Chapter 540: 494 The Control Web

Tang Zhao was startled, then immediately said happily, "That's right! If there is anyone in the world who can resolve the plight of the Sword Slaves, it must be you, Senior Brother!"

The difficulty of the Sword Slaves lies first in the immense pain, and second in how to extract the Sword Seed once it is placed within the Inspiration, untying this irreversible dead knot.

The key lies in the second.

If one could place the Sword Seed into the Inspiration and take it out at any time, then the first item could actually be suppressed in many ways. Even spending a bit more would be no problem. Because if the second problem were solved, then the person implanted with the Sword Seed would no longer be a Sword Slave.

They could be a voluntary Swordsman Seed.

Just like Si Liyu, who volunteered to be a temporary Sword Slave back then to delay the arrival of the Demon Cave. Surely there are people willing to endure just a few days of pain, or rather, pain that has an end in sight.

Not to mention that nurturing a Sword Seed is profitable.

Tang Zhao's own Sword Seed was extracted from his body, so it was particularly suited to him; it was as if the Sword Seed had been assimilated by him during the time it was in his body.

If one were to say that his single case is not enough to prove it, then the Sword Slaves of Wangliang Mountain, as long as they hold on, can form a connection with the Sword Seed in their bodies and easily become Sword Guests—that is also proof.

This is a clear path to becoming a Sword Guest.

Enduring for a few days to obtain a perfectly matched Sword Seed—not to mention the spoiled children from noble families, there are likely many from poor backgrounds willing to take the gamble, and in the Jiandisi Xunying, they would fight tooth and nail for it. If the pain could be reduced, for every bit it is reduced, the number of volunteers would likely rise exponentially.

In that case, there would truly be no need for Sword Slaves to exist... at least, there would be no need for so many.

Then the significance of Wangliang Mountain's existence would be diminished.

The premise is that it can actually be done.

Inspiration within the Soul—that is a realm almost no one has stepped into.

The reason I say "almost" is because Tang Zhao knows of one person who has studied the Soul deeply—Zhu Yang.

Jiang Shenyi's other teacher, and also a companion currently researching together!

Jiang Shenyi and Zhu Yang have been researching together for a year, and as a genius in the way of Rune Formulae himself, who is to say he cannot make a breakthrough in a field that predecessors have never explored?

Tang Zhao asked hurriedly, "Do you have any ideas?"

He did not ask "Do you have a way?", as asking like that was too impatient. Jiang Shenyi had been in contact with the Sword Slaves for less than a day; even if he were a genius and well-prepared, it would be impossible. So he only asked for ideas first.

Jiang Shenyi pondered and said, "I have a little. After all, on the mountain, I had already studied the compatibility between the Soul and the Sword Seed—we have another experiment that might be the exact opposite of this. But I have never seen a real Sword Slave before and have not conducted targeted research, so I cannot confirm it. I need human experimentation; I can try it on myself..."

Tang Zhao said, "That is not necessary. Once we are on Wangliang Mountain, there should be plenty of ready-made Sword Slaves. There should be some willing to cooperate with your experiment."

Even knowing that failure would likely lead to death, there should be some willing to seek release.

At this moment, Jinwu Dianxia suddenly said, "The Sword Slaves on Wangliang Mountain cannot be used casually; they are all controlled by Wangliang. It is not just the Sword Slaves; the Sword Guests are the same."

Tang Zhao said solemnly, "Is this Your Highness's discovery today? What did you find?"

Jinwu Dianxia nodded at Jiang Shenyi and said, "Jiang, if you can truly release the Sword Slaves, you will have shaken the foundation of Wangliang Mountain. Not only will those in the Deep Shadow come to trouble you, but Wangliang may not remain indifferent either, because you have touched its food. The Sword Slaves of Wangliang Mountain all rely on Wangliang to escape their pain."

"Specifically, a Sword Slave likely deposits their pain and a portion of their consciousness, life, and Soul into the Shadow, becoming a part of Wangliang. That is why you see Sword Slaves walking with a dragging gait; it is because a Sword Slave's feet cannot leave the ground, cannot leave their own shadow. Once they leave it, the pain immediately surges back, which is unbearable."

Bai Zhi said, "In other words, they have sacrificed a part of themselves?"

Jinwu Dianxia said, "It is a total sacrifice, only it has not been completed yet. They first stake a portion of their body and mind, and after they die, they are dragged into the Shadow Kingdom to sink completely. This contract remains valid even after a Sword Slave becomes a Sword Guest. This is also the reason for the short lifespans of the Sword Guests on Wangliang Mountain. They are already incomplete to begin with, and the remaining body is insufficient to support a normal Sword Guest lifespan."

Tang Zhao said, "That should be it. The intelligence I received also said that all Sword Slaves are controlled by Wangliang and also controlled by the Manor Lords. It just didn't uncover exactly how it works."

Jinwu Dianxia said, "It is mainly controlled by the Manor Lords. Although Wangliang is powerful, its consciousness is not clear right now. Even if it wanted to control people to do something, it wouldn't be the turn of those Sword Slaves, and even the Sword Guests don't catch its eye. So the control over all Sword Guests is in the hands of the various Manor Lords."

"Although I don't know the specific form, it should be similar to a Sacrificial Array, and the source might be Wangliang's Sword Momentum—the tentacles of the Shadow Kingdom. A proper sacrifice should be throwing the whole person into the Shadow Kingdom, but the Manor Lords can pause the sacrifice, keeping these Sword Guests in a state where they are mostly alive. But once restarted, the Sword Slave or Sword Guest will be immediately dragged into the Shadow Kingdom to sink completely. That is to say, the lives of all Sword Guests and Sword Slaves are in the hands of the Manor Lords. They can make them live, make them die, and can also make the originally deposited pain surge back, instantly making life worse than death."

Tang Zhao nodded. Although he had intelligence reports, the reports were not sent by Sword Guests, but merely by servants; they could not touch these pieces of information at all, yet Jinwu Dianxia had already found them out.

It must have been Xing Wu who told him, right?

As expected of Jinwu Dianxia, in just one afternoon, he made people admire him to the point of telling him everything. Even though he had the advantage of the Manor Lord status, it is easy to make people obedient, but difficult to make people confide in you.

At this time, Bai Zhi said, "Since the Manor Lord holds the life and death of everyone, then the Sword Guests of all manors should not think of rebelling. But that old thing Xing Cang is clearly not sincerely submissive; he is restless and does not fear the Young Master much. Could it be that he took advantage of the old Manor Lord's death to seize the Sacrificial Array of Changfa Manor?"

Jiang Shenyi said, "If it can be stolen, then the system of Wangliang Mountain is not very stable, is it? Those Sword Guests must be trying every possible way to seize the vital point. Did that old Manor Lord not think to protect the Sacrificial Array before he died? To have it snatched away like that, he didn't have much skill."

Tang Zhao said, "It shouldn't have been stolen. One does not just become a Manor Lord of Wangliang Mountain; every Manor Lord must be recognized by Wangliang. After the Deep Shadow Society comes the triennial Great Sacrifice. The position of each manor is fixed, one tier pressing down on another, all determined by Wangliang's 'Sacred Scroll'. To change the chief sacrificer privately—let alone continue the sacrifice—would mean becoming a sacrifice on the spot. And as for avoiding the sacrifice, it goes without saying that the entire manor would be wiped out."

"Under normal circumstances, unless a Sword Guest does not want to live and just wants to have a good time before dying, the best way is to kill the Manor Lord immediately after the previous sacrifice and take their place. Then one can live a life of drunken dreams for three years, and after three years, when the reckoning comes, just die. Actually, it can't be considered a loss."

He laughed and said, "So if Senior Brother really researches a way to let Sword Slaves break away from the Sword Seed, that would truly cut off the foundation of Wangliang Mountain. The underlying logic of Wangliang Mountain is control. Wangliang controls the Manor Lords, and the Manor Lords control the Sword Guests and Sword Slaves. That kind of control is from body to mind, entangled like a spider web; once you fall in, you cannot escape even in death. Everyone is an insect in the web. Whoever cuts the control chain will destroy this spider web, and wouldn't they be attacked by everyone?"

Jiang Shenyi said, "According to what you say, taking out the Sword Seed is not enough. There must also be a way to cut the control between Wangliang and the Sword Guests who have already been sacrificed. Even if the part that has already been sacrificed cannot be taken back, at least they can easily finish the rest of their days and be able to rest in peace after death. That would be the true end of Wangliang Mountain."

Tang Zhao's eyes lit up and he said, "If that is truly the case, it would be a great merit! Even to be utilitarian, if we can cut this layer upon layer of spider webs, Wangliang Mountain will collapse on its own. The oppressed Sword Guests will stand on our side. Our opponents will only be Wangliang and the Manor Lords. No, even the Manor Lords can be left to the Sword Guests to deal with. We only need to deal with Wangliang. This is also very difficult; does Senior Brother have any ideas?"

Jiang Shenyi said, "Of course not."

Tang Zhao let out an "eh," and Jiang Shenyi said, "This work should be done by you! Great Sword Hero, have you forgotten that you are a Talisman Sword Master? How were you so prominent and full of promises at the Talisman Assembly? Everyone recognizes you as the first Talisman Sword Master of the new generation; if you don't take on this topic, who will? If you don't carry this heavy burden that benefits the masses, who will?"

Tang Zhao laughed in spite of himself and said, "Senior Brother is right. It should be me. This is a breakthrough point. A fortress is most easily broken from within. If we can draw the firewood from under the cauldron, our work this time will be much easier. This matter should be done seriously."

On the side, Bai Zhi thought: Tang Commander's temper is truly good. He is already a Sword Hero, yet he has no airs when interacting with mortals; ordinary people cannot do that. Is he actually a very strong Talisman Sword Master? How can there be such an amazing person?

On the side, the white fox said, "So you mean the Manor Lord's position is hard to replace, so that old guy really has no ulterior motives? But I just feel something is wrong when I look at him."

Tang Zhao said, "To say he doesn't have any, that may not be true. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't, but there are always unusual circumstances."

The white fox said, "Unusual? How unusual?"

Tang Zhao pondered and said, "I can't say specifically, but from talking to him for an afternoon, I feel he doesn't seem to really want to be a Manor Lord, but rather treats himself as a powerful minister acting as regent. And it's that kind of feeling of a veteran of three dynasties, deposing and enthroning new emperors but still loyal to the Imperial Court, wishing he were the pillar of the state."

He wondered if no one knew who Huo Guang was?

Once these words were spoken, the white fox and Jiang Shenyi, who didn't care about politics at all, were fine, but Bai Zhi, who had some knowledge, felt it was absurd and said, "That shouldn't be, right? He is acting as regent? By what right is he acting as regent? His strength is just a Sword Guest, right? And he is controlled by the Sacrificial Array, with his life and death in the hands of others; where does his power come from? By the fact that he has lived a long time?"

Tang Zhao hesitated slightly at this question, and Jinwu Dianxia said, "That's right, it is just because he has lived a long time."

Tang Zhao's heart stirred and he said, "You can see that he has lived a long time? How long has he lived?"

Jinwu Dianxia said, "I am not very clear about the ages of you humans, but it is obvious that it is an age that a Sword Guest who has been sacrificed could absolutely not reach. Having lived a long time, and having sat in the position for a long time, the power becomes stable. That is how people are, right?"

Tang Zhao said, "Yes, time makes power. So this person has actually jumped out of the control web of Wangliang Mountain? How did he do it?"