Cohabitation with Sword Spirit

Chapter 603: Chapter 90: There’s Nothing Left to Trust Anymore (Part 2)

Zhao Chenlu watched the Divine Sword depart from behind, letting out a slight sigh.

The Sect Leader beside him seemed a bit confused and asked, "Sharpening the sword?"

Zhao Chenlu responded, "Literally, the sword blade has dulled and needs sharpening, so he’s gone to sharpen it."

This explanation left the Sect Leader even more puzzled, so he quietly waited for Zhao Chenlu to elaborate further.

"Don’t worry, this isn’t the worst-case scenario. I originally thought his reaction would be more intense, hmm, if it were the him from before, all of us would have to be cautious now."

"Cautious of what?"

"Cautious that he might purify us all," Zhao Chenlu said with a smile on his face, "Luckily, he’s just sharpening the sword; things seem not too bad."

"This..." The Sect Leader grew increasingly confused, "You mean, because the civilization on the Xiangzhou Continent was established by the Demon Race, he wants to destroy the entire Xiangzhou civilization? That’s impossible!?"

"Why not?" Zhao Chenlu said, "Even I just felt a slight impulse."

"Hey!?" The Sect Leader immediately stood up, "Are you out of your mind?!"

"You’re the one who’s out of your mind." Zhao Chenlu waved his hand to indicate the Sect Leader should sit down, "If I really wanted to kill you, I would have already done so while you were unprepared. Although our strengths are similar, if I truly went all out to kill you, you wouldn’t survive. And after your death, no one in the Myriad Forms Garden could stop me... Forget it, I’m just speaking casually. Since dear has decided to sharpen the sword, it proves the situation hasn’t reached the worst yet, and we can still be good friends who can eat and drink together."

After saying this, seeing that the Sect Leader still stood upright with no sign of relaxation, Zhao Chenlu had to explain, "You haven’t participated in the Immortal Demon War, so you can’t understand many of our judgments, but objectively speaking, such decisive attitudes are necessary. The Demon Race doesn’t take prisoners, but that doesn’t mean they won’t exploit human weaknesses. Have you heard of Demonization Disease? Humans tainted by the power of the Demon Race show almost no changes externally, retaining human form and even previous memories and thoughts. But they could suddenly attack indiscriminately at any time, and if restricted, they’d self-destruct, with considerable power... There were no adequate treatments for Demonization Disease until the end of the war, and no one ever truly recovered. Once infected, the best method was a swift kill, or it would harm all others."

Hearing this, combined with some Primordial fragments remaining in the Myriad Forms Garden, the Sect Leader broadly understood the brutal scenes Zhao Chenlu had described.

"However, Demonization Disease is an individual issue, but if it involves too many people..."

Zhao Chenlu interrupted, "Demonization Disease is contagious, spread through all known channels! For two people, just being within a hundred meters without an Anti-Magic Magical Treasure means likely getting infected! And it only takes one or two hours from infection to becoming a mature host... So do you know what kind of situation we faced at the time? The first report notifying of a suspected Demonization Disease patient had just arrived, followed swiftly by the second report of an entire region’s fall! The time difference between the two occurrences was less than half a day, and due to different transmission channels, the reports arrived simultaneously, giving us no time to react. So, if it were you, how would you handle someone with Demonization Disease?"

The Sect Leader was speechless; in such circumstances, eradicating it was the only solution.

"And now, in a certain sense, the Xiangzhou Continent is like a patient with Demonization Disease."

"That’s an exaggeration," the Sect Leader said, "Although it’s undeniable that everything on this continent is connected to the Demon Race, we haven’t thereby lost our human selves..."

"Every patient with Demonization Disease thought the same before they erupted, and their behavior indeed showed no difference from normal people. So when we eradicated it, it felt like slaughtering our own people," Zhao Chenlu said, his face showing extreme disgust, "So every time such a mission was executed, we had to rely on us experienced hands."

After hearing all of this, the Sect Leader truly didn’t know how to explain it. The difference in knowledge and experience made it impossible for him to truly understand some of the practices from the Jiuzhou Era.

"But Sword Spirit Senior doesn’t think things have reached an irreversible point?"

Zhao Chenlu said, "Yes, judging by his reaction just now, he doesn’t see the Xiangzhou Continent as a Demonization Disease patient, only there’s a suspicion. And although we show no mercy to Demonization Disease, we’re not indiscriminately blind."

"But what does sharpening the sword mean?"

"It means when a suspected patient erupts, we’ll be able to eradicate them immediately," Zhao Chenlu said, "Currently, the Celestial Divine Sword hasn’t regained its peak power, so it needs to hone the blade."

The Sect Leader couldn’t help but grow tense: "Could it be that he thinks his current power isn’t strong enough to eradicate it, and when he’s honed..."

Zhao Chenlu said, "Two different things, his power indeed isn’t strong enough, but regarding Demonization Disease, you can’t wait until you’re fully prepared, because by then, the opponent will have inevitably grown unimaginably powerful, and the longer the delay, who knows what other tricks the Demon Race has. So even if the power is insufficient, when it’s time to act, act you must. Moreover, if the Celestial Divine Sword really sees the Xiangzhou Continent as an enemy, with his current power, it’s enough to destroy the world... Ha, don’t doubt it. When it’s necessary, the Celestial Divine Sword can enhance itself through a blood sacrifice of the living. Though he currently can’t defeat some of the most powerful cultivators, he could quickly regain his power by hiding away and massacring thousands or tens of thousands."