Finally, one day, Xing Yuan opened her eyes, but the first words that came from her dry throat were: "Kill me!!"
How could it be willing? This was the first one in so many years that fit it so perfectly. It had to coax, no, beg her to take it out.
Thus, this sword began a thousand years of persistent nagging. It had been in the demon realm for many years and had long since gained sentience.
Although communicating with others was still somewhat troublesome, the fragile Xing Yuan at this moment precisely needed such a sentient being that could not speak to confide in.
A spiritual sword with a spirit, recognizing its master!
Every day, the spiritual sword would search for colorful things in the desolate demon realm to give to Xing Yuan. Sometimes it was a feather, sometimes a flower, a leaf.
Xing Yuan mostly kept her eyes closed, immersed in her own world. Her occasional moments of clarity saw her treating the spiritual sword with extreme hostility.
In her opinion, if this sword could have given her a quick end, she might have even thanked it. But now... she even wanted to crush this sword.
Xing Yuan had been severely injured by those demonic souls before. The demon realm was a closed state, devoid of spiritual energy. However, her physique was powerful, making natural death not easy.
Therefore, after lying there for a thousand years, her mind suddenly cleared.
Although she had indeed witnessed her elder sister's departure with her own eyes, there was the saying of reincarnation and rebirth among mortals. Even if the hope was extremely slim, Xing Yuan felt it was necessary to try. At worst, it would be better than lying here now!
At worst, she would go accompany her elder sister then. The outcome was the same anyway.
Thus, she accepted the spiritual sword's goodwill, and with its help, her injuries steadily recovered.
Xing Yuan transformed back into human form, clad in a blue robe, her expression proud and cold.
Only when her gaze fell upon the blue storage ring her elder sister had given her did a hint of tenderness appear in her expression.
"Have you made up your mind? Do you really want to follow me?" Xing Yuan asked the spiritual sword, her cold voice seeming to lack any warmth.
The spiritual sword trembled incessantly, emitting sword cries.
"Very well, since you are my sword, I shall give you a name today. It shall be called the Wen Ya Sword! As a memorial to my past. From now on, I shall have little connection to my former life."
"Are you willing to follow me to cleave the heavens?"
The Wen Ya Sword buzzed with excitement. To cleave the heavens! What a desirable prospect for a sword.
Holding the sword in her right hand, Xing Yuan calmly swung it forward. In an instant, a massive rift was torn in the sky, and sunlight streamed into the demon realm that had been sealed for so long.
Xing Yuan took a step forward, her figure appearing a thousand miles away.
She looked up at the sky. Dark clouds gathered, and the Heavenly Dao seemed to have guessed her intentions. Tribulation lightning rained down fiercely, blocking Xing Yuan's path.
Xing Yuan's gaze remained unchanged as she flew directly upwards. The Wen Ya Sword was extremely sharp, even capable of shattering the lightning that mortals feared.
With Xing Yuan's final sword strike, the dark clouds dispersed, and the sky returned to clarity.
The Heavenly Dao's position was uncertain. Xing Yuan stood on the white clouds and, without any specific destination, struck directly towards the highest point of the sky. The Heavenly Dao existed because of this realm, so whether it was willing or not, it had to protect this world.
Finally, the Heavenly Dao appeared.
Its power gathered continuously, eventually transforming into an exceptionally refined middle-aged man. If he had been holding a scroll in his hand, he would have been indistinguishable from those scholars heading to the capital for examinations.
"Do you not retreat?" Although the Heavenly Dao had appeared, it did not believe it would lose to her.
Xing Yuan let out a cold laugh. The resentment of being deceived for so many years surged into her heart. She was no longer the Ying Tian Beast. Today, she would try to slay the heavens.
The Heavenly Dao did not take the young figure before it seriously. By the time it reacted, the Wen Ya Sword was already at its throat.
The material of the Wen Ya Sword was extremely special. When it was placed on the Heavenly Dao's throat, the Heavenly Dao was horrified to discover that it could no longer merge its body back into heaven and earth. In other words, if its throat were slit now, it would truly die.
"Wait, let's talk properly. Why draw your sword! Quickly sheath your sword, we are all civilized people," the Heavenly Dao said with a forced smile. The longer it lived, the more it cherished its life.
"Oh? Civilized? Very well! Then today, I shall speak with you in a most civilized manner." Xing Yuan's smile appeared extremely eerie to the Heavenly Dao.
"You are the Heavenly Dao, in charge of the life and death of all things. I only have one question for you: Elder Sister, can she still live?" Xing Yuan's hand holding the sword trembled slightly.
The Heavenly Dao, terrified, clutched its throat. Could you be more careful? What if you trembled?
"Well, the dead cannot be resurrected. Please accept your condolences!" the Heavenly Dao's voice was barely audible, fearing that Xing Yuan might impulsively end it.
"Then you are of no use." Xing Yuan's expression was calm, but the tip of the sword moved closer to the Heavenly Dao's skin.
"However, it's not entirely impossible." The Heavenly Dao immediately changed its tune.
"How?" Xing Yuan's expression changed instantly.
"Well, you might not be aware, but the person you're referring to is not under my jurisdiction as the Heavenly Dao. Due to some unknown oversight, people from other worlds suddenly appeared in my world and altered the plot I had originally set. I am also very helpless!"
"I'm asking you how I can see her again. I don't care about these messy things." Xing Yuan rudely interrupted the reminiscing Heavenly Dao, the sword tip piercing its skin slightly.
The Heavenly Dao felt the stimulation firsthand and finally stopped speaking nonsense.
"Simply put, because her soul is an outsider, I naturally had to send her back to her original world after her death. However, because the injuries she sustained before death were too severe, there was some accident when opening the passage, and her soul was shattered into fragments that scattered to different worlds."
"If you wish to save her, there is only one way: to travel to the worlds she went to and collect all the soul fragments. After that, you will know what to do."
It sounded like a troublesome task, but Xing Yuan felt a surge of motivation throughout her entire being.
As long as she could see her again, any price would be worth it for her!
Then, the Heavenly Spirit was created under Xing Yuan's eager anticipation, and she thus began a long journey.
But was this the truth of the matter?
While the Ying Tian Beast was being gestured, the Heavenly Dao was visited by an old man dressed in black robes.
He was far too powerful for the Heavenly Dao. Under duress, the Heavenly Dao agreed to his demands.
It turned a blind eye to Xing Yuan's deviation from its plan, even deliberately saving that soul and handing it over to the old man in black robes, responding to Xing Yuan according to the story he provided.
Even the creation of the Heavenly Spirit was with the help of the old man in black robes. It was merely a Heavenly Dao; if it truly possessed the ability to traverse worlds, why would it only be a Heavenly Dao?