C455 The Sword Had a God!!

"Demon? Suppressed beneath the sea by the Demon Clan?"

Lau Ying was utterly astounded, her mind racing with new connections triggered by the Chaos Roc's revelation.

Kong Banbi was frozen for several seconds before realization hit him like a shockwave. "You, you're not from the Demon Clan?"

He, Lau Ying, and everyone on the Fallen Star Eyes shared the same misconception—

They had all believed the Chaos Roc to be an elder of the Demon Clan.

With the nefarious Tears of Blue Devil at large, shouldn't the Demon Clan, as guardians of the Ember Waters, have stepped in to stabilize the situation and quell the chaos?

They had welcomed the Chaos Roc, unthinkingly watching it enter the Fallen Star Eyes without a second guess.

But now, the Chaos Roc had confessed to being oppressed by the ancient Demon Clan for countless years, covetously observing trial after trial, his gaze lingering hungrily on the young maidens as they swam by...

If he wasn't a member of the Demon Clan, what was he?

"A sea-bottom Demon Clan member?"

Inside the prison of sword light, the Chaos Roc shook its head with a sneer, "In this domain, what Demon Clan could possibly compare to me? Forget this place, in your vast Boundless Land, is there a single notable being among the Demon Clan who could face me without fear?"

His words were brimming with arrogance, dismissing all sea-dwelling Demon Clan members as insignificant.

Yet, this very arrogance confirmed that he was not a native of the Boundless Land, but an entity from beyond the stars!

"You, the entity you've brought with you, it's actually..."

Du Huang of the Ancient Desolate Sect glared at Yu Yuan, his anger palpable as if accusing him of introducing such an extraterrestrial anomaly into the Fallen Star Eyes without any forewarning.

Yu Yuan ignored him, his mind ablaze with thoughts, rapidly strategizing on how to subdue the Chaos Roc.

The sword energy bequeathed by the Chopping Moon cultivator was finite and irreplaceable.

He was acutely aware of this fact, hence his usual prudence and economy in wielding the sword energy.

The true, merciless nature of the Chaos Roc, now masquerading as an old man, was laid bare, unabashedly on display within the confines of the intersecting sword light. It stood defiant, using its teeth as divine weapons, astonishingly capable of withstanding the might of the sword energy.

The might of the Chaos Roc was evident!

Heixun had claimed that the Chaos Roc could only muster 30% of its peak strength beneath the Ember Waters. It would need to shatter the "Dark Blue Curtain" and its multiple layers of confinement to regain its full power.

At its zenith, not even the Tears of Blue Devil could best the Chaos Roc. It could seize the Tears of Blue Devil and wield its power unchallenged across the Boundless Land.

"It appears Heixun's words hold truth," Yu Yuan mused, a chill settling in his heart. He aimed the sword sheath at the Chaos Roc, sensing the sword auras as they flew out, weaving together into a luminous cage that ensnared the creature momentarily.

"Futile efforts," the Chaos Roc murmured, shaking its head. The tendrils that had emerged from its body, consuming the flesh of two young women, quietly retracted and reintegrated into its form. Though gaunt, its exposed skin had taken on a newfound fullness.

It was as if a withered tree had met the spring, sprouting fresh, tender branches. A vibrant energy and the scent of rejuvenating flesh emanated from it.

"I am growing stronger. Since escaping that sunken ship, my power has been steadily increasing," he said with ease, a smile gracing his face. "The sword energy within your sheath is finite. It will deplete eventually. And when it does, what will you do then?"

His unsettling gaze drifted over Lau Ying, Su Yan, and the others. Su Yan shivered under his stare, feeling as though she'd plunged into a frigid abyss, her skin erupting in goosebumps.

The other girls from the Sword Sect and the Ancient Desolate Sect let out terrified screams, retreating as if haunted by the specter of a demon ready to devour them.

Only Lau Ying, her face ashen, coughed up another mouthful of blood. It splattered on the stone platform before her, the blood mist morphing into patterns of starry skies, striving to purge the insidious power the Chaos Roc had stealthily woven into the Fallen Star Eyes.

She realized that the Chaos Roc had been subtly exerting its strange influence over the Fallen Star Eyes since it had resolved to strike.

The Chaos Roc might have usurped control over the sea where the Evil Cauldron resided, using it to manipulate the Fallen Star Eyes. Lau Ying was now using her vital essence, employing a technique bestowed by the Silver Moon Sect's Sect Master, to exert influence over the artifact.

Artifacts possessed souls, and she sought to connect with the Artifact Soul, joining forces to expel the Chaos Roc's pervasive influence. Currently, the Chaos Roc was temporarily constrained by Yu Yuan's sword light, making this the opportune moment for her to act—a chance she was determined not to let slip away.

The Chaos Roc sneered, "You think you can?"

Boom!

A chaotic dance of otherworldly light erupted within the stone of the Fallen Star Eyes.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

The previously intact starry patterns deep within the silver-white meteorite were now perforated as if stitched by needles, losing their original wholeness.

Amidst her screams, Lau Ying collapsed to the ground, her snow-white neck marred by delicate lacerations from the artifact's backlash. She gazed at the translucent stone platform before her, feeling the Fallen Star Eyes Artifact Soul's profound desolation and helplessness. Its silent laments and anguished cries were audible only to her.

The Artifact Soul yearned to bond with her, to unite and withstand the Chaos Roc's assault. Yet, the Chaos Roc's might was overwhelming, rendering even the Silver Moon Sect's wondrous Artifact Soul powerless to break free.

"Girl, this Fallen Star Eyes of yours, crafted from a lunar meteorite and infused with a hundred exotic metals from the Boundless Land, cannot alter the essence of the moonstone," the gaunt elder remarked from within his sword light prison, pointing to his luminescent eyes. "My eye, however, holds the moon soul's quintessence!"

His low chuckle resonated as the Artifact Soul within the stone platform before Lau Ying wailed in excruciating agony.

Her heart ached with each cry, compelling her to cover her ears and join in the mournful outcry. The Fallen Star Eyes were inextricably linked with her consciousness, making the Artifact Soul's torment her own.

The wounds of the Fallen Star Eyes would ultimately manifest on her, afflicting her body, mind, and spirit with equal ferocity.

"Deploy the sword formation!"

Kong Banbi, sensing impending doom, bellowed a command. With a surge of will, he directed his miniature sword, psychically linked to him, to strike at the Chaos Roc.

Only five survivors remained from the Sword Sect, each at the Profound Break Stage or the Penetrating Stage. At Kong Banbi's command, these steadfast survivors positioned themselves to his left and right, summoning their Spiritual Swords from either their Niwan apertures or their Dantian.

A Spiritual Sword that could be cultivated within the Niwan aperture was bound to contain the mysteries of the soul, and its master had to be at least at the Penetrating Stage. It was only at this stage that the Niwan aperture would open wide enough to nurture a sword.

With a swift whoosh, a needle-thin Spiritual Sword burst forth from the brow of a cultivator in the middle period of the Penetrating Stage. This practitioner was older than Kong Banbi, with a realm just as formidable. Regrettably, appearing to be in his fifties, his potential for growth seemed limited.

As his Spiritual Sword took flight, the Fallen Star Eyes erupted with thunderous booms, hinting at an impending storm of wind and lightning. The presence of sword intent infused with the true nature of thunder was not uncommon; wielding thunder and lightning was a mark of a refined sword spell and hardly a cause for surprise.

However, the real astonishment came when the slender Spiritual Sword, steeped in the mysteries of his Niwan aperture, lunged at the Chaos Roc and underwent a startling transformation. The yellow sword glow encircling the Chaos Roc recoiled back into the fray!

This glow fused with the needle-like Spiritual Sword, amplifying its power exponentially in an instant. The Spiritual Sword seemed to come alive with a soul of its own!

With a sharp crackle, the delicate Spiritual Sword shattered the prison of sword light and pierced the Chaos Roc's midsection in a flash. Bursts of lightning unfurled, and streaks of yellow electricity sliced into the creature's flesh like knife blades, blasting a horrific wound into the elder's waist.

Inside the gory cavity, the Chaos Roc's thick, snaking tendons writhed like monstrous pythons, locked in battle with the yellow sword glow. The Chaos Roc, previously serene, now shrieked in agony, its demeanor transformed.

"Junior Brother Liu?" Kong Banbi, who had orchestrated the sword formation, stared in astonishment at the older cultivator who had joined the sect later than he had.

"What's happening?" Du Huang was startled.

"I... I'm not sure either." The somewhat shy and honest Sword Sect practitioner watched the Spiritual Sword unleash its power, rendering the sword formation he intended to create inoperable. He shook his head, clearly bewildered.

"The sword light's intent is perfectly aligned with his blade!" exclaimed Yu Yuan, elated.

"The sword spell he's practicing is from a Sword Sect elder who passed away long ago." Kong Banbi paused, giving Yu Yuan's scabbard another look. A realization struck him, and he said with a jolt, "The sword intent and light within your scabbard—are they from one of our Sword Sect's forebears?"

​