In stark contrast to the bustle outside, a massive red-heart parasol tree stood in the center of the courtyard, so thick that it would take three people to clasp hands around it. Its dense canopy shaded half the yard, and a stone table and stools were arranged beneath it.
In the corner, a spring of spiritual water was channeled down a rockery, splashing into a pond with a crisp, clear sound.
A tall man stood with his back to the courtyard gate, bending over to tinker with a semi-finished magic vessel on the table. Hearing the sound of carriage wheels rolling over the bluestone pavement, he straightened up and turned around.
Shen Nanxing looked to be in his early forties, with thick eyebrows and a broad face. His dark work robe was singed with several burn holes from furnace fires, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing toned, muscular forearms.
Not a single trace of spiritual pressure emanated from him, yet the moment Shen Qingci's divine sense swept over him, she felt as if she were standing on the edge of a dormant volcano, with scalding, majestic lava churning beneath.
【Early-stage Soul Transformation!】
【He is a genuine Soul Transformation powerhouse belonging to the Shen family.】
As soon as Shen Nanxing clearly saw the young girl stepping down from the carriage, the semi-finished shortsword in his hand clattered onto the table, and he strode over to welcome her.
Stopping three paces away from Shen Qingci, he raised his hand to smooth out his rumpled sleeves, bending his left knee to salute her.
Shen Qingci had just helped Chi Yuan down from the carriage when she caught this movement out of the corner of her eye. Startled, she rushed forward and supported his arms. “Clan Uncle Nanxing, you must not!”
Suspended in mid-air on one knee, Shen Nanxing was held so firmly by her that he could not budge. When he looked up, his eyes were warm with emotion. “Eldest Young Lady, the rules cannot be discarded. Though I belong to a branch line, the etiquette of the Shen family is etched into my bones.”
“You are the sole daughter of the Family Head and the next successor of the Shen clan. It is only natural for you to receive my salute.”
“How can an elder kneel to a junior?” Shen Qingci did not loosen her grip, her tone softening as she coaxed, “Hurry and stand up, Clan Uncle. What would people think if they saw this?”
“Rules are rules.” Shen Nanxing's arms were as rigid as iron; he refused to budge in the slightest.
Shen Qingci's face darkened. “Then, as the successor of the Shen family, I command you: stand up.”
Shen Nanxing froze. Looking at the Eldest Young Lady's tightly set face, and then at her hands gripping his arms, he finally deflated. Straightening up, he muttered, “You truly are cast from the exact same mold as the Family Head, completely uncompromising!”
Only then did Shen Qingci let go, turning back to look at Chi Yuan.
Chi Yuan stood by the carriage, taking in the entire scene.
Who was Mr. Nan?
He was a top-tier figure in the Southern Region's artifact-refining industry and a Soul Transformation powerhouse. Ordinary sect masters had to treat him with utmost courtesy. Yet, his first reaction upon seeing her little junior sister was actually to perform a subordinate's salute.
Only now did she truly grasp the weight of the words “Eldest Young Lady of the Shen Family.”
Though her mind raced, her etiquette did not falter in the slightest.
She took a few steps forward, her posture elegant and proper. “Junior Chi Yuan, a disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect's Wanjian Peak, greets Mr. Nan.”
Shen Nanxing sized her up. His gaze paused on the Frostchill sword at her waist before returning to her face. He waved his hand with a laugh. “Fairy Chi is too polite. As the Eldest Young Lady's fellow disciple, you are one of our own. No need for such formality.”
Chi Yuan straightened up, took out a heavy iron box from her storage ring, and presented it with both hands. “Since this is my first visit, I have prepared a humble gift. Please accept it, Mr. Nan.”
Shen Nanxing took the box. The moment he cracked it open, a thick, dense earth-attribute spiritual energy spilled out, causing the autumn parasol leaves in the courtyard to rustle and sway wildly.
His eyebrows arched slightly, and he simply opened the box fully. Inside lay a fist-sized earth source crystal, completely lustrous and translucent.
“An earth source crystal?”
“This item is priceless and virtually unobtainable. Where did Fairy Chi acquire it?”
“During my early travels, I happened upon it in an ancient cultivator's cave dwelling,” Chi Yuan said calmly. “I heard that you specialize in fire and wood dual-attribute artifact refining. Earth generates metal, and it can also vent excess heat. Adding a bit of this when refining Earth-grade magic vessels can increase the success rate of shaping by thirty percent.”
“It is of no use to me, so it is better off in the hands of someone who can utilize it.”
Shen Qingci stood to the side, her heart pounding.
How could she not know of earth source crystals? A piece the size of a fingernail could fetch tens of thousands of top-grade spirit stones at an auction. A piece this large was something one could only dream of encountering.
More importantly, she recalled that in the original novel, the core auxiliary material needed for Chi Yuan's Frostchill sword to advance to Earth-grade Mid-rank was precisely an earth source crystal.
Only by using earth to stabilize metal could she mitigate the risk of the ice-attribute sword body cracking during its advancement.
This was clearly the treasure her senior sister had kept tucked away for her own natal sword.
Yet she had taken it out just like that to use as a greeting gift.
She lowered her eyes as a sweet warmth spread from her chest. Sword cultivators viewed their natal swords as their very lives. For her senior sister to be willing to give this up showed that in her heart, Shen Qingci weighed even heavier than her sword!!!
As she was thinking, Chi Yuan turned her head to look at her, a hint of confusion in her eyes, as if asking, “Why are you dazing off?”
Shen Qingci pursed her lips and blinked at her.
Holding the box, Shen Nanxing looked at Chi Yuan, and then at the unmistakable affection his family's Eldest Young Lady was failing to hide. His mind was as clear as a mirror.
Having lived for hundreds of years, how could he not read the unspoken exchange between them?
He did not decline. Raising his hand, he stored the box into his storage space and said solemnly, “Fairy Chi, this gift is too valuable, but I, Shen, shall accept it. In the future, as long as you are in the Southern Region, should you face any difficulties regarding magic vessels, feel free to come to the Nanxing Artifact-Refining Workshop to find me.”
“If it cannot be refined, I will find a way for you. If it cannot be repaired, I will personally work on it.”
“You are too kind, Mr. Nan,” Chi Yuan replied with a salute.
Shen Nanxing invited the two of them to sit at the stone table, personally lifting the teapot brewed with spiritual spring water to pour tea.
The tea was clear and refreshing, carrying the clean aroma of parasol leaves.
Holding the teacup to warm her hands, Shen Qingci's gaze fell upon the semi-finished shortsword on the table. The blade was etched with dense array runes, but the lines broke off halfway, clearly indicating he had hit a snag.
“Clan Uncle, what are you refining here?”
“It is prepared for you, Eldest Young Lady.” Shen Nanxing took a gulp of tea, picked up the shortsword, and spun it in his hand, causing the blade to emit a crisp hum.
“The Family Head sent a message a while ago, saying that you had joined the Azure Cloud Sect for training, and told me to forge a defensive tool for you. You have the Jinglei sword for offense, but you lack a trump card to preserve your life.”
He tapped the spine of the sword. “An Earth-grade Low-rank protective shortsword. Upon facing a fatal attack, it can automatically trigger a three-layer shield, capable of blocking a full-strength blow even from an early-stage Soul Transformation cultivator. It is only missing the final soul-locking array rune. I've been stuck on it for nearly half a month.”
Hearing this, Chi Yuan took a closer look at the shortsword. After a moment of contemplation, she spoke, “Protective shortswords demand the highest precision in array runes. Lightning-attribute spiritual energy is violent and fierce; ordinary soul-locking runes are indeed easily shattered by the impact.”
“Perhaps you could try adding two diversion runes on both sides of the array core to first dissipate thirty percent of the lightning energy's impact before it enters the core. When I was polishing my natal sword in my early years, I encountered a similar issue with spiritual energy disrupting the runes, and I have some minor experience with it.”
Shen Nanxing lowered his head, staring at the sword body in contemplation for several breaths.
It was not that he had never thought of using diversion runes, but he had been unable to pin down the exact ratio of diversion and its compatibility with the array core.
Just now, Fairy Chi's few words had hit the nail on the head. Following this line of thought, he deduced further and actually felt a faint sign of a breakthrough.
He looked up at Chi Yuan, a deeper look of appreciation appearing in his eyes. “Fairy Chi's grasp of the spiritual energy within a sword body is indeed exceptional.”
“This direction is feasible. I will deduce it for another day or two to calibrate the ratio of the runes, and it should succeed.”
Having said that, Shen Nanxing smiled. “I was originally thinking that the Eldest Young Lady would have to wait a few more days, but this has saved quite a lot of trouble.
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