novelraw Chapter 978: Man and Sword as One, Human and Despicable Unity
Chapter 978: Man and Sword as One, Human and Despicable Unity
Their purpose for coming here is for the Beast Soul Relic. With the Aolai Divine Beast gone, there’s no danger, so they can take a closer look. Perhaps besides the Beast Soul Relic, there might be other treasures. If they find them, their struggles wouldn’t be in vain."You’re right. Although the Nirvana Rebirth of the Aolai Divine Beast mainly relies on Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power, it could not do without some Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures as supplements. There must be something good hidden here, let’s search carefully," Xia Youchen said with a beaming smile.
Zirong and Jiang Yuzhe cast a disdainful glance at him, thinking to themselves: Who do you think you are? This is my young master’s territory; what does it have to do with you? Look at Fen Qianji and Tang Bufan, both of whom firmly declined even when the young master actively invited them—how considerate. Yet, you shamelessly stayed. What kind of Beast Taming Sword Saint are you? How thick is your skin?
"Ahem, ahem, we’ve known each other for a while, it’s fate. I’m just a bit curious and wanted to follow along," Xia Youchen, despite being a renowned expert for over a thousand years, explained as he awkwardly faced the disdainful gazes of the juniors.
"Then let’s take a look," Mu Hanyan didn’t say much.
In fact, she didn’t have any deep-seated hatred toward Xia Youchen. Previously, thanks to his restraint of those Death Spirit Sword Slaves, she, Huayue, and the others could deal with Zhao Lingxian without distractions.
More importantly, it was also thanks to him that Tang Bufan could safely leave the Ancient Relics alive. Although she didn’t have any personal connection with Tang Bufan at the moment, she still remembered Xia Youchen’s kindness.
Xia Youchen didn’t leave out of sheer willfulness. The core reason was the Qiongqi Divine Beast. Sticking with a "fierce beast" that eats vegetarian instead of meat, Xia Youchen was genuinely helpless.
It’s worth noting that the Longyan Mountain stretches for thousands of miles, home to countless birds and beasts. If this creature ate meat, it wouldn’t be much of an issue. With Xia Youchen’s prowess, capturing some birds and beasts would be a breeze.
But this creature’s vegetarian preference is unlike cows, sheep, or deer eating grass stalks or nibbling on tree leaves. Even if it couldn’t have strange flowers and herbs every meal, it couldn’t do without seasonal fruits and top-notch ingredients. Also, the energy required for the Divine Beast to grow is enormous. Relying solely on these things to grow it would be a fool’s dream. In the end, it still requires strange flowers and herbs, spirit pills, and miracle medicines. In the Longyan Mountain, these cultivation resources are actually harder to find than birds and beasts.
It’s not scary to be a foodie; what’s scary is a foodie who only eats vegetables and not meat.
Xia Youchen had no choice. If he hadn’t signed the Lifebound Contract, he could have let this creature starve to death and ended it all. But with the Lifebound Contract in place, if the creature doesn’t get enough to eat, it would absorb Qi from him when starving. His strength had already declined to the Third Stage Sword Master, and at this rate, he would eventually become an ordinary person without any cultivation, possibly even a dried-up cadaver.
So, aside from thickening his skin and coming to Mu Hanyan for a share of the spoils, Xia Youchen had no other options.
Mu Hanyan felt sympathetic to Xia Youchen’s unfortunate plight. Moreover, because of Tang Bufan’s matter, she felt grateful to him, treating him as half a friend. So she didn’t mind letting him take a little advantage. Although in ordinary times, Mu Hanyan didn’t sting on even a bit of ant meat, she was never stingy towards friends.
The group immediately began to take action, carefully searching within the cave.
"Huayue, are you alright?" Seeing Huayue walking briskly and moving agilely without any signs of discomfort, Mu Hanyan asked in both surprise and concern.
Earlier, Huayue forcibly unleashed the power of the Demon-breaking Spear using the Blood Sacrifice Technique, an act Mu Hanyan had witnessed firsthand, and she empathized deeply with his suffering.
At that time, even his Mental State was occupied by the Gun Spirit filled with a murderous and hostile aura from within the Demon-breaking Spear. Under the strong backlash of the Demon-breaking Spear, Huayue lost his mental state entirely, his face twisted in ferocity, as if a killing demon had descended.
Hanyan was worried then that after this battle, Huayue would likely sustain severe injuries or go insane. However, seeing him acting as if nothing had happened, her astonishment was coupled with deep-seated concern: Though he appeared fine outwardly, who knew what hidden dangers might linger inside?
"It’s fine, my bloodline and physique are different from the cultivators of the Holy Court Continent, no need for you to worry about me," Huayue said calmly, his expression as stern as ever and his breathing steady, showing no sign of internal injuries.
"I knew you’d be fine. You’re like an unkillable cockroach, a mere Blood Sacrifice Technique couldn’t possibly harm you," Zirong said with a laugh, patting Huayue hard on the shoulder after hearing their conversation.
Given Huayue’s already terrifyingly strong body defense and vitality, coupled with no signs of injury, Zirong was not the least bit worried.
"By the way, I think you should give up your sword and switch to a spear. The power of that Demon-breaking Spear is just too overwhelming," Jiang Yuzhe said enviously, joining their conversation.
"There’s no real difference. Once the seal of the Demon-breaking Spear is opened, I become one with the spear. The spear is me, and I am the spear. A spear can transform into a sword, and a sword can transform into a spear. Even falling flowers and leaves can turn into a spear or a sword. To me, there’s no difference," Huayue replied indifferently, maintaining his usual calm composure.
"Becoming one with the spear, that’s truly impressive. If one day I could cultivate to the realm of man and sword as one, that would be wonderful," Zirong muttered admiringly, smirking despite having cast an envious side-eye at Huayue’s calm yet pride-tinged demeanor.
"You’ve already achieved ’Human and Despicable Unity,’ haven’t you?" Huayue replied, deadpan and earnest.
"Have I? When did he achieve man and sword as one? How come I didn’t know?" Jiang Yuzhe exclaimed in surprise.
"Huayue, how dare you insult me? I’ve had enough of you!" Zirong’s reaction was much quicker than Jiang Yuzhe’s, and he immediately burst out in rage, kicking out.
This kick was vicious and nasty, aimed directly at Huayue’s lower area.
If it had been someone else, this despicable and unbelievably cheap move would be hard to defend against. However, Huayue was long familiar with Zirong’s moves, evading the invincibly cheap kick with a timely side step.
Huayue’s reaction was swift, but Zirong wasn’t slow either. As Huayue turned and retreated, Zirong delivered another kick to the lower area behind—yes, this kick was even cheaper than the last.
Zirong twisted himself around and deftly dodged once more.
The two went all out, moving like shooting stars, chasing and evading each other, creating quite a lively scene in the cave.
"Indeed, it’s a case of ’Human and Despicable Unity,’ truly despicable." Watching Zirong repeatedly aim his moves at the lower area, Jiang Yuzhe sighed with mixed feelings.
Watching Zirong and Huayue roughhouse, Mu Hanyan also broke into a warm smile. However, afterward, her smile faded, replaced by a look of worry in her eyes.