102: Chapter 102 The Difficulty of Contracting the Immortal Sword

"Xuanfeng, why don't you wait a moment?"

Blazing Fire Sword Ancestor's voice transmission entered Chen Xuanfeng's Sea of Consciousness sneakily.

Chen Xuanfeng sighed inwardly.

After all, the Heavenly Sword Sect wasn't his territory. Even the Peak Master of the Heavenly Sword Sect had spoken; as someone just hitching a ride for an Opportunity, what more could he say?

With a flick of his sleeve, a magnificent Portable Courtyard emitting bursts of pill fragrance appeared behind him.

Jiang Waner and the other Sword Cultivators of the Hidden Sword Immortal Sect were left stunned.

Chen Xuanfeng pushed open the bamboo fence gate of the Portable Courtyard behind him. With a "creak," the gate swung open.

An even sweeter scent of Medicinal Pills wafted out from the bamboo gate.

Jiang Waner watched in a daze as Chen Xuanfeng walked into the Portable Courtyard and entered a room with an "Alchemy Room" sign. Without even closing the door, he sat in meditation before a Pill Furnace.

With a hand seal, a wisp of bright red Pill Fire appeared at the tip of Chen Xuanfeng's finger.

The Pill Fire flew beneath the Pill Furnace.

"He, he, he..." Jiang Waner pointed at Chen Xuanfeng, her eyes questioning the others, "Is he performing Alchemy?"

The Sword Cultivator who had broken Chen Xuanfeng's dharma sword looked grim.

Had he just been in a standoff with an Alchemist for several breaths?

What a total humiliation!

Chen Xuanfeng seemed completely unaware of how many people's emotions his act of Alchemy had stirred.

Strands of Spiritual Materials were refined and tossed into the Pill Furnace, his movements as fluid as a living painting.

Chen Xuanfeng continuously formed hand seals. The Pill Fire flickered in size, evenly heating every corner of the Pill Furnace and tending to every Spiritual Material within.

Half an hour later, under the burning gaze of Jiang Waner and the others, Chen Xuanfeng performed a Pill-Collecting Seal.

Jiang Waner looked at the crude Pill-Collecting Seal, a hint of disdain flashing in her eyes.

"It's a remote place after all; even the Alchemists are half-baked. Such crude hand seals."

She had completely dismissed Chen Xuanfeng as just an Alchemist.

The Pill Furnace lid flew off, and nine Medicinal Pills suffused with a clear fragrance flew out toward the pill bottle Chen Xuanfeng had prepared.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

One top grade, eight High Grade.

Chen Xuanfeng was quite satisfied.

For a Grade Two Spirit-Expanding Pill that could expand one's Divine Sense, his previous best was nine High Grade pills.

This time, a top grade one had appeared.

He suddenly realized that for the Manifestation Sword Canon, as long as it involved Manifestation, it provided bonuses to all aspects of his abilities!

As expected of an Immortal-Grade Cultivation Technique, it's truly badass!

Jiang Waner raised an eyebrow at the lone top grade pill. "To produce a top grade pill with such crude techniques, this guy's talent for Alchemy is decent. He could be brought back to the Spirit Pill Hall for training and become an Alchemist for our Immortal Sect."

The others seemed to follow Jiang Waner's lead; upon hearing her suggestion, they all nodded in agreement.

The only Sword Cultivator who had clashed with Chen Xuanfeng merely furrowed his brows, no longer seeing him as a threat.

Chen Xuanfeng noticed the appreciative looks from those foreign Cultivators.

Appreciative already?

He enthusiastically planned to start another batch of pills.

Just as he was about to draw out the Pill Fire, he suddenly paused, stood up, and walked out of the Alchemy Room to look toward Sword Mountain.

At this moment, Jiang Yue, who was worshipped by the foreign Cultivators, was only a step away from the summit of Sword Mountain.

But this single step seemed like a massive chasm.

Jiang Yue's raised foot hung in mid-air, as if his body had been frozen in a "golden rooster standing on one leg" pose.

The Sword Cultivators of the Hidden Sword Immortal Sect were all beaming with joy.

"This must be the best posture for communicating with a sword spirit that the sect Elders secretly told Senior Brother Jiang Yue! Sigh, if I had known, I would have waited for him to try first. Maybe I could have used this posture to get recognition from a higher-grade sword spirit."

They had blind confidence in Jiang Yue.

Only Jiang Waner frowned deeply.

As the only Bloodline descendant of the Immortal Sect's Sect Leader, how could she not know if the sect had a special posture for communicating with sword spirits?

It didn't exist at all!

Senior Brother Jiang Yue's current state clearly showed he was being rejected by the Immortal Sword but was still trying to seize it by force!

"How could this be?" Jiang Waner murmured.

"Junior Sister Waner, how could what be?"

Jiang Waner shook her head solemnly, her worried gaze fixed on Jiang Yue at the summit of Sword Mountain.

"Clearly, Senior Brother Jiang Yue has already resonated with the Immortal Sword. There's no reason for him to be rejected."

"Could it be..."

Jiang Waner suddenly looked up at the sky filled with white clouds.

"Elder Qingyang, did the people of the Heavenly Sword Sect tamper with something?" She could only think of this possibility.

High in the sky, a Sword Cultivator with white hair and white clothes, who looked very young despite his appearance, sat cross-legged amidst the clouds and suddenly opened his eyes.

The sword resting across his lap vibrated with a "buzzing" sound.

Terrifying Sword Qi leaked out bit by bit from the vibrating Scabbard.

Even those mere wisps of leaking Sword Qi caused the world to change color and the surrounding space to warp, as if the very fabric of space were about to collapse.

The various Peak Masters of the Heavenly Sword Sect appeared one after another. "Venerable, please wait! We would never resort to such underhanded tricks!"

Venerable Qingyang's gaze swept indifferently over them, and the Peak Masters felt a sharp Sword Qi slice across them.

Their hearts pounded in fear.

"You indeed lack such means," Venerable Qingyang stated indifferently before closing his eyes again, as if nothing in the world could move him.

Only these Peak Masters of the Heavenly Sword Sect knew how terrifying the strength of this seemingly peaceful white-haired Sword Cultivator truly was.

A single person suppressed all Thirteen Peak Masters of the Heavenly Sword Sect, leaving them breathless and forced to let them enter Sword Mountain.

Even though Sword Mountain was originally an Opportunity the Heavenly Sword Sect opened to all Sword Cultivators.

But being proactive versus being forced were two different things!

The Peak Masters of the Heavenly Sword Sect glanced at each other and, fearing to disturb him, vanished silently.

Jiang Waner waited for several breaths, but seeing no movement from Elder Qingyang, she pursed her delicate lips tightly until their pink hue turned pale.

"Senior Brother Jiang Yue..." She looked at the person on Sword Mountain with eyes full of concern.

This standoff lasted for an entire day.

Chen Xuanfeng was so bored that he started several more batches of pills, but because no one was watching and there was no bonus from Manifestation, they were all only High Grade.

"Tsk!"

Chen Xuanfeng murmured, "As expected, if it's not a fit, one should just give up!"

As if in response to his words.

On Sword Mountain, Jiang Yue silently withdrew the foot that had been suspended for a day without advancing an inch.

He took a deep look at the summit, where the Immortal Sword stood as if isolated from the world. With a wave of his hand, the grade nine spirit sword that had been vibrating beside him flew into his grasp.

Jiang Yue swiftly contracted the grade nine spirit sword as his Lifebound Sword.

The moment the contract was formed, the grade nine spirit sword's originally low-key and restrained appearance began to peel away like a molting crab.

A blue spirit sword, emitting a cold aura that seemed capable of freezing everything, was revealed to the world.

"Swish!"

Jiang Yue flew away from Sword Mountain on his sword. With his robes fluttering, he gave a deep bow toward the direction where the Peak Masters and the Sect Master of the Heavenly Sword Sect were hidden.

"My thanks!"

The Nascent Soul Cultivators of the Heavenly Sword Sect hurriedly appeared to return the salute. "Fellow Daoist, there is no need for such ceremony. Being able to obtain the Frost Sky Sword is your own skill."

Jiang Yue smiled faintly and looked down to call his juniors. "Though we failed to obtain the Immortal Sword this time, we have still gained something. Let us return!"

The juniors all flew on their swords, instantly lining up behind Jiang Yue like migrating geese.

They flew to Jiang Yue's side and offered their consolations.

"The Immortal Sword is difficult to contract; Senior Brother Jiang Yue, you don't need to be discouraged."

"At least Senior Brother Jiang Yue made the Immortal Sword resonate. That's not something an ordinary person could do."

"I believe that after we return, the sect Elders certainly won't blame you. You've already done very well, Senior Brother."

...

Chen Xuanfeng saw that the situation wasn't looking good.

Everyone was leaving. His previous preparations for Alchemy—no, for Manifestation—would be for nothing!