A Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Starting as a Sword-Forging Servant and Ascending to Immorta

thump.

With a muffled thud, the small purple jade hammer gently landed on Zhou Lingxuan's head.

The expected excruciating pain did not come, nor did it even cause a slight tremor.

A gentle force seeped into the hammerhead, carrying the pure sword intent drawn from the Heavy Edge Stone, and circled around his sea of ​​consciousness.

There was no impact, no tearing.

That pure sword intent, like a well-behaved guest, was led by the Heaven-Forging Hammer to explore every corner of his sea of ​​consciousness before settling obediently in the center.

Zhou Lingxuan slowly opened his eyes.

Something seems to have appeared in my mind.

It wasn't power, nor memory, but a feeling. A profound and mysterious realization, as if something was etched into his very bones.

He felt something, got out of bed, and casually picked up a stick from the corner that was used to pok at the firewood.

Holding the wooden stick, a strange sense of familiarity arose spontaneously.

Without even thinking, he flicked his wrist and the wooden stick shot forward.

prick.

The movements were simple, swift, and efficient.

Immediately following were chopping, slashing, and cutting.

They are all the most basic sword techniques, without any fancy moves, which any novice disciple in the Heavenly Sword Pavilion can learn.

However, when Zhou Lingxuan used it, it carried an indescribable sharpness.

His movements became faster and faster, and the wooden stick in his hand seemed to come alive, becoming an extension of his arm.

Zhou Lingxuan himself was unaware that his body was being driven by an instinct.

He didn't think about what his next move should be, but his body naturally followed through, flowing smoothly and without any hesitation.

He seemed to have practiced this basic sword technique a thousand times, ten thousand times.

The space inside the wooden house was already cramped, but he moved around with surprising agility, always managing to find the most suitable angle within that small space, and the sound of the wind generated by the wooden stick grew increasingly rapid.

Finally, after he had practiced all the basic sword techniques, his body's instincts still seemed unsatisfied.

He took a sudden step forward, concentrating all his strength into one point, and thrust the wooden stick in his hand straight out!

hum-

The air about an inch from the tip of the stick vibrated slightly.

The next instant, the entire stick crumbled from the tip down, turning into a shower of wood chips.

An almost invisible burst of sharp energy detached from the staff and shot out, silently leaving a hole the size of a finger in the opposite wooden wall, its depth unfathomable.

Zhou Lingxuan froze in place, maintaining his sword-drawing posture.

Only after the uncontrollable urge throughout his body completely subsided did he regain control of his body.

He looked down at the half-finished stick in his hand, then turned to look at the small hole in the wall, and froze.

What just happened?

He just wanted to try it out, but his body wouldn't cooperate.

After stretching my muscles and bones, an unprecedented feeling of comfort spread throughout my entire body.

The chaotic dance he had just performed did not tire him out; on the contrary, it made his blood and energy flow more smoothly, and his body seemed to have become even stronger.

This is an absolutely tremendous benefit!

That pure sword intent, after being tempered by the Heaven-Forging Hammer, could actually be directly transformed into his own, allowing him to instantly master the basics of swordsmanship!

Although it's just the basics, it means...

Zhou Lingxuan's breathing suddenly became rapid.

He thought of Qin Zhaoyun's Chuyun sword, which had been broken into three pieces.

Repairing the sword is not difficult; what is difficult is reuniting the sword intent. And the most troublesome aspect of sword intent is the "fear" hidden deep within.

What if... what if we could use this purer, more domineering sword intent to forcefully knock that "fear" out of the Izumo sword intent?

Once the thought appeared, it could no longer be suppressed.

But he still needs to verify it.

To verify whether I can truly integrate sword intent into the forging process.

Without further hesitation, Zhou Lingxuan unlatched the door, moved the wooden table blocking the door, and strode towards the courtyard where Old Qin was.

Old Qin was sitting in the courtyard drinking tea when he saw Zhou Lingxuan coming over, but he didn't even lift his eyelids.

"What, you have a solution?"

"Brother Qin, I want to have a sword made." Zhou Lingxuan got straight to the point.

Old Qin's hand, holding the teacup, froze in mid-air. He looked up and stared at Zhou Lingxuan with some surprise.

"Having gained some experience in sword crafting, are you thinking of forging your own?"

"No." Zhou Lingxuan shook his head. "I have an idea that needs to be tested. I'll have to forge a sword myself to know if it will work."

Old Qin put down his teacup, stood up, and walked around Zhou Lingxuan twice.

"Is your mind alright? When you came back yesterday, I saw how you looked and thought you'd be bedridden for three to five days."

"It's all better now."

"You recovered so quickly?"

Old Qin clicked his tongue in amazement, then waved his hand.

"Alright, if you want to forge a sword, what materials do you need? I'll get them for you. There are furnaces and anvils in the abandoned hall; I'll have someone bring them over for you."

"We need to be quick," Zhou Lingxuan emphasized.

"Okay, what's the rush?"

Despite his complaints, Old Qin moved quickly, turning around and walking out of the courtyard.

Zhou Lingxuan thought he would have to wait an hour or two, but before half an incense stick had burned, heavy footsteps came from outside the courtyard.

boom!

With a loud bang, the courtyard wall shook three times.

Zhou Lingxuan peeked out and his eyelids twitched violently.

Old Qin was brushing the dust off his hands. In front of him, a small forging workshop made of bluestone and refined iron was being fitted into the ground perfectly, with even the underground fire pipes connected.

Did this old man... carry the entire workshop over here?

"What are you looking at? Hurry up," Old Qin urged. "I borrowed this thing from a steward in the Weapon Hall. I have to return it after I'm done using it."

Zhou Lingxuan's lips twitched slightly, but he didn't ask what the word "borrow" actually meant.

He walked to the forging table, inspected the furnace and bellows, and found that all the materials were in place, all of them high-quality refined iron.

"Brother Qin, could you please help me start a fire?"

"Okay!"

Old Qin seemed even more excited than Zhou Lingxuan. He rolled up his sleeves, sat down in front of the bellows, and started pumping it with a heave-heave-heave.

He, a master with unfathomable cultivation, was now doing menial tasks with great enthusiasm and without the slightest impatience.

Bear!

Under Qin Lao's terrifying force, the ground fire was instantly ignited, and flames shot up more than three feet high, turning the entire forging platform a bright red.

Zhou Lingxuan didn't hesitate either, picking up a piece of refined iron and throwing it into the furnace.

He didn't rush to take action, but instead closed his eyes and quietly sensed the temperature of the flames and the subtle changes that occurred in the refined iron under high temperatures.

For nearly a century, he had been doing this, day after day, in the miscellaneous workshop of the Heavenly Sword Pavilion.

Soon, the iron block was heated until it turned completely red-hot and was almost melted.

Zhou Lingxuan suddenly opened his eyes, grabbed the pliers, and firmly clamped the iron block onto the anvil.

He took a deep breath and picked up the heavy casting hammer next to him.

when!

The first hammer blow fell.

Sparks flew everywhere.

Old Qin watched from the side, his eyes revealing a hint of approval.

As expected of someone who can trigger the celestial sword phenomenon by striking iron, this hammer blow was executed with perfect precision in terms of force, angle, and timing, forcing out a trace of impurity from inside the iron block.

when!when!when!

Zhou Lingxuan's movements became faster and faster, and the sound of the hammer was crisp and rhythmic.

At first, Mr. Qin could understand it.

Every hammer blow from Zhou Lingxuan perfectly followed the principles of weapon forging, undergoing countless refinements to eliminate impurities and retain the essence. The old man's fundamental skills were so solid that even Zhou Lingxuan, a Golden Core cultivator, was astonished.

But gradually, the approval on Old Qin's face froze.

He noticed that Zhou Lingxuan's actions had changed.

The trajectory of the hammer falling is no longer simply for forging and shaping.

The arc drawn by that swinging hammer... it looked like a powerful slash no matter how you looked at it!

The hammer lightly tapped the iron block, precisely shaking away a small patch of oxide... That movement was clearly a flicking motion in swordsmanship!

Old Qin rubbed his eyes hard, thinking he was seeing things.

But what happened next completely stunned him.

Zhou Lingxuan's body began to rotate slightly in rhythm with the forging. His footwork, posture, and even every breath were integrated with the hammer in his hand.

He doesn't look like he's forging iron.

He looked like he was... practicing swordsmanship!