Li Qingshan smiled and gazed at the rustling bamboo forest outside the window. As it seemed, he had guessed correctly. His identity as a secular disciple just happened to be useful for something like this. At the same time, he possessed two identities in two great sects of the Green province. Although he was not at the core of either sect, his status was not low, and he just happened to be a daemon. The affairs of the world sure were unpredictable.
"Qingshan, are you really going to the Sword Collection palace to become a guest elder?"
Liu Chuanfeng asked from the side. He was careful, as if he was afraid of offending Li Qingshan with the slightest carelessness. Li Qingshan never put on any airs, but after all these years of fighting and killing, he had already established his might. He gave off a natural sense of awe.
The Cloudwisp association had developed very quickly in the Ruyi commandery. Liu Chuanfeng had specially invited Li Qingshan to Cloudwisp island today so that he could continue writing. Originally, he wanted him to remember his identity as a disciple of the school of Novels, but he never expected him to actually agree.
Li Qingshan had a feeling that the Divine Talisman of Great Creation would come in handy one day, so he had brought Little Ann here to relive the feeling of the past. There was no need for him to drink some Water of Recollection. With his current cultivation, there was nothing he could not remember if he tried to recall. As a result, he became a plagiarist and had Little Ann edit it. It was extremely satisfying.
"How can I turn down someone else's warm invitation? Little Ann, take your time to edit it here. I'll go see that Yin Xiaochou again. "
Li Qingshan stood up. Right when he was about to take off, he glanced at the school of Painting nearby and remembered that Chu Danqing had not attended Hwa Seung-zan's banquet on Soaring Afterglow mountain. He wondered how the Three Absolutes Calligraphy had been repaired, so he landed on the island and grabbed a disciple of the school of Painting. He asked, "Where's your patriarch Chu?"
"L- commander Li! The patriarch is currently in secluded cultivation. He said that no one is to disturb him! "the disciple said in a trembling voice.
"You sure have troubled him!" Li Qingshan said. He knew that it would not be easy to repair a treasure like the Three Absolutes Calligraphy. If there was a chance, he would make up for it.
As soon as Li Qingshan took off, a streak of light flew over from the direction of the Clear River prefecture and landed on Cloudwisp island. It was Hua Chenglu. She frowned slightly, struggling to hide her worry.
Liu Chuanfeng hurriedly went forward to welcome him. "Commander Hua, why are you here?"
"Is Commander Li here?"
"Unfortunately, he just arrived at the Soaring Afterglow Mountain."
"Then he should already know." Hua Chenglu let out a long sigh.
In the bamboo building, Little Ann stopped writing and looked out the window. Then, he lowered his head again and wrote stroke by stroke without any distractions.
…
"Fellow Daoist Yin, my master has agreed. Let's get ready to go!"
Li Qingshan came to the Soaring Dawn Mountain again, found Yin Xiaochou, and went straight to the point.
"Fellow Daoist Li, something has changed …"
Yin Xiaochou was not surprised, but there was a hint of embarrassment on his face.
"What change?"
"Haven't you seen Chenglu?" Hwa Seung-zan interrupted.
"I haven't! What's wrong with Chenglu? "
"So you still don't know. The Hawkwolf Guard has already appointed you as the White Wolf commander of the South Sea commandery of the Mist province!"
"The White Wolf commander!"
Li Qingshan frowned. Why was it only the White Wolf commander? There was actually a White Hawk commander in a crappy place like the South Sea commandery? Whatever. He had come to the Mist province mainly for Ru Xin anyway, as well as to search for the divine wutong tree. He did not care about his position.
"But what does that have to do with anything? I'll be in charge for a few days at night, so what can the Hawkwolf Guard do to me?" Li Qingshan suddenly understood. He smiled. "So the Sword Collection palace is afraid I'll be killed in the South sea and lose the treasured sword of your palace. Am I right?"
"That's right. The South Sea commandery is a savage, dangerous place. If the sword is lost there, it'll be very difficult for the Sword Collection palace to find it," Yin Xiaochou said calmly.
Every single sword on the Sword Collection peak was a precious treasure that the Sword Collection palace could not live without. With Li Qingshan's comprehension of the path of the sword, it was very likely for him to draw an arcane treasure sword. That was something the Sword Collection palace could not afford to lose.
Losing the Soaring Dragon sword had already left the Sword Collection palace brooding over it. With North Moon's death, they lost all traces of it, unable to find it again.
"An innocent man gets into trouble because of his wealth. It might not be a good thing for you to take an arcane treasure to the South sea."
Yin Xiaochou had never imagined that North Moon, who was dead for sure, was currently standing right before him alive and well, discussing how he could retrieve another sword from the Sword Collection palace.
"I understand. Then I'll directly take up my post in the Mist province. We'll talk about the sword when I return."
Li Qingshan did not become angry. He had only agreed to become a guest elder of the Sword Collection palace to take advantage of them. Even now, he still felt hostility towards the Sword Collection palace, so he obviously would not ask them to trust him. It was just a sword. It would make no difference whether he took it sooner or later. There was no hurry.
With how generous Li Qingshan was, Yin Xiaochou instead felt rather embarrassed. He took out a jade slip. "Since you've agreed to become a guest elder of our Sword Collection palace, please accept this jade slip!"
Li Qingshan accepted the jade slip and sent his soul sense into it. His eyes gradually lit up, and he smiled. "Thank you, fellow Yin. I won't be holding back then."
There were over a dozen nameless sword styles recorded in the jade slip. Some were graceful and agile, while others were simple and heavy. All of them were extremely intricate, basically the essence of various sword styles. There were almost a hundred sword techniques as well. If he had not seen it with his own eyes, he would never have imagined that a single, one-meter-long sword could produce so many variations.
They really are a sect of sword cultivators after all. They really do have some tricks up their sleeves. Once I study them carefully, my Path of the Sword will definitely reach a whole new level, and I'll be able to unleash the full power of the Demon Dragon sword!
However, what delighted him the most was not these sword styles and sword techniques, but a cultivation method called the Heart of the Sword. It was divided into three parts: offering the sword, refining the sword, and tempering the sword. It described in detail how to temper the sword and increase the quality of the sword.
To the current Li Qingshan, this could be regarded as a timely rain. He just happened to want to refine the Traitorous Demon sword into a true demonic treasure. Although the Traitorous Demon sword could devour demon hearts and increase its strength, the rate of increase was relatively slow. Even with several dozen Demon Commander demon hearts in hand, he was not confident he could succeed. Now that he had this cultivation method, his chances of success had increased drastically. Even if it was not a hundred percent, he was seventy to eighty percent confident.
"Heh, I've still managed to take advantage of you after all!"
Li Qingshan was satisfied. Then he asked, "When do the two of you plan on setting off?"
"Probably in the next day or two."
Hwa Seung-zan replied. Suddenly, he gazed down the mountain. "Someone's coming. That's strange. Why has he come to find me?"
At the foot of the mountain, a man stood in front of the entrance. He was dressed like a farmer and seemed very rustic, but he possessed a bearing that regular farmers did not possess. He was neither servile nor overbearing, and he was built of earth and wood.
Beside him stood a teenager dressed in bright clothes. The teenager carried a sword on his back, and he seemed to be slightly uncomfortable.
They were the leader of the school of Agriculture, Li Long, and Li Qingshan, who had changed his name to 'Li Xiaoyao' and 'Li Qingshi'.
Li Xiaoyao said, "Master, why don't we go back?"
Thump! Li Long rapped Li Long's head. "Damned brat, I brought you here because you said you wanted to learn the sword in the Sword Collection palace. Now that we're here, you're chickening out. What kind of man are you?"
"It's still cultivation. It's the same no matter where."
"How can it be the same? Our school of Agriculture focuses on farming. We focus on 'life', so we have to adapt to the changes in life. The sword is a lethal weapon. It focuses on death, so it has to be unyielding and resolute! You're still young right now, so your temperament is still unsettled. If you farm with me for a few more years, it'll be too late even if you want to learn the sword.
"Will he want me?"
Li Xiaoyao said uneasily. To those who wanted to learn the sword, the Sword Collection palace could be described as a 'holy land'. Yin Xiaochou had defeated the genius cultivators of twenty-two prefectures consecutively, so he had made a name for himself. He felt quite pressured.
"How do you know if you don't try? If it doesn't work out, there's still other places. You don't have to be afraid either. He's powerful, but wasn't he still defeated by you- by someone from the same hometown? "
When Li Qingshan was mentioned, Li Xiaoyao's spirit roused. Sure enough, he became a little bolder.
Over the years he had spent with Li Long, his mind had matured quite a lot. He understood many matters of the past and also understood Li Qingshan's difficulties, so he no longer resented him. This second uncle who refused to acknowledge him remained his idol.
At this moment, the formation was activated.
Li Long pulled Li Xiaoyao to his feet and shrunk the ground beneath his feet, arriving at the top of the mountain in a short while. Seeing that Li Qingshan was there as well, he felt a little more confident.
"What brings you here, patriarch Li?"
Hwa Seung-zan asked with a smile. Li Long had always focused on the affairs of farming. In the past few years, he had spent most of his time cultivating in seclusion, so they did not have much contact. All he knew was that he was from the same hometown as Li Qingshan.
"I heard that you're going to the Sword Collection palace, so I've specially come to see you off. This is just a small gift, but it's not enough!"
Li Long took out the fruit basket he had prepared. There were apples, pears, and various other fruits. All of them were abundant with spiritual qi and had a bright lustre. Hwa Seung-zan turned it down before accepting it.
Only then did Li Long say, "I also have a request. This child is my disciple, and he's always been in love with the path of the sword. I wonder if you can take him to the Sword Collection palace to try it out, fellow Yin?"
Li Xiaoyao glanced at Li Qingshan and no longer dared to look at him anymore. Afterwards, he raised his head and looked at Yin Xiaochou with the Broken Water sword on his waist. His face was filled with respect and yearning.
"If he wants to become a disciple of the Sword Collection palace, he needs to undergo a strict test. It's not something I can decide with a single word. This child's talent is mediocre, and he lacks courage and resolution. He's not suited to walk the path of a sword cultivator, so it's best if he continues cultivating in the school of agriculture. "
Yin Xiaochou had inherited the sword intent of the past masters of the Broken Water sword, so he had some ability to judge people. It was already very difficult for this child to embark on the path of cultivation. The chances of him undergoing the first heavenly tribulation were very small. However, to the Sword Collection palace, this was the most basic requirement, or he would not even be a formal disciple.
Li Xiaoyao lowered his head. His face alternated between red and white.
"He's still young, and he's inexperienced. He does have some kindness in his heart, but he's completely focused on becoming a sword wielder. Even I can't persuade him otherwise!"
Li Long sighed gently and rubbed Li Xiaoyao's head, but he looked at Li Qingshan.
Li Qingshan said, "Just let him try, fellow Yin. If he can't pass the Sword Collection palace's test, then there's no need to mention anything else. Just send him back. I didn't seem to have any extraordinary talent or courage back then."
"Really? I found you extraordinary the moment I saw you. This child's surname is Li too. Is he a relative from your hometown? "Hwa Seung-zan smiled.
Li Qingshan only smiled.
"I must learn the sword!" Li Xiaoyao suddenly raised his head and said loudly.
"Oh? Why?" Yin Xiaochou asked.
"My parents were both killed by evil people!"
"You want to avenge them?"
Li Long shook his head. "That evil person died a long time ago!"
"Then why?"
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