Chapter 620: Mirror Flowers and Water Moon

After having lunch at Sword Casting Villa, Song Yan returned to his bamboo courtyard in Linghua Valley.

Linghua Valley was quite thoughtful; this small courtyard was equipped with a simple protective Formation.

It didn’t offer strong defense, but simply informed others that he was in a short period of secluded Cultivation and should not be disturbed.

Activating it with spiritual power, he sat alone in the courtyard.

After a short period of adjusting his breathing, he began to examine his gains from recent days.

First, he took out the dark blue long box.

He used spiritual power to form a water curtain and carefully washed the long box.

The box was three feet three inches long and about a palm wide.

It was entirely dark blue, and upon closer inspection, cloud patterns like flowing water were carved on its body.

"The craftsmanship is very exquisite..."

Actually, this was Song Yan’s first time seeing a "sword box," and he didn’t know the quality of the one in front of him, so he could only give a vague assessment.

"How could it be abandoned in the Yan Family’s old sword forge before it was finished?"

He turned it over and over, examining it from all angles.

Huh?

Song Yan’s eyes narrowed.

Upon closer inspection, he discovered a pattern in the lower-left corner of the box body.

It looked familiar... Not much time had passed, and Song Yan quickly remembered it.

He summoned the Flying Sword "Lianli" from his qiankun bag.

The blade pattern on it was winding, resembling a Green Plum branch, quite similar to the pattern in the lower-left corner of the box body.

The Flying Sword was summoned, but before he could even hold it in his hand to compare, it transformed into a sword light and flew into the sword box on its own!

"Buzz—"

The liangyi pearl stirred again, slowly emitting mysterious fluctuations.

Song Yan felt a pulling force, drawing the spiritual power from his body towards the liangyi pearl.

Compared to the situation with the "Unmoored Boat" earlier, this time, he vaguely felt that he could control everything and could stop the flow of spiritual power at any time.

However, there was no need for that.

He simply held two Spirit Stones and poured all his spiritual power into them.

He inwardly anticipated that the scene here would be exactly the same as when the "Unmoored Boat" entered.

"Buzz—"

Finally, at a certain moment, the dark blue sword box suddenly floated up.

A flash of spiritual light, and it disappeared... His Divine Sense sank into the liangyi pearl.

"..."

It had been a long time since he last entered, and the scenery in the Liangyi Realm hadn’t changed much.

On the sword seed phantom, the small sword formed by the nascent Dao Heart remained still.

The dark blue sword box floated quietly not far away.

Around the sword box, two spiritual lights, one green and one purple, drifted and circled.

He walked forward slowly and tentatively placed his right hand on the box body.

Those two spiritual lights indeed flew towards him along his fingers and palm!

A tearing sensation erupted from the depths of his Soul, and then his Divine Sense began to blur.

The black and white colors in the Liangyi Realm shifted and changed... "..."

Strange... Why did he feel so dizzy today?

"Whack!"

He felt a large hand firmly slap the back of his head.

"Ouch!"

He turned his head blankly, and a stern middle-aged man’s Face appeared in his vision.

"Dad..."

The middle-aged man’s expression was serious, looking like he was disappointed: "Always dazed and confused, what kind of decorum is that!"

"..."

The street scene before his eyes gradually became familiar, and the Chaos in his mind also gradually dissipated.

His thoughts became increasingly clear.

This person in front of him is my father, Yan Jue. Although his expression is stern and he rarely smiles, he always considers me and the Family.

My name is Yan Gui, the Young Lord of the Yan Family.

Today is the day before the Flower Festival...

Yan Jue’s voice was deep and heavy: "Tomorrow’s festival, you can’t just know how to play and enjoy yourself. You need to observe carefully."

"How the elders of the Family and the Seniors of Linghua Valley handle the affairs of the festival."

"These ways of dealing with people and adapting to circumstances will be beneficial when you hold important positions in the Family in the future."

"Uh... I understand, Dad."

Yan Jue looked at his distracted child and sighed, shaking his head.

"..."

By the stream, on the bluestone, a sword’s hum was suddenly heard.

Yan Gui walked quickly and saw a young girl holding a worn-out long sword, cutting down a peach branch, the sword’s hum startling the birds perched on the tree.

The girl, whose clothes were patched, looked back.

He was stunned for a moment, then seemed to realize that staring at the girl was inappropriate, so Yan Gui quickly found something to say: "Why is your sword without spiritual energy, no different from a Mortal’s sword?"

The girl looked at him strangely but didn’t speak.

At this moment, a stern voice came from behind: "A playboy, discussing swords with a beggar in the street, is that it?"

Yan Gui was startled and quickly retreated to Yan Jue’s side.

Yan Jue snorted coldly, glanced at the girl, and said sternly: "Hmph, come back with me."

...Time flew by like a white colt passing a crevice, like floating clouds passing before the eyes.

Several years later, on a Flower Festival night.

Yan Gui walked against the flow of people and, under a Green Plum tree in a secluded alley, saw the Loose Cultivator girl sleeping with a sword in her arms.

Moon-white petals fell on her dark hair.

He walked forward slowly, about to gently brush away the fallen petals from her hair, but the girl suddenly grabbed his wrist, her long sword unsheathed and held against him.

The girl smiled slyly: "You, Young Lord of the Yan Family, are you trying to take advantage of my nap to molest me?!"

Yan Gui gave a wry smile: "Today is the festival, Young Miss Hua, can you temporarily withdraw your killing move?"

Her name was Hua Luo, and she was a Loose Cultivator.

Although her parents were both dead and she was all alone, she had never complained in the several years they had known each other.

"Here, this is the Flying Sword I forged for you."

Yan Gui handed over a long sword: "Although it’s only a Low Grade Spiritual Artifact, it’s better than you, a Cultivator, wielding a Mortal weapon."

Hua Luo’s eyes lit up with surprise, and she gently stroked the Flying Sword in her hand, loving it dearly.

She suddenly asked: "Did you really forge this yourself?"

"Uh..."

Yan Gui was startled, his expression a little unnatural: "That... Of course, a mere Low Grade Spiritual Artifact, isn’t that easy for me?"

The girl smiled sweetly: "They all say in Bei Ya Mountain City that Yan Gui, the Young Lord of the Yan Family, loves to play and is unlearned."

"He hasn’t learned any Artifact Refining techniques..."

"This..."

The young man felt he was losing Face and was about to argue, but he saw the girl lean close to his ear.

She whispered softly, her breath like orchids.

"Xiao Yan’er, in the future, I want you to personally forge a Flying Sword for me."

"Whether it’s a Mortal weapon or a Spiritual Artifact..."

"I just want yours."

The young man’s Face turned red, whether from shyness or embarrassment at having his lie exposed... How strange.

It was rumored throughout Bei Ya Mountain City that Yan Gui, the Young Lord of the Yan Family, had actually mended his ways and began to diligently study the art of Artifact Refining.

He even won first place in the Family’s internal competition.

His relatives rejoiced, and others envied him.

But none of this entered Yan Gui’s ears; he only knew to study the Dao of Artifact Refining day after day.

He vowed to forge the best Flying Sword he could manage before the girl he admired left the mountain city!

On this day, the furnace fire blazed, and the sound of metal striking stone echoed.

The Flying Sword was finally complete.

Outside the mountain city, the young man and girl stood facing each other.

"What is the name of this sword?"

Hua Luo gently stroked the Flying Sword in her hand, the joy in her eyes even greater than under the Green Plum tree that year.

Yan Gui, however, showed little joy, and replied with a somewhat low tone: "...Green Plum."

The girl was going on a long journey, and after their farewell today, who knew when they would meet again.

He took a deep breath: "A Hua, the Cultivation World is dangerous. When you go... you must be extra careful."

"..."

The girl did not answer, only looked at the young man’s Face and smiled.

The young man lowered his head, muttering to himself: "On the way... take good care of yourself..."

"I can’t take good care of myself."

The girl suddenly spoke, and under the young man’s astonished gaze, she took his hand: "I can’t take good care of myself..."

"Xiao Yan’er, come with me."

"Mountains beyond mountains..."

"I want you to come with me to see them."