Ever since her revival, the Immortal Fairy had suffered one blow after another. First, her attempt to frighten Lu Yang had failed and earned her a beating from Yun Zhi instead; later, in an effort to prove how useful she was, she had tried taking control of Lu Yang's body to fight above his cultivation level, only to be taught another harsh lesson.
Now she realized that clinging to her past experience simply didn't work. Cultivators nowadays had far more agile minds than those from antiquity, and they even pooled their efforts to compile cultivation insights across every realm.
The latter was utterly unimaginable in ancient times. Even fellow disciples back then engaged in open strife and veiled schemes, constantly vying for resources. How could sects and tribes ever share their hard-earned insights without condition?
Well, there had been one exception: the ancient barbarians. They had actually enjoyed discussing their respective cultivation experiences within the clan.
Lu Yang stretched lazily, stood up, and went through a set of radio calisthenics to loosen his muscles and joints. His bones popped and cracked pleasantly, leaving him feeling inexplicably refreshed.
"Where are you heading?"
"Hundred Refinements Peak, to get a custom weapon made."
When Lu Yang arrived at Hundred Refinements Peak, he found the dining hall as bustling as ever.
The Immortal Fairy remarked in surprise, "Oh? Your Dao Seeking Sect's food must be pretty good. So many disciples coming to buy meals."
Lu Yang nodded. "The food really is quite decent."
However, his destination this time was not the dining hall, but Hundred Refinements Hall on the other side of the mountainside.
The dining hall sold standard weapons. Though well made, they weren't necessarily suited to everyone.
Thus, Hundred Refinements Hall had come into being. Staffed by master artifact refiners, it specialized in crafting custom weapons.
"Are you... Senior Brother Lu Yang?" At the entrance of Hundred Refinements Hall, a surprised voice called out to him.
Lu Yang turned to look, and realization dawned on him. "You're Li Haoran from my batch!"
In Lu Yang's cohort, only three individuals possessed a single spiritual root: Lu Yang with his Sword Spiritual Root, Meng Jingzhou with his Bachelor Spiritual Root, and Li Haoran with his Fire Spiritual Root.
"Over a month ago, Senior Sister Zhou Lulu mentioned you were soaking in magma. You're finally out?"
At the mention of soaking in magma, Li Haoran's face soured, looking as though some unpleasant memory had been dredged up.
"I finally met Master's requirements—learned to swim submerged in magma, eat fire lizards raw, and successfully reached Foundation Establishment—so I was just permitted to leave. I was looking for Master to ask what he had planned for me next, only for Senior Sister Zhou Lulu to tell me she hasn't seen him in three days, and nobody knows where he went."
Lu Yang thought to himself, *Could it be that the Fifth Elder and Master share such a deep bond that he went to meditate alongside him?*
"After reaching Foundation Establishment, you need to head to the Mission Hall to take on sect missions."
Li Haoran nodded. He had heard senior brothers mention this before.
"Do you know the way? Want me to walk you there?" Since the young man had addressed him as Senior Brother Lu Yang, Lu Yang felt obliged to fulfill his brotherly duty.
"Then thank you in advance, Senior Brother."
On their way to the Mission Hall, Lu Yang learned about Li Haoran's background. Both of his parents were cultivators of modest achievement, merely at Foundation Establishment. When they discovered Li Haoran possessed a Fire Spiritual Root, their joy knew no bounds, and they doted on him excessively.
This pampering had made Li Haoran arrogant and impetuous.
For instance, while climbing Heart-Questioning Mountain during the entrance trials, his Dao heart had wavered; many candidates with far inferior aptitude reached the fiftieth step ahead of him, while he barely made it near the very end.
Lu Yang guessed that Fifth Elder Zhou Xin had seen Li Haoran's flaws and deliberately made him soak in magma for a year to temper his Dao heart.
Judging by his demeanor now, the results were remarkable.
At the Mission Hall, the two looked around, but failed to find a mission suited to Li Haoran.
"By the way, do you know how to refine artifacts?"
"Of course. Master said my artifact refining skills are already top-notch for the Foundation Establishment stage." A Fire Spiritual Root was best suited for artifact refining, and Li Haoran had spent an entire year studying metallurgy and crafting while immersed in magma.
"How about this? I'll post an artifact refining mission, and you take it. You get to complete a mission, and I get my weapon refined." Lu Yang had thought this through: the refiners at Hundred Refinements Hall were all at least at the Golden Core stage and charged exorbitant fees, whereas the item he wanted didn't require a craftsman of that caliber.
"Senior Brother Lu Yang, you don't need to accommodate me. I can just come back to the Mission Hall in a few days."
Lu Yang shook his head. "I'm not accommodating you. I happen to need an artifact made, and you're the ideal candidate."
"The ideal candidate?" Li Haoran felt somewhat flattered.
Lu Yang nodded. "Yeah. You're the cheapest."
Li Haoran: "..."
The two returned to Li Haoran's crafting chamber. When Lu Yang drew the Green Blade Sword, Li Haoran jumped in fright. The quality of the Green Blade Sword was outrageously high—how could a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator like him modify such a treasure?
"No, no, no, Senior Brother Lu, you'd better find someone else. My skill is limited; I can't refine a sword like this."
Lu Yang knew he had misunderstood, and chuckled. "You misunderstand. You're not refining the sword itself. I just want to add some small decorative parts to its exterior."
Li Haoran breathed a sigh of relief. That was simple enough. "Do you have blueprints?"
"I do."
Lu Yang was well prepared. He pulled out a blueprint measuring four meters on each side—which by no definition looked like a "small part."
When Li Haoran saw what was drawn on the blueprint, his expression grew even stranger. Forging it wouldn't be difficult, but no matter how one looked at it, this thing had nothing to do with being an accessory.
At the very least, he had never seen an ornament that looked anything like this.
"I'm planning to learn the flying sword technique soon. As a sword cultivator, how could I not fly on a sword? But zooming around up in the sky without any traffic rules is far too dangerous. For safety reasons, I designed this."
"My plan is that whenever I use the flying sword technique, I'll sit inside a steel shell, with the flying sword mounted underneath to serve as the engine."
"Inside the steel shell, we'll install chairs to sit in. Oh right, make it two rows of seats. Once I master the flying sword technique, I can take other people up into the sky with me."
"This thing is called a steering wheel; it adjusts the direction."
"Then there are windows. Mortals might find it tricky to refine glass from sand, but for us immortal cultivators, smelting glass shouldn't be an issue, right?"
"Logically speaking, there should also be brakes, but since I'm the power source driving the flying sword, there's no need to install brakes—foot-braking will do just fine..."
"Also, this big iron shell must be easy to attach and detach; otherwise, it won't be convenient during combat."
Lu Yang explained in detail the purpose and crafting specifications of this "little accessory," leaving both the Immortal Fairy and Li Haoran feeling thoroughly enlightened to brand-new horizons.
"It's not that I'm afraid of heights; flying alone in the sky is just too lonely, so I'd like to bring a few people along." Lu Yang repeatedly emphasized that he was not afraid of heights. "Can you forge it?"
Li Haoran pondered for a moment. Bizarre as the design on the blueprint was, forging it wasn't particularly difficult. At most, he was rusty because he had never crafted anything like it before, so it might take a few attempts. "I can."
"Great. This is mystic thunder iron; it can serve as the crafting material."
"Also, while you're at it, refine this mask too. Harden it so it doesn't get smashed easily." Lu Yang took out the tofu mask; he would need an alias when traveling in the future.
"As for the fee, how does twenty contribution points sound?" Lu Yang volunteered an offer.
Twenty contribution points was equivalent to two thousand spirit stones—by no means a low price.
Li Haoran accepted the mission.
Chapter 126