Wandering Sword Seller's Life in the Qin Dynasty

"So, I have some guesses."

"However, the spirit of this sword instinctively avoided my prying eyes, and so I found you."

"It has undergone a different change in your hands, which confirms some of my guesses."

Fourth-tier swords possess spirits. After reaching the fourth-tier swordsmith level, Xu Qing can artificially create "sword spirits" through some special methods, and can even communicate with swords. In particular, even if the swords he forges are held by others, he can still influence these swords by leaving something in them.

Even though the sword spirit of the Reverse Scale Sword is hidden, Xu Qing can still forcibly communicate with it if he wants.

But after thinking about it, Xu Qing decided to give up.

If the conjecture is true, the sword might contain an "old friend" from the past, so there's no need to be so brutal.

At least, that's been confirmed for now.

If Honglian were to wield this sword, she would indeed be able to sense something different.

After listening to Xu Qing's words, Honglian continued to ask, "What conjecture?"

Xu Qing explained in a deep voice: "The Reverse Scale Sword is extremely ancient and has gone through countless sword masters. The original sword spirit of this sword was the strongest among its previous sword masters. Its strength was extremely powerful. Moreover, due to the special nature of the Reverse Scale Sword, the sword spirit of this sword can even break away from the master's control and protect the master on its own."

"Under normal circumstances, such a powerful sword spirit could not possibly be annihilated. So why did it change, as if it had been replaced by a different sword spirit?"

Finally, Xu Qing asked Honglian another question.

Honglian also fell into deep thought.

Immediately afterwards, she noticed a crucial clue in Xu Qing's words.

"Is the sword spirit of this sword its former master?"

Honglian's words carried a hint of urgency; she couldn't wait to get an answer from Xu Qing.

"Not bad!"

Xu Qing nodded.

Honglian turned her head again to look at the Reverse Scale Sword in the sword box beside her. Her fingers traced the blade, and before she knew it, they began to tremble slightly.

"This sword feels close to me. When I hold it, I instinctively feel a sense of intimacy, as if someone I know very well is beside me..."

"And its former sword master was..."

Honglian's voice choked with emotion at some point.

Xu Qing knew what she wanted to say and uttered the words Hong Lian hadn't finished, "It is indeed your brother, Han Fei!"

He then added, "I had already guessed this."

"I just couldn't verify it before, but now I have a definite answer!"

Upon hearing this, Honglian's body suddenly trembled, and she stared at Xu Qing with an incredulous look.

Xu Qing did not meet Honglian's gaze, but instead looked at the Reverse Scale Sword.

"Aren't you going to show yourself yet?"

His voice was sharp, not directed at Honglian, but at the Reverse Scale Sword.

Upon hearing this, Honglian's eyes welled up with tears. She looked at the Reverse Scale Sword and murmured to herself, "Brother..."

She thought her brother would then appear as a sword spirit.

However, unexpectedly, nothing happened.

Xu Qing frowned slightly. In the next instant, he raised his hand, his hand seal solidified, and an invisible burst of energy flew out from Xu Qing's hand and entered the Reverse Scale Sword.

hum hum...

In an instant, the Reverse Scale Sword placed in the sword box trembled slightly.

The sword was already badly damaged, with many missing parts on its blade. Now it was trembling, as if it would shatter into pieces at any moment.

However, it did not break in the end.

Instead, an aura that felt incredibly familiar to Honglian emanated from the sword.

"Brother, is that you?"

"Come out now!"

Based on Xu Qing's previous words, and now sensing this aura again, Honglian immediately became excited and quickly spoke up.

However, the sword only trembled slightly, and no sword spirit appeared.

Xu Qing frowned slightly.

"That shouldn't be the case!"

The reason he hadn't forcefully summoned the sword spirit before was because he guessed that Han Fei, the previous master of the Reverse Scale Sword, might have become the new sword spirit.

This is a reasonable speculation based on some things mentioned by Yanfei.

Donghuang Taiyi was the last person to see Han Fei, and it seems that the two had a falling out.

There were even signs of fighting at the place where Han Fei was being held.

As everyone knows, Han Fei was physically weak, so it was impossible for Han Fei to fight Donghuang Taiyi.

However, Han Fei's sword protected its master several times in the original story.

The sword spirit of that sword was extremely powerful, capable of contending even with Tianze.

When Han Fei was in danger, it was only natural for the sword spirit to appear and fight against Donghuang Taiyi.

Ultimately, the old sword spirit likely dissipated, while Han Fei died and became the new sword spirit.

Of course, these are just guesses. And because they are just guesses, even if there is only a one in ten thousand chance, Xu Qing should not forcefully find out the sword spirit of the Reverse Scale Sword, so as not to harm Han Fei.

Only after Honglian expressed her feelings and received confirmation did Xu Qing make his move, intending to draw out the sword spirit.

As a result, after waiting for most of the day, there was no sign of the other party showing up.

After pondering for a while, Xu Qing tried some gentler methods to observe the state of the sword.

Finally, he discovered some clues.

"I see!"

Because the previous sword spirit of the Reverse Scale Sword could actively manifest and fight with the sword.

Xu Qing assumed that the current sword spirit could also do this, but he overlooked the fact that there are varying strengths among sword spirits.

In the battle with Donghuang Taiyi, the impact of the Reverse Scale Sword was clearly not just that the previous sword spirit was obliterated; the power contained in the sword itself was also damaged.

As a result, the newly born sword spirit has no ability to manifest.

"Open your palms!"

Xu Qing gave instructions to Hong Lian.

Although Honglian didn't understand what this meant, she still obeyed Xu Qing's words.

She opened her fair palm.

Xu Qing used his fingers as a sword and casually swung them. Instantly, a wound appeared in Honglian's palm, and scarlet blood immediately flowed out. Xu Qing then used his fingers to guide the blood towards the Reverse Scale Sword.

"With blood as the medium, the sword spirit appears!"

Xu Qing spoke in a deep voice, using the blood of the red lotus, which shared the same origin as Han Fei, as a medium, and drawing upon the primordial energy of heaven and earth to forcibly "sculpt" the Reverse Scale Sword, enhancing its spirituality.

In an instant, the trembling of the Reverse Scale Sword stopped.

Then, an ethereal figure was forcibly pulled from the sword and solidified using the blood of the Crimson Lotus as a vessel.

Upon seeing this ethereal, slightly blood-tinged figure, Honglian paid no heed to the pain in her palm, and her tears finally streamed down her face.

"elder brother……"

This figure was not only very familiar to Honglian, but also quite familiar to Xu Qing.

It was Han Fei!

Chapter 381 An Alternative Way to Immortality, Borrowing a Sword While Climbing the Mountain!

In the empty hall, Xu Qing and Hong Lian's gazes fell on the illusory figure. The figure's appearance was extremely tattered, looking disheveled, and its body was covered with cracks, like a broken piece of porcelain.

But no matter how disheveled the body was, when this face came into Honglian's view, she still recognized the other person immediately.

It was her brother, Han Fei.

Upon seeing the red lotus, the illusory figure's expression became incredibly complex. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but remained silent, uttering nothing.

This is a perfectly normal thing.

Although Han Fei became a sword spirit, he was different from the previous sword spirit. This sword spirit was extremely weak. In the past, there was only a remnant soul attached to the sword. He couldn't even take form, let alone try to talk to people.

Even so, this scene still amazed Xu Qing.

"It's truly a miracle!"

Xu Qing's gaze slowly lingered on Han Fei's illusory spirit body, a multitude of thoughts swirling in his mind.

He has traveled the world for many years. As a fourth-level swordsmith, his sword-making skills have reached a state of perfection. In the past, in order to awaken the spirit of the sword, he had also killed people to take their souls and extract their essence. Those whose souls he took were ultimately just nourishment for the sword. They never had the slightest bit of independent consciousness, let alone manifested in the world as spirits.

Han Fei was different. He was not forcibly extracted to forge a sword. Instead, after his death, his remnant soul spontaneously took possession of the Reverse Scale Sword and condensed into a sword spirit. He had not even undergone the sedimentation of time.

Even though it is extremely weak and unable to speak at this moment, it has a clear consciousness, can recognize Honglian, and can express emotions.

This indicates that its spirit is not in a state of confusion or daze.

He had heard similar stories before. There was a corresponding legend about the famous sword Qiu Li of the Tianzong Sect. It is said that the swordsmith Xue Zhu devoted his entire life to finding a peerless sword and eventually died in the process. His spirit was entrusted to the Qiu Li sword, which gave the sword a vast vitality and made it the treasure of the Tianzong Sect.

Even so, no one has ever seen Xue Zhu's spirit. People only know that the Qiu Li Sword has a spirit, but they have never seen its spirit body. It is fundamentally different from the clear appearance of Han Fei now.

Of course, the Reverse Scale Sword is an extraordinary sword in itself.

Its predecessor, the sword spirit, could actively manifest itself in the world and even interact with the material world, fighting alongside others; its strength was extremely formidable.

But that sword spirit had been dormant within the sword for countless years.

The sword's dilapidated state is a testament to the passage of time.

Whether a sword possesses a strong spiritual quality is also related to the passage of time.

Especially those legendary swords, the longer they are used, the more their spiritual essence either dissipates completely, or they become stronger with the accumulation of time.