Wait, How Did My Digital Girlfriend Become a Sword Immortal? Chapter 797: Returning a Kindness

"The first treasure belongs to me!"

Excitement overflowed on Cain's face as he gazed at the Celestial Jade Marrow clutched in his palm.

Securing this item had turned out far simpler than he ever imagined.

Though he realized this fragment likely wasn't the finest among those hidden within.

With a moment's pause, he clenched his jaw, spun on his heel, and set off to track down the enigmatic Eastern Cultivator who'd handed him that invaluable blade.

Greed burned in him for the Celestial Jade Marrow he held tight.

Yet he recognized that absent the Cultivator's sword, wresting victory from the jaws of the Knight Commander would have proven nearly impossible—especially against one bolstered by the Pope's might.

Thus, he aimed to offer this single prize in exchange for Chen Huaian's alliance, dreaming of snagging superior treasures through his aid.

Regrettably, as he glanced back, Chen Huaian had vanished without a trace.

"How could he slip away in such a short instant?" Cain rubbed his head in puzzlement, scanning the surroundings.

As the ancient vampire lord, his senses were keenly attuned, but still, he'd detected no hint of Chen Huaian's exit.

He considered querying Hua Jin the True One...

However, her expression soured like spoiled milk, rendering her utterly unapproachable.

Cain sensed that Hua Jin the True One was no easy mark, and he had zero desire to stir her foul temper.

...

Knight Commander Albert's complexion darkened to a grim shade as he gripped the shattered remnant of his mighty greatsword, trudging heavily toward the Sanctuary's outpost.

Jagged edges marred the blade's break, with faint holy light pulsing dimly, akin to a lamenting wail.

This steadfast ally, which had stood by him across more than ten years of fierce combats, surviving endless infusions of holy light and brutal clashes against formidable foes unscathed, now lay ruined by some obscure Eastern slim sword.

His spirit fractured in tandem with the weapon, those splintered lines mirroring his shredded dignity.

"Your Holiness," he approached the Pope and dropped to one knee, his tone gravelly and subdued, laced with disgrace and reluctance, "I... I've fallen short. I've betrayed your trust. My oversight was fatal; I couldn't foresee that wretched Cain surging in power so swiftly..."

His eyes dropped to the fractured sword, grief plainly etched there: "But... but this 'Divine Judgment,' it..."

The veiled Saintess, shrouded in radiant holy light, lifted her hand just a touch, silencing him abruptly.

Her covered features angled toward Albert, her words drifting like mist, serene and otherworldly, carrying an insight that pierced souls:

"Albert, your prowess isn't deficient, nor did Cain abruptly gain might. The true cause rests with that sword."

"That sword?" Albert snapped his head upward, bewilderment and denial flooding his stare, "Your Holiness, are you saying... my defeat stemmed solely from a blade? It's merely a tool! Sanctuary's true power arises from our self-forged resolve! Even 'Divine Judgment,' my long-time companion, merely boosts my fighting edge a bit, no more!"

The Knight Commander idolized raw power and trusted in holy light above all. He refused to believe a simple edge could rival his devoted belief and the sweat he'd shed.

The Pope paused in quiet reflection, his sightless gaze apparently piercing the blindfold to fix on the flying sword wielded by Cain.

"That sword harbors a force utterly alien to the Lord's Laws, untainted and intensely focused.

Its keenness surpasses by far what 'Divine Judgment''s make and the present holy light infusion could endure.

Your setback isn't a fault of combat!"

Albert stood frozen in shock.

He well knew the Pope held the "Eye of True Sight," revealing truths hidden from common eyes.

If His Holiness declared it, then reality bent that way.

A wave of profound ridiculousness and resentment crashed over him.

So his loss wasn't to Cain, but to a mere sword?

This stung deeper than direct defeat at Cain's hands.

"Cast off your pride, Albert." The Pope's tone stayed even, "Against genuine 'divergence,' rigidity spells idiocy. Depart, seek that Eastern Cultivator, offer your regrets, and seek... to trade for a sword of that caliber. For the trials ahead, it's essential."

Albert's cheeks burned crimson.

Beg pardon and plead for arms from the very Eastern Cultivator he'd mocked moments ago?

This felt more agonizing than death!

Yet eyeing the ruined "Divine Judgment" in his grasp, remembering the despair of that recent rout, and weighing His Holiness's directive alongside graver duties looming.

He ground his teeth and bowed low: "...Your will be done, Your Holiness."

Rising, his eyes roamed the expanse, but Chen Huaian's form had evaporated.

He scowled, then directed his attention to the Ascender encampment where Chen Huaian had lingered before.

Gathering his resolve, he advanced toward Hua Jin the True One, who sat in meditation with eyes shut, her presence frosty as winter.

Before words could escape him, Hua Jin the True One kept her lids sealed.

A faint, scornful huff escaped her nostrils, dripping with utter disdain.

The frigid emanation from her froze Albert like plunging into a glacial pit, locking his tongue in place.

He was certain another advance would invite a devastating blow.

Hua Jin the True One's power lay beyond his fathoming.

In Sanctuary ranks, he ranked just below the pinnacle, towering over multitudes, yet amid this arcane East...

Without gauging the foe's depth, arrogance was a luxury he couldn't claim.

Albert's visage twisted uglier still. Reluctantly, he pivoted toward the rank-and-file Ascender pupils, each brandishing diverse exquisite swords, poised for conflict.

He'd spotted it earlier: these seemingly feeble Eastern Cultivators, auras subdued, yet all bore blades akin to Cain's...

That realization alone sent shivers down his spine.

Still... with such abundance, these swords must hold little value to them.

Perhaps he could barter one of his own rarities for it?

Forcing a smile he deemed affable, he neared a Female Cultivator.

From his bosom, he drew a slender silver flask and a cross glowing with gentle white luminescence.

In that instant, Albert believed himself strikingly dashing.

"Fair lady of the East," he softened his voice deliberately, "I offer this flask of holy water, sanctified by His Holiness the Pope himself, and this Suffering Cross, venerated for three centuries in Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre, in trade for a single such sword from you.

The holy water cleanses all corruption, the cross grants the Lord's safeguard—both irreplaceable gems..."

Yet ere he concluded, a cluster of Ascender disciples cut him off with irritable outbursts.

"Scram! No one cares for your holy water!" The Female Cultivator spat, her features twisted in revulsion, swatting the air like banishing an insect, "And the Lord's safeguard? We revere the Dao Ancestor and Heavenly Venerables!"

"Trading a flask and a rusty cross for a flying sword crafted by Elder Chen himself? Are you out of your mind?"

"Did this outsider get thrashed senseless? Beat it, or we'll drop the niceties!"

Contempt and loathing marked the disciples' expressions.

As though Albert's offerings were worthless junk.

Some fingers already twitched toward sword grips, glares turning hostile.

Albert suffered a sharp rebuff.

Beholding the "treasures" others flaunted so casually, then his own "gems" scorned as refuse.

A torrent of shame and impotence, born from clashing worlds, welled up inside.

His face cycled from pallid to flushed, yet he dared not erupt. Meekly, he retreated to the Pope's side, shook his head, and murmured, "Your Holiness, he's disappeared. The rest... they won't trade."

The Pope appeared to anticipate as much, offering only a faint nod in silence.

Right then—

*Hum!!!*

Heaven and earth's vital forces abruptly raged wild.

The massive crystal formation at the Basin's heart exploded in a blaze of Radiant Glow, fiercer by multiples than prior, bathing the warped valley in daylight brilliance.

A surge of immaculately refined energy rippled outward like an oceanic wave, jolting every soul present.

There, atop the crystal's summit.

A pigeon-egg-sized Celestial Jade Marrow took shape, flawlessly round, pale golden in hue, with an inner swirl resembling molten sunlight, gradually manifesting.

The radiance and potency it unleashed dwarfed the earlier mid-tier jade marrow by over tenfold!

Premium Celestial Jade Marrow!

Hua Jin the True One, cross-legged with eyes sealed, flung them wide, a piercing gleam erupting, her presence surging to full throttle, her elegant hand subtly poised on her whisk.

Across the way, Chen Niu, lounging atop the crag, quit feigning slumber. His colossal snake form uncoiled languidly, talons sheathed in dark-blue scales digging deep into stone.

Those bovine orbs betrayed no avarice, merely a savage glint, riveted unyieldingly to the Premium Celestial Jade Marrow and its vicinity.

Hua Jin the True One yearned to claim the prize.

Chen Niu hungered for slaughter!

...

There will be another chapter before twelve o'clock.