The Immortal’s Poison

Wen Leyang had received two precious treasures at once, causing his actual power to immediately double. Other than himself, the other two Wen family elders and First Uncle were smiling so much that they could not close their mouths. In a rare occurrence, First Elder Wen ran over to express his gratitude, “I really should have given more of the Ning Jiao’s skin to you back then…”

However, old man Gongye unexpectedly shook his head, “I don’t have that piece of the Ning Jiao’s skin anymore, I had used it to be refined into Wen Leyang’s armor. I was afraid that splitting the skin would ruin this treasure’s power.”

In the beginning, the two families had agreed that the Ning Jiao’s skin and bones would be given to the Gongye family to be refined into weapons. After the task was completed, the Gongye family would be gifted with a piece of the Ning Jiao’s skin as compensation but no one expected that old man Gongye would give up his compensation in order to seek for perfection in the weapon’s power. To the Mount Pan’s disciples, the act of weapon refinement was the true path of cultivation. To achieve perfection, they had been willing to sacrifice that small piece of skin.

The Wen family members felt moved. Only First Grandfather was slightly hesitant as he was afraid that old man Gongye would ask for other forms of compensation. He had secretly made the decision now that if the Gongye family was to ask for other items as compensation, he would not give in to their request and stick to the statement that it was the other party who had chosen to give up their compensation in the first place…

As expected, after old man Gongye has rested for a while, he then spoke to the Wen family members, “There’s no need to be concerned about whether to compensate us or not. If all of you truly wants to extend your gratitude for these boys’ efforts…” He then pointed at his family’s disciples who were all completely exhausted, “Then please show us the other precious treasure so that this old father can take a look.”

At this statement, every single one of the Wen family’s disciples was clearly confused. They did not understand what old man Gongye’s intention was.

First Grandfather had immediately thought of his ‘buried treasure bed’. His eyes glimmered as they rolled around and he cautiously probed, “What kind of treasure is that? There’s nothing valuable in my family…”

Old man Gongye knows that First Grandfather was a moneygrubber so he replied fiercely, “I’m not hankering after your family’s treasures, I only want to see that particular magical item so that I can understand and learn about the technique which refined it.”

First Elder Wen drew his sparse brows together as he probed once again, “Only one look?” When old man Gongye nodded angrily, First Elder Wen stomped his feet abruptly and pulled old man Gongye along to his big house. This time, he had only allowed a few people including Fourth Grandfather, First Uncle, Wen Leyang and Chang Li to enter the house. The rest were all blocked outside the door without exception.

First Elder Wen started to take out boxes of all sizes from under his bed. These were the most valuable and rare treasures that the Wen family has accumulated over the past two thousand years. Amongst them was also the extraordinary treasures previously gifted by the One Word Palace’s subordinates. The entire house was soon filled with the brilliance of pearls and jewels. Everyone’s faces were glowing and Chang Li was cheerful as she took a closer look and held them in her hands. She was like a young maiden who had fallen into the candy pile, blooming with endless joy from the bottom of her heart.

First Elder Wen’s heart was almost in his throat and he was deeply regretting his decision. He felt that he should not have displayed his store of treasures before Grand Master Chang Li’s eyes. Fourth Grandfather, however, suddenly exclaimed as he picked up a piece of rare purple poison jade. He then gave First Grandfather an evil glare, “I’ve lost this for over forty years, seems like it was you who’ve found it, huh?”

First Grandfather’s expression changed abruptly and he rubbed his palms together as he laughed shyly, “I had just… Just picked it up, yester…”

Fourth Grandfather huffed as he directly stuffed that piece of purple jade into his chest pocket. Soon after, his gaze shifted to a tiny black snake which had died for an unknown amount of years yet its body was still plump and shiny, “This… I remember when I was young, this was Third Brother’s favorite…”

First Grandfather hastily closed the box and he shook his head strenuously, “No, no. Those are two different items! This is not the Third Brother’s!” The glare that he shot towards old man Gongye once again was almost blazing with rage.

Old man Gongye, on the other hand, frowned as he looked at all the treasures. He showed signs of displeasure as he said, “I told you that I was only looking, right?! Why was it necessary to be such a cheapskate? I’m only looking, it won’t even cost you a chunk of moneygrubber’s flesh from your body!”

First Grandfather exclaimed in understanding. There was no lack of high-grade treasured weapons and divine swords hidden under his bed. These had been sent by the sects affiliated with the One Word Palace as wedding gifts. However, though each of these items was highly valuable and First Grandfather had hidden them away like they were precious antiques, these were apparently not what old man Gongye had been asking about.

Old man Gongye thought that First Elder Wen was intentionally hiding that precious item from him so he had not wasted any time and used his contemptuous look to taunt First Elder Wen.

Not only was First Grandfather not furious, on the contrary, an excited radiance started glowing on his old face. He pulled old man Gongye along as he asked softly, “So, what you were saying is that… In the Wen family village, there is still a remarkable treasure?”

Old man Gongye looked at him suspiciously. First Grandfather was beaming with joy and his tone of speaking sounded generous and hospitable, “Quickly, tell me what that is! You’ll have to help me look for this item. Once we find it, I will lend it to you so that you can have a long look!”

The Gongye family’s Art of Weapon Crafting was not merely the act of a blacksmith in a forge. Instead, it was a genuine magical art. Each time before they fired up the furnace, they would pray to their God first then they would pray to the precious treasures. Needless to say, the process of praying to their God was straightforward but the process of praying to the precious treasures was a very important step. The person who was refining the weapon would first need to channel his magic skill and think of a way to achieve a tacit understanding akin to a sympathetic response between the person and the precious treasure.

The precious treasures have no spiritual intelligence but they all contained some form of spiritual vitality. The person who was refining the weapon would need to feel the treasure’s spiritual attribution during the process of praying to it. It was only after that could he could fire up the furnace and refine the weapon. Old man Gongye was not exempt to this in the Wen family village this time. However, as he was praying to the treasure, other than receiving the Ning Jiao’s reaction, he had also managed to capture another strand of spiritual vitality which had come from another precious treasure that had already taken form. Therefore, he was under the impression that there was some other utmost precious treasure which was stored in the Wen family village.

This type of item which was capable of dispersing spiritual vitality during the process of praying to the treasure was absolutely not some common item. This was why old man Gongye had proposed the idea to take a look at this item. According to Gongye’s thinking, this item was certainly some treasured weapon which had belonged to a predeceased sword immortal with exceedingly high powers. He had not been trying to hanker after the treasured weapon’s effect, he had only wanted to look at the technique used to refine this treasure.

First Elder Wen frowned as he pondered for a long while. He could not think of any other precious items which still existed in the Wen family. Fourth Elder Wen was too lazy to even think as he rolled his poisonous snake-like eyes and asked Gongye, “Can you locate it yourself?”

Gongye shook his head and First Grandfather inquired closely once again, “What if I was to place this item before you?”

Old man Gongye nodded this time and he spoke proudly, “No matter which treasured weapon it is, as long as I can take a look at it, I would be able to judge the smelting level based on the traces of refinement. Following that, I can tell whether this was actually a precious weapon which had been thoroughly refined and tempered or if it was just a scrap item smelted from the fire of an earth pit!” He then brandished an ancient sword which glimmered with awe-inspiring murderous intent from a convenient box, “This one here is of pretty good quality but it can only be considered as an antique, not some top-grade item.”

Wen Leyang remembered this ancient sword, it had been gifted to them when the One Word Palace’s lesser subordinate sects had come to congratulate him on a joyous occasion. The sword was named ‘Night Crusher’ and, according to the person who had gifted the sword, it had belonged to a sword immortal from three thousand years ago. Even though he does not know if it was a real or fake sword, it was true that the sword’s blade gleamed with an awe-inspiring and sharp mannerism. He never would have expected that Gongye would deem this sword worthless.

First Grandfather pondered for a while before he spoke to Wen Tunhai, “I want you to go and search through the precious items which were hidden by the kids. Don’t care if it is useful or useless, search through them and find me that item! As long as it is an uncertain item, whether it is a pair of chopsticks or a urinal, bring it to the big house and get the old immortal Gongye to look at it!”

First Uncle was at a loss whether to cry or to laugh as he answered, “Perhaps it’s not even an item which belongs to our family, perhaps it’s an item which belongs to the Luo family, the Miao family or even Ji Fei or Shui Jing…”

First Grandfather did not hesitate as he waved his hand impatiently and spoke, “Carry out the task at once. After you’ve made certain that the item is not in our family, we shall then have to scheme on the others too!” The old man looked toward Chang Li smilingly as he said that.

Chang Li smiled like a little cunning fox. She lowered her voice as she spoke to First Grandfather mysteriously, “If it’s from the Luo family or the Miao family, I will not interfere but if it’s with the Rainbow Brothers, Ji Fei or Shui Jing, then I will certainly help you take possession of it!”

First Grandfather was immediately head-over-heels for this Grand Master’s temperament who would take such good care of her juniors.

Following that, the village was in a chaotic mess as each family turned out every drawer and box. They sent many big boxes filled with messy stuff continuously into the village head’s house under the confused gaze of the outside guests…

Fourth Grandfather had almost dozed off while First Grandfather’s expression was becoming more and more bored as well. In the end, even old man Gongye was too lazy to go through the boxes as he used the corners of his eyes to look before huffing, “Take that away!”

…

They bustled about for two full hours. Along with the final Wen Bucao’s disciple who was left baffled with a large cardboard box in his arms, everyone exhaled a long breath collectively. Wen Tunhai smiled grimly as he shrugged and was about to speak when First Grandfather suddenly recalled something. He suddenly glared at Wen Tunhai, “You brat, where is the precious treasure from your house? Why have you not brought it here yet!”

Wen Tunhai exclaimed before he sniggered and spoke, “I forgot, I forgot…” He then fled like a breath of vapor back to his house.

The First Uncle was once the head of the county so he has more items in his house than anybody else. There was no lack of fine items amongst them and the brilliance of pearls and jewels glowed from several large boxes filled to the brim with these items. Even though these boxes were still no match to First Grandfather’s hidden treasures under his bed, it was enough for Wen Leyang to observe for a long while.

First Grandfather was beaming with joy as he grabbed a handful of precious treasures to take a look. He then peered at Wen Tunhai smilingly after a while. First Uncle, however, felt uneasy and terrified of the First Grandfather’s gaze instead.

Wen Tunhai had many items. He was turning over the items one by one from the boxes into the big house’s floor when ‘You’ve Got Me’ suddenly ululated cheerfully. It jumped out from Wen Leyang’s chest and tunneled into one of the boxes swiftly, refusing to come out no matter how much Wen Leyang had called for it.

Wen Leyang does not know what the bug had discovered but he rolled up his sleeves and attempted to fish out the bug out from the box. However, just as he was about to do so, his First Uncle and First Grandfather both shouted anxiously, “Be careful of the porcelain!”

By the time Wen Leyang had retracted his arm, he was holding on to a dragonfly-shaped red-colored little sword with two tiny words engraved on the hilt which spelled out ‘Firetail’.

‘You’ve Got Me’ was pouncing onto the sword’s blade with its body. It rolled back and forth on the sword as it squeaked occasionally. Wen Leyang thought that the sword looked rather familiar. He was trying to recall where he had seen it with great effort when First Uncle Wen Tunhai reminded him as he laughed from the side, “It was that year when you had first returned from the Red Leaves Forest. The four grandfathers had brought some people along to Mount Emei’s Zhanyan Peak. A group of Taoist priests from the Sun Dynasty Palace had come to the mountain to cause trouble…”

Wen Leyang was suddenly enlightened. He had just remembered that senior disciple Yu Lingzi, who had led the troop from the Sun Dynasty Palace, was the master of this little sword named ‘Firetail’. Back then, after Wen Leyang had severely injured Yu Lingzi, ‘You’ve Got Me’ had once pounced on this small sword to feed on its fire elemental power. Judging by the situation, ‘You’ve Got Me’ and ‘Firetail’ could be considered as old flames.

“I kept this sword as it had injured me and could be considered as some sort of memorabilia…” First Uncle chuckled but before he could finish his sentence, old man Gongye, who had been standing to the side with glimmering eyes suddenly jumped up. He disregarded ‘You’ve Got Me’ as he stretched out his hand and grabbed the flying sword. He then raised the sword to his eye level as he examined it closely.

If it had not been for Wen Leyang’s perfectly-timed shout, ‘You’ve Got Me’ would certainly filled old man Gongye’s face with stings.

Even a foolish person could tell that Gongye has discovered the precious treasure he was looking for. Everyone in the house dared not make a sound as they held their breath meticulously, afraid that they would disturb Gongye’s concentration. It was only until after a long while that the old man finally spoke with a dry voice, “This sword here… What is… What is its origin?”

Wen Leyang hastily described the events which had taken place back then. He spoke about Yu Lingzi who had come from the Sun Dynasty Palace and old man Gongye’s expression became more and more amazed as he listened. At the same time, he shook his head continuously and muttered to himself, “It’s impossible, it’s impossible…” At this point, First Elder Wen suddenly cleared his throat before he interrupted Wen Leyang, “That is incorrect! Before being owned by Yu Lingzi, this sword had another owner. The divine monk Shan Duan had once told us about its origin!”

The Sun Dynasty Palace’s Yu Lingzi had, by chance, saved the life of Wei Mo’s Martial Uncle from Heaven Teller Sect in the past. To repay his debt of gratitude, that old man with miraculous foresight had instructed Yu Lingzi to search for this fire elemental sword in a volcano at the Changbai Mountains.

Wen Leyang inhaled a cool breath. During his trance, he had figured out that Wei Mo’s Martial Uncle can speak about the heavenly mysteries. Any sword that he professes as a good one was certainly more than just good.

Chang Li burned with eagerness as she seized ‘Firetail’ from the old man Gongye’s hands uncourteously. She then examined the sword attentively but after a long while, she pursed her lips and spoke in a slightly annoyed tone, “I can’t see anything different about it.” As she said that, she stretched out her other hand and pinched the tip of the sword continuously. She seems to be attempting to pry open the small sword to take a closer look.

The two old men Gongye and First Grandfather almost jumped up simultaneously as they squalled, “Don’t do that!”

Chang Li was startled and she hastily tossed the small sword onto the ground. She then stood with her hands clasped behind her back as she protruded her tongue mischievously.

First Grandfather’s expression agonized as he hastily picked ‘Firetail’ up from the ground. He treated it as if it was his lung instead of a small sword which Chang Li had just tossed to the ground.

The First Uncle laughed grimly as he shook his head, “I had felt a searing-hot pain when the sword injured me. However… It had not seemed to be that powerful after all.”

Old man Gongye huffed as he asked the First Uncle, “Do you know about guns? For example, different types of guns such as handguns and machineguns?”

First Uncle and Wen Leyang nodded in unison though they had not understood his question. Old man Gongye then continued, “Once you fire a gun, it shoots to kill. However, if you were to throw the handgun at a person and attempt to crush them, then it will not be f*cking useful at all.”

The moment Gongye finished speaking, he realized that everybody else was filled with puzzlement. He then heaved a long sigh and took ‘Firetail’ from First Grandfather’s hands. He used his finger to feel around the sword’s blade cautiously as his voice trembled like he was almost in tears, “All of you… Do you know that this sword here bears utterly no trace of being forged or refined at all?! The small sword has a whole body and other than the two ancient scripts, it had not been carved out artificially.”

Wen Tunhai rolled his eyes as he laughed in slight disbelief, “So this sword here had not been refined with water and fire or forged with bronze and iron? Could it be that it had grown out by itself?”

Old man Gongye was so excited that he was almost in tears. He pursed his lips and nodded strenuously when Guo Huan suddenly spoke up from within the jade knife, “Could it be that this is…”

“The Sword’s Resolve?!” Guo Huan was halfway through his sentence when Chang Li too suddenly recalled something. Both of them had then shouted in unison.

Wen Leyang laughed dryly and he wanted to inquire what it was but he was afraid that he would provoke the old man and the old demons in rage.

Guo Huan heaved a heavy sigh. He looked like he had suddenly recalled something else as he exclaimed ‘no wonder’ continuously. He then explained to Wen Leyang, “The Sword’s Resolve is not related to weapon refinement but it is an ancient cultivation art. After a profound cultivator has cultivated into a split body, he does not transform the split body into a human form but instead turned it into his flying sword. As time passes, the split body would slowly transform into the form of a sword. The flying sword would receive its soul while the split body would receive the form. Not only would their master’s sympathetic response be increased by several times, the sword is also capable of turning hostile and attack the enemy on its own. This split body which was grown in the sword’s body is known as the Sword’s Resolve! Not only is it not refined, it is cultivated by the cultivator’s effort day after day!”

Chang Li nodded as she added from the side, “The real difference between cultivating the split body into the human form or into a Sword’s Resolve is that the former will be reborn such that the split body can help the God-level cultivator in human form to resist the enemy, carry out tasks and cultivate. Cultivating the split body into a Sword’s Resolve is equal to adding a set of souls into the treasured weapon until the flying sword is turned into the cultivator’s own split body! This way, the split body would not be able to help the God-level cultivator to cultivate or carry out tasks but it could be used to help increase the power of his flying sword and help the God-level cultivator to kill the enemy quicker.

This time, Wen Leyang had understood the explanation much quicker. He understood that the real difference in cultivating the split body into the human form or a Sword’s Resolve was that the former would be reborn so that the split body could help the cultivator in the human form. It would be capable of doing many things but it would be slightly weak at defeating the enemy. When the latter was turned into a weapon, the split body would be fused into the cultivator’s own treasured weapon to improve his supernatural power, making the act of killing the enemy easier.

Chang Li made sure that Wen Leyang understood this crucial point before she nodded and continued, “If the God-level cultivator was to die, whether his split body was in the human form or as a Sword’s Resolve, they would both be severely injured as well. However, the split body in human form was capable of cultivating his power to heal the injuries by himself but the Sword’s Resolve was incapable of doing that. Once the sword-bearer was dead, the Sword’s Resolve would seal itself off while simultaneously be stripped out of the flying sword. If one could break the seal and dissolve the soul’s power in the Sword’s Resolve, then one could own that flying sword which had been used by that cultivator while they were alive! Moreover, this flying sword’s power was unrelated to the person who had dissolved the soul’s power…” As she said that, Chang Li frowned before she rephrased her sentence, “Let me put it this way, dissolving the Sword’s Resolve is equal to one requesting for that cultivator’s soul to come out and guide that flying sword which had belonged to him in life! Even if it was an ordinary person who had dissolved the Sword’s Resolve, they would then be capable of using that extremely powerful flying sword!”

Guo Huan was afraid that Wen Leyang was confused so he treated it like a debate and immediately spoke up once Chang Li had finished speaking, “The cultivator who had managed to cultivate the Sword’s Resolve naturally had a remarkable flying sword. It would at least be no weaker than this old father’s Yin’s Error and Yang’s Mistake. Even before my human body had been destroyed, let alone meeting that God-level cultivator who had created this Sword’s Resolve, I would have just given that person a wide berth and not provoke them.”

Though the sword’s bearer was already dead, their flying sword still existed. The Sword’s Resolve had sealed itself and stripped away from the flying sword. The person who manages to break the seal of the Sword’s Resolve and dissolve its soul’s power would become the flying sword’s new master.

Even though the Sword’s Resolve was a precious treasure which may be encountered by luck and not by searching, not everyone could wield it as the seal was of course not that easily broken. If one manages to refine the Sword’s Resolve’s soul power, one would gain a divine sword. However, if one failed to refine it, the Sword’s Resolve would not be very useful at all. At most, it could be considered as a flying sword of average quality. Yu Lingzi had not known much about the treasured weapon in the beginning so he had refined ‘Firetail’ into his own flying sword, labeling him as a third-grade cultivator.

First Grandfather’s eyeballs were bloodshot as he seized ‘Firetail’ back from old man Gongye’s hands insistently.

‘You’ve Got Me’ ululated anxiously as it lay on ‘Firetail’. Its body was too tiny and it had placed its entire body on the sword’s blade but it could not participate in the act of seizing it. It slammed its tail in an exceedingly anxious manner and First Grandfather coughed once before he flicked elegantly at the blade. As a consequence, ‘You’ve Got Me’ was flicked away.

‘You’ve Got Me’ was a telepathic bug and its body immediately curled into a ball from being treated unjustly. It did not acknowledge the moneygrubbing old man but it somersaulted through midair and dropped into Wen Leyang’s palm. It then rubbed its head against its master’s hand sorrowfully. Wen Leyang chuckled as he stretched out a finger and caressed the bug’s plump body, “I can’t avenge this enmity for you…”

It was unknown how long this Sword’s Resolve had drifted around in the world. It has lost its sharp energy and even an experienced and knowledgeable demon like Chang Li could not tell its true features. Only old man Gongye, who was an expert in refining weapons, could determine its true form through the absence of refinement traces on its body.

First Grandfather cradled ‘Firetail’ in his arms and beamed with joy as he asked the rest, “How does one break the seal and refine the soul’s power in the Sword’s Resolve?”

Chang Li looked into Gongye’s and they both shook their heads in unison. They had only heard of refining the Sword’s Resolve but none of them knew how to perform it specifically.

Guo Huan, on the other hand, laughed wildly from the jade knife. It almost seems like he had been waiting for First Grandfather to inquire about it earlier, “First Brother Wen, there’s no need for you to think about refining this Sword’s Resolve. It already has an owner! Moreover, I’m aware of where the Sword’s Resolve’s divine sword is!”

Wen Leyang inquired closely out of convenience, “Where is it?”

Unexpectedly, Guo Huan exclaimed before he cursed, “I’ve lived several thousand years just to meet such a foolish man!” Following that, he paused for a moment before he asked in a baffling manner, “Don’t you agree?”

The crowd was still puzzled when another voice which sounded kind and warm echoed from the jade knife. That voice spoke with a smile, “The person who has a good soul is indomitable and fears nothing on earth. He is not foolish, not foolish, not foolish.”

Chang Li, who was the first to react to the situation, giggled and cheered with a crisp voice, “The Taoist Priest San Wei is awake!”

The Taoist Priest San Wei too chuckled, “I’m awake, I’m awake! I have been in this great dream for the past millennium but I’m awake now.”

First Grandfather stomped his feet impatiently on the side. He could not understand how the conversation had gone from ‘Firetail’ to the topic of sleep. Guo Huan, however, laughed before he refocused the topic of discussion again, “San Wei, please hold on, I need to wake this foolish child to reality first!” He then paused for a little while before he continued with a sonorous and forceful tone, “Young lad, the divine sword which is linked to this Sword’s Resolve was first seen on the Qilian Mountains. It had then wandered to Shanghai and is now on the snowy tip of the Geladaindong Peak…”

Wen Leyang squalled as he jumped up, “The Molten Metal Fire Bell?!”

Guo Huan’s tone of speaking was beyond all doubt, “That is correct. Otherwise, how could there be such a divine sword with a sharp fiery element and boundless power which is willing to save your life repeatedly in the world!”

The giant pangolin Po Tu had once informed Wen Leyang that the ‘Molten Metal Fire Bell’ was not meant to be used by a human. At most, it could only be used to threaten others but there was no remnant primordial spirit left behind by its previous master in that sword.

Wen Leyang’s heart was thumping ferociously and his mind turned blank. He stuttered as he asked, “So, what you’re saying is that… I’m the master of this Sword’s Resolve?”

“Bullshit!” Guo Huan immediately scolded, “Use your empty head to think about this, who was the one who had summoned the giant sword each time and who was the one who echoed each other and had been unwilling to part with the giant sword?”

Wen Leyang’s mouth fell open as he lifted ‘You’ve Got Me’ in his palm.

‘You’ve Got Me’ wriggled its body and probed twice. It then suddenly leaped and jumped into Wen Leyang’s mouth, where it ululated proudly and spun around several times.

Chang Li’s gaze roamed like water ripples as she looked at First Uncle, “Back then, when Wen Leyang had struck down ‘Firetail’, how had it all happened?”

Wen Tunhai did not dare to hesitate as he recalled that memory attentively. He muttered, “Wen Leyang had used the Faulty Punch to strike ‘Firetail’…” As he said that, he stretched out his right hand, gesturing as all five of his fingers oscillated wildly, “Causing ‘Firetail’ to turn into a drunken sword. Wen Leyang then beat Yu Lingzi until he was severely injured. ‘Firetail’ had made a sorrowful hum then dropped to the ground. The bug had pounced forward and after that, I retrieved the flying sword. Finally…”

Chang Li coughed as she rolled her eyes mischievously at the First Uncle, “There’s no need to talk about what had happened after that.” Following that, she tilted her head and looked at Wen Leyang who was bustling about as he attempted to dislodge the bug from his mouth. She sized him up and down before she finally sighed, “What kind of luck is this?!” Upon saying that, she paused for a while. When she felt that she had not vented the full expression of her emotions, she added a shocking, ‘F*ck!”