Chapter 2: Solid Yuan Pill

  Another month passed, and this month, Lu Qing took a Yuan Dan every day, combined with the Purple Emperor Sword Body Cultivation Method to consolidate his foundation. According to Ye Lao's words, if he had another bottle, it was possible for him to fully recover his body before the big competition two months later.

  After some thought, Lu Qing realized that the Guyuan Dan was only a mid-grade item and not as valuable as the lower-grade Chawan Dan. Moreover, not every guardian would need it as urgently as he did, so there must be guardians who had stockpiles of it. If he were to exchange the Chawan Dan for it, he should be able to get it.

  But now the problem is, who should he go to exchange with? After thinking for a moment, Lu Qing really didn't know who to exchange with. He had no relationship with the other eleven Protectors and couldn't even open his mouth.

  He paused for a moment, and suddenly thought of Huang Lao from the Sword Casting House. Huang Lao was the only eighth-grade sword casting master worshipped in Chaoyang Palace. According to Duan Qingyun and others, Huang Lao's cultivation and status were not inferior to those of the various guardians. In fact, sometimes when the guardians asked him to cast swords, they would be very polite. Lu Qing understood this very well - sword artifacts, especially high-grade ones above seventh grade, were extremely valuable.

  Like the Lu family's sword shop, a single six-product sword can sell for over a thousand purple jade coins. Over a thousand purple jade coins is almost enough for a hundred ordinary three-mouth households to live a lifetime. This is just the basic price, if it is custom-made, the price will be even higher, not to mention seven-product swords. Without five thousand purple jade coins, you can't even get one, and the status of seven-product and above swordsmiths is extremely high. Moreover, the number of swordsmiths who can reach this height is extremely rare.

  So, Huang Lao's salary should not be lower than theirs.

  With a thought in his mind, Lu Qing walked out. At this moment, it was already late evening, and most of the courtyards were having dinner. Along the way, Lu Qing saw many outer disciples sending food boxes to various courtyards, and the air was filled with the fragrance of rice and dishes.

  This reminded Lu Qing of Duan Qingyun's craftsmanship in the past, but it was likely that he had been influenced by him. After the ceremony ended on that day, Duan Qingyun and four others also received the qualification to use the thirty closed caves behind the Chaoyang Cave for four years from Xuanqing.

  At this moment, the four of them actually entered the closed-door stage at the same time, and even Duan Qingyun was no exception. It is said that except for the first time when he built his foundation, this is also Duan Qingyun's second closed-door stage. The Purple Bamboo Courtyard was very quiet at this time, so Lu Qing didn't go in either, but just passed by.

  "Have you seen Lu Xiaofeng ——"

  "Your Honor—"

  "Adult——"

  As he walked, disciples from outside the sect and even those from the inner sect would occasionally come to pay their respects to Lu Qing. Although he felt somewhat unaccustomed to it, Lu Qing still responded to each of them one by one.

  The road to the Sword Casting House was very quiet at this moment. After walking into that white stone path, the passing disciples of the inner and outer sects were no longer seen. It was still the same greenery as before, but some rare flowers had not yet reached their blooming time, only slightly unfolding their tender green leaves.

  That ten-zhang-square clear blue icy pool water still had a thorough chill, the ice frost on the edge of the pool condensed into a thick layer. Here, it was always like winter, and the air was visible when breathing out.

  Before arriving at the Sword Casting House, Lu Qing had already seen Huang Lao sitting in the courtyard from a distance. On the table in front of him were several dishes of fragrant small dishes and a pot of fine old wine, which Lu Qing could smell even ten feet away.

  At this moment, Huang Lao is obviously very leisurely, with one leg on the stone bench, humming a tune while dealing with the small dishes in front of him with the old wine in his hand. At this time, Lu Qing's arrival seems to have surprised him somewhat.

  "Lu Huafeng has suddenly appeared, but it's making Huang Lao'er anxious."

  Lu Qing heard this and smiled bitterly, saying: "You don't have to tease me like that, just call me by my name as you used to."

  "Haha, not bad," Huang Lao looked up and down at Lu Qing with a look of appreciation in his eyes. "He hasn't been blinded by his status and has kept his nature intact. Come, keep an old man company for a drink. This twenty-year-old cellar wine is something I don't usually serve to just anyone."

  After finishing speaking, he filled up an empty wine bowl on one side and invited Lu Qing to sit down across from him.

  He took another look at Lu Qing, and Huang Lao spoke up: "Tsk, tsk, your progress is indeed quite astonishing. Could it be that the old man was really that formidable? Since returning from there, your progress has become even more unacceptable than before."

  Lu Qing naturally knew who Huang Lao was talking about. If it weren't for Shi Lao's sword intent tempering back then, he wouldn't have achieved what he has today. Now that he thinks about it, he is even more shocked by Shi Lao's strength. Even though he can now contend with ordinary small Heavenly Masters' swordsmen, he still doesn't dare guarantee that he can withstand a single move under Shi Lao's sword intent.

  The faster one's cultivation realm advances, the more they can feel and recognize their own position, which is an elevation of their perspective.

  The two men drank three rounds of wine, during which they took out their insights on sword casting to discuss with each other. One was an eighth-grade sword caster, and the other was the master of a sword-casting family who had read through all the classics. They both had extraordinary views on sword casting, especially Lu Qing. In the past, due to insufficient cultivation, after this exchange between the two men, Huang Lao frankly said that Lu Qing now possessed a sword-casting level comparable to his own, also eighth-grade, but lacked experience and needed more practice.

  After a discussion, both of them had a realization, especially Huang Lao. If Lu Qing weren't here, he would have already gone inside to practice and verify it for himself. Forcing himself to calm down, Huang Lao spoke up: "Speak, you wouldn't be visiting an old man like me without a reason today, would you? I've heard that you're a cultivation madman, and since returning to the peak, you've hardly set foot outside."

  His face couldn't help but flush red, Lu Qing paused for a moment before speaking: "I'd like to exchange some elixirs with Old Man Huang."

  "Dan medicine?" Huang Lao was taken aback at first, then spoke up, "You can't have used up today's Can Wang Dan so quickly, can you? As I mentioned earlier in the discussion on dan medicine, although its power is pure and easily absorbed, it must be used with restraint. After all, it's an external force, not a fundamental solution."

  Lu Qing heard that Huang Lao knew about the discussion between Wang Dan and Tan, so he realized that Huang Lao might also have a share of these pills every year. After calming himself down, Lu Qing spoke up under Huang Lao's somewhat displeased gaze: "I'd like to exchange a few Fuyuans with you, Huang Lao."

  "Ji Yuan Dan?" Huang Lao was taken aback, and then seemed to understand something, suddenly enlightened, "How come, cultivation has increased too quickly, the physical body can't adapt to the sudden increase in sword yuan."

  Lu Qing didn't say a word, and what Old Huang said was somewhat inconsistent, but not too far off either. Seeing Lu Qing's silence, Old Huang's face showed an "I knew it" expression, and after hesitating for a moment, he asked: "How many do you need?"

  "Thirty pieces."

  "Thirty pieces," Old Man Huang said, getting up and entering the house. A moment later, he brought out a purple jade bottle and handed it to Lu Qing, saying: "Take it away, you won't need to exchange anything. My old self's cultivation is almost at its end anyway, so I basically don't need this Solid Origin Pill anymore. Just have you young master come visit me more often and chat with me about the sword casting methods of your Lu family."

  "This—" Lu Qing hesitated, feeling embarrassed to take advantage of Huang Lao in this way. After all, even if they were exchanging ideas on the art of sword casting, it was supposed to be a mutually beneficial exchange.

  "There's no need for any of that, old man. I think you're a decent kid, so take it and don't come looking for me again. As far as I'm concerned, we never met."

  Seeing Huang Lao say this, Lu Qing also didn't dare disobey his meaning, and only nodded, remembering the kindness in his heart.

  The two of them continued to discuss while enjoying the slightly cool wine and dishes, and this discussion lasted for a whole night.

  The next morning, after returning to Lianxin Courtyard, Lu Qing opened the purple jade bottle containing Guyuan Dan and saw that it was stacked with about a hundred white Guyuan Dans. A refreshing and slightly bitter medicinal fragrance wafted out of the bottle.

  At first, Lu Qing was stunned, but after a moment, his face revealed a deep sense of gratitude.

  Half a month later, after taking more than 40 Yuanyuan Dan pills, Lu Qing finally consolidated the physical body of the Zi Huang Sword into the first layer. Moreover, after taking so many Yuanyuan Dan pills, some medicinal properties still entered the sword yuan, and several of the medicinal materials in Yuanyuan Dan had the effect of nourishing the yuan qi.

  So far, Lu Qing has been able to release an eight-foot wind and thunder sword energy, and the nine-foot sword energy at the peak of the swordsman is not far away.

  At this time, with more than half a month left before the Grand Bi, Lu Qing decided to thoroughly comprehend the Purple Cloud Wind Thunder Sword. Of course, this Purple Cloud Wind Thunder Sword was not the one practiced by Zhao Qianye, but rather the eighteen moves of the Purple Cloud Wind Thunder Sword left behind by his ancestor, the Sword Emperor Lu Tian Shu, who had been expelled from the Lu family. However, it was actually the thirty-six hammers of the Great Evolution, a family heirloom that had some minor differences in its moves, but was even more profound and mysterious.

  Up to now, Lu Qing is still at the fourth form of his initial foundation, one is limited by his original cultivation and swordsmanship realm, he simply doesn't have enough ability to comprehend and perform it, two is that many things that have happened up to now make him unable to truly calm down and contemplate.

  At this moment, the Grand Comparison is approaching, and it's not the time to cultivate the second layer of the Zi Huang Sword Body Technique. His current cultivation has reached the Sword Guest Great Heaven position, but he still doesn't have enough grasp and understanding for a breakthrough in the Sword Master stage. Therefore, at this moment, the only thing he can do is contemplate sword techniques.

  Dizzy, the dormitory suddenly lost internet access, ran a few miles to the internet cafe, finally managed to upload it, everyone please vote for ten steps as a road fee, hehe, just kidding, the next plot will be even more exciting, don't miss it.