In reality, the flowers and the cage were merely drawn to Jiang Xiechen’s spiritual power. Props controlled by spiritual power often shared this trait, they fed on it. When the controller’s power was high, they were submissive but the moment that power weakened, they would recoil and devour the controller’s spirit until they were gorged.
Wen Chiyue barked at the flowers in disgust, “Go on, get lost!”
To her surprise, the flowers and the cage actually retreated. The vines shrank back into the corners to continue their search for food. Although the Corrosion Demon possessed no spiritual power, demonic energy was a great supplement for the vines. They slithered along the edge of the cage, quietly creeping behind the demon. A tongue suddenly extended from the center of a vine, biting into the creature.
The Corrosion Demon let out a painful groan. Its cloak, already tattered by flames, fell apart as its demonic energy violently erupted, filling the entire sword-casting furnace. The energy expanded, aiming for the opening at the top of the cave, swirling into a gale to make its escape.
Wen Chiyue’s heart skipped a beat. “I knew that cage was up to no good,” she warned. “Master, the demonic energy is escaping… ugh.” She paused for a microsecond before rushing on, “Let’s get out of here too! We can’t let people find us and think we let it out on purpose.”
In her mind, if that energy escaped, it would first plague her master’s idiotic relatives anyway. Wen Chiyue couldn’t wait for them to suffer. As a natal sword, she had only one directive: protect her master. Everyone else? Not her problem.
Jiang Xiechen shook her head, her hand pressing down on the restless Autumn Frost Sword. “It won’t get out.”
Under Jiang Xiechen’s touch, the restless sword instantly became docile.
“Got it,” Wen Chiyue replied. Since Jiang Xiechen didn’t move, Wen Chiyue stayed perfectly still.
Just as the demonic energy was about to flee, the moonlight seemed to come alive. It flowed across the gap, forming a semi-transparent mirror that blocked the path. Refusing to give up so close to victory, the demonic energy formed a tornado at its center and slammed into the mirror.
BOOM!
The energy was entirely absorbed. The mirror flipped, and from its underside, a rain infused with spiritual energy began to fall. Only a tiny wisp of the demonic energy managed to struggle out of the mirror, scurrying away into the depths of the cave.
Wen Chiyue was stunned. “W-where exactly is this place?” she stammered.
A normal sword-casting furnace wouldn’t have demon-trapping cages or energy absorbing mirrors. Was this a place for forging demonic swords?
Once the rain had cleansed the cave, the mirror vanished, and silence returned. The bright moonlight and starlight lent a touch of mystery to the dilapidated cavern.
“Master,” Wen Chiyue said, feeling a bit panicked. Who builds a place like this? Even for a demonic sword, this wasn’t the standard method. “Is your master… a decent person?”
Capture demons, absorb their energy, and pour it into a blade to create an ultimate sword technique, it seemed like a logical, if dark, process. Wen Chiyue was starting to worry. Was the Autumn Frost Sword actually a demonic blade? She remembered her master saying she was forged using the blood of a Demon Lord.
It wasn’t that she disliked being a demonic sword, she was just afraid the identity would bring trouble to her master. She looked at Jiang Xiechen nervously, her voice trembling. “What about me… am I decent?”
Jiang Xiechen looked down at the sword. Wen Chiyue grew even more tense, closing her eyes as if awaiting a final judgment.
“Not decent,” Jiang Xiechen said.
Crack. The sword of judgment fell squarely on her neck.
Oddly, now that the words were out, Wen Chiyue wasn’t as afraid. She sighed softly. “I suppose I should have known. To match Master’s strength, how could I be an ordinary blade? It’s just a twist of fate. I thought I was an immortal sword, only to be a demonic one. Heaven is truly unfair, forcing me to taste the bitterness of the divide between immortal and demon.”
A hint of a smile touched Jiang Xiechen’s eyes. “That’s why I said you’re not decent.”
It took a moment for Wen Chiyue to realize exactly what kind of “indecent” Jiang Xiechen meant. Even with her thick skin, her cheeks flushed slightly. As a natal sword, she spent her time praising her master, how was being hardworking “indecent”?
Suddenly, her eyes sparkled. “Master, you’re teasing me!”
Jiang Xiechen didn’t reply. She walked toward the cage. Guided by her spiritual power, the locks clicked open and the door creaked ajar. The Corrosion Demon inside had been completely incinerated, leaving nothing but half a tattered black robe.
“So when demons die, nothing is left behind,” Wen Chiyue noted with a sigh.
“You recognize the species of demon, yet you didn’t know what happens when they die?”
“How should I know so much?” Wen Chiyue replied. “I’m just a newborn sword spirit.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Wen Chiyue saw the vines in the corner reacting to Jiang Xiechen’s spiritual power again, stretching out their branches to suck up to her. Wen Chiyue scoffed. “Hah, bootlickers.”
The lingering demonic energy, devoid of a life force to sustain it, began to dissipate. A wisp drifted toward the hilt of the Autumn Frost Sword. Sensing Jiang Xiechen’s power, it tried to huddle close to survive.
Wen Chiyue was annoyed. Another one? Don’t they see Master already has a natal sword? Still pushing forward… do they think I’m a pushover?
To defend her dignity, Wen Chiyue swung the hilt of the sword at the wisp, intending to scatter it as a small lesson. But the moment the sword made contact, the wisp seemed to sense something. It abandoned Jiang Xiechen and lunged straight at the Autumn Frost Sword as if choosing a fight to the death.
Wen Chiyue, already irritated, didn’t hesitate to strike, shattering the wisp. However, the scattered energy began to slowly coat the blade.
Her heart sank. Did I mess up? “M-M-Master!”
“Yes?”
Wen Chiyue went silent. She realized with horror that the energy hadn’t just coated the sword, a thin black mist had entered her vision. She had never heard of a sword spirit being infiltrated so easily by a tiny bit of demonic energy. She didn’t know whether to be upset at her own weakness or worried about how to get rid of it.
Just as she was about to tell her master, she noticed the wisp was merely floating around her. Its harmlessness felt almost like… fear. It seemed it wouldn’t move unless she allowed it.
The thought was absurd. Stunned, she watched as the wisp began to fade. On a whim, she reached out her hand. The wisp didn’t hesitate, rushing into her palm and bouncing around like a tadpole. She could actually read its intent, it wanted to be closer to her.
Wen Chiyue lowered her spiritual protection. The demonic energy dove into her palm like a long-lost relative. Surprisingly, there was no discomfort. Instead, it felt incredibly familiar… as if they had been inseparable once before.
A shiver ran down her spine.
“Wen Chiyue?”
“Here!”
Jiang Xiechen paused. “What happened?”
Her voice was calm and cold as usual, but Wen Chiyue felt an underlying pressure. Jiang Xiechen was reliable, but she was also incredibly sensitive to the emotions of those around her. Wen Chiyue’s slight delay in answering had been enough to alert her.
Looking at her palm, Wen Chiyue saw that the energy had converted into cultivation and vanished. No sword spirit should be able to gain cultivation independently of their master. Not knowing how to explain, she played dumb. “Nothing. I was just thinking… demons really bring nothing into the world and leave nothing behind when they die.”
“You got that excited over that?”
Right, my reaction was too much, Wen Chiyue thought, mentally scolding herself. Fortunately, Jiang Xiechen didn’t press the issue. She let out a cold snort. “They deserve it.”
The hatred in her voice was so heavy and undisguised that the Autumn Frost Sword vibrated in her hand, letting out a resentful chime. The vibration nearly suffocated Wen Chiyue.
Jiang Xiechen lowered her gaze, her long lashes hiding her eyes. She reached down and grabbed the remains of the black cloak, which instantly disintegrated into the wind. Her hand clenched and unclenched. Finally, she stood and turned her back to the cage, looking at the moon.
“Demons,” she said slowly, “should never have existed in this world in the first place.”
Wen Chiyue’s heart sank. It felt painful, numb, and swollen all at once. She couldn’t identify where these feelings were coming from. She opened her mouth to defend demons, but then stopped. Why bother for a race that had nothing to do with her?
She nodded vigorously. “Right. Does Master have some history with demons?”
Jiang Xiechen closed her eyes. The piercing screams of a young girl, the warmth of blood splashing on her face, the biting cold of winter snow… scene after scene played in her mind. It was a nightmare she could never forget, etched into her very flesh and blood.
She snapped her eyes open and took a quiet breath. “No. Demons have been gone for so long. What connection could I have? It’s just my master’s dying wish.”
Wen Chiyue didn’t want to talk about it anymore, but she kept babbling to stay in character. “I see, so your teacher had a connection with them. Well, if they met demons, they must have been very powerful! No wonder they were qualified to be your master.”
As she spoke, Wen Chiyue sat cross-legged within the sword’s space. Because of the slight boost in cultivation, the darkness around her had receded slightly. She could see more than just Jiang Xiechen’s eyes now.
She took in the surroundings. The moss-covered walls were stained deep red, a color that had soaked in over a long time. Nets were hidden near the ceiling, and various weapons were stashed in every corner. Whoever built this was prepared for anything.
Remembering what Jiang Xiechen said, Wen Chiyue guessed, “Is this place actually… a slaughterhouse for demons?”
That would explain why such an elaborate setup was built in a hidden furnace. Only one thing confused her: “This place is right behind the Moon Pavilion. Have they really never noticed?”
“Either they have too much money, or they are too arrogant.”
Wen Chiyue realized she had accidentally spoken her thoughts aloud. She went quiet for a moment, then shook her head. “Weakness and ignorance are not barriers to survival, but arrogance is¹.”
Realizing this place was built for killing demons, she suddenly knew what the red liquid on the walls was: blood. A chill ran down her spine. The metallic smell she had noticed earlier made her skin crawl. She felt as if the ghosts of dead demons were watching from the shadows.
“I wonder if demons have souls after they die,” she muttered. She glanced around and suddenly saw a black cloak on the ground behind them twitching.
“Master, behind you!”
Jiang Xiechen was mid-leap over a large rock. Hearing the warning, she instantly drew the Autumn Frost Sword to block.
BOOM!
The rock shattered into fragments. Jiang Xiechen squinted through the dust, spotting a black shadow. She raised her sword, her momentum like a rainbow. The blade reflected a brilliant white light, darting through the debris toward the shadow.
Whump!!
The sound of the sword hitting its mark wasn’t the crisp ring she expected. The impact felt wrong. Jiang Xiechen immediately shifted her stance, twisting her body in mid-air to dodge through the flying stone.
“Master, Master! To the left! To the left!”
Amidst the explosion, Jiang Xiechen’s vision hadn’t fully recovered, she had to rely on Wen Chiyue’s guidance. Despite their incredible reaction speeds, Jiang Xiechen’s existing injuries slowed her down just enough. The black shadow broke through her defense and lunged straight at her.
Jiang Xiechen raised her arm to shield herself. A sharp pain stung the back of her hand, and her strength vanished instantly. She began to fall from the air.