Ouyang Mu looked at the old demon cultivator again, with a sigh on his face.
Calculating it this way, this old evil weapon master trapped in the demon cultivator's lair should be regarded as his own sect and clan, the real... family predecessor?
Moreover, it has been hundreds of years, so he is probably much older than me.
Ouyang Mu couldn't help but feel a trace of respect in his heart.
The old demon cultivator glanced at Ouyang Mu with a complicated expression and said melancholy:
"Back then, I was just like you. I had considerable talent for refining weapons, but I was dull and taciturn. I only knew how to forge swords all day long. It was my lifelong wish to forge a sword that was unique in heaven and earth...
"
"Immortal sword..."
The old demon cultivator looked dejected, "I was young and frivolous at that time, and I didn't know the heights of the sky. I had no idea how out of reach these two words were, how... it made people despair."
Then he laughed at himself, "We call ourselves monks, and we cultivate immortality, but no one knows what 'immortal' is."
"Everything that comes with the word 'immortal' is profound, terrifying, and indescribable..."
Ouyang Mu looked solemn and nodded.
Indeed, he regards forging "immortal swords" as his lifelong dream of practicing Taoism.
But the deeper he cultivated the Taoism and the more swords he forged, the more he felt that the word "immortal" was unattainable.
I may not be able to get close to the "immortal sword" in this life.
Not to mention being able to cast it with one's own hands, even taking a look at it is probably a huge luxury.
The old demon cultivator glanced at Ouyang Mu silently with his turbid eyes. His thoughts were complicated and difficult to understand. Finally, he sighed and continued:
"Hundreds of years ago, I was a Tai'amen, a disciple of... the Ouyang family."
"At that time, the Ouyang family had already begun planning to change their course. They would no longer major in sword making, but instead focus on sword making as a supplement and focus on swordsmanship. They would embark on the path of developing sword techniques and becoming a true kendo sect."
"But I don't want to practice swordsmanship, I just want to make swords."
"Others abandon their swords and learn sword skills, but I am still focused on it, working day and night to study the art of forging swords."
"It doesn't matter if I'm not respected in the sect, as long as I can make swords..."
When the old demon cultivator said this, he couldn't help but hunched over, coughed several times, and coughed up blood.
But he didn't care, but silently wiped away the blood and continued:
"I originally thought that I would continue to learn to forge weapons and swords in Tai'amen until I grow old, but I didn't expect..."
The old demon cultivator looked bitter, "One time I went into the mountains for hunting, but I accidentally entered the dense forest outside the Ten Thousand Demons Valley, and I lost my direction..."
"Several demon cultivators discovered me, and they began to hunt me down. I was not a match for them due to my lack of cultivation, so I was captured by them."
"They opened their bloody mouths and wanted to eat me, but when they discovered that I had the ability to forge swords, they spared my life and asked me to forge evil swords for them."
"I...have no choice."
The old demon cultivator looked dull, "When I was in the sect, I also thought that I was a righteous monk with a firm heart. I thought that I could uphold the righteous path when facing demons and regard death as home."
"But when I actually faced those evil cultivators who were grinning ferociously, I realized that I was wrong."
"I know nothing about myself."
"I... am a coward."
When the old demon cultivator said this, his eyes were cold, as if his self-esteem had been polished off by so many years of inhuman suffering and he had accepted the helpless reality.
Ouyang Mu showed sympathy, "Old... senior, it's not your fault."
The old demon cultivator shook his head, "The matter has come to this, and I am already like this. Now it is meaningless to discuss these rights and wrongs..."
Ouyang Mu wanted to comfort him with a few words.
But he was clumsy and couldn't think of anything to say to comfort him.
The old demon cultivator sighed and continued:
"I compromised, I surrendered, I betrayed my sect, my family, and my sword."
"Since then, I have become a demon cultivator and an evil swordsman."
"I gave up my previous identity and stayed in this dark prison of ten thousand monsters, keeping company with monsters and cultivators. I used human bones, human flesh, and human blood to refine weapons. So far, I have never been able to refine weapons for these demon cultivators.
How many evil swords have been made? I don’t even know how many people have been killed by these evil swords driven by these demon cultivators..."
The old demon cultivator smiled, with blood coming from his mouth. He didn't know whether he was laughing at himself or feeling complacent.
Ouyang Mu was in a complicated mood.
The thing about swordsmiths is that even a righteous swordsmith cannot decide whether the sword you forge will be used to ward off demons and do good, or whether it will be used to kill people and do evil.
Not to mention the evil weapon master who forged the evil sword.
"And now, my end is approaching. I have committed a lot of sins in my life, but I finally...have an end..."
When the old demon cultivator said this, he glanced at Ouyang Mu, "But before I die, I still have a wish. I have been trapped in this prison of ten thousand demons almost all my life. I don't know how old I am, I don't know day and night, and I am studying all the time.
Weapon refining..."
"These refining techniques are both good and evil, and in the end I couldn't tell them apart."
"However, whether it is good or evil, it is my life's hard work. I must pass it on, otherwise I will die in peace."
The old demon cultivator stared at Ouyang Mu with deep eyes:
"In the entire Ten Thousand Demons Prison, the only person I can pass on to is you."
Ouyang Mu was startled and looked hesitant.
If the sword is made in the right way, he will naturally be grateful.
But this old man is an evil swordsman, and his skills are mostly bloody and evil sword-making methods.
He doesn't want to learn at all.
When he didn't know what to do, he habitually lowered his head and glanced at his sleeves, and then he felt confident.
"Thank you for your love, senior..." Ouyang Mu looked "tangled" for a while, then sighed and said, "I will learn..."
The old demon cultivator breathed a long sigh of relief, and his whole body felt a little more relaxed.
Then he looked a little arrogant and said to Ouyang Mu:
"I studied under the Tai'amen Ouyang family, and my sword-making skills are forged step by step through repeated hard work..."
"At least in the category of second-grade weapon refining, I consider myself no worse than any swordsmith."
"I have also put too much effort into the research on my natal magic weapon."
"If you learn my skills, you will definitely be the best in the same realm. Even if you can't get out of the Ten Thousand Demons Prison and can only associate with these demon cultivators, you can still prosper."
"No matter how ferocious the demon cultivator is, he would not dare to neglect you..."
"If one day you can form a pill in this Ten Thousand Demons Prison and become a third-grade evil swordsman..."
The old demon cultivator showed a glimmer of hope and said slowly: "Young master will even let you out and let you become his confidant and work for him outside."
"The days outside are much more carefree..."
Ouyang Mu looked surprised, "Can I still go out?"
The old demon cultivator nodded, "As long as you can form elixirs."
"It's just," he then sighed, "it's not easy to form an elixir. In this Ten Thousand Demon Prison, there are so many demon cultivators, and for hundreds of years, few can form an elixir."
"Although there are insufficient resources, flaws in the technique, and the demonic power is easily out of control, it is enough to show that it is difficult to form a pill."
"But, at least it's just a thought..."
Ouyang Mu nodded slowly.
Then he looked at his sleeves with his peripheral vision and asked according to Mo Hua's instructions:
"Old senior, you said you work for the 'Master'... Who is this 'Master'?"
Unexpectedly, as soon as Ouyang Mu mentioned the young master, the old demon cultivator's expression immediately darkened and he said in a trembling voice:
"Don't ask, and it's best not to know. All you need to know is that in this Ten Thousand Demons Prison, all you have to do is follow the Young Master's orders and don't be too curious, otherwise you won't know how you died."
To be continued...