Chapter 185: Eternal Red (15)

Chapter 185: Eternal Red (15)

When I regain my perception, of both the external and internal worlds, I do not register any changes at first. The veiled figure remains seated in the chair, arms and legs crossed, and Lan Xiaohui and Wu Yulan are still in the same position.

It is almost as if no time at all had passed.

This is not surprising. The passage of time, to experienced cultivators, is but a trivial matter. In this regard, cultivators are similar to myself. With their minds cultivated and honed to levels that can ignore boredom for hundreds of years, spending a few years without moving a muscle is simple, let alone thirty days.

However, when I focus more on the environment, some discrepancies begin to show indicating that time has passed, and not an insignificant amount either.

The most obvious difference is the fact that my vessel is in the worst state that it has ever been; even when I suffered breaks, the properties of what remained were at the peak of expected performance. Now, what is left of my vessel is riddled with cracks and fractures that render it useless.

[ Physical damage: 77% ]

A sub-routine immediately informs me that the extent of damage to my physical vessel has reached an extreme grade, though I dont need the sub-routine to inform me of this. Pulse Termination has completely cut off the vitality circulating in my vessel which, as I have no circulatory system, is a process related closer to spirituality than physicality.

The vitality that has maintained my shape and sharpened my blade has been completely halted, resulting in my vessel undergoing a process similar to extreme aging. My once pristine blade is now chipped to such a severe degree that a sharp edge can not be located. Corrosion has invaded what remains of my broken vessel, even though until now I operated on the assumption that my alloys were not susceptible to such natural processes.

However, what does remain of my vessel has undergone an unprecedented evolution. Despite the severe degree of damage, what remains uncorrupted in my physical vessel is more powerful than the totality of my previously undamaged state.

My pulse, in the spiritual sense, was my bond to the domain of mortals and common sense. By eradicating it, I also erase this bond and liberate my vessel from the confines of the lower-order natural laws. This is why, beneath the corrupted exterior of my suffering physical state lies an extraordinary sword that can defy natural laws, and wound even those things which are otherwise unkillable.

Including the veiled figure.

The next stage of my vessel cultivation is Blood Destruction and it follows similar principles as the previous stage. My blood is the blueprint of my vessel and also the material that makes up my vessel. All my metal and jade is formed from my blood.

This process requires the destruction of my blood, as a form of tempering, and there is no way to cultivate this stage except to increase my physical damage extent to one hundred percent, in order to achieve a complete transformation. Only when my blood is completely depleted can I reform my shattered core and begin naturally absorbing the vitality of nature.

In other words, I need powerful opponents that can damage my vessel; a proper analogy would be the process of sharpening a blade.

After confirming the state of my vessel, I focus on Lan Xiaohui and Wu Yulan.

Their organs have completely recovered, indicating that they successfully managed to cultivate the Yin-Yang Meditation layer of [Empty Moon Prana]. But this is far from being the most impressive change.

Though it likely has the least impact on their future, the resolve within their Dao Hearts is far greater than before. The depth of their resentment toward the veiled figure and their attachment to each other has reached an extreme degree, turning their already strong Dao Hearts into something that far more closely resembles that of a resentful sword: unyielding, relentless, and merciless.

When I enter my Inner World, I am immediately met by a scene of vast devastation.

It is not your fault, I tell her, not bothering to explain that her training method had nothing to do with the reason my vessel is in such a state. You are almost out of time. Are you ready?

She lowers her head and remains silent for a long time.

It is only when I see the tears fall from her eyes that I realize that she was not apologizing for my physical state but for the entire situation.

This foolish girl does not fear or regret death. The only thing that she regrets is that she wont be able to walk by my side anymore.

When her tears shatter on the glassy floor, I also feel the shattering of the bubbles in her heart. All those dreams of the future, the relentlessness of her desires to be by my side, and the foolishness of reaching for my hand time and time again once they brought her joy, now there is only comfortable pain.

She vehemently shakes her head to my question, freeing more tears from her eyes. But not a single sob or sound escapes from her throat. Her hands ball into fists and her eyes screw tightly shut.

All those things that once glittered in her heart are now like those tears glittering around her feet; weakly, brightly, defeated.

I understand her heart better than anyone. All those armed hopes in her heart, the many things she still wanted to do, and the things she wanted to share with me; they are all evaporating before her eyes now, disappearing like smoke into the dark clouds overhead as she realizes that it is time to wake up from this unpleasant dream, and enter an ever darker nightmare.

For nearly two years, she mustve thought about these things while pushing her limits. Almost two years of knowing that the end is unavoidable; she, who never had great ambitions, wouldn't be allowed to even exit the world of the living with even the smallest victory.

My sentient core pities her.

Even in this life, I am destined to outlive my masters. Flesh falters; steel remains forever.

Yaoyue, she begins, forcing a smile to her lips while the tears still glimmer in her eyes. Her tone is artificially steady to hide the hole in her heart. In this life, there is only one thing left for me to do. I want to show you one final sword. Will you watch me closely?

Her words catch me by surprise. Even now, she can still surprise me. Even if, in this life, she cannot obtain any of the things she wants, she can still do this one thing to prove that she has existed. Not to the world, but to me.

I pity her, but I am also proud of her. Lan Xiaohui truly lived as a sword, and she will die as one. I do not regret that I will outlive her. I likely won't outlive her for long.

I decide to reward her by encompassing her right hand with my consciousness, like that time during the Red Banner Festival.

I will watch you closely, I tell her, as her heart fills with dark, destructive confidence once more. Lan Xiaohui, I am proud to have been found by you. If the sword you show me is beautiful, it will remain with me until the day I also disappear from this world.

My words have the intended effect, and I feel Lan Xiaohuis heart enter a state of stillness, focus, and, strangely enough, joy.

She nods, sniffling. This time, her smile is more genuine. I am ready, she says. "I just need a bit more time to prepare and to talk to Yulan."