Wandering Sword Seller's Life in the Qin Dynasty

As a deity, the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden would certainly not have deliberately forged a demonic sword when she forged it. Her intention in forging this sword for Chi You was likely to help him protect the region, not to slaughter living beings.

However, after the departure of the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, the Chi You Sword was left unrestrained and became tainted by the negative emotions of greed, hatred, and killing in the mortal world. It was gradually eroded and corrupted, eventually becoming a demonic sword feared by everyone.

Chi You, the originally benevolent ruler of the earth, was also subtly influenced by this sword, becoming entangled in negative emotions, his temperament gradually turning violent, and he strayed from his original intentions, eventually going astray, instigating the Battle of Zhuolu, and becoming a tyrant who brought devastation to the people.

The cycle of cause and effect over thousands of years all stems from the fall of this sword, and also from the greed and obsession of the human heart.

If Xu Qing were a pure swordsman, wielding this sword that had been cleansed of demonic energy and repainted to its original state, he might have been able to try to guide it onto the right path. Thousands of years later, this sword might have been called "Xu Qing Sword" or "Qing Sword." But clearly, Xu Qing was not a swordsman.

He was just a swordsmith.

He had no intention of guiding the Chi You sword towards good.

Or rather, some swords are inherently evil.

Even the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden could not change this fact.

Xu Qing should stop thinking about doing things that she can't do.

In ancient times, the people were simple and honest. Under those circumstances, Chi You's sword turned into a demonic sword and even influenced its master, Chi You. In this era, with the collapse of morality and the depravity of people's hearts, such a sword, absorbing all kinds of desires in the mortal world, will only become more violent and evil.

In recent days, besides tracing the past of the Chi You Sword, Xu Qing has also figured out the sword's abilities and why it fell into the demonic path.

It is a fifth-tier divine sword.

Chi You's sword possesses the ability to devour everything.

The devouring here includes not only the primordial energy between heaven and earth and the essence of living beings, but also the soul of the devoured.

All those killed by this sword will have everything plundered by it, and their souls will be imprisoned by this sword for all eternity, becoming its slaves.

If that's all there is to it, then this sword is merely similar to Xuan Jian's "Black and White Xuan Jian" from back then. The souls of those killed by Black and White Xuan Jian would also be devoured by the sword. In the original work, Xuan Jian was influenced by Qian Sha's remnant soul after killing Qian Sha because of this ability of the sword, thus creating the "Eight Linglong". Of course, that's the original work.

In this world, because of Xu Qing.

Xuan Jian obtained a sword that could concentrate the mind, but it stabilized his soul and prevented it from being affected by the sword. Naturally, it was impossible for his main consciousness to fall asleep, for the remnant soul in the sword to enter his body and interfere with his spirit.

Therefore, there is naturally no Eight Linglong in this world.

Back to topic.

If the Chi You Sword only had the ability to quell bloodlust and suppress souls, it wouldn't be anything special. However, it also had an incredibly powerful sword spirit. Because the sword spirit was a blank slate when it was first born, when Chi You used this sword to slaughter living beings, the resentment of the living beings before their deaths was brought into the sword by their remnant souls, which then tainted the sword spirit.

Perhaps the sword spirit is unaware of good and evil; the influence of the remnants of spirits that were devoured into the sword is merely a kind of instinctive learning for it.

But these very mental and physical limitations are indeed leading him further and further down the abyss of evil.

Besides, Chi You was originally a righteous person, and the people he killed were certainly not righteous, or rather, rotten to the core.

The remnant souls of the wicked further steered the Chi You Sword toward the demonic path.

On the contrary, if Chi You was a bad person from the beginning, and all the people he killed were good people, then after those good people died, their kind nature might still have a slight possibility that led the spirit of Chi You's sword to turn to the right path and become a sword of justice.

However, this is just speculation.

Upon closer examination, it's impossible for Chi You's sword to be transformed into a sword of justice.

After all, when a person dies, many resentments and hatreds arise, even for good people.

The Chi You Sword will eventually fall into the demonic path, and the resentment of those killed by this sword will affect Chi You's mind, making him increasingly tyrannical, constantly slaughtering living beings, and completely going to extremes.

Ultimately, it was the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden's fault.

The Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden should never have forged a blank sword for Chi You in the first place. Instead, she should have forged a finished sword for him, creating a mature and righteous sword spirit that would have guided Chi You, rather than letting it grow on its own.

Growing up in a barbaric environment without any education, it naturally became ignorant of good and evil, and etiquette, thus becoming a demonic sword.

He continuously comprehended everything about the Chi You Sword.

What Xu Qing sought was the technique used by the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden when she forged this sword.

As a mere mortal, Xu Qing would naturally find it difficult to comprehend the methods of immortals and gods. However, in the art of sword forging, he had already transcended the mortal realm and was naturally able to glimpse some of the methods of the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden.

The more Xu Qing studied the sword and the more he understood its profound principles, the more obsessed he became.

Time continued to pass.

Finally, on this day, Xu Qing entered a state of enlightenment.

For seven days straight, he neither ate nor drank, sitting upright in front of Chi You's sword.

He opened his eyes on the eighth day.

A sense of vicissitude flashed across his eyes.

But the most important thing is not that, but that Xu Qing finally understood the mystery of how the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden forged the sword.

If we were to say that a few years ago, he only had a vague feeling about forging a fifth-order sword.

Therefore, he must now be able to forge a fifth-tier sword.

Chapter 401 A Masterpiece of Nature, Ascending Mount Shu!

The Loulan affair has come to a complete end.

Xu Qing immediately contacted the Mo family.

When Master Ban, the chief master of the Mohist school, arrived in Loulan with his aged body, he remained silent for a long time after seeing the giant-like Demon God of War before finally uttering four words.

"uncanny workmanship!"

It wasn't described as ingenious.

According to Xu Qing, this object was created by the gods, specifically by the goddess Jiutian Xuannü, and is a true work of divine craftsmanship.

But then again, did gods really exist in ancient times?

Master Ban was skeptical about this issue.

If they exist, why have those who seek immortality in this world been unable to find even the slightest trace of immortals and gods to this day?

If not, then how was this thing made?

Master Ban estimated the size of the Demon God and, with Xu Qing's help, even entered its abdominal cavity.

Because the War God is so enormous, its chest cavity is also very large, like a room. Inside, it is filled with many mechanical gears. To outsiders, it appears chaotic and disorderly, but to a master of mechanical arts like Master Ban, it is a display of mechanical beauty.

"Incredible, truly incredible!"

Master Ban carefully examined the internal structure of the War God, repeatedly exclaiming in admiration. The Mo family's mechanical beasts were already quite ingenious, but compared to the War God, they were still somewhat inferior in terms of ingenuity.

The Demon God of Soldiers was forged from meteorite iron, which is somewhat similar to the bronze mechanical beasts of the Gongshu family. However, the Mohists knew the Gongshu family well, and the Gongshu family could never have created such a mechanical beast.

Unlike the giant ships that cross the sea, the Gongshu family could create giant ships that cross the sea, but they could never build mechanical beasts of this scale.

Master Ban was very certain.

"It seems you think this thing is quite good?" Xu Qing, who was unfamiliar with mechanical arts, couldn't help but ask after hearing Master Ban's exclamation.

Master Ban's eyes blazed with fervor. Upon hearing Xu Qing's words, he replied, "It's more than just good."

As he spoke, his body trembled slightly, a sign of his extreme excitement, as he explained to Xu Qing.

"With such a massive body, the most difficult thing to make it move smoothly is the transmission of power and the coordination of joints. But look at this mechanism design..." He pointed to the gears nested at the hub. These gears were all forged from meteorite iron, with tightly meshed teeth and patterns as precise as if they were carved by the heavens. "These gears are of different sizes, but they can work together perfectly to transmit power layer by layer to every part of the body. Even the slightest movement of the fingertips can be precisely achieved through this mechanism."

Following Master Ban's gaze, Xu Qing saw that the gears were engraved with fine runes. At the moment, these runes looked like mere decorations, but Xu Qing already had his answer.

Formation!

In the original work, the power source used by the War God was no ordinary thing, but the power of the Dragon Soul.

It is obvious that what drives the War God is not these mechanisms, but a higher level of power. That power draws these array patterns, which in turn activates many mechanisms, allowing the War God to move freely.

Master Ban didn't know whether he had thought of these things or noticed them, or rather, his attention was always focused on the mechanism itself.

He continued speaking to Xu Qing, “When our Mo family crafts mechanical beasts, what we fear most is the lack of power and sluggish movements caused by their excessive size. Ordinary mechanical beasts are only a few feet tall, yet they require a lot of manpower and resources to power them, and their movements are clumsy. But this War Demon God, with its mountain-like body, can minimize power loss through this nested gear hub, and even achieve coordinated and flexible operation of its limbs. This ingenuity is far beyond what our Mo family’s current technology can achieve.”

He then examined the interior of the Demon God's abdomen, which was the core of the Demon God and its main control room.

Even though it was just a glimpse of the Demon God, it was still a treasure to Master Ban, who studied every detail carefully.

I don't know how long it took.

He then had Xu Qing bring him out of the Demon God's abdomen, and they returned to the platform next to the Demon God.

Master Ban looked up and glanced at the tall and mighty War God beside him. His tone was full of admiration. "My Mo family has been studying mechanical arts for hundreds of years and thought we had reached the pinnacle of mortal mechanisms. But after seeing this War God today, I realize what true divine craftsmanship is."

After expressing his feelings, Master Ban raised another question: "Mr. Xu, you said that this item was made by the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden and was created by the gods. But I still have a question in my mind."

"If there truly are gods, why have there been no traces of immortals and deities since ancient times? Those who seek immortality and enlightenment have spent their entire lives searching for them, yet have failed to find even the slightest trace. But if there are no gods, how could the ancients have created such exquisite mechanisms and such extraordinary forging techniques?"

"In addition, based on my observation, this Demon God seems to have an energy core."

"Although its mechanism is ingenious, it relies on that energy core to provide power, which in turn drives many mechanisms to make them work. But now, it is missing that thing..."

"What exactly is it that can serve as the energy core of the War Demon God?"

"If we can solve this problem, we might be able to solve many other problems."

The more Master Ban talked, the more questions he had.

Over the years, under Xu Qing's subtle influence, the Mohists and the Gongshu family have developed things like "steam engines" and even tried to build "trains." However, if they could find a completely new source of power, Master Ban would naturally not want to miss such an opportunity.

Given the immense size of the War God, the power source capable of driving it must be something extraordinary.

Unfortunately, the current War God is missing this item.

Master Ban was filled with curiosity about the mysterious ancient times.

Leaving aside whether gods truly exist, this object itself is shrouded in mystery.

"Forget about the power source of the Demon God. It's not an ordinary thing. In this era where immortals and gods have disappeared, let alone finding it, finding a substitute is extremely difficult." Xu Qing's words were like a bucket of cold water, instantly sobering Master Ban up.

Actually, it's not that there are no alternatives at all.

For example, the Dragon Soul can serve as the energy core of the Demon God, activating it.

However, this item was too mysterious for Xu Qing to tell anyone about.

"So, if you want to restart the Demon God, you'll have to solve the power problem yourselves. If you don't want to start it, you can try disassembling it and studying its mechanism."

"Perhaps it can improve your skills in mechanical arts!"

……

After staying in Loulan for a while, Xu Qing prepared to leave.