Chapter 708: Worthy?
“I know that our nephew is an amazing cultivator,” the patriarch said with a sour expression on his face, “but a great person alone is not enough to warrant us to take out the Celestial Sword.”
“Right now it is kept in a safe place. No one apart from me is capable of taking it out from there, but if Pei Yue has it with him who is to say that others might not go after him just for our sacred sword?”
Hui Yue was silent for some time, but his eyes had never left this uncle of his that had praised him to the skies and above. When he heard what the patriarch said, he noticed a slight twitch in the eyes of his uncle.
“Could it really be?” he mumbled to himself unsure whether or not he was correct, but he cleared his throat, “I actually did not want to borrow the Celestial Sword,” he said truthfully, and looked at the patriarch finally. “And I am sure that I will do just fine with my Sword of the Icy Tempest. It is no ordinary sword as it has been forged using the ancient Nine Heaven’s Blood Forging method.”
“Although the Celestial Sword might be able to bring me some benefits and increase my strength, it could also bring calamity to me if anyone were to know that I was walking around with such a peerless treasure.”
Hearing Hui Yue speak, everyone had different expressions on their faces. The patriarch seemed elated and relaxed, and the vein which had been throbbing around his temple finally calmed down as his ugly expression changed into a mellow smile.
His father, Pei Tian, though seemed troubled. He did not seem to understand what his son was going on about, and he wondered why he had suddenly changed his opinion without consulting him about it.
But the one who Hui Yue observed was his uncle. He frowned as he returned Hui Yue’s stare, but otherwise, he did not react.
Hui Yue frowned slightly. Had he been too cautious and doubting when he viewed his uncle before or was there good reason for him to have this uncomfortable feeling whenever he saw his uncle.
Shaking his head, Hui Yue decided that this was not something he needed to worry about. If the ancestor, his uncle, was as strong as his father, Pei Tian, then his strength, with or without the Celestial Sword, would not be anywhere close to deal with him.
It was better to just not get involved in this matter and leave it for the stronger experts. It was inconceivable that his uncle had ulterior motives when he had been with the Celestial Sword Sect since he had been part of the sect since birth and it was founded by his father.
Sighing, Hui Yue felt that he had been too fast to judge, but inside he had a gut feeling that was telling him to not take the Celestial Sword. However, he was shocked when he noticed that now the patriarch was in deep thought.
He had seemed elated when Hui Yue said that he did not need the sword, but now he seemed to have second thoughts.
“I can understand Little Tian’s thoughts of wanting to lend you the Celestial Sword,” the patriarch said with a sigh, clearly in deep thought since he had said Little Tian instead of Pei Tian.
“But it is hard for me to accept that the Celestial Sword should leave the sect again. It is the only thing we have left of lord father, and if some mishap were to happen then it would be impossible to manage the aftermath.”
The two ancestors nodded their heads. What the patriarch said made sense, but they couldn’t understand what he wanted to say with it. If he had already made a decision, then so be it, but why tell them all this?
“Your trip is justified, and you will be fighting with your life on the line against the Blood Demons. They are not stupid. At the start, they will send weaker opponents after you because they will not think that someone of your caliber would come out to fight them so soon, but after a bit of time, this will change. When they see that their plans are going sour, they will, without a doubt, send stronger and more powerful cultivators to deal with you.”
“You are strong, but you have yet to comprehend a heavenly dao. Although you can handle the majority of experts, there are some whom even you are incapable of dealing with.”
“In that case, your ability to survive will be much higher if I lend you the Celestial Sword,” he paused and closed his eyes as he massaged his temples.
“I revere the Celestial Sword because it is what our father left us, but when it comes down to it, I am also aware that it has been placed out of combat for far too long. Father did not ask of us to refine his body into a sword for the sake of having it hanging around as a decorative ornament.”
Silence descended on the room, and the patriarch opened his eyes again. “Yes, I will allow you to borrow the Celestial Sword. However, you cannot tell anyone that you have it,” he said with decisive eyes and a firm nod of his head.
“The Celestial Sword needs to shine! It needs to be in the hands of the younger generation. We will aid the war, but in the end, this is a war of the younger generation. We already had our prime, and thus it is time for me to pass the sword on to the next generation.”
“Considering this, in the new generation who is more suitable to carry the Celestial Sword than Pei Yue? Who is more talented and knowledgeable?”
“What made you change your mind?” Pei Tian frowned. He was not unhappy with the sudden change, but he could not understand what warranted such a change in his otherwise usually stoic brother. When a decision was made, it would not be changed unless something big happened.
“I don’t know,” the patriarch said with a sigh as he scratched his head. “It was as if something inside of me told me that this was for the best. That Pei Yue needs the Celestial Sword to fight with his full strength during this war.”
Both ancestors looked surprised when they heard his words, but neither of them complained about it, in fact, both looked a little relieved.
“Follow me,” the patriarch said as he turned around before he gestured for Hui Yue and the two ancestors to follow him.
They did not leave the mountain that belonged to the patriarch, instead, they headed further into it. They went past all the rooms and chambers that were used for living and ended up in the far back of the mountain. Here was a staircase which went downwards into the depths of the mountain’s core. The further into it they went, the darker and more humid the air became.
There was absolutely no light on this stairway, but Hui Yue had managed to comprehend the major dao of darkness so he could see everything as clear as day. Finally, after walking for what seemed like an eternity, they reach a heavy door.
The door was made from a metal that Hui Yue had only seen once before at the flower world where the Alchemist God was residing. It was not a metal that had been needed in the refining of a body, so he had not needed it and when he had tried gathering it, the Alchemist God had told him not to, that it would be far too difficult to get his hands on this specific kind of metal.
He never got to know the name of this metal, but from what he understood from the Alchemist God this metal in front of him was the most durable and tough to work within the entire galaxy.
This hard to work with metal that almost no God could break through was now made into a door, making Hui Yue assume that it would be impossible to break into and steal whatever was behind the door unless one had the key.
It would be easier to dig through the mountain from another angle than to get through this door.
As the patriarch stepped forward, he took out a small knife and slit his hand, creating a small cut. A few drops of blood oozed out and before the wound healed he place his finger on the heavy door.
A few clicking sounds could be heard as the blood slowly started sinking into the metal itself before the door swung open revealing a stunning sight for Hui Yue to see.
The door in front of him was not the only thing made from this hard to work with metal; the entire room was walled with it on all sides including the roof and floor making it into a big box made from the metal.
In the middle of the box was a sword. Everything was still pitch black, but as they all were able to see in the darkness, this did not matter. The moment Hui Yue laid eyes on the sword he knew it was special.
The hilt was made from the claws of the Great Roc and had an engraved roc on the handle.
The sword itself was humming with an energy unlike any Hui Yue had ever seen before. He had no idea how this sword could be as powerful as it was, but he could feel the dao of darkness, fire, and wind being emitted from the sword itself. It was clear that if he had it in his hands, his power would at least double.
This sword was truly admirable. It was clear that it was able to be considered one of the greatest weapons in the galaxy, if not the greatest, and to be allowed to use it was a great honor that Hui Yue had not expected, and now after seeing it, he was even more surprised about being allowed to use it.
“Take it,” the patriarch urged Hui Yue. His eyes were moist as he looked at this sword which was the only remaining part of their father’s body, and he had complicated emotions in his heart, but he did not regret the decision he had made. This sword was for Hui Yue to use in the war that was to come against the Blood Demons.
Hui Yue hesitated for a moment. The sword was intimidating and clearly a relic unlike any he had ever seen before, but his father, Pei Tian, nudged him in the side and made him move forward, towards the sword.
He reached out his hand and touched the sword handle, gripped his fist around it, and felt how it almost became one with his body.
He felt his strength soar, and the sword seemingly sent a probing energy into his body before it calmed down and rested carefully in his hand. It was as if it had checked whether or not this young man was, in fact, a descendant of the Great Roc itself.
“This weapon is sentient,” the patriarch said with a smile on his face. “But although it has a soul of its own, that soul is very much like the soul of a world. It will not work like other sentient treasures. It also has a slight bit of father’s noble soul in its own, which makes it more likely to give up everything for a descendant of the Great Roc.”
Hui Yue nodded his head. This sword was different from the soul within the Universe Box, but he could feel that the sword had its own opinions, thoughts, and strengths. He was not surprised to hear that it was a sentient treasure, nor was he shocked to know that it could act on its own.