Compared to three years ago, Mingtai had become more mature in appearance, but the greatest change was in his eyes, which shone bright like the tips of two swords, revealing their sharpness.

"I heard that Elder Brother Lu Yang, you have passed the Invincible Divine Thunder that has never appeared before, as well as the Qian Heaven Thunder Tribulation, which is the first in rank and encountered only upon breaking through to the Divinity Transformation Stage, becoming a Divinity Transformation Stage cultivator?"

Mingtai put down the heavy hammer, clasped his hands, and bowed respectfully. He was very happy to see Lu Yang.

Although people from the Sword Tower often bragged about their own swordsmanship talent, in his view, it was Elder Brother Lu Yang who truly possessed the most top-notch swordsmanship talent, and he was somewhat inferior.

When the time came for him to pass the tribulation, if he happened to face the Invincible Divine Thunder and the Qian Heaven Thunder Tribulation, he was certain he wouldn’t be able to pass.

"This is…" Mingtai’s attention shifted to Yun Mengmeng, who had been standing by the side, quiet and not speaking.

"Her surname is Yun, a friend I made on the road, and she is currently traveling with me," Lu Yang explained.

"So, it’s Miss Yun." Mingtai bowed politely and did not look down on Yun Mengmeng despite her lower cultivation level.

Yun Mengmeng felt that people outside were quite nice, and not as frightening as her grandmother had said, with a world full of sinister calculations. She was advised that once outside, she must keep a low profile, suppress her cultivation level, and not reveal her strength until meeting Xiao Zhi.

"Are you forging swords here?" Lu Yang noticed the heavy hammer Mingtai had just put down.

"It’s a tradition left by the first Tower Master. He believed that sword cultivators could enhance their understanding of swordsmanship through the act of forging blades," Mingtai replied.

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"Since then, every disciple of the Sword Tower has been required to learn the art of forging."

The first Tower Master was the Sword Tower Supreme, a genius who soared high and stopped only at Semi-Immortal, falling to the Immortal Ascension Tribulation.

Usually, Mingtai would address the Sword Tower Supreme as "Master," but the fact that she was the sword spirit of the Sword Tower Supreme’s sword was a secret, known only to a few high-ranking members in the Sword Tower and kept completely confidential externally; thus, she could not call her that in front of Lu Yang.

Lu Yang was aware of Mingtai’s origins, as he had been informed by Fairy Eternity.

"Is that so," Lu Yang murmured in understanding.

"Did Elder Brother Lu Yang come here to purchase a sword? The swords here are all forged by our Sword Tower disciples and probably won’t catch Elder Brother Lu Yang’s discerning eye."

"That’s not necessarily the case…" In Mingtai’s presence, Lu Yang felt embarrassed to say that the swords here were of too low quality for him.

"Elder Brother Lu Yang might as well try his luck at the Ask Sword Grand Ceremony. If there is a sword that resonates with you, it will naturally follow you," Mingtai suggested.

"The Ask Sword Grand Ceremony has such an event?" Lu Yang was surprised.

Although Lu Yang was a sword cultivator and the Ask Sword Grand Ceremony was the most important event for all sword cultivators, he had not paid much attention to it, only knowing that it was a tradition left by the Sword Tower Supreme, held once every hundred years.

"Our Sword Tower often forges swords, and among the past Tower Masters and Elders, there are always some who enjoy forging spirit swords, which occasionally possess spirituality."

"After the Tower Masters and Elders’ lifespans are exhausted, these swords become masterless. Forcing them upon sword cultivators who are not of compatible destiny would only draw the swords’ discontent."

"Yet if they are sealed away indefinitely, the swords will gather dust, and their spirituality will eventually vanish."

"Our Sword Tower is reluctant to let spirit swords gather dust, so we opened the Sword Vault. If someone can resonate with a spirit sword, they can take it. It allows the spirit sword to shine in the hands of the right sword cultivator, but it’s for personal use only, not for sale or transfer. And if the sword cultivator dies, the spirit sword must be returned to our Sword Tower."

"Your Sect is truly generous!" Lu Yang said sincerely, knowing how precious swords with spirituality were, and the Sword Tower’s willingness to let outsiders use these swords impressed him greatly. The Sword Tower was indeed a sacred place for sword cultivators.

"It’s just an unwillingness to let the spirit swords gather dust," said Mingtai, the sword spirit, who felt this most profoundly.

"Why don’t we consider having Sword Tower cooperate with Seek Dao Sect?" Fairy Eternity suggested from within the Spiritual Space.

"Cooperation?"

"You see, the Sword Tower doesn’t want the swords’ spirituality to fade away, and our Seek Dao Sect has the ability to prevent that."

"Is the Fifth Elder that powerful?"

"Not that kid. To sustain the sword’s spirituality, we either find it a master or we elevate the spirituality to a Sword Spirit, just like what our Sect’s River Spirit did."

Hearing this, Lu Yang roughly understood Fairy Eternity’s method, and the corner of his eye twitched, "So, Fairy, your idea is to refine the prisoners of Captive Peak into Sword Spirits and fuse them with the swords from the Sword Tower?"

"Yeah, it’s a good idea, right?"

"No way." Lu Yang flatly rejected Fairy Eternity’s proposal—this was not the behavior of a Righteous Sect.

Refining souls on a large scale, with sinister winds howling and ghosts wailing—it would look to outsiders as if the Seek Dao Sect was a demonic sect.

"And how would we resolve the issue of the Spirit Swords’ ownership? Are we supposed to steal all these swords for the Seek Dao Sect? We’re the leader of the Righteous Path; we can’t engage in such behavior."

"It seems to be the case."

"What a pity. I was thinking about organizing a major Sword Spirit refining event and refining Guan Shanhai into your Green Peak Sword along the way. With a Sword Spirit, your sword would become a top-tier Immortal Artifact, something not even Yingtian Immortal could create."

"Wait a minute, it seems that in order for your Immortal Sword to have a Sword Spirit, we don’t need to refine Guan Shanhai." Fairy Eternity came up with a brilliant idea that could take the quality of the Green Peak Sword to the next level.

"What do you mean?"

Fairy Eternity smiled mysteriously, "Little Yang, take out your Green Peak Sword."

Lu Yang obediently did as told, taking out the Green Peak Sword from his Identity Jade, still not understanding Fairy Eternity’s intention.

Fairy Eternity flew out of the Spiritual Space, crawled up Lu Yang’s arm, and with a whiz, dived into the Green Peak Sword.

"Now your Green Peak Sword is a top-tier Immortal Artifact with a Sword Spirit."

She had been staying in the Spiritual Space quite often; changing places wasn’t so bad.

Fairy Eternity warned fiercely, "You can’t put the Green Peak Sword back into your Identity Jade!"

"...All right."

Lu Yang casually swung the Green Peak Sword a couple of times, and although according to Fairy Eternity’s theory, it was now the most powerful weapon in the world, Lu Yang didn’t feel that way at all—it felt just the same as before.

"Elder Brother Lu Yang, why did you suddenly take out your sword?" Mingtai was puzzled; just now, Elder Brother Lu Yang looked as if he was possessed, with a sudden urge to wave around the Green Peak Sword as if he was about to chop down a couple of people at random.

"It’s nothing. Just letting it get some air."

"Oh." Mingtai could understand Lu Yang’s approach; Sword Cultivators consider their sword as their beloved, so a little odd behavior was understandable.

"By the way, Fairy, is there something wrong with this girl called Yun Mengmeng?" Lu Yang always felt there was something off about Yun Mengmeng, but couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Fairy Eternity hummed with dissatisfaction, "You’ve been treating her to hotpot and storytelling snacks; what could be wrong?"

She had never been treated to such things.