Cohabitation with Sword Spirit

Chapter 509 - 10: Old Haunt

The Celestial Divine Sword was shocked.

In its entire existence, this was one of the rare moments of shock, so surprising that it left its thoughts frozen for a full five seconds.

Then, like a compressed spring, Wang Jiu began to think about the current situation with doubled efficiency.

Father, I miss you so much... What exactly does this sentence mean?

Analyzing from the first word, there is no doubt that the Sect Leader of the Saint Sect implies there is a father-son relationship between him and himself. Based on the Celestial Divine Sword’s understanding of human society, there are a total of four forms of father-son relationships.

The first is a blood relationship, where humans pass on their genetic material to the next generation through sexual reproduction. Considering that Wang Jiu is neither human nor has ever engaged in sexual reproduction, this kind of blood relationship is evidently impossible.

The second is also a blood relationship, but without sexual reproduction. Instead, a bit of flesh and blood essence is extracted, and through artificial means, a biological entity containing the characteristics of the original body is created. It could be a complete replica of the original or a hybrid after combining the flesh and blood essence of others. In general circumstances, this can also be considered a father-son relationship. However, the Celestial Divine Sword is certain that it has never had its flesh and blood essence extracted, not to mention that when it was still a human, possessing flesh and blood essence, the Sect Leader of the Saint Sect was not even born.

The third type exists without a blood relationship, but there are social ties such as raising, protecting, or sponsoring, like foster father, adoptive father, godfather, sugar daddy, etc., which can also be deemed a father-son relationship. However, there is obviously no such connection between Wang Jiu and the Sect Leader, even though the Celestial Divine Sword is the savior of human civilization, there is a clear distinction between a life-saving benefactor and a father.

The fourth type is to lose in a father-son contest.

Logically speaking, the most likely scenario right now... is the fourth one? Did the Sect Leader call me father because he lost a father-son contest? Wang Jiu doesn’t remember either of them betting in a father-son contest, but here lies a matter of custom, for instance, according to the customs of the Saint Sect, meeting certain conditions automatically opens a father-son contest, and the Sect Leader just happened to lose it. Considering the comparison of both parties’ qualities, the optimal factor for a crushing defeat where the Sect Leader admits to be his son could be...

Appearance? Or perhaps physical attributes?

Just as he was hesitating whether to educate the Sect Leader with physiology knowledge, he saw the Sect Leader wipe his tears and say, "Sorry, just now... I saw my childhood."

Wang Jiu immediately understood.

"So the so-called Eternal Hope is to let you see your childhood?"

"At least for me, most of the effect of this Immortal Technique is like that. The more refined it becomes, the more it can trace back to the past. Generally, people start remembering from three or four years old, and throughout a long life, various memories will be lost. Eternal Hope allows me to retrieve those lost memories. When this Immortal Technique is cultivated to a high level, even the cries at birth can be recalled. However, it is limited to just that. It is said that at the highest realm, one can even see their previous life, and the life before that, although such a realm exists only in theory."

"Only these?"

The Sect Leader said, "Only these. Within the Saint Sect, Eternal Hope is also a mystery. It’s clearly not very effective, yet it has always been listed as a Core Technique. In fact, the Sacred Heart indeed requires Eternal Hope to fully unleash its effect, but we have so far been unable to parse the specific principle behind it."

"That’s strange."

Wang Jiu was genuinely a little puzzled.

When the Sect Leader was using Eternal Hope, his Demon-Pointing Sword was at the ready, but throughout the process, it only trembled slightly, not giving a definite result.

This was peculiar. Upon coming into contact with True Blood, the Demon-Pointing Sword reacted very strongly, but when it came to the ten Immortal Techniques, the response was particularly weak, especially the tenth one, as the only remaining possibility, should have elicited a more determined result.

After thinking for a while, Wang Jiu combined it with his experiences from the Immortal Demon War era and came up with several hypotheses.

First, the inheritance within the True Blood does not only contain ten Immortal Techniques. The element closely linked to the Demon Race is hidden outside these ten techniques. The Sect Leader himself is not aware of this, so he couldn’t decipher that hidden element.

Second, the element related to the Demon Race is not simply present within a single Immortal Technique but has a deeper causal connection, and currently, Eternal Hope is the only clue.

Third, over the long passage of time, the standard of the Demon Race has changed, and the recognition ability of the Demon-Pointing Sword is no longer accurate.

Of the three possibilities, the third is especially terrifying.

At the Li Family Mansion in QingCyan Cloud City, Wang Jiu once used the Demon-Pointing Sword to conduct a continental-wide scan, confirming that there was no longer a true sense of the Demon Race on the continent—those Demonic Essences dwelling in Chaos can only be regarded as residual dregs.

However, just now, the Demon-Pointing Sword suddenly gave off a clear signal. This self-contradictory behavior theoretically should not happen... unless the Demon Race has undergone dramatic changes over thousands of years, rendering the Demon-Pointing Sword unable to provide accurate judgments.

If that were the case, it means the Celestial Divine Sword has lost one of its most important weapons, and it also suggests this peaceful continent is not truly safe, rendering the previous scan entirely invalid!

But soon, Wang Jiu dismissed this possibility.

Because this speculation makes no sense, if the reliability of the Demon-Pointing Sword cannot be guaranteed, then there is nothing credible in the world. Rather than doubting everything without basis, it is better to accept the present facts.

This is the way of rational thinking.

So, if it’s not the third possibility, and the reaction of the Demon-Pointing Sword remains trustworthy, then the biggest possibility is the second one.

The connection between the Sacred Sect inheritance and the Demon Race is very faint and is a kind of indirect causal link, and the only clue lies in Eternal Hope.

The question is, what does this self-memory-retracing Immortal Technique have to do with the Demon Race? Were we all part of the Demon Race in our past lives?

Obviously not possible. If the Sect Leader had any bloodline inheritance from the Demon Race, Wang Jiu would have detected it as soon as the scan in QingCyan yun City commenced, given the unparalleled sensitivity of the Demon-Pointing Sword in targeting the Demon Race. Besides, now that he is so close to the Sect Leader, he hasn’t found any trace of the Demon Race’s aura on him.

"Sword Spirit senior, what is making you so tense?"

Wang Jiu pondered for a moment and then said calmly, "I smell the scent of the Demon Race."

"The Demon Race?" The Sect Leader froze for a moment, then gasped, "Demon Race!?"

For the vast majority of people in Xiangzhou, the concept of the Demon Race is rather unfamiliar, but for those who manage the Primordial Ruins, the concept is not as unfamiliar.

"Are they still around?"

"Theoretically, it should be impossible," Wang Jiu said. "The Demon Race is essentially a highly contradictory species, inherently bloodthirsty and belligerent, lacking in cooperation and creativity. This race should have perished through infighting, but due to the existence of the Demon Emperor, they developed a highly advanced and powerful civilization, destroying countless worlds in the Myriad Realms. But all of this was founded on the Demon Emperor himself. As long as the Demon Emperor is not present, the Demon Race cannot sustain itself or propagate."

The Sect Leader, upon hearing this, was speechless for a long time.

The history of the Primordial Era, to this day, they have only a partial understanding of it. Neither the ruins nor the Sacred Sect’s records have complete documentation of the Primordial Era. Thus, a few words from the Celestial Divine Sword completely overturned the Sect Leader’s historical perspective.

"Then... was the Demon Emperor killed by the senior? Is it impossible for the Demon Race to produce a second Demon Emperor after the death of the first?"

"Impossible."

"Why? Since they managed to give birth to the first Demon Emperor in the midst of impossibility, then..."

Wang Jiu said, "Because a Demon Emperor has been born, it is impossible to have a second. The Demon Emperor personally severed the possibility of another Demon Emperor appearing within the Demon Race and even in the entire Realm of the Myriad Worlds. So, after the demise of the Demon Emperor, the Demon Race is doomed to extinction. But that’s just theoretical speculation. The reality is that I detected the Demon Race’s scent in the True Blood."

The Sect Leader was stunned: "True Blood?! Are you referring to me? Senior, I really..."

"I know you’re not associated with the Demon Race, but the True Blood has a connection with them. The specific connection I can’t determine yet; further investigation is needed."

"This..."

The Sect Leader was momentarily silent.

The True Blood, a two-thousand-year inheritance of the Sacred Sect, is actually related to the Demon Race?! This is utterly preposterous, and anyone who says this would normally get their head knocked out by the Sect Leader. However, when the Celestial Divine Sword says it, one cannot help but believe...

"What should we do next?"

Wang Jiu said, "First, go to Golden Cloud Peak. The Demon Race’s aura in the True Blood couldn’t have appeared without reason, much less existed for over two thousand years without cause. Something must have been overlooked during the decisive battle back then; I need to recall it."

Upon hearing this, the Sect Leader’s expression turned serious. Knowing the gravity and urgency of the situation involving the Demon Race, it was much more important than the Sacred Sect inheritance. Thus, he put away the True Blood, placed a hand on the seal of the spherical stone door.

"Then, shall we set off now?"

"Let’s set off now."

"Okay."

The next moment, the seal was lifted, and the spherical stone door rumbled with a tremor, four cracks opened with a bang, and a vast, distant aura of chaos surged forth.

"Please stay close to me, as the Chaos tides in this area are currently at a peak."

After the Sect Leader spoke, he extended his hand forward, fingers seemingly encompassing the entire world, sweeping away the tumultuous Chaos tides ahead, revealing a straight path forward.

Wang Jiu put away the Illusion Sword Technique—within this region of unprecedentedly swelling Chaos Power, the strength of the Illusion Sword Technique was no longer sufficient to maintain its true form, so he simply conserved energy, keeping only the Immortal body.

"Senior, excuse my rudeness."

The Sect Leader gripped the sword hilt and stepped forward.

The long path ahead shattered like a mirror with a crashing sound, and from the countless shards emerged a brand new world.