This Sword Cultivator is Somewhat Dependable-Chapter 1555 - 30: There’s More Than One Sword Hidden (Part 1)
"That's my home over there." Zang Xiaojian pointed to the ancient city, and at the same time, quickly descended towards the city with Lu Qingshan.
Lu Qingshan slightly calmed his turbulent emotions and followed Zang Xiaojian's pace.
—It was only now that he realized Zang Xiaojian's cultivation had skyrocketed from the Foundation Establishment Stage when they parted ways to the Transcendance Tribulation Stage, matching him evenly.
As for the exact tribulation realm, it was impossible to accurately perceive.
How could this be?
The reason his cultivation improved so quickly was because of "Dark Blue," so what about Zang Xiaojian?
What did Zang Xiaojian rely on to achieve such a great increase in cultivation?
The moment the question arose, Lu Qingshan had the answer in his heart.
The mystical power of the Zang Clan... Is it related to increasing cultivation?
In twenty years, to leap from Foundation Establishment to Transcendance, crossing six major realms, even if there were unknown limitations and inevitable huge costs, this mystical power still seemed too powerful, didn't it?
Zang Xiaojian descended in front of the city wall of the ancient city.
This ancient city wasn't particularly grand, but it was full of antiquity and history, exuding a sense of heaviness.
Above the city gate tower, there were three sharp yet brittle characters: Jingjian City.
As if carved by swords and knives.
"Is this the Ancestral City of your Zang Clan?" Lu Qingshan asked.
"Zang Clan?" Zang Xiaojian was momentarily stunned, and then he reacted, thought carefully, and replied, "You could say that."
"As expected of one of the seven noble Longevity Clans." Lu Qingshan thought to himself.
Such an ancient city, perched atop the Nine Heavens and overlooking all beings, even if not large, had an unmatched posture and spirit compared to other cities.
Through this glimpse, the splendor and strength of the Zang Clan could be felt.
Lu Qingshan and Qin Yitian followed Zang Xiaojian into the city through the gate.
Unexpectedly, the interior structure of Jingjian City had its unique charm.
The streets in the city were very broad, paved with extremely ancient basalt, and the buildings on both sides were not densely packed, even somewhat scattered, with an air of mutual independence.
The most peculiar aspect was the architectural style in the city, which was not only constructed with obsidian but also featured a magic artifact forged of black iron at the top of the buildings that resembled a "needle".
Under the effect of this artifact, the thunder at the mountain top was subtly guided down, with faint yet persistent electric serpents coiling and wandering on it.
"Lightning Guiding Needle," Zang Xiaojian noticed the astonishment in Lu Qingshan's eyes and cheerfully explained to him, "It's a magic artifact almost everyone in Jingjian City has."
"It can guide and gather the thunder from the mountain peak, then lead it down, converging it into the smelting room below, where everyone uses this Thunder Force for artifact refining," Zang Xiaojian clapped his hands and told Lu Qingshan, "Oh, I forgot to tell you, ninety-nine percent of the cultivators in Jingjian City are Artifact Refiners."
Jingjian City, unexpectedly, was a city of artifact refining?
This was something Lu Qingshan had not anticipated at all.
"Hmm, it should be called Sword Refiner more appropriately," Zang Xiaojian thought for a moment and then added, "because the vast majority of the artifact refiners in the city specialize in refining swords."
"Why is that?" Lu Qingshan was puzzled.
In Sky Dome Heaven, there are similar artifact refining sects and cities, but none with a situation like Jingjian City, where the majority of artifact refiners focus on Sword Artifacts.
After all, there are far too many types of magic artifacts.
"Because my ancestor liked swords and designated the sword as the Island Artifact, so everyone began refining Sword Artifacts." Zang Xiaojian said matter-of-factly.
"Your family... has a high status on Lingye Island?" Lu Qingshan tentatively asked, even at this moment, he hadn't thought of a certain possibility, only suspecting that Zang Xiaojian's family was a prominent branch of the Zang Clan.
But Zang Xiaojian didn't think much of it and straightforwardly said, "The entire Lingye Island is my family's."
"What?" Lu Qingshan almost dropped his jaw.
He had thought the pastures and herbal gardens he had seen before, belonging to Zang Xiaojian's family, were extravagant enough, but didn't expect that this was just a corner, and Zang Xiaojian's family's actual domain was the whole Lingye Island?
Lu Qingshan finally began to understand gradually. He hesitated for a moment and then asked, "How many people are in your family?"
Zang Xiaojian counted on his fingers, "My dad, my mom, and me, a total of three people."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
Even having witnessed many big scenes, Lu Qingshan was still shocked at this moment.
Who could have thought that the most mysterious Zang Clan, ranked among the seven noble Longevity Clans, only consisted of three people?
It couldn't even be called a clan.
"Then the other people on the island are?" Lu Qingshan looked around. Just in Jingjian City alone, there were many cultivators, at least over ten thousand, and combined with everything he had seen along the way, it was beyond doubt that Lingye Island was incredibly prosperous.
"The vast majority are my family's servants and our affiliated families.".
"...."
Lu Qingshan sized up Zang Xiaojian several times until Zang Xiaojian started to feel a bit embarrassed, "What's wrong?"
"I just didn't expect your family to be so 'wealthy'," Lu Qingshan remarked.
Zang Xiaojian, however, didn't think too much of it. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
Many things become familiar and don't feel precious anymore.
Much like love.
......
As the host, Zang Xiaojian had a strong sense of purpose as a guide, taking Lu Qingshan and Qin Yitian to see the "sights" of Jingjian City.
The earlier sights were quite unremarkable.
Like one of the "sights" called the Sky-reaching Stele, which supposedly was where the ancestors of the Zang family once visited, felt the location was excellent, and thus erected a stele here, after which the cultivators on the island established Jingjian City centered around this stele.
People of later generations named this stele Sky-reaching Stele to commemorate the ancestors of the Zang family.
The story sounds pretty mysterious, but stripping away the tales, this Sky-reaching Stele is actually just a broken stone stele...
However, the last "sight" is indeed quite interesting.
It's called... the Sword Pavilion.
A pavilion displaying numerous famous sword replicas.
"These are all replicas of famous swords crafted over the years by sword refiners on Lingye Island.
For the sword refiners on the island, being able to craft a magic sword that gets included in the Sword Pavilion is their supreme honor and pursuit," Zang Xiaojian explained after taking Lu Qingshan and Qin Yitian inside the pavilion.
How the replicas in the Sword Pavilion are ranked was not known to Lu Qingshan.
But as a Sword Cultivator, there was a natural affinity for famous swords, even if they were replicas, Lu Qingshan was quite intrigued.
The setup of the Sword Pavilion is very meticulous, with each famous sword replica placed on a uniquely styled sword rack.
Behind each sword rack, there would be paintings introducing the crafting artisan, along with the sword's name and its mystical features.
Exquisite, Pseudo Dao Artifact, crafted by Sword Refiner Su Xiu, using Exquisite Jade discovered in the crystal jade ore vein at Listening Peak Mountain as the primary material... has eight facets, exquisite and transparent...
Young Phoenix, Pseudo Dao Artifact, crafted by Sword Refiner Lv Dantian, with Eight-thousand-Year-Old Parasol Wood as the main material.... When the sword was forged, there was the sound of a phoenix cry...
Dragon Subduing Wood, Pseudo Dao Artifact, crafted by Sword Refiner Cui Mei....
...
Evidently, the famous swords that can make it to the Sword Pavilion are all of Pseudo Dao Artifact quality.
Lu Qingshan glanced around, doing a rough count, and found that the Sword Pavilion surprisingly displayed seventy-three famous sword replicas.
What does this represent?
It means that Lingye Island has produced a total of seventy-three Pseudo Dao Artifacts!
What a terrifying number.
Even in the Sword Sect, the first Sword Cultivator sect of the Human Race, the number of Pseudo Dao Swords in the sect does not reach this figure.
This is not an ancestral land of the Zang Clan; it clearly should be called a Sword Cultivator's Holy Land!
Lu Qingshan lamented inwardly.
"Are there so many Sword Cultivators on the island who can make use of these famous swords?" After reviewing the replicas and leaving the Sword Pavilion, Lu Qingshan couldn't help but ask along the way.
A fine horse needs a fine saddle, and famous swords are even more attuned.
These famous swords are so mystical, they certainly won't easily recognize a master.
But if no one utilizes them, what's the point of these famous swords existing?
Swords are meant for battle, not for collecting dust.
"There are no Sword Cultivators on Lingye Island," Zang Xiaojian replied, "but none of these famous swords have collected dust."
"You're not a Sword Cultivator?" Lu Qingshan exclaimed in surprise, not expecting Zang Xiaojian to say this.
"Although I know most of what Sword Cultivators do, I am indeed not a Sword Cultivator." Zang Xiaojian did not deceive Lu Qingshan on this point.
Just as Lu Qingshan wanted to ask more, a distinct ancient building different from the other obsidian structures came into sight.
A couple looking like a husband and wife stood at the doorway, watching them.
The two were dressed elegantly, smiling, yet Lu Qingshan felt the man's smile seemed a bit forced.
"Father, Mother!" Zang Xiaojian called out excitedly to the couple, pointing to Lu Qingshan and Qin Yitian: "These are my friends."
The young woman glanced at Qin Yitian, a flash of light in her eyes quickly waning, then her gaze settled on Lu Qingshan, gently smiling: "How shall I address you?"
"Lu Qingshan."
