Cohabitation with Sword Spirit

Chapter 519 - 20: A Great Figure Descends from the Heavens

"Old man, you’re just being emotional and refusing to face reality. If those two founders’ actions were to be explained as wise and insightful, their Intelligence Index would probably be even higher than that of the Shang Girl back then! But if you look at it from a different perspective, if it’s just because they were foolish enough, it actually explains things better."

"You’re just being unreasonable. If making the right choice is because someone is foolish rather than smart, then what’s the difference between being smart and being foolish?"

"The difference is that when there are too many smart people, fools will stand out, and vice versa. When the Saint Sect was founded, it was right at the end of the Dark Era, when warlords had been dividing the land for too long, and people were weary and exhausted by endless wars. At that time, everyone was adept at scheming, calculating the pros and cons of every word and action almost from birth, as a slight misstep could lead to ruin. However, this excessive scheming and cleverness did not improve human civilization; instead, it created a massive quagmire, trapping people within. Everyone deep down loathed this environment. And at this time, two fools who ignored all rules naturally stood out and won everyone’s support. While I’ve always looked down on fools, I also admit that in that era, only fools could create miracles."

"...So ultimately, you’d rather praise the Saint Sect, which you’ve always looked down upon, just to prove our two ancestors were fools?"

"To be precise, they were unfortunate victims of the Demon Race’s poisoning behavior."

"Isn’t that the same thing!"

While Zhao Chenlu was adamantly proving that the two founders of the Saint Sect were mentally impaired victims of the Demon Race’s poison, Wang Jiu had already discovered the origin of the Demon Race’s aura through the Demon-Pointing Sword once again.

At the bottom of that tranquil lake, a trace amount of the Demon Race’s aura was hidden.

Seeing Wang Jiu’s reaction, Zhao Chenlu temporarily set aside the verbal dispute with the Saint Sect’s Sect Leader and said, "Words alone can’t convince people, but I have evidence. I found traces of the Demon Race here."

Upon hearing this, before the Sect Leader could speak, Wang Jiu transformed into a beam of white light without hesitation and flew into the lake.

The lake water was clear and tranquil, yet it felt as heavy and sticky as glue, with each further descent met by doubled elastic resistance. It was like an extremely elastic transparent shield, protecting the underwater cave.

However, this little mechanism couldn’t stop Zhao Chenlu and certainly couldn’t stop the Celestial Divine Sword, as the pure white Divine Sword cut through the water like it was bamboo and arrived before the entrance of a cave.

"This is... where the relic of the First Generation Sect Leader is located."

Behind them, the Saint Sect’s Sect Leader’s emotions were somewhat complex, then he reached out and opened the stone door of the cave.

With a rumbling sound, the stone door opened inward, and a gentle repulsion force kept the lake’s water at bay but did not stop Wang Jiu and the others from entering.

The space behind the door wasn’t vast, about the size of a regular bedroom, with three display cabinets inside, sparsely filled with exhibits.

"The items left by the two founders are few, and there’s no written material among them, so..."

Before he finished speaking, the Sect Leader shook his head and fell silent.

Because Wang Jiu and Zhao Chenlu had completely left him aside, immersed in their own world.

Wang Jiu walked to one of the display cabinets, looked at a somewhat uniquely shaped cyan teapot inside, and asked, "Is this the evidence you found?"

Zhao Chenlu said, "Yes, look at the backflow design of the spout. Doesn’t it resemble the filter spout commonly used in the Demon Race’s vanguard standard water bottles?"

Wang Jiu examined it seriously and said, "Although the shape is quite different from the Demon Race water bottles, the design concept does indeed have similarities..."

"Exactly." Zhao Chenlu nodded, "They must have acquired the heritage of the Demon Race!"

Hearing this, the Sect Leader had to interrupt, "Wait, your conclusion is a bit too hasty, don’t you think? You’re linking them to the Demon Race just because of a teapot? The spout design of this teapot isn’t unique. Besides the First Generation Sect Leader, I’ve seen similar results elsewhere, and in practice, it actually works well when drinking certain teas because of its excellent filtering effect..."

"It’s not about being good or bad. It’s not that things from the Demon Race are inherently bad. As a civilization strong enough to almost eradicate human civilization, the Demon Race surely has many strengths worth learning from. Especially in military supplies, they embody the ingenuity of countless Demon sages. Their military water bottle design is one such example, which I studied back in the day."

"Since you’ve also studied it, on what basis do you conclude they obtained the legacy of the Demon Race and not your own legacy?"

"Because if it were our legacy, this technology definitely wouldn’t be used on a teapot. The Demon Race’s filter is designed to allow their vanguard to adapt to the environments of the Myriad Realms and find drinkable water anywhere. But for humans, who never invaded the Chaotic Myriad Realms, our water sources are not so complex, so we don’t need such filters. The correct application of this technology is on the Spirit Gathering Array, to enhance the efficiency of gathering Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. Only by obtaining the Demon Race’s kettle without deep processing ability would one mimic its usage on a teapot. For humans, this use is too wasteful, so such filters remain rare to this day, and if you trace back the historical origin, the oldest application case is right here. As the pioneer, is it wrong to suspect he obtained the Demon Race’s legacy?"

This string of reasoning left the Sect Leader of the Saint Sect with no choice but to nod in agreement.

"Furthermore, there’s this Pill Furnace. Although modified, its core obviously bears traces of Demon Race technology. It seems to me it was more like restored from fragments of a Demon Race furnace, achieving high efficiency when refining some dangerous materials. However, in the current environment of Xiangzhou, it should no longer be applicable."

Zhao Chenlu said with a sigh.

"In the three display cabinets, there are several similar items. Whether they’re connected to the Demon Race, I say you probably won’t believe, so ask him instead."

Wang Jiu gave a direct affirmative response: "Although not directly related, there are very close indirect connections. It can be certain that most of the items here are more or less influenced by the Demon Race... Your suspicions have indeed been partially confirmed; they likely obtained the Demon Race’s legacy."

"Ha, I knew it!" Zhao Chenlu said excitedly, "How could there be such a flawless Saint in the world? Surely, they were under the wrong influence!"

At this point, the Sect Leader also gave up resisting, no longer arguing: "Well, no matter how complex and absurd the historical cause, the result is ultimately good. The two founders ended humanity’s Dark Era and established the brilliant civilization of Xiangzhou. Are you going to deny the historical value of the Saint Sect just because they were poisoned? Overthrow the current order?"

At this point, the Sect Leader was a bit tense, although Zhao Chenlu didn’t appear to be someone interested in world destruction, she certainly had the ability. Once a Great Cultivator who reached the Heaven Shattering Realm and fought against the Demon Race, now aided by the Celestial Divine Sword, she was virtually unstoppable.

If calculated simply, even if the Sect Leader of the Saint Sect combined forces with the leaders of the Three Academies, they could at most temporarily repel her. Yet, over time, her power would surpass the people of Xiangzhou today, and by then...

At this moment, Zhao Chenlu said, "Why would I want to overthrow the current order? Is it fun being a chieftain in primitive society? If I were that power-hungry, I would have expanded greatly when I was in charge of Golden Jade City. Even if I’m not fully confident about places like Heaven-Reaching City or Celestial Craft City, annexing Cyan Cloud City would be more than enough."

Saying this, Zhao Chenlu also sighed: "Now I wish I hadn’t been lazy back then. If I had truly annexed Cyan Cloud City, I would have definitely been the one to awaken the Celestial Divine Sword."

The Sect Leader questioned, "With your character, even if you annexed Cyan Cloud City, would you have ventured into the market to buy a White Sword?"

Zhao Chenlu replied, "With my character, the first thing I’d do after annexing Cyan Cloud City is send the entire Li Family to Feiyan Mountain to mine. Without that little girl causing trouble, with the ties between us, an encounter was only a matter of time."

This meticulous and detailed reasoning left no room for refutation.

Meanwhile, Wang Jiu had already finished examining all the contents of the three display cabinets. Although he still harbored some doubts deep down, he also recognized that rational thinking made Zhao Chenlu’s hypothesis the most reasonable and likely.

The remains of the First Generation Sect Leader were pure-blooded human, but they had an unbreakable link with the Demon Race, and their daily utensils often bore Demon Race characteristics. Their disposition did indeed show symptoms of being under the wrong influence.

In this light, the truth seemed clear: two extraordinarily gifted humans accidentally unearthed relics of the Demon Race from the Immortal Demon War era during the Dark Era. With significantly degraded knowledge at the time, they were oblivious to the danger of the Demon Race legacy, consumed possibly lethal pills, gained power, lost humanity, and eventually became legendary Saints.

Even in the eyes of the Celestial Divine Sword, this was a story full of irony, yet he viewed human history as a satirical joke.

So, let’s temporarily accept this hypothesis.

The Sect Leader finally breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Sword Spirit senior, can the Saint Sect now be completely cleared of suspicion?"

Wang Jiu said, "Concerning the Demon Race, aside from myself, no one can be completely cleared of suspicion. The Demon Race’s infiltration is exhaustive and defenseless, even Zhao Chenlu must periodically undergo examination with the Demon-Pointing Sword. But I will not let this suspicion hinder normal work and life, so although the Saint Sect still has suspicion, I won’t take any action unless new problems are discovered."

"Regarding the succession of the Sect Leader, can it be delayed for some time before further discussion?" the elder asked, suddenly glancing at Zhao Chenlu and then changing his wording.