Chapter 191 – Soul Iron Gains Flesh, Blood Gold Crystals Bring Life, The Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell and Returns - Part 2

After befriending Han Feng and Leng Round, Li Yuan learned bits and pieces about the day-to-day life of sixth rank martial artists. All he could do was sigh to himself. Every realm had its own pressures.

Those who belonged to the great sects and clans at least had something to look forward to. But for those like Han Feng and Leng Rou, wandering on their own, life was rough. Their breakthroughs often stemmed from exceptional talent and strong sect legacies, but reaching the fifth rank from the sixth was virtually impossible if you couldn’t see the path ahead.

For them, all that was left was to hone their skills, wander in search of any opportunity, or establish their own sect and pass down their teachings to disciples...anything to avoid letting their ancestral lineage die with them.

Han Feng and Leng Rou appeared to be a pair of sixth rank wanderers, but back on the Cloudpeak Province, they were revered as the founding patriarchs of a sect alliance. Even so, that alliance couldn’t get their hands on any blood gold.

They had roamed Cloudpeak Province for decades, hoping to stumble on some miracle, but turned up empty. Now nearing a hundred years of age, the couple decided to venture out, gambling on the slimmest chance to break into the fifth rank.

Traveling until they reached Northriver Prefecture, they heard rumors of this freelance enforcer recruitment. So they signed up—first, to earn some blood gold; second, to build contacts with the major powers, maybe even find a chance to become official enforcers; third, because Northriver Prefecture was a remote region, which they assumed wouldn’t be too dangerous.

“Mister Woodson, my wife and I never expected to run into someone so generous here. If it hadn’t been for the heads-up you gave me, I would’ve walked right through that door and taken a lethal blow from that undying husk.” Han Feng’s hearty laughter rang out.

“The credit goes to you, Mister Han, not me,” Li Yuan replied. “Still, so that door really was a trap, was it? No wonder several disciples died as soon as they stepped inside. You’ve cleared that up for me. I’ll be extra careful next time.”

“Haha! You’re being too modest!”

“Come on, let’s have a drink,” Li Yuan said. “I’ve heard this particular wine is pretty good. It’s sold by the Purejade Merchant Association. I was skeptical at first, thinking nothing local could be that special. But to my surprise, it’s actually fantastic. Real good stuff.”

Never missing a chance to market his own products, Li Yuan poured each of them a cup of Springdream Brew, hoping to break into the high-end scene.

Han Feng took a sip, savoring the taste. His eyes lit up. “Superb! I’ll have to order a dozen jars from them next time!”

As they chatted, the door slid open and Leng Rou entered gracefully, carrying two steaming dishes. Placing them on the stone table, she glanced at the men drinking and said with a smile, “You two get along so well, why not become sworn brothers?”

Li Yuan froze for a moment, thinking she must be joking.

Han Feng let out a hearty laugh. “What do you say, Mister Woodson?”

“Well, we’ve hit it off from the start...” Li Yuan began.

Han Feng waved him off. “You don’t understand. This is just what I do. I love making sworn brothers. I’ve collected quite a few on my travels already.”

Li Yuan’s mouth twitched.

Oh, so it’s a hobby of yours...that’s fine then.

Encouraged by Han Feng’s enthusiasm, Li Yuan couldn’t refuse. Before he knew it, he was hauled off to swear brotherhood.

Afterward, Han Feng clapped him on the shoulder, brimming with excitement. “A good brother indeed!”

Leng Rou looked on with a fond smile. With the two now sworn brothers, the trio’s bond grew stronger still.

Han Feng thought for a moment, then produced a small, ornate token engraved with seven different swords. It shimmered brightly in the light. “This is the VIP token of my Snow Mountain Seven-Sword Alliance. We’d be honored if you’d visit us someday. With this token, you’ll be treated as though I were there in person.

“Our alliance isn’t one of those great powers that control life chronicles, but we’re still a solid force in our region.” He paused, then added with a laugh, “Of course, at our level, power rankings mean less than they used to. I really just want you to see the beautiful snow-capped peaks for yourself someday.”

Li Yuan understood that Han Feng likely hoped a fellow sixth rank expert might occasionally look in on his clan. Accepting the token, he gave a soft sigh, “Right now, it’s hard to travel anywhere. Trouble keeps popping up everywhere I look.”

Han Feng chuckled. “Most of that trouble’s in bustling places. Up in the snowy mountains, hardly anyone goes there, so we can live in peace. Why else would my wife and I have been able to stay there for decades?”

Slightly taken aback, Li Yuan asked more about the Snow Mountain Seven-Sword Alliance, while Leng Rou listened on with a gentle smile. The mood was warm and convivial.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

In the blink of an eye, nearly half a month flew by.

Han Feng picked up a minor injury on one of his missions. Li Yuan, on the other hand, completed four more outings without a single scratch.

It wasn’t that he refused to take damage; he knew the traps were there, but he just couldn’t make himself walk straight into them. Besides, if he did, it’d be hard to keep up his bumbling act afterwards.

Li Yuan had a stack of copper pendants, as well as his untested shadow blood barrier. But since he’d never been hurt on any of his missions, how was he supposed to pretend he’d taken a wound? Everyone had eyes; they would see through his act in seconds, and it would just make everything awkward.

So it came to pass that his stash of blood gold rose to 190 taels. And the looks people gave him were now filled with overt respect.

That deference, however, made Li Yuan’s heart pound with anxiety. Mulling it over, he went to the supply depot run by the three major powers and carefully picked out a rather ordinary-looking sleeve dagger—normally just a handle that, with a click of the mechanism, ejected a half-forearm-length blade.

The blade itself was a bizarre crimson, seeming to give off a faint heat. In the sunlight, it even showed a slight crystalline translucence.

“What’s it made of?” Li Yuan asked casually.

The disciple staffing the depot answered respectfully, “Mister Woodson, this is blood gold crystal.”

Blood gold crystal?

Li Yuan immediately thought of soul iron crystal, which could sprout flesh. Did that mean blood gold crystal could...?

He feigned an offhand question, “So this dagger can grow a blade spirit or something?”

The disciple hurriedly shook his head. “That’s not how it works, sir. Though this kind of weapon is considered top-tier in the martial world, it doesn’t normally develop any blade spirit. Higher rank blood gold crystal, however, might be able to.”

“Oh? So is this lower rank crystal?”

“Not at all,” the disciple insisted.

Prodded by Li Yuan’s continued questions, and perhaps because this sort of thing wasn’t really a secret among the major factions...the disciple explained what he knew. Blood gold crystal and soul iron crystal were both fairly common materials in forging sixth rank weapons, though

common

didn’t mean cheap; it just meant that many high-level martial artists used such metals.

A blade forged from blood gold crystal could absorb its owner’s emotions and even store a portion of their power. If a sixth rank murderous fiend wielded a blood gold crystal blade to commit countless atrocities, that weapon might become a

demonic blade

in the eyes of the world. Anyone who picked it up would see their strength soar but also risk being consumed by the blade’s baleful aura and driven to madness.

Higher-quality blood gold crystal, in the hands of a weaponsmith, could give birth to an actual blade spirit. How that worked or what that

spirit

truly was, the average disciple had no idea. To them, it was a mysterious power deserving nothing less than awe.

That was enough information for Li Yuan. He had at least confirmed two things. A puppet master could make soul iron crystal grow living flesh, and a weaponsmith could make blood gold crystal manifest a living spirit.

His view of the world expanded once again.

Not that he’d bought the sleeve dagger to chase after a blade spirit. The reason was simpler. Holding this dagger boosted his power from 1140~1890 to 1450~2200. That surge told him the dagger truly was high-end among sixth rank weapons. His Dragon-Fanged Spear, while impressive for seventh rank, fell short of such quality at sixth rank.

As for price, it hardly disappointed. Ordinary sixth rank weapons at the Red Ant Guild ran at about 30 taels of blood gold; this little sleeve dagger cost 120 taels. Truth be told, a sleeve dagger wasn’t exactly his ideal choice, but he appreciated the large increase in power, and it was easy to store.

More importantly, weapons made from blood gold crystal weren’t piled up in a blacksmith’s shop ready to browse. Production was scarce, so the range of designs was severely limited. Having found one that suited him, he snapped it up.

Not long after returning to the Peakside Pavilion, a messenger on horseback arrived to deliver a new mission. Even this disciple was visibly respectful.

After all, everyone knew just how frighteningly strong this sixth rank enforcer was. Word had it the Sacred Fire Palace, Mountain Hall, and even Holy Tree Temple were all angling to recruit him as an official enforcer. If that happened, he’d no longer be a

wild

or freelance enforcer but a legitimate enforcer of a major faction.

Knowing that, the messenger radiated sincere respect in every gesture and word. “Mister Woodson, if you need anything at all, please give the order.”

“Nothing for now. You can go.”

“Yes, sir.”

Once the messenger had departed, Li Yuan quietly watched the direction he’d gone, then closed his eyes in thought. A moment later, he headed next door.

Han Feng, still healing from his wound, remarked with a sigh when he saw Li Yuan, “You’re really something else. I’m not even in the same league.”

Li Yuan let out a hearty laugh. “Just focus on getting better. After I come back from this next mission, maybe I’ll finally tell you about my past. It’s about time I stopped running from it.”

Han Feng nodded. “Good brother, I’ll be waiting.”

Standing beside him, Leng Rou gave a playful smile, sounding slightly nosy. “Mister Woodson, did you leave some poor girl behind somewhere?”

Han Feng chuckled. “I wouldn’t say he left anyone high and dry, but if our brother here really wants a partner, it ought to be someone at the same cultivation level. Otherwise, an ordinary person would be gray-haired before he even started to age.”

“Haha.” Li Yuan said nothing more, then departed with two seventh rank martial artists and a small group of accompanying disciples.

He was heading north to deal with the Immortal Worship Cult in two counties. It was a task assigned by the three great factions controlling Northriver Prefecture.

Previously, a quick strike against the undying husks had failed, so now they planned to wear them down gradually. Since it was clear the Immortal Worship Cult had ties to both the undying husks and the spate of disappearances, the decision was made to round up every cult member. If they couldn’t be thrown in jail, they would be eliminated on the spot.

Although the official mission was to apprehend the Immortal Worship Cult, everyone knew the real threat lay in the counterattack of the undying husks.

Still, martial artists held the advantage in numbers and direct force. Additionally, a sixth rank martial artist’s ancestral seal and shadow blood technique could suppress the powers of undying husks, so success wasn’t impossible.

This time, the three factions were generous, offering 50 taels of blood gold for each successful sweep of the Immortal Worship Cult.

Yet Li Yuan only sighed quietly. He didn’t plan on accepting the payment for this mission...