Chapter 3: Forging Swords (Part 2)

  Zixia Peak, one of the five peaks of Zixia, is also the first of the five peaks. It has always been managed by the patriarch of each generation. At this time, as night was about to fall, Zixia Peak was very quiet. The mist that had originally surrounded it had already been dyed with a color like dark clouds by the approaching darkness. The entire mountain peak, which was about a thousand feet high, was surrounded by four slightly shorter peaks and countless other large and small hills, like stars surrounding the moon, looking down on the ministers who had worshiped for a long time.

  At the summit, in front of an ancient white stone temple, four figures stood quietly. The location was excellent, and looking down, one could easily see the surrounding areas of Zixia Peak. Among the five people, the leader was a white-haired old man wearing a purple robe. His expression was calm, but his eyes were closed, and his pupils seemed to swallow all the light. His hands were naturally behind his back, exuding an aura of majesty that inspired awe in those who saw him. Behind him stood three other old men, slightly younger than the white-haired one, wearing pale purple robes. One of them had a noticeable scar on his face, from the center of his eyebrows to the tip of his nose, about three inches long, clearly inflicted by a sharp object. The old man's face was cold and stern, revealing a sinister aura.

  Looking at the golden mass under the distant sky, in the gradually dimming sky, it appears exceptionally clear. The purple-robed old man's expression is solemn, "You all saw it too, this heavenly sign, is the action of that young master of the Lu family."

  "Yes, a Golden Heaven-level divine sword, another Golden Heaven-level divine sword is about to be born, Sect Master." One of the elderly men spoke up, his face gaunt but with a ruddy complexion and a faint purple aura hovering above his forehead, exuding an air of gravity. His words were laced with a sense of weightiness, without any pretence. From his tone, it seemed that the purple-robed elder in front was actually the Sect Master of the Zixia Sect, which dominated over a thousand miles of territory, Luo Qianfeng.

  Looking back, he gazed at the red wooden plaque above the grand hall's entrance, where the three characters "Purple Mist Hall" were carved with bold and vigorous strokes. The brushwork was so exquisite that it seemed to have been created by heaven itself, without any signs of chiseling or carving. It was clear that the engraver was a master of his craft. Thousand Peaks spoke with emotion: "For our Purple Mist Sect to have reached its current status today, aside from the joint efforts of all the elders and guardians, the contributions of the Lu family cannot be overstated! The emergence of the Golden Heaven-level divine sword, the splendor of gold and jade filling the halls, the thunderous applause... I never thought that in my lifetime, I would have the fortune to witness this. This life can now come to a close without regret..."

  Just as the Thousand Peaks Sect Master was about to speak, an old man on the left suddenly stepped forward and said, "Sect Master, I think this is a good opportunity." The other two elders turned their eyes towards him, and saw that this old man's body was slightly plump, with a pair of green bean-sized eyeballs shining brightly, but because his long hair was covering his temples, it wasn't noticed by the others.

  As he spoke, the old man who had spoken earlier couldn't help but frown, clearly not having a good impression of this old man's words.

  His face didn't change in the slightest, and Lak Thousand Peaks turned his head and said, "Oh, Fourth Elder, what profound insight do you have?"

  The old man chuckled twice: "It's not that I'm being overly optimistic, but I think we should make good use of this gold-grade divine sword that's about to be born." After a pause, he stroked his chin, where a three-inch-long white beard gleamed with softness and brightness, clearly well-groomed. The old man seemed to never tire of touching it, and continued: "My Purple Mist Sect is currently developing in an excellent way, with over 2,000 disciples, especially in the accumulation of the past few hundred years. In terms of strength and prestige, within a thousand miles, even the Qingyu and Fuyun sects can't compare to us. It's only a matter of time before we advance to the gold-grade sect within a hundred years. So I think that if this gold-grade divine sword is used properly, it will create an unstoppable momentum for my Purple Mist Sect's advancement!"

  Upon hearing the elder's words, Lu Qianfeng's expression also turned somewhat solemn: "What does the Fourth Elder think should be done?"

  A faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared on his face. The old man coughed twice and said: "Reporting to the Sect Master, I think we can make some arrangements for the Five Peaks' Swordsmanship Discussion five years later. This Golden Heaven-level divine sword can be used as the top prize for the discussion. Firstly, it can motivate the young generation of the Five Peaks, allowing them to gain recognition and reuse from the sect with sufficient effort, thereby enhancing the cohesion of the Purple Mist Sect's disciples. Secondly, it can also demonstrate our Purple Mist Sect's prowess in front of guests from other sects, thoroughly solidifying our position in this thousand-mile region for the next hundred years, accumulating momentum for the sect's advancement to the pinnacle. Once the situation is set, nothing can stop us!"

  Upon hearing the elder's words, the other three elders felt a sudden jolt in their hearts, as if they had sensed the elder's thoughts. The thin and gaunt elder who had spoken earlier furrowed his brow even deeper, opening his mouth several times as if to say something, but ultimately holding back.

  The Golden Heaven Sword was not a trivial matter, and apart from the Sect Master's sword, there was only one in the entire Purple Mist Sect. After a moment of contemplation, weighing the interests of the sect against it repeatedly, Lu Qianfeng still chose the former. The interests of the sect would always be in the first position, especially during this critical period. Within a hundred years, it might be seventy or eighty years, or perhaps just twenty or thirty years, and being prepared early on had its advantages.

  "Alright, it's rare for the four elders to be of one mind for the sake of the sect. This divine sword, we won't touch it either. In recent years, many talented individuals have emerged within the sect. Let them fight over it instead. Although Fifth Sister is in seclusion and not here, I think she would agree too. As for going down the mountain to retrieve the sword..."

  "Let Master Xuanqing go," said the thin old man, stepping forward.

  With a glance at the old man who had recommended himself, his eyes were calm and steady for a long time. "Don't worry, our sect won't treat the Lu family unfairly."

  After finishing speaking, Lu Qianfeng thought for a moment before taking a deep breath and saying: "Alright, after all, the Lu family has been dependent on Chao Yang Peak for generations. This matter of retrieving the sword will be left to you to handle. As long as it is a reasonable request that does not conflict with the sect's rules, you can fully represent the sect in responding to it. Additionally, grant Lu Yun a position as a protector of the sect, and also allocate all the offerings from Chao Yang Town to the Lu family, which can be considered as the sect's repayment for the contributions the Lu family has made over the past thousand years."

  Such generous conditions, even if it were in the identity of the other three elders, couldn't help but be somewhat surprised. However, thinking about it also made sense. With the Lu family's contributions, they indeed deserved such a position. A thousand gold coins could be obtained, but divine swords were hard to come by. The Lu family had contributed nearly twenty divine swords over the past thousand years, not to mention the current Lu Yun, who was a once-in-a-thousand-years sword casting genius of the Lu family. Just in terms of the cyan grade divine swords, under the material collection of the wealthy and extravagant Purple Mist Sect today, five were cast. Who still had reason to obstruct such achievements?

  After a brief shock, several people also calmed down and soon dispersed, but when they turned around, no one noticed the faint cold smile at the corner of the old man's mouth, who was called the Fourth Elder. The Purple Mist Hall did not lack anything due to the departure of several people, still quietly sitting on the peak, occasionally with night-shift disciples passing by, and then there was no sound.

  Lu's family, inside the sword-casting stone house, in the upper left corner of the stone house, a square pool with a length and width of seven feet was emitting wave after wave of bone-piercing cold air. A thick layer of white frost had condensed on the edge of the pool, and even the high temperature inside the stone house that made water droplets smoke could not melt it in the slightest. The pool was filled with a clear blue liquid, which reflected almost the entire roof. The cold air was constantly emanating from this liquid, but what was strange was that although the cold air had already reached such a low temperature, the liquid still did not freeze, and not even a single ice crystal could be found on its surface.

  With a calm and focused mind, Lu Yun held the trembling Divine Sword in his hand, its power surging forth as he raised it before him. His eyes blazed with uncontainable excitement, for in his hands, another Golden Heaven-level Divine Sword was about to be born. The ancestral mandate would finally be fulfilled by his own hands, and the family's prestige would once again reach its peak after five hundred years. Ancestors, have you seen this? Lu Yun, the descendant, is about to complete it.

  With a steady mind, the pincers in his left hand moved to his right hand. The outcome would be decided with this one move. His right hand pressed down instantly, and the divine sword sank into the pool water. A hiss sounded as countless white vapors rose up, and the originally calm pool water churned and bubbled like it had been boiling for an instant. In the pool water, the divine sword seemed to have sensed something, and the flames surrounding its body suddenly grew stronger. The purple-red light of the flames burned fiercely within the icy cold pool water, undaunted by the chill.

  Lu Yun's eyebrows furrowed, can this Frosty Pool's spring water really temper the Thousand Year Flame Gold? Visible to the naked eye, the clear blue pool water was constantly evaporating under the intense heat of the flames. In just a moment, the pool water had decreased by more than half. Without hesitation, Lu Yun lifted his left foot and kicked a bucket of reserve spring water at the side of the pool into the air. The stone bucket tilted over, and the cold misty spring water instantly joined the tempering process.

  As the spring water reinforced, the divine sword's reaction also made Lu Yun's eyebrows tightly locked. Suddenly, a brilliant golden light burst forth from the sword body, and more than half of the remaining pool water instantly turned into a fierce white smoke that shot towards the roof. With a loud muffled sound, a layer of several inches deep was instantly missing from the black cold rock that made up the roof of the sword-casting room.

  "Really can't do it?" Lu Yun muttered, Han Zhan's eyes were filled with disappointment. He held the divine sword that was still burning with purple-red flames in front of his eyes, just one last step, just one last step and another golden-grade divine sword would be born, and his mission would be accomplished. In the future, when he went to the ancestral temple, he could worship his father's spirit tablet without any burden or regret. All the regrets, I have taken care of for you.

  The classics passed down in one's mind are constantly being turned over; there must still be a way, there must be.

  Time kept slipping away, half a time period passed, and Lu Yun had flipped through the entire "Sword Casting Secret" that had been passed down through generations of the Lu family in his mind. Nothing, really nothing at all. A deep, bitter smile appeared on Lu Yun's face. Really, was there no alternative? He stared fixedly at the purple-red long sword in front of him, its golden light dazzling to the point of being hard to discern. The sword body had already begun to show a slight reddening. Lu Yun knew that if he waited another half time period, when the sword body completely transformed into a crimson color, this Golden Heaven-level divine sword would degenerate into a useless sword not even worthy of being called a Blue Rank sword due to its failure to undergo timely quenching and tempering.

  He turned his head and looked at the broken door, and his wife's sorrowful cry still echoed in his mind. Yes, his wife had always been supporting him. In these nearly twenty years, whether he was in the sword casting room for several months or going out to find materials, she quietly prepared meals and luggage for him. Even when he closed himself off for three years to study the thirty-six hammers of sword casting, she only slightly furrowed her brow. And even their son, who had just exhausted his sword energy and fainted from helping him with the fire, was still persisting despite being on the verge of fainting and losing consciousness.

  I owe them too much——