After clearing the level, the fairies were reborn!

But upon closer examination, it makes sense. Since someone is putting in the effort, there should be a corresponding reward.

I just don't know if I can still get a loan?

No, that should be exclusive to the Demonic Sect.

……

Eight hundred miles away, at Luoxia Mountain.

Xu Ze, accompanied by Bai Yuxi, quickly arrived at the branch of the Demon Slayer Alliance, following the directions given to him by the clan leader.

This mountain is not high, but the scenery is quite beautiful. It must be especially magnificent at sunset, hence the name.

He had originally thought that even the smallest branch should be somewhat impressive, at least a decent manor or palace complex. However, what he actually saw surprised him.

There were a few simple houses scattered on a relatively flat hillside, with small medicinal fields cultivated around them, where some common medicinal herbs were planted.

The house looks a bit old, but it's kept very clean and tidy.

If it weren't for the plaque above the door of the largest room that read "Demon Slayer Alliance," Xu Ze would almost have thought it was just a hermit's retreat.

How could a power that is almost one of the top forces in the world have such an obscure branch?

Perhaps this is what "returning to simplicity" means.

We arrived at the middle of the largest house.

As soon as Xu Ze stepped inside, a divine sense landed on him.

"what?"

Soon, the owner of that divine consciousness uttered an incomprehensible question.

"What kind of prestigious family do you belong to? How do you possess a secret treasure that can conceal karma?"

Clearly, this Nascent Soul cultivator was very surprised that he couldn't see through Xu Ze.

Young people like this usually have impressive backgrounds and identities.

"Senior, I am just a rogue cultivator who accidentally obtained some opportunities in the secret realm."

Xu Ze remained neither humble nor arrogant, and his attitude was fairly respectful.

"Very well, since you have gained the approval of the Qingqiu Fox Clan, you must not be someone with ill intentions."

"Our Demon Slaying Alliance has a reward system for cultivators who have created a peaceful coexistence between humans and demons."

"Tell me, what do you want?"

He saw that even Bai Yuxi, the Holy Maiden of the Fox Clan, was following him, and the patriarch of the Qingqiu Fox Clan had given him prior notice.

This Nascent Soul stage senior didn't make things too difficult for Xu Ze.

He made his appearance on his own initiative, wearing the Demon Slayer Alliance uniform, which was spotless, clearly a mark of his honor, which he meticulously maintained every day.

"Senior, I would like to ask how to obtain contribution points."

"Also, I'd like to buy a decent flying sword, plus a pill furnace. How many contribution points would that require?"

Xu Ze explained his purpose for coming.

"The alchemy furnace is fine, but if it's a flying sword... with the rewards for these missions in the Southern Continent, it might take you decades."

The old man stroked his beard.

However, he soon came up with another solution.

"I just don't know if you have the materials for forging a sword. If you have the key materials, you can exchange them for a few auxiliary materials from the shop at the Demon Alliance headquarters and ask a senior swordsmith to help you out. The price isn't too high."

Upon hearing this, Xu Ze's eyes lit up, and he took out a precious jade from his storage bag.

Does this count?

Chapter 56 This area has snake demons

With a slight thought, Xu Ze took out the precious jade from his storage bag.

In an instant, the entire simple house seemed to be filled with the clear moonlight.

A piece of jade, pure blue and translucent, lay quietly in his palm. Inside the jade, it seemed as if countless moonbeams flowed, condensing and not dissipating.

The old man, who had been sitting upright behind the desk, unconsciously leaned forward slightly, a clear look of surprise on his face:

"This is... Cold Moon Jade?"

Clearly, this Nascent Soul cultivator possessed extraordinary knowledge, even knowing the origin of this jade stone.

He glanced again at Bai Yuxi, who was obediently following beside Xu Ze, his tone filled with undisguised admiration:

"This is a treasure passed down through generations of the fox clan. It is of great significance to the fox clan. It seems that you are indeed someone they trust, otherwise they would not have given you such an important thing."

The old man stroked his long, snow-white beard and revealed a kind smile. "Indeed, it has been a long time since we have seen a human cultivator who can establish such a bond with the demon race, especially in this Southern Continent."

"You flatter me, senior."

Xu Ze humbly cupped his hands in greeting, "It was merely by chance that I was fortunate enough to receive the recognition and care of the fox clan elders."

"Oh, young friend, there's no need to be so modest," the old man waved his hand and laughed.

The two chatted happily, exchanged compliments, and then introduced themselves.

The other party was surprisingly named Xu Changqing.

"What a coincidence! We might have been from the same family five hundred years ago."

“You don’t need to call me ‘senior’ so formally. I’m a few years older than you. If you don’t mind, just call me ‘brother’.”

Seeing how approachable and unpretentious this Nascent Soul senior was, Xu Ze felt a sense of closeness to him and readily agreed:

"Then this junior will respectfully accept your offer, Brother Xu."

Upon hearing this, Xu Changqing smiled broadly, appearing very pleased.

He naturally had a favorable impression of human cultivators who could genuinely befriend the demon race.

After all... he had received a great favor from the demon race.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have given up his path to immortality and spent the rest of his life guarding this place.

The topic naturally returned to the matter of sword forging.

"Brother Xu, now that I have this jade as the core material, can I save a lot of effort in collecting other precious materials when forging the sword? Can I just exchange it for some regular auxiliary materials?"

Xu Ze thought to himself, "Now that these ancient treasures have been brought out, the main problem of forging a flying sword should be mostly solved, right?"

The remaining scraps shouldn't be difficult to exchange for using contribution points.

However, upon hearing this, Xu Changqing slowly shook his head, his smile fading and replaced by a serious expression.

“Young friend, quite the opposite,” he said in a deep voice. “Precisely because you have brought out an ancient treasure like ‘Cold Moon Jade,’ the difficulty of forging it will increase exponentially.”

"Oh? What do you mean?" Xu Ze frowned slightly, humbly asking for clarification.

"If it's about other cultivation-related problems, I might not be able to offer much help, but on this matter, I'm quite knowledgeable about it, brother."

Xu Changqing pointed to the jade stone that emitted a cold, moonlit aura and explained in detail:

"First of all, this jade has an extraordinary origin, containing the ancient moonlight Daoist charm. Its properties are extremely stable, but this also means that it is extremely difficult to melt and shape."

"Ordinary refining fire would be unable to melt it, let alone raise its surface temperature by even a fraction. It would probably require a refining array activated by a Nascent Soul stage cultivator to have any chance of refining it."

“Secondly, and more importantly,” he paused, looking at Xu Ze, “this item, strictly speaking, is not the ‘main material’ for forging flying swords, but rather a top-grade auxiliary material for spirit awakening.”

"Or rather... it's the key to awakening the 'sword spirit'!"

"Sword Spirit?" Upon hearing this, Xu Ze's heart stirred.

He thought of the Azure Cloud Sword.

This flying sword that appeared in the beginner village, as Ding Wan's natal sword, brought him too many shocks.

Soaring through the heavens and plunging into the earth, unparalleled in slaying and killing.

He once led him to the feat of slaying a Golden Core cultivator with only Qi Refining cultivation, a feat that still excites him every time he thinks about it.

This is also why Xu Ze wanted to forge a flying sword.

So it turns out that it takes so much effort to truly forge a natal sword?

No wonder in his previous life, he searched the entire Biyang Sect and couldn't find a single weapon that could compare to it.

In this remote corner of Nanzhou, only Ding Wan would come.

“That’s right.” Xu Changqing nodded. “The complete casting process can be roughly divided into three steps.”

"The first step, which is also the most difficult step, is to find a suitable 'ancient sword blank'."

"This sword blank could be a fragment of an ancient flying sword, a strange metal containing sword intent left over from an ancient battlefield, or a sword-shaped spiritual object naturally formed in a special secret realm."

"The second step is to use this ancient sword blank as a base and incorporate several rare auxiliary materials, of which [Cold Moon Jade] can be one."

"As for the third step... if you can really gather all these things, the head of the 'Hundred Refinements Hall' at the Demon Slayer Alliance headquarters, a grandmaster of weapon refining in the Tribulation Transcending stage, is willing to complete it for you free of charge."

Xu Changqing finished speaking in one breath, and when he mentioned this master weapon refiner, a mysterious smile appeared on his face, and his eyes flashed with memories and admiration.

For people like them, ordinary rewards and resources are no longer enough to entice them.

Whether they are willing to take action depends entirely on their mood, the opportunity, and... whether the weapon they are forging is interesting and can touch their Dao heart.

This senior once said that if anyone could gather all the materials for an ancient flying sword, he would even be willing to pay out of his own pocket to make up for the losses during the forging process, just to have the thrill of it.

"There are such extraordinary people."

Xu Ze was deeply moved and marveled at the story.

Such a powerful being's skill in weapon crafting has probably reached the edge of 'using weapons to carry the Dao,' making him one of the very top individuals in the entire Tianyuan Continent.

But what I lack right now isn't whether or not a senior like that will step in!

Where did he get the sword blank and main material?

Xu Ze almost couldn't help but ask himself if he could become a sword embryo.

"By the way, Brother Xu, how do you know so much about the process of forging swords using ancient materials?"

After grieving silently for a while...