Chapter 5: The Mysterious Rusty Sword

  Although he had been listening to his grandfather Ye Qin's words, he hadn't heard clearly because he was completely absorbed in the rusty sword he held in his hand. Although he couldn't see anything special about this rusty sword, he felt that it would definitely suit him. This inexplicable intuition made him deeply convinced that this sword would be perfect for him.

  Thinking of this, he carefully looked at the sword again to see if there was anything special about it. Unfortunately, he was disappointed and didn't find anything out of the ordinary with the rusty sword. However, he didn't give up. So, he said to his grandfather: "Grandfather, I'll choose this sword." "How can that be? Choose another one! At the very least, you should choose a mid-grade spiritual artifact. What's the use of choosing this sword? It's just an ordinary sharp object!" Ye Qin said excitedly.

  Looking at Grandfather's expression, although very moved, but in order to figure out the secret of this sword, it was impossible to give up. So I had to say: "Grandfather, I feel that this sword has a connection with me, I want to understand clearly, if I really can't see anything, I will come again to choose another one, hoping that Grandfather won't refuse at that time." After finishing speaking, before Grandfather could react, he took the rusty sword and walked towards his own room. Seeing his grandson wanting to leave, Ye Qin hurriedly shouted: "Don't be in a hurry, don't be in a hurry," but Ye Tianfan had already walked far away. "Sigh, this child, how can he do things so hastily, but he is still just a child, it's normal like this, hoping he really can see something." Ye Qin sighed and thought to himself. Not mentioning what was outside, Ye Tianfan had already returned to his room.

  As soon as he entered the house, he hastily took out the rusty sword to study it. Generally, there are three methods for refining a spiritual instrument. The first is divine recognition refinement, which involves leaving a spiritual imprint inside the instrument; if successful, the refinement is complete. The second method is blood recognition, where one only needs to drip their vital blood onto the instrument; if the instrument absorbs it, then the refinement is successful, but if the blood slides off its surface, then it has failed. The third method is true yuan refinement, which is rarely seen because few people refine instruments into this form.

  He put his divine sense out to observe, but when he put it in, he didn't feel anything special, thinking that it was no different from ordinary sharp weapons, and not even a spiritual instrument. It's no wonder that this rusty sword was placed in the corner. Thinking about it, if it were that easy, the ancestors of the Ye family would have discovered the secret of this rusty sword long ago, and there would be no need to wait until now, let alone treat it as a treasure of the Ye family, leaving no room for Ye Tianfan.

  Since the first method had failed, there was only one option left. Thinking of this, Ye Tianfan squeezed out a thread of pure blood from his heart and mixed it with the blood in his throat, then spat it onto the rusty sword. However, something strange happened - although the blood had been absorbed, he didn't feel any refining sensation, but rather as if the sword was absorbing the blood itself. Unlike what the book said, the blood didn't slide off the sword, yet it was clear that the refining process had failed. Both methods had failed, and now only one option remained. If this too failed, then other means would have to be considered. With that thought, he poured the Five Elements True Essence into the sword's body.

  The next moment, a colorful glow emanated from the rusty sword, and the rust on the sword's body had already disappeared, replaced by a five-colored sword body that made it clear at a glance that it was a good sword. Fortunately, there were restrictions in the room, otherwise everyone would have thought that a treasure had been born, and Tianqi Star might have welcomed another catastrophe, and the entire Tianqi Star would have faced another great disaster.

  But all of this had nothing to do with Ye Tianfan anymore, because he was already captivated by everything within the sword. Inside the entire sword was a boundless starry river, and in the middle of the starry river, there was a small person who seemed tiny compared to the starry river, but gave people an infinite sense of vastness. This person looked around twenty years old, sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.

  In the midst of the starry river, the little man seemed to sense that someone had arrived, and so he faintly opened his eyes, giving off an air of elegance. However, his next sentence completely changed his image in Ye Tianfan's mind. The little man proudly said: "You daredevil, seeing my sword, why don't you kneel down? Be careful, or I'll make sure you die a terrible death, got it?" After speaking, he once again raised his proud head. Looking at its adorable appearance, Ye Tianfan really wanted to reach out and touch it, but looking at its ferocious expression, he had no choice but to give up.

  Who would have thought that Ye Tianfan's thoughts had just moved, and he was already standing beside this lovely boy. Seeing this, without thinking, he knew that he had successfully refined the precious rusty sword, and he also understood many of its functions. The person who had been making a big fuss earlier was the sword spirit. Knowing all this, Ye Tianfan couldn't help but gently touch its head. The sword spirit was furious, saying: "Who allowed you to touch me? Be careful that I don't get angry and make you splatter blood three thousand feet high! You really don't want to live, hurry up and apologize to me!"

  "Ha ha," Ye Tianfan laughed and said, "Stop messing around, Qi Ling. Don't think I don't know anything, I'm now completely clear about everything. Stop playing tricks on me. And by the way, calling you Qi Ling isn't quite right, from now on let's just call you Xiao Yu." After saying that, he didn't wait for Qi Ling to react and started calling out "Xiao Yu". One day later, Ye Tianfan and Qi Ling were already able to get along harmoniously. Ye Tianfan also roughly understood the origin of this sword. It was a divine artifact, but it had long since dropped many levels. It could only progress based on his cultivation level's advancement; otherwise, it would just stay in place, always being one realm higher than him until it was completely unsealed.

  The problem with the sword has been solved, and now it's just a matter of practicing. After carefully recalling the content and essence of Taiji Swordsmanship, I realized that the key to mastering it lies in the fast-slow rhythm, which can achieve the effect of "four ounces moving a thousand pounds". Therefore, the main focus is on grasping the rhythm of fast and slow. Closing my eyes, I simulated several dozen times in my mind, and after feeling that I had gotten the hang of it, I slowly started practicing along with my feelings. At first, I felt that each movement was not quite right, and the movements I made were always a bit awkward. The only comforting thing was that Ye Tianfan felt that he was making slow progress, and the connections between each movement were getting better. After several dozen times, Ye Tianfan could already practice this set of swordsmanship smoothly, like flowing clouds and water. It looked like it was getting better and better. After a long time, Ye Tianfan finally let out a sigh of relief and slowly withdrew his energy. "After practicing this set of swordsmanship, I dare to go up and fight against even the Yuan Ying period cultivators now." His words revealed strong self-confidence.