novelraw Chapter 161 : Right Hand Grips Sword, Sword Spirit Awakens
Chapter 161 : Right Hand Grips Sword, Sword Spirit Awakens
Chapter 161: Right Hand Grips Sword, Sword Spirit Awakens
On the platform, Chu Huaixu opened his right palm.
Below the platform, [Zhegutian] instantly unsheathed itself and fell into Chu Huaixu's hand.
Everything happened in a flash—the moment he finished speaking, the sword had already arrived.
Even Han Shuangjiang, the rightful owner, seemed slightly dazed.
As if his words, "Lend me your sword," were not a request, but rather... a notification?
Clearly, it was her own life-bound sword, and a supreme-grade spiritual artifact at that.
Yet this man in black robes simply opened his right hand and gave a simple call.
The sword came.
No one had ever seen such a scene with their own eyes before, but all present felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
This young man carried a sword scabbard and practiced the Dao Canon.
Just like that swordless Daoist who, after descending the mountain, preferred borrowing swords.
—As if the Dao Ancestor had returned to the world!
...
...
That night, after gaining 1 point of Spirit Embryo Attribute, Chu Huaixu said to the Heart Sword within his Sea of Consciousness, "I have something to discuss with you."
One man, one sword—they began their "conspiracy" in the room.
What he discussed was precisely what was now unfolding.
He could not forget the humiliation of his two climbs up Hidden Spirit Mountain—nor could the Heart Sword.
They were attuned to each other and naturally stood united against a common enemy.
Whenever the Bronze Sword was involved, the Heart Sword would blaze with battle spirit.
Back then, it had been in even worse condition than now, yet showed no fear.
Now that Chu Huaixu had gained a few more Spirit Embryo Attribute points, its feeble state had improved, and its fighting spirit surged further!
Ultimately, the two reached a consensus: Chu Huaixu's body would... take a little detour?
For many reasons, in this life, he would forever be a Swordless One.
He would never have his own life-bound sword.
So why not... borrow one!
And among the many spiritual swords present, [Zhegutian] was undeniably the best choice.
It was among the highest-grade swords, and Chu Huaixu was most familiar with it.
Besides, with his own Little Housekeeper, was there really a need to differentiate between yours and mine?
Sure enough, the moment he called for the sword, it came on its own.
As for Big Ice Block—at such a crucial moment, she surely gave her consent willingly.
In fact, Han Shuangjiang indeed had no intention of refusing.
But she still felt a bit strange.
Because when Chu Huaixu borrowed the sword, she had already nodded instinctively—the word "Okay" was stuck in her throat, about to come out.
Her little mouth had already opened!
But the sword flew away too fast—even faster than her reply!
That changed everything.
Still, now was not the time to think about such things.
No one had expected Chu Huaixu to borrow a sword at such a moment!
Those who knew he was a Swordless One were surprised.
Those who didn’t know—were even more shocked.
Chu Huaixu held the ice-blue longsword, which began to emit waves of sword cries the moment it landed in his hand.
Not far away, from the moment Xu Ziqing gripped his sword with his right hand, dark bluish-black streams of aura surged over him!
He casually released a probing slash—the sword energy was instantly devoured by those dark bluish-black streams.
More precisely, not devoured.
But consumed!
Chu Huaixu frowned and refrained from acting rashly, not wanting to waste spiritual energy.
Ever since he had gripped the sword with his right hand, Xu Ziqing’s body had bent forward, as if ready to collapse.
But the dark bluish-black aura wrapped around him, holding him up and completely shielding his body.
A new aura began to emanate from both the boy and the Bronze Sword.
The Sword Spirit of the sword left behind by the Dao Ancestor—awakened at this very moment!
Due to the concealment array set by Lu Pan, those below the platform could sense nothing.
They only felt that Xu Ziqing had activated some bizarre technique—it looked sinister, even eerie.
But on the platform, Chu Huaixu could clearly sense the aura he despised.
That arrogant, unruly, domineering Sword Spirit had returned to the world!
In an instant, throughout the Martial Arena, the longswords of all lower-realm sword cultivators holding life-bound swords began to tremble—without exception!
And as they trembled, each sword slid about an inch from its scabbard.
As if bowing in reverence to a king's presence.
The [Zhegutian] in Chu Huaixu’s hand, however, was unaffected.
Because it rested in his hand, not in Han Shuangjiang’s.
Even when infused with the Fearless Sword Intent, it remained calm and unshaken.
The Heart Sword in Chu Huaixu’s Sea of Consciousness no longer hid itself.
It too began to release its aura freely—including the power of Sword Heart Clarity!
Chu Huaixu raised his left hand, formed a hand seal, and activated the sealing function of the scabbard on his back—[Ding Fengbo]—launching a dual offensive.
"Seal——!"
His word was like a command.
All the spiritual swords instantly returned to their scabbards!
—In this contest of status, I will not lose to you.
...
...
Such a shocking sight was akin to a heavenly anomaly.
Many great cultivators on the high platform, unaware of the truth, stared dumbfounded in disbelief.
Numerous gazes turned toward Situ Cheng, second among the [Four Great Divine Swords].
Yet this Elder of the Sword Sect looked equally baffled.
The Dao Ancestor’s sword appeared, the Sword Spirit awakened.
He could understand the phenomena it triggered.
But he could not comprehend what Chu Huaixu had done!
Earlier, when Chu had suppressed Mo Lingfeng’s sword, that was already beyond belief, though still barely plausible.
But now—he stood equal with this Bronze Sword!
How could anyone possibly do that?
If anyone could—it would be the long-deceased Dao Ancestor!
Jiang Zhi watched the scene, his brow furrowed even tighter.
His strategic pearl dropped to the ground again, his gaze growing heavy.
He stared fixedly at the young man holding the ice-blue sword—things were veering off course again.
At this moment, Chu Huaixu and the Bronze Sword remained in mutual loathing.
That evil sword still held its lofty posture.
Upon seeing the [Zhegutian] in his opponent’s hand, the hatred and animosity in its aura thickened.
Because inside his body was the exact same power as that person.
And what he was doing now—mirrored that person.
The Sword Spirit of the Bronze Sword hadn’t expected to awaken only to find itself standing on the platform with its most hated enemy, Chu Huaixu.
Then the next step was simple.
—Kill him!
The dark bluish-black aura soared into the sky. The delicate-featured youth in white robes stood within it, his eyes still shut.
His left arm was still wounded, and his internal organs bore minor injuries.
None of these showed signs of healing.
Clearly, the power of this evil sword had nothing to do with healing.
In fact, had there not been a slight mishap during its merging with Xu Ziqing’s Spirit Embryo, the boy might have paid an even greater price!
The boy, still with closed eyes, began to swing his sword.
This scene differed greatly from the one atop Hidden Spirit Mountain.
Back then, the Bronze Sword could not fully control his body—he moved like a zombie, with awkward, grotesque poses.
But now, though his movements were still a bit stiff, there had been marked improvement—likely thanks to some secret technique.
A wave of black sword energy surged forth—it didn’t seem special.
But that dark bluish-black aura swirling around it seemed the source of all devouring!
Chu Huaixu, holding [Zhegutian], charged straight in.
From the sword scabbard on his back, seven waves of sword energy shot out—faster than him.
Sword energy swirled around the ice-blue spiritual sword, while the Heart Sword within his Sea of Consciousness also unleashed its power.
—Spirit Embryo Divine Ability: Sword Heart Clarity!
Although the platform had a restriction set by Lu Pan, Situ Cheng, being an Eighth Realm cultivator and one of the [Four Great Divine Swords], could still sense the anomaly.
"Sword Heart Clarity!"
"How can someone in the First Realm possibly achieve Sword Heart Clarity?!"
In the Sword Sect, even many Sixth or Seventh Realm sword cultivators had not reached that realm.
It was akin to Sword Intent—linked to one’s comprehension of the sword.
The purer and more extreme your sword, the more likely you were to reach Sword Heart Clarity.
In all of Xuanhuang Realm, few had achieved it.
To have a Sword Heart without impurity—how many in this world could claim that?
“This is not a power the First Realm should possess.”
“Nor could anyone be born with such knowledge! How could someone so young have such comprehension of the Sword Dao?”
Yet he wielded such power nonetheless.
At this moment, Chu Huaixu’s sword—its strength, speed, and everything else—seemed to double in effect.
When everything doubled, the result wasn’t simple addition.
The seven strands of sword energy that poured from the scabbard were instantly destroyed by the black sword energy.
Chu Huaixu keenly sensed that the dark bluish-black aura had also devoured part of the power.
Fortunately, the devoured power didn’t attach itself to the black sword energy.
It seemed to be absorbed by the Bronze Sword to strengthen itself.
In that instant, he understood the heaven-defying nature of this evil sword.
“These dark bluish-black auras must have a devouring threshold.”
“To inflict damage, your attack must exceed this threshold—only the excess can hurt it!”
“In other words, for most people on this platform, every strike they deliver is useless, because it doesn’t surpass the threshold.”
“On the contrary, their power gets completely consumed, making the Bronze Sword even stronger!”
With a sudden motion, Chu Huaixu’s [Zhegutian] slashed at the black sword energy.
His power drained rapidly, some of it instantly consumed by the dark bluish-black aura.
It was a dire situation—this slash wasn’t even stronger than Xu Ziqing’s left-handed one, but it cost Chu Huaixu far more.
Even wielding [Zhegutian] couldn’t make up for the loss.
“The most wicked thing under heaven is nothing more than this!”
The residual black sword energy shredded the ink-colored aura around him.
The defensive shield from his Black-Gold Robe shattered instantly.
In the end, he endured the aftermath with his physical body and spat out a mouthful of blood.
The Bronze Sword in Little Xu’s right hand seemed almost pleased.
It looked upon Chu Huaixu with a condescending air—as if saying, You can’t even withstand a casual slash from me.
But the injured young man stared it down, refusing to retreat, and activated [Flying Profound], charging forward at full speed.
As if he knew no fear, no pain, no reverence—unfamiliar even with death!
The Bronze Sword grew enraged once more, like a king on his throne, constantly provoked by a lowly subject.
If not for the restriction left behind by the Dao Ancestor, this young man would be nothing but an ant, a maggot.
And yet, this ant, this maggot dared to shake the tree!
The second sword energy formed, even stronger than the first.
Chu Huaixu’s scabbard had no stored sword energy left—everything now depended on him.
[Zhegutian] struck the malevolent arc of black energy. This time, however, the dark bluish-black aura didn’t affect him at all.
Xu Ziqing, eyes still shut, had his Bronze Sword tremble ever so slightly.
The reason was simple—the aura was flowing toward the black bead on Chu Huaixu’s sword scabbard!
“Aren’t you always hungry?!”
“Then taste this!”
Chu Huaixu activated his true life-bound artifact, trying to use the [Dao Birth One] within the black bead to absorb the aura.
This idea had come to him after their first clash.
It was, after all, the Dao Ancestor’s true life-bound object—an existence beyond even supreme-grade spiritual artifacts.
He wasn’t worried it would break. He didn’t think it would harm the Medicinal Cauldron.
But since he could barely communicate with his artifact spirit—which only ever cried about hunger—he had to try this by force. Risking everything!
Whether it would work, he couldn’t know.
But Chu Huaixu hadn’t expected the damn thing to eat anything!
However, unlike the spiritual energy in his body, the dark bluish-black aura wasn’t consumed immediately after being sucked into the bead.
It was merely drawn in, gathered inside the Cauldron, and then... refined!
He’d always treated it like a fully automatic pill furnace.
Who knew—it had resumed refining on its own!
Without the influence of the dark aura, this became a direct clash of sword energies.
Chu Huaixu let out a shout, and both [Sword Heart Clarity] and [Fearless Sword Intent] erupted. The dazzling sword energy split the black arc open!
His body was now covered in wounds. The newly formed ink-colored aura and Black-Gold Robe couldn’t fully withstand the residual force.
But he was so wild, he didn’t even flinch. As if this body weren’t his own—as if he felt no pain and had no fear.
A small wound appeared on his cheek.
Blood trickled down, but the cut healed rapidly before their very eyes!
“Come on!” he roared.
“I want to see just how many more slashes you’ve got left!”
On the high platform, Jiang Zhi unconsciously clenched his right fist.
Rebellious as he was, he too despised this sword.
How could a proud and stubborn sword cultivator not loathe such an evil weapon?
“He blocked two slashes?”
“And the Bronze Sword’s devouring power... actually got absorbed by the Dao Ancestor’s Sword Scabbard?”
Jiang Zhi knew well—with Xu Ziqing’s current condition, and only one of the nine restrictions lifted, he could unleash just one more slash.
But that last slash—would be the strongest yet!
It was the limit of Xu Ziqing’s body, and also the limit of the Bronze Sword.
Xiang Yan and the others watched the stage closely, afraid to miss a single detail.
At this moment, Li Chunsong was breathing heavily, his face flushed red!
“The final bout! The decisive strike!”
“The gambling result is about to be settled!”
This dead gambler never imagined Chu Huaixu could face two full-force slashes head-on!
Could this kid actually perform another miracle for me?
No one knew when Chu Yinyin had pulled her swinging legs onto the chair.
Her lips were tightly sealed, holding her breath, cheering madly for her future disciple in her heart.
Everyone believed Chu Huaixu would lose.
Everyone!!
But when he cut down two sword energies, many started hoping he would win.
Even Jiang Zhi's thoughts began to shift.
“If he really wins... would that be a better outcome?”
For a moment—his heart wavered.
On the platform, Chu Huaixu was drenched in blood. With every step he took, he left bloody footprints on the stone tiles.
His Black-Gold Robe had been soaked through.
Yet his eyes—never changed.
Resolute, fearless, unyielding!
This sight stirred something in many hearts.
Even gravely wounded, Chu Huaixu showed no sign of retreat—he even charged faster!
Fearless, without hesitation!
Within his Sea of Consciousness, the little black sword was like a sick tiger—ill and frail, but when it roared in the forest, all beasts trembled!
“Fight! Fight! Fight!”
A vengeful man and a battle-hungry Heart Sword.
They constantly fueled each other.
Old grudges from Hidden Spirit Mountain and today’s new hatred—all would be settled.
Even its condescending posture—Chu Huaixu couldn’t f***ing stand it!!
The Bronze Sword’s rage peaked.
That young man it deemed a clown still dared act so insolent.
Endless killing intent surged. The delicate-featured youth, still with shut eyes, began his final slash.
His body burst with wounds, his right arm crippled instantly.
It was supposed to be a mere spar at the Eastern Continent Grand Competition, but the audience felt sheer horror.
Just watching made them hurt, made them gasp.
Yet the two on stage didn’t even flinch.
Black sword light surged forward, and even the spell formations embedded in the stone tiles began to crack.
Chu Huaixu gritted his teeth, dashed forward like an arrow.
He switched from one-handed to two-handed grip.
All power—Spirit Embryo Secret Store, Body-Stored Spirit Power—gathered into this slash.
Sword Intent and Sword Heart, physical body and Heart Sword... every ounce of strength was unleashed.
As the spiritual sword collided with the black sword light, he roared in his heart:
“[Dao Birth One]!!!”
Back when he dripped blood to claim ownership, he had checked the cauldron’s attributes immediately.
The system described it as: auxiliary artifact, defensive artifact.
It was a defensive artifact!
The Medicinal Cauldron was pitch black, with three legs and two handles.
It bore carvings of birds, beasts, flora, and even ghosts and demons—every detail vivid and lifelike.
Now, everything inside the black bead seemed to come alive.
Chu Huaixu could hear beasts cry, smell fruits.
He felt a breeze, touched flames.
It was surreal—as if he could sense all of existence in a single moment!
Dao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two, Two gives birth to Three, and Three gives birth to all things!
From within the black bead, the power of all things surged outward.
A boundless chaotic aura spread in all directions.
The black sword light was blocked—and began to crumble.
Chu Huaixu slashed forward with [Zhegutian].
The sword energy struck the Bronze Sword—it was sent flying!
The moment the evil sword left the boy’s right hand, the restriction activated.
The boy collapsed, unconscious.
The match was decided.
Half of the platform was reduced to ruins. A strand of high-grade power even seeped through the formations.
Dust billowed. The audience could only vaguely see through the haze.
When it cleared—they saw it.
Amid the rubble, drenched in blood, the Eastern Continent’s champion stood, leaning on his sword.
...