A Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Starting as a Sword-Forging Servant and Ascending to Immorta

"Hammer-forged sword intent?"

Qin Zhaoyun, who had been leaning back on the stone chair and hadn't responded to their conversation, finally turned her head.

His gaze fell on Zhou Lingxuan and lingered for a moment.

"Do you even know what you're saying?"

Zhou Lingxuan met his scrutiny with a calm expression.

"clear."

"Take sword intent as iron to forge it, gather the scattered pieces back together, reorganize the disordered ones, and reconnect the broken ones."

Upon hearing this, Qin Zhaoyun's face showed a hint of sarcasm.

"A Arabian Nights"

"Sword intent originates from the sword cultivator himself; it is a combination of cultivation level, state of mind, and understanding of the sword path. When a sword cultivator dies, the sword intent dissipates. How can you possibly bring it back with a hammer?"

He reached into the wooden box and picked up a broken sword.

The sword was not aimed at anyone, but the branches and leaves of the spirit trees in the courtyard all trembled.

Several leaves split open from the middle, with clean cuts.

Zhou Lingxuan's fingers had just experienced this power.

He didn't even need to touch the sword; the remaining sharpness was enough to injure him.

Qin Zhaoyun threw the broken sword back into the wooden box.

"How many magical artifacts have you repaired?"

"no."

"Have you studied weapon crafting?"

"No, not at all."

"Do you know swordsmanship?"

Zhou Lingxuan thought for a moment.

"Do the basic sword techniques practiced by the outer sect servants count?"

"You haven't even scratched the surface of sword cultivation."

Qin Zhaoyun stared at him.

"I only allowed you to see this sword because Uncle Qin said you have the ability. Don't try to fool him with some far-fetched excuses."

Old Qin coughed lightly, standing to the side.

"Young master, Brother Zhou also wants to help. Let's hear his ideas first."

"What can he do?"

Qin Zhaoyun raised her hand and pointed to the wooden box.

"The three weapon-refining masters of the sect's weapon peak have all seen the Cloud Sword. They can catch the blade, but none of them dare to touch the sword intent on it."

"Even a Nascent Soul stage weapon refiner can't do it, so how could a menial blacksmith possibly do it?"

The words were very harsh.

Zhou Lingxuan wasn't angry.

If he were lying here and an old man in the Body Tempering Realm came along and immediately offered to repair the sword intent of a Golden Core sword cultivator, he would also think the other party was crazy.

"Young Master Qin must have heard of the legends of divine weapons being forged with their own will, right?"

Qin Zhaoyun's brows twitched slightly.

"Are you trying to use those legends to bolster your position?"

"It's not just a legend."

Zhou Lingxuan reached out and tapped the table.

"The Heavenly Sword Pavilion has records. Three thousand years ago, a Tide-Rising Sword was forged in the South China Sea. On the day the sword was completed, the tides of the sea for a hundred miles reversed. Even before the swordsman had refined it, the sword already contained the sword intent of the tides."

"There is also the Nine Yang Sword from 1,700 years ago, which split open the forging platform on its own when it was forged. The last one is the Dustless Sword, which has records from 600 years ago."

Qin Zhaoyun took over the conversation.

"Tide Rising, Nine Suns, Dustless. Among the swords that are innately imbued with sword intent, only these three have a clear origin on the Dongxuan Continent."

"It seems that Young Master Qin is indeed aware of this."

"nonsense."

Qin Zhaoyun straightened up a bit, leaning against the stone table.

"But have you ever seen who forged these three swords?"

"The Tide-Rising Sword was forged by the Sword Immortal of the South Sea, and the Nine Yang Sword was forged by the Red Sun Sword Immortal. The owner of the Dustless Sword did not leave his name, but the founder of the Heavenly Sword Pavilion personally commented that this person must have been a sword immortal."

Qin Zhaoyun's tone grew increasingly somber.

"Sword Immortal is not a person in the realm of immortals. Rather, it is someone who has brought the way of the sword to its ultimate level, and only then can they be given this title."

"For someone like that, even grass and trees can bear the essence of swordsmanship in their hands. The weapons they forge are born with intention; what's so strange about that?"

As he said this, he raised his chin.

"What about your swordsmanship?"

"How many days have you studied swordsmanship?"

"With your few basic external techniques of slashing, hacking, and thrusting, you think you can do what only a sword immortal can do?"

Old Qin tried to interject several times, but couldn't find an opportunity.

Zhou Lingxuan nodded slowly after Qin Zhaoyun finished speaking.

"You're right, I don't know anything about swords."

Qin Zhaoyun leaned back against the stone chair.

"At least they have some self-awareness."

"Therefore, I have no intention of forging a new sword intent."

Zhou Lingxuan picked up the teapot on the table and poured himself a cup of cold tea.

"What I need to do is repair."

Qin Zhaoyun's eyelids, which she had just closed, opened again.

Zhou Lingxuan took a sip and then spoke.

"Sword immortals imbue their weapons with innate sword intent through their own swordsmanship, which is equivalent to creating something from nothing. The sword intent of the Izumo Sword that I want to cultivate is broken, but its foundation is still there."

"The remaining sword intent in these three sections of the sword all belongs to you. They share the same origin and are easier to repair than to create sword intent out of thin air."

"That's just your guess."

"right."

Zhou Lingxuan readily admitted it.

"For things we haven't tried, we can only guess."

Qin Zhaoyun was taken aback by those words, and her impatience deepened.

"Then what makes you think it can work?"

"Because I forged a million pieces of ironware."

Zhou Lingxuan put down his teacup.

"When swordsmanship reaches its peak, it can transcend ordinary training methods and become a unique path. Why can't forging do the same?"

"Cultivators always think that refining weapons requires spiritual fire, spiritual patterns, and all kinds of rare and precious materials. But these are just means."

"Distinguishing the material, observing the texture, controlling the heat, and determining the weight are the foundation of forging."

Qin Zhaoyun scoffed.

"You want to tell the master blacksmith how to forge iron?"

"I won't tell them."

Zhou Lingxuan raised his hand and pointed at the three sections of the sword.

"The fact that they dare not repair it means that their methods are useless."

Old Qin almost burst out laughing, and quickly raised his hand to cover his mouth.

That sounds crude, but you really can't find fault with it.

The three masters of Qifeng studied it for so many years, but in the end they all shook their heads.

Old Qin sent out enough spirit stones and materials to buy several high-grade spiritual artifacts in order to get them to help, but he didn't even get a result in return.

Zhou Lingxuan continued, "The same piece of iron can be forged into a hoe by some, but into a sharp sword by others. The difference lies in the skill with which it is hammered."

"Sword intent also has strength, concentration, and intensity."

"Since it can remain in the sword, it can be touched. If it can be touched, then it has the potential to be combed."

Qin Zhaoyun did not immediately refute.

He looked down at the three sections of the Izumo sword in the box and tapped his fingers lightly twice on the stone table.

What Zhou Lingxuan talked about was completely different from the spirit patterns, formations, and materials used by weapon refiners; it could even be described as crude.

Use sword intent as raw material.

Hit it with a hammer.

It sounds absurd.

But that line, "Swordsmanship can be a path of its own, so why can't forging?" left him speechless, unable to find a suitable retort.

The sect rule left by the founder of the Heavenly Sword Pavilion states that once a million swords are forged, one should embark on the path to immortality.

Over thousands of years, there have been countless ordinary blacksmiths.

The only one who actually completed a million pieces of ironware and activated the Sect-Suppressing Heavenly Sword was this centenarian servant in front of us.

Qin Zhaoyun raised her head and re-examined Zhou Lingxuan.

The opponent's aura was solely that of a body forging expert, and his palms were covered with thick calluses from blacksmithing.

He lacked the sharpness of a sword cultivator and the scorching aura left by a weapon refiner who had been in contact with spiritual fire for many years.

It looks very ordinary no matter how you look at it.

But Zhou Lingxuan spoke these words without the slightest hint of unease.

A strange thought popped into Qin Zhaoyun's mind.

This old man might actually be able to touch something.

The thought lingered for only a moment before he suppressed it.

Qin Zhaoyun let out a soft hum and slumped back into her chair.

"what ever."

"The sword is right here; look at it however you like."

"But let me make this clear beforehand, don't break it."

Zhou Lingxuan glanced at the three broken sword sections in the wooden box.

"It's already broken into three pieces, how much worse can it get?"

Qin Zhaoyun's face immediately darkened.

Old Qin quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Brother, watch your words, watch your words."

"Young master's temper has worsened in recent years, but sword cultivators love their swords, so please bear with him."

"I'm just telling the truth."

Zhou Lingxuan put his hands behind his back.

"The hammer will definitely not be used today."

Old Qin immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

He was genuinely afraid that Zhou Lingxuan would pull out a hammer from his waist and smash the Chuyun Sword on the spot.

"Before I can fix it, I need to figure out what state the sword intent is in."

Zhou Lingxuan looked at Qin Zhaoyun.

"I spend some time here every day trying to comprehend the residual intent within the Cloud Sword. It may take a few days or a long time, I can't say for sure."

"If it's ultimately confirmed that it can't be repaired, I'll say so directly."

"If it can be repaired, we'll need to prepare a few things."

Qin Zhaoyun waved his hand.

"Do whatever you want."

Old Qin nodded repeatedly.

"Of course, of course."

"Brother, just ask if you need anything. Materials, spirit stones, refining furnaces—as long as they're available at the Heavenly Sword Pavilion, I'll arrange it."

Zhou Lingxuan did not stand on ceremony.

We'll see when the time comes.

He walked around to the other side of the stone table and stopped three steps away from the wooden box.

You can feel the stinging pain from the sword intent at this spot, but you won't get cut on the spot.

Zhou Lingxuan closed his eyes and focused his attention on the three broken sword sections.

At the beginning, there was nothing.

After about half a cup of tea, I felt a slight stinging sensation on my skin.

The sword intent scattered around the wooden box was chaotic, sometimes approaching and sometimes moving away.

They will also clash with each other, and each contact will make their sharp edges even more chaotic.

Zhou Lingxuan tried to find a pattern in it.

But he knew too few sword techniques.

He forged a million swords.

This is the first time I've actually fought someone with a sword.

He couldn't tell why the sword intent was scattered, which part belonged to the sword tip, which part belonged to the sword body, or how it operated before it broke.

After sitting for a full hour, Zhou Lingxuan felt a throbbing pain in his temples and his head was filled with a jumble of thoughts.

He opened his eyes and rubbed his forehead.

Qin Zhaoyun remained seated, seemingly asleep.

Old Qin stood guard by the courtyard gate, not disturbing them.

Sensing through three steps is too vague.

Zhou Lingxuan hesitated for a moment, then extended his right hand toward the wooden box again.

Two steps.

step.

When my fingertip was half an inch away from the broken sword, a subtle pain returned.

Several fragmented sword intents, drawn by the life force of the living person, immediately rushed towards his palm.

Zhou Lingxuan did not retreat.

As the first sword intent pierced his fingertip, his mind stirred.

The Heaven-Forging Hammer in the sea of ​​consciousness trembled slightly.

hum!

The sharp force that had rushed into the meridians suddenly lost its effect.

The faint sword intent didn't even have a chance to struggle before it was directly absorbed into the sea of ​​consciousness by the purple jade hammer.

Zhou Lingxuan quickly stopped.

Three tiny cuts appeared on his fingertips, and before the blood could drip out, he clenched them into his palm.

It's really good at inhaling!

Moreover, after the Heaven-Forging Hammer absorbed the sword intent, it did not refine it into power. The sword intent was completely preserved inside the hammerhead and was slowly moving within the purple light.

That's all for today.

Zhou Lingxuan clasped his hands together, turned around and left.

Old Qin was stunned.

"Brother, won't you sit for a while longer?"

"Comprehending the essence of swordsmanship is mentally taxing; it cannot be rushed."

Zhou Lingxuan didn't stop walking and quickly passed through the courtyard gate.

After his figure disappeared, Qin Zhaoyun slowly opened his eyes on the stone chair.

He picked up the broken sword near Zhou Lingxuan, ran his fingers over the surface of the blade, and then suddenly stopped.

One of the broken sword intents that had remained for many years disappeared.