Chapter 590: Reforging Spiritless!

Before the break of dawn, the area by the lotus pond finally fell quiet.

Inside the pavilion, half-empty cups and plates were left on the table, and the strings of the jade zither in the corner seemed to retain faint, lingering vibrations. With her guests already gone, Lishang stood by the window and gazed at the lotus flowers in the pond.

After a short while, a sweep of morning light fell into the canyon. It passed through layer upon layer of array barriers and finally landed beside the lotus pond.

Lishang turned and flicked her sleeve lightly, instantly returning the pavilion to its original state. She then reverted to her true form and slowly slithered back into the lotus pond.

***

In Wang Sheng's pavilion in the rear mountain, Wang Sheng watched as Mu Wanxuan sat cross-legged in meditation inside a quiet room. He then quietly went into the adjacent room, took out Spiritless, and began to ponder how to use Dawnlight to improve its quality.

He laid out the Dragon Sword, Flying Cloud, and Flying Haze before him. Azure dragon light swayed faintly, and starlight shimmered indistinctly.

Yaoyun set up a layer of array to completely isolate the fluctuations here from the outside world. She then looked at the Dawnlight swirling in Wang Sheng's palm, feeling a deep sense of emotion in her heart.

Wang Sheng smiled. "I already told you before. Vice Sect Master Lishang is not the kind of person you imagine. Your Highness, are you perhaps being a little too sensitive?"

Yaoyun replied righteously, "I originally did not want to interfere in these matters of yours, but Hua Qing is far too pure. I cannot just stand by and let you bully her."

Wang Sheng could only mutter to himself that being pure did not mean being foolish. Mu Wanxuan simply lacked stray and messy thoughts. She even considered herself quite clever.

Calmly, Wang Sheng said, "Vice Sect Master Lishang's life goal is to become a Golden Immortal and then seek out her kin to continue her bloodline. Your Highness, let us be a bit more mature. A man and a woman being together doesn't always mean that something's going on between them. They could just be sworn siblings."

Yaoyun smirked. Instead of refuting him, she focused on sensing the profound Dao Rhythm within the Dawnlight.

"It would be better to keep this Dawnlight," Yaoyun said. "Since Spiritless is limited by its material, it'll struggle to unleash your true power in the Dao of the Sword once you reach the Heavenly Immortal Realm. I know the sword saved your life before and that you value it greatly, but it truly isn't worth wasting Dawnlight on."

Wang Sheng frowned slightly and shook his head. "I still have more than ten

jin

of this. You can examine me and see for yourself. It wouldn't be a waste to use some of it on Spiritless. Besides, what makes Spiritless so important isn't its material; it's you as my sword spirit." He smiled faintly. "Do you want me to switch to a natural spiritual treasure once my cultivation becomes profound? How would that be any different from abandoning what I started?"

"

Hmph!

You even want to take advantage of your own sword spirit. You truly have no shame!"

"How am I taking advantage of you?" Wang Sheng replied with a mix of laughter and helplessness.

Seeing the tiny fairy turn away, he could not help but chuckle softly. The princess could be extremely insincere sometimes. She was clearly very eager to imbue herself with a bit of Dawnlight.

Wang Sheng had already grasped part of Dawnlight's general effects. It could raise the quality of treasures and also accelerate the formation of artifact spirits, greatly increasing a treasure's spirituality.

Since Spiritless already possessed a sword spirit, Yaoyun would gain the greatest benefit in infusing it with Dawnlight, not its blade itself.

However, since this concerned his own lifebound sword, Wang Sheng dared not be careless. He first drew out a thread of Dawnlight, gently rubbed it between his fingertips, and slowly pointed it at Spiritless.

"Be ready. I'm coming."

Yaoyun immediately transformed into immortal light and returned to Spiritless. The blade trembled lightly.

A few seconds later, Wang Sheng touched the blade with his finger. The thread of Dawnlight instantly sank into it. Brilliant seven-colored immortal light burst forth from it, and Yaoyun softly cried out, "Eh?"

Wang Sheng nearly laughed out loud.

Instead of striking while the iron was hot, he had deliberately kept more than ten

jin

of Dawnlight precisely for Yaoyun's return. Now, he no longer had to hold back. Streams of Dawnlight flowed continuously from his fingertips, merging into Spiritless little by little.

He only gave the Dragon Sword and his immortal armor two or three

liang

of it. Since Spiritless's material was inferior to those two treasures, Wang Sheng had estimated that it likely wouldn't even need more than two

liang

.

Yet in the blink of an eye, Spiritless had already absorbed four

liang

of Dawnlight and was still drawing in more of it.

Wang Sheng raised his palm with some concern. Spiritless erupted with dazzling radiance. The blade seemed to melt into a mass of seven-colored light, then gradually flowed and reformed into the shape of a sword.

Within the immortal light, Yaoyun sat quietly in meditation. Most of the Dawnlight circled her, slowly yet steadily being absorbed into her body. Wang Sheng didn't have to deliberately sense it to feel her aura surging at an astonishing rate.

Is my sword spirit breaking through using this method?

Cultivation for spiritual entities was inherently extremely slow, yet as long as they possessed primal qi, they could continue to exist indefinitely. Their mode of existence was fundamentally different from that of living beings.

Yaoyun was not an ordinary sword spirit; she had originally been a Heavenly Immortal. She sealed her remnant soul into Spiritless before she died, thereby becoming a spiritual entity and also its sword spirit. Having retained many traits of an independent spiritual entity, she could cultivate faster than ordinary sword spirits. Moreover, because she had previously merged souls with Wang Sheng, she could easily become one with him.

Dawnlight was clearly an extremely potent tonic for her. Wang Sheng poured more into Spiritless slowly but without restraint.

Spiritless was undergoing a complete transcendence, yet compared to the surging fluctuations of Yaoyun's spiritual aura, the changes to the blade itself were almost insignificant.

Wang Sheng feared going too far. After nearly a

jin

of Dawnlight had been consumed, he began to hesitate over whether he should continue supplying her.

At that moment, a faint sense of telepathic refusal came from Yaoyun. Wang Sheng immediately raised his hand and stopped.

Instead of seven-colored radiance bursting forth, it gathered inwardly. Spiritless, now reduced purely to the shape of a sword, rotated slowly in midair, with Yaoyun seated cross-legged at the very center of its rotation.

Wang Sheng then witnessed a series of changes that he had never seen before.

Spiritless first seemingly melted completely and then gradually grew to the size of an ordinary person. Meanwhile, Yaoyun quietly stood up. She was translucent, as though a constantly flowing starry sky existed within her.

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

After about half an hour, Yaoyun started fading. Just as Wang Sheng began to worry about her safety, a sword hilt appeared within her. It looked rather crude, like a piece of white wood wrapped several times with rope.

A blade then slowly grew out from the hilt. Each time Yaoyun faded by a fraction, the blade grew longer by a

cun

.

The newly formed blade had a woody texture, with not the slightest hint of sharpness or aggressive aura. Yet upon a closer inspection, Wang Sheng faintly sensed a gentle pressure belonging to the Great Dao of the Sword.

Is Yaoyun transforming into a sword?

Wang Sheng frowned as he observed, completely unsure what he was supposed to do. Eventually, Yaoyun became barely visible; all that was left of her was a shallow outline. Nevertheless, the blade was still missing its tip.

"Yaoyun?" Wang Sheng called.

She seemingly laughed lightly, then vanished. The sword tip rapidly took shape.

A brand new Spiritless landed in Wang Sheng's hand. It seemed to be nothing more than an ordinary wooden sword; its blade wasn't particularly smooth, and its edge couldn't be any duller.

Yet the moment he grasped it, a surging wave erupted within him. His immortal power seemed to have been ignited.

This was undoubtedly a spiritual sword that had been reforged once more. Having been infused with a

jin

of Chaos Spiritual Dawnlight, it had undergone earth-shattering changes.

But if Yaoyun sacrificed herself to refine it...

Wang Sheng's Dao Heart trembled uncontrollably. Repeatedly, he shouted around him, "Yaoyun?!"

"I'm here," someone gently said from within Spiritless's blade.

The sword hilt broke free from Wang Sheng's grip. Immortal light flowed across it and slowly transformed into a beautiful, human-sized immortal maiden. She stood delicately before him.

Wang Sheng immediately fell into a dazed silence.

What is going on? Shouldn't a sword spirit be attached to the sword itself? How did she and Spiritless become one, yet also separate?

Yaoyun took two steps forward. Wang Sheng instinctively stood up and stared wide-eyed at his sword spirit, who was now in the form of a young lady. She slowly raised her hand and lightly poked his arm.

Wang Sheng's eyes widened.

I felt her touch!

Wang Sheng moved like lightning. Two fingers shot forward at a speed impossible to follow and pinched the smooth cheek of the lady before him, with no small amount of force.

Yaoyun sucked in a sharp breath and slapped his hand away.

Smack!

"Why are you pinching me?!"

"You're alive?!"

"Not exactly..." Yaoyun looked down at her own hands. Her tasselled immortal dress also felt solid.

Wang Sheng was invigorated. Using the Seven-Star Footwork, he left afterimages around Yaoyun. He then formed a sword finger and almost simultaneously poked her forehead, cheek, long hair, neck, arms, and chest.

Immortal light flashed. Yaoyun vanished, replaced by the new Spiritless.

Spiritless unleashed a streak of sword radiance and slashed toward Wang Sheng. Wang Sheng dodged, shifted his footing, and then smoothly caught the sword hilt.

In a daze, he stood still.

What exactly is happening?

An actual young woman had just appeared before him. The feel of her skin, the rhythm of her breathing, and her unmistakable presence made it impossible to determine whether she was a spiritual entity or a living being.

However, when she transformed into a longsword, she unquestionably became a spiritual sword that contained the Great Dao and matched his Dao of the Sword perfectly.

Holding it in his hand, Wang Sheng could feel the amplification that the sword provided. They could undergo the unity of man and sword with ease; it would require almost no extra effort.

A moment later, Yaoyun knelt sitting before Wang Sheng. The two stared at each other in silence.

"What is going on?" Wang Sheng asked.

"It's a good thing, at least," Yaoyun said as she lightly clenched her small hands. "Dawnlight is truly incredible. No, to be precise, more than a jin of it is astonishing. Right now, I feel the same as when I still had my original body. The only difference is that what flows inside me is not immortal power, but a special kind of spiritual power.

"I seem to be able to cultivate now, too. The method is different from that of living beings, but I'll make progress far faster than when I was a purely spiritual entity."

The two discussed the matter for a while. Wang Sheng referred to this state as a tangible spirit, something that lay between a spiritual entity and a living being.

Yaoyun was still a sword spirit, but she now had a physical body and could transform into a human at any time. In battle, she could even stand beside Wang Sheng and assist him with spells.

Wang Sheng felt quite satisfied with this outcome. Not only had Yaoyun's strength increased greatly, but she had also gained a physical form. No matter how one looked at it, this was good news.

"So Chaos Spiritual Dawnlight actually has this kind of effect!"

The Dragon Sword, Flying Cloud, and Flying Haze were all speechless.

Of course it did. That was why, no matter the era, it was an extremely rare extravagance to use a

jin

of Dawnlight to enhance a quasi-spiritual treasure made out of a material that wasn't even particularly precious!

If the great figures of the Primal Era were to learn that a sword cultivator in later ages had used Dawnlight in this manner, they would probably cross the river of time itself just to fly over and slap a certain Daoist master a few times.