They chatted about sword refining methods, then about sword dao cultivation.
Yan Hongxia cultivated the sword pill, while Xu Yihong and Lu Zheng both cultivated the flying sword, so they had more in common.
Although he was relatively weak, Xu Yihong still shared some minor techniques with Lu Zheng that did not appear in the scriptures, only passed down orally.
These techniques were not secret transmissions. The sects on Huilong Mountain often developed such small tricks during exchanges, and they were quite helpful to Lu Zheng.
At noon, they invited him for a meal. In the afternoon, they took him to the Liu family and had dinner together.
Then the next day, he bid farewell and left, continuing his journey to find sword refining materials and act with chivalry and justice.
…
“Sword refining is a bit troublesome.”
“What, is Lu Lang thinking of starting sword dao cultivation again?”
In the peach grove, Shen Ying accompanied Lu Zheng on a stroll. The whole mountain was full of autumn leaves. Even the peach trees in Taohua Ping had begun to shed leaves.
“Lu Lang’s foundation is the Baiyun Temple technique. He has already cultivated so many methods, each a path to heaven. Sword dao is sharp, but for nourishing qi, it is not as good as Baiyun Temple. For refining the spirit, it is not as good as Jinhua Sect. For offensive power, it is not as good as thunder techniques. Why does Lu Lang value sword control so highly?”
“You do not understand…”
Sword dao in this world was just one of many cultivation paths. How could Shen Ying know the status of sword control and demon exorcism in Lu Zheng’s original world, Hua Country?
It was a childhood dream!
“Alright, this concubine does not understand.” Shen Ying’s lips curved slightly. She did not argue.
Lu Zheng’s talent was astonishing. Even if he spent time on sword refining, it would not affect his own cultivation. As long as he did not pull further ahead of them, it would be fine.
What Shen Ying worried about was…
“If Lu Lang wants to refine a sword, does that mean you will travel the world to find sword refining materials?”
Mundane weapons are easy to obtain, but treasures are hard to seek.
Flying swords are a special kind of treasure. They require materials naturally tempered by heaven and earth spiritual qi for millions of years, carrying their own spiritual qi.
They are also called spiritual materials.
Such things are not easy to find. They are mostly in famous mountains and great rivers, remote and uninhabited places.
Different spiritual materials have different uses. For the flying sword Lu Zheng wanted to refine, he naturally needed metallic spiritual materials.
To think, Lu Zheng had lived in this world for so long after crossing over, yet he had never seen metallic spiritual materials.
Well… actually, it had only been over three years since he crossed over. Most of that time, he had been holed up in Tonglin County. It was normal to have little experience, right?
The big shots he knew might have spiritual materials, but back then, he did not seem to need them. They would not chase after him to give them away.
So, if Lu Zheng really obtained sword refining methods, he might truly have to go out to find materials?
That was Shen Ying’s worry.
Speaking of which, because she still had not fully escaped the old peach tree’s constraints, she was even more attached to Lu Zheng.
It was not that she needed to see him every day. Just knowing he was nearby settled her heart.
Or perhaps, if Lu Zheng went far away and something happened, she would be powerless to help. This was both her motivation for cultivation and often left her with regrets.
Hearing Shen Ying speak, Lu Zheng blinked and understood her meaning.
“No need. I am not in a hurry. When your divine soul is pure, we can travel together, tour mountains and rivers. Would that not be delightful?”
“Hee hee!” Shen Ying giggled and hugged Lu Zheng. “Lu Lang, wait a bit longer. This concubine will soon escape the cage. Then, heaven and earth, I will accompany you everywhere.”
Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow. “Soon?”
Shen Ying nodded. “This concubine’s divine soul is still of human origin. Before, it was a hindrance. After, it becomes an advantage. It is actually easier to purify the divine soul than for pure plant and tree spirits.”
To know, back then, the peach mother divine tree had over a thousand years of cultivation, yet its divine soul could not leave the Peach Mother Divine Mountain too far.
Wan Song Daoist could, but he was naturally fond of stillness and unwilling to move.
“And once I can escape the cage, I will gain an additional divine ability.”
“What divine ability?”
Shen Ying said, “No matter how far away, I can return to Taohua Ping with a single thought.”
“So powerful!”
That was powerful. It was like having an extra life-saving divine skill.
“But how do you know?” Lu Zheng was curious. Shen Ying had not reached that step yet. Did she have some vague premonition?
“Because this concubine can already return from within five hundred li at any time.” Shen Ying said with a giggle.
Lu Zheng, “…”
Alright, it was I who was ignorant.
The two strolled in the empty peach grove, exercising for a good while, before returning to Taohua Village.
As soon as they entered the door, Tao Ying and Tao Luo came to greet them. “Immortal, we also discovered traces of strange ghosts around Tonglin County last night, but we did not find their main body.”
Shen Ying nodded. “Continue tonight.”
“Yes!” The two peach blossom heavenly maidens acknowledged and bowed before withdrawing.
“What is it?” Lu Zheng asked.
“The City God Temple sent word. Suddenly, ghosts from the netherworld have appeared in the yang world, wandering everywhere. Unknown origin, unknown purpose. So they ordered mountain gods and land spirits to pay more attention and gather information.”
“Brother Xin?”
Shen Ying shook her head. “The Yizhou Prefecture City God.”
“Quite a big matter?”
“Mainly, we do not know how these ghosts appeared. It is said several have been killed, but no information was obtained from them.”
Ordinary ghosts in the netherworld generally need to pass through the yin-yang road to come out. Yet suddenly, a batch appeared…
Well, there were many possibilities.
“Is not the City God Temple mainly for dealing with ghosts from the netherworld? Occasionally one or two come out, handled by the Zhenyi Division, like that Black Wheel King last time?”
Shen Ying smiled. “This time, quite a few came out at once. Strictly speaking, it could be considered negligence by the City God Temple.”
Lu Zheng gave a thumbs up. “Well said! Have the guts to say it to the state City God’s face.”
Shen Ying stuck out her tongue. “I dare not.”
Seeing Shen Ying stick out her tongue, Lu Zheng could not help swallowing saliva.
Shen Ying’s peach blossom eyes, lined with pink eyeshadow, arched lightly. Her tongue slid over her upper lip. Her vermilion lips parted slightly. “Lu Lang, stay one more night?”
Lu Zheng nodded decisively. “Good!”
…
They had dinner in Taohua Village. The peach blossom heavenly maidens went out to work again. Lu Zheng and Shen Ying naturally returned to the room to rest.
“Hoo…”
Afterwards, chatting.
“Is the incense qi still sufficient?”
“More than sufficient. Even as this concubine’s cultivation grows higher and progresses faster, the incense qi flows endlessly.
In these two years, it seems many places have newly built peach flower shrines. Not only has it made up for the deficit in Peach Mother Divine Mountain, but there is even more.”
“Will it not share your incense qi?”
“It will. But the incense qi from the peach flower shrines themselves, they can keep. The incense qi produced because of ‘Tao Yao’, they cannot intercept.”
“So, there may be many land spirits of peach flower shrines, but the divine position of the Peach Flower Immortal is only yours.”
“Hee hee, divine position. It sounds so majestic.” Shen Ying laughed. But thinking about it, she nodded. “That is the reasoning.”
At this point, Shen Ying’s eyebrows arched. She suddenly turned her head. Her gaze passed through the wall, towards the distant peach grove.
