This Sword Cultivator is Somewhat Dependable

The large ship cleaved through the waves, its sails fluttering with whooshing sounds accompanied by the splashing of the waves against its hull, which had been ongoing for quite some time.

Lu Qingshan and Qin Yitian stood on the deck, the sea breeze fluttering their robes as they watched the outline of Jiaolong Island slowly fade from view.

"The Longevity Whale..." Lu Qingshan murmured.
Your journey continues with empire

This trip to the South Sea had once again exposed him to many secrets and... many doubts had arisen.

"I will definitely return." Lu Qingshan's gaze hardened. He stopped dwelling on it and turned his head to Qin Yitian, whispering, "Mo Yan says the Dragon Slaying Saber is gathering cultivators, preparing to head to the Dragon Pool to eradicate the Jiao Clan completely. After all, the Dragon Pool has been your temporary refuge for so many years..."

"Actually, during my time in the Dragon Pool, I was asleep for the most part, with no attachments to the place." Qin Yitian responded to Lu Qingshan's concern with a radiant smile, his eyes clear as he gazed at Lu Qingshan and softly said, "Besides, for me, apart from you, there is nothing else in this world worth clinging to."

The life of a sword belongs solely to its Sword Master.

...

Although the quest for the sword was fraught with unexpected twists and turns, the ultimate gains far exceeded Lu Qingshan's expectations.

Not to mention the Dragon Sparrow Sword, in just two months, he had amassed five hundred thousand Experience Points, and his assets had significantly increased again.

Having gathered all the Spirit Materials required for the Wood Element Sword Armor and most of those needed for the Metal Element Sword Armor, Lu Qingshan felt quite delighted.

These materials were all collected by the Dragon Slaying Saber within half a month.

Not wanting to waste time on the ship, Lu Qingshan returned to the cabin, planning to start the Refining Ritual for the Wood Element Sword Armor.

Just as he was about to retrieve the Spirit Materials, the Spirit Beast Bag on his waist suddenly flashed, and the King of the Western Rats appeared.

Seeing the King of the Western Rats run out from the Spirit Beast Bag, Lu Qingshan frowned slightly.

"I came out to get some air," the King of the Western Rats explained with a sneaky look and a slight twitch of his snout.

Seeing the sly demeanor of the King of the Western Rats, Lu Qingshan was genuinely concerned, so he said to Qin Yitian, "Keep an eye on him for me, don't let him cause any trouble."

Last time the King of the Western Rats went out for some air, he had brought him Zang Xiaojian. Although this ship was specially prepared by the Dragon Slaying Saber and there were no outsiders, who knew what might happen with the King of the Western Rats's ability to stir up trouble?

"Lu Qingshan, you're actually letting her keep an eye on me!" The King of the Western Rats's voice immediately became shrill upon hearing this, his mouse claws trembling as he pointed at Qin Yitian and indignantly said, "How long have I been with you, and how long has she known you?"

"You must explain to me today, in your heart, who holds a higher position, me or this woman?"

Lu Qingshan looked at the King of the Western Rats' "performance" with a faint smile and confirmed with a nod, "Of course, it's her."

"You forget friends at the sight of beauty, the world is in decline..." The King of the Western Rats's face was ashen, continuously muttering the idioms he had just learned.

"You attend to your matters, I'll take care of him," Qin Yitian said to Lu Qingshan, nodding her head lightly. Then she expressionlessly picked up the King of the Western Rats by the neck and hauled him out.

...

Once bitten, twice shy, having had the experience of refining the Water Walking Sword Armor, the refining of the remaining four Element Sword Armors posed no more difficulties for Lu Qingshan, apart from the challenge of gathering Spirit Materials.

In less than five days, Lu Qingshan had extracted the Wood Element Qi from the Spirit Materials and merged it with the Sword Qi to form Wood Element Sword Qi, which he then stored in the acupoints throughout his body.

Clang!

With a thought, Lu Qingshan circulated the Water Element Sword Qi and Wood Element Sword Qi, which covered his entire body in a flash, the turquoise and deep blue glows intertwining.

These Sword Qi surrounded Lu Qingshan completely, appearing as tranquil as water ripples, yet contained within were the sharpness of the Sword Qi, the enduring division of water, and the lasting vitality of wood, all of which contributed to an astonishing defensive power.

"When the Five Elements are complete, even just the Sword Armor will render ordinary cultivators helpless," Lu Qingshan muttered to himself.

The Five Elements Sword Armor is a defense spell quite famous and extremely useful among sword cultivators. Aside from the expensive spirit materials required, it had no significant drawbacks. In the previous life's game, it had always been the prime choice for sword cultivators to spend heavily on.

...

When Lu Qingshan once again set foot on the land of Bibo City, a month had already passed.

"Where shall we head to next?" the Sea Rat King, haggard from the sea journey, asked weakly.

"We return to where we came from," Lu Qingshan said calmly.

This long detour, crossing Qing State to reach the South Sea, had been solely to find a suitable Life-bound Sword. Now that the goal had been accomplished, it was naturally time to return to Qing State.

Because, according to historical progression, the next major plot development was set to occur in Qing State.

As the main area of activity for players in the second version of the game, and under the meticulous design of the game planners, Qing State was like being enveloped by a great fortune. Countless caves and ruins (instances) appeared one after another, filled with endless Cultivation Techniques and Magic Artifacts.

How could he not return to share in the bounty?

...

Lingxu Prefecture was one of the thirty-six prefectures of Qing State.

After the destruction of Zhenjiang City, Lingxu Prefecture accepted almost eighty percent of the refugees from Zhenjiang City.

Similarly, as the Asura ruthlessly crushed the Heart Demon Gu, killing all the cultivators of the minor Netherworld halls in Zhenjiang with the backlash from the Heart Demon Gu, Zhenjiang Prefecture had thus returned to peace.

Most of the cultivators from Zhenjiang Tower were also redirected by orders to various prefectures in Qing State, leaving only a minimal number stationed in Zhenjiang Prefecture to monitor whether the Netherworld might be resurrected and to maintain daily affairs.

Lingxu City, Lingxu Tower auxiliary building.

A woman stepped out from Lingxu Tower, her demeanor cold as frost, but a hint of worry could faintly be sensed between her brows.

Two others had been waiting at the door. Seeing the woman's chill expression, they dared not speak much but quickly pulled aside the male cultivator following behind the woman to inquire about the situation. "Xiao Zhi, how are things?"

The male cultivator trailing the woman was Xiao Zhi, a former team member of Lu Qingshan in the Tiger Squad.

Xiao Zhi said indignantly, "The Lingxu Tower Master, Lefthand Guo, didn't take what Dantai Tower Master said seriously at all, let alone offer any substantial help."

"Who would have thought that the people of Lingxu Tower would be so distinctly different from us at Zhenjiang Tower, focusing not on dealing with the Netherworld but on grappling for power and profit," another cultivator from Zhenjiang Tower, Zuo Tao, said helplessly.

"Deputy Tower Master Dantai was directly transferred to Lingxu Tower to take over as Deputy Tower Master, displacing the former Deputy Tower Master Yi. It's somewhat expected that Yi harbored resentment and made things difficult for Tower Master Dantai," Zhong Mian said through gritted teeth angrily, "but I didn't expect Lingxu Tower to be this corrupt, where from the top down, everyone's a rat in a sack, not just Yi Yuan making life hard for Tower Master Dantai, but everyone else following suit!"

"If Lingxu Tower weren't so ineffective, leading to such a dire situation in Lingxu Prefecture, why else would Knowledge Guard Tower remove an old-timer like Deputy Tower Master Yi Yuan, replacing him with the unfamiliar Dantai Tower Master, if not in the hopes that Tower Master Dantai could achieve some real accomplishments?"

"Yes, indeed," Xiao Zhi sighed heavily, "It would be great if someone could help Tower Master Dantai…"

"With even the Lingxu Tower Master supporting Yi Yuan, who could help Tower Master Dantai turn the situation around?" Zuo Tao shook his head, saying helplessly.