Chapter 66: Cangming Sword
The black light faded, revealing a sword that was entirely jet-black.
Its blade was densely engraved with profound and inscrutable demonic patterns, and its hilt was inlaid with a crystalline, translucent black gemstone. An ancient and terrifying Dao rhythm emanated from the longsword, swirling around it.
'This is the demonic sword hidden in the depths of the dungeon?'
Ye Chen was startled. He couldn't understand why the demonic sword had suddenly appeared, hovering before him.
He stepped forward and peered through a crack in the ground, where he saw a strange altar.
Black flames burned on either side of the altar. In the center was an indentation, as if something were missing—likely the place for this very demonic sword.
"Th-this... what is going on?!"
Luo Sandao's eyes widened in disbelief. He could hardly believe what he was seeing.
"Legend has it that this demonic sword has been rooted here for countless ages. Countless people have tried to pull it out, but all have ended in failure."
"Generations of Luoyun Sect Leaders have even invited Great Powers of the Sword Dao here to try and bring this demonic sword back into the light of day, yet the result is plain to see."
"But why would this demonic sword take the initiative to appear after seeing you?"
"What kind of secret is buried within you?!"
Luo Sandao stared at Ye Chen, his face full of shock and suspicion.
'I never would have thought that the depths of the Luoyun Sect's dungeon held such a secret.'
Ye Chen was also rather surprised. As he looked at the demonic sword, a sudden sense of familiarity washed over him.
He reached out and grasped the demonic sword in his hand.
Instantly, as if it had found its long-lost master, the demonic sword began to hum with excitement!
The blade vibrated, releasing an endless torrent of Sword Qi. Caught off guard, Luo Sandao's body was instantly covered in bloody gashes!
'What terrifying Sword Qi!'
'I used my full strength, my Primordial Mansion Realm cultivation, and even my Moon-slaying Blade Style, but I still couldn't resist it!'
Fear filled Luo Sandao's face as he stumbled backward.
'What grade of spirit weapon is this demonic sword?'
'How could it possess such power!'
"Retract!"
As Ye Chen held the demonic sword, the sense of familiarity in his heart only grew stronger.
He gave a calm command, and the boundless Sword Qi instantly receded. The blade grew still, as if nothing had happened at all.
'The demonic sword is sentient, and yet it's so obedient to this kid... Could it be that the demonic sword has acknowledged him as its master?'
Luo Sandao's gaze flickered.
'But Ye Chen is only at the Spirit Sea Realm. He's never even practiced the Sword Dao. How could he possibly earn this demonic sword's allegiance?'
From ancient times to the present, generations of Luoyun Sect Leaders had made countless attempts, none of which succeeded.
'Could it be because of Ye Chen's Chaos Five Elements Body?'
Luo Sandao couldn't wrap his head around it, and a bitter sense of injustice welled up inside him.
During the five years he was trapped underground, he had also made countless attempts to pull the demonic sword from the altar.
But not once was he successful. Even when his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds and he broke through to the Primordial Mansion Realm, the result remained unchanged.
But Ye Chen had only just arrived, and the demonic sword appeared on its own and acknowledged him as its master.
'Just why is that?'
'Is the gap between people really that vast?'
Luo Sandao considered himself a rather talented Cultivator; otherwise, he would have never been able to glimpse the Primordial Mansion Realm.
Yet now, he felt utterly crushed.
Ye Chen sized up the demonic sword in his hand, the feeling of closeness in his heart growing ever stronger.
'What is going on?'
'Why do I feel like this sword has always belonged to me?'
Ye Chen frowned slightly, but he had no time to ponder.
The next moment, deep within his mind, one of the three small clusters of light orbiting the Tome of the World-Shaking Demon God suddenly erupted in a brilliant blaze.
Streams of profound, inscrutable, ancient, and boundless insights flooded into Ye Chen's mind!
"Ugh..."
Ye Chen's eyes shot wide open. The streams of insight were as sharp as Sword Qi, sending waves of intense, stabbing pain through his mind.
'This sword... is named Cangming... It is the personal sword of the Ancient Demon God...'
Amidst the intense pain, Ye Chen sorted through the thoughts in his mind, and his heart leaped in shock.
This demonic sword was actually the personal sword carried by the Ancient Demon God!!!
To have been by the Ancient Demon God's side, this demonic sword's grade had to be unimaginably high!
But what confused Ye Chen was why such a terrifying spirit weapon would be hidden in the depths of the Luoyun Sect's dungeon.
'Could it be that the Luoyun Sect holds secrets he doesn't know about?'
Ye Chen had no time to think. The countless insights from the cluster of light rushed forth, flooding his mind.
His brain immediately felt like it was swelling.
Ye Chen knew that if he couldn't comprehend these insights in time, his mind would be filled to the brim until it could take no more and burst!
Of course, it wouldn't literally explode, but his consciousness would fall into chaos.
It would be like his soul had been stretched to the breaking point. If he lost his soul, he would spend the rest of his life in a stupor, never to regain his senses.
"Damn it!"
'I will comprehend this!'
Ye Chen began to focus his entire being on comprehending the vast and complex insights in his mind.
Soon, he was stunned to discover that these insights were, in fact, comprehensions of the Sword Dao!
Only then did Ye Chen understand what this second cluster of light had passed down to him.
It contained all the insights on swordsmanship the Ancient Demon God had accumulated over a lifetime!
This was also why the second cluster of light had awakened and broken its seal when he encountered the Cangming Sword.
The Cangming Sword was precisely the Demon God's personal sword. No wonder it had taken the initiative to acknowledge Ye Chen as its master upon meeting him.
Suddenly, a great many questions welled up in Ye Chen's mind.
Since he began cultivating the Tome of the World-Shaking Demon God, Ye Chen had always assumed that the so-called Ancient Demon God was a type of incomparably powerful ancient creature.
Of course, he had also learned a bit from ancient texts: the Ancient Demon God was exceedingly terrifying, capable of annihilating an entire dynasty with a single glance.
However, as Ye Chen came into contact with more and more things left behind by the Ancient Demon God, a new thought began to form.
He began to think that this Ancient Demon God seemed to be... human. A human who had cultivated to an extremely high realm, a terrifyingly powerful human!
Only humans would establish sects. Wasn't that how the Demonic Path came to be?
'What is the Ancient Demon God's true identity?'
Ye Chen knew his current realm was still far too weak.
He was nowhere near being able to reach that level.
But one day, he would figure it all out.
...
「Two hours passed.」
Astonishing Sword Qi continuously burst from Ye Chen's body. The ground beneath his feet was sliced into countless cracks, like a spiderweb.
Luo Sandao watched, utterly speechless. Ye Chen had clearly undergone some sort of transformation, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.
He only felt that the Ye Chen before him was like a treasured sword that had been honed for a thousand years—terrifyingly sharp.