Leaving

Feng Wuhen hugged the storage pouch and looked at Chu Moqing. "Master, shouldn't we ask Martial Uncle Zhou to stay for a meal before he leaves?"

"No need. That fellow thinks eating is a waste of time. Other than at banquets, he never eats.

Besides, we already paid him for refining your natal spirit sword. He was in such a hurry to leave not only because he feared I'd take all his treasures.

He also wanted to hurry back and bury himself in that artifact-refining room of his, continuing his great work of refinement.

If you want to thank him, then whenever you go out to gain experience in the future and come across any good artifact-refining materials, bring them back for him."

Feng Wuhen nodded to show that he had remembered. Now that he had a spirit sword, Chu Moqing could teach him how to ride a sword.

"Enough about him. Now that you've reached the Foundation Establishment Realm and have a natal spirit sword, you can learn how to ride a sword."

The moment Feng Wuhen heard that he could ride a sword, he forgot all about checking what was inside the storage pouch Zhou Baixi had given him. After putting it into his storage ring, he followed Chu Moqing to the edge of the cliff.

Chu Moqing stepped forward and lightly tapped Feng Wuhen's forehead. A streak of golden light sank into Feng Wuhen's brow.

Several lines of golden words appeared in Feng Wuhen's mind. He covered the spot Chu Moqing had touched and firmly committed those golden words to memory.

"This is the incantation for riding a sword. You must let your body remember it, until it can circulate on its own. Only then can you deal with enemies while riding your sword."

As he spoke, he summoned the Azure Tide Sword. The Azure Tide Sword circled his body once before stopping at his feet.

Chu Moqing stepped onto it, standing with one foot ahead of the other. Once he had steadied himself, the sword beneath his feet carried him into the air.

Riding his sword, Chu Moqing turned to look at him. "To ride a sword well, you must have excellent control over your body. But that won't be a problem for you.

And the most important thing is to believe in yourself—and believe in your sword!

A sword cultivator may trust neither thing nor person, but must never distrust his own sword!"

Feng Wuhen engraved those words deeply in his heart, and far in the future, he would use them to give Chu Moqing a proper hard time.

"I'll remember that, Master!"

Chu Moqing told him to give it a try as well. Feng Wuhen recited the sword-riding incantation, and the Jade Bone Sword flashed into existence before him.

It was his first time riding a sword alone. Feng Wuhen nervously held his breath and stepped onto it. Copying Chu Moqing's movements from earlier, he stood steadily atop the Jade Bone Sword.

Then he began moving in small increments. Only after he had gone more than ten meters from the cliff's edge did he truly let go.

With a sudden burst of speed, he was thrown off balance at first. Fortunately, his waist was strong enough, and with a forceful twist, he straightened himself again.

The panic on his face turned to delight. Looking at Chu Moqing, who had stayed by his side the whole time, he beamed. "Master, look—am I riding steadily?"

Beneath the azure sky, Feng Wuhen's brilliant smile seemed even more blazing than the sun hanging high above. The wind brushed past his hair, and loose strands swept lightly across his face. Chu Moqing only felt as though something had scratched at his heart as well.

"Master?"

Seeing Chu Moqing staring at him without saying a word, Feng Wuhen grew a little nervous.

Feeling Feng Wuhen's anxious gaze upon him, Chu Moqing snapped out of that itch in his heart.

"Although you have successfully ridden the sword, you're still somewhat inexperienced. Don't practice swordsmanship today. Familiarize yourself with riding your sword properly. Don't be afraid. Your master will guard you from the side and never let you be hurt!"

Hearing that Chu Moqing would remain by his side, Feng Wuhen felt completely secure and finally let himself go.

His speed gradually increased. In the end, only a cyan afterimage could be seen streaking past, accompanied by his cheerful laughter.

Chu Moqing watched from the side the entire time, lending a hand a few times along the way. Like a colt let loose into open fields, Feng Wuhen rode his sword from noon until nightfall.

The orange-gold remnants of the setting sun were slowly stained by the night, then swallowed whole. The sky donned an ink-black robe, with dazzling stars scattered across it, while the bright moon was the robe's most beautiful adornment.

Seeing that it had grown late, Chu Moqing beckoned to the still-excited Feng Wuhen. "Wuhen, it's getting late. Come down quickly! I have some things to give you, and some words of advice for you."

Hearing this, Feng Wuhen rode his sword back to the cliffside and jumped down. Just as he was about to ask Chu Moqing whether he had a scabbard he could use, the Jade Bone Sword voluntarily transformed into a streak of cyan light and slipped into his dantian.

Feng Wuhen could feel the Jade Bone Sword in his dantian happily rolling around several times. It did not seem like a sword at all, but more like an affectionate little kitten.

Chu Moqing took out four storage pouches of different colors and handed them to Feng Wuhen. "Tomorrow, you will leave the mountain to gain experience. These are spirit stones and silver for mortals that I prepared for you.

The black storage pouch contains supreme-grade spirit stones, the red one high-grade spirit stones, the blue one mid-grade spirit stones, and the final white one contains low-grade spirit stones and silver.

Spirit stones are the currency of the cultivation world, and their exchange rate is based on hundreds.

But supreme-grade spirit stones are different. Their spiritual energy is the richest. Rather than currency, they are cultivation resources, so unless it is absolutely necessary, never use supreme-grade spirit stones to trade with others!

Besides these, take these two storage rings as well. The green one contains the pills I prepared for you, though it would be best if you could avoid getting hurt.

The white one contains talisman paper, magical artifacts, and some other things. You can sort through them carefully."

Afraid that Feng Wuhen would not understand what he meant, Chu Moqing added another worried reminder. "Although a sword cultivator's sword is the most important thing, sometimes you still need to borrow the strength of other things. There is nothing shameful in that. Many cultivators are the same."

Feng Wuhen patted his chest. "Don't worry, Master. Your disciple isn't that foolish!"

Seeing that he understood, Chu Moqing said nothing more. He told him to rest well, then left.

After returning, Feng Wuhen did not rush to rest. Instead, he carefully sorted through the things Chu Moqing had given him and put them away according to his habits.

Then he checked the greeting gift Zhou Baixi had given him. It contained magical artifacts personally refined by Zhou Baixi, as well as spirit artifacts...

After returning to his cave abode, Chu Moqing sent Qin Xiaoran a communication talisman, telling him to watch for whether any outsiders could hear Feng Wuhen's inner voice while taking Feng Wuhen and the others out to gain experience.

He had initially wanted Zhou Baixi to test it, to see whether he could hear the inner voice. But Feng Wuhen had been wholly focused on the Jade Bone Sword, and no inner thoughts had surfaced.

Thus, they could only observe carefully during this journey of experience.

After receiving the message, Qin Xiaoran sent Chu Moqing a reply and then went to rest.

The next morning, after washing and dressing, Feng Wuhen headed out. He first went to bid farewell to Chu Moqing. "Master, your disciple has come to take leave of you."

Chu Moqing took out a jade talisman and gave it to him. "It contains three strands of your master's sword intent. If you encounter an opponent you cannot defeat and cannot escape from, use spiritual energy to activate the sword intent!"

Feng Wuhen put away the jade talisman. "Thank you, Master. Then I'll go find Senior Brother. We'll be setting off soon."

Chu Moqing gave him one final reminder. "Be careful in all things!"

Halfway there, Feng Wuhen ran into the flustered Bing Ling. "Lingling, I was just about to look for you!"

Bing Ling had thought she was late. Seeing that he was still there, she patted her chest to calm herself. "You scared me to death! I thought I was late!"

After meeting up, the two headed toward the mountain gate. Shen Ziheng and the others were already waiting there. When the two arrived, Qin Xiaoran released a flying boat.

They had a long journey ahead to Radiant Moon City, so naturally they needed to travel comfortably. This flying boat was fully equipped; as long as it had enough spirit stones, it could fly itself to Radiant Moon City, greatly freeing up Feng Wuhen and the others.

Feng Wuhen had only just learned to ride a sword and was still fascinated by it. Rather than board the flying boat, he summoned the Jade Bone Sword and flew alongside it.