Chapter 771: Thousand Star Chronicle

"Hold me, countless people will have their wishes fulfilled!"

"Yunli inside the sword sneered, each word seemed full of temptation."

"In its memory, countless silhouettes flickered like slides—swordsmen, elders, soldiers..."

"Swordsmen mediocre and talentless become famous in an instant. The old hag, after becoming a wooden statue, finally repays blood debt with blood. Your future is within reach; just tell me your 'wish'..."

Demon Slayer.

"If grasping the Demon Sword could slay that bunch of demons one by one, it doesn't sound impossible," Busichuan Shimi crossed his arms. Regarding the Demon Sword, his attitude was rather relaxed.

"Stop joking, Busichuan. Have you forgotten Yan Qing, whose mind was affected by the Sun's Shadow back then? If a swordsman who has mastered a breathing technique can easily slay Wucun after obtaining the Demon Sword... then he could also easily kill everyone in the Demon Slayer Corps."

Ihei Xiaobanei's bandage-wrapped face showed no expression, only a white snake coiled around his neck hissing, "If the Demon Sword usurps your mind, how is that different from Wucun? It's still a Wucun who has overcome sunlight... simply more terrifying than a demon."

"In fact, once you try to defeat demons this way, you've already fallen into the Demon Sword's trap," Hu Die Ren said lightly. "Given Wucun's habit, if he meets a Pill that's too powerful, he'll find a way to hide, waiting for that Pill to die before reappearing. But if the demons hide, the bloodthirsty Demon Sword can only turn its blade toward humanity."

"Hu Die Ren is right," Chanwu Zhi Yaocai's voice came from inside the room. "But we don't have a Demon Sword here. Compared to an uncontrollable power... it's safer to study Luofu Immortal Boat's sword techniques and devise a new breathing method."

"Hmph, facing death and you talk so much... Demon Sword!"

As soon as the words fell, Yunli thrust the Demon Sword she held into the furnace fire; scorching flames instantly engulfed the blade.

"The Molten Sword Furnace has long been ready; you're still struggling."

At the same time, the scene shifted; Yunli standing by the furnace transformed into a soft little white cat, her front paws clutching a Demon Sword longer than herself. With a "whoosh," she tossed it into the furnace opening.

Seeing the furnace flame "whoosh" surge upward for a moment, she leapt to a nearby woodpile, gathering firewood until it was full, then raised her fluffy tail, unfolded a fan, and fanned the flames vigorously.

"The sword tip that draws everyone's gaze..."

"Countless people have their wishes fulfilled..."

"Tell me... your wish..."

Countless Demon Swords kept enticing, and Yunli actually paused beside one, pondering carefully. She lightly tapped her foot as molten fire, together with memories, dripped onto the gradually melting blade.

"Don't you want to go to Luofu? Don't you want to become the sword tip?"

However, no matter how the Demon Sword coaxed, Yunli resolutely threw it into the fire, listening to its scream in the flames, and the girl's face gradually showed a hint of satisfaction.

"My wish... is to melt and hunt down Demon Swords like you!"

"The truth behind wishes being fulfilled is that you devour human will, turning them into walking corpses. Yet the direction of the sword tip should be the 'human's' choice."

The girl strolled along the path ablaze with raging flames.

Along both sides of the road, Demon Swords were scattered; they melted under the heat, turning into glowing molten iron that sank into the equally burning road, emitting a brief wisp of blue smoke.

As Yunli kept moving forward, the Demon Swords grew fewer, until—

She stepped into a clear, boundless world.

The flames cleansed the impurity, and this endless brightness gently enveloped the refined realm. The wind blew softly, as if coming from a faraway place, or as if the world itself were breathing.

This is a world without Demon Swords— the girl stood at the bright center where sky and earth merged, slightly tilting her face upward, feeling the warm wind brush her hair tips.

She had come here, after melting all the Demon Swords, to this... bright world.

Twin Cities Battle.

Inside the laboratory, Jiesi inhaled deeply, his gaze shifting to the short figure perched on a lab stool: "Professor, on the Rune Continent... are there weapons similar to the Demon Sword? Ones that can also devour human hearts?"

"Hmm..." Heimo Dingge remained silent for a long while, then jumped down from his chair and approached the blackboard he usually wrote on.

"Sit down, gentlemen," he said, unusually without his flamboyant gestures. "Some matters are so ancient, almost legendary across the continent—these legends are older than my beard."

Jiesi and Weiketu exchanged a glance and pulled a chair over.

"In my long years, I have indeed heard of weapons akin to 'Demon Swords'; they possess their own consciousness, will, and... desires."

"Dark Ones," Heimo Dingge slowly uttered. "That's their collective name; they were said to be the continent's strongest warriors, but for some reason were sealed within weapons, forever yearning for freedom... and revenge."

"Revenge? Revenge against whom?" Jiesi asked.

"Perhaps against those who originally sealed them?" Heimo Dingge shrugged. "But most of the humans who sealed them are dead; if no target exists, they might turn their vengeance toward all humanity on the Rune Continent—I don't know the details."

"In short," Heimo Dingge continued, "the Dark Ones corrupt the user's mind—just like the Demon Sword, eventually taking full control. If you ever encounter such a weapon, never imagine you can resist the Dark Ones' corruption with your own will... Hmm, the best approach is to stay far away from them."

At that moment, Weiketu asked, "Professor, theoretically... could we extract the consciousness stored in these weapons and make use of it?"

"Weiketu, that's the most dangerous idea!" Heimo Dingge's whisker under his nose twitched sharply. "Once you start pondering 'how to use' instead of 'how to avoid', their influence may already have entered your thoughts! Your thinking is just like those unlucky ones in the sky dome who tried to use the Demon Sword to fulfill wishes and were backfired... it's the survivor's mindset! The best thing is not to touch them!"

Heimo Dingge leapt onto a chair, positioning himself to meet the eyes of the seated youths.

"Listen, youngsters. I know your curiosity, I know your thirst for knowledge. But some boundaries should not be crossed. The Dark Ones involve not only physical laws but also arcane and magic—that's why I've always warned you: if you want to live long... stay far from those primal, chaotic forces."