Chapter 38: Magic Sword

“You wouldn't have forgotten this, would you?”

In Chu Fengmian's words, it seemed as though he was already thinking of ten thousand years ago.

At that time, Chu Fengmian had already stepped into the pinnacle of the Way of the Sword; even the Lord of the Sword had admitted his own sword intent was inferior to Chu Fengmian's.

But no matter how strong Chu Fengmian's sword intent was, he possessed no spiritual power at all, to the point that the Chu Fengmian of that time had nothing to do but wander aimlessly before the peak of Tianjue.

And this Qingluan had come there at the time, drawn by his reputation, wanting to apprentice under the Lord of the Sword.

The two met at the foot of Tianjue Peak and agreed to a duel of sword intent.

Chu Fengmian won, and as a result, Qingluan promised to serve as Chu Fengmian's mount for one month; if Chu Fengmian had lost, he would have taken Qingluan to meet the Lord of the Sword.

At the time, Qingluan was high-spirited, believing it impossible to lose to a useless waste who didn't even possess a spiritual vein. However, Chu Fengmian won in the end, and thus he spent a month wandering the continent together with Qingluan.

Aside from Chu Fengmian, it was likely that only Qingluan knew of this matter.

After all, for a descendant of a divine beast generation to be treated as a mount was not a glorious thing; since Chu Fengmian had never spoken of it, Qingluan would never have taken the initiative to tell anyone.

“A duel of sword intent at the foot of Tianjue Peak?”

A strange look appeared in Qingluan's eyes, and after hearing the rest, his face was filled with nothing but shock.

“Are you Chu Jianbai? The brat who defeated me back then?”

“If not me, who else could possibly know of this matter?”

Chu Fengmian looked at Qingluan, his expression tinged with a sigh.

“However, the former Chu Jianbai has already fallen—fallen at the foot of Tianjue Peak. The one here now is named Chu Fengmian.”

“Hmm?”

Hearing Chu Fengmian's words, Qingluan suddenly realized that the current Chu Fengmian bore no resemblance whatsoever to the Chu Jianbai in his memory.

The only thing they shared could only be described as the sharp sword intent upon his person.

“A dream of ten thousand years; I do not know if this is a blessing or a curse. The seas have turned into mulberry fields, and all my old friends are gone, leaving only me behind.”

Chu Fengmian sighed.

How could he not have wanted to fall alongside his master, his senior brothers, and his senior sisters?

Now that he was the only one left in this world, seeing Qingluan again brought immense joy to his heart; after all, meeting an old friend caused him to involuntarily reminisce about the past ten thousand years.

“Reincarnation... it seems you have been reincarnated...”

Qingluan looked at Chu Fengmian and murmured.

“Reincarnation and the cycle of rebirth are inherently ethereal and elusive. Even your master, the Lord of the Sword, could not touch the Dao of Reincarnation.”

“But even with reincarnation, it is impossible to retain one's memories. To be reincarnated with memories is unheard of in this world,” Qingluan spoke slowly.

He himself was an invincible powerhouse, but in his view, reincarnation remained incredibly nebulous. Had he not seen Chu Fengmian again, he likely would not have believed such a thing.

“The destiny of heaven and earth is truly miraculous, far beyond what human effort can comprehend,” Qingluan sighed.

“I never expected that among the countless disciples of the Lord of the Sword, you would be the only one to survive.”

Among the disciples of the Lord of the Sword, there were countless outstanding geniuses. Many of Chu Fengmian's senior brothers and sisters were super powerhouses renowned across the continent, yet they had all fallen one by one under the pursuit of the Seven Great Sects.

In contrast, Chu Fengmian, the youngest disciple with no spiritual vein, had actually returned through reincarnation. It was truly a lamentable irony.

“Qingluan, how did you fall as well?”

Chu Fengmian looked at Qingluan, somewhat astonished.

Chu Fengmian knew Qingluan's strength very well; he was enough to rank among the pinnacle of the continent. Among Chu Fengmian's senior brothers, no more than three people could have defeated Qingluan.

In particular, Qingluan possessed the bloodline of the ancient divine beast, the Phoenix, granting him a long lifespan. Although ten thousand years was a long time, it should not have been enough to cause his death.

But looking at him now, it seemed Qingluan had also fallen; the current figure was merely a phantom condensed from a lingering wisp of spiritual power.

“The people of the Seven Great Sects, of course.”

An endless resentment appeared in Qingluan's eyes. For someone as invincible as him to be driven into a desperate situation that led to death, the resentment was naturally boundless.

“While the Seven Great Sects were hunting the countless disciples of the Lord of the Sword, they also found me. They demanded that I hand over the countless techniques and sword arts left behind by the Lord of the Sword,” Qingluan said coldly.

Although Qingluan was not a disciple of the Lord of the Sword, he had followed him for a long time and naturally knew some of his techniques and sword arts.

It seemed that after the people of the Seven Great Sects realized they could not obtain those techniques from Chu Fengmian's senior brothers and sisters, they had set their sights on Qingluan.

Qingluan said sharply, “But I had already burned all those ancient manuals and sword arts with a single flame. If those people from the Seven Great Sects wanted to kill me, they would have to pay a price!”

“In the end, if not for that monster from the Nine Demon City intervening, perhaps I wouldn't have fallen. However, I killed that monster as well.”

“A monster from the Nine Demon City? The Blood-Slaying Sword Demon?”

In the Nine Demon City, he was the only one who could be called a monster.

Only now did Chu Fengmian notice that beneath this massive skeleton lay a longsword.

The sword was nearly two meters long, with purple patterns etched upon the blade. These purple patterns were extremely eerie; even after being sealed for ten thousand years, the evil aura within them was unmistakable at a glance.

“The Blood-Slaying Demon Sword? Your body is actually suppressing this demon sword?”

Chu Fengmian was startled.

The Blood-Slaying Demon Sword was a spiritual tool once famous throughout the continent. Its grade could be said to be even more powerful than a top-tier Heaven-grade spiritual tool.

However, its fame did not spread solely because of its strength, but because of its terror.

Every master of the Blood-Slaying Demon Sword would eventually be corrupted by it, becoming a sword demon who knew nothing but combat.

It was no wonder that there were no longer any rumors regarding the Blood-Slaying Demon Sword in the present era.

It appeared that Qingluan had used his own body to suppress this Blood-Slaying Demon Sword within this cave for a full ten thousand years.

“Correct. My soul has remained here specifically to suppress this Blood-Slaying Demon Sword,” Qingluan said, looking at the sword.

“If left unattended, should this sword reappear on the continent, it will surely trigger a storm of blood and slaughter. Thus, I have waited ten thousand years, waiting for a person of destiny to come to this cave so that I might hand this Blood-Slaying Demon Sword to them.”

“I did not expect to encounter you,” Qingluan said, his voice becoming extremely weak.

It appeared that his soul would not be able to hold on much longer.

If Qingluan's soul had remained in slumber, he might have lasted another hundred or a thousand years, but this current awakening had completely exhausted his remaining strength.