Chapter Eighty-Nine: The Legend of the Blood Blade with Ghost Eyes

It is said that when the shape of the Three Realms had only just taken form, the Immortal Race, the Human Race, and the Demon Race each ruled one realm.

The Immortal Race took all living things as father and heaven and earth as mother. In those early years, a rare few among humankind, gifted with insight and spiritual intelligence, came to comprehend the way to immortality. They grasped mysterious arts that let them soar through the heavens and burrow beneath the earth, cultivated diligently, and upon great attainment passed straight into the Immortal Realm, no longer entering the Six Paths of Reincarnation, transcending the suffering of life and death. Among them, those of the deepest cultivation were called Heavenly Venerables. They dwelt in the Palace of Divine Firmament, governed the living beings of the four quarters, and commanded the Thirty-Three Heavens.

The Human Race multiplied without end, creating all the turmoil and vicissitudes of the mortal world. During that age, a hundred schools contended and ten thousand teachings paid homage to one source. People learned the three cardinal bonds and the five constant virtues, inquired into rites and propriety, or tempered themselves through martial discipline, strengthening body and bone. Among humankind, all those of talent and ambition desired to unite the eight wastes and nine provinces of the Human Realm and enjoy the blessings and splendors of the world.

The Dao demands freedom from desire and attachment; yet when obsession runs too deep, one strays into the demonic path, walking a perilous edge. That does not mean such beings are all vicious beyond redemption. The Demon Race was proud and unyielding, arrogant to the bone, revering neither heaven and earth nor gods and Buddhas. Their methods of cultivation were singular and strange, and many among the beasts of the wild practiced them. The Demon Race was divided into eight tribes, whose leaders were called Ghost Kings or Demon Kings. They governed injustices and held dominion over the eighteen levels of the Nether Demon Realm.

Under the oversight of the Immortal Realm, the Three Realms had long remained largely free of great upheaval, and their supreme leader was the Heavenly Venerable. It was he who, after ascending to the Immortal Realm, established the order of the Three Realms, ending strife between them; thus every realm honored him as sovereign of the Three Realms, all of which fell under his unified rule.

The Human Realm was also called the Mortal Realm, and its ruler was the Emperor who had annexed sixteen kingdoms. His life was one of civil brilliance and martial genius. He expanded borders, split territories, unified the Human Realm, won the support of countless humans, and was elevated as Emperor.

The Demon Realm was also called the Refining Realm, and its ruler was Yuan, the Demon King of the Eight Tribes. The demon clans were descendants of the bloodline of the ancient Demon God Chi You. Later, Chi You’s lineage split into eight branches, each becoming a tribe; rumor held that Yuan himself had once been a warrior of the Lanka Tribe. He stood eight feet tall, broad of shoulder and thick of waist, with a face like a ferocious guardian idol and eyes round and glaring. His martial power was immense, and none could stand against him, so the demon hosts revered him as ruler of the Demon Realm.

A few troublemakers among the demons often harassed the Human Realm, leaving the Emperor no choice but to build the Great Wall to fend them off. The Emperor sought aid from the Heavenly Venerable of the Immortal Realm. Wishing to weaken the Demon Realm and maintain the balance of the Three Realms, the Immortal Realm joined forces with the Human Realm in a campaign against it. Yuan, the Demon King, was proud and hot-tempered by nature, so the Emperor cast all blame upon him, falsely accusing him of wishing to conquer the Three Realms. The Heavenly Venerable flew into a rage and led the celestial generals of the Immortal Realm to bring Yuan to account. In truth, the Emperor himself harbored dark intentions. It was he who had secretly summoned demons and monsters from the Demon Realm to raid the Human Realm, hoping through this affair to shatter the balance of the Three Realms.

Before the City of Wrongful Death, on Ghostshade Mountain, Yuan led the demon army in resistance against the Immortal Race’s invasion. Both sides suffered grievous losses, and Yuan himself was badly wounded by the Heavenly Venerable. At that very moment, the Emperor led a million iron-armored troops in an assault on the Immortal Realm. Chaos erupted in the heavens, and the realm could not hold. On hearing the news, the Heavenly Venerable was struck with alarm and hastily withdrew his forces to return in aid, only to fall into an ambush laid by the Human Realm. The Emperor used the Nine Cauldrons of Heaven and Earth, the blood of nine dragons, and seventy-two mighty sorcerers to seal the Heavenly Venerable beneath the Cliff Beyond Worlds, condemning him to eternal bondage.

Just as the Emperor took the Immortal Realm and exulted in his triumph, the heavily wounded Yuan, Demon King of the Eight Tribes, led the demon hosts in a direct assault on the Emperor’s capital. After a savage battle, the Demon Realm was at a disadvantage. Unable to bear seeing his realm brought to such calamity, Yuan used the full power of his lifetime of cultivation to swallow into his own body the souls of the Emperor and his million-man army, leaving only one eye hidden within his weapon. Thereafter, he himself vanished into ash, while the Emperor and his army were transformed into ranks of stone statues.

That weapon was the Blood Blade. Because of the eye concealed within it, it was renamed the Ghost-Eyed Blood Blade. It had originally been the Bright Silver Demon Blade, a weapon whose sharpness yielded to no divine armament in the world. After being steeped in countless massacres, however, its edge had turned a dark crimson.

Whether the legend was true or false could not be known, but the blade’s bloody aura was undeniably real. If crimson had merely been blended into it during forging, the color would not have manifested only along the cutting edge.

Because it had once been wielded by Yuan, the Demon King, and had passed through a hundred battles, cutting down numberless foes, the Ghost-Eyed Blood Blade was filled through and through with a brutal, terrifying force of intimidation. Merely by pouring true essence into it, one could unleash a sinister and dreadful ferocity enough to chill the heart.

The Ghost-Eyed Blood Blade was a blade of slaughter. That slaughter followed no fixed style; everything depended on the ghost eye’s control of the battlefield and its instinct for seizing opportunity. Because of that unrestrained, willful way of striking, its blade force was ghostly and bizarre, tyrannical beyond ordinary reason, leaving an enemy with no means of defense.

The blade was incomparably heavy. The blade body alone weighed more than three hundred jin; without any augmentation of strength, that weight by itself could crush great stones weighing dozens of jin into powder.

When Liu Junhuai first obtained the Ghost-Eyed Blood Blade, he was beside himself with joy and wished he could immediately go to the trial space and test it to his heart’s content.

Fortunately, Mo Sitong softly stopped him at his side. “Junhuai, we should go to the Library Pavilion to see the steward first. Have you forgotten the Stone Drum script still hasn’t been fully translated? That metal sheet is a treasure.”

Only then did Liu Junhuai forcibly suppress his excitement and lead Mo Sitong to the Library Pavilion.

Sure enough, the old steward was still bent over, translating character by character, so absorbed that he did not notice the two of them arrive.

They did not disturb him. Each picked out a book and read in silence while waiting.

Fortunately, they had only read a few pages before the old steward lifted his head, a trace of delighted surprise in his eyes.

He beckoned them over and spoke with urgency in his voice. “Congratulations, Pavilion Master. This is the title page of the Iron Profound Golden Register. Do not underestimate it just because it is only a single front leaf. Without it, no matter how precious the Iron Profound Golden Register may be, it is like a flaw in flawless jade, diminishing its true value.”

Apparently pleased by their astonishment, the old steward took an unhurried sip of mulberry-sweet fruit wine before continuing. “What is written on this front leaf says that the Iron Profound Golden Register was once an item placed on a desk in the Heavenly Court’s study. For reasons unknown, it somehow fell into the mortal world, where it was obtained by the steward of a great family who had heard legends of the book, and later presented to the clan head. Since no one could recognize the script, the family eventually declined, and the clan head’s heir sold the book off as though it were common gold and silver. It was later collected by an old scholar. That old scholar could read the script, and these words were left by him on this front leaf.”

Seeing Liu Junhuai’s expression grow even more bewildered, the old steward continued, “The original text on the front leaf says that the techniques recorded in the Iron Profound Golden Register contain the lifelong learning of the one who created the book. It was originally made for later generations, but all sorts of powerful people fought to seize it. The family moved time and again to evade disaster, drifting from place to place, and in the course of that turmoil they lost the most important section—the chapter on the core method. That is why no one has ever succeeded in cultivating this book. This front leaf was also added later by the one who forged it. By refining this page, one may obtain a drop of the creator’s vital blood. Only then can the chapter on the core method be brought to fruition.”

The puzzlement in Liu Junhuai’s eyes was gradually replaced by delight. “Then does that mean the Nine Transformations Heart Method is the missing core-method chapter? And that every technique recorded in the Iron Profound Golden Register must be driven by the Nine Transformations Heart Method?”

The old steward smiled. “That should be so. The Iron Profound Golden Register has nine pages in total, not counting the front leaf. This old man suspects that the remaining pages have also been separated, which is why this front leaf could come into your hands, Pavilion Master. As for why the drop of vital blood on it has not yet vanished, it is because only the Nine Transformations Heart Method can refine it.”

The joy in Liu Junhuai’s face deepened until at last he could not help throwing back his head and laughing aloud. Mo Sitong pinched his arm hard and said with a laugh, “Look at you, all greed and delight. You’re practically drooling!”

Liu Junhuai said, “You can’t blame me for that. I had already grasped the Nine Transformations Heart Method back when I was only at the fifth level of Qi Refining. Now I’m already in the Golden Core stage, yet I’ve only just advanced to the second transformation. Now that I’ve found a chance to improve the Nine Transformations Heart Method, how could I not be happy?”

The old steward said, “Then, Pavilion Master, you should quickly go and refine that drop of vital blood. I believe the power of the Nine Transformations Heart Method will increase quite noticeably.”

Liu Junhuai laughed. “No hurry for that. First I want you to look at a treasure.” As he spoke, he took out the Ghost-Eyed Blood Blade, deliberately holding it with the hilt downward to hide the ghost eye.

The old steward accepted the Ghost-Eyed Blood Blade with a puzzled expression. His cultivation had been sealed, and the blade’s savage aura of slaughter at once pressed down on him until his face turned deathly pale. He hurriedly returned it to Liu Junhuai and said, “I can’t make out its exact origin, but its killing aura is far too intense. If you use it often, it may affect your state of mind. Pavilion Master, you must be prepared.”

Liu Junhuai turned the hilt around and showed it to him. “Steward, now that you can see this, does its origin come back to you?”

The moment the old steward caught sight of the ghost eye, his heart jolted. In the next instant he recalled the blade’s identity and cried out in shock, staring at the eye in terror. “Pavilion Master, could this be the Ghost-Eyed Blood Blade? Heavens! How did it come into your hands? This was the personal weapon of the Demon King, the blood blade that has drunk more fresh blood than any other under heaven! Did this blade come from the Treasure Pavilion? That shouldn’t be possible. At your current level of cultivation and strength, Pavilion Master, you should not have been able to unlock something so precious as this divine weapon.”

Mo Sitong looked at Liu Junhuai in astonishment. “Junhuai, does this blade truly have such an extraordinary history?”

The old steward hastily answered her first. “Madam of the Pavilion Master, our Pavilion Master truly is a man of immense fortune! Let me tell you, this blade...”

The old steward then explained the entire history of the Ghost-Eyed Blood Blade to Mo Sitong. She too was filled with amazement, and in the depths of her heart even felt a trace of fear at Liu Junhuai’s heaven-defying luck. When she looked at him again, there was already a hint of reverence in her gaze.

Liu Junhuai said with a laugh between tears, “Would you two please stop looking at me as if I were some kind of monster? Sitong and I discovered it together. Even if I hadn’t seen it, she would still have found it. What does that have to do with fortune?”

The old steward said nothing more. He merely shook his head lightly and pointed to the title page of the Iron Profound Golden Register, signaling for Liu Junhuai to refine it at once.

Mo Sitong then took out her Chengde Offering Cauldron and asked the old steward to explain it. He accepted the cauldron and looked at her with an odd expression. “Madam of the Pavilion Master, I scarcely know what to say. I cannot tell whether your luck has been influenced by the Pavilion Master’s, or whether this is your own natural fortune, but this Chengde Offering Cauldron is also an excellent thing. It is no worse than the Pavilion Master’s Primordial Chaos Furnace. Not only does it function as a magical treasure, more importantly, the Golden Infant Fluid it produces is a peerless spiritual liquid found nowhere else beneath heaven. Compared with liquefied spiritual energy, it is superior in every way. The uses of this Golden Infant Fluid are not limited to alchemy—it is also a supreme treasure for nourishing heavenly flame, and of great use to Ah Jiu as well. Because the Golden Infant Fluid is a thing of utmost yang, containing not the slightest trace of any other attribute, a single drop can allow an ordinary person to cultivate a fire-attributed spiritual root.”