Old Grudges

Wow, that old Zhang was terrifying?

"Jiugao's usually very steady. Something must be weighing on his mind. Let's wait here." Master Yao shook his head but said no more. He wasn't one for gossip.

Seeing Yao Xuanzhou standing in front of him and blocking his way, Li Fan realized Zhang Jiugao's battle inside wasn't over yet.

So he lowered his head and looked at the heaps of assorted junk scattered across the ground.

They'd been magical treasures before, but once they were smashed, they were just junk. There were all sorts of weapons, as well as bottles, statues, jade ornaments, and other trinkets. A few had been shaped like flying swords, but they were obviously worthless quality, broken so badly that not even their hilts remained. It seemed the Profound Heaven Sword Intent's grading standards really were practical. If something wasn't even decent to use, then it was all junk...

Li Fan couldn't help asking, "...Master Yao, our Ink Bamboo Mountain can forge swords too, right? When will the flying swords be ready? When will we have some kind of sect-wide competition where disciples can be awarded magical treasures?"

"We do hold competitions, but the sect master usually gives out pills. Refining artifacts—especially forging swords—is incredibly difficult. It costs a fortune and takes a long time. And many of the intricacies involved aren't something even a famous master could figure out in just one or two generations."

Yao Xuanzhou stared into the inner hall, colorful light glittering in his eyes as if he were watching the fight, while answering, "The secret arts of artifact refining and sword forging are controlled by ancient immortal sects like the Three Great Sects. Only a handful of their sects and families can forge flying swords that qualify for a grade. They open their furnaces every so often and produce a batch for distribution among the three great powers. High-quality, graded sword blanks don't circulate easily.

"As for the sword-forging masters from these artifact-refining families, they either possess astonishing cultivation themselves or are under the close protection of the three great powers. They rarely leave their sects' restricted grounds, so they're not easy to kidnap or lure away.

"Our Ink Bamboo Mountain's foundations are still too shallow. Sword forging depends heavily on accumulated experience, so we still have a long way to go. The artifact workshop might open its furnace in a couple of months. We can see how the swords turn out, but they probably won't produce anything exceptional. If you have the connections and money, you could prepare some Heavenly Treasures in advance and queue up to buy one. You'd need to set aside goods worth roughly a million strings of cash, but that should get you a decent sword of respectable quality.

"Still, there's no need to be too picky. They're all forged by immortals, after all. Even a flawed sword is a hundred times better than these heterodox toys refined from mortal objects."

Holy crap! A million strings? No wonder everyone was risking their lives! Sigh, my poverty had limited my imagination. I'm out...

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, 'Host, don't lose heart. I have no shortage of flying swords. If there are none left around Lei Marsh, there are still treasured collections elsewhere!'

Really? Where else?

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, 'I can't remember, but most of them are in caves at the bottom of cliffs. If you've got nothing better to do, jump off any cliff you see and have a look. Maybe I'll remember once we get there.'

What the hell! That's completely useless! I know you can find lucky chances by jumping off cliffs! I didn't need you to tell me that. You're not reliable at all!

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, 'What do you mean, unreliable? How am I unreliable? It's just a flying sword! We can forge one! If you've got the money, we'll make a batch and let it simmer for two hundred years. Then we can use them!'

You're making pig's trotters or something? And two hundred years is way too long!

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, 'Host, forging a sword requires an enormous amount of spiritual energy to repeatedly refine and purify it. You can't rush perfection...'

Kun says, 'What tofu? Where's the tofu?'

Hey! Stop squirming around! Watch out, or someone might cut that Kun head of yours clean off!

Just then, a BOOM! like thunder shook the heavens, interrupting Li Fan's wild thoughts.

He peeked out from behind Yao Xuanzhou and saw that the roof of the main hall had been blown off. At first glance, it looked like two dragons, one black and one white, coiled tightly around each other in a spiral!

Looking more carefully, he saw that the sword power was so dense, and so many strands of Qiankun Sword Qi filled the space inside and out, that the Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword's sword aura had nearly condensed into solid form!

Surrounded by endless strands of sword qi, Zhang Jiugao rode the two dragons and floated slowly in midair. Most of his body was wrapped and entangled by them. The black-and-white dragons seemed to have emerged from his torso and arms.

His face, barely visible, was covered as if by a mask of black-and-white sword winds, like a Taiji symbol. The muscles of his face bulged like dragon coils, his hair and beard stood on end, and black and white beams of sword qi shot from his eyes, reaching two zhang ahead. He was almost impossible to recognize as human.

His two flying swords, one gold and one crimson, shone brilliantly as they circled slowly beside the Qiankun Double Dragons, like pearls spat from their mouths. Bursts of dazzling light flared from them, golden and crimson lightning crackling together as sword light flashed. Inside the hall, the demonic cultivators—already mangled beyond recognition by the Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword's winds—were reduced to charred scraps of flesh, slaughtered to the last!

From above, it must have looked as if the Black and White Double Dragons had descended from the heavens, their might bearing down on Tiantai Mountain and flattening Luo Temple. Sword qi filled the skies, their imposing presence truly astonishing!

Yao Xuanzhou nodded. "So he took a Dragon Fetus Feathering Pill. That's drawn out all his potential. But after fighting for so long, he should be exhausted by now. Yet he can still control Dao qi at the Nascent Soul Stage... It seems Jiugao's mastery of the Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword has truly reached perfection."

*The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, 'Mm. That old Zhang hasn't broken through to the Nascent Soul Stage even at his age. His talent isn't great, but he's certainly practiced his swordsmanship diligently. It's rare for anyone in the main sect to study a single move—the Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword—in such depth. And...

"Has Ink Bamboo Mountain actually acquired a pill formula that can strengthen someone across cultivation realms? Strange. Which alchemy patriarch did they poach...?'*

Li Fan nodded in admiration. Holy crap, Little Crane is incredible...

"Nangong Wuchen—!! Come out and meet your death!" Zhang Jiugao roared. The two dragons bellowed and spat out a vast surge of sword aura, blowing away the already tottering main hall. The sword aura swept through half the temple and leveled it!

Then a bright light suddenly burst from underground. Flames and lightning surged skyward, and a hundred-zhang pillar of fire blasted through the earth, sweeping away the ruins and piercing the clouds. The fiery column could be seen across three hundred li of Tiantai Mountain! Then it split into three prongs, like a phoenix spreading its wings!

Li Fan poked his head out from the other side of Yao Xuanzhou and narrowed his eyes to get a better look.

A figure rose into the air from within the pillar of fire. It was a mighty general clad in heavenly soldier armor, with Five-Colored Divine Light protecting his head from behind. Three golden flowers bloomed over his heart, shoulders, and head, their petals drifting down to ignite a vast sea of fire across the sky.

His face was hidden by a beast-faced iron mask with golden armor and cloud patterns, making his features impossible to discern. His right arm was missing, and he held a halberd in his left hand. Even the three-pronged purple-gold crown on his head was missing one of its long phoenix-tail tassels on the right. Clearly, this was Nangong Wuchen, who had been wounded by True Man Luo and hidden underground to recover.

"You dog! You dare speak my name!" Nangong Wuchen ignored the imposing dragons before him and pointed his halberd at Yao Xuanzhou instead. "A mere Golden Core isn't worthy of fighting this king! You, fatty! If you've got the guts, put away your magical treasures and take a blow from my halberd!"

Yao Xuanzhou chuckled. "You must be Master Zhang's heart demon. Why not fight him first? If you win, I'll let you escape."

"Ha! As if he were worth it!" Nangong Wuchen laughed furiously. "Let him die! He can come and take my head himself! If a son of the Nangong Family so much as furrows his brow, he's no man! And you send a good-for-nothing who needs outside help to boost his strength to take my fortune? What an insult! Ink Bamboo Mountain has gone too far!"

Zhang Jiugao fell silent for a moment. The sword qi across his face abruptly turned black. His head and arms, exposed beyond the dragons' sword qi, were visibly engulfed in black energy. His skin split open and his muscles bulged, bursting through his robes and knocking the crown from his head. "You don't recognize me? You murderous bastard! You don't even remember the man who killed you?"

"Hm?" Nangong Wuchen turned to look at him. Then he suddenly cackled. "So it's you! The child who ambushed me back then! I can't believe you're still stuck at the Golden Core after all these years! You've grown so old I didn't even recognize you, you little brat! Hahaha! You even had to take pills before you dared come for revenge! Hahahaha! Where's that bloodthirsty courage you had when you stabbed the king and tried to kill the emperor? Huh?!"

The red orb beside Zhang Jiugao flickered, as if about to strike, but Zhang Jiugao let out a furious roar. "Chi Qiu! Don't move! His head is mine! Don't you dare steal him from me!"

"Nangong Wuchen! You spineless coward, who only dares prey on women! I'll tear you apart with my bare hands without using a flying sword! Come and die!"

Nangong Wuchen flew into a rage. "You wretch! You think you can take me on? I never even went looking for you, yet you've come right to my door! Since you're so eager to reunite with your lover, I'll send you to join that lowlife!"

"Nangong Wuchen—!!"

"Bastard! Die!!"