The Past (Part 1)

"Before I tell you what happened back then... Xia Jie, I want to ask you a question first!" Lu Zhe said in an unreadable tone. "What do you think the relationship between Jujutsu Sorcerers and Monsters is like?"

Xia Jie paused slightly, then thought for a moment before saying, "I'm not too sure what it was like before, but in recent years, perhaps the relationship between Monsters and Jujutsu Sorcerers hasn't been that complicated?"

Lu Zhe looked up at Xia Jie upon hearing this, somewhat surprised by his answer.

But on second thought, he had probably guessed it from Qiao Qiao's reaction.

Lu Zhe nodded. "You're right! In recent years, the relationship between Monsters and Jujutsu Sorcerers does seem to have eased somewhat! But that is built upon Monsters following the rules of human society!"

"But Monsters are free by nature, yet now they are forced to abide by all of humanity's rules and restrictions. Tell me, what do you think was the root cause of all this?"

Without waiting for Xia Jie to answer, Lu Zhe continued on his own. "Naturally, it was all laid down by human Jujutsu Sorcerers!"

"About fifty years ago, the Jujutsu Sorcerers launched a massive campaign to exorcise curses!"

"At the beginning of that campaign, only Cursed Spirits were being exorcised, and the Monsters paid no attention to it."

"When the Cursed Spirits had mostly been eliminated, the Jujutsu Sorcerers turned their attention to Monsters that committed evil deeds, and the other Monsters still paid no attention."

"But once the evil Monsters had been wiped out, the Jujutsu Sorcerers forced every Monster to enter into extremely harsh self-imposed Bindings!"

"Only then did the Monsters realize they had no choice but to take it seriously!"

"But by then, the Monsters had long lost their chance to strike back. The Jujutsu Sorcerers had the momentum of certain victory and were unstoppable!"

"Besides, seventy years earlier, the Monsters had already been beaten into submission by humans and Jujutsu Sorcerers working together. How could they possibly stand against the united Jujutsu Sorcerers?"

"Even the Monsters who wished to resist were rounded up and eliminated by the Jujutsu Sorcerers."

"Nearly every Monster was in danger, afraid that they would be the next one found and destroyed."

Lu Zhe paused here and let out a long breath. "Can you imagine what that period was like for the Monsters?"

Xia Jie gently shook his head.

Lu Zhe had not expected him to say anything. The light in his eyes flickered uncertainly. "It was like having the Sword of Damocles hanging above their heads, never knowing when it would fall and sever their necks!"

"Every Monster's heart was filled with fear and uncertainty!"

"Ambitious figures among the Monsters gathered together and began to resist. That was why the Monster Alliance was formed."

"So after the Monster Alliance appeared, it defeated the Jujutsu Sorcerers?" Xia Jie asked.

"Do you think it could have been that simple?" Lu Zhe sneered silently. "Could a flock of sheep defeat a pack of cunning wolves?"

Xia Jie froze slightly.

If even the so-called Monster Alliance had failed to stop the Jujutsu Sorcerers, then how had the Monster race survived?

"It was because of the Heaven-Reaching Great Sage." As though he knew Xia Jie's doubts, Lu Zhe slowly spoke a name.

"No one among the Demon Clan had been called a Sage for centuries, yet who could have expected that fifty years ago, a Heaven-Reaching Great Sage would truly emerge from the Demon Clan and turn the tide?"

"The Heaven-Reaching Great Sage almost single-handedly turned the tide and stopped the Jujutsu Sorcerers from suppressing the entire Demon Clan! Yet even with his power, he had no way to resist the combined strength of all Jujutsu Sorcerers!"

"So he made the Three-Whip Pact with Jiang Junjian, the leader of the Jujutsu Sorcerers at the time and the head of the Jiang Clan!"

"Jiang Junjian?" Xia Jie murmured.

"He should be from your great-grandfather's generation." Lu Zhe glanced at Xia Jie. "Do you know what Cursed Technique the Jiang Clan inherited?"

Xia Jie shook his head.

Although he had returned to the clan once as a child, his identity had been sensitive, and he had not actually come into contact with many of the clan's secrets.

"It was Sealing Investiture!" Lu Zhe said coldly.

"Sealing Investiture?" Xia Jie said in surprise.

Was this Sealing Investiture the same one he was thinking of?

"The Jiang Clan's Sealing Investiture Cursed Technique can forcibly seal the names of Cursed Spirits or Monsters, making them obey its user's commands," Lu Zhe explained.

"That sounds rather like Suguru Geto's Cursed Spirit Manipulation." Xia Jie raised a brow. "Though it doesn't seem quite the same in form."

Suguru Geto swallowed Cursed Spirits, while the Jiang Clan sealed the names of Cursed Spirits or Monsters.

Hm? Sealing names... wasn't that Natsume's Book of Friends?

"There are indeed similarities." Lu Zhe pondered for a moment. "But Suguru Geto is merely an isolated case within Jujutsu Society. The Jiang Clan is different."

"Their Sealing Investiture Cursed Technique has a long history, one that can even be traced back thousands of years to the Shang-Zhou Period."

"Now that I've put it that way, you should be able to guess whose bloodline the Jiang Clan comes from." Seeing Xia Jie's startled expression, Lu Zhe continued, "That's right, Jiang Shang, the one said to have invested three hundred and sixty-five righteous gods!"

Xia Jie could not help smacking his lips.

That Jiang Shang? I really hadn't expected that!

But was he really that powerful? Looking at how he performed in Investiture of the Gods, he was utterly pathetic!

Forget his fellow disciples—even the third-generation disciples outclassed him!

"Don't let folk legends blind you!" Lu Zhe said lightly. "If Jiang Shang had truly been weak, why would the story of the Sealing Investiture have made him its protagonist?"

"Then Yuanshi Tianzun was real too?" Xia Jie's eyes lit up.

"Who can say for certain about figures from thousands of years ago?" Lu Zhe replied. "If you return to the Jiang Clan and meet Jiang Junjian, perhaps you can ask him yourself!"

"He's still alive?" Xia Jie asked.

"Of course he is." Lu Zhe snorted. "The Three-Whip Pact the Heaven-Reaching Great Sage made with him was to withstand three of his whips in exchange for changing the conditions imposed on Monsters. Why would anything have happened to him?"

"Were those three whips difficult to withstand?" Xia Jie asked carefully.

"Since you know Jiang Shang was your ancestor, you should know that he possessed a magical treasure called the God-Striking Whip." Lu Zhe explained, "The Jiang Clan does not actually possess such a treasure, but they do have a Cursed Technique called the God-Striking Whip!"

"After using the God-Striking Whip, they can freely draw upon the Cursed Techniques of the Cursed Spirits and Demon Clan members they have sealed through Sealing Investiture to attack an enemy."

It was very much like Suguru Geto's Uzumaki, Xia Jie could not help thinking. But it was only natural for the Jiang Clan to possess such a Cursed Technique.

"The Heaven-Reaching Great Sage... withstood it?" Xia Jie asked.

"Of course he did," Lu Zhe answered.

His expression hesitated briefly before he continued, "But I think Jiang Junjian must have held back as well!"

"Perhaps he also understood that the Heaven-Reaching Great Sage had become the banner of the Demon Clan."

"If that banner had truly been broken, the Demon Clan would likely have been driven into one final frenzy. By then, all of China would have been plunged into the flames of war!"