The echoes of swords clashing on the Far North Ice Plains had barely faded when the demonic energy of Blood Fiend Valley in the western borderlands surged skyward like boiling asphalt. The viscous black energy condensed in mid-air into a grotesque Sword-shaped Vortex, each Dao Patterns oozing Fishy Sweet Blood Qi. Dark red lightning crackled at the center of the vortex, staining the sky a rusty color. Even the circling vultures were corroded by the demonic energy, their feathers falling out as they screamed and plummeted into the valley. The lightning struck the cliff walls, scorching hissing Black Hole in the millennia-old ice, from which the faint snoring of Ancient Demons could be heard.
As the Sword Demon's ferocious roar shattered the clouds for three thousand miles, Ren Xiaoyao was meditating in Jade Marrow Valley when a burning pain suddenly shot through the sword Sword Seal —a challenge letter, written with the breastbone of a living person as its template and Essence Blood as its ink, had pierced his flesh like a living thing. The Demonic Flame Runes on the Broken Sword Swallowing Sun Diagram were sizzling and burning his skin, drawing out fine beads of blood. These beads of blood did not drip down; instead, they gathered on the surface of his skin into Miniature Sword Mound, each containing a small Sword Mound formed from black energy, about an inch long. The small swords moved without wind, reflecting countless grinning phantoms of the Sword Demon in the morning light, their tips aimed at Ren Xiaoyao's throbbing temples.
Wisps of black smoke seeped from the words "Three days later, the life-or-death duel at Demon Fall Cliff," weaving grotesque Ghost Face Patterns onto his sleeve. The ghost face opened its fangs and bit the gold thread on his sleeve, as if it would drill into his heart along his meridians at any moment. The gold thread turned bluish-black where it was bitten, and the True Qi that Ren Xiaoyao forced out with his internal energy was instantly turned into wisps of white smoke as soon as it touched the ghost face. From the white smoke drifted a faint nursery rhyme, the < Sword Mound Ballad > that he had heard in his mountain village when he was a child, but now it was sung like the wailing of ghosts.
The Sword Demon's voice, piercing through the blood-stained bandage, carried a mocking metallic tone. "Little brat, don't wet your pants in fear! My demonic sword is designed to slay cowards! If you're scared, kneel down and kowtow three times, and maybe I'll spare your corpse." His voice was punctuated by the cracking sounds of dislocated joints, as if countless vengeful spirits were churning in his throat. Upon closer listening, these cracking sounds actually formed the death screams of past Sword Master, creating a sharp resonance in the ear canal.
A Sword Demon, shrouded in black robes and shrouded in twelve vortexes of Sha Qi, Shattering the Void as it arrived. The moment the Spiritual Charm of the thousand-year-old crystal Glazed Ancient Tree in the valley touched the demonic energy, blue smoke billowed up like boiling oil poured onto snow. Spiderweb-like charred cracks spread across the bark, and from the depths of these cracks, the wailing of the Ancient Tree Spirit Soul could be faintly heard. The cracks expanded at a visible speed, and Glazed Ice leaves fell to the ground, turning into black charcoal upon impact, with viscous resin still seeping from the veins. The resin dripped onto the bluestone path and solidified into countless miniature skulls, their eye sockets flickering with eerie green flames.
The sound of his knuckles striking the " Greedy Wolf " demonic sword at his waist was like a death knell. Suddenly, the nine skull-shaped sword blades opened their blood-red eyes, projecting the scene of Ren Xiaoyao snow—but the sword light was twisted into a broken blade by demonic energy, and the master's hand handing over the sword turned into white bone claws, scratching out the Blood Characters "fake" in the void, each stroke dripping with putrid Black Blood. The Blood Characters turned into maggots on the ground, wriggling out the words "trash" on the Green Moss. Where the maggots crawled, patches of Black Datura grew, and in the stamens, the illusory image of Ren Xiaoyao's embarrassing sword practice appeared.
"A mere brat like you dares to inherit the title ' Bearing the Oath '?" The Sword Demon suddenly reached out and grabbed a falling Glazed Ice leaf, melting it into a sharp sword shape with demonic energy from his fingertips. Dark green venom was still dripping from the leaf's tip. The venom dripped onto the stone table, corroding the thousand-year-old Mysterious Stone with honeycomb-like holes. Wisps of blue smoke rose, carrying a pungent sulfurous smell. Countless faces emerged from the sulfurous smoke, all innocent victims slaughtered by the Sword Demon. Their lips moved, but no sound came out.
"Your master, that old bastard, couldn't even hold a sword properly before he died. His disciples will probably only know how to show off their skills!" He flicked his wrist, and the Glazed Sword sank three feet into the ground. Images of Ren Xiaoyao's repeated missteps during Ren Xiaoyao practice appeared on the blade, each phantom branded with a mocking mark of demonic energy. These marks, shaped like smiling skulls, distorted with the vibrations of the sword, emitting faint, snickering sounds. The snickers coalesced into a torrent, causing black ripples to spread across the Spirit Spring of Jade Marrow Valley.
On the day of the final battle, Demon Fall Cliff resembled an overturned black pot. Rain seeping from the dark clouds condensed into bone spikes upon landing on the sword platform, piercing the cracks in the rocks with a clanging sound. These bone spikes swayed in the wind, reflecting countless phantom images of Sword Demon laughing maniacally, densely covering the entire cliff face, making one dizzy from the sight. Black Blood Tears flowed from the eyes of these phantoms, dripping onto the cliff face to form new bone spikes, quickly weaving into a massive Demonic Net.
As the Sword Demon leaned against his demonic sword and laughed wildly, twelve streams of Sha Qi gathered beneath his feet to form the " Extinguish Dao " demonic array. At the array's core, dozens of broken sword skeletons floated in the churning blood mist—the remnants of past Sword Master, torn apart and wailing in the demonic energy. Each soul was pierced through the Black Chains. The chains were engraved with Curse Runes, flashing red with the Sword Demon's laughter, and the wails of the souls rose higher, coalescing into a tooth-grinding sonic wave. The sonic wave crashed against the cliff face, causing bone spikes to shatter and fall like a black meteor shower onto the sword platform.
"The true way of the sword is survival of the fittest!" With a flick of his sleeve, a hundred bone swords burst forth, each sword shadow entwined with the shrieks of vengeful ghosts, their blades aimed specifically at the Sword Seal Ren Xiaoyao's brows—among them, the hidden seventh bone sword suddenly split into three poisonous needles, their tips gleaming with a ghostly blue light, the very " Three Yin Intestine-Severing Needles " used to ambush the First Generation Sword Master. The needles' ends were tied with black down, tracing eerie arcs in the air. The down was coated with dark green venom, which, when dripped onto the grass, caused highly poisonous " Ghost Cry Vine " to sprout from the cracks in the rocks.
"See that pile of scrap metal?" The Sword Demon tapped the remnant soul at the array's core with his chin, a cruel smile curving his lips. "All your dead ancestors combined wouldn't even be enough to fill a gap in my demonic sword! The way they knelt before me begging for mercy back then was far more pathetic than you are now." With that, he used his demonic sword to lift up a remnant soul, which let out a shrill scream as its body was torn apart like rags. What seeped from the tear wasn't spiritual blood, but black demonic energy, which instantly condensed into countless ghostly hands, reaching for Ren Xiaoyao's ankle.
As Ren Xiaoyao raised his Green Mang Sword, the phantoms of the seventy-two spiritual swords within his body trembled like the tolling of a bell. Mars suddenly flew from the jade pendant on the sword tassel—a warning from the Heart-Protecting Jade left behind by the First Generation Sword Master. Fine cracks appeared on the surface of the jade pendant, from which Golden Blood seeped, dripping onto the sword and forming the words "Be Careful." The golden characters were immediately corroded and blurred by the demonic energy in the air, leaving only two faint points of light.
He gazed at the surging black waves of jealousy in the Sword Demon's pupils, and suddenly felt a chill creep up the Reverse-Orbit Runes between his brows—it was the remnant soul of the First Generation Sword Master manifesting deep within his sea of consciousness. The remnant soul's fingertip traced Dao Bones sword. "Look at the cracks on that bone sword, each one a scar from when he was expelled by the righteous path. The deepest one was made by his fellow disciple striking him with a broken sword." The remnant soul's voice was laced with blood, as if he had just crawled back from the Nine Netherworlds. Before he finished speaking, the image of the remnant soul was scattered by a gust of black wind, leaving only a faint wisp of sandalwood Sandalwood Incense.
Just as the bone sword was three inches from his throat, he spun his wrist in the trajectory of the Big Dipper, Green Mang Sword transformed into Star Orbit of fireflies, attracting all one hundred bone swords to its Sword Spine. Suddenly, a faint wailing sound emanated from the sword, the weeping of the souls trapped within the bone swords. The weeping grew louder and louder, merging into a cacophony of ghostly wails, shaking the bone spikes on the cliff face and causing them to shatter. The broken bone spikes exploded into dust in the air, from which countless fireflies flew out, each firefly bearing a blood-red character for "injustice" imprinted on its wings.
As the fluorescent light flickered, a blurry image appeared on the surface of the bone sword: the young Sword Demon knelt before the sect's gate, holding the broken sword, only to have his finger severed by the guard's spear. The splattered blood bloomed into eerie red plum blossoms on the snow, while the two characters "Righteous Path" on the sect's plaque blurred in the wind and snow. The boy in the image raised his head, his face covered in blood, but his eyes, like those of a wounded wolf cub, were filled with resentment and bitterness. The resentment materialized into black mist, overflowing from the image and condensing into the character "Hate" on the Sword Spine of Ren Xiaoyao's sword.
"Oh ho, you've even learned to suck up trash?" The Sword Demon whistled, his demonic energy suddenly transforming into a giant hand that slammed down on the Sword Spine. The palm's lines were filled with distorted, weeping faces. "You dare to perform such a cheap trick in front of your grandfather? Where were you hypocrites when I was expelled from the sect?" The giant hand struck the sword with a dull thud. Ren Xiaoyao felt his arm go numb, and the Green Mang Sword nearly slipped from his grasp. A black palm print appeared on his numb arm, the weeping faces within it still twisting and wailing.
"What you hate isn't the position of Sword Master." Ren Xiaoyao's sword tassel swept across the ground, and the Star Orbit instantly wove together the " Heart-Questioning Formation." Within the array, images of the Sword Demon Demon's life, filled with scorn, appeared: being hunted by the righteous path while hiding in a mass grave and gnawing on raw flesh, using enemy skulls as bowls to drink water, being bitten by thousands of snakes in the Demon Cave but still managing to crush their heads and swallow their gallbladders. Each image was accompanied by a pungent stench of blood and decay, causing the Sword Demon's eyes to glaze over. In his daze, countless eyes appeared on his black robe, all of them the wronged souls he had devoured, staring at him.
Suddenly, the Greedy Wolf Demon Sword erupted with World-Destroying Demonic Qi, originating from the same source as the destructive pillar of light in the Far North Ice Plains. In an instant, it tore the light net to shreds, each fragment transforming into a black butterfly that swooped towards Ren Xiaoyao's face. The butterfly wings were imprinted with skull patterns, and when they flapped, they emitted a bewitching Bewitching Incense. Ren Xiaoyao quickly held his breath, and his sword tassel danced with a flurry of Sword Flower, slaying all the butterflies. The severed butterfly corpses turned into black ashes, from which countless poisonous scorpions leaped out, their stingers gleaming with a ghostly blue light.
As the Sword Demon closed in on the enemy, a poisoned needle flicked from his sleeve, coated with the Bone-Corroding Poisonous Liquid of the Ten Thousand Snake Cavern. A sinister smile curled at the corner of his lips, "Those hypocritical scoundrels deserve to die! If they hadn't been so ruthless back then, I wouldn't be in this state!" The poisoned needle drew three green streaks in the air, whistling as it cut through the air. The venom dripped onto the stone, corroding it into a deep hole. From within the hole came the hissing of countless serpents, mixed with the cries of countless people begging for mercy.
Before the words were finished, the demonic sword suddenly struck Ren Xiaoyao's Green Mang Sword, producing a sound like a broken gong, "Tsk tsk, this piece of junk dares to call itself a sword? It's too dirty to even carry my Greedy Wolf's shoes! See those nine skulls on the hilt? Those are the heads of your righteous masters!" The demonic sword struck the Green Mang Sword, sending countless Mars flying. The Mars landed and formed Demonic Runes patterns, spreading across the ground in a hideous pattern. The pattern formed a huge graveyard, with a broken sword stuck in the ground on each grave, the name of a righteous cultivator engraved on the blade.
The green sword suddenly let out a dragon roar, and the twenty-eight runes on the sword illuminated the Big Dipper star. The word "Oath" on the sword's spine oozed white blood, which was the resonance of the essence and blood of the sword masters in the past. The blood flowed down the sword body and was on the blade. Condensed into tiny sword shapes, each sword shape emitted a clear sword cry, echoing the dragon's roar. Amidst the sword cry, those tiny sword shapes turned into countless light butterflies, with the word "Guardian" printed on their wings, flying towards Ren Xiaoyao's eyebrows.
As the Greedy Wolf Demon Sword slashed towards his shoulder, Ren Xiaoyao flicked the sword tassel with his finger. The dewdrop, condensed with the White Wither Wolf Tears, suddenly transformed into a wolf-shaped light shield. The Mysterious Tablet Seal that appeared on the shield's surface was the very rune that the Sword Saint had used to suppress the World-Destroying Demonic Flames. Each rune emitted a low, chanting sound. The light shield emitted a soft white light, colliding with the black aura of the Greedy Wolf Demon Sword and producing a hissing sound, like ice meeting fire. Countless points of light erupted at the point of impact, each transforming into a tiny Guardian Spirits, holding the light shield and standing in front of Ren Xiaoyao.
The moment the two forces of the same origin collided, a blinding white light erupted. The Sword Demon was horrified to see the world-destroying patterns on the Greedy Wolf Demon Sword crumbling inch by inch. What seeped from the cracks was not demonic energy, but the half-eaten Crumbled Wheat Cake he had secretly hidden in his pocket when he was a boy. His mother's fingerprints were still on the crumb, appearing exceptionally clear in the white light. The Sword Demon's pupils contracted sharply, and his hand holding the sword trembled slightly. On his trembling fingers, the stitches left by his mother when she bandaged his wounds flashed by.
"A mere trick!" He forcibly suppressed his shock, deliberately drawing a piercing sound on the ground with his demonic sword. Mars flew and burned holes in his black robe, revealing scarred skin beneath. "Even that old bastard Sword Saint couldn't stop me back then, and you, a mere brat, can't do it? Watch closely, this is true power!" The scars glowed red in the Mars, writhing like living things and emitting faint groans. The groans coalesced into a mother's call, faintly echoing in the Sword Demon's ears.
"Your sword has never protected anyone." Ren Xiaoyao's sword aura suddenly changed, the Green Mang Sword transforming into thousands of sword tassels, each tassel reflecting a different scene: a child with a bun chasing butterflies in spring falling into a mud puddle, a farmer wiping sweat with his sword sheath as a hoe during the autumn harvest, a gatekeeper adding Sword Cultivator with the blade of his sword on a winter night. These scenes, bathed in a warm glow, contrasted sharply with the surrounding black mist, making the Sword Demon's eyes complex. In those complex eyes, for the first time, a trace of confusion flashed, a confusion tinged with a longing for warmth.
These Mortal Worldly Charm surged towards the Greedy Wolf Demon Sword like a tidal wave. The nine skulls on the hilt howled in pain, and one of them suddenly coughed up half a tooth—the front tooth that the Sword Demon had lost when he was twelve years old, knocked out by his master. The Sword Wheel formed from demonic energy trembled incessantly before the Power of All Living Beings, and black fragments began to peel off from the rim. Each fragment turned into a tearful eye. The eyes reflected the Sword Demon's past, including sadness, anger, and a barely perceptible longing. In that longing, the scene of his mother waiting for him to come home at the village entrance appeared, causing a crack to appear in his demonic heart for the first time.
The Sword Demon suddenly burst into maniacal laughter, his laughter tinged with barely concealed panic. Black Blood he coughed up dripped onto the sword-grip, blooming into black flowers. "Guardian? That sissy thing dares to talk about the Way of the Sword? Back then, when I wanted to protect my master, he treated me like Devil Race spy!" The black flowers swayed in the wind, emitting a strange fragrance. Black Blood condensed on their petals, sliding down like tears. The falling blood droplets gathered into a small pool on the ground, within which the scene of his master's wrongful accusation floated.
He coughed up a mouthful of Black Blood, yet still stubbornly pointed his demonic sword at Ren Xiaoyao, the tip trembling like an autumn leaf. "Once I've cleaved you in two, I'll melt this broken sword down and use it as fertilizer for Greedy Wolf! I'll let you taste the feeling of being crushed!" Black Blood dripped from the sword tip, forming a twisted "death" character on the ground, black smoke rising from the edges, choking people. Countless wronged souls' hands emerged from the smoke, reaching out from the ground to grab the Sword Demon's ankles, trying to drag him into hell.
The Sword Demon roared as it burned its Demonic Core. The black Sword Wheel, formed from twelve Sha Qi, was etched with the names of the innocent victims it had slaughtered. Each name dripped blood, the droplets forming a stream that flowed towards Ren Xiaoyao's blade. Countless faces of wronged souls emerged from the stream, their mouths agape, unable to utter a sound, only staring at Ren Xiaoyao with venomous eyes, causing his heart to tighten. Suddenly, the phantoms of past Sword Master appeared on the Green Mang Sword he gripped tightly, forming a wall of light that blocked the gaze of the wronged souls.
Ren Xiaoyao closed his eyes, the rune between his brows resonated with the " Heart-Guarding Sword Manual " within the Star Core. The blood oath of the First Generation Sword Master, the tears of the White Wither Wolf, and the sword intent of the Sword Saint merged into a pure Sword Rainbow. This sword light, condensed from the will to protect, did not produce a deafening roar; it merely touched the crack in the Greedy Wolf Demon Sword like a gentle spring breeze. Where the Sword Rainbow passed, tender green shoots sprouted from the cracks. The shoots grew rapidly within the sword light, blossoming into small white flowers that emitted a refreshing fragrance, dispelling the surrounding demonic energy. The fragrance even contained the scent of his mother, causing the Sword Demon's demonic heart to tremble violently.
The moment the sword rainbow fell, the sword demon suddenly used his last strength to spat out a mouthful of black phlegm, which was wrapped with half a broken breast mirror. "Bah! Don't think that you are the true sword master if you win... You are just like those hypocrites... you are useless! If not... "If it hadn't been for that year..." The vague word "An" was engraved on the fragment of the breast mirror, which was his mother's name, and there were dried blood stains on the edge of the fragment. The blood stain gradually faded in the white light, revealing the peace symbol pattern carved for him by his mother's own hands.
As the Sword Rainbow descended, the dark clouds over Demon Fall Cliff were cleaved into a clear sky stretching for thousands of miles. Sunlight pierced through the clouds and shone on the sword platform, where the solidified bone spikes transformed into glistening dewdrops. The dewdrops shimmered with iridescent light in the sunlight, rolling down to the ground and seeping into the soil with a soft, hissing sound, as if nourishing the parched earth. From the nourished soil, patches of Worry-Dispelling Grass sprouted, their flowers swaying gently, as if soothing restless souls.
Ren Xiaoyao watched as the Greedy Wolf Demon Sword shattered like Glazed Ice, its demonic energy dissipating into specks of light that transformed into butterflies and flew towards Jade Marrow Valley. Suddenly, he noticed a tear on the sword tassel—a tear of regret for the Sword Demon's misguided path. The tear reflected the image of the Sword Demon practicing his sword under the sunlight, a vision he should have possessed. The boy in the image smiled brightly, Red String left by his mother tied to the sword tassel, swaying gently in the wind. Hanging from the swaying Red String was a small Peace Amulet, woven by his mother with Red Thread.
As the Sword Demon's form turned to ashes, a pure Sword Soul emerged from the fragments of the demonic sword and actively merged into his Star Core. Within the Sword Soul, the image of the young Sword Demon practicing swordsmanship under the moon atop a mountain was clearly reflected; at that time, the Red String left by his mother was still tied to the tassel of his sword. The moment the Sword Soul merged, a memory flashed through Ren Xiaoyao's mind: the young Sword Demon practicing swordsmanship under the moon, the Red String accidentally coming undone. He carefully retied it, murmuring, "Mother, when I return after mastering my skills, I will take you to live a good life." In his murmur, the boy's eyes shone with longing for the future—the last glimmer of light before his Demonic Transformation.
Within the dissipating demonic energy, a final, unwilling muttering seemed to linger, broken into fragmented sighs by the mountain wind. "If it weren't for... being expelled from the sect back then... who would want to be this Demon Head... who would want to..."
That faint, almost imperceptible milky scent was the lingering warmth of the Sword Demon's mother's embrace as an infant. The wind whipped up the fine sand of Demon Fall Cliff, and in the instant the sword light faded, it carried the last wisp of demonic energy, a sigh, to Jade Marrow Valley —where the ancient Glazed Ancient Tree were sprouting new buds, and in the veins of each tender leaf flowed the memories sealed by the First Generation Sword Master. Ren Xiaoyao brushed his fingertips across the teardrops on the sword tassel, and suddenly saw a swarm of butterflies fluttering in the distant sky, the Demonic Runes on their wings faded to a pale gold, just like the fireflies the young Sword Demon had seen during the spring equinox.
The sound of the Greedy Wolf Demon Sword shattering still echoed through the valley. The remnants of the sword's remains, Demonic Qi Erosion, suddenly broke free of their chains, transforming into specks of light that merged into the Green Mang Sword. The shimmering white blood bearing the inscription " Bearing the Oath " on the Sword Spine suddenly boiled, weaving a crisscrossing net of light across the blade—a " Heart-Guarding Formation " woven from the lifeblood of successive Sword Master. This array now enveloped the remaining Sword Soul of the Sword Demon. With each pulsation of the net of light, a buried nursery rhyme could be heard seeping from the sword. "Deep in the Sword Mound, the youth returns, Red String ties the moon to illuminate the humble door..."
Ren Xiaoyao suddenly recalled when he first entered the sect, his master pointing to the title page of the sword manual and saying, "The true sword is not about annihilation, but about restoring shattered light to its rightful place." At this moment, the Sword Soul within the Star Core resonated with the Green Mang Sword. He saw the young Sword Demon kneeling beside the broken sword in the snow, picking up the Crumbled Wheat Cake his mother had sewn into the hilt—those crumbs had been hidden within the world-destroying patterns of the Greedy Wolf Demon Sword for three hundred years, and now, finally, thanks to the protective sword intent, they shattered into dust in the rainbow of light, the rising dust filled with the unspoken words, "Mother, I'm not in pain."
A cloud suddenly drifted across the clear sky above Demon Fall Cliff, carrying the Sword Master of the Far North Ice Plains. When they saw the newly sprouted Worry-Dispelling Grass on the cliff face, glistening with dew, and the tear shed for their enemy on Ren Xiaoyao's sword tassel, all the blades resonated with a clear, melodious sound. The eldest Sword Master stroked the remaining bone spurs on the cliff and murmured, "When we drove him away, who would have thought that the Heart-Protecting Mirror he hid in his sleeve was engraved with 'Protect my son's safety'..."
In the valley where the demonic energy had dissipated, Ren Xiaoyao inserted the Green Mang Sword into a crevice in the rock. The moment the sword touched the ground, all the bone swords that had been absorbed suddenly shattered into powder, from which twelve transparent ribbons of light floated out—these were the twelve memories of the Sword Demon before he was devoured by the Sha Qi: the white wolf he encountered while gathering herbs on the mountain for his sick mother, the spring night he used a broken sword to carve wooden forks for refugees, and the half-jade pendant he hid in a tree hole when he was falsely accused. The ribbons of light wrapped around the sword tassel, dyeing the tear of regret amber, within which was clearly reflected the peach blossoms that had fallen in his hair when the young Sword Demon tied the Red String.
In the distance, the black mist of Blood Fiend Valley had faded to a pale purple. Herb gatherers saw a flower tree they had never seen before growing at the valley entrance. Its petals were shaped like swords, and a shimmering white light flowed between the veins of its leaves. They said it was the Sword Soul of the Sword Demon. Every full moon night, the flower tree would emit a faint Sword Hum, as if someone were softly humming. "If there is an afterlife, I will not be Demon Head, but only a person who gazes at the moon on the mountaintop..." At this moment, Ren Xiaoyao was looking at the Amber Tear on the sword tassel and suddenly understood that the true final chapter of the sword path was not about victory or defeat, life or death, but about allowing all the wronged youths to re-tie their Red String in the light.