Chapter 62: 61 Sword Seed

61 Sword Seed

When he asked this, Ping Jiangqiu was actually stunned, saying, "How they come to be... well... swords are cast by Sword Smiths."

Tang Zhao was awestruck and said, "Swords are so miraculous; are they actually cast by human labor?"

Since they could be cast by humans, they shouldn't be that rare.

Ping Jiangqiu cleared his thoughts and said, "Humans certainly cannot cast them at will, not even Sword Smiths. Casting a sword requires a Sword Seed. A Sword Seed is the most miraculous treasure in heaven and earth, containing infinite possibilities. A Sword Smith casts the Sword Seed together with precious materials, and it becomes a miraculous sword."

Tang Zhao pressed, "Then where do Sword Seeds come from?"

Ping Jiangqiu's expression stiffened. After holding it in for a long time, he retorted, "Let me ask you, where do pigs come from?"

Tang Zhao probed, "Born from a sow?"

Ping Jiangqiu tugged at his beard and said angrily, "Do I not know they are born from a sow? I am asking you, where did the first pig come from?"

Tang Zhao blinked, immediately thinking of terms like "theory of evolution" and "origin of life," but he hadn't mastered this stuff, so naturally, he couldn't bring it out to show off.

Ping Jiangqiu caught his breath and said, "Sword Seeds are like Treasures... just like pigs, they are all nurtured by heaven and earth; heaven gives birth to all things, after all. Of course, Sword Seeds are the essence of heaven and earth, the most precious of all. Although the first sword was only a few hundred years ago, that only proves that Sword Smiths have been discovering Sword Seeds and mastering the Sword Casting Art for a few hundred years. Does that mean if they hadn't discovered them, the Sword Seeds wouldn't exist? Perhaps the Sword Seeds have been gestating in heaven and earth for tens of thousands of years."

Tang Zhao said softly, "Sword Seeds and pigs..."

Ping Jiangqiu glared at him and said, "I used that example to say—just like with pigs, what is the point of knowing where pigs come from? Is there any point in knowing how to slaughter a pig or how to breed them? You should be concerned with how to eat the pork and where the pork tastes good!"

Tang Zhao nodded to show he had learned his lesson; if he didn't, the old man would explode.

Ping Jiangqiu said, "To find a sword, the first method is to find a Sword Seed and then ask a Sword Smith to cast it. This relies entirely on luck; it might be buried in your backyard, or you might never find one in your whole life. All Loose Practitioners want to find Sword Seeds, and there are even specialized 'Treasure Hunters' looking for them, but very few can actually find them. Most of the Sword Seeds in the Human World have probably been found, so one can only go to the Qianxian to look, or go to the Ancient Battlefield. But those places are death traps for anyone who isn't a Sword Guest, so finding Sword Seeds is becoming increasingly difficult."

"And even if you go out and pick up a Sword Seed, nine times out of ten it won't suit you, so you still have to wait to trade it or sell it. So..."

Tang Zhao said, "As long as it can be sold, it will eventually fall into the hands of the rich and powerful?"

Ping Jiangqiu nodded and said, "Exactly. Just like rare treasures always end up in the hands of the biggest buyers. Naturally, the big factions have the most swords. These big factions collect swords from the Human World on one hand, and on the other, they can send Sword Guests into dangerous places to find Sword Seeds. When their own Sword Guests die, the swords are also recovered, waiting for a New Master. Over time, the quantity is not small. Therefore, if a faction is old enough, its foundation is usually quite impressive."

"There is no power in the world greater than the Imperial Court, followed by the great sects in the Dong Tian Fu Di. It is said that the old emperor in Jingcheng no longer has the final say; the world is divided among warlords, each occupying their own territory. However, those military leaders rise and fall overnight; they might perish before they can plunder much, so they can't be said to have a foundation. The various forces are surging, and it's impossible to guess the true wealth of each family."

Tang Zhao nodded, then was stunned again, thinking: Didn't you hide in the Time Jar since the previous dynasty? How do you know about the situation of the Imperial Court? And things like the decline of imperial power and the loss of control over local areas—even the common people of the Great Jin, as long as things are relatively peaceful around them, might not know about the big picture unless they specifically pay attention to it?

Even Tang Zhao himself only heard about it from Chen Zong, and Chen Zong was particularly interested in the world's major trends.

There were quite a few strange things about Ping Jiangqiu; Tang Zhao just didn't want to expose them.

Ping Jiangqiu, completely unaware that his persona had collapsed, continued, "If you want to be a Sword Guest in the future, the simplest way is of course to follow the Land Inspection Division, eliminating demons and calming baleful spirits everywhere, earning merit and rewards to exchange for resources, but don't believe everything others say. You still need to go look for Sword Seeds. It doesn't matter if they don't match; keep them in your hands and wait to trade with others. Or go to the black market for second-hand goods and take a look; some Treasure Swords hide their brilliance or are sealed away somewhere waiting for a New Master—you must go to the black market; on the surface, even Broken Swords are not allowed to be sold publicly. Another way is to befriend a Sword Smith; they will have unexpected treasures in their hands. This path is also not easy; Sword Smiths are all arrogant, and so many people fawn over them that they don't even care."

Tang Zhao nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

Ping Jiangqiu glanced at the documents again and said, "Although the Land Inspection Division is overbearing, they manage affairs on the ground, single-mindedly eradicating Demon Caves, and don't go to the Qianxian, so they can only be considered a second-line team, not necessarily very wealthy. Look at this kid, he's a Loose Practitioner at such a young age; he can be considered a genius, right? But he's just a Heavy Swordsman; he hasn't even reached the level of Sword Student."

Tang Zhao followed his gaze. Ping Jiangqiu had already flipped to the front, the third page after Xing Ji; it was a portrait of a woman. "Look, this woman is also a Loose Practitioner, but she is a Sword Student. This means she has already found her own sword; as long as her Sword Heart reaches the realm of 'Gold and Stone Open', she will immediately become a Sword Guest. This kid is still a long way off. A Heavy Swordsman can only use a Heavy Art Tool, or at best a Dharma Artifact to fight; there's no need to write that down specifically. Everyone is a Loose Practitioner, who doesn't have a Heavy Art Tool? If you take that broken Wooden Sword of yours and learn a few moves of Sword Art, you could also be called a Heavy Swordsman."

He laughed again, "By the way, you are a Sword Envoy of the Authority Sword. As long as you properly exert the power of the Authority Sword, beating him will be a piece of cake."

Tang Zhao just found it incredible—his martial arts were so much worse than Si Liyu's, and just relying on a sword could level the playing field or even surpass him? This sword was just too important.

This is a world where great power belongs to oneself, but it is also a world heavily dependent on external objects?

Ping Jiangqiu said, "The Land Inspection Division has treated you as a secret weapon; otherwise, your name should be listed as 'Sword Envoy', and your ranking should be before Si Liyu's."

Tang Zhao waved his hand and said, "How could I compare to Teacher Si? It's good not to attract attention."

Ping Jiangqiu flipped through it casually and said, "Actually, you could be ranked even higher. Didn't I say the Land Inspection Division is short on manpower? The Main Envoy is a Sword Guest, the Deputy Envoy is a Spirit Official, and behind them are the Sword Students. Then there are those Heavy Swordsmen filling the numbers; what use are they? At least there are no Light Swordsmen mixed in. If you can become a qualified Sword Envoy, you could rank fourth among this group, maybe even top three."

Tang Zhao felt a bit insecure after being told this. He knew his own level; relying on himself plus a sword to rank in the top three of the team, could this be reliable?

He said cautiously, "Is this team not good enough?"

Ping Jiangqiu snorted and curled his lip, saying, "It's... just so-so. Mainly because this is just a small Demon Cave, the range is no more than ten miles, so these people are enough. Look at the potential dangers listed at the back; what kind of riffraff are those? Local martial arts circles, county town tycoons, passing Loose Practitioners; only the Holy Moon Sect looks like something. When the time comes, a few Heavy Swordsmen will sweep the periphery, and you few will go in to mop up; that should be enough."

Tang Zhao heard his tone and felt that the Land Inspection Division's strength might not be that bad after all; he had just been overly disparaging. He said, "Ping Xiansheng, have you finished reading? Let me see it?"

Ping Jiangqiu threw the documents to him and said, "Read it. Focus on the part about the Demon Cave at the front. The introduction inside is quite comprehensive. I know you feel your martial arts are not refined; in fact, martial arts are useful in Jianghu disputes, but eradicating demons and baleful spirits requires the power of a sword. They will definitely let you enter the Demon Cave to eradicate demons; you don't need to worry about the fighting on the periphery. You should look more at the demons and spirits so you have an idea."

Tang Zhao thanked him and sat by the lake, opening the documents.

Ping Jiangqiu suddenly showed a strange look, as if he had sensed something unusual, but he acted as if nothing had happened and slowly opened a jar of time.

Tang Zhao finally started reading the documents from the beginning.

This thick volume of documents was indeed very detailed, with both pictures and text, all in dense, fly-head-sized characters. If one were reading it outside by the dim light of a candle, one would be dizzy after just a page or two; reading it under the open sky and lake light was naturally different.

The first half of the book was all about introducing the Demon Cave, inferring the type, scale, environment, and possible demons of the Demon Cave from aspects such as the timing, terrain, omens, and comparisons with past Demon Caves.

This part was written very professionally, with maps, data, and many technical terms; Tang Zhao found it very difficult to read.

Fortunately, he had the experience of brute-forcing the Paulownia Flower Invites the Phoenix Art, so he wasn't panicked. It wasn't that the two had anything in common, but after that experience, he could remain calm when seeing a page full of obscure terms.

Ignoring the parts he couldn't understand, there were still things he could understand.

"Demon Cave: Jiezhe. Classification: Water-type Demon Cave, scale: small."

To this day, because the Demon Cave had not yet descended, everything was speculation, and the name was also tentatively chosen.

"October 16th, a radius of ten miles."

Xue Fu extended for ten miles and was less than five miles away from the Black Spider Villa. If the impact were any larger, the villa would be in danger.

I wonder if everyone in the villa knows about this danger; why does it feel like everyone is busy with their own affairs and not afraid at all?

"Since September, Yin energy has been pervasive, wild beasts have been manic, and residents have been eroded by Yin energy... Omen: River dried up? Well water exhausted?"

Tang Zhao immediately thought of the deep trench in the Ginkgo Forest; was it said that it used to be a river before that?

So that was the omen of the Demon Cave?

Erosion by Yin energy... Was Xue Daxia's old and weak state due to the erosion of Yin energy?

But why didn't he leave?

"Estimated Demon Cave output, Ninth Grade. That should be the lowest, right? Possibility of containing a Sword Seed... Yes?"