Chapter 868: The Day the Flowers Bloom Again

October 30th.

Li Fei and his party arrived in Gansu Province by flying boat.

The Red Dust Pavilion's station was located outside the provincial capital of Gansu, and Shentu Yue led the group directly inside.

Soon, she led Li Fei and Ning Qingman toward the pavilion in the very center of the station.

"The Master is waiting for you both upstairs."

After Shentu Yue led the two to the sixth floor, she stopped.

Li Fei and Ning Qingman ascended to the seventh floor, walked through the corridor, and entered a room with an antique, elegant charm.

Twelve sandalwood screens were placed around the room, and in the center sat a tea table made of light red wood.

A woman sat before the tea table, brewing tea.

She wore a moon-white, cloud-patterned bamboo-green damask dress with dark floral motifs, her face veiled in thin gauze, appearing like thin, melting ice floating upon a cold pool, revealing the hazy outline of her distant, mountain-like brows.

At first glance, Li Fei felt as if he were looking at a green pine tree, faintly visible amidst the thick fog of distant mountains.

When he tried to look closer, it was like viewing flowers through a mist; he could perceive nothing at all, as if there were no one there before him.

He did not look further and took the initiative to cup his hands in a salute:

"Greetings, Pavilion Master Wen."

"Marquis of Jing'an, there is no need for such formalities."

A clear, ethereal voice reached his ears.

Ning Qingman was much more casual than Li Fei; she walked into the room with a smile:

"Sister Wen, it has been a long time."

"Qingman, and the Marquis of Jing'an, please sit."

The two walked to the tea table and sat down before Wen Xuexian.

"Please, have some tea."

This female Martial Saint personally brewed tea for the two of them.

"Many thanks."

After Li Fei expressed his thanks, he picked up the teacup and took a light sip, finding his mouth filled with a clear fragrance and a rich, lingering aftertaste.

"It has been a long time since I've had tea brewed personally by Sister Wen."

Ning Qingman took off her cloak, set it aside, and then picked up her teacup to drink.

Li Fei couldn't help but glance at her.

There were rumors in the martial arts world that this "Sword Immortal" was so beautiful she could topple kingdoms, the greatest beauty in the world!

Li Fei was naturally somewhat curious.

But what met his eyes was a side profile that could not be called exceptionally beautiful; her skin was wheat-colored, her nose bridge was straight, and her facial features had a very three-dimensional quality.

Li Fei took one look and quickly withdrew his gaze, tactically sipping his tea.

"Congratulations, Sister Wen, on your cultivation advancing further."

After taking a sip of tea, Ning Qingman said with a smile.

Wen Xuexian poured tea for herself while saying softly:

"It is merely a clever trick; in the end, it cannot compare to your grand and righteous Dao."

Li Fei raised his head to look at this Pavilion Master of the Red Dust Pavilion.

Ning Qingman had said that the other party's strength was above her own, and that she even had a chance to compete for the top three in the world.

Yet now, Wen Xuexian was saying that her own "Dao" was inferior to Ning Qingman's.

One wondered which of these two was actually being humble.

However, neither continued to flatter the other; after a brief exchange of pleasantries, they moved on to the main topic.

"Sister Wen, are you confident in finding the whereabouts of Li Ming?"

Ning Qingman set down her teacup and asked.

Wen Xuexian said softly: "This requires the cooperation of you two."

Ning Qingman was very direct: "I have no problem with that."

After saying this, she looked at Li Fei beside her.

Li Fei also nodded and said: "I have no problem either."

On the way here, Ning Qingman had given him a rough introduction to Wen Xuexian's Dao principles—

【Severing the Red Dust】!

As it involved the other party's Dao principles, this was highly confidential information, so Ning Qingman did not go into detail, only saying roughly that Wen Xuexian's Dao principles were related to karma.

This time, Li Ming's physical body was destroyed by Ning Qingman's sword, and Li Fei had also contributed significantly, even injuring Li Ming at one point.

Therefore, both Ning Qingman and Li Fei were tainted with Li Ming's karma.

Now, Wen Xuexian intended to use her Dao principles to find the location of Li Ming's soul seed through the karma on the two of them!

"Please, both of you, calm your minds, focus your spirits, and do not let thoughts arise or circulate your energy."

As Wen Xuexian spoke, she poured a cup of tea for Li Fei and Ning Qingman respectively.

Li Fei and Ning Qingman followed suit, quickly entering a state of meditative focus, their minds free of distractions.

Wen Xuexian flicked her sleeve, sweeping across the teacups in front of the two.

In an instant, the tea in the cups boiled, turning into water mist that permeated the room.

Li Fei was enveloped by the mist with its faint tea fragrance; his mind felt somewhat dazed, and the scene of his battle with Li Ming suddenly surfaced in his mind.

Right up until he was trapped by Li Ming, the whole world seemed to be slashed by a blade of light, and everything vanished into thin air.

Li Fei came back to his senses and opened his eyes.

He tried to carefully recall that blade of light that had appeared directly in his memory, but he could not recall a single detail.

Events are like a spring dream, leaving no trace.

If Ning Qingman's swordsmanship started from the big picture—magnificent, atmospheric, and capable of changing the heavens and the earth—

Then Wen Xuexian's blade technique was revealed through the minute details—ethereal, unpredictable, and difficult to capture.

Li Fei had started by practicing the blade and now practiced the sword; comparing the martial arts of these two Martial Saints, he felt he had gained much.

"How is it?"

Ning Qingman, beside him, had also recovered and asked.

"Dongping Province."

Wen Xuexian only said these three words.

Li Fei could clearly feel that her aura was fluctuating; it seemed the expenditure had been significant.

After all, the other party's Dao principles were not like Xiang Yunshu's 【Analysis】, which could peel back layers like a cocoon, continuously obtaining large amounts of information to pinpoint a location.

By relying on the karma tainted on Li Fei and Ning Qingman, she could only arrive at a general location in the end.

"Thank you for your hard work, Sister Wen."

After receiving the answer, Ning Qingman stood up decisively, preparing to take her leave.

Seeing this, Li Fei also stood up and saluted Wen Xuexian.

Gansu Province, Provincial Capital.

The Iron Heart Pavilion was the most famous place for forging weapons in the entire province.

This pavilion did not forge ordinary iron; it only created exotic weapons.

This pavilion had been open in the Gansu provincial capital for over thirty years and had forged a total of four seventh-grade divine weapons, thus becoming famous throughout the martial arts world!

Today, the Iron Heart Pavilion closed its doors to guests.

The Pavilion Master, Chen Tiexin, who had not personally forged an exotic weapon in a long time, came out with all the master smiths in the pavilion, just to welcome two guests—

Li Fei and Ning Qingman.

One was a legendary Marquis known throughout the world, the first in history.

One was a Martial Saint standing at the pinnacle of the world, a peerless Sword Immortal.

It is no exaggeration to say that if today's events were to spread, the Iron Heart Pavilion's status in the martial arts world would immediately rise by a large margin!

"Chen Tiexin greets the Sword Immortal! Greets the Marquis!"

A burly, dark-skinned, bald man saluted the two with an excited face.

"Pavilion Master Chen, there is no need for such formalities."

Li Fei helped Chen Tiexin up, "I have come this time to trouble Pavilion Master Chen to personally forge a weapon."

"No problem, this is Chen's honor!"

Chen Tiexin's face was even flushed with excitement.

It was no wonder he was so excited; truly, whether he forged a weapon for either of the two people before him, his name, Chen Tiexin, might be remembered in history!

"Additionally, I have one more presumptuous request."

Li Fei looked at Chen Tiexin, "I wish to personally participate in the forging of the weapon."

Chen Tiexin was startled: "This..."

Li Fei: "I know this is difficult; Pavilion Master Chen can make any request."

Weapon forging was inherently an extremely private matter, involving one's exclusive techniques, and the thing feared most was having them stolen.

So Li Fei's request was indeed somewhat taboo.

It was only because his status and position were what they were; if anyone else had said such a thing to Chen Tiexin, they would have already been thrown out!

Although Chen Tiexin was only a Martial Arts Master, the weapons of many Grandmasters in the martial arts world were forged by him, and they all owed him favors.

Therefore, when facing a Grandmaster, he truly could afford not to give them face.

"I wonder why you, Marquis, wish to personally participate in the forging? Are there any special requirements?"

Chen Tiexin did not get angry and asked patiently.

Li Fei nodded: "There are indeed some special requirements, related to my own cultivation."

Chen Tiexin fell into deep thought.

A moment later, he made a decision and said in a deep voice:

"Very well, I agree to your request, Marquis!"

Li Fei's face lit up with joy, and he cupped his hands: "Many thanks, Pavilion Master Chen."

His Ghost-Slaying Blade had been broken during his fight with Li Ming, which was why he thought of coming to the Tiexin Pavilion to have it reforged.

In truth, at his current realm, external objects provided him with very little help.

The level seven divine garment, the Golden-Thread Jade-Scale Armor, could indeed provide Li Fei with a certain amount of defensive power, but to him, the greatest use of this divine garment now was to prevent him from being naked after a fight.

As for the Ghost-Slaying Blade, which remained at level six, it could no longer provide much utility in battle.

To Li Fei, the commemorative significance of the Ghost-Slaying Blade was already far greater than its practical value.

This blade was a gift from Shangguan Xiao, and later, it was personally refined by Hao Yi, upgrading it from level five to level six; it contained the mysteries of the 【Heaven and Earth Single Blade】, and it was through this blade that Li Fei had mastered that ultimate technique.

Now that the Ghost-Slaying Blade was broken, Li Fei did not want to give up on it, so he sought out Chen Tiexin to have it refined again.

After both parties reached an agreement, Li Fei and Chen Tiexin went to a separate room to discuss the specific forging methods.

"Refining the blade into the body, to merge with oneself?"

Inside the room, after hearing Li Fei's request, Chen Tiexin looked astonished.

He had been forging weapons for so many years and had encountered all sorts of strange and bizarre requests:

Some pursued the unity of man and weapon, wanting to refine their own vital essence, flesh, blood, and bone marrow into the weapon.

There were even extreme cases that requested the weapon and their own bones to be refined together.

But this 'perverted' request from Li Fei was the first time he had ever encountered such a thing.

Refining a weapon completely into the human body would not achieve any realm of man-weapon unity; it would only lead to a deficiency of Qi and blood and damage to the physical body.

Simply put, this was courting death!

If Li Fei did not look so serious, Chen Tiexin would have thought the other party was joking.

"My situation is special..."

Li Fei gave a rough explanation of his situation and allowed Chen Tiexin to examine his body.

"There is actually such a thing?!"

Chen Tiexin's eyes shone, feeling that his horizons had been broadened.

"My requirements have three points:

First, refine this blade into my body.

Second, upgrade it to level seven, and maintain the possibility of further upgrades so that it can upgrade along with the improvement of my body in the future.

Third, after this blade is upgraded to level seven, it must be able to absorb metal and fire attribute spiritual energy, and use both for body tempering."

Li Fei stated his requirements.

Chen Tiexin showed a troubled expression: "Marquis, in my entire life, I have only successfully forged four level seven divine weapons, and your requirements are so special that I have no prior experience with them. I am worried..."

"It is no matter."

Li Fei smiled and reassured him, "We can try slowly; do not worry about me getting hurt."

Seeing that Li Fei had said as much, Chen Tiexin no longer declined.

Next, the two began to discuss a specific plan based on Li Fei's physical condition.

A few hours later, Chen Tiexin looked excited:

"Marquis, this weapon forging is also a stroke of good fortune for me; I have no other requests!"

Originally, he had some misgivings about Li Fei personally participating in the forging, but at this moment, his heart was filled only with gratitude, and he no longer needed Li Fei to compensate him further.

Li Fei's Flying Sword Body, which 'uses the body as a vessel', truly broadened his horizons, expanded his thinking, and gave him great inspiration!

That day, many precious materials were taken from the storehouses of the Red Dust Pavilion and the provincial government and sent to the Tiexin Pavilion.

Li Fei's own share, plus the resources taken from the Hook-Deep Sword Sect, were enough for him to forge several divine weapons.

Although these resources were not currently in Gansu Province, Li Fei could first borrow them from the Gansu provincial government and the Red Dust Pavilion, and make up for them later.

Five days later.

Inside the forging room of the Tiexin Pavilion.

Li Fei was wearing the Golden-Thread Jade-Scale Armor, his entire body glowing crimson, and scorching steam was constantly radiating from him.

Chen Tiexin stood to the side, looking exhausted but satisfied.

He looked at Li Fei as if he were looking at the most satisfying work of his life!

Li Fei extended his right hand, and a crimson light erupted from his palm, constantly extending outward.

The temperature in the room rose rapidly, as if an extra furnace had been added.

Soon, this light took the shape of a long blade.

When the light faded, the appearance of the long blade was revealed—

It was entirely black, and where the hilt met the blade, a wicked ghost bared its fangs, spitting out the blade edge.

The blade was three feet and five inches long, with crimson gilded patterns on it.

It was precisely the reforged Ghost-Slaying Blade!

After five days of effort, the investment of a large amount of precious materials, repeated attempts using the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl, and the fact that both Li Fei and Chen Tiexin possessed the 【Refining Objects】 divine ability.

This reforged Ghost-Slaying Blade met all the requirements Li Fei had proposed in advance, and the effects were even better than expected!

The new Ghost-Slaying Blade was upgraded from its original level six to level seven, truly becoming a divine weapon!

Moreover, this divine weapon was completely integrated into Li Fei's body, yet it remained distinct from his Flying Sword Body.

The new Ghost-Slaying Blade was like a scabbard for the Flying Sword Body.

Li Fei reforged the Ghost-Slaying Blade and upgraded it to a level seven divine weapon, not primarily to use it against enemies, but for body tempering!

The level seven divine weapon Ghost-Slaying Blade had only one characteristic—【Refined Metal Fire Tempering】.

This characteristic allowed the Ghost-Slaying Blade to self-absorb the heaven and earth spiritual energy of metal and fire attributes, used to constantly temper Li Fei's Flying Sword Body!

The benefits 【Refined Metal Fire Tempering】 brought to Li Fei were not just that his Flying Sword Body could slowly strengthen, but it also allowed the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl to absorb energy 24 hours a day without interruption!

Because the process of body tempering was, in fact, constantly causing damage to Li Fei.

If it were any other Grandmaster, they certainly could not withstand this continuous damage; even with extraordinary abilities or divine powers that could heal, they could not afford the constant consumption and would sooner or later be dragged into a state of severe injury.

But Li Fei's Ten Thousand Blood Pearl, even without entering the 【Blood Breath】 state, could now recover 677 blood souls every day, and 28 blood souls per hour.

Therefore, he only needed to control the damage caused to himself by 【Refined Metal Fire Tempering】 to be below the speed of his self-healing, and there would be no problem.

The higher the level of the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl, the greater the demand for energy; in the past, Li Fei could rely on taking poison every day to accumulate energy.

But ever since he mastered the Flying Sword Body, no poison had any effect on him.

The energy absorbed by the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl could only come from damage caused to Li Fei from the outside; punching himself would not work.

Therefore, Li Fei could only rely on absorbing heaven and earth spiritual energy every day, then controlling that energy to cause damage to his own internal organs, thereby completing energy accumulation outside of battle.

But this method was inefficient, difficult to sustain, and affected his own cultivation.

Now with 【Refined Metal Fire Tempering】, Li Fei finally had a sustainable and efficient way to accumulate energy.

From now on, even without battles, the upgrade speed of the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl would be several times faster than before!

Inside the forging room, heat steamed, and white mist swirled around Li Fei.

He held the blade in one hand, looking at the reforged Ghost-Slaying Blade in his hand, lost in thought.

Not far away, Chen Tiexin watched this scene, the "congratulations" already on his lips suddenly stopping.

For some reason, he felt that the young man before him, who had just obtained a divine weapon, seemed somewhat sorrowful.

"It's done?"

When Ning Qingman saw Li Fei again, the other party had changed in her eyes.

Although Li Fei's attire and appearance were the same as before, with no changes, as a sword immortal of the current age, how discerning was Ning Qingman's vision?

"Nurturing intent through form, do you wish to cultivate the Sheathed Sword?"

Ning Qingman asked.

Li Fei did not hide it and nodded in admission:

"Yes, I do have that thought."

He refined the Ghost-Slaying Blade into his body, turning it into a scabbard for his Flying Sword Body; in fact, there was another layer of purpose—

Sheathing the blade to nurture intent, to enhance his sword Dao cultivation!

Some brilliant swordsmen in the Jianghu, when encountering a bottleneck, would sometimes not draw their sword for years, or even over a decade, to accumulate sword intent.

This is what is called the 'Sheathed Sword'.

It has the same effect as the Buddhist 'Silent Zen'.

"A good idea. You previously only pursued brave advancement; although it fits the intent of the sword Dao to move forward without hesitation, it lacked a bit of refinement. Now that you have begun to learn to nurture the sword, when you can retract and release it at will, your sword technique can be considered to have entered the hall."

Ning Qingman commented very casually.

Her attitude when talking to Li Fei before had been very peaceful, showing not the slightest air of a peak expert.

Only when commenting on the sword Dao at this moment did she truly reveal the sharpness unique to a sword immortal.

There was no high-and-mighty arrogance, only a natural certainty.

Although Li Fei had intended to restrain and control himself before, in the eyes of a sword immortal like Ning Qingman, she could see the sharp, peerless sword intent on him at a glance.

Now that the Flying Sword Body had gained a "scabbard," in Ning Qingman's view, Li Fei could finally be considered to have truly grasped the essence of "restraint."

"I ask that Sword Immortal Ning please offer some guidance."

Li Fei climbed the pole while it was upright, taking the opportunity to bow.

His Flying Sword Body and the 【Primordial Sword Realm】 were naturally suited for sword practice, and now that he finally had the chance to consult with a contemporary Sword Immortal—who could be called the number one sword practitioner in the entire world—he naturally did not want to miss the opportunity.

Although he could already create Creation Realm techniques like 【Unknown Heights】, this move was actually the result of his long accumulation and thin release; it was all-encompassing and not strictly confined to sword techniques.

Therefore, in terms of the Sword Dao, in Ning Qingman's eyes, he had indeed not yet reached the level of "entering the hall and stepping into the room."

"Let's first look at the news from Dongping Province."

Ning Qingman did not refuse Li Fei's request.

Although Wen Xuexian had provided the location of "Dongping Province."

But how vast is the territory of a single province?

How many people come and go every day?

Trying to find a demon intentionally hiding itself within a province is no different from looking for a needle in a haystack.

That is why Li Fei did not rush to set off for Dongping Province with Ning Qingman, but instead used the Thousand-Mechanism Shadowless Threads left to him by the Third Prince to contact the intelligence lead for "Under Heaven" in the north.

Then he ordered "Under Heaven" to search for intelligence with all their might.

With the help of the world's number one intelligence organization, Ning Qingman had patiently waited five days for Li Fei.

"Five days time, we should have found some useful intelligence by now; we can set off first and organize the information on the road."

Li Fei said to Ning Qingman.

"Good."

Ning Qingman stood up.

Dongping Province.

Tancheng.

Inside an old courtyard, a young girl holding an iron sword was practicing her sword techniques.

The girl's appearance was plain, but her figure was graceful, and when she practiced her sword techniques, there was an indescribable charm to it.

In the courtyard, the sword light was like flying snow, agile and ever-changing, spreading a vast whiteness into every corner.

A figure suddenly appeared in the courtyard; the girl's sword momentum was drawn, and she almost subconsciously thrust toward the other person.

The sword light filling the courtyard instantly converged into one spot, a thousand swords becoming one, held in the girl's hand.

Clang—

After the crisp sound of the sword ringing, the girl was shaken by a massive force, causing her to retreat repeatedly, and the long sword in her hand nearly flew out of her grasp.

She was terrified in her heart, thinking she had encountered an unprecedented enemy.

However, after she saw the appearance of the person who had arrived, she could not help but be overjoyed:

"Master!"

The person who arrived was a woman with a stern expression who had just used her hand as a sword to easily break the girl's sword stance.

"You've practiced well."

She nodded at the girl.

"Master, you finally came back to see me; I thought you didn't want me anymore!"

As the girl spoke, her eye sockets turned red, and tears welled up in her eyes.

The stern-faced woman touched the girl's head, revealing a meaningful smile:

"Master went to such great lengths to cultivate you, how could I not want you?"

In the courtyard, after the master and disciple chatted for a while, the master left again, leaving the girl alone to continue practicing her sword.

The girl's master did not go far, but instead returned to the courtyard silently.

This time she did not go in, but came to the roof of the house, looking down at the girl below.

She was clearly standing there, but from the outside, the roof appeared empty.

"To think that the famous Li Ming would actually transform into a woman."

A hoarse voice suddenly sounded in her ear.

This stern-faced woman's gaze was cold, and she tugged at the corner of her mouth:

"As long as one can survive, what does it matter if one transforms into a eunuch?"

That's right, this woman was the demon Li Ming, whose original body had been destroyed and who had "resurrected" using a Soul Seed!

He had chosen to place his Soul Seed in a woman, so after his rebirth, he had also become a woman.

However, for Li Ming, who had mastered the 【Flesh and Blood Myriad Transformation】 divine ability, a change in gender was merely a matter of a single thought, so he did not care about such things at all.

"Is this little girl the person you chose?"

The hoarse voice continued to sound in Li Ming's ear, "She does have a bit of spiritual energy."

Li Ming's lips moved slightly: "Is everything prepared?"

"Are you certain Ning Qingman can find her way here?"

"With that bitch Wen Xuexian helping, she will find this place sooner or later."

"Will that Wen Xuexian come?"

"That bitch's 'Dao' is to sever all people and things that have a karmic connection to her; she 'severed' me with one strike at Mount Tiansha, and the karma between her and me is already broken. Continuing to get involved would be harmful and not beneficial to her cultivation."

"But she did save Ning Qingman from your hands back then; how can you be sure this time won't be an exception?"

"Always looking forward and backward, fearing this and that—what can you possibly accomplish?"

"Heh, you don't need to provoke this old man. I don't have a life-saving divine ability like yours that allows me to die and be reborn, so naturally, I must be cautious."

"Enough nonsense, are you doing it or not?"

"Are you sure this trap is truly useful?"

Upon hearing this, Li Ming looked at the girl practicing her sword below.

The other's figure gradually overlapped with a certain figure in his memory.

The corners of his mouth turned up, revealing a cold and sharp smile:

"Flowers have a day to bloom again, but man never returns to his youth."

Below, the wind blew the fallen leaves, and sword light filled the courtyard.

The beauty was like jade, and the sword was like a rainbow.

(End of chapter)