I've already become an immortal lord, and only now is the spiritual energy reviving?

The sirens wailed, tearing through the morning mist over the countryside.

The police officers escorted the suspect and kept stuffing things into the car.

Jiang Wenwang stood out from the crowd in the center.

His eyes were unfocused, he chuckled foolishly, and mumbled a sentence repeatedly indistinctly:

"The...the master won't let you get away with this...the master..."

Qingyuan leaned against a rusty pillar, his ears twitching.

The sound was mostly drowned out by the noise of the walkie-talkies, but thanks to my keen hearing, I still managed to hear it clearly.

A faint light flickered deep within his pupils.

Under the "Qi Observation Method", Jiang Wenwang's gray-red mottled Qi above his head dissipated.

Only a thin, thread-like black line remained, pointing straight to the southwest.

[Fate: Puppet on a String]

[Annotation: Forced by circumstances, soul bound to a foreign land, abandoning her child without regret.]

"A puppet on a string..."

Qingyuan thought to himself.

He had pieced together some information from the thoughts of these rogue cultivators.

There was a so-called "big shot" who lived in Hangzhou.

Managing operations from hundreds of kilometers away, even if someone really wants to come to Shanghai to make a move, it's not something that can be done overnight.

Moreover.

Qingyuan glanced at Chen Qiujia and the others who had been shoved into the car.

"They even recruit those at the Nascent Soul stage as lackeys."

Conversely, it can be inferred that the person in question might not be of a very high level.

"Mid-stage Qi Refining? Late-stage at best."

Qingyuan sneered inwardly.

By the time the other party has freed up their hands to cause trouble, their strange stone egg will probably have already hatched and officially entered the Qi Refining stage.

In addition, there was feedback from Shu Yan and Chai Wu, the two major Foundation Establishment cultivators.

I'm afraid of birds.

"Qingyuan".

My thoughts were interrupted by the crisp sound of high heels beside me.

Lu Zhaolin comforted Lu Zhaoheng and strode over.

"Thank you for today."

"If it weren't for you, I don't know how I would have cleaned up this mess. I won't say anything more, the Lu family will remember this favor."

She paused, her tone unusually solemn:

"What do you want? Just name it. As long as I can afford it, the Lu family can afford it."

Upon hearing this, Qingyuan feigned frivolity, a wicked smile playing on his lips:

"Mr. Lu, you can't just say things like that."

"Really, anything is fine?"

Her gaze lingered deliberately on Lu Zhaolin, carrying a certain suggestive meaning.

Lu Zhaolin did not dodge; instead, his calm eyes stared directly at Qingyuan, his expression open and honest.

It seems to be saying:

If you have the guts, go ahead and speak up.

"cough......"

Qingyuan put away his thuggish behavior:

"Just kidding, I'm not that kind of person."

"Mr. Lu, could you... approve a little extra for my bonus later, just a token amount will do."

Lu Zhaolin didn't expose his embarrassment, but gave him a meaningful look:

"The bonus will certainly be substantial."

"However, if you really want to..."

She left her words unfinished, uttering a suggestive aftertaste.

Can't say no.

Let alone the bonus, even if we really wanted her as a person... it seems like it's not impossible to negotiate.

Don't go back to the office today.

Lu Zhaolin straightened the collar of his trench coat:

"You were frightened, and you probably didn't sleep well last night, so I'm granting you special leave to go back and catch up on your sleep with pay."

"besides."

"Go back in my car."

The Aston Martin's car key traced an arc through the air.

Qingyuan caught it instinctively, still a little stunned.

"And what about you?"

"A driver will come to pick you up."

As Lu Zhaolin spoke, he took a step forward.

The distance between the two instantly shrank to the point where they could hear each other breathing.

At this moment, Lu Zhaoheng was wrapped in a blanket given to him by his bodyguard, sniffling as he looked this way. When he saw this scene, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

Lu Zhaolin slightly tiptoed.

A warm touch landed lightly on Qingyuan's cheek.

"Your driving skills... are pretty good."

A very soft whisper reached my ear.

Qingyuan hadn't reacted yet.

Lu Zhaolin had already stepped back and turned to walk towards the black Maybach convoy that had just entered the factory area, leaving behind a dashing and neat silhouette.

......

Hangzhou, on the shore of West Lake.

The top floor of a skyscraper called "Hengsha Holdings" hidden in the bustling city.

In front of the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, top-quality imported turf is laid.

A young man dressed in a traditional Chinese long gown from the Republican era holds a golf club with a standard and elegant posture.

"Smack."

A crisp sound.

The small white ball flew over most of the office, hit the edge of the putting machine with a "thud," and bounced back.

It was only half an inch away from the cave entrance.

"Tsk."

"The force was too strong."

He removed a spotless white glove and handed it to the servant who stood respectfully to his side:

"Did they fail in Shanghai?"

The servant lowered his head even further: "Yes, Jiang Wenwang and the others... are dead. It's said they lost their minds and went insane."

"Ha, there are so many old monsters."

The man chuckled softly, seemingly unsurprised and unperturbed.

"None of them are keeping quiet. Fine, let them jump around for a few more days."

He straightened the cuffs of his long robe, then turned and walked out.

Walk through the corridor and push open the door to a conference room.

"Sorry I was busy with something and I'm late."

He walked to the head of the conference table and reached out his hand to a young girl who was sitting on her left, looking restless.

"I've long admired your name; it's an honor to meet you."

"Gu Wanyin, Miss Gu."

......

An old residential area in Shanghai.

Qingyuan lay on the bed and reached out to touch his cheek.

The unique scent of pine resin seems to linger.

"I... I was forcibly kissed by a domineering female CEO?"

Qingyuan blinked and stared blankly at the ceiling.

It's hard to believe.

But this feeling...

Damn, it doesn't seem so bad?

"Buzz".

My phone vibrated beside my pillow.

Upon picking it up, I saw a bank notification that my money had been deposited into my account.

[Your card ending in xxxx received a deposit of RMB 2,000,000.00 on xx day at xx hour.]

Two million.

Qingyuan's hand trembled slightly.

Immediately afterwards, a WeChat pop-up appeared.

Lu Zhaolin's message was as concise and clear as ever:

[This is a small token of my appreciation; please don't think it's too little. You can keep the car for now; I'm not in a hurry to use it.]

This is probably the ultimate level of being a kept man, isn't it?

Qingyuan muttered something to himself with a smug look on his face.

However, he quickly put away his romantic thoughts.

I sat up and turned on the computer.

The focus returns to "Ancestor Simulator".

The next event, the Mountain God Festival, is the key.

......

Blacksmith shop.

"call......"

Once the internal spiritual energy has circulated completely, it returns to the dantian.

"The 180th time."

Ou Yeheng silently made a number in his mind.

"At this rate, after another thirty cycles, I should be able to open the second Qi aperture and break through to the second level of Qi Refining."

At that moment, a commotion arose from the front hall.

"Clang! Clang!"

It's the sound of striking an anvil.

Ou Yeheng was taken aback.

At this time, everyone is taking a lunch break, so who will do the business?

He brushed the dust off his clothes, lifted the curtain, and went out.

In front of the counter in the main hall stood a disheveled scholar in a blue robe.

He was fiddling with an object in his hand.

A jade-like epiphyllum.

The carving is not particularly exquisite, but the angle at which each petal unfolds is extremely natural, exuding an indescribable charm.

That was ground out by Ou Yeheng last night using scraps of discarded jade.

He planned to secretly give it to Zhang Lingyuan after returning to his clan.

"Let go!"

Ou Yeheng rushed over and snatched it away.

"This isn't for sale!"

He carefully tucked the jade flower into his bosom, placing it close to his body, before looking up and glaring angrily at the guest who had "dishonest hands and feet."

"Is it you?"

Ou Yeheng was stunned.

The man before me was dressed as a scholar, but he was missing a fan; instead, he exuded an indelible sharpness.

It was the scholar I bumped into at the restaurant last night.

"What a coincidence, young master."

Xu Sixing looked at him with a smile:

"We bumped into each other at the restaurant last night, and now we meet here again. Our fate is quite something."

Ou Yeheng took half a step back and bowed respectfully: "Greetings, Senior."

Ou Ye Tiezhu, who was swinging a hammer beside the furnace, walked over and slammed the hammer into the ground:

"Hengwa, do you know him?"

However, he couldn't be bothered with what friends his son made, and turned to shout at Xu Sixing in his loud voice:

"Sir, you just said you wanted to have a sword made? What kind of sword?"

"Could you provide a blueprint, or at least a rough description? We're here to assist the immortals; even ordinary iron can be crafted into something extraordinary!"

"There are no blueprints."

Xu Sixing shook his head and gestured in the air:

"A sword should be as powerful as spring thunder, with a slightly broad blade and a line of gold stripe along its central spine..."

"The other one resembles the blazing sun, with a three-legged bird pattern on the hilt and a crimson blade..."

His description was not detailed; he focused more on the spirit and feeling.

Ou Ye Tiezhu was completely confused and scratched his head:

"This... is a bit abstract."

"Okay, I'll give it a try. Please wait a moment."

With that, the old blacksmith busied himself with his work, clanging and banging.

Xu Sixing stood with his hands behind his back, gazing absently at the several iron swords on the wall.

Suddenly, a hesitant voice came from behind:

"May I ask, senior... were these two swords forged using immortal swords as their original form?"

How did you know?

Xu Sixing was somewhat surprised.

"intuition."

Ou Yeheng pointed to the fire in the furnace:

"Fire is intense, and in order to forge it into shape, it must be countered by strong metal, like spring thunder breaking through the earth, in order to settle its sharpness."

"Thunder is fierce; without the tempering of pure yang fire, it is nothing more than a rootless duckweed, easily broken."

He got more and more carried away as he spoke, and even picked up a piece of scrap metal next to him to demonstrate:

The book says, "The Zhen trigram represents an upturned bowl, and the Li trigram represents emptiness in the middle."

"When forging the Thunder Sword, it must be struck rapidly with a heavy hammer to disperse and then reassemble the metal's energy."

"As for the fire sword, it needs to be slowly simmered over a low flame to unleash its ferocious power..."

Xu Sixing listened in stunned silence, and couldn't help but marvel.

He looked Ou Yeheng up and down:

"Judging from your attire, you're just an ordinary blacksmith from Danxia Peak."

"This insight... is probably no better than that of the weapon-refining elders of the Imperial Sword Sect."

"You flatter me, senior."

Ou Yeheng lowered his head, appearing honest and unassuming.

"This junior is dull-witted and incapable of cultivation, so I am only interested in some scrap metal."

"Inside the sect's scripture pavilion, I only read books on weapon crafting. After reading too much, I started having random thoughts."

"Specializing in one path is the path to enlightenment."

Facing the somewhat dull young man, Xu Sixing seemed to see himself in his younger days.

Back then, he also carried a sword and was defiant of everyone.

Xu Sixing pondered for a moment, then flipped his wrist.

A broken sword with only its hilt appeared in the palm of the hand.

On the hilt of the sword, thunder and fire intertwined, with faint sounds of dragon roars and bird cries.

It is indeed [Zhen Li]!

"I see that you are an honest person and genuinely love this path."

Xu Sixing handed over the sword hilt, his eyes filled with encouragement:

"You're right, the two swords I want do indeed originate from this item."

"Take a look at this sword; hopefully it will be of some use to your 'random speculations'."

Ou Yeheng accepted it with both hands, and couldn't help but sigh:

"Good...good magic sword!"

A clear, crisp voice called out from outside the door:

"Brother Ouye! Hurry up! Time's almost up, or we'll be punished!"

He snapped out of his daze and, without delay, put the Zhenli sword into a wooden sword case.

Then he took out the box containing the jade epiphyllum and carefully put it away.

"Thank you so much for sharing this valuable information, senior!"

He bowed deeply to Xu Sixing:

"I will definitely study this carefully and make sure you understand it completely when we meet again!"

After saying that, Ou Yeheng hugged the sword box tightly, as if it were his lifeblood, and ran wildly towards the door.