Southern Border, Earth Dragon Fort.
Following the address Zuo Lengxie had given him, Xiang Yuan arrived at an elegant teahouse courtyard.
As he slightly released his aura, Daoist Ziyang hurried over to greet him.
"Ziyang greets Left Envoy Xiang."
Daoist Ziyang bowed deeply in salute, bending at a full ninety degrees, lower and lower, as if he wished he could press his forehead to the ground.
Worried the man might try to scam him by collapsing onto him, Xiang Yuan reached out, caught his arm, and pulled him upright. Shaking his head, he said, "Daoist Ziyang is a senior Grandmaster. Xiang is merely the Yellow Springs Dao's Left Envoy. This courtesy is too great—I cannot accept it."
You can accept it. No one deserves it more than you!
Ziyang was a clever man. He understood what the Patriarch meant, and with nods and bows, invited Xiang Yuan into the teahouse courtyard. He presented a storage ring. "Left Envoy Xiang, Azure Cloud Sect has lived up to your expectations. The Storm Mist Blade is within. Please inspect it."
Xiang Yuan accepted the storage ring. With a sweep of his Primordial Spirit, he drew out a black sandalwood case.
It was roughly one and a half meters long, pitch-black all over and icy cold to the touch. Tortoise-and-serpent figures were carved in relief across its surface, the two entwined—one still, one moving—in a hidden echo of the Black Tortoise.
The wooden case was light as a feather, without the slightest weight to it. It contained its own space and could store people and objects alike. It was a fine magical treasure for subduing demons and vanquishing fiends.
Seeing that even the box for the blade had been made with such care, Xiang Yuan could not help nodding. "Azure Cloud Sect has put