Chapter 53

When his beloved daughter suffered such a heavy blow, Li Yunran was unconvinced. How could his precious girl possibly fail at forging? It must be that the flames in the Earthfire Cavern were inadequate—surely it had nothing to do with her. Thus, he specially borrowed Li Yunzhan’s personal forging chamber to guide Li Mengze himself.

But when Li Yunzhan’s chamber, too, was sealed off, Li Mengze stood in the courtyard and heaved a long sigh. Geniuses, as always, are destined for loneliness.

Of course, the other peaks also had their own Earthfire Caverns, but she was too embarrassed to go and wreak havoc elsewhere. After mulling at home for several days, a message talisman arrived. Li Mengze sprang up, grabbed her prepared forging materials, and made straight for Golden Lotus Isle.

In Kunlun, every Nascent Soul cultivator lived on their own small island, fully furnished and well-stocked. Ten Earthfire Caverns would pose no problem for them, let alone one.

She had yet to reach Golden Lotus Isle when she spotted the person who had sent her the message. Today, he was uncharacteristically dressed in black short robes, which made his usually stoic face appear all the more striking. Controlling his Cloud Striding Boots, he landed directly before Wei Qingtong.

Somewhat sheepishly, she said, “Thank you, Senior Brother. I promise I’ll be careful with the earthfire.” She was determined not to give him any reason to throw her out.

Wei Qingtong simply shook his head. The exploits of this girl had already spread throughout Kunlun. At this point, aside from him, no one else would dare lend her an Earthfire Cavern.

Li Mengze offered a fawning smile. This was her future husband’s cultivation chamber—soon it would be hers alone. She scrutinized his handsome face and upright figure with satisfaction. Indeed, before she tired of the view, he truly was a top-tier man.

“Senior Brother, should I pay my respects to Uncle Master first?” When visiting someone else’s turf, one should always pay their respects, and she dared not ignore the presence of the “boss.”

Wei Qingtong led Li Mengze to the reception room of Elder Xiangyun and his wife.

As they arrived, a young couple approached slowly, the woman’s belly showing the gentle swell of pregnancy. Li Mengze watched her with unconcealed curiosity—this was the first time she had seen a pregnant woman in the cultivation world. Such sights were exceedingly rare here.

After the couple was seated, Li Mengze paid her respects and expressed heartfelt gratitude for their willingness to lend her the Earthfire Cavern.

Elder Xiangyun smiled kindly. “It’s nothing at all—use it as much as you like. If you need any materials, just send a junior disciple to fetch them.” In truth, it wasn’t his idea to lend it; it was his son’s, who, after marrying, had all but forgotten his father. Poor Fire Spirit—now it would be tormented for who knows how long.

After leaving the reception room, Li Mengze had intended to ask for directions to the Earthfire Cavern, but, to her surprise, Wei Qingtong had no intention of leaving and accompanied her directly to its entrance.

The Earthfire Cavern on Golden Lotus Isle was far superior to the one at Sword-Hidden Peak. The fire spirit here, rumor had it, was something Elder Xiangyun had caught during his Nascent Soul years and was especially suited to weapon forging. In the past, many master forgers had come to rent the cavern. Now that it was being used by Li Mengze, any insider would surely cry foul at the waste.

When they reached the cavern’s entrance, and still Wei Qingtong showed no sign of leaving, Li Mengze looked up at his impassive yet inexplicably refined face, puzzled.

Wei Qingtong said nothing. Once inside, he activated the protective wards and motioned for Li Mengze to sit aside. He took up some materials, opened the fire vent, and brilliant flames leapt forth, flickering as if to greet him.

At this point, Li Mengze understood his intention—he meant to instruct her personally. Since the teacher came free, why not make use of him? The only question was how many days he would last. After all, her own father had thrown in the towel on the fifth day, refusing to enter the cavern with her again.

Wei Qingtong, of course, had no idea she was making such wagers. He busied himself with the preparatory steps: arranging materials in sequence, opening the furnace, softening, fusing, shaping, inscribing arrays—his movements were fluid and graceful, a far cry from any common blacksmith. She couldn’t help but recall her own image: sleeves rolled, hammer swinging, a study in clumsy effort. Some people, it seemed, were simply born favored by the heavens. In her case, she was the heavens’ illegitimate child; Wei Qingtong, the legitimate heir. The difference was obvious.

Two days later, Wei Qingtong handed her a half-finished flying sword and ceded the forging table to her, gesturing for her to try.

She feigned deep concentration, watching the unfinished sword intently, though inside she debated whether to go up and embarrass herself.

But there was no escape—Wei Qingtong was right there, watching her like a hawk. She set down the sword and, putting on a show, ascended to the forging table, selecting a piece of ordinary forging material—Golden Sand, essential for any flying sword. Melting Golden Sand was supposed to be the simplest step.

She stared anxiously at the shifting currents within the furnace; this was already her third attempt. In truth, this step was little different from alchemy. Why, then, did she always fail so spectacularly whenever she switched from pill furnace to forge?

Wei Qingtong’s usually unreadable face now bore a look of obvious confusion. He had personally supervised her every attempt—no errors, no deviations—yet every single time, the furnace exploded.

Yes, exploded. Without exception. It was as if she and weapon forging were sworn enemies by birth.

As the turbulence in the furnace grew, Wei Qingtong stepped forward and pulled her away. This time the explosion was no minor mishap—half-melted Golden Sand showered the entire cavern like a goddess scattering flowers.

A scorched smell filled the air. Li Mengze’s shoulders slumped in defeat as she gazed at Wei Qingtong, finally forced to admit she had no talent for forging whatsoever.

Wei Qingtong considered her for a moment. “After we dual cultivate and sign a Heart-Bond Pact, I’ll forge weapons for you—it will be as good as if you made them yourself.”

Li Mengze’s cheeks reddened slightly. Was he teasing her? Yet he spoke with such seriousness that she found herself averting her gaze.

Originally, she had taken an indifferent view of their future together: two people cultivating side by side, each minding their own path. Even if this man took other women, she thought she wouldn’t bat an eye.

But now, to hear he intended from the outset to sign a Heart-Bond Pact—a contract that bound dual cultivation partners to one another alone, soul to soul, for life—well, perhaps their life together would be worth looking forward to after all.

“Wouldn’t that mean my life-bound artifact will have to wait two more years? If I make it into the secret realm, fighting without a life-bound weapon would put me at a disadvantage.” Her protest was, in fact, a tacit acceptance of his proposal.

He caught her meaning. Though his face remained unchanged, his eyes clearly smiled. Hearing her muttered complaint, he thought a moment. “I’ll forge a whole batch of magic weapons for you. When you run into trouble, just throw them out for self-destruction—no need to fight anyone directly.” Simple, efficient, and safe. A handful of spirit artifacts detonating at once would be fatal even to a Golden Core cultivator.

Only someone as extravagantly wealthy as he could make such a claim. Li Mengze was left speechless.

Thus ended her brief career as a forger—never to be resumed. Her surrender was met with relief not only by the disciples of Sword-Hidden Peak but also by those of other peaks. After all, whenever the fire spirits on her peak misbehaved, the others suffered too: artifacts would come out mysteriously inferior, or worse, crumble to ash. Now, no one would have to worry about a sudden flare-up ruining their own forging.

Yet, something had changed between her and Wei Qingtong. Even after returning to Sword-Hidden Peak, the two kept in occasional contact, discussing cultivation matters. Under his guidance—the number-one sword genius of Kunlun—Li Mengze, one day while practicing, suddenly brushed against the threshold of the Ruijin Sword Intent. It wasn’t mastery, but still a rare achievement.

When Wei Qingtong heard, he made a special trip to Sword-Hidden Peak and presented her with something resembling a cricket cage woven from grass. Inside was a tiny figure. The moment her divine sense touched it, the little figure began to practice sword moves, repeating the same forms over and over. It bore his impassive face, every sword move executed with meticulous precision. How could she not understand? He had inscribed his own sword insights to help her, not that he’d ever realize he was trying to please her—he simply saw her stuck at a bottleneck and devised a way to help.

Everyone at Sword-Hidden Peak noticed his attentiveness. Those who had once felt some resentment now greeted him with broad smiles—his devotion was an honor to their entire peak.

As the centennial tournament drew near, the town at the foot of the mountain grew crowded, its streets livelier than ever. Many cultivators would scour the markets for rare finds whenever they had time.

Having just advanced to Golden Core, and with no reason to enter closed-door cultivation, Li Mengze decided to try her luck at the market—perhaps she’d find Ruijin Stone, or at least leave word with the merchants that she was looking to buy.

Usually, when she left the sect, she traveled by sect airship or her own flying artifact. Rarely did she ride a sect spirit crane, which were generally reserved for Foundation Establishment disciples. So, disguising her cultivation at mid-Foundation level, she went to the Beast Taming Peak and selected a gentle spirit crane, its slender legs and graceful bearing earning it the reputation of an immortal mount.

She first offered it a spirit-restoring pill. The crane let out a high cry, soared into the sky, circled gracefully, and then returned to her side, tilting its head to invite her aboard.