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

The two searched for half an hour.

Lei Yang dragged out a pitch-black wooden beam.

"This is heavy enough."

Zhou Lingxuan reached out and tapped twice.

"It's empty inside."

Lei Yang threw it back and dug out another piece of black wood.

"What about this one?"

"It was burned by fire, only the outer layer remains."

"What kind of wood are you looking for?"

"Spirit-Slaying Wood".

"What is that?"

"They are naturally averse to spiritual energy, unable to inscribe array patterns or forge magical artifacts. They are useless to cultivators and are usually thrown into the scrap heap."

Lei Yang stopped what he was doing.

"It's useless for cultivators, so why can it heal my hand?"

"Don't rush to ask, move it first."

The two continued flipping through the pages until dark.

At the bottom of the waste mountain lay a piece of black wood, only as long as an arm, its surface covered in mud and ash.

Lei Yang grabbed one end and tried to pull it out, but he couldn't budge it on the first try.

"So heavy?"

He exerted force with both hands, stomping two deep pits into the soil beneath his feet, and only then did Hei Mu slowly move out from under the scrap metal.

Zhou Lingxuan squatted down and wiped off the surface dirt with his hands.

The wood grain is so dense that pressing it with a fingernail leaves no mark.

He channeled a small amount of his inner energy and pressed it onto the wood.

The true energy dispersed to both sides as soon as it touched the wood, unable to penetrate it at all.

"Found it."

Lei Yang picked up Hei Mu, his arms sinking a little.

"Is this the Spirit-Slaying Wood?"

"Um."

"Nothing special."

Zhou Lingxuan took down the Wind and Thunder Sword and slowly approached the blackwood.

The purple lightning that had been dancing on the sword began to recede when it was still three inches away from the black wood. By the time the blade touched the wood, the overflowing lightning had diminished by more than half.

Lei Yang immediately moved closer.

"Can it really be suppressed?"

"It didn't suppress the Wind and Thunder Sword, it just pushed away the lightning power outside."

Zhou Lingxuan sheathed his sword.

"Take it back."

Lei Yang took a few steps while carrying the Spirit-Slaying Wood, then suddenly turned around.

"Aren't you going to help me lift it to one side?"

"Your hand is injured, but your leg is not."

"It's too heavy."

"Perfect for leg training."

Lei Yang held back for a long time, then gritted his teeth and carried Hei Mu back.

Back in the workshop, Zhou Lingxuan did not light a fire.

He first sawed the Spirit-Slaying Wood in half, then placed the Wind and Thunder Sword between the two pieces of wood and used a charcoal pencil to draw the outline of the sword section by section.

The Wind and Thunder Sword has a unique shape with multiple bends in the blade, making it unusable with ordinary scabbards.

Lei Yang watched for a while and couldn't help but speak up.

"Why don't we just tie the two pieces of wood together with a rope?"

"You want to untie the rope every day?"

"It can be drawn from the hilt."

"It will get stuck here."

Zhou Lingxuan pointed to the protruding part in the middle of the sword.

Lei Yang changed direction.

"Then open it from the side?"

"The lightning power will leak out from the cracks."

"What are your plans?"

"Shut up."

Zhou Lingxuan picked up the most ordinary carving knife and began to cut from the inside of the black wood.

The Spirit-Slaying Wood is too hard; only a very thin layer can be shaved off with a single stroke.

He did not use his true energy, nor did he summon the Heaven-Forging Hammer.

When true energy comes into contact with wood, it disperses, and forcibly urging the carving knife makes it difficult to control the depth of the carving.

Lei Yang stood there for a while, but seeing that Zhou Lingxuan was still carving wood with his head down, he had no choice but to go back to his room to rest.

The next morning, he ran into the workshop again.

There were already many small wood chips on the ground, and half a sword groove had been dug out from the inside of the black wood.

"You didn't sleep all night?"

"I've already slept."

"When?"

When you snore.

I don't snore.

Zhou Lingxuan ignored him, picked up the Wind and Thunder Sword, put it into the slot, and tried it once.

Only one-third of the sword blade can penetrate.

He took out his sword again and continued carving.

Each time the blade is thinned, it must be placed back in for adjustment. If the angle is even slightly off, it will get stuck when sheathed. If the groove is too wide, lightning will escape through the gaps.

Lei Yang reached out to grab another carving knife.

"I'll help you."

"Go practice your sword."

"The Wind and Thunder Sword is here, what am I supposed to use to practice with?"

"Use a wooden stick."

"You're going to make me a sword sheath, and I'm still practicing with a wooden stick?"

Zhou Lingxuan stopped carving.

"Hand out."

Lei Yang immediately hid his right hand behind his back.

"I'll go right away."

He turned and left the workshop.

Soon, the sound of a wooden stick piercing the air could be heard from inside the courtyard.

During the day, Zhou Lingxuan carved wooden sheaths, and at night he would take out the Longevity Pill and continue to refine its medicinal power with a small purple jade hammer.

Ding.

After each soft sound, the life force enters a meridian.

After stabilizing the meridians opened at the first level of Qi Refining, he then repaired the second and third levels.

He meticulously polished away the superficiality left by the gifts of heaven and earth.

On the evening of the third day, the two wooden sheaths finally took shape.

Zhou Lingxuan carved tenons on the edge to fit the two pieces of wood together tightly, and then used the remaining spirit-exorcising wood to carve three wooden hoops to fit the outside of the sword sheath.

The entire scabbard has no array patterns or metal decorations.

The surface has only been simply polished, and it feels rough and heavy in the hand.

Lei Yang circled the wooden sheath several times.

"It took three days to make this?"

"You think it's ugly?"

"A little."

"Then carve it yourself."

"I think it's fine."

Lei Yang immediately changed his tune.

Zhou Lingxuan handed him the Wind and Thunder Sword.

"Sheathed."

Lei Yang gripped the hilt of the sword and slowly inserted it into the black wooden scabbard.

The purple lightning began to retract into the sword as soon as the tip of the sword entered half a foot.

Once the sword was fully inside the wooden sheath, there was a clanging sound, and the last few bolts of purple lightning were also locked inside the sheath.

The courtyard immediately fell silent.

The Wind and Thunder Sword, which could originally make people feel the power of thunder even from several feet away, now has no trace of its aura.

The ebony scabbard had no luster and was wide and thick.

Lei Yang gripped the sword hilt and stood there stunned for a long while.

Why isn't it moving?

"Still inside."

"Why can't I feel anything?"

"The Spirit-Severing Wood separates you from the lightning power within the sword."

Zhou Lingxuan patted the sword sheath.

"Try pulling it out."

Lei Yang forcefully pulled out his sword.

The sword was drawn three inches from its sheath when purple lightning exploded, and thunder echoed throughout the workshop.

He quickly pushed the sword back.

choke!

The lightning disappeared again.

Lei Yang looked down at the black wooden sword sheath in his hand.

"It's really locked."

"Stretch out your hand."

This time, Lei Yang did not dodge.

Zhou Lingxuan reapplied the healing medicine to the tiger's mouth.

The powder fell smoothly into the wound and was no longer bounced away by the lightning.

"Don't draw your sword these next few days."

"Then how do I practice?"

Zhou Lingxuan raised his hand and tapped the sword sheath.

"A heavy sword has no edge, and great skill lies in simplicity. From this day forward, the sword will never leave its sheath; use the weight of this spirit-slaying wood to hone your body."

Lei Yang tried to hold the sword level.

As soon as the arm was extended, the sword sank downwards.

He quickly used his left hand to support the scabbard, thus preventing it from hitting his foot.

"This is at least twice as heavy as the Wind and Thunder Sword!"

"The Spirit-Extinguishing Wood is inherently heavy."

"I can't even lift it steadily, how can I train?"

"Start with a steady hand."

"Why not pull it out even when the enemy comes?"

"Why bother drawing the sword when you can knock someone down with the sword and scabbard intact?"

"What if it can't be knocked down?"

"Then run."

Lei Yang almost missed catching the sword.

"You taught me swordsmanship, and all you taught me was how to run?"

"If you can't beat them, why don't you run away? Are you just going to stay behind and collect their corpses?"

Zhou Lingxuan picked up the carving knife on the table and began to clean up the wood shavings.

Lei Yang stood there holding the Wind and Thunder Sword for a long time, and suddenly felt that it made a lot of sense, but he also felt that something was not quite right.

"When can we pull it out?"

"When your tiger's mouth can withstand the power of lightning, your arm can also wield this sword sheath."

"How long will it take?"

"It's up to you."

Lei Yang carried the Wind and Thunder Sword into the courtyard, gripped the hilt with both hands, and slashed forward using his usual method of exerting force.

The sword sheath had only fallen halfway when his center of gravity was shifted, and he stumbled forward three steps before crashing headfirst into the courtyard wall.

boom!

The wall plaster covered his head.

Zhou Lingxuan sat at the entrance of the workshop without even raising his head.

"Trying to chop on your first day of sword practice? Who taught you that?"

Lei Yang straightened up, leaning against the wall.

"So what should I do first?"

"Stand still, swords raised."

"Just hold it up?"

"When can I hold the position for an hour and then practice the downward chop?"

Lei Yang raised the Wind and Thunder Sword with both hands.

After only a quarter of an hour, his arms began to tremble.

"Steward Zhou, could you perhaps thin the scabbard a bit?"

"cannot."

"Cut off half an inch."

"cannot."

Not even half an inch?

"One more thing, add a wooden hoop."

Lei Yang immediately shut his mouth.

After collecting the sawdust, Zhou Lingxuan turned and went back into the house.

There was less than half of the longevity pills left on the table.

He summoned the purple jade hammer and continued to strike.

Ding.

The last breath of life energy entered the meridian corresponding to the sixth stage of Qi Refining.

Zhou Lingxuan controlled the circulation of true qi for one cycle.

The spiritual energy within the dantian surged forth, flowing through various acupoints before finally returning to the dantian. The meridians withstood all the true energy of a sixth-level peak cultivator without experiencing any swelling or pain.

He tried to push his true energy to the seventh level of Qi Refining.

The barrier trembled slightly.

Zhou Lingxuan immediately withdrew his true energy and sealed the remaining longevity pills.

Outside the courtyard, Lei Yang was still raising his sword.

The heavy wooden scabbard made his arms ache, but the wound on the web of his right hand had begun to heal.

After nightfall, a messenger crane flew across the entrance to the abandoned hall and headed straight for the steward's restricted area.

The paper crane flew through the courtyard gate and landed in Zhou Lingxuan's hand.

He unfolded the paper crane.

There was only one sentence left by Chen Baichuan.

"Come to the equipment hall immediately; I have important matters to discuss."