps.

In that instant, Li Bai recalled the voice of the High Priest of the Western Mausoleum Kingdom teaching swordsmanship in the Shu Mountain Secret Realm: "The ultimate realm of swordsmanship lies not in form, not in strength, but in intention. Control the sword with intention; wherever the heart goes, the sword goes."

meaning.

Sword intent.

The nascent form of the Azure Lotus Sword Intent, which had condensed in the Shu Mountain Secret Realm, suddenly felt slightly warm between his brows.

There was no time to think, no time to hesitate. Li Bai abandoned his attempt to draw upon a large amount of spiritual energy, focusing all his spirit, will, and willpower on the slight heat between his brows. He imagined himself holding a sword, an invisible and intangible sword, yet incomparably sharp. He imagined that sword intent bursting forth from between his brows, transforming into a condensed and refined edge.

Control the sword with your mind!

"laugh--"

A very faint sound, almost drowned out by the roar of the bone-armored lizard, cut through the air.

There was no dazzling light, no magnificent display of sword energy. Only an invisible, needle-like "intention" shot forth from Li Bai's joined fingertips, piercing with unparalleled precision towards the bone-armored lizard that lunged at him—

That eerie green, glowing left eye.

"puff!"

A slight penetrating sound.

The bone-armored lizard's roar abruptly ceased, replaced by a piercing, distorted scream. Its massive body stiffened abruptly in mid-air before crashing heavily against the edge of the stone platform, tumbling wildly. Its thick tail lashed erratically against the rocks, producing muffled thuds. It frantically scratched at its left eye with its forepaws; the eerie green light there had extinguished, leaving only a dark, gaping hole from which a viscous, dark red liquid gushed.

The other two bone-armored lizards, who were about to pounce, were stunned by the sudden horrific state of their companion. They stopped, their eerie green eyes warily fixed on their companion writhing and howling on the ground, then on the seemingly weak human on the stone platform, letting out uneasy growls.

The offensive slowed down slightly.

For Li Bai, that moment of hesitation was enough.

He endured the excruciating pain in his calf, and with his still-functioning right leg, he pushed off forcefully, lunging towards the rock face. His fingers gripped a protruding rock, his nails snapping and bleeding, but he held on tightly. Using his waist and arm muscles, he pulled his heavy body upwards, inch by inch.

Below, the injured bony lizard was still howling and rolling around, while the other two began to pace anxiously, their eerie green eyes moving back and forth between Li Bai and their injured companion.

Li Bai gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, sweat mingling with blood as he slid down his face. With each inch he rose higher, the wound on his calf felt like it was being repeatedly cut by a red-hot knife. But he couldn't stop; stopping meant death. He groped with his other hand, grabbing a crevice in the rock higher up, and strained again.

Finally, he climbed onto a rock ledge that was higher and narrower than the previous stone platform.

The spot was about ten feet above the water, and the rock ledge was only about three feet wide, barely enough to fit a person in. Behind them was a vertical stone wall, and in front was a precipice. Below, the movements of the three-headed bony-armored lizard could be clearly heard.

Li Bai collapsed onto the rock ledge, his chest heaving violently, each breath carrying the stench of blood and the trembling of excruciating pain. He looked down.

The injured bony lizard had stopped rolling and lay prone on the lower rock platform, its body twitching slightly, blood still seeping from the bloody hole in its left eye. The other two had retreated to the water's edge, their eerie green eyes gazing up at Li Bai on the rock ledge, growling threateningly, but showing no immediate intention to climb—the rock face was slippery and steep, not easy for their heavy bodies.

We're safe for now.

But it's only temporary.

**three**

Li Bai leaned against the stone wall and began to examine his condition.

The wound on his calf had reopened during the violent movement, and blood soaked through the makeshift bandage, the dark red starkly glaring in the darkness. He tore off another piece of his shirt and, trembling, re-bandaged the wound, this time binding it even tighter, constricting it tightly even as the pain made his vision blur. The bleeding seemed to slow down a little.

His body was covered in countless scratches, which burned painfully after being soaked in sewage, and some areas were already red and swollen. The weakness brought on by blood loss washed over him like a tidal wave, making him dizzy.

The most deadly thing is true essence.

Completely depleted.

His dantian was empty, only the phantom of the Azure Lotus Sword floated silently, its blade dim, even its original warm azure radiance almost invisible. The shackles remained on his wrists, heavy and cold. But…

Li Bai raised his wrist and brought it close to his eyes.

In the darkness, he could only rely on his sense of touch.

His fingers carefully traced the surface of the shackles. Rough iron, cold to the touch. But when his fingertips brushed the inside of the shackles, close to the skin of his wrist, he felt an extremely subtle bump—no, not a bump, but a crack.

It's very fine, like a strand of hair, but it really exists.

Just moments ago, as he fully activated the nascent Blood Lotus Sword Intent between his brows and used his will to control the "sword" to wound the Bone-Armored Lizard, a very faint cracking sound came from inside the shackles. In that life-or-death moment, he had no time to think about it. Now, in calm, he realized what it meant.

These shackles were specially made, inscribed with runes that suppressed spiritual power, and made of an alloy mixed with forbidden metals, making them exceptionally sturdy. But everything has its limits. The burst of true energy during the killing of the monster fish had already caused the shackles to develop their first crack. Just now, while activating sword intent primarily relied on mental will, the faint spiritual power resonance triggered by the nascent sword intent between his brows, along with the body's instinctive potential eruption at the critical moment, still caused a secondary impact on the internal structure of the shackles.

The crack widened.

Li Bai's heart pounded.

He focused his mind again and tried to circulate his energy in his dantian. His true energy was still depleted, but when he focused his mind into his dantian and tried to activate the illusory image of the Azure Lotus Sword, he sensed something different.

Previously, the shackles acted like an impenetrable wall, completely blocking the flow of spiritual energy. Now, the wall remains, but at an extremely minute point, a crack has appeared. It's very small, almost negligible, but it definitely exists.

A trace of spiritual energy can seep out from there.

Just a trace.

But this sliver signifies a possibility.

If... if there were another powerful impact, aimed directly at that crack, attacking from both inside and outside, perhaps...

"Click."

The sound of rocks cracking came from below.

Li Bai suddenly lowered his head.

The wounded bony lizard had somehow managed to stand up. It was blind in one eye and moved unsteadily, but its ferocity remained undiminished. Now, it was using its sharp claws to claw at the rock face, attempting to climb upwards. Rock crumbled beneath its claws, debris falling in a shower.

Seeing this, the other two bone-armored lizards also began to stir. Their eerie green eyes were fixed on Li Bai above them, and their limbs were slightly crouched, a sign that they were preparing to pounce.

This rock shelf is not safe.

Although the rock face was steep and slippery, it was not insurmountable for these creatures who lived year-round in the dark underground and had sharp claws. They just needed a little time to test it, or... a little stimulation.

For example, the weak breath of the prey, the smell of fresh blood.

Li Bai took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

He needed to recover his true energy, even just a little. He needed to seize the opportunity presented by that tiny crack to completely break free of his shackles. But would the ferocious beasts lurking below give him that time?

He looked toward the underground river.

The current remained swift, rushing downstream. Fluorescent moss dotted the rock face like will-o'-the-wisps in the darkness. In the distance, the underground river turned into even deeper darkness, its destination unknown.

We can't stay here for long.

We must recover as soon as possible, we must break free of our shackles, and we must find a way out.

But first, he has to survive, to survive the attacks that might follow.

Li Bai slowly adjusted his breathing and closed his eyes. He no longer tried to circulate a large amount of true energy, but instead focused his mind on his dantian, gently touching the illusory image of the Azure Lotus Sword like a trickle of water. The sword trembled slightly, emitting a resonance that was almost imperceptible. At the same time, the nascent sword intent between his brows also began to heat up slightly.

He was trying, trying to use the most subtle and economical method to evoke the resonance between the sword and the intent, and to absorb the extremely thin spiritual energy that might exist in this underground world.

Even if it can only be restored by a tiny bit.

Just a trace is enough.

Below, the scratching and clawing of the bony lizard grew more rapid, and the sound of rocks shattering was incessant. A ghostly green light flickered in the darkness, drawing ever closer.