Chapter 95: The Useless Sword Case

The grand Flower Morning gathering came to a successful close.

Coldflower Valley began to deliberate and make arrangements concerning Liang Feng.

In a few more days, once the matter was settled, the disciples of both sects would return to their mountain gates to report.

That day, Song Yan accompanied Yan Xun to visit the Yan clan estate.

Swordsmith Manor stood on the northern slopes beneath Beiya Mountain City.

On the stone stele before the manor, the two characters of the Yan name were engraved in deep-cut strokes.

The Yan clan estate occupied a vast tract of land, divided between the main branch and the collateral branch.

The collateral branch resided halfway up the mountain, while the main branch was closer to the summit.

Blue stone steps wound upward into the clouds, and faintly, the clash of metal upon metal could be heard drifting down from above.

Distant peaks lay veiled in thin mist, bathed in the first light of dawn.

As they climbed higher, there were fewer passersby. Most were young men of imposing bearing, hurrying along with solemn faces.

Yan Xun occasionally ran into acquaintances, and they exchanged greetings.

“Brother Yan, it’s just ahead.”

Amid mountains and lakes, within the main branch’s estate, they went onward.

“Oh? Fifth Brother’s back!”

“Second Brother, where are you headed?”

Yan Xun stepped forward to greet the man approaching from the front; it seemed to be one of his clan cousins.

“I’m going to the Sunshot Sect to deliver a few magical implements. Uh... and this is?”

“This is Song Yan, an outstanding disciple of the Deep Abyss Sect.”

Yan Xun quickly introduced him. “The elders of the Sunshot Sect invited fellow cultivators from the Deep Abyss Sect to attend the ceremony. Brother Yan is one of the disciples who came along.”

“Oh!”

The other man understood at once and dared not be rude. He hurriedly bowed.

“I am Yan Cheng of the Yan clan. Greetings, Fellow Daoist Song.”

Song Yan thought to himself that a great noble clan truly did carry itself with refinement, and he returned the bow as well.

Along the way, the Yan clansmen had all been very courteous to him.

The Yan immortal clan was widely acknowledged by the cultivators of Chu as the foremost of the Four Great Immortal Clans of the Kingdom of Chu. Its strength was already comparable to that of many smaller sects.

And yet, when faced with the truly great six sects, even outer disciples did not dare to show the slightest discourtesy.

“Fifth Young Master...”

Several servants came up, about to speak, when Yan Xun waved them off.

“No need for tea. Prepare lunch instead.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

Young Master...

What an exalted way of being addressed.

For a life of silks and delicacies, Song Yan, who had grown up poor to the bone, had always felt nothing but envy.

Yan Xun led him straight to a valley within the estate.

As they walked, he asked, “Brother Yan, forgive my impertinence, but where exactly did you get that flying sword?”

Earlier, Song Yan had mentioned that he had accidentally obtained a flying sword. Though its grade was very low, the material was exceptionally tough.

He had come to visit the Yan clan chiefly to broaden his knowledge and see whether they had any materials suitable for sword forging.

If there were a chance, he also wanted to have his own flying sword tempered, in hopes of improving its grade.

After some thought, Song Yan replied, “...I obtained it from inside the belly of a demonic beast.”

“That is truly unusual.”

Ahead lay a deep valley, where mist churned and very few clan members came and went.

“This is where the old Sword House used to be.”

Yan Xun explained as they walked. “Brother Yan, please do not take offense. When outsiders visit, entering the main sword house is extremely troublesome.”

“From top to bottom, every step must be reported and approved.”

“This was the old Sword House from long ago. After several reforms within the clan, this place is now used to store materials that ordinary refining cannot make use of, as well as some broken implements with no one to claim them...”

“That flying sword of yours cannot possibly be made from ordinary material, so it makes no difference whether we look here first.”

“I see.”

This place felt rather like the fire-workers’ camp in an outer sect...

It brought back memories of those days when he had been scavenging for scraps in the sect.

Nostalgia was nostalgia, but he would never delude himself into hoping he would ever fish another treasure like the Yin-Yang Pearl out of a junk heap.

Looking back now, it was nothing short of fantasy.

“Our Yan clan, both main and collateral branches, has gone through several reforms. This old Sword House was abandoned more than sixty or seventy years ago, I think.”

Yan Xun had already begun inspecting the forging materials stored in specially marked cosmos pouches and iron chests around the edge of a circular plaza.

A low hum sounded.

Song Yan summoned the Unmoored Boat and sent the flying sword over beside Yan Xun so he could examine it more conveniently.

“Brother Yan, I’ll look around. You may wander as you please...”

Yan Xun said, “Now that this old Sword House is abandoned, the valley is quiet, and the scenery is actually much better than at the main sword house.”

“All right.”

Song Yan strolled slowly along the circular plaza.

Yan Xun had been right. This sword house had likely been abandoned for a very long time.

The stone pavement was cracked in many places, and between the seams grew countless vines and weeds he could not even name.

He rounded a sword furnace that had long since gone cold and came to the remains of a great hall that looked like a pavilion.

“Hall of Myriad Designs...”

What a grand name...

Pity it was now covered in dust.

He stepped inside.

The space within was much larger than it had seemed from outside.

Looking up, he saw countless magical implements stored along the walls of the hall, most of them swords.

On closer inspection, some of the shelves bore labels with names on them.

Were these magical implements stored here by Yan clan disciples?

Or perhaps...

Considering what Yan Xun had said—that this place had been abandoned for a long time—an even more plausible thought occurred to him.

But he did not dare guess recklessly.

He wandered aimlessly through the hall. Some of the magical implements had extremely amusing shapes and colors—for example, one like a butcher’s cleaver, another like a gourd-shaped staff.

The person who designed and forged these must have been quite an unconventional genius.

“Brother Yan!”

After a while, Yan Xun came in from outside the hall.

“I knew you’d be here.”

“I checked for a long time, but I really couldn’t find the material of your flying sword.”

“It’s definitely very tough, if one were to say it was poor; but if one were to say it was good, then although the craftsmanship is ancient and delicate, it only has the strength of a mid-grade magical implement...”

“Truly strange.”

Song Yan took back the flying sword and smiled. “It’s fine, it’s fine. I only came to try my luck.”

“Oh, and these names are...”

He pointed to the names on the shelves.

“Oh, those? They were all left here by the Yan clan’s seniors.”

“Although they’re all old and unusable implements, they still count as keepsakes. Since this sword house had been abandoned anyway, we moved them all here.”

“I see.”

Song Yan nodded.

Just then, his heart suddenly stirred.

The Yin-Yang Pearl actually gave a brief hum.

Very quickly, it fell silent again.

He hurriedly searched his surroundings, alarmed.

How was he supposed to find, among all these broken and obsolete magical implements, one that had any connection to the Yin-Yang Pearl?

As he was worrying over this, a certain item among several implements leaning crookedly against the wall in a corner caught his eye.

“This is...”

“A sword case?”

“Hm?” Yan Xun followed his gaze. In the corner of the hall, several nameless implements were leaning against the wall.

Among them, a dusty dark-blue long case was indeed somewhat out of place amid the knives and swords.

“Oh, those are all unwanted implements.”

Yan Xun explained, “I’ve seen this sword case before. I don’t know which senior made it, but it was only half finished before it was left here...”

“Nowadays flying swords don’t even need sword cases, so no one bothered to remake it. It’s just been left here ever since.”

The two of them walked over. Song Yan gently lifted it and brushed away the dust on its surface.

Was it this?

So far, the Yin-Yang Pearl’s “resonance” had been bizarre and perfunctory, and he could not be sure.

Would the Yin-Yang Pearl also react to a sword case?

Lost in thought, he said nothing.

“Brother Yan, I didn’t expect you to be interested in these old things... If you like it, just take it.”

Yan Xun said, “But these few implements are all defective. The sword case in your hands wasn’t even finished. Aside from collecting dust, it’s useless.”

“Mm...”

After a moment’s consideration, Song Yan said, “I am indeed very interested.”

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