Back at her immortal cave, Luo Mingyue let out a long breath of relief.
The moment she sat down at the stone table, joy blossomed across her face.
To successfully form a bond with a sword that possessed a Sword Spirit was the greatest opportunity of her life. Yet, it also brought immense pressure.
The senior Sword Spirit had a peculiar temper; truly mastering him would be no simple task.
Just then, Luo Mingyue suddenly felt a wave of spiritual energy fluctuate within her consciousness.
Uncontrollably, the iron sword flew straight out of her mind and landed firmly on the stone table inside the cave.
"I must say, your cave dwelling is quite exquisite. Instead of building a courtyard inside your consciousness, I might as well just stay right here," Jiang Chengan said.
The next moment, a golden light suddenly radiated from the body of the iron sword.
This was the system reward.
[Sword body strength increased tenfold.]
*Boom—*
A fierce sword intent surged in all directions. Instantly, a clanging of metal echoed through the cave, followed by a burst of golden light that rapidly enveloped the entire iron sword.
Watching this, Luo Mingyue’s eyes widened in bewilderment.
What is this...
*Clang!*
A crisp sword cry rang out as the sword intent soared into the sky.
Luo Mingyue stared in astonishment.
The golden light vanished, seemingly completely absorbed and fused into the iron sword, disappearing without a trace in an instant.
As the enveloping golden light faded, the iron sword suspended above the stone table dropped firmly down.
*Thud—*
The iron sword pierced directly through the stone table and embedded itself into the ground, sharp beyond measure.
Luo Mingyue gasped softly.
It seemed the senior Sword Spirit was truly unimaginably powerful.
Though the iron sword was still mottled with rust, the cracks on its body had actually healed. Its condition and sharpness already surpassed ordinary swords.
Luo Mingyue picked the iron sword back up.
"Please, senior Sword Spirit, return to my consciousness. I need to cultivate."
Although Bai Nishang was full of petty cunning, one remark of hers had jolted Luo Mingyue awake: the sect grand assembly next month.
She had to make thorough preparations.
Winning first place at the assembly would not only yield generous rewards of medicinal pills and sword techniques, but it would also secure her focused cultivation by the sect.
"Cultivate? What's the rush to cultivate? I want to sleep now. Let's talk about cultivation tomorrow."
Cultivate?
Jiang Chengan just wanted to lie flat.
Luo Mingyue's lips twitched in utter helplessness. At her current realm, if the sword could not enter her consciousness, no matter how hard she worked on her cultivation, without the ability to nurture her sword, it would all be in vain.
"Since senior wishes to rest, why not rest inside my consciousness?" Luo Mingyue had no choice but to ask.
"My consciousness? I don't want to go back there."
"..."
"Not only that, I don't want to go in there ever again. Your cave dwelling is quite quaint; I like it here."
"How about this: find yourself a scabbard, and from now on, just carry me on your back."
Jiang Chengan thought about it and said this.
Although Luo Mingyue's consciousness was stronger than that of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, staying inside it always made Jiang Chengan feel quite uncomfortable. Right now, it seemed he was still better off staying outside.
After a brief thought, realizing that some sword cultivators in the Sword Sect did carry their destined swords on their backs, Luo Mingyue simply agreed.
Walking into the bedroom of the cave dwelling, she saw that the decorations were sparse, yet everything was remarkably neat and tidy.
"Senior, Mingyue devotes herself entirely to cultivation and has no need for external ornaments to decorate her cave. That is why it looks so simple. Please do not mind it," Luo Mingyue whispered, walking over to the bed.
The drop of essential blood she had offered in the Sword Tomb had consumed the vast majority of her spiritual energy, leaving her thoroughly exhausted. Fortunately, although that drop of blood had failed to seal the bond initially, she had still successfully contracted the sword in the end.
"It's fine," Jiang Chengan's voice came indifferently.
"Senior, Mingyue is going to rest. Please make yourself at home."
Placing the iron sword on a nearby stone table, Luo Mingyue moved toward the bed. But right at that moment, Jiang Chengan's voice sounded once again:
"I want to sleep on the bed!"
"..."
Luo Mingyue was left somewhat speechless.
You are a sword, yet you want to sleep on a bed? Even so, she picked up the iron sword and laid it neatly across the mattress.
Though Jiang Chengan was only a sword body, his senses were still intact. Lying on the soft bed—especially with the faint fragrance lingering on Luo Mingyue's bedding—was infinitely more comfortable than staying in the Sword Tomb.
After placing the iron sword on the bed, Luo Mingyue walked over to the stone table, intending to sit cross-legged and rest there in meditation.
"Senior Sword Spirit," she finally couldn't help asking, "are you really the sword spirit of that senior from ten thousand years ago?"
Having heard the legend of the iron sword told by the Sword Sect elder, Luo Mingyue was curious about Jiang Chengan to the point of obsession. An existence from over ten thousand years ago was simply unimaginable. And why had she never heard a single word about this iron sword in her past life?
"I have no idea," Jiang Chengan replied bluntly.
He had only learned about the origins of this iron sword today. As for himself, counting it up from the moment he transmigrated, it had been exactly one year.
"Then, senior Sword Spirit, is the ascension tribulation really that terrifying?" Luo Mingyue continued to probe.
Someone as powerful as that senior had still perished beneath the heavenly tribulation, and his personal sword had almost been completely destroyed—its body nearly snapped in half, and its sword spirit wounded and left dormant for ten thousand years. Just how terrifying could the ascension tribulation possibly be?
"I don't know." Jiang Chengan was growing impatient. Why did she keep chattering endlessly? Did she want him to sleep or not?
"Stop talking. I'm sleepy."
Jiang Chengan declared this outright and paid her no more attention.
Seeing that Jiang Chengan had stopped talking, Luo Mingyue closed her eyes, steadied her breathing, and prepared to rest.
Thus, she did not know how much time had passed.
On the bed, the iron sword rolled over slightly, and Jiang Chengan suddenly saw Luo Mingyue sitting cross-legged on the floor, meditating in silence.
Puffs of moonlight shone in from outside the cave dwelling, spilling across Luo Mingyue’s face and making her look somewhat fragile and pitiful. Thinking of her experiences in her past life as detailed in the original story, Jiang Chengan's heart softened quite a bit.
Sighing softly, he said, "Luo Mingyue, stop sleeping down there. Come up and sleep on the bed."
Luo Mingyue opened her eyes. A fleeting daze crossed her pupils before she looked up at the iron sword resting on the bed. "Senior Sword Spirit, are you calling me?"
"Get up here and sleep!" Jiang Chengan said.
"Ah? This... wouldn't that be a bit inappropriate?" Luo Mingyue's pretty face instantly flushed red.
"What's appropriate or inappropriate about it?" Jiang Chengan retorted irritably. "I'm a sword, not a human. What is there for you to be shy about? Besides, look at your figure... you're not even as curvy as that little green tea Bai Nishang from earlier. Could you possibly be afraid I'd harbor any thoughts about you?"
"..."
Luo Mingyue hesitated. "Well... alright then."
Ultimately, Luo Mingyue walked over to the bed and lay down straight beside Jiang Chengan.
"Go to sleep."
Jiang Chengan turned over once more.