To forge a single sword... yet require the blood sacrifice of a hundred thousand lives?
Chen Kuang had always thought those hundred thousand had merely died of starvation.
But if that many perished not by famine but by design, then perhaps that great drought at the Eastern Court Lake thirteen years ago was not a natural disaster at all...
And the sword's name: Wujian, "Unrelenting," or more literally, "No Interval."
It was frighteningly fitting.
Chen Kuang was silent for a while before asking, "This Sword Furnace Pavillon, is it a cultivator faction?"
"..."
Moments like this always reminded Shen Xingzhu that this man before her was, technically, only at the Qi Opening Realm, barely even exposed to the world of cultivation.
She replied coolly, "The Eight-Hundred Sword Furnaces of White Dragon River under Great Zhou, are the holy land of all swordsmiths beneath the heavens."
"If one speaks of swords, the first figure that cannot be ignored is the Sword Saint, who nearly ascended and now rests in meditation upon Mount Xushi."
"The second, is the Sword Furnace Pavillion."
"It has stood for 1,600 years. In that time, three famed swords have been forged: Tai A, Shenwu, and a blade known simply as 'Good Sword'."
"Today, Tai A rests in the Sword Saint's hands. Shenwu belongs to the Southern Dao Lord of my Mysterious Divine Path Sect. As for Good Sword... three years ago, because of a bet, it ended up in the hands of a beggar."
Chen Kuang's expression turned strange.
The first two swords sounded appropriately prestigious, but the third? A blade named Good Sword, given to a beggar over a bet? It was so bizarre it became interesting.
He wondered who had forged that particular sword...
"Apart from those three famed swords, only one Demon Sword has ever been forged."
"That Demon Sword, was Wujian."
Shen Xingzhu had no idea that her "student" was zoning out mid-lecture and continued matter-of-factly:
"Jie Kun was once the most talented disciple of the Sword Furnace Pavillion. The elders placed great hopes on him, believing he could forge the fourth famed sword."
"But he strayed onto a dark path."
"He believed only through blood sacrifice could one create a peerless sword."
"Wujian was the result of that belief."
At this, Chen Kuang furrowed his brow.
"A Demon Sword that required the deaths of a hundred thousand people... but back then, those deaths were due to drought, weren't they? What's the connection? How did he 'sacrifice' them?"
Shen Xingzhu paused, then said:
"He used the entire Eastern Court Lake as his quenching basin. That's what caused the lake to nearly dry up."
Chen Kuang's heart jolted. He couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.
At its widest, the Eastern Court Lake stretched for a thousand miles, it was a vast, endless expanse!
And this Jie Kun had turned that into a quenching pool for a sword?
More terrifying, the lake was actually drained almost dry in the process!
Just what material did this sword use? What temperatures were needed to temper it? The energy required must have been astronomical.
Enough, perhaps, to rival a modern hydrogen bomb...
And now that ticking time bomb... might just be inside the little slop bucket girl?
Chen Kuang's scalp tingled.
Shen Xingzhu continued,
"After the lake dried, all ten thousand karmic threads tied to those deaths converged onto Jie Kun and the sword. Wujian became a hell-forged blade, thick with resentment."
"When Sword Furnace Pavillion members finally arrived, Jie Kun leapt into the furnace, completing the final step of the forging process."
"But oddly... no sword was recovered from the furnace."
"Wujian disappeared without a trace, becoming a mystery lost to time."
Chen Kuang rubbed his temples.
"And now, thirteen years later, it reappears."
Thanks to Xi Mengquan and his endless schemes, Chen Kuang was starting to suspect everything was a setup. The sword's timing felt too coincidental, it was giving him PTSD.
But surely Xi Mengquan didn't nudge Jie Kun down the demonic path?
The nameless musician in his memories, Xi Mengquan's disguised identity, had been lazy, roguish, but never wicked.
But... that was the musician. Xi Mengquan? That was another matter entirely...
Shen Xingzhu added,
"My master asked me to pass this on to you: this Demon Sword must never fall into evil hands. The Mysterious Divine Path Sect cannot openly interfere in mortal affairs, so whether it's destroyed or hidden, I will assist you."
Chen Kuang raised a brow.
"So the immortal sister has been officially assigned to protect me now?"
Shen Xingzhu replied flatly,
"A master's orders cannot be defied."
She sounded deeply reluctant.
It looks like she really had been hoping to make a move during this mission...
Chen Kuang smiled in silence.
He didn't press the issue with a petty question like "Did you tattle to your master about how I ruined your Dao heart?"
He already knew the answer, unless absolutely necessary, she would never expose such a thing.
Because if questioned, it would be her own cultivation path that would suffer.
Still, with her master intervening, at least until this Demon Sword business was resolved, Shen Xingzhu posed no immediate threat to him.
Chen Kuang stowed the longevity lock and, together with Shen Meinan, departed for the Envious Fish Hermitage to seek out Qi Sibai.
Since Shen Meinan had traveled with Qi Sibai for a month before, she had an easier rapport with him, she would do the talking.
As for Chu Wenruo and her daughter, with Qingcuo standing guard, there was no real risk.
A Middle Third-Rank cultivator wasn't someone you could find growing on trees. In all of Jishao Prefecture, those who could pose a threat to Qingcuo were only very few.
In fact, Chen Kuang had probably seen more middle-tier cultivators since transmigrating than most people would encounter in a lifetime.
As they walked, Shen Meinan suddenly turned serious and offered,
"You don't move very easily. Here, take my hand. It's still a long way to the Envious Fish Hermitage."
Chen Kuang looked at her, surprised.
Didn't she already know that he wasn't blind?
Then he saw the sly gleam in her eyes, the playful flutter of her lashes.
Chen Kuang smiled.
"All right. Just don't let go, you might lose me."
Shen Meinan nodded earnestly and took his hand, leading him through the busy streets all the way to their destination.
Naturally, she wasn't so naive as to walk the whole way. She used a form of body movement technique even more refined than Qingcuo's.
After all, walking from the Chen residence to the Envious Fish Hermitage would normally take days.
...
"Wow... The Envious Fish Hermitage really is huge. No wonder they say it was built by cultivators."
Shen Meinan couldn't help but exclaim.
Though it was called a "hermitage," the place was anything but humble. It was a massive lakeside estate designed like a classical garden, peaceful and elegant.
A steady stream of people came and went, wealthy nobles and refined scholars, all clad in fine robes.
Cultivators, oddly enough, were rare to see.
Suddenly, a burst of noise and laughter erupted nearby.
Chen Kuang turned to look.
A group of young scholars had arrived at the hermitage. They all wore white scholar robes, boys and girls alike, around sixteen or seventeen years old.
Bright-eyed, full of youthful energy, discussing poems and literary feats.
In the midst of them, encircled like the moon among stars, was none other than his little sister, Chen Ning.
The young men surrounding her were all visibly shy, while she responded with polite smiles and distant courtesy.
Apparently, the title "Eastern Court Talented Lady" carried real weight.
So this was the poetry gathering she mentioned...
Chen Kuang withdrew his gaze, he had never intended to participate anyway.
He continued toward his goal with Shen Meinan.
Yet, surprisingly, the moment they entered Envious Fish Hermitage, a greeter approached them immediately.
The attendant, though lightly cultivated, bowed with a practiced smile and said:
"You two must be here to see Immortal Master Qi?"
Looking at both of them for confirmation, he added:
"Mister Ruogu, Miss Shen, Immortal Master Qi has been expecting you."
Chen Kuang raised his brow and exchanged glances with Shen Meinan.
This Heavenly Observatory Division... really does have some tricks up its sleeve.