After gaining some understanding of what lay behind it all, He Xiuyuan finally calmed down.
But he was still very worried.
"No, I think if He Fangxu learns I'm not dead, he'll probably strike again. Next time, he might even suppress my forbidden technique outright and let the Star-Devouring Clan surround me."
"That bastard really would do something like that."
Ying Huaixu smiled.
"Don't worry about that. From now on, we'll travel together. If He Fangxu attacks you again, I'll cut him down myself."
He Xiuyuan nodded.
Ying Huaixu looked at He Xiuyuan with some curiosity.
"What's going on with that forbidden technique of yours? Can you keep using it indefinitely now? And when I saw you withdraw it just now, you didn't seem to be dying."
He Xiuyuan found that rather strange himself.
"Actually, it really hurt at first. When I drew the Sword of Taboo, I felt as though all my flesh and blood and my Divine Soul were burning."
"But the boost this forbidden technique gave me was enormous, so I just kept killing enemies. As I killed, though, I seemed to learn something: the Sword of Taboo was hungry. It seemed to have gone far too long without eating, so the first thing it devoured after coming out was me."
"But if you feed it until it's full, not only will it stop harming you, it'll even nourish you in return."
"I killed quite a few members of the Star-Devouring Clan and received an endless stream of power from the sword. Although my cultivation hasn't advanced, my body has kept growing stronger, and my Dao Seal seems to be undergoing some unknown transformation."
"And... those two forbidden swords seem to have become my life-bound weapons."
Ying Huaixu froze for a moment.
*Well, damn. Old He had