Sixty years of blacksmithing, a single hammer blow forging a celestial being.

As they entered the Hall of Mental Cultivation, no disciples obstructed their path.

Because they all knew that an old man would come to see the Holy Maiden today and spend two hours exchanging insights and enlightenment with her.

Along the way, the disciples outside looked at Li Ping'an with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

I hate that this old man actually has the right to speak face to face with the saintess.

What an opportunity and honor this is! Why can't it be them?

Despite the murderous look in his eyes, Li Ping'an remained calm.

He ignored their gazes and walked into the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Led by a disciple, Li Ping'an arrived at a side hall.

The side hall was quiet and exuded a faint sandalwood fragrance.

In a spot by the window, a beautiful figure was sitting at a tea table, quietly brewing tea.

Smoke curled upwards, and the aroma of tea wafted into Li Ping'an's nostrils.

It smells so good, so wonderful.

The disciple who had led the way left silently, leaving Li Ping'an alone in the side hall.

Li Pingan took a deep breath and slowly walked towards the beautiful figure in the distance.

As he drew closer, Li Ping'an gradually came to see the man's appearance clearly.

Her skin was fair, like mutton fat jade.

Clear, bright eyes, long eyelashes, and cherry-like lips.

Her face was so beautiful it was like a fairy descending to earth.

It's her, the one I've been longing for for so long.

His childhood sweetheart, his former lover, now the saintly Lu Xue.

Lu Xue raised her eyes slightly and saw Li Ping'an.

Li Ping'an was dressed very appropriately today, in a brocade Taoist robe.

He spent a full twenty spirit stones to buy it in the market.

The carefully styled hair is pinned up with a hairpin.

His beard was also groomed, and his deep eyes looked full of vicissitudes and maturity.

In short, Li Ping'an is no longer the slovenly old man who only knew how to forge iron in the blacksmith shop.

He now looks like a wise and venerable man, exuding an air of great prestige.

"Brother Ping An, it's been a long time."

Upon seeing Li Ping'an, the Holy Maiden smiled and greeted him.

There was not the slightest bit of arrogance about them.

This gave Li Ping'an a strange feeling.

Is this the same saintess he met in the eye on the day of the trial?

He still clearly remembers that the saintess's eyes were cold and devoid of any emotion.

High above, making people feel that they are unapproachable.

And now, she smiles again, calling out "Sweet Brother Ping An" once more.

It gave him a feeling of disorientation.

It felt as if time had turned back to several distant decades ago.

The time he spent with Lu Xue when they entered the Tongtian Sword Sect.

Back then, Lu Xue affectionately called him Brother Ping An.

It was only after the test revealed that Lu Xue had a top-grade Heavenly Spiritual Root, while Li Ping'an had an extremely inferior mixed spiritual root.

The two had less and less contact.

Lu Xue changed her address for him from "Brother Ping An" to "Li Ping An," and eventually stopped calling him by his name altogether.

In a daze, Li Ping'an sat blankly opposite Lu Xue.

Lu Xue skillfully brewed tea with her pair of fair hands.

He handed a cup of tea to Li Ping'an.

"Try it. This is tea made from the Enlightenment Tea Tree, which has been aged for a thousand years. It will be good for you."

Li Ping'an looked at the steaming teacup in front of him, which was still exuding a fragrant aroma.

Then he looked at Lu Xue's smiling face.

A strange feeling crept into my mind: Had Lu Xue never changed? Did she still love me all along?

"Brother Ping An, you've changed over the years, you've gotten older, but seeing you still feels so warm and familiar."

Lu Xue blinked, looked Li Ping'an up and down, and murmured.

Then she silently poured herself another cup of tea, seemingly lost in memories as she spoke.

"Thinking back to when we first entered the sect, we were all innocent and naive, unaware of the dangers of the world, and full of hope and longing for everything. Back then, our feelings were pure, without any deceit or treachery."

After saying that, the saintess let out a long sigh.

"Later, I awakened a top-grade Heavenly Spiritual Root and was groomed as a successor by the Tongtian Sword Sect. The sect provided me with countless cultivation resources for my use."

"The sect leader also valued me highly. At that time, I felt the pressure and began to cultivate diligently, constantly cultivating, and dared not think about romance."

Listening to Lu Xue recount some of her past experiences.

Li Pingan was dumbfounded.

Why is she telling herself all this?

Was she trying to explain to herself that she wasn't heartless back then, but rather under various pressures?

Could it be that she still has feelings for him?

However, he didn't dare to speak and just silently watched Lu Xue.

Lu Xue also seemed to be lost in deep reminiscence:

"The more I experienced, the more I felt the cruelty, ruthlessness, and cold-bloodedness of the cultivation world."

"I began to close myself off and devote myself to cultivation. Only in this way could my cultivation speed increase."

"Later, my talent was discovered by the Lingtian Holy Land, and I was successfully selected by the Holy Lord as a Holy Maiden. The competition there was even more intense and cruel. Every day, I had nothing to think about except cultivating and comprehending the supreme Dao."

She suddenly stopped talking at this point.

He tapped the teacup in front of Li Ping'an and said:

"Brother Ping An, drink this. This is the Enlightenment Tea Tree; most people can't even get their hands on it. Drinking it will benefit your cultivation."

Li Ping'an nodded blankly.

Upon seeing Lu Xue, he had prepared a thousand words, but at this moment he didn't know how to say them.

Especially when Lu Xue reminisced about their past.

I felt a mix of emotions.

Upon hearing Lu Xue ask him to drink tea, he mechanically picked up the teacup and drank it all in one gulp.

This tea is truly incredibly fragrant.

As soon as it entered his throat, Li Ping'an felt a warm current flow through his limbs and bones.

At the same time, the dantian in his body also began to boil.

"The tea is definitely good tea..."

Li Ping'an suddenly stopped halfway through his sentence.

He froze on the spot, looking at Lu Xue with complete bewilderment.

Something is wrong!

Not long after drinking the tea, Li Ping'an suddenly felt the Heaven-Forging Hammer within his body move.

That's right, the Sky Hammer sensed the toxins, so it started working and began to absorb them.

In other words, Li Ping'an glanced at the teacup in his hand...

This tea is poisoned!

In an instant, Li Ping'an felt as if he had been struck by lightning, as if a thousand thunderbolts had exploded in his heart.

Lu Xue poured him the tea, but it was poisoned. She was trying to harm him!

Why? Why would Lu Xue poison herself with poisoned tea?

He was completely stunned for a moment.

She could have easily killed herself with a single blow, so why did she choose to poison herself with poisoned tea?

Li Ping'an was deeply shocked.

However, he dared not reveal the slightest bit of his feelings when facing the saintess.

After all, this Enlightenment Ancient Tea tastes no different from ordinary tea.

If it weren't for the Heaven-Forging Hammer, no one would have known that it was poisonous.

Fortunately, at this moment, the Heaven-Forging Hammer is constantly absorbing the toxins in the Enlightenment Ancient Tea.

His body doesn't seem to be in any serious condition.