Danqing Sword (Please Bookmark)

"Hehe, Fellow Daoist Hua, you jest."

Fang Xing shook his head. "I do have some questions about martial arts that I'd like to ask you..."

The advice Meng Yi had given him last time had been genuinely useful, so Fang Xing would not become arrogant enough to look down on the ancients simply because he came from the Interstellar Age.

After all, in terms of realms, the Innate realm of this world was equivalent to the Uncut Jade Realm. Strictly speaking, Hua Fei Yue was still a major realm above him.

He immediately described some of the difficulties he had encountered while cultivating the Extreme Emotion Sword.

The main issue was that he found it difficult to begin the Meditation Method and simulate the intended artistic conception!

After all, the Extreme Emotion Sword differed from the Ghost God Blade. It required one to stir the deepest emotions in one's heart—the more intense, the better.

It ran completely counter to the Mind Calming Pill, which cleared and calmed the mind. Thus, his experience cultivating the Ghost God Blade was useless here, and he needed to find another method.

"If I heard correctly, Fellow Daoist, the reason you cannot begin that martial art is because you cannot stir the most intense emotions in your heart?"

Perhaps because she had accepted his gift, Hua Fei Yue's form of address had become much more formal.

"Exactly."

Fang Xing reckoned that, with the foundation the Ghost God Blade had given him in the Meditation Method and hypnosis, he should be able to begin the Extreme Emotion Sword once he overcame this hurdle.

As long as he got started and its Health Bar lit up on the Attribute Panel, the rest would only be a matter of how to grind it.

"This is simple. Fellow Daoist, do you know that among us martial artists, there are some unconventional spiritual Martial Arts..." Hua Fei Yue smiled sweetly. "To be honest, I too cultivate a spiritual secret art called the Seven Emotions Art. It can stir the emotions of other martial artists..."

"Spiritual Martial Arts? That is indeed one way." Fang Xing's eyes lit up.

"Besides, if spiritual Martial Arts like this still cannot provoke it, Fellow Daoist may seek help from those Cultivators. Cultivators have quite a few methods in this regard, such as illusion realms that attack the mind, Talismans, and the like..." Hua Fei Yue continued.

"However, stimulating myself this way is somewhat dangerous..." Fang Xing frowned slightly. For now, he thought it would be best not to provoke any Cultivators.

Still, he could try Hua Fei Yue's Seven Emotions Art. With the Mind Calming Pill as a safeguard, even if his mind was damaged, he could recover from it.

"How about... you try it on me first?"

Fang Xing set down the Demon Beast meat, his interest piqued.

"Certainly. Look into my eyes..." Hua Fei Yue's gaze turned somewhat dreamy.

Fang Xing looked over and found that her pupils seemed to be veiled in a glassy sheen.

"This is the first form of the Seven Emotions—Joy!"

With Hua Fei Yue's voice, Fang Xing suddenly felt a wave of overwhelming joy descend upon him.

"Interesting, but it still isn't enough to completely stir the emotions in my heart..."

He murmured to himself.

"It seems Fellow Daoist's temperament and will are both exceedingly firm. Other methods will be needed to produce an effect..."

Hua Fei Yue bit her lip. "This is the second form—Rage!"

The next instant, Fang Xing's eyes reddened slightly, and he felt as though blazing fire were burning within him.

Several hours later.

Fang Xing emerged from Hua Fei Yue's shack carrying the Demon Beast meat, his steps somewhat unsteady.

"Damn... this woman is truly skilled with her tongue. I've decided—I'll have her be my female shopkeeper from now on...

"But there's no need to buy a shop yet. Being a female stall owner will do for now..."

After being tempered by the Seven Emotions Art today, Fang Xing could not say he had begun the Extreme Emotion Sword, but he had more or less found a path into it.

As long as he persevered, he would surely be able to reach that mysterious state and successfully begin the Extreme Emotion Sword!

"Ten pounds of Demon Beast meat for all this—definitely not a loss..."

A trace of delight immediately appeared on his face.

Two days later.

Zheng Family Auction venue.

The venue was vast, and multicolored spirit patterns swam along the walls like fish.

Today was the day the Zheng Family Auction began!

The auction house's six great doors stood wide open, like a colossal beast swallowing the crowds pouring in from every direction.

Fang Xing, dressed in gray with his face covered and a bamboo hat on his head, looked at the surging crowd and could not help feeling moved.

He entered through the gates and immediately saw a greeter.

"Would this guest like a private room? It only costs ten Spirit Stones. If you win an item you desire, you may immediately trade for it in your private room. There are also several passageways and hidden doors, allowing you to leave the auction venue at any time..."

The greeter spoke swiftly. Clearly, he had said the same words many times.

"No need!"

Fang Xing waved his hand. He had considered it at first, but then remembered that he was not even Innate yet. Reserving a private room would only make him stand out.

Not to mention the other Cultivators, the two Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators in the market surely could extend their Divine Sense and see many things.

Of course, I'm just an ordinary Postnatal Martial Artist. Even if a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator saw me, they wouldn't care. They might even see me as an ant... provided I don't act too conspicuously.

Fang Xing touched the Laser Gun tucked into his clothes.

This Laser Gun had not the slightest spiritual energy fluctuation. To Divine Sense, it was probably nothing more than an exquisitely crafted mundane mechanical device.

That said, because the Laser Gun has no mana fluctuations, I really might be able to ambush a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator successfully. But I don't want to do that... steady cultivation comes first.

He entered the main hall and found it quite spacious, with numerous Mahogany Desks arranged throughout. Tea and pastries had been set atop them.

The pastries were made with ingredients such as Spirit Rice. They were exquisitely shaped, and the fragrance of tea permeated the air.

The Zheng Family has put quite a bit of care into this...

Fang Xing casually found an empty seat and sat down peacefully. He closed his eyes to rest while waiting for the Auction to begin.

Half an hour later, the entire hall was nearly full. Most of the attendees were cultivators, though there were also many Innate and Postnatal Martial Artists.

Within the private rooms, pearl-like orbs the size of fists shone brightly one after another.

With three strikes of a gong, all eyes gathered upon the raised platform.

Looking over, Fang Xing saw a tall, thin old man in an earth-yellow Spell Robe. His eyes were deep, seemingly threaded with glimmers of gold, as he cupped his hands in greeting toward all sides.

"I am Zheng Yuan'ao. Welcome, everyone, to this Auction. I hope each of you may obtain the item you desire."

Zheng Yuan'ao's mana was profound, and his voice could be heard throughout the hall.

"It's him, Zheng Family's Golden Eye Eagle, Zheng Yuan'ao... a Qi Refining Completion Cultivator! No wonder it feels as if he's speaking right beside my ear. His mana truly is profound!"

"Not only that, he oversees the Zheng Family's auctions and pawnshops. They say he has Fiery Eyes and Golden Gaze and has never made a mistake, uncovering quite a few hidden treasures..."

Listening to the two cultivators beside him discuss the man, Fang Xing grew interested.

So the golden glow in his eyes comes from cultivating some special eye technique?

If you run an auction house and pawnshop without sharp eyes, you really could lose yourself to death...

Ancestor Zheng has Foundation Establishment cultivation, enough to keep order, and with this man as well, it's no wonder the Zheng Family rakes in gold every day...

He found himself looking forward to this Auction even more.

At that moment, Zheng Yuan'ao had a bright-eyed, fine-toothed maid bring forth the first auction item.

"A High-Grade Magic Item—the Iron Feather Sword! It is a rare set-type Magic Item, forged from the most precious natal feather of seven Iron Feather Eagles, combined with refined iron and Gold Essence. The set contains seven Flying Swords in total. They are incomparably sharp and can pierce anything, and they may form a sword array..."

Fang Xing looked over to see seven black Flying Swords, each the size of a palm, floating in the air under the woman's mana. Sword qi tore through the air.

Since he was not a Cultivator, though, he had no interest whatsoever in Magic Items like these.

The Qi Refining Late Stage and even Qi Refining Completion experts, on the other hand, were very interested in this set of Flying Swords.

After all, a set of seven Flying Swords, combined into a sword array, possessed no small amount of power.

"The Iron Feather Sword begins at two thousand one hundred Spirit Stones. Each bid must increase by no less than ten Spirit Stones..."

The moment Zheng Yuan'ao finished speaking, an impatient voice rang out. "Two thousand two hundred Spirit Stones!"

"Two thousand three hundred Spirit Stones!"

The price of Spirit Stones climbed steadily until, in the end, a cultivator in one of the private rooms obtained it for three thousand one hundred Spirit Stones.

After the first item got the Auction off to a strong start, Zheng Yuan'ao's complexion immediately became much rosier. He clapped his hands, and the maid brought forth the second item. "A First-Grade Mid-Rank array—the Small Wind Fire Formation. It includes forty-nine array flags, Array Disks, Command Tokens, and more. Its formation range is three to five mu. It can cast the Spirit Fire Art and Beacon Smoke Art and can trap enemies, conceal an area, and more... The starting price is one thousand five hundred Spirit Stones!"

Fang Xing likewise had no use for this array, as he was not a Cultivator.

Even among Cultivators, few had that many Spirit Stones. They could only watch helplessly as the array was bought for over two thousand Spirit Stones by the leader of a Qi Refining sect.

Next came cultivation techniques, Spell Robes, pills, spirit pets, and more... every item was a treasure.

In particular, there were noticeably more Spell Robes made primarily from the hides of Demon Beasts, as well as spirit beast eggs and similar items. Their prices were also relatively cheap, prompting the cultivators to bid one after another.

Some Innate Martial Artists also occasionally called out bids for things they could use.

"A Blood Refined Magic Item—the Danqing Sword!"

After dozens of auction items had passed, a longsword appeared in Zheng Yuan'ao's hand.

The sword was over three feet long and roughly an inch wide. Its entire body gleamed with azure light, radiating a biting chill, while blood-red patterns ran along its blade.

Merely looking at it gave one the feeling of sharpness rushing toward them.

"Such generous materials. It really is a Blood Refined Magic Item... what a wasteful toy for martial men!"

A cultivator beside Fang Xing mocked it.

Generally speaking, cultivators' Magic Items were quite small. Flying Swords in particular were mostly palm-sized, or at most around a foot long.

Not only did this save materials, but in Fang Xing's view, it also reduced air resistance as much as possible, making them easier to wield through the air.

Of course, when there was a special need, Magic Items could naturally activate functions such as Size Altering. Fang Xing found that highly unscientific.

But there seemed to be no point discussing science with Cultivators.

Still, the materials used for this Danqing Sword were enough to forge four or five Low-Grade Magic Item Flying Swords. It truly was somewhat wasteful.

Yet martial artists were simply like that.

Even Innate Martial Artists, despite possessing Innate True Qi, could only use some low-grade Talismans and inject a certain amount of energy into array flags and the like.

It was basically impossible for them to wield Low-Grade Magic Items.

Therefore, artifact refiners had specifically designed a type of Blood Refined Magic Item for Innate Martial Artists!

Such Blood Refined Magic Items were at most comparable in power to Low-Grade Magic Items, yet they could be activated with Innate True Qi or even Quintessential Blood, making them exceedingly convenient for martial artists.

Even Fang Xing felt tempted as he looked at it.

It's so sharp. It would definitely feel great to use it to chop people... and it can be refined as well. If it isn't too expensive...