The sword furnace fire blazed incessantly, a silent concern etched on Lian Que’s face. With methodical precision, he added various precious materials to the crucible. Any keen-eyed observer would grasp the dedication Lian Que poured into this endeavor. Among the materials were substances like “flowing gold stone” and “drink light mud,” items whose value rivaled that of a city. Their sheer preciousness alone was enough to match the worth of the Life Tablet Jiang Wang had returned.

The Lian clan’s very existence was intertwined with Life Tablets, thus they cherished freedom above all else. Lian Que’s declaration that he would die before relinquishing his Life Tablet was no idle boast. Had there been another way within the Heaven Mansion Secret Realm, he would never have offered it as proof. For only the Life Tablet could embody the sincerity of owing no one.

Therefore, the moment he discovered the Life Tablet on Jiang Wang’s person, he roughly understood the choices he had made within the Heaven Mansion Secret Realm. Jiang Wang had not allowed him to choose wrongly, and in turn, he would not allow Jiang Wang to err in his path.

A direct descendant of the Lian clan possessed only three opportunities in their lifetime to cast a soldier in the ancient furnace, typically reserved for breaking through the bottlenecks of a Casting Master. Yet, he was willing to expend this precious chance solely to forge a sword for Jiang Wang. Lian Que’s strength was considerable; within the Heaven Mansion Secret Realm, were it not for the incessant scheming of others, he might not have been eliminated. Moreover, on the path of forging, he possessed exceptional talent, otherwise he would not have become one of the mere ten disciples of this generation in the Lian clan to possess their own Life Tablet.

The materials within the sword furnace gradually melted. As he struck various seals, each step was as precise as a mechanism crafted by the Mo family. Throughout, Jiang Wang merely sat by the side, entering meditation and infusing Dao Yuan.

Time flowed past, three days and three nights blurring into one. Lian Que was truly astonished by the vigor of Jiang Wang’s Dao Yuan! After three days and nights, Jiang Wang showed no signs of his Dao Yuan depleting. Little did he know that Jiang Wang’s nine great star river Dao swirls, coupled with the entwined star spirit snake, allowed him to automatically generate eighty-four units of Dao Yuan daily, exceeding the number ninety-nine, even without deliberate meridian cultivation. If Jiang Wang were considered a Dao Yuan stone vein, he could produce almost a hundred-Yuan stone piece every single day. Not to mention his relentless cultivation, never missing early or late sessions. Were it not for the heavy consumption of Dao Yuan by Dao techniques and the arduous process of opening the Heaven-Earth Gate, his Tong Tian Palace would already be overflowing with resources.

Lian Que eventually roused Jiang Wang from his meditative state: “The stage of melting and refining the ores is complete. You can now relax and rest. I will call upon you again when needed.”

Jiang Wang immediately ceased his efforts. In truth, three days and nights of infusing Dao Yuan had not exhausted him; being constantly in a state of meditation had kept his spirits high. With Lian Que focused on forging the sword, he didn’t sit idly by. He resumed the meridian cultivation he had interrupted for three days, making up for “lost lessons.” Following that, he continued with the Four Spirits Refinement Technique. Through consistent accumulation, the Azure Dragon and Vermilion Bird chapters were already complete. The Xuan Wu chapter, which had progressed slowly, saw significant enlightenment after he witnessed that colossal turtle beast in Youguo, whose immense and weighty energy, a powerful divine charm of the Ba Xia bloodline, nearly allowed him to complete the Xuan Wu chapter in one go. His current focus was the White Tiger chapter, with only this final step remaining to complete the Four Spirits.

Upon completing the cultivation of the Four Spirits Refinement Technique, he began practicing the three Dao techniques Chong Xuan Sheng had found for him. “Binding the Tiger” was already imprinted in the Tong Tian Palace, but “Flower Sea” and “Thorn Crown” still required more familiarity before they could be wielded as effortlessly as limbs.

Another three days passed thus. Lian Que was absorbed in refining the essence of the molten ore and making adjustments. Only then did he slightly relax, glancing at Jiang Wang with a touch of surprise. “Do you always cultivate with such intensity? Don’t you need to rest and relax?”

“It’s a habit.”

Lian Que nodded. “It is not without reason that you became the victor of the Heaven Mansion Secret Realm.” After a moment’s thought, he added, “Your sword weapon is about to take shape. Do you have any ideas for it?”

Jiang Wang looked at him, responding with genuine sincerity, “Thank you for your hard work.” This was not mere courtesy. He cultivated tirelessly himself, but he also witnessed Lian Que’s painstaking effort. To be blunt, at this moment, in his eyes, Lian Que’s plain face, illuminated by the furnace fire and looking particularly clear, even seemed a lot more endearing.

Lian Que, observing the situation within the sword furnace, said, “I am asking for your idea for the sword, not for me.”

Jiang Wang laughed. “You are a world-renowned forging family, a forging genius. I have no ideas. I trust you.”

Lian Que shrugged, saying no more.

After about half an incense stick’s time, his hands changed, and he struck seal after seal. Finally, he pulled his right hand outwards, and a stream of scorching molten metal liquid leaped out from the sword furnace. The moment it was exposed to the air, it emitted a crackling sound! It seemed as if everything fundamental in the world was merely a condensed form of it. The molten metal solidified into a crimson strip of iron, which quickly turned dark black. Finally, Lian Que placed it on the iron anvil beside him.

“Come, you will forge it yourself.” Lian Que handed him an iron hammer roughly the size of a human head.

The moment Jiang Wang received it, his hand sank. He mobilized his Dao Yuan to steady it, his heart silently shaking. One must know that with his current physique, he possessed at least a thousand jin of strength, yet lifting this iron hammer was still a strain.

“I will go and perform the final preparations. You are responsible for forging the sword blank. Forge the front five thousand times, then the back five thousand times. Repeat the cycle. Do not stop until I tell you.” After giving his instructions, Lian Que turned and walked into the sword array. Behind him, the sound of forging iron began to ring out.

He didn’t know how long passed. Jiang Wang indeed could no longer recall the time. He was too tired. His arms were completely numb, devoid of feeling. Although he had mastered many methods of applying strength, in the end, he could only rely on his physical body. He persisted solely through astonishing willpower, relying on the constantly generated Dao Yuan from his star river Dao swirls for strong support. Lian Que never appeared, and he even suspected the fellow had hidden away to sleep. But surely not for this long.

At first, he could still entertain these idle thoughts, but later, only emptiness remained. Since Lian Que had said not to stop, he simply could not stop. After all, this was his sword weapon. He had nothing in front of him and no one behind him. He was the only one he could rely on. Perseverance was the only thing he could rely on.

In countless strikes of the hammer, he vaguely formed a connection with the sword blank beneath it. It was a very weak feeling, but because of its sharpness, it was not easily overlooked. Later, Jiang Wang unconsciously began to employ the methods of the White Tiger Refinement chapter. Originally, the Four Spirits Refinement Technique was deduced with the White Tiger Refinement Technique as its foundation, making the White Tiger chapter the most important. Now, the Four Spirits Refinement reached its final chapter, and the sword weapon subtly corresponded to Western Metal.

As he forged, Jiang Wang’s arms slowly regained feeling. At first, it was a dull ache, then intense pain, but he endured it all, gritting his teeth. Finally, he felt blood flowing within his arms, strong and warm. The White Tiger Refinement chapter progressed at divine speed. Just as he had adapted and even gradually entered a wonderful state, he heard Lian Que’s voice.

“Enough.” Lian Que’s voice sounded exhausted.

Jiang Wang subconsciously stopped. The excited state brought about by cultivating the Four Spirits Refinement Technique disappeared, and he suddenly felt a lack of strength throughout his body. Lian Que, however, paid him no mind. His hands were bright red, yet he directly grabbed the repeatedly forged and scorching sword blank with his bare palms and threw it back into the furnace.

“These three days and nights, I have swiftly refined the heart, employing the Lian clan’s secret methods to make full preparations.” Another three days and nights had passed, Jiang Wang thought muddle-headedly. “I had you enter meditation and empty your mind because I wanted your purest Dao Yuan, so that your sword, at the moment of its birth, would perceive you through Dao Yuan. Afterwards, having you forge the sword blank was to infuse it with your essence, qi, and spirit, these three flavors.” Lian Que’s hand seals flew like dancing insects, his expression bordering on madness. “So I no longer need to ask you. This is the sword weapon you most desire!”

“Now, you may give it a name.”

Jiang Wang struggled to lift his eyes and look. His vision suddenly brightened! It felt as if something had pierced his eyes, causing a tear to fall. Before Jiang Wang’s eyes, the concrete form of the sword blank had not yet appeared, but it rose within the furnace fire. Yet, that sharpness, that aura, had already firmly captivated him. In that instant, a thousand hundred images rotated in his mind. It was like the pervasive moonlight; once you saw it, you were already enveloped by it. During the time he infused Dao Yuan and forged the sword blank, he had completely emptied himself. The sword blank before his eyes, in a sense, was a mapping of the deepest parts of his inner being.

And what was buried within the depths of Jiang Wang’s inner being? It was that moon he could never touch, that ideal that was gradually drifting away, that hometown he could never return to.

With an indescribable emotion, Jiang Wang said, his voice full of feeling, “Let’s call it Long Xiang Si.”

“Long Xiang Si.” Lian Que murmured the name, staring blankly at the sword blank. There was no true Casting Master who didn’t feel emotional towards the weapon they cast for themselves, but indeed, in this still-incomplete sword weapon, he felt something that touched his inner core. The site of the former Lian clan’s old country was now where the Xia Kingdom stood. However, the Xia Kingdom was not the country that had destroyed the Lian clan’s old country; that country, which existed before Xia, had already been vanquished by the Xia Kingdom. Hatred had no direction.

When the old country was destroyed, the entire Lian clan scattered and fled, relocating to the Qi Kingdom. After many years, the Lian clan were outsiders in a foreign land, the Lian clan people were foreigners. At first, the Lian clan received no recognition from the local Qi people and were ostracized. They also didn’t receive trust from the Qi Kingdom’s court; even the most exceptional disciples could not be entrusted with important responsibilities. Because they longed for their old land, and the old country was in the south, the city the Lian clan built was named South Remote.

Over many years of development, the old country had disappeared into the dust of history, and the Lian clan, relying on their increasingly rising reputation among Casting Masters, gradually carved out a place for themselves in the Qi Kingdom. But discrimination never disappeared, and barriers always existed. Chong Xuan Sheng’s words to Jiang Wang outside the Full Moon Pool, telling him not to be apprehensive of the Lian clan, while supportive of a friend, also reflected this phenomenon to some extent. In the hearts of many Lian clan members, they too had a hometown they could never return to. They were forever foreigners.

Lian Que slowly retrieved his hand seals. He placed a ball of light enveloping the sword weapon into Jiang Wang’s hands. It was like delivering a beam of moonlight. The light scattered.

What was revealed was this:

The sword hilt slightly flat, the sword guard like a full moon.
The patterns on the sword ring, like entwined Xiang Si.
The sword ridge straight and upright, the sword tip sharp and slender.
The sword revealed a visible flow of cold light. The sword edge, in contrast, concealed its divine brilliance.
In terms of color, the sword handle was like ink, the sword body like snow. Not a single flaw or discoloration was visible.
Above the sword ridge, near the sword guard, three characters in Qi script were inscribed. They read: Yan Gui Chao.

Sword name “Long Xiang Si”, sword inscription “Yan Gui Chao”.

Long Xiang Si
— On behalf of Jiang Wang at South Remote

Long Xiang Si, Yan Gui Chao.
Frosty moon stores wine, three months drunk,
Flowers profuse as makeup, willows like waists.
Wish to entrust the return date to a swallow,
East and west it flies, ever so remote. (1)
Crossing a thousand mountains, relying on a single heart,
After a thousand mountains, the double wings grow old.
Looking at all the eaves, no one is there,
The spring swallow flies back, finds no nest.
Hesitates at the old city, crying in vain,
The four seasons are already exhausted, cold and summer gone. (2)
Want to ask where the hometown people are,
The hometown people are at South Remote.
Long Xiang Si, always like a knife.

Notes:
(1) The Zhuang Kingdom was to the west of the Qi Kingdom.
(2) The four seasons are exhausted because Maple Forest City was forever frozen in time, no more spring, summer, autumn, or winter. The swallow no longer needed to come, nor did it need to go.

I always felt there should be a poem to complement this sword. So I substituted in Jiang Wang’s emotions to write it. Jiang Wang himself is not a literary person who dances with words, nor does this poem imply he has such talent. It is purely my expression “on his behalf,” born of feeling. At the same time, I hope readers can better experience these emotions.