Chapter 43: Danqing Sword

“Hehe, Lady Hua, you’re joking.”

Fang Xing shook his head: “Actually, I have some martial questions I’d like to ask you…”

Recalling how useful Meng Yi’s advice had been last time, Fang Xing wouldn’t let his origin from the interstellar era make him look down on the ancients.

After all, in terms of cultivation levels, this world’s Xiantian realm was equivalent to Puyu, and strictly speaking, Hua Feiyue was still one major realm above her.

He immediately voiced the difficulties he faced in cultivating the “Ultimate Emotion Sword.”

The main issue was that the meditation method and emotional simulation were impossible to grasp!

After all, the Ultimate Emotion Sword differed from the Ghost God Blade—it required stirring the deepest emotions within, the more intense, the better.

It was the complete opposite of the Ningshen Pill, which purified the mind, so his experience with the Ghost God Blade was useless here; he needed a new approach.

“If I heard correctly, your martial art cannot be entered because you cannot stir your deepest emotions?”

Perhaps because she’d received a benefit, Hua Feiyue’s address had become much more formal.

“Exactly.”

Fang Xing believed that with his foundation in meditation and hypnosis from the Ghost God Blade, once he passed this hurdle, he could enter the Ultimate Emotion Sword.

Once he entered it, once the blood bar lit up on his attribute panel, the rest would just be a matter of grinding.

“This is simple. Do you know that among martial artists, there are some esoteric mental martial arts…” Hua Feiyue smiled sweetly: “To be honest, I’ve cultivated a mental great art called the ‘Seven Emotions Scripture,’ which can stir the emotions of other martial artists…”

“Mental martial arts? That’s one solution.” Fang Xing’s eyes lit up.

“Moreover, if such mental martial arts still fail to trigger it, you could seek help from cultivators—they have many methods for this, such as mental illusions, talismans, and so on…” Hua Feiyue continued.

“But stimulating oneself like this is somewhat dangerous…” Fang Xing frowned slightly, feeling it best not to provoke cultivators just yet.

Hua Feiyue’s “Seven Emotions Scripture,” however, he could try—after all, he had the Ningshen Pill as backup; even if his spirit was damaged, he could recover.

“Why don’t… you try first?”

Fang Xing set down the beast meat, suddenly interested.

“Alright, look into my eyes…” Hua Feiyue’s gaze grew hazy.

Fang Xing gazed at her and felt as if her pupils were veiled in a lustrous, glassy sheen.

“This is the first form of the Seven Emotions—Joy!”

As Hua Feiyue spoke, Fang Xing suddenly felt a wave of overwhelming joy descend upon him.

“Interesting, but it’s still not enough to fully stir my inner emotions…”

He murmured.

“It seems your will and mental fortitude are extremely strong—you’ll need additional methods to be effective…”

Hua Feiyue bit her lip: “This is the second form—Anger!”

In the next instant, Fang Xing’s eyes turned crimson, and he felt fire burning within his body.

…

Several hours later.

Fang Xing walked out of Hua Feiyue’s pavilion, carrying the beast meat, his steps unsteady.

“Sss… this woman’s verbal skills are incredible—I’ve decided, I’ll hire her as my female shopkeeper from now on…”

“But no need to buy a shop yet—just make her a stall vendor…”

After today’s purification by the Seven Emotions Scripture, Fang Xing couldn’t say he’d fully entered the Ultimate Emotion Sword, but he’d at least grasped a glimmer of the path.

If he persisted, he’d surely reach that mysterious state and successfully enter the Ultimate Emotion Sword!

“Ten pounds of beast meat for this? Not a bad deal…”

A hint of joy spread across his face.

…

Two days later.

The Zheng family auction hall.

The hall was vast, its walls adorned with colorful spiritual patterns that slithered like fish.

Today was the day the Zheng family auction opened!

Six grand gates stood wide open, like a monstrous beast swallowing crowds from all directions.

Fang Xing, clad in gray robes and masked, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, gazed at the surging throng and sighed inwardly.

He stepped through the gate and immediately saw a host.

“Would this guest like a private booth? Only ten spirit stones. If you win something you like, you can immediately proceed to the booth for transaction, with multiple hidden exits and secret passages to leave the auction hall at any time…”

The host spoke quickly—clearly he’d said this many times.

“No need!”

Fang Xing waved his hand. He’d originally considered it, but then realized—he wasn’t even Xiantian yet; renting a private booth would make him stand out too much!

Not to mention the two Foundation Establishment cultivators in the marketplace—they could surely extend their spiritual senses and see much.

‘Of course, I’m just an ordinary Hou Tian martial artist. Even if a Foundation Establishment cultivator sees me, they won’t care—might even treat me like an ant… as long as I don’t act too flashy.’

Fang Xing touched the laser pistol in his pocket.

This laser pistol had no spiritual energy signature—it must appear in spiritual senses as a sophisticated secular mechanical device.

‘To be fair, because this laser pistol has no magical energy, I might actually succeed in ambushing a Foundation Establishment cultivator. But I don’t want to do that—I’ll stick to steady cultivation.’

He walked into the main hall and found it spacious, filled with numerous redwood tables, each with tea and pastries.

The pastries were made from spirit rice and other ingredients, elaborately shaped, the tea fragrant and rich.

‘The Zheng family really puts effort into this…’

Fang Xing casually found an empty seat, sat down, closed his eyes, and waited for the auction to begin.

Half an hour later, the hall was nearly full—mostly cultivators, but also many Xiantian and Hou Tian martial artists.

In the private booths, fist-sized pearls glowed one after another.

With three gong strikes, all eyes turned to the stage.

Fang Xing looked up and saw a tall, thin old man in earth-yellow robes, his eyes deep, with faint threads of golden light within, bowing respectfully to all sides:

“I am Zheng Yuanao. Welcome to this auction. May all of you obtain the items you desire.”

Zheng Yuanao’s spiritual power was profound; his voice carried throughout the hall.

“That’s him—Zheng Yuanao, the ‘Golden-Eyed Eagle’ of the Zheng family… a Qi Condensation peak cultivator! No wonder it sounded like he was whispering right beside my ear—his spiritual power is truly immense!”

“Not only that, he runs the Zheng family’s auction house and pawnshop. They say his golden eyes never miss—he’s picked up countless bargains…”

Hearing the discussion from two nearby cultivators, Fang Xing grew curious.

‘So his golden eyes are the result of a special ocular technique?’

‘If you run an auction and pawnshop and can’t see clearly, you’ll go bankrupt fast…’

‘The Zheng family patriarch is Foundation Establishment—enough to hold the scene. Add this man, and no wonder they make a fortune daily…’

His anticipation for the auction grew.

At this moment, Zheng Yuanao signaled a beautiful maid to bring forth the first item:

“High-grade magical artifact—Iron Feather Sword! A rare set of magical weapons, forged from the most precious primordial feather of seven ‘Iron Feather Eagles,’ mixed with iron essence and gold essence. A full set of seven flying swords, razor-sharp, unbreakable, capable of forming a sword array…”

Fang Xing looked over and saw seven black flying swords, each the size of a palm, hovering in midair under the other’s spiritual force, their blade qi slicing the air.

But since he wasn’t a cultivator, he had zero interest in such artifacts.

It was the late Qi Condensation and Qi Condensation peak masters who showed keen interest in the full set of flying swords.

After all, a full set of seven swords forming an array was truly powerful.

“Iron Feather Sword, starting bid: two thousand one hundred spirit stones. Minimum raise: ten spirit stones…”

No sooner had Zheng Yuanao finished than a voice cried out impatiently: “Two thousand two hundred!”

“Two thousand three hundred!”

The spirit stone price climbed steadily, finally sold for three thousand one hundred spirit stones to a cultivator in a private booth.

After the first item’s successful sale, Zheng Yuanao’s face flushed with pleasure. He clapped his hands, and the maid brought forth the second item: “First-rank mid-grade array—‘Minor Wind-Fire Array,’ including forty-nine array flags, array disc, tokens, etc. Effective range: three to five mu. Can unleash ‘Spirit Fire Technique’ and ‘Beacon Smoke Technique,’ with functions of trapping and concealing… Starting bid: one thousand five hundred spirit stones!”

…

Fang Xing couldn’t use this array either—he wasn’t a cultivator.

Even cultivators couldn’t afford so many spirit stones; they could only watch helplessly as the array was bought for over two thousand spirit stones by a Qi Condensation gang leader.

Next came martial arts, robes, pills, spirit pets… all top-tier items.

Especially robes made from beast hides and spirit beast eggs—these appeared in greater numbers and were relatively cheaper, drawing repeated bids from cultivators.

Some Xiantian martial artists occasionally bid on items they could use.

“Blood-refined magical artifact—‘Danqing Sword!’”

After dozens of items, Zheng Yuanao revealed a long sword.

The sword was over three feet long, about an inch wide, glowing with a steady blue radiance, radiating chilling cold. Its blade bore crimson patterns.

Merely looking at it sent a sharp, piercing aura straight toward the viewer.

“With this much material? Definitely a blood-refined artifact… a wasteful thing for martial artists!”

A cultivator beside Fang Xing grumbled.

Generally, cultivator artifacts were small—especially flying swords, mostly palm-sized or about a foot long.

Not only did this save material, but in Fang Xing’s view, it also minimized air resistance, making aerial control easier.

Of course, when needed, artifacts could activate size-altering functions—something Fang Xing found highly unscientific.

But with cultivators, you didn’t need to explain science anyway.

Still, this ‘Danqing Sword’ had enough material to forge four or five lower-grade flying swords—it was indeed a waste.

Unfortunately, martial artists are just like this.

Even primordial martial artists, who possess primordial true qi, can only use low-grade talismans or infuse a certain amount of energy into array flags.

It is fundamentally impossible for them to activate low-grade magical artifacts.

Thus, alchemists devised a special kind of “blood-refined artifact” for primordial martial artists.

This “blood-refined artifact” matches the power of a low-grade magical artifact at most, yet can be activated by injecting primordial true qi or even blood essence, making it extremely convenient for martial artists.

Even Fang Xing felt a pang of envy looking at it.

“So sharp—holding it to slash enemies must feel excellent… and it can be consecrated too. If it’s not too expensive…”