Chapter 393: What Is a Sword

Chapter 393: What Is a Sword

…

“Before you finish filling me up, this Venerable One has a question.”

Chen Huaian stared at the figure of Dang Kang, now reduced to a wisp of soul essence, his expression serious.

“Ask.”

“If the soul essences of all Nine Divine Beasts merge into me, there’s bound to be a huge stir. Those mysterious beings aren’t stupid—they’re bound to notice your presence. Wouldn’t I just become a walking energy source then?”

“You’re absolutely right.”

The green demon flame condensed from the soul essence rippled lightly.

“We’ve long anticipated that. Originally, divine beasts and ferocious beasts didn’t get along. But faced with the beings that trapped the world in endless reincarnation, we’ve put aside our differences and allied.

Taotie has already awakened in this era. It will merge with the soul essences of the Nine Ferocious Beasts and draw attention in the open from both the Ascenders and those mysterious beings.”

“And you, you must seize this opportunity to grow stronger as fast as possible!”

“Taotie, huh…”

Chen Huaian nodded.

“One of the Four Great Ferocious Beasts. Pretty famous. Said to be number one in combat strength, and also known as the King of Ten Thousand Demons. If it merges with the Nine Ferocious Beast soul essences, it’d definitely draw more attention than this Venerable One.”

“So that means Taotie is my ally. Where is it now?”

Dang Kang’s soul essence fell silent for a moment, then finally spoke:

“I don’t know where Taotie is either. But while you’re receiving my essence, it must be receiving the ferocious beast essence somewhere as well. Maybe the two of you will meet in the future.

But for now, Dragon Soul inheritor…

You’d best accept my power immediately!”

Before Chen Huaian could protest,

Dang Kang immobilized him, and the entire demon flame surged over him.

“Sh*t! That’s hot! Are you trying to roast this Venerable One?!”

When the demon fire touched him, he genuinely felt like he was being burned alive.

He was already a Golden Core-stage cultivator and shouldn’t have been affected by something like this.

“Dragon Soul inheritor, this is tempering! There’s no gain without pain! If you want a body like a mountain, then you must endure the agony of a thousand hammerings!” 𝙧𝖆₦ȫ𝖇ĚS̩

A sound split the air from above.

Chen Huaian opened his eyes and saw with horror—a giant hammer plummeting from the sky.

BOOM!!!

CRACK—!

With one strike—

He felt all the bones in his body shatter.

His body twisted and crumpled, smashed into a puddle of flesh.

Dang Kang’s power was immense—this one strike could have killed him.

But under the protection of the demon flame, though his body was crushed, his soul remained intact.

Unfortunately, none of the pain was spared.

“No wonder you’re a man of great fortune.”

Dang Kang’s laughter echoed in his mind.

“You’ve got quite the collection of treasures—Yin-Yang Sword Bones, Thunder Spirit Root, Sword Spirit Root… but it’s all too scattered! A true blade isn’t a pile of materials. It’s the perfect fusion of them!”

BOOM BOOM BOOM!

The giant hammer rained down like a storm.

Chen Huaian lay in the demon flame like a sword blank—twisting and transforming under the strikes.

He was in so much pain he couldn’t utter a single word.

He felt thankful from the bottom of his heart.

Good thing Li Qingran was outside this space and couldn’t see anything.

Otherwise she’d definitely throw down with Dang Kang.

“You’re a sword cultivator, yes?”

Dang Kang continued, “Then let me forge you into a proper sword!”

BOOM!

The massive hammer fell again, sparks flying from Chen Huaian’s body.

“Let me ask you—what is a sword?!”

The pain overwhelmed him. Chen Huaian blurted out:

“A sword is a weapon—it can cut off the enemy’s head and protect the wielder!”

The hammer struck once more, followed by Dang Kang’s aged voice:

“If a sword is merely a weapon, then it’s nothing but a chunk of common iron! Think again!”

“A sword is chivalry, is compassion, is the wielder’s belief in justice!” Chen Huaian answered again.

Dang Kang was still dissatisfied: “Belief is good—but it’s still not enough!”

BOOM BOOM BOOM! The hammer kept falling.

Chen Huaian remained in the demon flame, but behind him, a faint sword embryo began to emerge.

This time, Chen Huaian thought for a long time.

He gradually entered a state of realization.

The pain from the burning flame and hammer strikes became dull.

He was no longer in the Demon-Locking Tower.

Nor in Cangyun Realm or any small world.

He stood atop a mountain peak.

Autumn winds howled. Golden ginkgo leaves danced in the air.

Chen Huaian stared at a figure in white beneath a tree—another version of himself.

His Void-Soul stage self.

He focused on one leaf suspended mid-air, held aloft by sword energy—resting perfectly in the grooves of the other Chen Huaian’s palm.

Neither falling nor rising.

In the rustling sea of trees,

he suddenly recalled the scene beneath the moonlight when he taught Li Qingran, the arc that dry branch traced through the silver light.

“When the sword swings, a mountain is a mountain.

When it’s sheathed, you realize the mountain was never a mountain.”

Chen Huaian murmured softly. Then brought his fingers together like a blade and stabbed at the void—thirty paces away, a great waterfall split in two.

At this moment—

Though still in the Golden Core stage, he comprehended the sword-heart only his Void-Soul self had grasped.

His understanding of the sword was no longer bound by cultivation level.

He locked eyes with his Void-Soul self.

His gaze burned bright—ever brighter.

“So the sword… was never in the hand to begin with.”

…

Dang Kang’s soul essence had grown faint.

From engulfing all of Chen Huaian’s body, it had shrunk to basketball-size—

Now it hovered above his chest.

Looking at the enlightened Chen Huaian, its eyes shimmered.

“Ancestral Dragon, your chosen heir will never be ordinary…

I thought it was just dumb luck. I didn’t expect he’d have such a heaven-defying constitution!”

Golden Dao patterns swirled around Chen Huaian as he achieved enlightenment.

If Dang Kang wasn’t mistaken—

This was the ancient First Body Constitution—Origin Sovereign Dao Body.

With such fortune and the Origin Sovereign Dao Body, combined with the Nine Divine Beasts’ powers…

Perhaps—

He really could break reincarnation and forge a miracle.

If so, it would be worth it, even if Dang Kang vanished completely from this world.

Chen Huaian suddenly gained clarity and raised his head.

This time, his answer was firm and composed.

“A sword is a mirror that reflects the true heart.”

“A sword is not a sword—it is the heart.

If the heart holds a sword, everything becomes a sword.

If the heart has no sword, even the finest divine blade is just a tool in a mortal’s hand.”

Dang Kang let out a sigh of contentment.

“Well said.”

Its soul essence had shrunk to the size of a thumb.

“You’re no longer attached to the form of a sword—

You’ve grasped the essence of the sword…”

“Your sword path is complete!”

Before the words finished echoing—

Dang Kang’s soul essence burned away completely.

In the void, the giant hammer fell one last time.

The hammer head shattered into pieces before even touching the sword edge.

At some point, Chen Huaian’s body had fully recovered.

He sat cross-legged in silence, a sharp sword phantom formed behind him.

In this moment—

He was the sword, and the sword was him.

This was not “man and sword as one”—

Because there was no need to unite anymore. It was an intrinsic truth.

As he opened his eyes—

With a ring of sword cry, countless intersecting sword lights flashed past his vision.

He exhaled a breath of turbid air—

The breath turned into a sword shadow that shot a hundred meters away.

He stood up, his back straight like a sword’s spine.

He turned and bowed deeply to the ashes of Dang Kang’s soul essence.

From this moment on—

The Divine Sword was born.

…

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