Volume One: The Journey of the Outcast Fiery Slash Against Demons Chapter 47: Stars Gather Around the Moon—The World-Destroying Spirit

The monk Suichang was startled as well. Though he wasn’t deeply versed in the Daoist art of star-gazing, he certainly understood the meaning of a celestial pattern where the stars surround the moon. He frowned and closed his eyes, reciting the Buddha’s name under his breath.

Chen San and Chang Yu, hearing trouble brewing, scrambled to their feet in a panic. Chen San stared at Yang Chengzi with terror, while Chang Yu looked anxiously at Chen San. Yang Chengzi meticulously calculated Chen San’s birth chart, comparing it with the celestial array of stars encircling the moon. As time passed, his brow knit ever tighter; by the final calculation, he was clenching his fists.

Suichang hurriedly asked, “Master Yang, does this celestial sign truly fall upon Chen San?”

Yang Chengzi nodded helplessly. “Reverend, do you have any solution? Whoever the stars encircle, it’s always…”

“Don’t worry,” Suichang interrupted. “This celestial sign has appeared many times in ancient texts. It indeed means being besieged from all sides, with enemies everywhere, but it’s not necessarily a death sentence.”

Yang Chengzi’s eyes widened, as if seeing a glimmer of hope. Chen San crawled over to Suichang, his voice trembling: “Master, I don’t want to die, I’m timid, please don’t scare me.”

Suichang nodded and continued, “Let me finish. The celestial phenomenon of stars encircling the moon has been recorded three times in ancient books. Once was with Xiang Yu, King of Western Chu; once with Yue Fei, King of E; and once with a Daoist ancestor of your tradition named Hongchuan, whose real name was Xiahou Longyuan.

Of the three, only one survived—Yue Fei, but he had the support of a mighty army, unlike our situation. Hongchuan Daoist’s case, however, was strikingly similar to ours.”

Chen San was dumbfounded. If all died, what was the point? But he trusted the master wouldn’t speak nonsense; he must mean there’s hope, so he listened intently.

Hongchuan Daoist was, centuries ago, the Chief Heavenly Master of Dragon-Tiger Mountain. He entered the mountain in his thirties, and before he turned forty, he was already the Heavenly Master. In just a few years, he rose from a novice Daoist to a guardian of the realm.

Legend has it, Hongchuan’s last journey down the mountain was prompted by the celestial sign of stars encircling the moon. Later records say his passing was by his own choice, and that he defied the heavens, breaking fate itself.

Yang Chengzi swallowed anxiously. “Master, don’t keep us in suspense—how did this ancestor break the predicament?”

Suichang turned the prayer beads in his hand, and began to recount:

Centuries ago, chaos swept the land and demons ravaged the world. As Chief Heavenly Master, Hongchuan and the Dragon-Tiger Mountain disciples bore the duty of defending the realm and protecting the people.

Using secret arts, Hongchuan divined the cause of the demonic upheaval: these monsters not only disrupted human order and endangered lives, but sought a treasure known in later times as the Soul-Slaying Blade. The Soul-Slaying Blade was both righteous and evil; its soul was born of heaven and earth’s spiritual energy, with no physical form. Practitioners could forge its soul into a blade with their arts, as could evil beings.

The blade’s soul was like a newborn child, bearing no distinction of good or evil. Whoever claimed it first would seize the chance to vie for dominion over all.

Hongchuan, observing the stars, foresaw the emergence of this treasure, but did not realize it would spark such strife and calamity. His divinations revealed spiritual energy gathering atop a mountain, but not which mountain or what treasure. The vastness of heaven and earth, with countless peaks, made the search like finding a needle in the sea.

Eventually, Hongchuan leveraged the demons’ own power, and with his followers, battled their way to the summit of Red Peak Mountain, where they found the soul of the Soul-Slaying Blade, yet to be forged.

Red Peak Mountain spanned thousands of acres. After finding the blade’s soul, it took days to descend. Hongchuan sensed foreboding upon encountering the blade’s soul. It was born of spiritual energy, both righteous and evil, unlike any divine weapon recorded. Normally, a divine weapon’s nature is clear from its birth.

A divine weapon forged from celestial energy should never be evil, for it carries the righteous essence of heaven and earth and a powerful spirit. This blade’s soul, however, radiated a terrifying power, yet its righteous aura was faint. If it fell into evil hands, it would become a weapon of annihilation.

Hongchuan would never allow such a thing. He and his disciples left Red Peak Mountain and found a place rich in spiritual energy, setting a grand array to forge the blade’s soul into form. To limit its power, he split the blade into two: one as the Soul-Slaying Blade, the other as the Soul-Slaying Dagger. The dagger was attached to the blade, and most of the soul was forged into the dagger, only a small part into the blade. As long as they remained separate, the weapon could never wield its full might.

Hongchuan then placed a heavenly seal on the dagger, greatly restricting its spiritual energy. Yet the demons still traced its unique aura. By the time Hongchuan sensed their approach, they were hundreds of miles away, among them ancient monsters of a thousand years.

The celestial pattern had already shifted to stars encircling the moon. Back at Dragon-Tiger Mountain, Hongchuan had seen the stars’ arrangement beginning to show this sign, though not fully formed. Now, surrounded by demons, the sign was complete: besieged on all sides. Without aid from other Daoist or Buddhist sects, survival seemed impossible.

Hongchuan, adept in astrology, understood this outcome, but believed the Soul-Slaying Blade offered a chance to change fate. He ordered his disciples to carry the blade southwest, carving a bloody path to keep it from falling into demonic hands.

The southwest was the weakest convergence of powers, and it was home to many Buddhist and Daoist temples. With all their strength, they could break through.

They needed to take the blade far from Red Peak Mountain—if they couldn’t protect it en route, they should abandon it to save themselves, preserving Dragon-Tiger Mountain’s strength above all.

Hongchuan himself, with two elders and the Soul-Slaying Dagger, headed northeast, confronting the demons directly. In the battle, Elder Jingyuan sacrificed his life, deploying the Thunder God’s Curse—one of eight great spells—to slay several ancient monsters and open a path for Hongchuan and Elder Jingze. Jingyuan's soul was destroyed, his body perished, forever buried beneath Red Peak Mountain.

Hongchuan sensed that the disciples carrying the blade had escaped the siege and were moving farther southwest, pressing on without rest. Once he no longer sensed the blade, he told Elder Jingze to depart and rejoin the others.

Before leaving, Hongchuan passed the Chief Heavenly Master’s title and token to Jingze, then journeyed alone with the dagger toward the Great Bright King Temple in the north.

Jingze did not initially understand why Hongchuan transferred leadership to him, but when he realized, it was already too late.

Hongchuan’s intent was to permanently separate the dagger and blade. If the weapon ever fell into evil hands, even combined, it could never unleash its true power unless the dagger was unsealed.

The only spell in Dragon-Tiger Mountain’s arsenal capable of permanently sealing such a weapon was the Spirit-Extinguishing Curse, which required the caster to sacrifice their soul, infusing it into the artifact to suppress its spirit forever.

Many powerful artifacts existed, and if the caster’s soul was strong enough, they might survive even a permanent seal. But the Soul-Slaying Dagger was born of celestial energy, its spirit so formidable that even Hongchuan feared it—sealing it meant certain death.

Elder Jingze saw this outcome and faced an agonizing choice: if he didn’t stop Hongchuan, the Master would die; if he did, Dragon-Tiger Mountain would be leaderless in a crisis, risking annihilation.

For the greater good, Jingze chose to rejoin the disciples. When he arrived, the sect had suffered heavy casualties—over half had died to protect the blade.

Without hesitation, Jingze ordered all disciples to abandon the blade and flee to Huayan Temple nearby, to prevent the demons from slaughtering them if they seized the blade. Otherwise, Dragon-Tiger Mountain would be wiped out.

With the blade abandoned, the demons couldn’t easily track them, and their chances of survival greatly improved.

Hongchuan, alone with the dagger, arrived at Great Bright King Temple, where the abbot and his monks were already prepared to resist the demons. Though Hongchuan was surprised, it was not unexpected.

The abbot, Dharma name Pure Void, was a monk of great power, not only skilled in Buddhist arts but possessing a cultivation that could save all beings. He had already sensed the approach of many demons.

Hongchuan briefly explained the situation. Abbot Pure Void ordered his monks to defend the temple to the death, and sent Martial Zen Master and Supreme Zen Master with Hongchuan into the temple’s underground Wheel Hall.

The hall stored relics and golden bodies of past Buddhist masters; if the seal failed, these would still resist most of the demonic invasion. Pure Void guarded the entrance with his indestructible golden body.

As time passed, the monks grew exhausted, many losing their golden bodies, their situation dire. Yet the three in the Wheel Hall gave no response. Pure Void sent disciples to check and learned the seal was complete, but all three had attained nirvana, passing from the world. Only then did he realize why the sealed object had drawn so many demons.

To ensure their sacrifice was not in vain and to preserve the relics and sealed artifact, Pure Void ordered the remaining disciples to evacuate, staying alone in the main hall. He slew countless specters and monsters, and when his energy was nearly spent, used his golden body to shatter the six scripture pillars in the Hall of Bright Kings. The hall collapsed, burying the Wheel Hall beneath the ruins, and Pure Void was entombed with it.