Never Again

Zhang Sheng felt rather at a loss. Ever since he formed his Dao Foundation, his Immortal Sword Zhanxu had never tested its edge in battle; in his past few great fights, the Azure Silk Rain had been more than enough. Could it be that Zhanxu's first time leaving the sheath was going to be for chopping iron? If the immortal sword possessed a spirit of its own, he wondered if it would run away from home in a fit of rage. "Please, Junior Brother, make your move!" Yu Zhizhuo urged once more. Zhang Sheng returned to his senses. At this very moment, he did not feel sad so much as utterly bewildered. He could not understand how a genius of his generation—overflowing with talent, who had always defied the odds with an invincible Dao heart—had ended up cultivating into something like this. Yet Zhang Sheng was a man of his word. Since he had already accepted this task, he would never go back on what he had promised. Suppressing a quiet sigh, he sent a thread-thin wisp of gray sword qi shooting from his left pupil. It circled like a swimming dragon, and in the blink of an eye, it returned to his eye. At first, the lump of metal showed no reaction. A moment later came several crisp cracks, and several outer pieces slowly slid off, revealing a square core within. Without even bothering to thank Zhang Sheng, Yu Zhizhuo lunged forward, closely scrutinizing the mirror-smooth surface of the cube with his face nearly pressed against it. He hugged the cube and refused to let go, shouting praise several times before bursting into hearty laughter, even planting a kiss on it every now and then, having completely forgotten all about Zhang Sheng. Fortunately, a perceptive disciple from the Hall of Heavenly Craft brought forward a heavy bag of silver, saving Zhang Sheng from flipping out on the spot. Having accepted the immortal silver, Zhang Sheng turned and walked away. Only then did Yu Zhizhuo react, hurriedly chasing after him and calling out repeatedly, "Junior Brother is a great talent! Zhanxu truly lives up to its reputation! Our Hall of Heavenly Craft has far too much need for your immortal sword; we will inevitably have to trouble you again in the future..." "Never again!" Zhang Sheng replied with absolute finality, shooting into the sky and vanishing in an instant. A moment later, Zhang Sheng walked into the Monastery of Creation, handed over the bag of silver he had just received, and traded it for three featherlight bottles of Origin-Nourishing Pills. After paying a visit to Wei Yuan's courtyard, his sleeves were empty once more. He looked up at the moon, deeply bewildered: What kind of cultivation was this, really? Wei Yuan was equally bewildered, unable to fathom why he had received a scolding despite clearly making great strides in his coursework. Could it be because he had not performed a divination for Zhang Sheng? Over the past few days, Wei Yuan had practiced divination diligently, casting several hexagrams for Zhang Sheng every day until he nearly exhausted his primordial spirit. However, the divination results were all roughly the same—every single one predicted financial loss. So when Zhang Sheng did not bring up the matter of divination today, Wei Yuan was only too happy to keep quiet. Several days later. On the mountain path to the Hall of Heavenly Craft, Yu Zhizhuo was all smiles, introducing the scenery to Zhang Sheng the entire way. A moment later, the two appeared in a side hall. Craftsman Yu pointed to a metal plate on the table, palm-sized and a finger thick. "Junior Brother, please lend a hand and slice this into a hundred pieces." In the side hall stood a dozen curious disciples from the Hall of Heavenly Craft, waiting to witness the immortal sword's brilliance. A flash of gray qi appeared and vanished in midair. Zhang Sheng said flatly, "One hundred and fifty pieces. Don't mention it." "Eh? Too thin, too thin! We must ask you to cut another, Junior Brother! Hey, you, what are you staring at? Yes, you! Hurry to the storeroom and bring another piece!" After reprimanding the disciple, Yu Zhizhuo turned back to Zhang Sheng. "I truly apologize; it's my fault for not explaining clearly just now. However, I have another great use for the piece you just sliced, so this time, I will give you double the pay! Someone, bring it!" A perceptive disciple from the Hall of Heavenly Craft had long since carried forward a large bag of silver. Seeing the size of the silver bag, the murderous intent in Zhang Sheng's eyes vanished without a trace. Several days later. Yu Zhizhuo rubbed his hands with an excited look on his face. "This piece of Thunder Dragon Wood is exceedingly rare under heaven! I'll have to trouble you to shred it into fine strips, Junior Brother!" Naturally, a perceptive disciple from the Hall of Heavenly Craft carried up a bag of silver on his back. Another few days passed. "Look, Junior Brother! This tea leaf has grown for twenty-seven thousand years; it is a supreme delicacy of the world! Next month is the Patriarch's longevity banquet. Please carve this *Spring Banquet Scroll* onto it, and add the peony the Patriarch loves most!" Seeing the bag of silver carried in by two perceptive disciples, Zhang Sheng unleashed his immortal sword, carving flowers upon the tea leaf. Yet another few days passed. Zhang Sheng tossed a bag of Origin-Nourishing Pills before Wei Yuan. Wei Yuan seemed to have something on his mind, which naturally could not escape Zhang Sheng's discerning gaze. He said impatiently, "If you have something to say, spit it out!" Wei Yuan knew his teacher had been irritable lately, but since this concerned his cultivation, he had to speak. "Disciple's cultivation has not been going smoothly these past few days. I feel that something has gone wrong." Hearing this, Zhang Sheng—who had just minced a chunk of ancient dragon meat into fine bits—suddenly flared with inexplicable fury, his voice pitching an octave higher: "What right do you have to encounter difficulties in cultivation?" Wei Yuan froze, at a loss for how to respond. Wasn't it perfectly normal to run into trouble during cultivation? If everything were smooth sailing from start to finish, just what kind of genius would that be? Zhang Sheng realized his reaction was out of line. Forcibly suppressing the irritation in his heart, he softened his tone and said, "Encountering difficulties during cultivation is a common occurrence. There is no need to panic. Tell me the details first." Wei Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that this was the teacher he knew. Yet another voice popped up in his mind: *Just now was Teacher's true self!* Wei Yuan quickly cleared that voice from his mind, then said, "The dimensions of my visualization chart are roughly eight times larger than the largest visualization chart ever recorded in history, along every direction. Following the methods taught by the Theory of Heaven and Earth instructor, I calculated that the volume of my visualization chart is at least five hundred times greater than those of my classmates. Over the past few days, I consulted many ancient texts and found that the progress made by cultivating Body Casting for ten days, or taking one Origin-Nourishing Pill, fills my visualization chart by roughly the same amount as it does for others. Yet my physical body's strength is only about seven to eight times that of ordinary disciples. In other words, five hundred times' worth of medicinal potency has vanished without a trace." "So that's what it was!" Zhang Sheng laughed despite himself. He rapped Wei Yuan on the head, producing a metallic ring, and said, "Your physical body is already seven or eight times stronger than others, and you're still not satisfied? What more do you want? This is the Palace of Grand Beginning! Hmm? Wait, how could your body only be seven or eight times stronger? Who did you compare yourself to?" "The Heaven Foundation disciples of the Hall of the Bright King," Wei Yuan said with a look of worry. The Palace of Grand Beginning's Hall of the Bright King specialized in body-refining arts. Most of their disciples possessed Dao Foundations such as great mountains, giant boulders, or Vajra warriors, granting them formidable physiques that rivaled those of the Buddhist sects. Zhang Sheng remained silent for a moment before saying, "Perhaps the dissipated spiritual energy isn't as much as you think. This shouldn't be anything serious. I will go ask my master and give you an answer in a few days." Only a moment later, Perfected Fenhai flashed into view before Wei Yuan. "How has your cultivation gone awry? Quick, let Grandmaster examine you!" Without a moment's pause, Perfected Fenhai thoroughly inspected Wei Yuan's body. Yet after spending several hours, even Perfected Fenhai could not figure out where all that spiritual energy had gone. The only certainty was that the spiritual energy and medicinal potency remained entirely within Wei Yuan's body. In the end, Perfected Fenhai concluded that Wei Yuan might simply be unable to digest so much medicinal potency for the time being, so the excess was temporarily stored somewhere. At the very least, it was not a bad thing. Perfected Fenhai would return to consult the ancient records, and if there was anything he did not understand, he would naturally seek guidance from True Monarch Xuanyue. He told Wei Yuan to continue cultivating without worrying about anything else. As Perfected Fenhai departed, Wei Yuan seemed to catch a faint trace of hidden resentment in Zhang Sheng's eyes. With Perfected Fenhai's reassurance, Wei Yuan's heart settled considerably. He continued consuming pills and breathing the moonlight in and out. Moonlight surged within the visualization chart; the Jade Toad could not devour it fast enough, and the surplus moonlight turned into a misty drizzle. Bit by imperceptible bit, the ground filled in continuously, turning from illusion into substance. As he breathed the moonlight in and out, Wei Yuan suddenly felt there was something more within the full moon in the sky. Looking closer, he realized that at some point, another tiny shadow had appeared within the moon. Otherworldly fortune!