During the fierce battle just now, Yi Qingtian had no attention to spare. Now, as he looked at Lu Zheng and Shen Ying, shock and disbelief surged through him. He genuinely had not expected that, with the help of these two, they would actually manage to keep the Black-Hearted Demon here for good.
After all, this Black-Hearted Demon was one of the four chief disciples of the Ancestor of Heartless True Desire, a full millennium of cultivation, a top-tier devil of the highest order!
This time it had ambushed him, yet even in a fair one-on-one fight, while Yi Qingtian could defeat it without much trouble, actually preventing it from escaping would have been impossible.
Yet the two people before him, no matter how he looked at them, were clearly of the younger generation. Yi Qingtian knew his own eyes were not blind. Lu Zheng and Shen Ying brimmed with youthful vitality, their gazes bright and clear. They were definitely not ancient monsters who merely appeared young.
But with their assistance, the Black-Hearted Demon could not even flee. It was ground down alive, its demonic qi completely dissipated, body dead, dao vanished.
This made no sense at all. He had only been away from the outside world a few years. Had the younger generation truly become this terrifying?
Suppressing the shock in his heart, Yi Qingtian cupped his hands in thanks, pointed to a cave on a cliff face at the mountain summit, and said, “If you do not disdain my humble abode, please come to my cave residence so that I may serve you tea.”
Lu Zheng and Shen Ying returned the courtesy at once.
Lu Zheng smiled and said, “Brother Eagle King is too polite. This humble one shares a master-disciple bond with Hu Zhou and is friends with Brother Hu Yijun of Dingfeng Mountain. When the Eagle King fell prey to that devil, I could not possibly stand by.”
Yi Qingtian’s eyes lit up. “So you are Young Master Lu of White Cloud Temple! Little Hu Zhou has mentioned you. Meeting you truly surpasses mere reputation. Young Master Lu is indeed a heaven-gifted genius!”
Then he turned to Shen Ying, cupped his hands again, and said, “This must be the Peach Blossom Fairy, Lady Shen. My respects.”
Shen Ying gave a slight curtsey in return. “Greetings, Eagle King.”
“This way, please, both of you!” Yi Qingtian laughed heartily, gestured invitingly, and led the way to his cave residence.
…
The cave residence was not large, just a few stone chambers. Yi Qingtian ushered Lu Zheng and Shen Ying to seats in the main hall, boiled a pot of spiritual tea, and filled their cups.
In moments, the fragrance of tea filled the room.
Lu Zheng took a deep breath and praised, “Excellent tea!”
He had drunk plenty of tea in the Great Jing Dynasty, White Cloud Temple spiritual tea, even Southern Border spiritual tea, yet none possessed this particular fragrance.
Yi Qingtian smiled. “This is spiritual tea from several ancient tea trees halfway up Mount Qingqi. Those old trees are constantly bathed in astral winds all year round, so the spiritual qi in the tea is as ethereal as wind itself. It counts as a local speciality.”
“Spiritual qi so ethereal and drifting. Truly excellent tea!” Lu Zheng nodded.
A mouthful of hot tea went down, and strands of spiritual qi, light as breeze, seeped into every limb and bone, clearing the mind and refreshing the spirit.
Seeing Lu Zheng and Shen Ying both savouring it with evident enjoyment, Yi Qingtian looked satisfied, smiled, and refilled their cups.
“Thank you, Eagle King,” Lu Zheng said.
Yi Qingtian waved it off, a glint in his eye, and remarked casually, “No need to stand on ceremony. You are little Hu Zhou’s master and address Old Hu as brother. If you do not mind my embarrassing display earlier, just call me Brother Yi.”
Lu Zheng paused, exchanged a smiling glance with Shen Ying, nodded, and both cupped their hands toward Yi Qingtian together. “Greetings, Brother Yi!”
“Good, good, good!” Yi Qingtian burst into happy laughter. “Little Brother Lu, little sister-in-law!”
The three raised their cups and drank together. Lu Zheng let out a long breath and could help asking, “Does Brother Yi live here all alone?”
Yi Qingtian nodded. “Just me. I have two disciples, but they are not often by my side. They return only once every few years.”
Lu Zheng understood. It seemed Yi Qingtian was also accustomed to travelling alone.
They chatted idly for a while, touching on Hu Zhou’s wedding. Lu Zheng mentioned that he had seen Yi Qingtian there.
“I had flown north to spar with a grey eagle at the time. After the fight I took a trip around the Eastern Sea and ate some fish, so I missed the messenger from Dingfeng Mountain who brought the invitation. By the time I returned and saw the card, the wedding was already over.”
Yi Qingtian continued, “Later I sent a belated gift. Old Hu was very polite about it and even had Hu Zhou make a special trip to deliver a letter.”
“So that’s what happened.”
Lu Zheng nodded in realisation. No wonder Hu Yijun had Hu Zhou deliver a message for no apparent reason. If there had been anything urgent, he himself could have flown over much faster than Hu Zhou.
They talked a little more about the wedding, about True Person Qingyang and Monkey King Du Sheng. Finally, Yi Qingtian set down his teacup and got to the point.
“Little Brother Lu, what brings you two to Mount Qingqi?” Yi Qingtian asked. “If there is anything your elder brother can help with, just say the word.”
Yi Qingtian was no fool. Before they had joined forces against the enemy, the two sides had been complete strangers. Even if Lu Zheng and Shen Ying were travelling, they would have reason to come to Mount Qingqi without purpose. So their visit must involve something specific.
But after what had just happened, Yi Qingtian considered himself bound to Lu Zheng and Shen Ying by life-and-death friendship.
He had received an enormous life-saving favour. Naturally, he had to offer help proactively.
Yi Qingtian was straightforward, so Lu Zheng did not stand on ceremony either.
“We came up the mountain this time precisely because we need a favour,” Lu Zheng said.
“Speak,” Yi Qingtian replied seriously.
Lu Zheng said, “I wish to request some Bi Luo Qing Xia to refine a sword!”
Yi Qingtian nodded. “Mm!”
After a pause, the two stared at each other in silence.
Lu Zheng waited for a long while. Seeing Yi Qingtian say nothing, he began to feel slightly nervous. Was Bi Luo Qing Xia really so precious that even after building this rapport he could obtain none?
On the other side, Yi Qingtian also waited a long while. Seeing Lu Zheng say nothing more, he blinked in confusion and asked, “And?”
Lu Zheng looked completely baffled. “Ah? And? That’s all.”
“What?” Yi Qingtian was equally baffled. He stared blankly and said, “Just that?”
Lu Zheng was speechless. So Yi Qingtian thought his request was too trivial?
“That is already far from easy,” Lu Zheng said with a wry smile. “Feather Mountain’s sword-qi aurora is not even enough for their own use. Apart from that, Golden Summit Aurora, Seven Illusions Flying Aurora, Dewdrop Aurora, and Nine Bends Aurora all have owners.
“Then I heard that Mount Qingqi possesses Bi Luo Qing Xia. Since Hu Zhou had also mentioned Brother Yi’s great name and I could claim a connection, I came up the mountain thick-skinned, hoping to beg a little aurora for sword refining.”
“Feather Mountain? Little Brother Lu, you also cultivated Feather Mountain’s sword arts?” Yi Qingtian asked in surprise.
Lu Zheng nodded, patted his gourd, and five red-jade swords flew out. “These were my previous flying swords. They have become inadequate now, so I visited Feather Mountain to seek sword-refining methods and learned the aurora sword-refining technique.”
Yi Qingtian recognised the material of the red-jade swords at a glance and nodded. “No wonder Little Brother Lu did use sword arts just now.”
A gleam appeared in Yi Qingtian’s eyes. He smiled and asked, “Little Brother Lu only asks for aurora. Does that mean you already possess the spiritual materials for the sword?”
Lu Zheng smiled and nodded. “Exactly. I have already traded for several materials at the temple. They are sufficient to refine one flying sword.”
Yi Qingtian laughed on hearing this and asked, “May I take a look?”
“Of course!” Lu Zheng nodded, took out the three pieces of material he had obtained at White Cloud Temple, and laid them out one by one.
To be honest, Yi Qingtian asking to see his materials was slightly presumptuous. Lu Zheng did not know what he intended, but since he had asked openly, Lu Zheng had no reason to refuse.
“Cloud-Patterned Iron, Flowing Light Refined Gold, and Intermittent Spirit Gold. Indeed excellent sword-refining materials,” Yi Qingtian nodded. “However, Feather Mountain follows the path of flying swords, not condensed sword pellets. Little Brother Lu used five red-jade swords before. What use is refining only one new flying sword now?”
Lu Zheng’s head snapped up.
Yi Qingtian grinned broadly, swept his hand across the table, and a large chunk of Cloud-Patterned Iron, a large chunk of Flowing Light Refined Gold, and a large chunk of Intermittent Spirit Gold appeared on the table.
“Your elder brother has some spare materials gathering dust here. They may as well go to you. Let us make up enough for nine swords. Nine is a lucky number.”
