Chapter 126: Small Accessory of the Qingfeng Sword

Ever since her resurrection, the Immortal Fairy had suffered one setback after another. First, her attempt to frighten Lu Yang had failed, resulting instead in a sound thrashing from Yun Zhi. Later, eager to prove her own utility, she had tried to possess Lu Yang to fight far above his level, only to be thoroughly taught a lesson.

Now she realized that clinging to her past experiences simply would not work. The mindset of modern cultivators was far more dynamic than that of the ancient era; moreover, they pooled their efforts, accumulating cultivation insights across every single realm.

The latter was utterly unimaginable in ancient times, where even brothers of the same sect engaged in overt and covert struggles, scheming against one another and fighting for resources. How could a sect or tribe unconditionally share their own cultivation insights?

Oh, there was one exception—the ancient Barbarian Tribe, who actually enjoyed discussing their respective cultivation experiences within the clan.

Lu Yang stretched thoroughly, standing up to perform a set of radio gymnastics to loosen his limbs. His bones popped and cracked, bringing a strange sense of comfort.

"Where are you planning to go?"

"To the Hundred Refinements Peak, to customize a weapon."

When Lu Yang arrived at the Hundred Refinements Peak, he found the dining hall as bustling as ever.

The Immortal Fairy said in surprise, "Oh? Your Asking Sect provides rather good food, seeing how so many disciples come to buy meals."

Lu Yang nodded. "The quality of the food is indeed excellent."

However, the destination of this trip was not the dining hall, but the Hall of Hundred Refinements situated on the other side of the mountainside.

The dining hall sold commonly used weapons; while good, they were not necessarily suitable for everyone.

Thus, the Hall of Hundred Refinements had come into being, garrisoned by master weapon-refiners who specialized in selling custom-made armaments.

"Are you... Senior Brother Lu Yang?" A voice of surprise called out to Lu Yang at the entrance of the Hall of Hundred Refinements.

Lu Yang looked at the other person and realized, "You are Li Haoran from the same intake as me!"

In Lu Yang's cohort, there were only three individuals with single spiritual roots: Lu Yang's Sword Spiritual Root, Meng Jingzhou's Single Spiritual Root, and Li Haoran's Fire Spiritual Root.

"A little over a month ago, I heard Senior Sister Zhou Lulu say you were taking a bath in magma. Have you finally managed to come out?"

At the mention of the magma bath, Li Haoran's expression turned exceedingly grim, as if recalling some terrible ordeal.

"I finally met Master's requirements—learning to skin-dive in magma, eating fire lizards raw, and successfully establishing my foundation. I was just about to look for Master to ask what the next step is, but Senior Sister Zhou Lulu said she hasn't seen him for three days and has no idea where he went."

Lu Yang thought to himself, could the Fifth Elder and his own master share such deep bonds that he was accompanying Master in meditation?

"After Foundation Establishment, one needs to go to the Mission Hall to receive sect missions."

Li Haoran nodded; he had heard the senior brothers mention this before.

"Do you know the way? Shall I accompany you?" Since the boy called him Senior Brother Lu Yang, Lu Yang felt he ought to fulfill the duties of a senior brother.

"Then I shall thank Senior Brother in advance."

On the way to the Mission Hall, Lu Yang learned about Li Haoran's background. Both of his parents were cultivators whose cultivations were not particularly high, only at the Foundation Establishment stage. When they discovered Li Haoran possessed a Fire Spiritual Root, words could not describe their joy, and they doted on him as much as possible.

This had also caused Li Haoran to become arrogant and impatient.

For instance, when climbing the Mind-Asking Mountain, Li Haoran's Dao heart had been unsteady. Many with inferior talent reached the fiftieth step before him, while he only managed to ascend at the very end.

Lu Yang guessed that the Fifth Elder, Zhou Xin, had seen through Li Haoran's flaws and deliberately made him soak in magma for a year to temper his Dao heart.

Looking at him now, the results were remarkable.

At the Mission Hall, the two searched all around but could not find a mission suitable for Li Haoran.

"Right, do you know how to refine weapons?"

"Naturally. Master said I already possess the top weapon-refining skills for the Foundation Establishment stage." A Fire Spiritual Root was most suited for smithing, and Li Haoran had spent a year learning weapon-refining knowledge in the magma.

"How about this? I will issue a refining mission, and you can accept it. You get to complete a mission, and my purpose for refining a weapon will also be achieved." Lu Yang had thought this through long ago; the blacksmiths at the Hall of Hundred Refinements started at the Golden Core stage and were expensive, whereas the weapon he needed to refine did not require such a high-level master.

"Senior Brother Lu Yang, you don't need to accommodate me. I can just come back to the Mission Hall in a few days."

Lu Yang shook his head. "I am not accommodating you. I happen to need something refined, and you are the most suitable candidate."

"The most suitable?" Li Haoran felt somewhat flattered.

Lu Yang nodded. "Yes, you are the cheapest."

Li Haoran: "..."

The two returned to Li Haoran's forging room. When Lu Yang pulled out the Azure Edge Sword, Li Haoran leaped in fright. The quality of the Azure Edge Sword was absurdly high; how could someone at his Foundation Establishment stage modify it?

"No, no, no, Senior Brother Lu, you had better find someone else. My skill is limited, I cannot refine this kind of sword."

Knowing he had misunderstood, Lu Yang smiled. "You misunderstand. It's not about refining this sword; I want to add some small decorative components to the exterior of this blade."

Li Haoran let out a sigh of relief. This was simple. "Are there blueprints?"

"Yes."

Lu Yang was well-prepared, pulling out a blueprint that was four meters in both length and width. No matter how one looked at it, it did not resemble "small components."

Seeing the contents of the blueprint, Li Haoran's expression grew even more bizarre. It was not difficult to refine, but this thing looked completely unrelated to standard decorations.

At the very least, he had never seen a decoration that looked like this.

"I plan to learn the flying sword technique recently. A sword cultivator, after all, how can one not use a sword? But flying about in the sky without any traffic rules is far too dangerous. Out of safety considerations, I designed this blueprint."

"I intend to sit inside a steel shell when operating the flying sword technique, with the flying sword installed beneath the steel shell to serve as the propulsion."

"Install chairs inside the steel shell to sit on. Right, put in two rows of seats. Once I master the flying sword technique, I can take others into the sky too."

"This thing is called a steering wheel, used to adjust the direction."

"And windows. It is hard for mortals to refine glass from sand, but it shouldn't be a big problem for us cultivators to refine glass, right?"

"Reasonably speaking there should be brakes, but since the propulsion of the flying sword is me, there's no need to install brakes. When the time comes, a foot-brake will do..."

"Oh right, this large iron shell must be easy to install and disassemble, otherwise it won't be convenient during battle."

Lu Yang explained the functions and refining requirements of the small decoration in detail. Both the Immortal Fairy and Li Haoran felt their eyes thoroughly opened as they listened.

"It's not that I'm afraid of heights, it's just that flying in the sky alone is too lonely, and I want to pull a few more people along." Lu Yang repeatedly emphasized that he was not afraid of heights. "Can you refine it?"

Li Haoran thought for a moment. Although the item on the blueprint was bizarre, it was not difficult to refine. At most, he had never refined it before, so his hands would be unfamiliar and he would need to try a few more times. "I can."

"That's good. These are Dark Thunder Iron blocks, which can serve as the raw material."

"Also this mask, please refine it as well to make it harder, so it won't be easily broken." Lu Yang pulled out the Tofu Mask; he would need a fake identity when going out in the future.

"As for the price, how about twenty contribution points?" Lu Yang proactively offered the price.

Twenty contribution points meant two thousand spirit stones, a price that was definitely not low.

Li Haoran accepted the mission.