Selecting Sword Forging Materials

These two before him were Lin Chan's Seventh Martial Brother and Eighth Martial Sister. They were over ten years older than Lin Chan, both at the late stage of Qi Cultivation.

Lin Chan had learned this information earlier from Xu Chang.

"Seventh Martial Brother! Eighth Martial Sister!"

Lin Chan immediately stepped forward and bowed to the two of them.

"No need for formalities. Master sent us to find you—he wants to see you."

Su Wanqing sized Lin Chan up and said with a smile.

Su Ganchen stood to the side, saying little.

Just as Martial Brother Xu said—Seventh Martial Brother is more aloof, while Eighth Martial Sister is more outgoing.

Lin Chan thought to himself.

"Martial Sister, what does Master want me for?"

Lin Chan pulled his thoughts back and asked.

"I don't know either, but I'm guessing it's about your Destiny Flying Sword. Aren't you practicing the [Heart Sword Same Origin Art]? It should be about the flying sword."

Su Wanqing speculated.

"I see."

Lin Chan nodded, finding the guess very reasonable.

"Little Junior Brother, you haven't reached the late stage of Qi Cultivation yet, so you can't Sword Ride. I'll take you! Flying by sword is faster."

Su Wanqing activated her flying sword and extended her small hand toward Lin Chan.

Lin Chan hesitated for a moment but eventually stepped onto Su Wanqing's flying sword.

Most people in this era held very feudal views, and he was somewhat wary of the impropriety of physical contact between men and women. But since his senior siblings didn't mind, there was no need for him to be overly sensitive.

Soon, the three arrived inside True Person Xuan Chen's palace.

"Master!"

All three bowed to True Person Xuan Chen.

"Lin Chan, stay behind. Wanqing and Ganchen, you may go about your business."

True Person Xuan Chen spoke.

"Yes!"

The two cupped their hands and withdrew.

"How is your cultivation progressing?"

True Person Xuan Chen asked with concern.

"Your disciple is incompetent. I still haven't been able to circulate the Minor Heavenly Cycle."

Lin Chan said, somewhat ashamed.

"It is indeed a bit slow. But you are still young, and you haven't yet fused with your Destiny Flying Sword. Once you do, your cultivation speed will increase considerably. Stay here with me for a while, and I will guide you."

True Person Xuan Chen said calmly.

All of his other disciples had achieved Qi Introduction and circulated the Minor Heavenly Cycle within a month or two.

One must understand that in the twelve layers of Qi Cultivation, the difficulty doubles with each layer, and there is a major barrier every three layers.

If time was wasted early on, the later stages were out of the question.

Compared to his other senior brothers, Lin Chan's progress was indeed much slower.

Of course, Lin Chan was still far faster than the other outer disciples.

But the outer Registered Disciples had many daily chores to attend to, leaving them little time for cultivation each day.

In short, if it weren't for the great merit Lin Chan carried, which could ensure his stable entry into Foundation Establishment, True Person Xuan Chen might not have been willing to take him as a disciple.

"I'm sorry to trouble you, Master!"

Lin Chan lowered his head and said with shame.

"The reason I called you here today is about your flying sword. I've just finished handling other matters, so I have time to help you forge it. I have two materials here: one is Thousand-Year Cold Iron, and the other is Lightning-Struck Wood. Which one do you want?"

With that, True Person Xuan Chen placed the two materials before Lin Chan.

One was a block of iron, pale blue-white and polished to a mirror shine. The other was a piece of locust wood that had been struck by lightning.

"This Cold Iron was taken from beneath the Northern Sea Ice Ocean. It is extremely hard—unyielding and indestructible."

True Person Xuan Chen first introduced the Cold Iron.

As the Cold Iron hovered before Lin Chan, he could already feel the chill emanating from it.

"As for this Lightning-Struck Wood, it is a piece from a thousand-year-old locust tree hit by lightning. It can ward off evil, attract good fortune, and bring luck."

True Person Xuan Chen was leaning toward recommending this one to Lin Chan.

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Lin Chan, bearing great merit, was highly compatible with this flying sword that carried a boost of fortune.

"Master! I want this cold iron."

Lin Chan made his choice without much hesitation.

Thousand-Year Cold Iron had a harder texture and was less prone to breaking.

After all, this concerned his own life, so sturdiness was better.

This Lightning-Struck Wood was flashy and seemed unable to withstand much wear and tear.

"Aren't you going to think it over again?"

True Person Xuan Chen looked at Lin Chan.

"Master, I think the cold iron is sturdier."

Lin Chan said.

"That's fair, cold iron it is."

True Person Xuan Chen nodded and put away both materials.

Later, once he finished refining it, he would give the flying sword to Lin Chan.

At that point, Lin Chan would awaken the sword's spirit, binding it to his life.

Then, Lin Chan's cultivation speed would see a small leap, making up for some of his deficiencies in talent.

"Thank you, Master."

Knowing that True Person Xuan Chen would forge the sword for him, Lin Chan quickly expressed his gratitude.

"It's nothing, this is what a master should do. Also, there's been some progress on the Four-Eyed Tiger Demon. It fled south into Wu Country, and we're helpless against it there. But since the demon has turned to the righteous path, Shu Mountain won't hunt it down to the death."

True Person Xuan Chen brought up the matter of the Four-Eyed Fierce Tiger again.

"Master, I only met that Four-Eyed Fierce Tiger once. I didn't send it fleeing to Wu Country."

Lin Chan hurriedly explained again.

Though he didn't know why the Four-Eyed Fierce Tiger had suddenly run to Wu Country, he understood that his master mentioning this definitely had some other meaning.

Perhaps he was even suspecting that Lin Chan had another connection with the Four-Eyed Fierce Tiger.

"I'm telling you this not because I suspect you, but because you have a significant connection with that Si Mu Tiger Demon. After some time, when your cultivation has progressed, I'll entrust you to go to Wu Country and talk with it, conveying Shu Mountain's stance—that we bear it no hostility."

True Person Xuan Chen spoke calmly.

When Shu Mountain disciples hit a bottleneck in cultivation, they often had to go down the mountain for training, walking the righteous path and accumulating merit.

This naturally required the Shu Mountain Sword Sect to maintain good relations with outside forces. Otherwise, while a Core Formation True Person could defend himself, the Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment disciples under him would live in constant fear of retaliation.

Especially since this Four-Eyed Tiger Demon had Five Hundred Years of Dao, comparable to a Core Formation True Person.

"Your disciple accepts the order!"

Though Lin Chan was afraid, he agreed without hesitation.

It turned out that he hadn't known the Four-Eyed Tiger had Five Hundred Years of Dao. Back then, he'd been at a dead end, with no choice but to throw caution to the wind, so he'd been able to discuss the Great Dao with it as calmly as a breeze.

Now he knew that each level of cultivation was a whole new realm—the gap between a Qi Cultivation disciple and Foundation Establishment was like two completely different beings. Naturally, he'd lost that former ignorance-fueled fearlessness.

Moreover, to avoid Shu Mountain, the Four-Eyed Fierce Tiger had abandoned territory it had ruled for decades, fled Rong Country, and hidden in Wu Country. The conflict between them couldn't be summed up in a few words.

Going to mediate was no different from a Strategist in the Warring States era sent to persuade an enemy state—life was in danger at every turn.

This wasn't said lightly.

The gap between Core Formation and Qi Cultivation had reached the point where the former could kill the latter with a single glance.

But Lin Chan had no choice but to agree.

As a Shu Mountain disciple, supported by Shu Mountain and taught by his master, he couldn't shirk even this responsibility.

Besides, this might well be a test from Shu Mountain.

Seeing Lin Chan's grim expression, True Person Xuan Chen understood his thoughts and said:

"Don't panic. The True Persons of Shu Mountain haven't yet clashed with the Four-Eyed Tiger Demon. There's no major conflict between us. When the time comes, I'll also give you a protective treasure."

"Master, your disciple has no complaints. I did have a somewhat agreeable conversation with that tiger demon. It might be willing to listen to me."

Lin Chan shook his head and spoke respectfully.

He'd already thought of a plan: first, send Little Li to scout the way.

If the Four-Eyed Fierce Tiger had truly taken the righteous path, it wouldn't kill him just because he'd joined Shu Mountain and become a disciple.

"Alright, let's set this aside for now. Let me see what's gone wrong with your cultivation."

True Person Xuan Chen dropped the topic and sent a meditation cushion over from a distance.

Lin Chan naturally understood True Person Xuan Chen's intent. He sat cross-legged on the cushion, steadied his breathing, and began to cultivate earnestly.