Demon Sword Immortal

As for what was above, the situation was rather horrifying. Several white dots of light could be vaguely seen in the ceiling above, like vents leading to the ground, absorbing the smoke rising from the stove. A few feet away from the dots of light, a crack bulged out, revealing a strange creature that was oval in shape and had an irregular, hard, keratinous shell.

The startled cicada.

The exposed portion alone is over five meters long and wide, and its true volume should be at least forty or fifty meters. No wonder it can generate that Buddhist temple chamber within its body.

The egg sheath's cuticle originally sprouted countless slender roots, which intertwined and penetrated the rock strata, drawing nutrients from the entire virtual realm like tree roots. But now, most of these roots have withered and died. The thickest one, the one with the best vitality, was pulled down by Bai Xiang, a small incision was cut in it, and it was hung above the forge used for forging swords, so that it would drip fresh red demon blood into the furnace fire every moment.

Whenever demon blood falls into the fire, the flames instantly "flutter" and leap outwards, turning a deep crimson color and emitting a hissing white smoke.

Bai Xiang glanced at the three remaining roots and saw that they extended along the edge of the wall before drooping down, with a thick, brownish-black hard-shelled cocoon hanging below each root.

There are people inside.

Huang Qian and Cao Chuan.

Oh, and Xu Xi too.

These three people were encased inside, with even finer roots penetrating their spines, providing them with vital essence and nourishment, keeping them alive.

In truth, these three people are incredibly lucky.

The cicada demon had ill intentions from the start, and its promises to Bai Xiang were not to be taken seriously. On the surface, it promised not to harm the Crimson Dragon Army soldiers for the time being, but secretly it had already expelled them from their egg cases and hung them down to make 'blood packs'.

While Bai Xiang fought and transformed in the cave, these people hung there, slowly having their nutrients absorbed by the egg case.

By the time Bai Xiang finally eliminated the threat and was able to step into the area to take control of the overall situation, most of the soldiers had been drained of their life force, leaving only wreckage. Some of them didn't even have much bone fragment left, and they could be crushed like dough with a pinch of the hand.

Only Huang Qian and Cao Chuan, even though they were invaded by demonic energy and fell into a deep sleep, their swords continued to operate on their own.

Cao Chuan's sword, 'Chen Yuan', even inside the cocoon, spontaneously released black water vapor to cut off the roots that had penetrated Cao Chuan's acupoint.

Huang Qian's sword, 'Black Mane,' was even more extraordinary. It used its demonic energy to create strands of black, mane-like tissue that enveloped Huang Qian inside the cocoon.

If it weren't for the roots that were stuck to the back of their necks, they probably would have woken up long ago and been able to break free on their own.

As for Xu Xi, it was purely good luck.

Bai Xiang originally intended to kill her, because she had at least overheard secrets such as "Dao Kong's reincarnation," "relics and sword embryos," and in order to prevent outsiders from linking the "Nine Tribulations Method" with the Divine Cry Dojo after learning the news, she could not be left alive.

So what if she knows the Nine Tribulations Technique is a trap?

Useless.

No one would believe it if I told them.

However, on one hand, the sword was interrupted just as it was about to pierce her brow. On the other hand, Bai Xiang discovered a secret chamber in the cave behind, which clearly showed signs of human activity, and she also found many ancient books written on special paper.

After reviewing the contents of the ancient books, Bai Xiang concluded that this place was once the place where Bai Muying, the ancestor of the Bai family, devoted himself to cultivation.

Because many of these entries were recorded in the form of diaries and weekly journals, it can be confirmed that the Void Realm once belonged to Bai Muying, and it can also be used to verify Bai Muying's complex feelings for Qu Daoren Huang Ye.

Most importantly, she discovered Bai Muying's last letter written in blood.

[Those who destroy my Dao heart... steal my fundamental methods... betray and abandon me... are the demons, Huang Ye!]

Bai Xiang originally intended to kill Xu Xi and the other Benling disciples to silence them, but upon seeing the blood letter, he changed his mind.

Even if she did do that, it would be difficult to explain to outsiders if she took Huang Qian and Cao Chuan out later and faced their questions.

She couldn't hide the fact that this was the ancestral land of Shenming from the outside world, otherwise she wouldn't be able to explain why she was the only one who was unharmed and why she was the only one who obtained an opportunity and made great progress in her cultivation.

There must be a reason for this opportunity, and this relationship can only be found in the saying of "the ancestral land of divine fame".

At that time, she will stand at the forefront as the 'sole beneficiary'. Both the Demon Immortal Path, which has lost almost all of its southern strength, and the Benling Sword Path, which has also suffered heavy losses, will have their eyes locked on her.

In this situation, the power imbalance is too great.

Leaving no room for imagination, leaving no trace, and thinking that without evidence one cannot bring a crime to justice—this approach is meaningless.

The disciples sent by Benling Sword Sect were almost completely wiped out. Most importantly, they also lost Liang Wenbo, a key member, Liang Wanming, a relative, and Chai Xuan, a rising star who would have been a hope for the future if the truth hadn't been revealed.

Will they go crazy?

Would the nine major powers be willing to withstand Fang Xiaochun's pressure to come and arrest her and torture her to extract a confession?

Bai Xiang could indeed reveal the Chai family's scheme to divert people's hatred, that's correct.

But if she confesses this, she will definitely expose the Chai family's visit to the Shenming Dojo!

Those people will follow the clues to find out why Chai Jingyuan was able to find opportunities in Qizhou in Daizhou, to investigate his resume and background, and even to trace it back to Huang Yuxian, which may very well implicate the monk Daokong!

Whether you kill them or not, you'll be exposed.

Why did she have to be so ruthless?

Bai Xiang saw it very clearly.

If my testimony alone is not credible, then let another person live.

For example, someone like Xu Xi, you can tell from her personality that she's not unpopular within the Benling Sword Path.

Let her live, and use her to expose the Chai family father and daughter.

Not only could they shift the blame and ruin the reputations of those two, but they could also use these ancient books... and Bai Muying's blood-written letter to portray themselves and the entire Bai family as 'victims'.

Anyway... by devouring the Cicada Demon's soul and Dao Kong's remnant soul, she inherited some vague memories.

The remnant soul of Dao Kong encompasses the series of events that occurred while attached to the sword embryo, and how it was driven by Chai Xuan to murder Liang Wenbo.

Bai Xiang could thus conclude that even if Xu Xi had woken up at that time, the secret she had heard was not very profound.

She only knew about the "Reincarnation of Dao Kong" and the "Nine Tribulations Method," but she didn't know what the "Nine Tribulations Method" was.

Just then, Chai Jingyuan had mastered the "Chaoyuan Huaqi Jing".

Although the practice was misguided, taking the path of human body modification and organ proliferation, it was enough to create a name called "Qi Transformation Method".

They used this pretext to confuse the outside world.

In this way, there will be less attention paid to exploring the Divine Cry Sword Dao and the 'Cicada Molting Technique' hidden within it.

That's why Bai Xiang dragged Xu Xi in, letting the egg sheath instinctively wrap around her as well, keeping her in a deep sleep while nourishing her with his own essence and blood, allowing her to survive for three days without food or water.

She didn't touch the other Benling disciples.

Hao Chengzhuo?

do not know.

You died because your life essence was drained.

This score should be settled with two people surnamed Chai.

Chapter Seventy-Four: Grand Ambition

After watching over the stove for a while, Bai remembered to find the dried 'Black Water Snake MAX' combat suit and take some compressed biscuits from his waist pack.

I took this outfit off two days ago; wearing it for too long when there's no need for combat is just torture.

It sweats very quickly when it's covered up, and it's hard for the sweat to dissipate properly, which can easily cause bumps.

If she hadn't taken off her clothes and washed herself early on, and hadn't also dived into the pool to wash her body and hair, she would definitely have smelled terrible after living like a 'wild person' for the past few days.

She wasn't naked anymore; she was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts made of giant leaves.

It provides sufficient coverage and is cool and convenient.

After finishing his biscuits with water from the pool, Bai Xiang picked up an ancient book and began to study it carefully.

These files also record the intimate relationship between 'Jing Shen Chan' and Bai Muying. If nothing unexpected happens, she will definitely destroy this part before she leaves.

How can we ruin Shiraki Ei's image as the 'perfect victim'?

So we need to hurry up and take a look, because we might not have another chance after today.

Bai Xiang was interested in this ancient book mainly because Bai Muying not only recorded her daily interactions with the "Startling Cicada" in it, but also shared her personal insights into the mysterious existence of the Demon Pool.

[The Demon Pool is the root of all strange and wondrous things in the world. It is neither a demonic beast nor a demonic human, but rather the ultimate source of both. The Demon Pool existed before the demonic beasts came into being...]

Simply put, the three concepts of demon pool, demon beast, and demon human are different. The demon pool was the first to appear in the world, while the latter two were able to exist and take shape only after being influenced by demonic energy.

Monsters refer to a unique life form formed when the spirits of mountains, rivers, plants, and trees are corrupted and altered by demonic energy and power.

Demons are even lower in status. They are humans who imitate demons, wanting to abandon their human form and cultivate into a demonic form. Usually, human cultivators who do this hope to eliminate the hidden dangers of their original form.

For example, some people have congenital deformities, and the most common wish among them is to live forever.

Human cultivators, even those who reach the pinnacle of their cultivation, rarely live to be 200 years old. In contrast, some unique species of demons can live for five hundred or even a thousand years.

These unique species of mythical beasts, due to their extraordinary longevity, often traverse eras and witness the changing times, naturally leaving behind various supernatural legends among the people.

Many of these were worshipped as "celestial beasts" or "demon immortals" by the ancient people. This also gave rise to many bizarre love stories such as "demons begging for favors" and "human scholars and demon women," which were very popular in all levels of society.

"Was it originally a world ruled by demons in ancient times?"

By reading this book, Bai Xiang learned some vague history before the founding of the Great Yu Kingdom.

The history of demonic beasts is far longer than the establishment of the Yu Dynasty. Long before the founding emperor of the Yu Dynasty, also known as the Holy Emperor 'Gu', attained enlightenment, these demonic beasts had already ruled the land for ten thousand years.

There were also humans at that time, but they existed in tribes, scattered and relying on monsters.

Each tribe worshipped a mythical beast, even though the word "monster" didn't exist at that time. They regarded these beast totems as "immortals and gods," believing that above them existed a "celestial court" and a "celestial kingdom," and that mortals must abide by the rules of the "celestial court," or they would be punished.

Witchcraft and blood sacrifices originated from this period. At that time, the human race was indeed weak and could not compare with the demon beasts who possessed magical powers.

If it weren't for the Holy Emperor 'Gu' forging a new path, creating the prototype of the sword system from the monstrous and mysterious Demon Pool, which is even more ancient and mysterious than demonic beasts, the world would probably still be ruled by demons, and mortals would never have a chance to conquer it.

Even so, the problem of human lifespan remains unsolved.

The Holy Emperor Gu lived to the age of 93. None of his sons lived longer than him; some were as young as thirty and others as old as sixty, and all of them died at the "normal age".

So it's no wonder that so many people in ancient times wanted to forge new paths; it's simply because technology hadn't developed enough to contend with ancient, life-spanning monsters.

Is his kendo talent absolutely extraordinary?

The monster could simply hide in deep mountains and forests or in large rivers.

Just hide from him for seventy or eighty years, until you're old and can't go on, then come out and wreak havoc.

Therefore, it is not enough for a single human to be exceptionally talented.

It takes many people, many generations, and many other tribes, countries, and surnames to continuously produce such geniuses, who together weave a great net over the years to ensure that whenever a great demon appears in a chaotic world, it will always be suppressed and killed by a hero wielding his sword.

Bai Muying grew up under the influence of this kind of thinking.

Indeed, the Cicada Shedding Technique in the Divine Sword was inspired by Dao Kong, a point she explicitly acknowledged.

However, the initial thought at the beginning of the Divine Sword, that cry of "not seeking to see the winter sun, but only to amaze the summer sun," was a reflection of the environment at the time and was Bai Muying's own feeling.

The cicada is to humans, just as humans are to monsters.

The underlying principle is the same.

She had long foreseen the day she would die, and created the Divine Cry Sword Path in the hope of inspiring her family with this spirit, so that they would not belittle themselves, and also to remind them that "even if they cannot live as long as demons, they can still strive to shine their own light".

Bai Xiang was somewhat moved upon seeing this.

But before she could even sigh, a soft hissing sound came from the other side, as the furnace was spewing out hot air.

Is the time right?

He immediately dropped the book and rushed to the forge, where he saw that the sword blank had turned bright red under the burning crimson demon fire.

He picked up his tools, took out the sword blank, and tried tapping it with a hammer.

really.

It can be shaped.

Relieved, Bai Xiang first forged the sword blank into a hollow shape, then immediately took the broken wooden sword from the side, picked up the egg sheath root on it, and tore it off in half.

puff!

In an instant, streams of blood from the egg sheath gushed out, soaking the wooden sword and his hands completely.

The wooden sword fibers absorbed the demon blood, making its color even darker and deeper.

Bai wanted to stuff the wooden sword into the hollow branding iron, seal both ends, and begin forging.

After forging for a while, the sword blank is thrown into the furnace and fired for a while.

After being calcined, it is sprinkled with demon blood and moved to a platform to continue forging.

This process was repeated more than a dozen times until the wooden sword fibers were completely shattered. The mutated heart tissue and Bai Xiang's essence blood inside were also incorporated into the branding iron, becoming completely inseparable from it.

So, only one last step remains.