The mark on Lu Yang's palm had read "one," while the mark on Gu Zha's palm had read "eighty-seven." After Lu Yang killed Gu Zha, the mark turned into "eighty-eight."
"Is this that demonic saber with the sinister reputation? The one where every wielder was killed by it, and Gu Zha was merely the temporary exception?"
Evidently, Gu Zha lacked any sense of public manners, tossing things around carelessly. Lu Yang had to pick it up for him.
The demonic saber was a dark crimson. Its hilt seemed to be forged from the horn of some gigantic demon beast, and where the hilt met the blade was an embedded dark red gem that resembled an eye.
Aside from its bizarre appearance, Lu Yang could find nothing special about it.
"Mm, this saber is somewhat interesting. The hilt is made from a flood dragon's horn, the blade from refined steel, and that dark red gem is actually the eye of a demon beast called a 'Fei.'"
The Fei was a formidable demon beast inhabiting the wilderness, with the body of a bull, a white head, a single eye, and the tail of a serpent.
The Immortal Fairy finally served her role as a cheat, explaining the saber's wondrous peculiarities to Lu Yang.
"The materials of this saber are superb; properly forged, it could have developed spirituality. But the blacksmith's skill was rather poor, forging only an empty shell without imparting spirituality to the blade."
"Even as just an empty vessel, it is a rare dharma treasure."
"The saber instinctively craves spirituality, hence its thirst for blood and slaughter. The more it kills, the more likely it is to birth spirituality."
"How does one establish ownership?"
"A drop of blood to recognize its master will do," the Immortal Fairy advised. "However, I don't recommend binding it with your blood. This saber is insatiably greedy. Once you become its master, the more blood you feed it, the more it wants to devour you. But if you don't feed it blood, it will devour you just the same."
Dharma treasures with similar properties had existed in ancient times. The Immortal Fairy had seen many arrogant geniuses who believed they were special and could tame such treasures, but in the end, only a handful ever succeeded.
"So that's how it is." Lu Yang finally understood why every previous owner of the demonic saber had been killed by it. The saber had never intended for its master to live in the first place. "What an interesting blade."
"The only reason Gu Zha didn't suffer a backlash is that he held it for too short a time. The time for the backlash simply hadn't arrived yet."
Lu Yang asked again, "If this demonic saber develops spirituality, what would its quality be like?"
The Immortal Fairy said disdainfully, "In any case, it wouldn't even qualify to serve as my stepping stone."
Lu Yang gave an "oh." It seemed the demonic saber's quality wasn't anything impressive after all.
From start to finish, Eldest Senior Sister said nothing, quietly reading her book.
She believed that with the capabilities of Lu Yang's trio, claiming first place in this competition would be no difficult feat.
As they spoke, the mark on Lu Yang's palm changed again, jumping twice from "eighty-eight" to "one hundred thirty-one."
The Wine and Meat Monk had received special attention from the crowd and failed to snatch a Ginseng Fruit. Instead, two somewhat famous Foundation Establishment cultivators had seized them, and without exception, both had been poisoned to death.
The other two Ginseng Fruits had also been coated in lethal poison. Being too far away now, Lu Yang could not sense the state of the Ginseng Fruit clones.
Lu Yang dispelled his clone state and returned to his original height.
He stowed the demonic saber into his storage ring and set out to find his next target.
The storage ring was something he had prepared on short notice; after all, in Immortal Cult territory, using the Dao Seeking Sect identity jade token as a storage device would be far too brazen.
"Hm? Whose blood is this?" Lu Yang noticed several drops of blood on the ground nearby. It was fresh, looking as though left behind by someone wounded and fleeing.
"Let's track it down and take a look."
Once wounded, one's combat power was bound to drop. This was basically free points ripe for the picking.
Sure enough, just as Lu Yang suspected, as the distance closed, the bloodstains grew more pronounced, turning from a few drops into puddles. It was obvious the other party was gravely injured.
At last, Lu Yang spotted the wounded man—it was the Wine and Meat Monk!
At that moment, the Wine and Meat Monk opened his massive hand and clamped down on someone's neck. With a crisp snap, the person's neck was twisted until it broke.
"Another one's taken the bait." The Wine and Meat Monk flashed a cruel grin.
During the struggle for the Ginseng Fruits, he had pretended to be overwhelmed, fleeing with feigned injuries to lure several competitors into chasing him, only to turn around and slaughter them one by one.
"Who told me to have such a fierce reputation? If I didn't do this, I wouldn't be able to find anyone at all," the Wine and Meat Monk chuckled to himself.
As one of the three most prominent seeded contestants, others fled the moment they saw him, leaving him no chance to fight.
Better to expose a flaw and let the fish bite.
The Wine and Meat Monk let out a light gasp. "You look familiar... Well, whoever you are, running into me means your luck has run out!"
He looked familiar because the Ginseng Fruit looked very much like Lu Yang, practically like father and son, though the Wine and Meat Monk had not made the connection just yet.
The Wine and Meat Monk clenched his fist, tensing his muscles, and his bleeding wounds immediately closed up. He produced a golden alms bowl, preparing to trap Lu Yang beneath it.
Lu Yang quietly withdrew the demonic saber from his storage ring, crouched down, and dabbed the blade in the blood left behind by the Wine and Meat Monk.
The demonic saber instantly recognized the Wine and Meat Monk as its master.
The demonic saber hovered in the air, then shot toward the Wine and Meat Monk with a sharp hiss.
Perhaps the demonic saber had never met such a generous master before and wished to give him a warm embrace—with its edge.
The Wine and Meat Monk was struck with horror. Where had this demonic saber come from, and why was it stabbing him?
The golden alms bowl that had accompanied the Wine and Meat Monk for years was pierced straight through, forcing him into a desperate struggle.
Standing to the side, Lu Yang clicked his tongue. "With this level of skill, how could you have ever had a shot at being picked by the Hanging Temple?"
As the sect with the fewest disciples among the Five Great Immortal Sects, every disciple the Hanging Temple accepted was exceptionally gifted. With the Wine and Meat Monk's talent, he could barely serve as an errand boy there.
"The Hanging Temple claims everyone has an opportunity to join! Naturally I had a chance to enter the Hanging Temple; I merely renounced that opportunity myself!" the Wine and Meat Monk shouted as he fought.
"...You sure know how to flatter yourself."
The Wine and Meat Monk proved utterly useless; unable to overcome the demonic saber, his heart was pierced clean through in a single thrust.
Once again, the demonic saber was left without a master.
"How tragic. A newly recognized master, gone just like that."
Lu Yang picked up the demonic saber and set off once more.
"Blood Drowns the Yellow Springs!" Someone had set their sights on Lu Yang and launched a sneak ambush!
A blood-colored deluge surged toward Lu Yang, carrying a metallic stench that proved unmistakably it was blood.
Lu Yang remained calm and unhurried. He drew the demonic saber once more. Possessing a Sword Spiritual Root, he had a natural affinity for blades and swords; grasping saber techniques was hardly difficult for him.
He unleashed the saber technique he had just created:
"Master Recognition Saber Technique!"
The demonic saber slashed toward the bloody deluge. Like a shark catching the scent of blood, it flared with an eerie red glow and stabbed Lu Yang's ambusher to death.
"Surging Blood Palm!"
"Master Recognition Saber Technique!"
"Blood Skeleton!"
"Master Recognition Saber Technique!"
As expected of a demonic cult, every spell they learned was either related to vicious ghosts and skulls or blood and deceased souls—perfect for selecting masters for the demonic saber.
Relying on this single Master Recognition Saber Technique, Lu Yang swept through all opposition without an equal.
Unfortunately, every single master of the demonic saber was short-lived, failing to survive even three seconds before falling to the backlash.
Lu Yang shook his head with regret. All he wanted was to find a master for the demonic saber—why was it so difficult?
"Such a fine dharma treasure, yet none of you have the good fortune to enjoy it."
More and more people became aware of Lu Yang's existence. Word was now spreading among the contestants that Lu Yang had become the demonic saber's master, slaughtering indiscriminately and proving even more savage than Gu Zha.
Others noticed the resemblance between Lu Yang and the Ginseng Fruits. Linking it to the people poisoned to death, they deduced that the Ginseng Fruits had been a complete hoax.
In the dense forest, after the demonic saber routinely stabbed yet another master to death, Lu Yang ran into Meng Jingzhou.
Meng Jingzhou glared at Lu Yang, gnashing his teeth.
"What impressive skills! Disguising yourself as a Ginseng Fruit and fooling everyone!"
Chapter 191