(Thanks to book friend Old Rain Clear Sky for the reward—Protector, mighty as ever! Much gratitude from Xiao Xiao!)
The sudden voice caught Evan Chu off guard. Spirit beasts talking was nothing new to him—after all, the Golden Demon Roc could speak and even take on human form.
But what the Heaven Ape said was truly shocking—it actually knew his identity, and had been waiting for him. It was almost unbelievable.
Evan Chu swallowed hard, then shot out, "How the hell do you know I'm the one you're waiting for? And who are you, anyway? What are you doing here?"
Facing this enormous creature, Evan Chu remained polite. Luna—the Sword Spirit—had said it had already surpassed ninth-rank Spirit Beast and become a King-tier existence. He had to be careful; if he angered it, his life wouldn't be safe.
"You don't need to be afraid. I said I'm here specifically to wait for you—maybe you won't believe it, but facts are facts. You carry the blood of the Divine Dragon, that's undeniable. Most importantly, you have a divine sword in your hand that I'm very familiar with," said the Heaven Ape.
Evan Chu found it all too incredible. This creature knew so much—was it really fate? Had it truly been waiting for him?
Looking at the Frostbane Sword in his hand, Evan Chu felt this creature probably knew the sword's former master—maybe it was even his subordinate, just like Shadow the Bloodshadow Berserker Lion is now.
"So who are you, exactly? And what do you want with me?" Evan started to get excited—looks like today's "pleasant surprise" was this giant beast. His nerves were gone, replaced by burning curiosity.
"I sensed you the moment you entered. Your luck is extraordinary—to have signed a Soul Contract with a Bloodshadow Berserker Lion. It seems the legend is true. But your current strength is far too weak—entering the Divine Battlefield will be difficult!" said the Heaven Ape.
It was like Evan Chu had been struck by lightning—again, the Divine Battlefield. Back in the Stellar Secret Chamber, that giant Bloodshadow Berserker Lion had said the same thing: without reaching the Saint Martial Realm, you can't enter. Now this creature brought it up too. Did he really have some connection to the Divine Battlefield?
But given his age, it was impossible. Even with his Pure Yang Constitution and Divine Dragon bloodline, it couldn't be done. Yet this creature even knew Shadow was a Bloodshadow Berserker Lion—maybe its strength was even scarier than Luna, the Sword Spirit, had said.
"The Divine Battlefield? That's just a pipe dream for me. Senior, you might as well forget about it. Just spit it out—what do you really want? With your power, you could sneeze me to death, so let's skip the pointless chatter." Evan cut straight to the chase, not caring if the big guy got pissed.
About ten seconds later, a white light flashed in front of Evan Chu, forcing him to close his eyes.
"Maybe you really are the fated one from legend. Being able to see you today makes all my master's painstaking efforts worthwhile. Let me tell you a few things," said the Heaven Ape.
Evan Chu opened his eyes and saw an old man with snow-white hair standing not far away. A massive iron chain restricted his movements, and strangest of all, a broken sword was stabbed through his chest—yet not a drop of blood flowed out.
Evan Chu knew that chain couldn't be ordinary iron. With strength like his, such a chain couldn't possibly hold him—it must be forged from some extremely tough material. As for the broken sword, that was a mystery.
"Senior, how did you end up like this? Who hurt you?" Evan Chu asked. For a spirit beast this powerful to be trapped here, whoever did it must be unimaginably strong.
"This was left from the Divine Battlefield. Back then, the War of Gods and Demons was earth-shattering—countless mighty experts fell. Even united, the human and beast races couldn't fully defeat the Demon Race; they only managed to slay six of the Twelve Demon Venerables, while the other six were sealed.
The Demon Lord was sealed at that time too, but the seal will only last ten thousand years—and that time is almost up.
Back then, the strongest human was the master of your Frostbane Sword—the Lord of Frostbane. Sadly, he was plotted against by the Blood Emperor and Nether Venerable and gravely wounded by the Demon Lord, then vanished without a trace.
But legend says the Lord of Frostbane once cultivated a heaven-defying technique that allowed him to reincarnate at the brink of death. If anyone later obtained the Frostbane Sword, that person would be his reincarnation.
Now you've gotten the Frostbane Sword, but your strength is far too weak—you can't break the seal on it. Otherwise, your power wouldn't be so limited." The old man formed by the Heaven Ape spoke slowly, leaving Evan Chu stunned.
"Me, the Lord of Frostbane reborn? No way, Senior—you must've got the wrong guy." Evan Chu couldn't believe it. This was straight-up fantasy, like some wild story suddenly landing on his head.
A fit of coughing interrupted, and Evan Chu saw black liquid oozing from the spot where the broken sword was stabbed into the old man's chest—a sharp, foul stench filled the air.
Seeing Evan Chu's shocked expression, the old man gave a bitter smile. "This was left by the Demon Lord's sixth general—the Extinction Heaven Demon General. The sword in my chest is his weapon, the Extinction Heaven Demon Sword. Sealing him cost the lives of three triple-layer Saint Martial Realm experts; I only escaped because of that.
Only now did Evan Chu notice the old man no longer wore the iron chain, which struck him as odd. "Senior, where's your chain?"
"That's not an ordinary chain—how could iron restrain me? It's the Heavenly Cloud Chain, forged from rare meteorite iron from beyond the heavens. I acquired it by chance and used it to lock myself down."
The more Evan listened, the weirder it sounded. A beast into self-bondage? Seriously, the world was full of freaks. Guess there’s always something new—too bad the rewards are so few.
"Why did you do that? Is there some secret you can't reveal?"
"That's right. You saw the broken sword in my chest—it's the Extinction Heaven Demon Sword, ranked fifth among demonic blades. Its demonic aura is terrifying; even though it's been broken for ten thousand years, it's still torturing me every moment.
Back then, I, the Bloodshadow Berserker Lion, the Azure Moon White Tiger, and the Netherfire Phoenix all reached the sixth layer of the Saint Martial Realm. The tiger and lion fell one after another; the phoenix, though capable of nirvana rebirth, was too gravely wounded and sealed itself away.
Maybe I was just lucky to escape, though it was a close call. Add the torment of the Extinction Heaven Demon Sword, and now my strength is only at King-tier third layer.
In a few years, I might fall to ninth-rank Spirit Beast. Then I'll be powerless against the sword's demonic aura. Your arrival might just be the miracle I've been waiting for." The old man's voice was slow and weak, his face pale, and he coughed now and then—clearly suffering.
These ancient secrets opened Evan Chu's eyes. If he told anyone else, they'd think he was crazy—but Evan Chu was different; his experiences were unlike anyone else's.
The Sword Spirit's existence, Shadow's origins, and his own secret identity were all unbelievable. After thinking for a moment, Evan Chu asked, "Senior, what do you need me to do to help you...?"