The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 307 No Borrowing

Inside the restaurant, Zhang Si was boasting excitedly to his fellow disciples, showing off his flying sword in his hand:
"Look at my immortal sword! Although it's not a top-tier piece meticulously forged by a divine craftsman, it's still a fine product from Casting Heaven City! I exchanged all the contributions I've made to the sect over the years, and even borrowed a lot more, to get this treasure!"

His fellow disciples' eyes lit up, their gazes fixed on the flying sword. They marveled and praised it repeatedly, making Zhang Si even more proud.

But just then, a voice tinged with laughter suddenly broke in:
"Fellow Daoist, if I were you, I would quickly find something to store this treasure away. Otherwise, if a senior from the sword cultivation lineage comes to summon 'Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin,' not only will they take your sword away first, but by the time you return it, it will probably be broken into two or three pieces!"

These words made Zhang Si laugh:

"'Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin'? That's an old story from so many years ago. How could I possibly run into it by chance?"

Since he began cultivating, he had only heard of the "Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Source" a few times.

He turned around and saw an unfamiliar, richly dressed young man approaching with a smile and a cupped hand, his eyes carrying an inscrutable meaning.

The other person didn't respond, but instead added a meaningful remark:
"Really? But just now there was a senior who could produce the Wine of the Dawn, and now he's here asking to buy a Sword Cleansing Stone?"

Zhang Si was about to retort with "So what?", but before he could even utter the words, he was suddenly horrified—it really might be true!

Unable to obtain what they desired, the sword cultivators who had just left, and the fact that many rooms in the restaurant were now empty—all these factors contributed to the situation.
If the opponent were to use the "Ten Thousand Swords Return to One" technique, wouldn't my newly acquired immortal sword be doomed?
At that point, forget about showing off; this spirited young swordsman will be reduced to a poor beggar burdened with debt and only a broken sword in his hand!
He hurriedly cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, his tone urgent:

"Thank you for the reminder, fellow Daoist! I... I'll go and ask my elders to put my flying sword away right away!"

Before he could turn around, the richly dressed young man strode forward, grabbed his shoulder, pulled him aside, and said in a slightly lower voice:

"Oh, it's so inconvenient to trouble your elders. Besides, your elders must have important sect items stored in their belongings. How can they let you use them to store swords and waste space?"

Zhang Si became even more anxious, his palms sweating, and hurriedly said:
"But... but if I don't do this, where will I find any more medium?"

As he spoke, he gripped the flying sword in his hand even tighter, afraid that he would hear the "Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin" that could terrify any sword cultivator the next second.

The richly dressed young man waved his hands repeatedly, a smile plastered on his face:
"What a coincidence! I happen to have a suitable treasure here. It's not exactly a physical object, but it can ensure the safety of your flying sword and prevent anyone from taking it away!"

Zhang Si's heart skipped a beat: If it's not a mere trifle, then maybe I can afford the price!

But his eyes had barely lit up for a moment before his face fell, and he scratched his head with a hint of shame:
"But fellow Daoist, I've exchanged all my possessions for this immortal sword!"

He used to think that sword cultivators were handsome, strong, and very imposing. But now that he actually had a handy flying sword, he suddenly realized that it was not quite the same as he had imagined.
After all, in his imagination, a sword cultivator should not be like him, who was penniless after just getting a treasure, unable to even gather the necessary items to mount his sword, and was both embarrassed and shabby!

By the way, given his current situation, he's unlikely to use his sword against any opponent, since he's too poor to repair it if he gets hurt!

He was filled with grief and indignation.

Unexpectedly, the elegantly dressed young man said generously:
"No need, no need. I don't need any valuables. I just want you to answer me from the bottom of your heart!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Si immediately became alert:

"Fellow Daoist, I, Zhang Si, would never betray my sect. So please be careful what you say next, or this flying sword in my hand will show no mercy!"

The elegantly dressed young man waved his hand and laughed:

"Don't worry, I know my limits. And it's not about your sect, it's just something you can definitely answer!"

Zhang Sixin was immediately filled with horror again. He seemed to have heard of some senior experts who would deliberately use benefits that low- to mid-level cultivators could not refuse to get them to do things that would not result in any loss except for the complete loss of face.

I've heard that there are some gourmets who are particularly fond of handsome men like him!

Could it be that I've encountered this situation again today?

What to do? Should I be shameless or save face?
For a moment, Zhang Sihan was drenched in sweat and said:

"Fellow Daoist, you...you don't have some kind of unusual fetish, do you?" "Ah?! I just wanted to ask you if your sect has a way to contact that senior! That's all I wanted to say!"

The elegantly dressed young man was taken aback. What kind of talk was that?

At the same time, Zhang Si was also surprised.

"Huh? That's it?"

"That's it, what else can I do?"

As he spoke, even the unreliable young man in fine clothes hurriedly let go of Zhang Si's shoulder.

Did this guy not only have the wrong idea, but actually have the tendency to agree?

Zhang Si's expression was incredibly complex for a moment, and in the end, he could only manage a hurried sentence:
"No, really no, we're just responsible for liaison and site maintenance. We can't and won't know anything else."

Zhang Si had expected these words to greatly disappoint the elegantly dressed young man, but to her surprise, the other party chuckled lightly:
"That's wonderful, that's wonderful indeed!"

Zhang Si asked, puzzled:

"Why do you say that? Shouldn't it be better to have talent?"

The elegantly dressed young man waved his hand and laughed:

"I made a boast the other day, incurring karmic debt, which I thought I could ignore. But since I've run into this today, I had no choice but to give it a try. Now that I've done my best, I have a clear conscience! By the way, fellow Daoist, here's what you wanted!"

After saying that, the richly dressed young man tossed him a sword case.

Looking at the extremely simple sword box, Zhang Si asked suspiciously:

"Fellow Daoist, is this alright?"

The elegantly dressed young man seemed to sense his suspicion and smiled:

"You, do you even know the origin of this thing? This thing is called 'Not Borrowing'!"

"It was created by the founder of my lineage, not by the founder of my sect! It was so that if we encounter a sword cultivator playing the 'Ten Thousand Swords Return to One' trick again, we can take his sword away!"

He remembered that their ancestor, a novelist, had once encountered a great swordsman who used the Ten Thousand Swords Return to One technique, leaving him without a suitable weapon. His old rival then broke his nose and was so angry that he couldn't get out of bed for three years.

Finally, unable to contain his anger, he secluded himself for a hundred years before finally creating this "No Borrowing" technique!
This method is useless; it's only used to defend against that damned Ten Thousand Swords Return to One!

"The reason you find it simple is because the key to this object is the inscription on it, not the extraneous details."

Even now, Zhang Si still had some doubts:
"Fellow Daoist, isn't this... isn't it still a bit too rudimentary?"

The elegantly dressed young man said with dissatisfaction:
"What a joke! How could my family's founding master's painstaking research fail?"

As he spoke, he added:
"Let me tell you, if you had this, and someone still managed to steal your immortal sword, humph, I'd..."

The elegantly dressed young man, who had intended to swear a solemn oath, suddenly felt a surge of confusion and was unable to utter a single word.

Seeing Zhang Si's growing suspicion, he could only quickly come up with a solution:
"If that's the case, even if I have countless opportunities to drink the Dawn God's wine in the future, I will not touch a drop! Otherwise, may my Great Dao be destroyed and reduced to ashes!"

For some reason, Zhang Si felt that such absurd words were a vicious oath.

(End of this chapter)