After hitting a miss with Healer Yu who had left ahead of time, the remaining Keepers were all getting quite anxious due to the old witch’s increasingly dire condition. She’s green and red all over, a sign her health wasn’t getting any better or stabilizing.

“Do you remember that sword left to us by that individual? The sword is sealed with his power.” With gritted teeth, Keeper Yellow mentions this with obvious intent.

“I remember,” Keeper Zun pauses for a moment knowing where the conversation was heading, “you want to use it now?”

“That’s right!” Keeper Yellow huffs in an exasperated manner, “Ruo Xi is the key when the calamity strikes, we can’t let her life be in peril until then. It doesn’t matter if we can keep the sword until that day if we loses her instead. Compared to a divine artifact, I rather we use that sword now and force the Demon Realm to hand over the antidote.”

“Fine!” Keeper Zun also agrees after deliberating the options, “I will go grab the sword now, then we can all attack the Demon City together!”

Having said that, the kindest of these old fellas began to turn for the altar hall. However, right as he’s about to make a second trip out of here, a gloomy and heavy voice stops him.

“You don’t have to go.”

Frowning in the face, the confused elder swings his head around at the source of that voice: “Why? Are you still unwilling to use the artifact? Don’t you know what is more important here, Ruo Xi or the sword?”

The power in the sword could only be used once after being activated so it’s within reason to be unwilling. It’s just that the following reply from Keeper Ling was a news so bad that it left everyone in a distraught state.

“I’m telling you not to go because… I already took it with me when I went out to search for Ruo Xi.”

Bring the sword?

He brought the sword, then why would Ruo Xi be poisoned then?

The idea kept circulating in the air without being spoken.

“But… the sword was destroyed by Di Cang.”

Boom!

Similar to a thunderbolt, their minds were blown away until it’s a blank slate.

But… the sword was destroyed by Di Cang…

Ruined?

“You’re… kidding with us, right?” Keeper Zun asks with trembling vocals.

Even if the sword didn’t carry the sealed power inside anymore, it’s still a divine artifact!

What power could destroy a divine artifact?

Not even they could make a dent on the blade, let alone destroy it!

Keeper Yellow was the first to come back to his senses. Without another word, he rushes up to his grumpy counterpart and grabbed the collar: “Keeper Ling, tell me you are kidding about all this, tell me you’re only cracking a bad joke!”

“Why did you take the sword out without discussing the matter with us first? Do you know what you’ve done?” Despite being the kindest and most tempered of them all, Keeper Zun also felt angered and frustrated at the other senior’s rash action thus far.

“How are we supposed to save Ruo Xi now? The sword could’ve helped us in procuring an antidote, but now without it, what else can force the Demon Realm into submission?” The kind Keeper continues to berate the other side with red showing in his old eyes.

Guilty as seen, Keeper Ling didn’t talk back this time and simply took it.

Bang!

Unable to take it anymore due to the lack of reaction, Keeper Yellow loses it first and throws a punch directly into the other man’s chest. He didn’t hold anything back, causing Ling to start throwing up blood due to the former injury.

“ENOUGH! Yes, I did make a mistake in taking the sword without first informing you all, but what does it matter now?! Rather than continue to dig at me, how about we all think of a way to get a cure first!”