A Convenient Stop

"Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'Hehehehe, don't worry about them. There are plenty of people who only envy the love between lovers and not the immortals. Besides, maybe their lineage is specifically for experiencing love tribulations. There are also such people among the unorthodox sects. At least it's a little easier than the tribulation of killing.'"

Keep that Yang Sui Gold Essence. Don't trade it for any Heavenly Treasure. This stuff is the absolute best for forging the Sun Flying Sword.

"Hiss... I just borrowed some trash, is it really okay to accept such an expensive gift?" Li Fan looked at the gift in his hand with a conflicted expression.

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, "The gold needed to refine the Yang Sui is not particularly valuable. However, it can only be forged by taking the essence of heaven and earth and the sun at noon on the Bingwu day of the fifth month. It is time-consuming and laborious to refine. Wouldn't it be better to obtain it directly, saving a lot of effort?"

By the way, speaking of which, if you want to forge the Taiyin Flying Sword yourself, you can start preparing the Yin Sui now. Forging can only be done at midnight on the Renzi day of the eleventh month, with a preparation period of five hundred years, so it will be ready to use then.

Li Fan carefully stored the golden box in the sword furnace room. "Preparing a single material for five hundred years is too slow. I might as well try my luck with the lottery; maybe I'll get a flying sword in five months."

' The Profound Heaven Sword Intent said, 'Hmph, so what if you drew it? I've already carefully examined it. What this system gave you is good, but it's not of high quality.'

Li Fan was taken aback. "What do you mean? Is there no essential connection between being ranked and having good quality? And honestly, how exactly does your nine-rank system work? My robe is absolutely amazing, and you're saying it's not ranked?"

"The Dao of Profound Heaven Sword Intent is obviously not graded. Your Daoist robe is just a prop, it doesn't have a spirit, how can you assess its grade? What do you think you're assessing? You're assessing the comprehension of the spirit!"

Oh, no wonder, it turns out there's no artifact... "What--? An artifact spirit??"

Only when Magic Treasure artifacts and treasures come to life can they be called 'graded magical artifacts', or, in the terms used in this world, 'objects'.

Humans are the most intelligent of all living beings, and therefore can be ranked into nine grades based on their aptitude and comprehension. The spirits contained within Ling Bao, especially the 'things' transformed from humans, are the most intelligent beings born from the Taiji Dao, and their aptitude and potential can also be ranked into nine grades.

The ninth rank is even simpler. Ranks seven, eight, and Golden Core are low-rank; reaching the Golden Core stage is not a problem, and with abundant opportunities and blessings, one can even achieve the aptitude of Nascent Soul Stage cultivator. Ranks four, five, and six are middle-rank; if one obtains the correct methods, achieving the Nascent Soul Stage is basically no problem, but if one wants to comprehend the Dao, their talent might be somewhat lacking. Ranks one, two, and three are naturally high-rank; those are geniuses aiming for immortality, comprehending the Dao, and breaking through realms to ascend.

Pushing down a weapon spirit is similar; it's usually found only in magic weapons at the Golden Core level, at the seventh, eighth, or Golden Core grade. After reforging and upgrading, the limit can be a Nascent Soul Stage level magic weapon. The four swords in Li Fan's hands—the Fagui Pitian, the Golden Dragon White Star Sword—are all at this level.

However, his Feihong Sword Pill can be further refined and forged, and may even become a divine weapon at the Enlightenment level.

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says that the sword pellet has a special forging method, and it is possible to advance all the way to the Enlightenment level. However, I have also seen the sword pellet that you seized from the Divine Sect. The starting point of only Golden Core is too low. It should be the work of the Divine Sect's swordsmith for practice."

Because reforging a weapon spirit is risky, if the initial forging is already finalized, it can only be reforged once or twice at most. It's estimated that the Feihong Sword Pill can only be reforged to the Divine Transformation stage at most, if you're willing to refine it. Generally, Golden Core Stage sword pill like this is just for casual use and not worth spending too many resources on.

Therefore, the starting point for creation should be as high as possible. Even Golden Core Stage magic weapons can be considered consumables. Once you can forge a first-grade Enlightenment Stage divine sword, you can help me reforge my true body. I don't want a trashy Dao body with such a low cultivation level!

"Alright, alright, I know, I know," Li Fan said impatiently, trying to dismiss it.

Well, I didn't expect the Profound Heaven Sword Intent to be such a long-term questline for forging swords and refining treasures. According to the plan given to him by the Profound Heaven Sword Intent, it would take five hundred years to become a master swordsmith and twelve hundred years to comprehend the Dao, at which point he could reforge the sword body of the Profound Heaven Sword Intent to the Enlightenment Stage.

However, it seems that the items drawn by the system are somewhat lacking...

Well, not necessarily. The Gui Xu Dao Yi still has one last item that hasn't been unlocked yet. Besides, the robe itself says it can be upgraded. Who knows, once the last item is unlocked, it might even acquire a high-grade artifact spirit.

Just as I was carefully planning my sword-forging and weapon-refining lottery, and unlocking equipment attributes, someone else came to visit!

Li Fan was utterly exasperated. Was he living at a crossroads or something?! Every person passing by had to come and visit?!

"I'm not going to Lei Marsh!"

Yuan Tianxiao paused for a moment, scratched his head, and said, "Oh, if you're not going, then I'll go by myself."

Li Fan glanced at the baggage that Yuan Houzi had brought him, knowing that the man had recovered from the injuries he sustained from being beaten by his girlfriend and had even made a trip to deliver the human skin Daoist robe. He sighed and invited him into the pavilion for tea, "Brother Yuan, you're all healed? How are the people in Shatang Village?"

"Twenty thousand strings of cash should be enough for them. Thank you for the Cultivation Method. I also gave the lotus lamp to A Guang; he thanked you. Since you haven't acknowledged me, I won't say anything more. Oh, no need for tea; I need to hurry to Lei Marsh to find Qingqing."

Yuan Tianxiao winked and said, "Oh right, we still need to verify your statements. I told Qingqing that you were my illegitimate child, which is why I had to rescue you. I originally wanted to take you as my disciple, but the Lu Family stopped me. Now that you've joined Moshan, you've really had a stroke of luck. However, Qingqing is still angry. If there's any misunderstanding, please don't hurt her."

Li Fan was speechless. "... You think she's angry about this? Look at my face, I don't look like an illegitimate child, do I?"

Yuan Tianxiao was taken aback. "That's right... Then why did she hit so hard? I thought she was jealous..."

"..." Li Fan rubbed his eyebrows. "Brother Yuan, I still have some doubts in my mind, and I would like to ask you for your guidance."

Why did you seek out A Guang and his sister in the first place? Why did you have someone rescue me from the palace? And what about that manager of the Heavenly Clothes? Did your sect... mistake me for someone else? Do you want me to do something for your sect?"

Yuan Tianxiao stroked his beard and said, "There's no reason why. I just saw that A Guang was sullen and wanted to help him out, but the Lu Family turned against me halfway through, so I had to ask Xu Ziqing, oh, you mean the manager of Heavenly Clothes, to help."

Xu Ziqing did indeed consult a fortune teller, who said that your background was closely related to them and promised to arrange help to take care of you. I don't know the specific details.

Sigh, none of us from the Tianmen Peak lineage are good at using our brains. If my master hadn't remembered to tell me before he died that he owed Luo... a favor and joined the sect, I wouldn't have known that I was actually an undercover agent for the Demonic Sect!

"Well, whatever the problem, go ask Xu Ziqing yourself. I'm just running errands for him to earn a little extra money. I won't do anything harmful to Ink Bamboo Mountain. But the only villages he sent me to contact were small ones like Shatang Village, full of poor people. I'll help them if I can."

Although this fellow was a scoundrel, he was a true righteous man. If it weren't for his intervention, Li Fan probably wouldn't have had this opportunity today. He cupped his hands in thanks, saying, "Brother Yuan, thank you so much for saving my life. I, Li Fan, will always remember this life-saving grace. I still have 20,000 strings of cash left; please accept it to buy some wine..."

"Haha, you have a long way to go in your cultivation journey, so don't be so polite. Tea is no fun. Let's get some Thunder Goblet another day and drink a hundred or two hundred jars of it."

Yuan Tianxiao, of course, didn't take the money. He had only come to check on the boy he had rescued from the palace for, to see if he was alright. He patted Li Fan on the shoulder as a farewell, then took off with a whoosh, heading south to find his girlfriend.

Li Fan sighed. First, Yuan Houzi seemed like a decent person. Second, in just a few days since moving, Yao Xuanzhou, Tian Shu Yu Heng Xuan Xuanji of the Seven Star Temple, and Yuan Tianxiao of Tianmen Peak had all come to visit. Each one claimed they were just passing by. He now realized he'd made a terrible mistake in choosing this place to live in seclusion...

This has been moved to the national highway!

Everywhere you look, you can see flying boats, magical artifacts, and escape lights flying in succession from the north. At this time, they are all rushing south to seek opportunities in Lei Marsh. Naturally, they don't need to cross the mountain from the top of Five Sons Peak. They just take off from the ravine between the two mountains.

Thus, within half a day, many cultivators passed by Li Fan's dojo. In the desolate mountains and wilderness, if they happened to see a Qi cultivator setting up a formation, they would generally come over to see what kind of opportunity it was. And since they could tell that this was the cave of a legitimate disciple of Ink Bamboo Mountain and not some Demon Path ambush, these travelers could rest and catch their breath in the nearby spiritual veins without worry.

Then, among these ten passersby, occasionally one or two, especially outgoing ones, would come over to leave a message, visit, and make friends. Some would exchange names, some would say hello, some would exchange materials, some would inquire about news, and some would simply ask for a cup of tea. Little by little, they gradually gathered more and more!

It's no wonder, really. Starting from Lou Guandao Pagoda, the journey passes through fourteen peaks, a long and sparsely populated area. Only at Middle Valley Dojo Daocheng in Lingqiu Mountain is there a place to rest. After all, Middle Valley Dojo is a strategically important mountain pass guarded by Real Person Huang of Lou Guan. It's a small place with strict security, and only people with official positions and status can get in to rest.

Li Fan had chosen a secluded path halfway through his cultivation journey, and even set up a Five Elements Grand Array to gather abundant spiritual energy for his practice. This certainly drew attention, attracting a bunch of rogue cultivators!

At first, Li Fan politely served tea, but later he was constantly receiving invitations to visit his estate. One group would leave, and another would arrive, which really annoyed him!

However, Li Fan had also experienced the hardships of these rogue cultivators. He figured they had been cultivating at home for too long and rarely went to Lei Marsh Swamp for adventures. They probably wanted to make some friends and didn't have any ill intentions. It wouldn't be good to turn them away, so he simply opened the Five Elements Formation and sealed off only his own residence. He chose a Spirit Pool outside and set up a self-service tea room so that these people passing by could rest and catch their breath before quickly leaving.

Who knew this would have the opposite effect? Originally, there were only one or two shameless individuals who came up, but now that they saw a large crowd gathering, most cultivators stopped to see what was going on. They then discovered that there was even tea to drink, so they were happy to replenish their supplies, make friends with fellow cultivators, exchange greetings with acquaintances and strangers, and form teams. It actually became as lively as an inn!

Then Kun and the leopard joined in the fun and actually set up their own barbecue stall! And the customers even had to pay for the meat! The two of them helped grill and eat!

Li Fan had never seen such a dark barbecue stall in his life, but the rogue cultivators found it novel and interesting. Many of them had spirit beast meat and demon beast meat, which weren't worth much to sell, but throwing them away was a waste since they were spiritual materials full of spiritual energy. So they simply took them out to grill for fun, which was also a way to entertain the rogue cultivators they had befriended. Everyone was just enjoying the taste, but Kun and Leopard were the ones who got fat and were quite happy.

Later, a merchant ship owner passing by saw it and actually got off to do business! He bribed Kun by handing over a bunch of cumin, pepper, and salt, and then sold tea, wine, talismans, Spirit Stones, and pills. As a result, the rogue cultivators were happy to take a look at his goods and prepare to replenish their supplies for Lei Marsh Swamp.

As a result, quite a few independent merchants gathered here. They would stop their flying boats on the spot, pull up the curtains, set up their signs, and start making a living. They actually turned Li Fan's doorway into a small town with shops lining the streets!

This left Li Fan speechless. Unfortunately, he was the type of person who responded better to gentle persuasion than force; everyone addressed him as Master Li or Senior Brother Li, making it difficult for him to bring himself to shoo them away.

Moreover, seeing Kun riding on the head of the Cloud Hidden Leopard, collecting protective meat everywhere and eating with its mouth full of oil, saved Li Fan a lot of trouble.

However, Li Fan thought about it and realized that since he had exceptionally high comprehension, he could still cultivate even in the noise outside. This Mo Mountain was a desolate place, inconvenient to come and go, and no one else would stay here for long except for him.

Besides, the independent cultivators and merchants were mainly there for Lei Marsh, and were just passing by. Lei Marsh would only be open for a few days, and these people would leave on their own afterward, so Li Fan let them be. "Anyway," he said, "Those of you going to Lei Marsh can form your own teams outside. I'm not going! I want to cultivate!"

Before things had even calmed down for two or three days, another person arrived with a talisman, inviting Master Li Er master of Qingyue Creek in Ink Bamboo Mountain, to a banquet.

Li Fan didn't know where Qingyue Creek was, nor did he know who the Li Er Master Li Fan was, but the person who posted the message signed it as Nangong Wuqing.

... Actually, Li Fan had no idea who Nangong Wuqing was, but since Nangong Family, killing her was the right thing to do.

So Li Fan retrieved the four flying swords from the sword furnace, placed them in a sword box, and hid them in his bosom. He also took two pills each from the Green Gourd of the Donghua Changchun Pill and the black gourd of the Dragon Fetus Feathering Pill and kept them close to his body. Then he put on two of the nine Luo Sect robes that Yuan Tianxiao had brought. No rush, the Daoist robes give two lives, and the Tai Su Transformation gives six lives, that's enough. He'll keep the Gui Xu Dao Yi for later.

Having made preparations for a massacre, Li Fan opened the mountain gate barrier with a beaming smile.

On the horizon, a golden and red auspicious cloud could be seen, and on the cloud, a magnificent palace could be seen faintly.

The wandering cultivators by the mountain stream temporarily forgot about their picnic and social gatherings, all looking up at the auspicious cloud. Faintly, one could hear hushed conversations about "Immortal Palace," "Southern Palace," and "Ink Bamboo Mountain."

The incense-scented invitation in Li Fan's hand floated up and automatically transformed into a colorful magpie. It circled him once and then led the way to the auspicious clouds in the sky.

As expected, the Nangong Family wouldn't miss Lei Marsh, but they actually dared to swagger around from the northern Ink Bamboo Mountain territory, which is quite arrogant.

Li Fan coughed.

He coughed again.

Li Fan turned and glared at the Cloud Hidden Leopard. Only then did the leopard react, rolling off the barbecue stand and running over to Li Fan as his mount, its round belly puffed out.

Li Fan chuckled and patted the leopard's head. "Do you think you're a Kun? You've gotten so fat, are you just waiting to be eaten as a snack? From now on, you'll have to run around Five Sons Peak three times a day to lose weight!"

Leopard tears.

So Li Fan rode the Cloud Hidden Leopard and soared into the air, landing in the auspicious clouds under the guidance of the Five-Colored Spirit Magpie.