Chapter 44: Innate Sword Bones

“Looking Like a Ghost—Is This What Learning Artifact Refinement Does to You?”

“You come three or four times a night. Do you really have that much to do?”

Inside the Star-Plucking Pavilion’s spiritual material shop, the shopkeeper looked at the familiar face in front of him and couldn’t help but ask.

Dressed in black, Lian Mu crouched by the counter, carefully picking out the spiritual materials she needed. She had come so often that the shopkeeper now recognized her.

“I’m experimenting with a new sword-forging method. I need to try many times,” Lian Mu said while selecting materials.

It had been seven days already. After melting down the Sword Pavilion’s sword, she had stored the molten spiritual materials on her forging platform. She had been trying to replicate the sword using the same material composition.

In these seven days, she had more or less figured out the grade of materials used in that sword. The highest-grade material was from a Fourth-Tier Magical Beast, while the lowest-grade spiritual material was only around Seventh-Tier.

Such a huge disparity in material grades, yet they could still be balanced and fused together.

But that was all she knew. She had no idea about the exact spiritual materials involved, which was why she had to keep experimenting.

In just seven days, she had become so broke that she couldn’t spare a single extra spirit stone—all of it had gone into the spiritual material shop and her forging platform. Luckily, food at the Star-Plucking Pavilion was free, so she hadn’t starved yet.

The shopkeeper was startled. “A new sword-forging method… Where are you getting so many Magical Beast materials to practice with?”

He only sold ordinary spiritual materials, not Magical Beast materials—they were far too expensive. He himself couldn’t afford much of them. And the person in front of him didn’t look like someone with money. She even haggled with him from time to time.

But sword forging required Magical Beast materials, especially when experimenting with new methods.

“You’re not some young lady from an immortal sect’s prestigious family, out here training, are you?” The shopkeeper could only think of this possibility. “Then why do you always look so poor?”

Lian Mu forced a smile. “Do I look like it? I’m broke because of artifact refinement.”

Not just refinement—she also had to buy spiritual plants for alchemy to replenish her spiritual energy. Her already meager savings had taken a massive hit.

If she had a normal body or even slightly better spiritual roots, she wouldn’t be in this situation.

But she had no choice. She just liked good things. Even with her mediocre three-element spiritual roots, she still wanted a better sword. Especially after seeing high-grade renowned swords in the Library Pavilion that day—she couldn’t get them out of her mind.

The shopkeeper suddenly felt a sense of camaraderie. He sighed, “…To be honest, I was an Artifact Refiner myself. After a few years of learning, I went completely broke and ended up on the streets. I had no choice but to give up and open this little shop just to survive.”

“You’ve managed to persist despite being this poor—it’s not easy.” The shopkeeper waved a hand generously. “Today, I’ll charge you half price for your materials. Save some money and live a little. For people like us, with low talent and no background, this path is just too difficult.”

Saving money? Lian Mu was naturally happy about that. After picking out her materials and paying, she hurried back to the artifact refinement chamber.

This time, she was just stocking up on materials and didn’t plan to use them right away. She had no spirit stones left, so she needed to save up for a few days first.

After organizing her materials, Lian Mu headed to the northern wall to take on some bounty missions. The Body-Refining Cultivator who was usually there, an eighteen-year-old girl, hadn’t shown up recently. She had to fight alone now, missing out on opportunities to slack off.

As usual, she took on a few First-Level bounties for the highest-grade Magical Beasts—just enough to get by with her spirit stones.

In a few days, when the Star-Plucking Pavilion opened the way to the second floor, she would finally be able to make real money.

Clutching her sword, Lian Mu stepped into the Transmission Mirror, completely unaware that someone was watching her from the shadows.

Star-Plucking Pavilion’s Top Floor—Private Lounge

Dozens of Recording Stones glowed, each displaying different scenes.

A young man with long, ink-black hair half-loose sat in a grand master’s chair, idly rolling two jade walnuts in his palm as his gaze swept across the stones.

His voice was deep and calm. “It’s about time. Which one of these is the so-called ‘Cultivation Is Just a Money Grab’?”

The Recording Stones showed numerous individuals, all wearing masks, some already engaged in battle with Magical Beasts.

A black-clothed man immediately pointed at the dark figure in the center. “That’s her. Ever since she entered the Star-Plucking Pavilion, she’s been stirring up trouble non-stop—first destroying a First-Floor alchemy furnace, then repeatedly competing with our people for Magical Beast materials. Not just once, but multiple times. Over the past month, because of her, the First Floor has lost a great deal of spirit stones.”

A blue-robed man leaning against the wall scoffed. “Didn’t you say she’s an Artifact Refiner? How could an Artifact Refiner wield a sword and refine pills? That’s impossible. I think you lot have gotten rusty—even investigating someone properly is beyond you. You should’ve cleaned her out of the Pavilion long ago.”

The black-clothed man hesitated. “But… people have indeed seen her enter the alchemy room, and she’s rented an Artifact Refiner’s private chamber. Yet on the Third Domain’s bounty board, she consistently fights Magical Beasts using a sword.”

This “Cultivation Is Just a Money Grab” was too complicated. Her identity and movements were strange, making it difficult to determine what kind of cultivator she really was.

The ink-haired man watched as the high-ponytailed, black-clad sword cultivator swiftly dispatched a Magical Beast and took only the valuable parts. He chuckled softly.

“Someone dares to snatch things from our Star-Plucking Pavilion… But she’s smart—she operates strictly within the rules, making it difficult for anyone to find an excuse to take action against her.”

“The Pavilion Master isn’t here. How should we deal with her?” the blue-robed man asked.

The ink-haired man said, “There’s no need to ‘deal’ with her. She hasn’t broken any rules. If we move against her, it would only damage the Pavilion’s reputation… Does she have any enemies here?”

The black-clothed man thought for a moment before answering. “A Talisman Cultivator has put a bounty on her. That Talisman Cultivator is said to have talent beyond a single-element spiritual root and enjoys targeting sword cultivators. She’s his final target on the First Floor.”

“But this ‘Cultivation Is Just a Money Grab’ has never responded. She seems to have a close relationship with a Body-Refining Cultivator with Heavenly Spiritual Roots. As for her own spiritual roots, we’re still uncertain.”

The ink-haired man smirked. “It doesn’t matter what kind of spiritual roots she has—she still needs to be taught a lesson. If she and that Talisman Cultivator ever show up in the Pavilion on the same day, make sure they cross paths.”

The man in the blue robe also saw the figure slaying the magical beast in the projection and sneered, “Their moves are chaotic and unrefined.”

The black-haired man remained silent, waving his sleeve to dismiss the black-clad attendant.

After a long pause, he finally spoke:

“If she truly has some ability, it may not necessarily be a bad thing for us.”

—

As soon as Lian Mu stepped out of the Transmission Mirror, she sensed a shift in the atmosphere of the Star-Picking Pavilion. Uncertain about what had happened, she approached a black-clad attendant to inquire, but they merely cast her a cool glance and refused to answer.

Receiving no explanation, Lian Mu couldn’t be bothered to dig further. She simply noted the time and left.

Returning to the Qingzhu Courtyard of the Gui Xian Sect, she took a nap. However, upon waking, she discovered that the atmosphere of the entire sect had changed as well.

Early in the morning, she was roused by something cold nudging her. Opening her eyes, she saw, as expected, the rowdy scorpion.

Its tiny green eyes stared at her as it clamped onto her finger, signaling that it wanted to go out and play.

Lian Mu reluctantly got up to open the door and, with a light kick, sent it tumbling into the nearby grass.

So far, the “little package” Ji Mingyue had dumped on her hadn’t caused much trouble. The scorpion liked staying with her, but since it was a quiet creature that didn’t make a fuss, it was easy to manage. It would go out to play during the day and return punctually at night, requiring no effort on her part.

Because it insisted on leaving at the same time every morning, Lian Mu had come to treat it as a living timekeeping spirit tool, reliably waking her up each day.

After being roused, she set off as usual for the dining hall, but partway there, she sensed something amiss.

She stopped and observed the disciples passing by. Each of them bore a solemn expression and was heading in the same direction.

Compared to them, she was the only one walking against the flow—toward the dining hall.

Faced with the choice between eating first or following the crowd to investigate, Lian Mu decisively chose to eat first.

As soon as she sat down in the dining hall, two figures suddenly appeared and took seats beside her.

Lian Mu was used to this. She instinctively prepared to make some small talk, but when she looked up, she hesitated.

“…What’s wrong?”

The expressions on their faces were identical to those of the disciples she had seen earlier.

Xu Xianxing’s gaze was deep as he said, “The five chief representatives of the four great sects for the upcoming Immortal Sect Tournament have all been confirmed.”

Lian Mu asked, “And?”

“This year, all the chief representatives from the other three sects have Heavenly Spiritual Roots,” Bai Li Que said. “Our Gui Xian Sect only has four, which puts us at a slight disadvantage.”

“Also, the team leaders for the other three sects are different from previous years. Chixiao Sect has the most body cultivators, so their chief body cultivator should have been the leader, but this time, they chose a sword cultivator instead. Wunian Sect also deviated from the norm, replacing their talisman cultivator leader with an artifact refiner.”

Such changes didn’t bode well for the competition. After all, anyone who could break convention and rise to the top was bound to be a formidable opponent.

Bai Li Que continued, “The biggest problem is Qingxuan Sect. This year, we happen to be up against their young prodigy sword cultivator.”

Xu Xianxing frowned. “We’ve already ranked last for nine consecutive tournaments. If we place last again this year, we’ll be removed from the Four Great Sects. And now, at such a critical moment, we’re facing not only multiple Heavenly Spiritual Roots but also a prodigy among prodigies.”

It perfectly aligned with the common saying about Gui Xian Sect: When luck is good, strength is poor; when strength improves, misfortune follows.

“You two have Heavenly Spiritual Roots as well, don’t you? Is there some even higher tier beyond that?” Lian Mu asked.

Xu Xianxing shook his head. “No, but the sword cultivator he mentioned is extraordinarily gifted—far beyond ordinary people. I told you before about Qingxuan Sect’s signature sword, Feihong Sword. That sword has acknowledged him as its master at a young age. There isn’t another sword cultivator of his caliber.”

“He’s about our age and is said to possess an innate sword bone, allowing him to resonate with any sword he encounters—whether it has a master or not,” Bai Li Que added. “He was personally taken in by Qingxuan Sect’s Second Elder over a decade ago. His name is Ying You. You’re a sword cultivator yourself—you must have heard of him.”

Lian Mu had never paid much attention to other sword cultivators. Aside from those she had fought before, she could barely recognize even the ones from her own sect, let alone those from others.

“Never heard of him. Is he really that strong?”

Xu Xianxing replied, “Absolutely. If nothing unexpected happens, he will undoubtedly be the top sword cultivator in the next Immortal Sect Tournament. The overall champion will likely be Qingxuan Sect. Our goal this time is to secure at least second or third place—anything to avoid getting kicked out of the Four Great Sects.”

Lian Mu asked, “And what if something unexpected happens?”

“Generally speaking, those who participate in the tournament come fully prepared, especially the five chief representatives. Unexpected incidents are rare. Among this year’s sword cultivators, no one can defeat him.”

For Xu Xianxing, a meticulous artifact refiner, to speak with such certainty, it was clear how overwhelming Ying You’s strength was.

But Lian Mu had never been one to speak in absolutes.

“The tournament hasn’t started yet, so don’t be so sure.”

If there were no surprises, then she’d just have to create some.

“I believe our sect has great potential. We won’t lose to the others.”