Witch-Slaying Sword Forged, Swapping Beams and Pillars

When Lu Chen slipped back into Wuzhuang Temple, Zhen Yuanzi was sitting under the Ginseng Fruit Tree, brewing tea.

The tea was Enlightenment Tea, "borrowed" from Lu Chen—though "borrowed" was a euphemism, given Zhen Yuanzi's nonchalant demeanor, he likely had no intention of returning it.

"You're back?" Zhen Yuanzi poured two cups of tea and pushed one over. "The Demon Clan is causing quite a stir. Di Jun turned the East Sea upside down just to find you."

"Let him look," Lu Chen downed the tea in one gulp. "He wouldn't dare come to Longevity Mountain to demand me, anyway."

Zhen Yuanzi chuckled. "You truly are a troublemaker. But this time... you did well."

Lu Chen raised an eyebrow. "Senior, you also disapprove of the Demon Clan slaughtering humans?"

"Disapproval is one thing, seizing an opportunity is another," Zhen Yuanzi refilled his own cup. "Humans were created by Saint Nuwa. The Demon Clan's actions have angered a Saint. By saving those human souls, you've helped Saint Nuwa save some face. She owes you one."

Lu Chen understood.

No wonder he'd sensed a faint, benevolent divine sense sweep over him as he returned to Longevity Mountain—it was Nuwa showing her support.

"By the way, Senior," Lu Chen pulled out a small box from the Qiankun Diagram. "A token of my respect for you."

Inside the box was a small bottle of "Three Lights Divine Water residue." Though only a dozen drops remained, it was still a treasure for healing.

Zhen Yuanzi took it without refusal. "Go on, who are you planning to scheme against now?"

"What a thing to say, Senior," Lu Chen grinned. "I just wanted to ask you about something—when will the Witch-Slaying Sword be ready?"

Zhen Yuanzi counted on his fingers, his brow furrowing slightly. "Soon. Di Jun, enraged by you stealing three million souls, has directly drawn upon the essence, blood, and souls of the Demon Clan's elites to fill the gap, which has actually sped up the sword's forging. At most... three months."

Three months.

Lu Chen narrowed his eyes.

In the original timeline, the day the Witch-Slaying Sword was completed marked the beginning of the final Witch-Demon War.

That sword was too vicious, specifically designed to counter the Witch Clan's physical bodies. A single strike could obliterate an Ancestor Witch's true form! If the Witch Clan hadn't later forged the "Witch-Slaying Saber" (which Lu Chen had actually booby-trapped), they would have lost the first Witch-Demon War.

"Senior, do you think... there's a way to make the Witch-Slaying Sword 'have some problems'?" Lu Chen probed.

Zhen Yuanzi glanced at him. "What mischief are you up to now?"

"It's not mischief, it's self-preservation," Lu Chen said earnestly. "Think about it, Senior. If the Witch-Slaying Sword is too powerful and the Witch Clan is defeated too quickly, and the Demon Clan unifies the Primordial Era, will we rogue cultivators still have good days? Won't we be harvested like leeks by the Demon Clan?"

"Absurd logic," Zhen Yuanzi shook his head, but didn't refute him. "However, tampering with the Witch-Slaying Sword is difficult. Di Jun and Taiyi are personally guarding the forging formation, and the Ten Demon Saints take turns protecting it. Not even a fly could get in."

"If you can't get in, you can use an 'internal channel'," Lu Chen said with a meaningful smile.

Zhen Yuanzi blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Do you remember the 'Great Formation of the Stars Optimization Plan' I anonymously sent to the Demon Clan earlier?" Lu Chen lowered his voice. "In that plan, I embedded a backdoor—it allows remote influence over the forging formation's energy supply through fluctuations in the array."

Zhen Yuanzi gasped. "You..."

"Just a little influence," Lu Chen made a gesture the size of a fingernail. "Enough to reduce the Witch-Slaying Sword's power by ten percent when it's completed. It won't be obvious, but it could save lives at a critical moment."

"How do you plan to do it?"

"I need your help, Senior," Lu Chen leaned closer. "Use the Earth Book to activate the Primordial Era's earth veins, creating an 'earth vein tide' to disrupt the East Sea's spiritual energy for three hours. During those three hours, I'll use the backdoor to make some adjustments."

Zhen Yuanzi fell silent.

After a long while, he sighed. "Lu Chen, do you know the consequences of doing this?"

"I do," Lu Chen nodded. "The Witch-Demon decisive battle will be prolonged, and the casualties will be even more severe. But... isn't it better than one side being crushed and the Primordial Era falling into complete imbalance?"

This statement was half true, half false.

Lu Chen's real objective was to make both the Witch-Slaying Sword and the Witch-Slaying Saber "have problems" simultaneously, so he could then pick up the pieces—the fragments from the collision of those two ferocious weapons would be top-tier refining materials!

But he couldn't say that.

Zhen Yuanzi remained silent for a while longer, and finally nodded. "Only this once, and never again."

"Thank you, Senior!"

Three months later, at the East Sea forging formation.

Di Jun and Taiyi stood at the formation's core, gazing at the blood-red giant sword that had already taken shape, their eyes gleaming with fanaticism.

The Witch-Slaying Sword was finally nearing completion!

The sword body was ninety-nine feet long, its entire surface a deep crimson like blood, etched with the bloodline patterns of millions of Demon Clan elites. At the blade's edge, faint wails of vengeful souls could be heard. The mere aura it emitted caused the surrounding space to constantly crack and reform, as if unable to withstand the sword's ferocious might.

"Brother, the time has come," Taiyi looked at the sky.

It was midnight, the time of peak moonlight and heaviest yin energy, perfect for the final step of forging—drawing in the moonlight to temper the sword and balance the overly violent solar essence within it.

"Draw the moonlight!" Di Jun commanded.

The forging formation whirred to life, and a thick beam of moonlight descended from the heavens, pouring into the Witch-Slaying Sword!

The sword body trembled violently, its blood-red hue gradually fading, replaced by a strange dark red. The sharpness was contained, making it even more lethal.

But at the most crucial moment of the moonlight infusion—

Deep beneath the East Sea, the earth veins suddenly erupted!

RUMBLE!

The entire East Sea was engulfed by a ten-thousand-foot tsunami. The spiritual energy from the earth veins surged like a wild horse, causing the energy supply to the forging formation to become chaotic!

"What's going on?!" Di Jun's expression changed drastically.

"It's the earth vein tide!" Taiyi sensed the anomaly in the earth veins, "Someone is interfering with the East Sea's earth veins!"

Just as the two were about to act to stabilize the great formation, a strange fluctuation suddenly came from the core array eye of the Great Formation of the Stars (Optimized Version)!

That was the backdoor Lu Chen had planted, and it had been activated!

The fluctuation was weak, but at the critical juncture of refining the sword, this weak fluctuation was amplified a hundredfold!

"Buzz--!"

The Witch-Slaying Sword let out a piercing shriek, and a faint crack quietly appeared on its surface.

Although it was instantly repaired by the subsequent moonlight, the moment the crack appeared, a drop of "Chaos Demon God's Vengeful Blood" buried within the sword body seized the opportunity to merge into the sword's core!

Di Jun and Taiyi were completely unaware.

They only saw the earth vein tide quickly subside, the great formation return to normal, and the Witch-Slaying Sword successfully complete its tempering. The sword was forged!

"It's done!" Di Jun grasped the hilt, feeling the terrifying power within the sword, capable of destroying the true form of an Ancestor Witch, and laughed to the heavens, "With this sword in hand, the Witch Clan is doomed!"

Taiyi also breathed a sigh of relief. Although the previous anomaly had made him a little uneasy, the sword was forged, so there should be no problem.

What they didn't know was--

A thousand miles away, on a deserted island.

Lu Chen squatted on a reef, holding a compass-like treasure in his hand. This was the "Formation Deduction Disk" he had swiped from the Treasure Distribution Cliff, specifically used to remotely control array backdoors.

"Done." He looked at the light spot representing the Witch-Slaying Sword on the compass and grinned, "Chaos Demon God's Vengeful Blood has been injected. When it clashes with the Witch-Slaying Saber... hehe."

He put away the compass and disappeared using Brick Escape.

The next day, the Demon Clan's Heavenly Court announced to the Primordial Era:

"The Witch-Slaying Sword is forged, the Witch Clan shall be exterminated! Three days later, a decisive battle at Buzhou Mountain!"

The entire Primordial Era was shaken.

The Witch Clan, unwilling to be outdone, had Ancestor Witch Dijiang raise the Witch-Slaying Saber (now contaminated with Chaos Demon God's Vengeful Blood) and also announced:

"The Demon Clan is rampant! Pangu's true lineage is here! Three days later, at the foot of Buzhou Mountain, we will fight to the death!"

With the two clans declaring war, the final battle of the Calamity began.

Meanwhile, Lu Chen had already returned to Wuzhuang Temple and was playing chess with Zhen Yuanzi.

"This move of yours was risky," Zhen Yuanzi placed a piece. "You tampered with both the Witch-Slaying Sword and the Witch-Slaying Saber. What if they don't clash?"

"It's impossible for them not to clash," Lu Chen ate a piece of his opponent's. "Neither Di Jun nor Dijiang are people who will swallow their pride. When they meet, they'll definitely use their most powerful weapons to clash. At that time..."

He made a "bang" gesture.

"Both ferocious weapons will explode simultaneously, and the Witch and Demon clans will lose their greatest reliance. The war will enter the most brutal close-quarters combat phase," Zhen Yuanzi shook his head. "The casualties will be even heavier."

"But this way, the outcome will be fair," Lu Chen said lightly. "Otherwise, a one-sided slaughter, that would truly be a sin."

These words sounded noble.

But Zhen Yuanzi knew that Lu Chen's true goal was to pick up scraps.

After the two ferocious weapons exploded, their fragments, dispersed essence blood and souls, and treasures left on the battlefield... would all be ownerless.

Given this kid's nature, he would definitely be the first to rush up to "clean up the battlefield."

"Fine, do as you please," Zhen Yuanzi pushed the board, conceding. "However, Lu Chen, the final battle of this Calamity is no small matter. The Saints will surely be watching. You should act... with more restraint."

"This junior understands," Lu Chen grinned and collected the chess pieces. "I promise, I'll only pick up trash and won't get involved in the fighting."

Zhen Yuanzi glanced at him but said nothing.

If I believed you, I'd be a ghost.

Three days later, at the foot of Buzhou Mountain.

The armies of the Witch and Demon clans faced each other, their killing intent soaring, causing the heavens and earth to change color.

Di Jun held the Witch-Slaying Sword, and Dijiang wielded the Witch-Slaying Saber. The two top powerhouses of the Primordial Era stared at each other across ten thousand miles of void.

"Dijiang, today is the day the Witch Clan is annihilated!"

"Di Jun, I should be the one to say that!"

They attacked simultaneously!

The Witch-Slaying Sword unleashed a ten-thousand-zhang blood-red sword aura, and the Witch-Slaying Saber slashed out a pitch-black saber energy. The two terrifying powers, capable of destroying a Quasi-Saint, collided head-on in mid-air!

"Boom--!!!"

Heaven and earth fell silent, all things ceased to exist.

But at the core of the collision, the Chaos Demon God's Vengeful Blood within the two ferocious weapons was completely activated!

Dense black cracks simultaneously appeared on the body of the Witch-Slaying Sword and the blade of the Witch-Slaying Saber!

Di Jun and Dijiang's expressions changed drastically.

But it was already too late.

"Bang--!!!"

The two fierce weapons exploded into countless fragments simultaneously!

The aftermath of the explosion swept across the battlefield, causing countless casualties among the elite of the Witch and Lich races!

And at this moment, in the clouds somewhere outside the battlefield.

Lu Chen, carrying the Qiankun Diagram, grinned from ear to ear:

"Let's get to work!"