Chapter 8

So good that he could not bear to tell Shen Duheng the news.

Shan Heyuan sighed silently.

If he told Shen Duheng that the broken sword fragment could be taken out, Shen Duheng would leave, wouldn't he?

After all, the man was so formidable. The world was vast; where could he not go?

But Shen Duheng had helped him so much. If he kept the news to himself, he would have to spit on himself.

Shan Heyuan clenched his fists and rested his hands on his knees. His expression changed again and again as he struggled to decide.

Just as Shan Heyuan was fretting, a knock suddenly came at the door.

He jolted, arching his back like a cat with its fur standing on end as he looked toward the door. "Brother Shen?"

Shen Duheng said, "It's me."

With that, Shen Duheng gently pushed the door open. The old wooden door gave an overburdened creak that sounded especially grating in the quiet night.

Shan Heyuan looked at the tall figure in the doorway and instinctively clenched his fists. "Brother Shen, it's so late. Why are you still awake?"

There was no lamp lit in the room. Shen Duheng had opened the door from outside, and the moonlight was behind him.

Even though Shan Heyuan had cultivation now, he could not make out his expression.

Shan Heyuan drew his fist back and held it against his Dantian, intending to hide the broken sword fragment in his palm inside it.

Halfway through, he forced himself to stop, then held out his hand to Shen Duheng with a strained smile. "Brother Shen."

At that moment, he looked just like a dejected puppy, though he was completely unaware of it himself.

He said, "I was just able to take the broken sword fragment out. Here, I'm giving it back."

As he spoke, he held out his hand and struggled to open his fingers. The broken sword fragment lay quietly in his palm.

Shen Duheng's gaze fell first on his face, then on his hand.

Shan Heyuan sat stiffly in his chair. "I checked it. The broken sword fragment is in very good condition. I just took it out and was going to tell you, but I hadn't gotten around to it."

Shen Duheng took it in silence.

Shan Heyuan turned his face toward Shen Duheng, his voice tight. "Brother Shen, now that you have the broken sword fragment, you should be able to move around freely, right? What do you want to do from now on? Are you staying in Jingzhishan Town?"

Shen Duheng studied the broken sword fragment intently.

Shan Heyuan forced a smile. "If you go somewhere else, remember to write to me when it's convenient."

Shen Duheng said, "I'm not leaving for now."

"Really?!" Shan Heyuan's face lit up at once, his eyes sparkling with delighted surprise. "That's wonderful!! I was just thinking of persuading you to stay. It's nice here, and we could keep each other company. Wait, I still owe you spirit pearls..."

Seeing his expression, Shen Duheng nodded. "The broken sword has recognized you as its master. I won't be leaving anytime soon."

Shan Heyuan said, "What?"

Shan Heyuan looked at the broken sword fragment in Shen Duheng's hand, his expression uncertain. "Are you sure? I didn't feel anything at all. Didn't it just burrow into my Dantian?"

Shen Duheng said, "There's only one small fragment of the broken sword. What could you feel? If you have a chance to gather all the fragments someday, perhaps you'll feel it then."

Shan Heyuan scratched his cheek. "True. But-"

Shan Heyuan looked at Shen Duheng cautiously. "Now that only the broken sword fragment is left, does that affect you? Do you need to gather all the broken sword fragments?"

Shen Duheng seemed not to have expected the question. He gave him a surprised glance, his gaze deep.

Shan Heyuan keenly noticed that Shen Duheng's expression had suddenly grown somewhat gloomy. Perhaps he had recalled something unpleasant.

That made sense. The spirit sword had been shattered like this, so nothing good could have happened back then.

He had actually wanted to ask how the spirit sword had broken, but given the situation, it was hardly appropriate to ask more, so he sensibly swallowed his extra questions.

Shen Duheng said mildly, "It doesn't affect me much. Not all sword spirits have a close connection to their spirit swords."

Shan Heyuan knew nothing about these rules of the cultivation world, so he nodded at Shen Duheng's words.

Shen Duheng handed the broken sword fragment back to him. "Since it has recognized you as its master, keep it. It was also fate. The higher your cultivation, the better the spirit sword's condition will be. Cultivate diligently."

Looking at the broken sword fragment in his palm, Shan Heyuan nodded solemnly. "I'll definitely cultivate diligently!"

Shen Duheng nodded and gestured for him to return the broken sword to his Dantian.

Shan Heyuan said, "All right! I'll put it back in first, then. Tell me when you need me to take it out."

Chapter 8

After reaching the Qi Refining Third Stage, Shan Heyuan suddenly had many more things he could do.

For example, he could engrave Spirit Gathering Talismans.

Before, he had always bought talisman blanks and commissioned Zhong Shuran to engrave them. Now that his cultivation was high enough, he saved those spirit pearls and engraved them himself.

To do so, he had to give up his midday naps and use the time to engrave talismans.

Shan Heyuan sat at his workbench.

The broad tabletop was a mess. He did not tidy it, merely pushing things aside to clear a small space to work.

At the moment, however, he was not working. Instead, he was holding the broken sword fragment and examining it over and over.

It had been late the night before, and he had not been able to see it clearly.

Now, sitting beneath the window in the bright, abundant light of midday, he could make out every detail of the broken sword fragment.

The fragment itself was made of wood, but it was beginning to turn to jade, making it especially lustrous and warm-looking.

The fragment bore the wood's own grain. The lines were very faint and looked quite profound and mysterious.

Every time Shan Heyuan looked at it, it captured his entire attention. Whenever he studied the broken sword fragment, he always felt as though his consciousness had immersed itself in a vast and mysterious world.

He looked at it again and again, then tentatively tried to return the broken sword fragment to his Dantian.

Now, to put it back, he only had to place the broken sword fragment outside his Dantian and use his consciousness to stir the Dantian. The broken sword would then be "swallowed" inside. It was quite wondrous.

He kept feeling that the Dantian had something in common with spatial Law Artifacts.

He did not have a spatial Law Artifact, but Ma Rupei did.

Early that morning, he had even gone out of his way to ask Ma Rupei what it felt like to use a spatial Law Artifact. Sure enough, as he had expected, using a Dantian felt very much like using one.

Shan Heyuan closed his eyes and carefully sensed the broken sword he had returned to his Dantian.

This was a sensation of Divine Sense rather than the five senses. He could not actually see or touch it, but he could indeed sense the broken sword's presence.

A cultivator's Dantian was truly wondrous.

A smile appeared on Shan Heyuan's face. He took the broken sword out again and played with it in his palm.

The Spirit Gathering Talismans he had just engraved were scattered across the workbench.

The Spirit Gathering Talismans were about the same size as the broken sword. Shan Heyuan looked at the broken sword, then at the talismans, and inspiration struck. He put a Spirit Gathering Talisman into his Dantian.

Putting in the Spirit Gathering Talisman did not go as smoothly as putting in the broken sword, but it went in all the same.

With the Spirit Gathering Talisman in his Dantian, it did not feel as comfortable as it had with the broken sword, but it was still bearable.

Shan Heyuan's eyes lit up. He searched the workbench, trying to find something else to put into his Dantian.

Just how much could his Dantian hold?

As he rummaged about, Shen Duheng came over and knocked on the table. "Stop playing."

Shan Heyuan jumped and hastily pushed the things in his hands forward. "What?"

Shen Duheng's words carried a warning. "Don't play with your Dantian anymore."

Shan Heyuan was instantly overcome with embarrassment. He coughed lightly. "Why? Is it dangerous?"

Shen Duheng said, "Only objects containing Spiritual Qi can be placed in the Dantian. Sometimes an object's Spiritual Qi conflicts with the cultivator's own Spiritual Qi and harms the cultivator. You can't just stuff things in at random."

"Oh." Shan Heyuan nodded, taking the lesson to heart, then asked, "Brother Shen, why can a Dantian hold things?"

Shen Duheng said, "Because everyone has the potential to become a small world."

Shan Heyuan did not understand.

Shen Duheng explained further. "Every cultivator who sets foot on the path of cultivation has the potential to ascend, and ascension allows one to open up a new world. The Dantian is the embryonic form of a small world, and the process of cultivation is also the process of opening up a new world."

Shan Heyuan understood a little. This was a basic attribute of being human. "Brother Shen, are spatial Law Artifacts like storage rings made with the Dantian as their model?"