Chanyi

"Junior Brother Fang, make yourself comfortable and have some tea. Before long, sword cultivators will come over to talk to you!"

Tie Feng settled Fang Yu at a separate tea table and gave him a few words of instruction before going to greet the newly arrived cultivators.

Fang Yu sat down and took a bite of a pastry from the table. His eyes lit up. This is Spirit Cuisine!

He took a sip of tea and discovered that it was spirit tea as well.

He couldn't help marveling to himself. This Tie Household disciple was extravagant, serving guests Spirit Cuisine and spirit tea.

A pot of tea like this alone would cost at least one Metal Fire Stone at the market. Add the several different plates of pastries on the table, and the price would start at no less than ten Metal Fire Stones.

Back in the day, he had only managed to save twelve Metal Fire Stones in an entire year.

How extravagant!

That was what Fang Yu thought, but his mouth didn't stop for a moment. He drank tea and ate pastries, polishing off all four plates in no time.

Just as he was considering moving to an empty seat for another round, a maid came over, brought him four more plates of pastries, and replaced his tea with a fresh pot.

"Wonderful, wonderful!"

Fang Yu nodded repeatedly, picked up another pastry, and popped it into his mouth.

As time passed, more and more people filled the courtyard. Some, like Fang Yu, drank tea at their own tables, while others gathered in groups of three or five around sword cultivators to strike up conversations.

He caught a little of what they were saying from a distance. They were essentially selling themselves, talking about how good their External Alchemy Techniques were and how they could certainly forge a Profound Grade flying sword.

Fang Yu immediately felt as though he were at a venture capital café, asking investors for money.

Well, this little gathering really did seem to be about attracting investment. The only difference was that they were looking for Tie Household sword cultivators willing to support them in accumulating cultivation experience as investors.

"You're Fang Yu!"

While Fang Yu was eating, a long, slender leg entered his field of vision. He looked up to see a female sword cultivator with her hair tied in a ponytail, looking down at him from above.

Fang Yu stood up. "That's me. May I ask who you are, fellow cultivator?"

"Tie Chanyi!" The female sword cultivator's voice was icy. "I can provide you with ample materials to practice with. Are you confident you can forge a Profound Grade flying sword within ten years?"

Fang Yu thought for a moment, then asked, "How ample, exactly?"

Tie Chanyi said, "Three sets of materials for a Yellow Grade flying sword each year. If you can forge one Yellow Grade flying sword, you can use it to claim another three sets of Yellow Grade flying sword materials the following year. After ten years, I'll provide you with three sets of materials for a Profound Grade flying sword. In the meantime, if you can't consistently forge Yellow Grade flying swords, our cooperation will automatically end."

One Yellow Grade flying sword is worth enough to offset the cost of three sets of materials. If my skills aren't good enough, we'll probably only cooperate for one year, and Tie Chanyi will lose at most three sets of materials. If I can keep forging them, she won't lose money either. That's a shrewd investment.

The thought flashed through Fang Yu's mind, and he opened his mouth wide like a lion. "Six sets of Yellow Grade materials each year. I guarantee I'll forge two Yellow Grade flying swords. After ten years, you'll likewise have to provide six sets of materials for a Profound Grade flying sword. Only then will I be confident I can advance to the Dao Foundation and forge a Profound Grade flying sword."

Tie Chanyi's icy face twitched slightly at his words, and undisguised disgust appeared on her face. "You really are insatiably greedy. But I don't care, as long as you can forge a Profound Grade flying sword."

This Tie Chanyi really is direct!

A professional smile appeared on Fang Yu's face. He liked people who wore everything on their faces best.

The two then signed a contract setting out the terms of their agreement. Afterward, Tie Chanyi tossed him a storage gourd.

"You'd better keep your word!" she said, then turned and left.

Fang Yu caught the gourd and swept it with his Divine Thought, detecting six sets of materials inside, along with a booklet.

This young lady of the Tie Household really is generous. She even gave me the storage gourd outright.

Fang Yu took out the booklet, whose cover bore the words "Flowing Flame True Fire Sword." When he opened it, he found detailed instructions on how to forge the Yellow Grade flying sword, the Flowing Flame True Fire Sword.

Fang Yu skimmed through it, and his heart skipped a beat.

It was as though the flying sword had been tailor-made for him-or rather, he had been tailor-made for the flying sword.

That was because the most crucial requirement for forging it was a Molten Edge Flow cultivator who practiced the Flowing Flame True Fire Scripture. Only someone proficient in Flowing Flame True Fire could forge it.

"No wonder Tie Chanyi was willing to work with me even though she disliked me so much. So I'm the only one who can forge the flying sword she wants..."

As the thought crossed Fang Yu's mind, he saw that Tie Chanyi had already approached another Firestone laborer.

"...along with other Firestone laborers who practice the Flowing Flame True Fire Scripture."

Tie Chanyi was investing in multiple people. Presumably, everyone at this little gathering who practiced the Flowing Flame True Fire Scripture would receive an investment from her.

These Tie Household disciples really are loaded. She's only just reached the Qi Ingestion Third Layer, and she's already investing so lavishly for a flying sword. It really makes me green with envy and seething with jealousy.

Fang Yu felt rather unbalanced. When he had been at the Qi Ingestion Third Layer, all he had thought about was paying off his cave abode loan as quickly as possible, while she was thinking about forging a Profound Grade flying sword.

The worst part was that she could actually produce such a lavish quantity of materials. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

Fang Yu immediately began stuffing pieces of Spirit Cuisine into his mouth and gulping down spirit tea. Only after eating several plates of pastries in a row did he feel a little better.

Then he fiercely devoured several more plates of pastries and put more than ten plates into his storage gourd before striding off and returning to his cave abode.

Once in the metal and stone room, he took out the six sets of materials and opened the booklet, studying its contents while familiarizing himself with the precious metal and stone materials.

Although all six sets of materials were only Yellow Grade, they still represented a considerable fortune to him. As long as he succeeded in forging two Yellow Grade flying swords, the remaining materials would all count as his earnings.

As for what would happen if he failed? What else could happen? Tie Chanyi would simply have to count herself unlucky for making a failed investment.

Several days passed in the blink of an eye.

Fang Yu read the booklet carefully several times before picking up a piece of Flowing Flame Stone. The lines on his palm lit up, slowly melting the stone. He then used the method in the booklet to refine out its impurities and increase its purity.

In just a moment, the Flowing Flame Stone in his hand shrank by more than half, turning into a mass of molten iron that floated above his palm.

"My Flowing Flame True Fire has been purified and refined by the Yuanchen Pearl. Handling this Flowing Flame Stone is as easy as snatching something into my hand. I got through virtually all the problems mentioned in the booklet on the first try. Looks like I really didn't open my lion's mouth wide enough this time. If I'd known it was this easy, I should have asked her for eight or ten sets."

Fang Yu licked the corner of his mouth and enveloped the molten iron with his Divine Thought. The next moment, it began to stretch, taking the shape of a three-foot-long sword. As the lines on his palm dimmed, the molten iron slowly began to set.

Next comes the most crucial step: shaping the spirit patterns!

Fang Yu concentrated his Divine Thought, controlling the minute structures inside the sword's blade to form spirit patterns that would merge with it as it cooled.

"Boom..."

Suddenly, the formation patterns inside the sword lit up and exploded like a short circuit, sending fragments flying in every direction.

"I failed..."

Fang Yu's expression darkened. His Divine Thought rippled out, gathering the fragments back together. He melted them down again, then continued trying to shape the spirit patterns.

It couldn't be more normal to fail on my first attempt at forging a flying sword. As long as I try a few more times, I'll certainly succeed...