The two returned to the sect with their tails between their legs. Qi Yan bid Jing Chuan farewell, his heart bleeding.
Why had I played the big brother? Why had I shown off... Jing Chuan was supposed to treat me. His family ran that entire city-a rich second-generation heir through and through. Instead, that little act had emptied out my last spirit stones. Now I'm even more miserably broke than I was in the Qi Clan.
Still, at least he had obtained the Thunder-Water Metal without any complications. Now he could start refining his weapon.
As for troubles within and threats without, his master had already said he need not concern himself... In fact, if even a mere Jing Chuan could see those things, there was no way his master did not know. With the weight of ten thousand years of ups and downs behind her, she surely needed no unsolicited advice from him.
This trip had more or less given him a deeper understanding of the circumstances surrounding a so-called great sect and its worldview, broadening his horizons. He really had been a bit of a country bumpkin before, ignorant of many things and utterly clueless about the world's balance of power.
What a waste of his old armchair political expertise.
Never mind. Making rash judgments based on a shallow understanding was no good. His master had her own plans; his task was to cultivate.
Qi Yan briskly moved the forge into the artifact-refining room inside his cave abode.
This would be the first magical artifact of Qi Yan's life... Oh, the earring did not count... Wait, neither did the storage ring.
The reason he dared work with Foundation Establishment-grade materials while still at the Qi Refining Stage was that he did not need to supply the power himself. This was the cave abode Mu Xunzhen had given Jiang Jinyue, a blessed land of true immortal spiritual energy. It had earth fire specifically for the purpose. Never mind refining a few Foundation Establishment materials-with its intensity, it could probably refine even Nascent Soul materials.
Besides, adding this material was relatively simple. He did not need to melt down the sword blank his master had given him as well. He only needed to melt the Thunder-Water Metal and coat the sword blank with it, completing the final step.
Qi Yan carefully fired up the forge and controlled the flames. As he watched the metal gradually melt, his restless mind slowly settled through the smelting process. He almost had the illusion that life flowed within the liquid metal, and gradually forgot himself.
This was the most basic state of the Dao for a Dao cultivator. In theory, Dao cultivators ought to value serenity and nonaction above all. Who knew how the atmosphere everywhere had become so tense...
Before he knew it, the metal had melted completely. Qi Yan carefully applied an even coating to the sword blank.
A faint tremor came from the blade, its cause unknown.
Something stirred in Qi Yan's heart.
This was artifact refining, not forging. As his lifebound magical artifact, the sword needed some form of connection to him. But he had yet to begin cultivating his soul and lacked even the most basic perception. How was he to connect with it?
At that moment, the sword blank gave him the answer. His master had left a strand of divine sense within it. When the sword was completed, it would take the initiative to guide the weapon into resonance with his soul sea. He only needed to provide a bond of his own.
What was there to hesitate over... Qi Yan immediately took the sword and cut his palm. Blood quenched its edge, and a faint radiance rose from the blade. A feeling like a blood connection seemed to pass from the sword into his body and onward to his spiritual seat, as though sword and body had formed an unseen bond at that moment.
Quenched in blood and given its edge, the sword was complete.
The longsword was no longer the dull sword blank it had been. Its surface bore a hint of ice-crystal color, with faint glimmers of lightning occasionally darting across it. It looked incredibly cool.
Enduring the pain in his palm, Qi Yan held the longsword and examined it over and over. The satisfaction in his heart could not have been greater. He could even feel the treasured sword in his hand conveying the same joy.
Though he knew full well that was an illusion. A sword of this grade had no humanlike emotions; it was simply lifebound resonance.
Yet this spiritual satisfaction and delight surpassed even his earlier breakthroughs.
A surge of power rose from his dantian, answering his spiritual seat above. He silently broke through the sixth level of Qi Refining and went straight to the threshold of the seventh.
This was the cultivation through spiritual fulfillment that both Dao cultivators and Buddhists so often emphasized.
Qi Yan suddenly realized that his instinctive choice to quench and sharpen the sword with blood also accorded with Witchcraft. Many similar "sacrificial rites" in Witchcraft emphasized precisely this.
Sure enough, the methods of Dao cultivation and Witchcraft could transform into one another. It was not a matter of having to cultivate twice as much, as he had initially understood. Rather, either method could advance his cultivation. What required extra time was merely mastering two different sets of practical methods.
Having started, Qi Yan decided to see it through. Taking advantage of his excellent mental state, he immediately sat cross-legged on the ice-jade bed and attempted to break straight into the seventh level.
That was the late Qi Refinement Stage. Once he crossed that threshold, he would no longer be as aimless as before. A very concrete goal would emerge to spur him on:
Foundation Establishment.
The foundation of the immortal Dao that so many cultivators endured untold hardships to obtain.
Before entering meditation, a thought actually drifted through his hazy mind: I have to advance sooner. When I meet Little Crybaby offline someday, I can't look too old...
Little Crybaby was currently caught in the same hesitation Qi Yan had experienced earlier.
She had something else she wanted to ask Brother A-Yan, but she felt that approaching him only when she needed something might not be very nice. Brother A-Yan needed to cultivate too.
But was she supposed to contact him for no reason? What would she say?
Say... say that Little Crybaby wanted to talk to him?
Little Crybaby bit her lower lip, her gaze wandering.
Ever since exposing the relationships among her fellow disciples, Little Crybaby had become even lonelier. She did not want to see any of her senior brothers and spent practically all her time in seclusion, tucked away in her little cave abode. The lonelier she grew, the more she wanted to talk to Brother A-Yan.
She was just terribly afraid Brother A-Yan would think Little Crybaby had no self-respect. She had already become a little jealousy bag. If he thought she was a little flirt bag too, she would be done for.
But was she supposed to keep dithering like this forever?
Maybe she would be better off gathering her courage and confessing... That old-woman master, that business about keeping a cat-perhaps none of it would matter once she confessed.
While her mind was full of girlish romantic thoughts, a sect announcement rang through the mountains. "All Golden Core Stage disciples currently in the sect are to assemble at the main hall in one hour to receive arrangements for this round's Golden Core trial."
Little Crybaby sprang to her feet.
The Wondrous God Sect often organized trials like these; they were an irregular tradition of sorts. Every trial was quite dangerous, but the training and rewards were substantial. Things like the Essence-Nurturing Grass she had obtained before had come from occasions like these.
She had been poor lately too, with barely enough resources left for normal cultivation. Now that she had reached Golden Core, taking missions was no longer much use. This was precisely what she had wanted to discuss with Brother A-Yan: how to handle her current resource situation, and whether she should go traveling on her own to train.
And now a sect trial had arrived.
But compared with going out to train on her own, a sect trial now presented a serious problem.
Her fellow disciples harbored ill intent toward her... If she trained alone, no one would know her whereabouts. A group trial like this, on the other hand, might expose her to unknown dangers.
Her previous trials had been at the Foundation Establishment level. At the late Foundation Establishment Stage, she had been able to look down proudly upon her peers, yet even then she had often ended up covered in wounds. Now she was entering Golden Core-level trials while only at early Golden Core herself. If she faced malicious targeting again, something terrible might happen.
The sect was actually more dangerous than being outside alone. What an irony.
Little Crybaby stopped agonizing, took out her jade pendant, and made the call.
Qi Yan happened to finish his cultivation just then, shaking his head slightly.
Trying to charge straight through to the late Qi Refining Stage in one go had been a little too idealistic. Sure enough, he was still a little short... Perhaps going out for some "exercise cultivation" would be better?
As he pondered this, his jade pendant vibrated. This time, it really was Little Crybaby.
An indulgent, auntie-like smile unconsciously spread across Qi Yan's face. "Little Crybaby, what's up?"
Hearing the fondness overflowing from Qi Yan's voice, Little Crybaby blushed a little too. Warmth filled her heart, and even her voice grew several degrees softer and sweeter. "Can't I call to chat with you when nothing's wrong, Brother?"
Look at what she had been thinking earlier, and what she was saying now! Little Crybaby felt as though her brain had broken. Her heart thumped wildly.
Qi Yan did not seem to find anything wrong with that. His tone remained just as doting. "Of course you can. Honestly, after not hearing your voice for a few days, I felt like something was missing too."
Little Crybaby was delighted. "You feel that way too, Brother A-Yan? Then... then why didn't you contact me?"
"We both need to cultivate. I was afraid I'd disturb you."
"You wouldn't. I don't have an old woman forcing me."
Qi Yan: "?"
"Ahem." Little Crybaby gave a dry cough. "I mean, I have more freedom in my cultivation..."
Qi Yan said, "You should still put a little pressure on yourself. Your circumstances aren't good... Following our earlier plan, you need to become the strongest disciple before your master leaves seclusion. Things will be different then. Don't slack off."
"Mm-hmm." Little Crybaby seized the chance to change the subject. "But I'm short on resources now. Brother, do you think I should apply to go out and train on my own, or join the sect trial?"
Qi Yan sounded deeply pained. "So you're short of money too..."
"Huh?"
"Oh, nothing, nothing. Are you asking because you think going through a trial with your fellow disciples would be unsafe?"
"Yes, but the sect trials are specifically designed for people at our cultivation level. Whether or not we find anything good during the trial, the sect's rewards for an excellent performance are always very suitable for us. If I go out alone, I won't have a clear goal. I'd be lost. Brother, which do you think I should choose?"
Qi Yan casually asked, "What was it you needed?"
Little Crybaby said, "I'm at the third level of Golden Core, preparing to break through to the middle stage..."
Qi Yan: "?"
"So I need some pills to help me break through, like a Liquid Condensation Pill. If I perform well in the trial, the sect will definitely reward me with one directly. If I go outside, I won't know where to find one..."
Qi Yan said, "Hmm... Would gathering the ingredients and refining it yourself be feasible?"
"Buying just the medicinal ingredients is much cheaper than buying finished pills, of course. Once those pill refiners turn them into pills, they dare sell them for dozens of times the ingredients' price... But I haven't studied pill refining, and I don't know the recipe."
"Wait a moment."
Qi Yan went out again, rode his earring to the scripture library in an instant, and searched through the pill-related texts. "Liquid Condensation Pill. The recipe calls for Snow Condensation Flower, Jade Cauldron Flower, supplemented with..."
On the other end, Little Crybaby's eyes had turned into spirals.
Not because Brother A-Yan was knowledgeable. It was perfectly normal for him to be knowledgeable.
What was truly strange was that these ingredients seemed far too cheap... Was he sure there was no mistake?
Qi Yan was saying, "Knowing the recipe doesn't mean I'm telling you not to join the trial. It just gives you something to fall back on, so you won't have to risk your life in obviously dangerous situations. With a different mindset, you'll have more room to advance or retreat."
Little Crybaby instinctively stood at attention. "I know what to do now."
It was more than just knowing what to do... Little Crybaby was gradually awakening her troublemaking streak. Hesitantly, she asked for advice. "Brother A-Yan, with such a cheap recipe, could I get a pill refiner to make it now, secretly break through to the middle Golden Core Stage, then conceal my cultivation with a witch curse before entering the trial? If anyone really tries something while treating me as early Golden Core, I could take half their life."
Qi Yan's expression was quite a sight. "That's a good idea. Use your own judgment... Wait, you said this recipe was cheap?"
"Yes... Those ingredients you mentioned grow everywhere around here."
Qi Yan could no longer hold back. "Where are you?"
"I'm on Seven Kills Continent. What about you, Brother?"
"I'm on Heavenly Prefecture Continent."
Seven Kills, the sixth of the Six Continents of Tiannan, stood opposite the first continent, Heavenly Prefecture Continent, at the other end. This truly spanned the entire world, far away at the ends of the earth.
With such a vast geographical distance, differences in local produce and value were perfectly normal. There was nothing to say about that.
Unfortunately, their little hope of meeting face-to-face-"if only we were in the same city"-was instantly dashed to pieces. Both sighed at the same time.
Heavenly Prefecture Continent... Little Crybaby secretly clenched her little fists to encourage herself. I'll go there sooner or later.