Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Qin Xi’s Three Yang Real Fire Sword was also a natal magic weapon. Although it could also be used with sword techniques, it was slightly different from the swords used by sword cultivators.
Sword cultivators had generally chosen the swords they wanted to cultivate when they were in the Foundation Building or even the Aura Refining realm, and they would be inseparable from the swords they chose for the rest of their lives. A natal sword would go through constant nourishment and refinement; its grade would constantly rise and it would become more and more powerful following increases in the cultivator’s cultivation level. In this respect, natal swords were similar to natal magic weapons. However, natal magic weapons could only be refined by cultivators who’d reached the Core Formation realm, while sword cultivators’ natal swords could be possessed starting in the Aura Refining realm. This was also the reason why sword cultivators’ strength usually surpassed ordinary cultivators.
Of course, there was also a disadvantage. If cultivators’ natal magic weapons were damaged, the cultivators themselves would usually be affected as well. If the swords of sword cultivators were damaged, however, the consequences would be graver—the lightest consequence was sustaining serious injuries with the gravest outcome being death. Furthermore, all skills possessed by sword cultivators relied on their swords. Even if they survived, their cultivation would practically be abolished if they lost their swords.
Although Qin Xi used his Three Yang Real Fire Sword as his magic weapon, he didn’t rely on it as much as sword cultivators relied on their swords. His strongest point also wasn’t his sword moves. The power of his Three Yang Real Fire Sword was enormous, so more often than not, it made people mistakenly think that his sword moves were very powerful. In fact, however, his real killing move was the Three Yang Real Fire on his sword.
After he explained this to Mo Tiange, the Three Yang Real Fire Sword in his hand suddenly emitted a burst of blazing red light and pounced on the Heaven and Earth Fan.
Mo Tiange spread open the Heaven and Earth Fan. The landscape drawing materialized, completely engulfing the Three Yang Real Fire Sword inside it. Under the heavy pressure of the mountains and the rivers, the sword rushed all over the place but failed to breakthrough. At that moment, the red glow on its blade suddenly brightened—Qin Xi cast a sword art, causing the Three Yang Real Fire to separate itself from the sword and rush over.
Mo Tiange was anxious. The mountains and the rivers came pressing down, thus restraining the sword firmly. However, no matter what she did, she still couldn’t block the Three Yang Real Fire. She felt a sudden surge of threatening aura, and before she knew it, her whole body was surrounded by it.
Her spiritual aura moved. The Art of Temporary Origin’s spiritual aura barrier glowed, but it still failed to block the thread of hot aura. The spiritual aura barrier only lasted for a while before it also got burned down.
In the split second the light barrier was broken, Qin Xi raised his arm to recall the Three Yang Real Fire Sword.
Mo Tiange stood still for a moment. Once she slightly regained her calm, she also put away her Heaven and Earth Fan.
Previously, although she knew his Three Yang Real Fire Sword was very powerful, she didn’t know it could be used with such a powerful method. His method was so simple that it could hardly be considered a technique, but it was precisely because it didn’t require any technique that it was so hard to break. Because this was a pure contest of strength, Mo Tiange could only suffer a defeat since she couldn’t match his Three Yang Real Fire. Due to his pure Yang spiritual aura, his Three Yang Real Fire Sword’s destructive power was much greater than Sun Real Fire after it was cultivated.
“You don’t have to feel dejected.” Seeing as she still said nothing after a long time, Qin Xi said with a smile, “Not to mention that my Three Yang Real Fire Sword has been nurtured for more than a hundred years, but solely considering the gap between our cultivation levels, wouldn’t I be lacking if I couldn’t even defeat a cultivator who’s just formed her Gold Core?”
Mo Tiange regained her train of thought. It wasn’t that she had to beat Qin Xi; rather, she just felt surprised after suddenly obtaining first-hand experience of his strength. This also made her realize she was still far from the maximum strength of Core Formation cultivators.
When she thought up to this point, she smiled then asked while grasping the Heaven and Earth Fan: “Now that we tested it, what do you think about it?”
Qin Xi took a moment to think then said, “So far, it seems your Heaven and Earth Fan has a very strong restraining function against corporeal magic weapons. In the future, if you encounter sword cultivators, you presumably won’t be at a disadvantage. Against magic arts, however, it hasn’t displayed its trapping function.”
Mo Tiange also knew that her Heaven and Earth Fan was originally a kind of magic weapon Mo Yaoqing conceptualized it but lacked an actual example, so regarding how to use it, she still had to figure it out on her own. “Trapping” could either mean attacking or defending—it wasn’t something she could figure out in a short period of time.
“Okay, let’s try its offensive abilities.” Qin Xi waved his sleeve, causing the Three Yang Real Fire Sword to transform into several beams of sword light which then revolved around him.
Mo Tiange nodded and once again spread open the Heaven and Earth Fan. This time, it was completely different from a moment ago. Vapor surged out. The mountains and rivers seemed as if they became alive, and even the flowers and birds inside it also appeared for real.
Qin Xi was stunned for an instant. But in that moment, the world suddenly changed. When he turned to look around, he discovered that the scenery around him was the same as the landscape drawing on the Heaven and Earth Fan. It was like his own body had entered the drawing.
Although he already knew this was an Illusory Formation from the Heaven and Earth Fan, everything he heard and saw was indistinguishable from reality, so he was still rather astonished. The fact that the magic weapon he’d just refined had this kind of power was indeed exceeded his expectations. A frown formed on his brows when this thought crossed his mind. He then turned to look around, cautiously examining everything and looking for some flaws in the illusion.
Upon seeing Qin Xi taking some time to look around, seemingly looking for something, Mo Tiange, who was standing outside the Illusory Formation, revealed a smile. Soon afterward, however, Qin Xi laid a sword formation. With a burst of red light, a kind of invincible force spread.
Mo Tiange hastily maneuvered her spiritual aura, trying to suppress Qin Xi’s counterattack. However, the gap between their cultivation levels was evident—Qin Xi’s Three Yang Real Fire still forged forward slowly and eventually engulfed the mountains and rivers.
The result of this test was even more tragic than the previous one. In the previous test, Qin Xi could see her, so he was able to retrieve his Three Yang Real Fire in time. This time, he couldn’t see clearly when he was breaking the formation, but the Three Yang Real Fire continued to charge onward. Mo Tiange had no choice but to give up the entrapment as she miserably fled the scope of the Three Yang Real Fire.
Once the images of mountains and rivers scattered, Qin Xi finally put away his Three Yang Real Fire Sword. When he saw Mo Tiange standing there pensively, he asked with a smile, “What’s wrong? Shocked?”
Mo Tiange looked away then said somewhat dazedly, “Simply having a magic weapon isn’t enough…”
Qin Xi laughed. The Three Yang Real Fire Sword gradually disappeared into his dantian. He then walked towards her and said, “Of course, simply having a magic weapon isn’t enough. We’re not sword cultivators who can just cultivate using our swords. What we’re cultivating is ourselves. If our self-cultivation isn’t strong, our power will be weaker, and our magic weapons naturally won’t be that powerful either.”
“En.” Mo Tiange raised her spirit, opened the Heaven and Earth Fan then said with a smile, “In any case, this magic weapon is already very strong. If I cultivate diligently, it will presumably become stronger and stronger.”
“It’s good that you understand.” Tiange’s way of thinking regarding cultivation-related matters was very similar to his, and their characters were also somewhat similar, so they got along very happily. Even if they had some differences, they could slowly adjust to each other.
In the next five years, the two of them lived there as if they were in seclusion. He’d sometimes recall the time they spent together, and he felt like those days were simply as perfect as a dream. Neither of them had a vehement personality, so when they were together, things were as serene as water. They were like partners, but they were also like friends who could ask each other for advice, and sometimes they’d be full of affection. He felt… this was enough.
Of course, it didn’t mean they never had conflicts. Tiange was strong-minded and wasn’t willing to depend on others, while he often unconsciously displayed his assertiveness—they’d quarrel sometimes, but they both compromised in the end and accepted the other party’s thoughts and methods of doing things.
He sometimes wondered… this should be a perfect Dual Cultivation life, right? In retrospect, having no one to accompany him on this long life journey would feel quite lonely, but getting entangled in love also wasn’t what he wanted. This current setup—having someone accompanying him but still not disrupting him from engrossing himself in cultivating was indeed the best.
“What are you looking at?” Mo Tiange, who became nervous from being stared at by him with such a water-like warm gaze, couldn’t help but ask.
Qin Xi smiled. He then suddenly reached out to pull her waist closer to him. “We… should set up a blood oath, okay?”
Mo Tiange was stunned. “Huh?”
She knew what a blood oath was. It was a kind of oath which existed mostly between Dao companions. It was similar to spiritual beast contracts—the two parties who set up a blood oath must never harm each other for the rest of their lives. However, it was different from spiritual beast contracts in that after one was established, the two people would have a kind of connection between them—the other party would be able to clearly sense whether they were in good or bad condition or whether they were dead or alive.
Qin Xi said slowly, “I know… you’re definitely not willing to always follow me. That being the case, if there’s a blood oath between us, I’ll still be able to know how you’re doing when we’re occasionally apart…”
“…” Mo Tiange said nothing for quite a while. She knew this was his compromise, tacitly acknowledging her freedom.
Since he didn’t get an answer, Qin Xi called out again. “Tiange?”
Mo Tiange raised her line of sight and showed a beaming smile. “Okay.”
Setting up a blood oath was equivalent to a Dual Cultivation ceremony. In fact, it was even more important than a Dual Cultivation ceremony. Many Dao companions practicing Dual Cultivation didn’t set up a blood oath between them because most cultivators had mistrustful natures; they didn’t dare to easily set such an oath that would bind them for their entire lives.
Therefore, when he obtained agreement from Mo Tiange, Qin Xi was beside himself with joy. He contemplated something for a moment then said, “But we also can’t be too sloppy about this. Or should we wait until we head back and report to master first?” But this suggestion was quickly vetoed by himself. “That won’t do. We don’t know when we’ll be able to leave…”
Mo Tiange was amused to see his inner conflict. She said, “Is that really necessary?”
“Of course! Setting up a blood oath should be done more carefully than a Dual Cultivation ceremony,” Qin Xi said with a firm look.
“But… I feel it’s enough as long as the two of us are sincere…”
“You’re right, but…” An ashamed expression emerged on his face. “Doing things that way would really be an injustice to you.”
“What kind of injustice? Dual Cultivation isn’t solely your business.” Mo Tiange clasped his fingers then continued on earnestly: “We’re not mortals; why should we adhere to mortals’ norms?”
Qin Xi was dumbfounded and said nothing. Although he had been in Mount Taikang ever since he was a child, he grew up in a prince’s mansion in the secular world, after all, so his way of thinking inevitably bore traces of the secular world. For example, he unconsciously wanted to become the strong one in their relationship.
Mo Tiange, on the contrary, was just an ordinary village girl. Although she stayed in the secular world longer than him, she hadn’t experienced much. Most things were learned after she arrived in Kunwu, so her way of thinking also resembled cultivators more.
After mulling over the matter for some time, Qin Xi somewhat understood. He took a moment to think further then said, “Then… let’s hold a wedding ceremony?”
“Huh?” A wedding ceremony?
Qin Xi smiled. He looked at her and said gently, “You’re right. It’s enough as long as the two of us are sincere. However, I always felt that Dual Cultivation ceremonies sounded rather callous. It’s like everything is done just for cultivation… So, let’s hold a wedding ceremony just for the two of us, okay?”
How could Mo Tiange say no? He was willing to give, and he even thought about it more than she did.
She remembered when she was a child in Mo Family’s Village, her eldest aunt always wanted Tianqiao to learn about cooking and managing a house so Tianqiao could marry a good person in the future. Mo Tiange also vaguely thought about her future marriage, but at that time, she already entered the path of cultivation and learned about the existence of the cultivation world from books, so she thought that when she went to the cultivation world in the future, it’d be enough for her if she could find a like-minded person.
When she later arrived in Kunwu, she went to many, many places with her second uncle, avoiding the fate of becoming a Human Furnace… She only wanted to become stronger and she didn’t even dare to reveal her gender—how could she possibly think about Dual Cultivation?
When she got to know Qin Xi much later, although she secretly harbored feelings for him, she always told herself that she didn’t need to think too much about a hopeless matter and that she just needed to cultivate wholeheartedly.
Now, she’d gotten everything she wanted—everything she originally thought was impossible to obtain in this life.
“Okay. I’ll listen to you.”
