Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Sword of All Beings

Watching Xiyue before me, her entire body entwined by those black shadows constantly weaving through her form, I felt an ache in my heart.

“Tu, what exactly is happening to Xiyue right now?”

“Master, please don’t worry. Mistress may have triggered some kind of restriction when she fought that transformed Azure Dragon from Lingquan Village just now. It seems Mistress has realized she has lost something important, so she’s trying to use some secret arts she knows to break this seal.”

Before I could respond, Tu continued, “But Master, to be honest, though Mistress possesses some power now, there is absolutely no hope of breaking this ancient seal. Such ancient sorcery can only be undone by the descendants of the Celestial Clan, who must forge the Sword of All Living Beings with their own divine blood, and then use it to shatter these chains of sealing!”

“Celestial Clan descendants?”

Hearing Tu utter those words, my expression changed dramatically. This was far beyond anything I had imagined—could it be that gods truly exist in this world?

“Yes, Master. In our era, the Celestial Clan was a tremendously powerful race, living alongside humans, demons, fiends, and ghosts. It was nothing like today’s society; everyone cultivated, delving into yin and yang arts. But many of those ancient techniques have faded into obscurity now. Though I’ve been dormant for so many years, I could still sense countless transformations of this world through the great formation.”

“In our time, the Celestial Clan wielded absolute power. They signed agreements with the demon, fiend, and ghost clans for mutual non-aggression, but they enslaved humanity. All other races were relatively weak then; especially the ghost clan, which depended on human reincarnation for vitality. The fiend and demon clans also needed humans to replenish their bloodlines, and humans outnumbered all other races by tens of thousands of times. Celestials, from birth, could sense the world, master space, and learn extremely quickly, especially in the arts of yin and yang. Humans, however, were weak and had to cultivate for years just to defeat a celestial infant. Eventually, the Celestial Clan’s mighty ones opened independent realms, forbidding their kin from associating with humans.”

“The Celestials considered themselves the noblest race and dreamed of unifying the world, establishing their own laws. In the long years of human subjugation, a great one finally arose among humans—the Human Emperor—who led countless people in a war against the Celestial Clan. The battle lasted for years, with both sides suffering immense losses, though humanity’s losses were particularly dire. Yet humans had the advantage of numbers and pressed on relentlessly. Countless Celestial masters fell, and some Celestials became stranded in the human world. In the end, unable to sustain their losses, the Celestial Clan retreated to their own domain—the Divine Realm—where they hid and nursed their wounds. At that time, the demon, fiend, and ghost clans sought a share of the spoils before humanity could recover, forming an alliance to attack the humans. Compared to the Celestials, these races were limited in power. To protect his people, the Human Emperor and his trusted generals transformed into an ancient barrier formation, completely isolating the armies of those three clans. Later the fiend clan, through great means, broke through the barrier, but I, the Elder of Yin and Yang, stopped them at Mount Kunlun. That battle left us gravely wounded, and in his final moment, the Elder of Yin and Yang became the Bridge of Man and Fiend, severing the two realms!”

Tu recounted the entire saga in one breath, and my heart trembled. That meant the seal binding Xiyue was placed by at least an ancient mighty one, and not just any mighty one, but an adept who could comprehend yin and yang with a single thought, as Tu described. With the Celestial Clan retreating to their own realm, could there truly be no one left who could save Xiyue?

“Tu, you just mentioned the Sword of All Living Beings—how exactly is it forged?”

Tu glanced at me then, her large dark eyes rolling twice in exasperation.

“Master, I’ve only heard of the Sword of All Living Beings, never seen it. It’s said to be forged by a race even above the Celestial Clan, imbued with the essence of all things and representing the will of all living beings!”

Just hearing it, I felt the Sword of All Living Beings must be unimaginably powerful.

“I once heard the Elder of Yin and Yang and the Human Emperor discuss its forging. It requires slaying souls and destroying demons, gathering the world’s virtuous thoughts and souls into a single treasured sword. The prerequisite is a truly extraordinary sword, or it won’t withstand the impact of so many souls.”

My heart quivered slightly.

“So there’s no hope, then?”

Hearing that only the Sword of All Living Beings could break Xiyue’s seal, my emotions surged yet again. I thought that if I could just find the sword, I could save her, but I hadn’t expected the forging to be as difficult as climbing to the heavens. Not only must one slay souls and demons, and collect all the world’s virtuous souls and thoughts, but even finding a sword capable of bearing such countless souls was nearly impossible.

Sensing my thoughts, Tu said gently, “Master, in truth, Mistress cannot possibly break the seal now, nor can she fully manifest the form of the Eight Locks of Heaven and Earth. This seal is harmless as long as you don’t resist it—it poses no threat to the body whatsoever.”

“But who would willingly live a lifetime trapped in the memories of a seal!”

From the very first moment I saw Xiyue, I felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity, as though we had known each other in a previous life. Xiyue gave me the same feeling as Su Ying once did. I still remember, when we were together, it felt as though we’d known each other for many lifetimes, a profound familiarity.

Though it was just a feeling—perhaps explained at the time by our mutual love—now, looking back, it seems far less simple.

Watching the countless shadows swirl and expand around Xiyue, I felt a surge of pain. From her expression, I could see her confusion and suffering, like a child lost in the night, searching endlessly for a ray of light to escape the darkness. No matter how she reached out or called, no one answered her. That helplessness resonated deeply with me.

“Tu, from this moment onward, I want to forge the Sword of All Living Beings. You must help me!”

Hearing my words, Tu seemed momentarily stunned, then sighed deeply. “Master, are you truly resolved? Even if it means death and obliteration, you would not regret it?”