Volume Two: The Arsenal, Chapter 106: We Are Not the Chosen Ones

The scene beneath the abyss of Treasure Island is harrowing. Within the small area illuminated by the Fire Seal, one can faintly discern the remnants of the ancient war that once raged here. Initially, what seemed like fine, crunching soil underfoot revealed itself upon closer inspection to be nothing but fragments of metal.

"How many people must have perished here? Xiao Jin, stop running around!" Liu Xiaoyi grew increasingly terrified with every step. To think that the Bai Ze had survived to this day only because he was being protected and used as the anchor for a formation.

After arriving, the little tiger became strangely agitated, growling furiously at the empty air. Liu Xiaoyi could sense the inexplicable rage emanating from the creature.

The conflict ignited between the human and beast races had shattered the very essence of the land. There was no ambient spiritual energy here, meaning that once a fight broke out, one could not replenish their mana through meditation.

There was no proper path within the circular abyss; it seemed no one had ever descended here before. Occasionally, one could spot relatively fresh clothing and corpses that had not yet fully decayed—the remains of later trespassers who had accidentally fallen in. These new additions of flesh and blood had become sustenance for the ghosts of this place.

Liu Xiaoyi trudged forward, his feet stepping over ground where limbs occasionally protruded. According to the Bai Ze, the place where the beast remains were most dense was exactly where the humans had once sealed the sword spirit of the Immortal-Slaying Sword. The beast race, with their vigorous vitality, served as the best foundation for the Spirit-Sealing Array.

However, when he finally witnessed it, Liu Xiaoyi was left speechless: a crude, towering spire made of bleached bones was encircled by seven-colored light. One could vaguely see a phantom figure suspended within. When he tried to approach for a clearer look, he was blocked by an invisible barrier.

"Little one, this is no place for you. Retreat at once."

A voice suddenly reached his ears. Standing before him was an elderly man with snow-white hair, holding a broken sword still stained with fresh blood, as if he had just stepped off the battlefield.

Liu Xiaoyi bowed respectfully and asked, "Senior, what is this place? I saw a phantom light flickering ahead; it was truly wondrous."

"Sealed within is the weapon used by the great enemy of our human race. It must never be released. We eighteen stand guard here, paying the price of forsaking reincarnation to keep it bound, yet it remains a difficult task."

Eighteen warriors of varying statures stood in place, each forming seals to unleash true energy of different colors, weaving a formation to trap the sword spirit. But over the long years, the sword spirit had gathered enough power to resist the formation, and the bone spire was now on the verge of collapse.

The old man possessed no true energy within his body; the aura he radiated came entirely from the broken sword. This led Liu Xiaoyi to suspect that the man was likely being controlled by the blade, his body nothing more than an empty shell.

How could anyone still be alive after all these years? Seeing Liu Xiaoyi take two steps back, the old man flicked his finger. More than a dozen black hands emerged from the ground behind Liu Xiaoyi, grabbing him firmly.

"A clever little one, aren't you? But the moment your true energy stirred, I sensed something amiss. What did that Bai Ze tell you?" The old man’s face twisted into a ferocious expression. He could see the flow of true energy; as soon as Liu Xiaoyi gathered his strength to defend, the man had struck first to immobilize him.

Seeing this, little Xiao Jin let out a roar, his body instantly swelling to three zhang in height. His overwhelming presence shattered the black hands.

"A Hanging-Eyed Golden-Eyed Tiger! A remnant of the beast race, surrender your life!" The old man’s eyes were bloodshot. The broken sword in his hand transformed into a dragon, striking straight toward the vertical eye on Xiao Jin's forehead. He seemed to harbor an inexplicable hatred for living beasts, locking onto Xiao Jin with a killing intent that left no room for escape.

Liu Xiaoyi hurriedly threw out the Zhenyuan Mountain to block the path. As soon as the broken sword touched the mountain, it recoiled as if struck by lightning. The old man froze, then leaped backward with even greater speed.

"You are a Spirit-Sealing Envoy? No wonder you could reach this place!" Hearing the old man’s shout, the other seventeen warriors stepped out of the formation and lined up before Liu Xiaoyi.

Faced with these eighteen inscrutable, resentment-filled husks, Liu Xiaoyi knew he was in grave danger. He crushed the medicinal pills in his pocket. The moment he touched the Zhenyuan Mountain, it drained nearly half his mana to counter the old man, and though it caused slight damage, the situation remained dire.

"This little one is interesting. Why not use him to break the seal and disintegrate the sleeping sword spirit inside? A spiritual entity of such magnitude—think of the power it holds! We could surely shatter the seal above and return to the human world!"

These eighteen powerful vengeful spirits were the crystallization of years of battlefield carnage. After countless cycles of consumption, they had finally gained sentience and independent thought.

They had attempted many times to break the Bai Ze’s seal, only to be blasted to pieces by exorcism techniques. Lacking a way to leave, they had been forced to explore the abyss meticulously.

The alluring power released by the bone spire was their greatest discovery yet. The sword spirit inside had fallen into a deep slumber for unknown reasons; no matter how they shook the outer tower, it showed no signs of waking.

This stirred greed in the spirits; they wanted to breach the spire, refine the sword spirit, and use that power to escape once and for all.

Liu Xiaoyi took out the Fire Seal with his left hand and gripped the Zhenyuan Mountain with his right, retreating step by step. Xiao Jin moved with him, while the spirits quickly fell into position, surrounding them.

"Suppress the Zhenyuan Mountain first, then capture him. Be quick!" Following the old man's order, eighteen streaks of black energy surged forward, engulfing both Liu Xiaoyi and the mountain and dragging them toward the bone spire.

Xiao Jin chased desperately from behind, leaping up to bite the tail of the black energy, and was swept along toward the spire.

Liu Xiaoyi was unharmed inside the black energy, though his mana was instantly drained by the Zhenyuan Mountain to resist the corruption. It was just enough for self-preservation, but escaping was impossible.

Just as they were about to crash into the spire, a cold, brilliant light flashed from his storage bag, slicing a gap in the black energy and carrying Liu Xiaoyi into the tower.

The black energy slammed against the tower with a grating sound. The Zhenyuan Mountain, infused with a massive surge of mana, shattered all the resentment in the vicinity, terrifying the spirits so much that they dared not approach again.

Xiao Jin pressed his paws against the base of the tower, trying to dig through the wall to find Liu Xiaoyi, but a paw with soft pads pressed down on his head, forcing him to lie still.

Feeling an aura identical to his own, Xiao Jin’s agitation gradually subsided. Inside the tower, Liu Xiaoyi stared blankly at the sword spirit floating in the darkness.

"Sword Spirit... Senior?" The glowing figure was somewhat blurred; it seemed the sword spirit’s essence had weakened after being refined for so many years.

Fortunately, at the base of the tower lay a metal fragment larger than the one Liu Xiaoyi had found. The sword spirit’s form relied upon this very fragment.

"Human youth, I am delighted to speak again. You have thoroughly awakened me, so I shall give you a chance to participate in this gamble." The sword spirit's gender was indistinguishable, and its magnetic voice was devoid of emotion.

The sword spirit brought its hands together, condensing a crystal-clear sword-shaped necklace that drifted toward Liu Xiaoyi. The necklace contained an unprecedented, abundant sword intent; Liu Xiaoyi, not yet at that level of cultivation, found the necklace incredibly heavy.

"Ten thousand years ago, both the human and beast races faced a catastrophe. To hide the seeds of hope, war after war was ignited. The Chosen One has yet to appear, but we cannot wait any longer." As the sword spirit spoke, its form flickered and grew even more translucent.

These wars were deliberately orchestrated by both sides. The Immortal-Slaying Sword spirit here was merely a gatekeeper; the world beneath the tower, which he opened, was the true reason for this place's existence.

Liu Xiaoyi put on the necklace. His spirit was immediately invigorated as the sword intent began to merge with the sword qi in his body, granting him new insights. "Sword Spirit Senior, what kind of catastrophe forced you to suffer such humiliation and resort to such desperate measures to hide your tracks?"

The sword spirit before him could destroy him with a flick of a finger. What kind of catastrophe could be so terrifying that even such power could not face it?

The sword spirit shook its head. "You are not the Chosen One who bears the Will. I cannot tell you about the world beneath the tower or its secrets. I shall send you back up now."

Liu Xiaoyi wanted to ask more, but he found the scene shifting before his eyes. He was back on the surface. The chains that had bound the Bai Ze were shattered, and the divine beast was finally liberated from the formation.

The people waiting outside the cave felt the ground tremble. The rich mana emanating from the cave instantly altered the landscape around Treasure Island; the abyss was covered by earth that appeared from nowhere, and from that day on, Treasure Island ceased to exist.

The clansmen who had brought offerings knelt down, offering their most sincere blessings for the Bai Ze’s release. The foul stench vanished, and the Bai Ze’s form was renewed; with every step he took, a cool breeze washed over the land.

When they walked out of the cave, the crowd, led by the elders of the two families, bowed to the Bai Ze. "Divine Beast, the Qian and Hua families have guarded this cave for a thousand years, and we have finally lived to see your liberation!"

The Bai Ze spoke in a human voice: "I have noted your kindness. What year and month is it in the world now?"

"The first year of the Qin Era, one hundred and three thousand, five hundred and twenty-eight years since the Ancestor Era."

Walking beside them, Liu Xiaoyi heard the term "Ancestor Era" for the first time, beyond the calendars of the dynasties.

Upon hearing this, the Bai Ze pressed his front paws against the ground three times. The surrounding flowers, trees, and grass were revitalized. An exuberant vitality spread for hundreds of miles from where he stood, transforming the entire Southern Wilderness.

The ability to reshape heaven and earth had only been recorded in legends; if they had not seen it with their own eyes, no one would have believed it was real.

"Thank you for your grace, Divine Beast! We have no words to express our gratitude!"

"May the world flourish, and all things prosper!" The Bai Ze transformed into a ray of shimmering light and, before anyone could look up, soared into the sky and vanished into the horizon.

On Xiao Jin’s forehead, tucked in Liu Xiaoyi’s arms, appeared three strands of snow-white hair, identical to those of the Bai Ze.