The Pill Pavilion's rear courtyard.
Wen Jiao personally escorted Chu Yunfei to the entrance.
The two walked side by side, neither speaking first, and the atmosphere was somewhat delicate.
Wen Jiao gently straightened her clothes.
The blush on her face had yet to fade completely. She had lost some of her cool authority as pavilion master, gaining instead a measure of a woman's alluring charm.
At the courtyard gate, she suddenly stopped.
"Young Master Chu, may I ask you something?"
"Ask."
Wen Jiao looked at him, hesitating for a moment.
"When you treated me just now, you kept your eyes closed."
"What were you thinking about then?"
Chu Yunfei paused and turned toward her, a hint of amusement appearing on his face.
"Do you want the truth or a lie?"
For no apparent reason, Wen Jiao's heart skipped a beat.
"The truth, of course."
"Then let me make one thing clear first."
Chu Yunfei reminded her with a perfectly straight face, "You can't get angry."
Wen Jiao drew a deep breath and nodded gently.
"I won't."
Chu Yunfei stared at her exquisitely beautiful face and slowly spoke.
"I wanted to sleep with you."
The air fell silent in an instant.
Every trace of color first drained from Wen Jiao's face, then surged back.
In the blink of an eye, her entire face turned so red it could almost drip blood.
The little guilt she had felt over misunderstanding Chu Yunfei, along with the small favorable impression she had just formed, shattered on the spot without a scrap remaining.
Embarrassment, anger, and the stifled resentment of being toyed with rushed into her heart all at once.
"You..."
Wen Jiao's chest heaved violently. She was so furious she could not form a complete sentence.
"Lecher!"
She spun around.
Bang!
The courtyard gate slammed shut, nearly hitting Chu Yunfei's nose.
Chu Yunfei stepped back half a pace and rubbed the tip of his nose.
"Heh, women."
"She promised not to get angry. Sure enough, you can't take that seriously."
"Tell a lie, and she thinks I'm brushing her off. Tell the truth, and she doesn't want to hear it."
He shook his head helplessly and left, as though he had merely made a harmless joke.
He had not gone far.
Xiaoxiao Dragon's scornful voice sounded in his mind.
"Pervert."
"And a coward, too."
Chu Yunfei stopped in his tracks, black lines appearing on his forehead.
"Who are you calling a coward?"
"You, of course."
Xiaoxiao Dragon gave a soft snort.
"You talk such a big game, but when it's time to act, you behave better than anyone."
"You had such a good opportunity. You should've just taken her."
"She may not be a daughter of destiny, but she possesses the heavenly yin baleful intent physique, making her a supreme-grade cultivation furnace. If you dual cultivated with her, your cultivation would surely take another great leap forward."
The corner of Chu Yunfei's mouth twitched.
"Take her, my ass."
"Her Yin Baleful Intent was flaring up then. She didn't even have the strength to resist. If I'd actually dared try anything, forget tomorrow-the Pill Pavilion would've hunted me to the ends of the earth tonight."
"You're a female dragon. Can't you show a little restraint?"
"Heh."
Xiaoxiao Dragon sneered.
"Do you really think she had no precautions?"
"She knew perfectly well you weren't an honest fellow, yet she still dared to be alone with you and undressed as you instructed. Even if she wasn't enticing you, that doesn't necessarily mean she wasn't testing you."
Chu Yunfei retorted without the slightest courtesy.
"She did that to stay alive."
"She was about to die. Whatever she was told to do, she naturally had no choice but to obey. Wanting to survive isn't the same as seduction. Stop writing extra scenes for yourself."
Xiaoxiao Dragon fell silent for a moment.
"Fine."
"Then the next time you treat her, will you dare say those words to her face again?"
Chu Yunfei's face darkened.
"Xiaoxiao Dragon, I'm warning you."
"From now on, unless I give permission, you're not allowed to eavesdrop when I'm alone with a woman, much less peek."
"Tch."
Xiaoxiao Dragon muttered discontentedly, "What haven't I seen in my time as a king? Who cares about watching your pathetic little affairs?"
With that, she fell silent.
Chu Yunfei shook his head, temporarily driving Wen Jiao's image from his mind.
The urgent priority was still to improve his strength.
He not only had to pass the outer sect assessment in three days, but also shut the mouths of everyone waiting to laugh at him.
With the thousand in profit dividends paid in advance and the five thousand in consultation fees he had just received, his storage pouch now held a full six thousand low-grade spirit stones.
With a bulging purse, his confidence naturally grew.
Chu Yunfei walked along Qingyang City's main street for a while, and a stately, old-fashioned pavilion soon appeared ahead.
Three bold, vigorous characters were carved on its signboard.
Famous Sword Pavilion.
This was Qingyang City's most reputable weapons shop, renowned for its comprehensive selection and fair prices.
The mid-grade yellow-tier spirit sword Chu Yunfei had obtained in the cave abode was still adequate for now.
But every time he used Triple Wave Slash, the final layer of overlapping force met a slight resistance, preventing him from unleashing the sword technique's full power.
Once he advanced another realm or two, that sword would inevitably become a weakness.
Now that he had spirit stones, he naturally had to replace it ahead of time with a suitable weapon.
Chu Yunfei stepped into the Famous Sword Pavilion.
The mingled scent of metal and Spiritual Qi greeted him. Sabers, spears, swords, and halberds filled both sides of the main hall, where quite a few martial artists were choosing weapons.
"Young master, welcome to the Famous Sword Pavilion."
A neatly dressed female attendant with delicate features hurried over.
"What might you need?"
Chu Yunfei swept his gaze around.
"Do you have any high-quality spirit swords?"
The attendant froze briefly.
Most customers visiting the Famous Sword Pavilion first looked at ordinary weapons. People like Chu Yunfei, who headed straight for spirit swords upon entering, were uncommon.
Moreover, he looked only seventeen or eighteen.
But the attendant quickly regained her smile and stepped aside to lead the way.
"We certainly do."
"Please follow me, young master. Our pavilion's spirit swords are all on the second floor."
Led by the attendant, Chu Yunfei climbed the wooden stairs.
The Famous Sword Pavilion's second floor was even more spacious than the first.
Rows of antique-style sword racks stood in neat lines, displaying longswords of various designs.
Spiritual light flowed over their blades, their sharpness held in reserve.
Several martial artists with substantial presences were browsing among the racks, occasionally picking up a longsword to carefully sense the fluctuations of spiritual power within it.
The attendant pointed ahead, a measure of pride in her voice.
"Our spirit swords range from low-grade to high-grade yellow-tier, all crafted by renowned masters."
"If any catch your eye, young master, I can test them for you."
Chu Yunfei did not answer immediately.
He slowly walked along the racks, quietly releasing a wisp of soul sense.
Although the reserves of his divine soul accumulated in his previous life were limited by his current body, identifying a few low-tier spirit swords posed no problem.
One.
Two.
After examining more than a dozen spirit swords in succession, Chu Yunfei still had not stopped.
By Qingyang City's standards, these swords could indeed be considered fine pieces.
But in his eyes, their forging was too crude and their spiritual inscriptions were not connected tightly enough. The occasional sword with decent materials fell somewhat short in its balance.
They would do as temporary replacements.
But they fell far too short of accompanying him further.
Chu Yunfei shook his head as he walked.
Behind him, the attendant's smile gradually stiffened.
The Famous Sword Pavilion had devoted considerable effort to gathering these second-floor spirit swords.
Many Qi Condensation Realm and even Spirit Martial Realm martial artists came here to choose weapons.
Yet this youth had walked from one end to the other without finding a single one he liked.
The attendant's gaze moved between Chu Yunfei and the racks full of spirit swords, and she could not help wondering.
Was he here to buy a sword or to amuse himself at my expense?
After examining another row of sword racks, Chu Yunfei lost interest entirely.
"Is this all?"
The attendant's smile froze.
"Young master, these are already our pavilion's finest yellow-tier spirit swords."
Chu Yunfei shook his head and prepared to leave.
Just then, Xiaoxiao Dragon, who had been silent for a long while, suddenly spoke.
"Huh?"
"Wait, don't leave yet!"
Chu Yunfei stopped.
"What is it?"
"I never expected this. I really didn't."
A measure of surprise entered Xiaoxiao Dragon's voice.
"To think a place this small would hide a sword blank with Sword Qi sealed within it."
Chu Yunfei's heart stirred.
"Where?"
"In the left corner, on that dusty sword rack."
Chu Yunfei immediately turned to look.
A lone sword rack stood in the second floor's most inconspicuous corner.
A thin layer of dust had already settled over it.
An entirely pitch-black longsword lay quietly across it.
It had no scabbard or decorations.
Its blade was dull and lightless, without even any obvious fluctuations of spiritual power. It looked like a piece of black iron casually hammered into the shape of a longsword.
Without Xiaoxiao Dragon's reminder, Chu Yunfei's perception would almost have overlooked it outright.
Seeing him head toward the corner, the attendant's expression changed slightly, and she hurried after him.
"Young master, that sword..."
Chu Yunfei did not stop.
He went straight to the rack and reached out to grasp the pitch-black hilt.
The instant the hilt entered his hand, an astonishing weight pressed down through his arm.
Creak.
The wooden sword rack gave a soft creak.
Chu Yunfei's arm dipped slightly before he held the sword steady.
At least several hundred jin!
Despite its long, narrow blade, it weighed far more than an ordinary heavy sword. The material it had been forged from was anything but simple.
More importantly, when his palm touched the hilt, the Divine Cauldron of Heavenly Mandate in his sea of consciousness actually gave a faint tremor.
Hum.
Deep within the black blade, something that seemed to have slumbered for ages was briefly awakened.
Though it lasted only an instant, Chu Yunfei still caught it clearly.
A fine sword.
This is the one!
Chu Yunfei turned to the female attendant.
"I'll take this sword."
The smile gradually vanished from the attendant's face, replaced by a troubled look.
She hurriedly bowed, her tone apologetic.
"Young master, I'm truly sorry."
"This sword is not for sale at our pavilion."