Flower Peacock

Shen Ziheng and the others saw the Jade Bone Sword beneath his feet and recognized its extraordinary nature at a glance. Its spiritual aura was so overwhelming that it was truly rare to behold.

For a sword cultivator's sword to be stored within the dantian, it needed to be nourished by spiritual energy for a period of time.

Yet this sword could already be stored in the dantian without having undergone such nourishment. It was clear that the sword had developed spiritual intelligence.

Standing at the edge of the boat, Shen Ziheng looked toward Feng Wuhen, who was flying on his sword to his left. "Ahen, this is the natal spirit sword you mentioned a couple of days ago, right? It truly does look extraordinary!"

Feng Wuhen dearly loved his natal spirit sword. Hearing the question, he happily began introducing it. As he spoke, Qin Xiaoran and the others quietly gathered around as well.

"I named it Jade Bone. It was forged from Wind Spirit Jade along with several other materials, using a special secret method.

Although it feels very much like jade, it is actually incredibly sharp—able to slice through iron like mud.

Martial Uncle Zhou said Jade Bone had developed spiritual intelligence as soon as it came out of the furnace, though it was very weak. He told me to be prepared for Jade Bone to reject me, but I never expected the two of us to be so compatible!"

When Meng Hongying and Qin Leyan learned that the Jade Bone Sword was entirely made of jade, they found it very novel and wanted to touch it.

"Junior Brother Feng, stop flying on your sword for now. Hurry and come down so we can admire your sword!"

Bing Ling echoed Meng Hongying's words. "Yeah, yeah! I want to see it too. I've never seen a jade sword before—I have to broaden my horizons properly."

Although Shen Ziheng and Qin Xiaoran said nothing, they were clearly looking forward to it as well.

Seeing that they all wanted to look, and wanting to show it off himself, Feng Wuhen guided his sword down onto the deck and stepped off.

The moment he came down, he was immediately squeezed to the side. Meng Hongying pulled Qin Leyan over, and they were the first to rush forward, touching the sword as soon as Feng Wuhen stepped down.

As they approached, Jade Bone gave off a series of hums. Qin Leyan softened her voice and said gently, "Don't be afraid. We just think you're very beautiful, and very impressive too. We want to take a closer look at you."

When possessed by Ling Ji, Qin Leyan had the temper of a spoiled and willful young miss. But the real Qin Leyan was, like her spiritual root, gentle as water.

When she looked at you so softly and spoke in such a tender tone, no matter who stood before her, they could not help but soften their voice and dare not speak loudly.

Jade Bone had not wanted just anyone touching him. But this person was so gentle, and his master, standing beside them, did not stop her. He could only endure the unfamiliar discomfort. After letting each of them touch him once, he swiftly fled back into Feng Wuhen's dantian.

Then he used the spiritual energy in Feng Wuhen's dantian to give himself a bath. Jade Bone's newly born spiritual intelligence believed that only his master, or friends who were also sword spirits like Azure Waves, could touch him in this world.

If anyone else could touch him in the future, it could only be his master's future Dao companion, one who would share life and death with him!

Watching Jade Bone vanish with a whoosh, Bing Ling stamped his foot. "That guy ran way too fast! I'd only just touched him—I hadn't even figured out what he felt like before he disappeared."

Shen Ziheng had only touched it once as well, but even that brief touch had let him sense that this sword truly differed from other swords.

Although Meng Hongying had not touched it much longer than the others, it really did have the texture of jade. Once her curiosity was satisfied, she began to feel hungry.

After reaching Foundation Establishment, one could begin Grain Avoidance. Still, young people could hardly avoid craving tasty food.

"I'm hungry. Did any of you bring anything to eat?"

Meng Hongying rubbed her stomach and looked pitifully at the others. Hearing this, Qin Leyan took a large food box from her storage ring. When she opened the lid, fragrant hot dishes were revealed inside.

"My mother worried about me, so before I left for training, she specially made lots of food and put it in this food box. It can keep food warm, so the dishes are all still hot. If you don't mind, let's eat together!"

Hungry as she was, Meng Hongying did not stand on ceremony. She picked up her chopsticks and began eating dumplings. "Mmm, Senior Sister, your mother's cooking is so delicious!"

Qin Leyan picked up a piece of bamboo shoot for her. Seeing how happily she ate, Qin Leyan felt happy as well. "If you like it, eat more. Mother prepared a lot. Besides the dishes, there are also pastries. After we finish eating, I'll get you some pastries."

Feng Wuhen and the others ate happily too. Shen Ziheng had been thinking of learning Grain Avoidance as soon as possible, but seeing everyone eating, and with Feng Wuhen even placing food into his bowl, he stopped holding back and picked up his bowl and chopsticks to eat.

Traveling from Mount Grand Mystery to Radiant Moon City by flying boat took nearly half a month. Setting foot on solid ground again after half a month gave them a feeling of being firmly grounded.

They put away the flying boat outside Radiant Moon City, then paid spirit stones for entry. They had originally intended to fly directly inside.

But Qin Xiaoran thought these little ones had barely had any chance to go out and have fun, so he wanted to walk around and let them take in the bustle.

There were cultivators and mortals in the city. The mortals sold ordinary goods, simple snacks, and toys.

Feng Wuhen used copper coins to buy several sticks of candied hawthorn, giving one to each of them. He had once seen children in the village eating candied hawthorn and envied them, but he had no money, nor had anyone bought any for him.

Now that he had money, he wanted to buy all the things he had once wanted but never possessed, making up for it for himself.

As they were eating the candied hawthorn, a surprised voice sounded behind them. "Qin Xiaoran? Hey, it really is you! But why are you eating candied hawthorn, something only children eat? Since when did you have this hobby?"

Hearing the commotion, Feng Wuhen looked up. He saw a "little man of light" standing before him, and his eyes were stung until they nearly teared up.

He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. Shen Ziheng hurriedly handed him a handkerchief, and Feng Wuhen, with his back to the man, wiped his eyes.

After wiping them clean, he complained inwardly, Who is this guy? How does Eldest Senior Brother know such a flower peacock? Not only are his clothes so gaudy, he's wearing so much jewelry too. The sunlight reflected off it made my tears stream out—I couldn't even see what he looked like.

If we took this gentleman out at night, we wouldn't even need candles to light the way!

Hua Yichen had just greeted Qin Xiaoran when he heard someone complaining about him, calling him a flower peacock and comparing him to a candle. His face immediately darkened with anger.

Amid all that glittering jewelry, his dark expression was especially obvious. Qin Xiaoran instantly realized that Hua Yichen could hear Feng Wuhen's inner thoughts as well.

To keep this fool from exposing himself, he dragged Hua Yichen aside and sent him a voice transmission. "Don't rush to speak. Listen to me.

What you heard just now was my junior brother's inner thoughts—the youth in white.

His name is Feng Wuhen, and he is my junior grandmaster's newly accepted disciple. You cannot tell him that you can hear his inner thoughts, so keep that mouth of yours tightly shut. Otherwise..."

Qin Xiaoran waved his fist at him, the meaning perfectly clear: if this fellow dared expose the matter, he would not mind giving him a beating.