Shili Changkong

Lin Ruhu looked over the cultivation technique Xu Zimo had written down. After reading it once, his eyes lit up.

He felt that this technique's cultivation method suited him perfectly. Before this, he had never been interested in cultivation; even his techniques had been chosen by his grandfather.

But upon seeing the technique Xu Zimo had given him, a restless urge stirred within his heart.

Cultivating the Strength Art required the blood of countless demonic beasts to be fused into one's body, and those demonic beasts had to excel in brute strength.

At noon, a bald man dressed in black arrived at Xu Zimo's courtyard.

"This subordinate is Hei Shisan. By the Vice Sect Master's order, I am to accompany Young Master to Tianjian City," the bald man said.

He wore black from head to toe, with a burly build and a conspicuous scar across his face. Combined with his bald head, he gave off an especially fierce and sinister aura.

"Hei Shisan should be one of Father's Black Guards," Xu Zimo thought.

Then he said to Lin Ruhu, "Ruhu, go to the Mission Hall and post a mission.

As for the mission details, write that they are to accompany me on a trip to Tianjian City.

The reward will be ten Spirit Crystals per person. At most three people are needed, and their cultivation must be at the Condensing Pulse Realm or above.

We'll depart in three hours."

"Alright." Lin Ruhu nodded, then headed for the Mission Hall.

Xu Zimo looked at Hei Shisan before him and asked with interest, "What is your cultivation level?"

"This subordinate is at the Empty Meridian Realm." Hei Shisan scratched his shiny bald head and answered foolishly.

Xu Zimo stroked his chin. "If nothing unexpected happens, the strongest person in the Chang Family is only at the True Meridian Realm, having opened merely three Meridian Gates."

In the afternoon, Lin Ruhu returned from the Mission Hall, bringing three people with him.

Two men and one woman. One of the men and the woman were at the Condensing Pulse Realm, while the other man, dressed in a green robe, was at the True Meridian Realm.

"Junior Brother Zimo," the three greeted him hurriedly when they met, then introduced themselves in turn.

The man and woman were named Tang Huaiyuan and Xiao Yu respectively, while the young man at the True Meridian Realm was Feng Buyu.

"I'll have to trouble everyone this time," Xu Zimo said with a smile.

The others quickly waved their hands, saying they did not deserve such words.

Afterward, the group went to the sect's Beast Taming Pavilion and hired several first-rank demonic beast Desert Steeds, galloping in great procession toward Tianjian City.

Among them, only Hei Shisan had reached the Empty Meridian Realm and could fly freely. Everyone else had to travel atop demonic beasts.

As they left the sect, Xu Zimo felt something and looked toward the sky.

He saw Sixth Elder Xiao Yuexuan flying overhead with a young girl. The young girl seemed to sense something as well and lowered her head, meeting Xu Zimo's gaze.

"Oh, the plot is about to begin." Xu Zimo's lips curled into a smile. "Baili Xiao, welcome to the True Martial Sacred Sect!"

After traveling for some time, they arrived at a small village around dusk, intending to stay there for the night.

"Baihuang Village." Xu Zimo looked at the name on the Stone Tablet before the village and said with a smile, "Interesting. Truly interesting."

The one who received them was the village chief, a middle-aged man wearing a vest made from black beast hide.

"I am the village chief of Baihuang Village. You can call me Wang Tao," the middle-aged man said heartily.

He then led Xu Zimo's group toward his home. On both sides of the street, many villagers poked their heads out from before their houses, curiously watching these outsiders.

After declining the dinner Wang Tao had prepared for them, everyone returned to their rooms.

"I always feel that there's something strange about this village." Feng Buyu frowned and spoke first.

"What's strange about it?" Lin Ruhu asked curiously.

"I also feel that something is off, but I can't put my finger on it for the moment." Xiao Yu, the only woman in the group, also spoke up.

"Why think so much? Get some sleep early." Xu Zimo chuckled, then walked outside.

"Brother Zimo, where are you going?" Lin Ruhu asked curiously.

"I'm going out for a stroll." Xu Zimo turned to Hei Shisan beside him. "Shisan, don't follow me. I have the safety matter under control."

After leaving the room, Xu Zimo headed all the way toward the western end of the village.

He walked along a path paved with cobblestones. A gentle breeze brushed past him, while scattered lights still shone from the houses on both sides.

Xu Zimo made his way to the western end of the village, where there was a small shop.

A yellow banner was planted on the wooden board above the door, with several black characters written upon it.

"Shili Blacksmith Shop."

By then, night had fallen, and the lamp inside the shop cast a dim yellow glow.

A man dressed in black was still busy inside the shop.

His figure was not burly; if anything, it was somewhat thin.

He held an unfinished longsword in his left hand and an iron hammer in the other.

Each time the hammer came crashing down, it produced a bang.

The man continued hammering without pause, as though he never knew fatigue. If someone watched for long enough, they would notice that every strike seemed to follow a pattern.

Xu Zimo sat on a stone block outside the blacksmith shop, watching the blacksmithing man with great interest.

The man's movements were crisp and decisive. He placed the finished mold into the furnace to heat.

After a long while, he used his bare hands to take out the iron sword, already glowing red from the fire.

He blew on it lightly a few times, then placed the iron sword into the water trough beside him.

With a series of hiss, hiss, hiss sounds, white smoke rose from the water.

The water around the iron sword actually began to boil with gurgle, gurgle, gurgle.

"Want to learn?" The blacksmithing man suddenly turned around and looked at Xu Zimo.

"You can't teach me." Xu Zimo smiled and shook his head.

The man did not argue. He took the iron sword from the water, then walked into the house.

"Even if you are the Sword Venerable, you still can't," Xu Zimo's voice suddenly rang out.

The man halted. He slowly turned around. Countless longswords seemed to explode within his eyes, Sword Qi crisscrossing as his aura steadily intensified, his gaze fixed tightly upon Xu Zimo.

"I'm very curious. Why did the Sword Venerable Shili Changkong, back then, choose to live in seclusion in a small village like this and become an ordinary blacksmith?" Xu Zimo spoke as though he had not felt the pressure coming from the other side at all.

"It has nothing to do with you." Shili Changkong's voice was magnetic as he answered calmly.

"I think I can help you," Xu Zimo said.

He knew that Shili Changkong was deeply lost right now, because he had already opened five Meridian Gates and reached the realm of a Sword Venerable.

The next step was to carve out a martial path belonging to himself, yet he was stuck at this step.

He hesitated over the sword path he had been obsessed with for half his life, not knowing which path he should choose, or perhaps which path suited him best.