"His brother?" The boar demon, Chu Yong, muttered to himself before suddenly widening his eyes. "You’re that Qin Yun?"


    He remembered now.


    Qin Liehu had two sons: Qin An and the once-renowned young swordsman Qin Yun. But six years ago, Qin Yun had left home to roam the world. Back then, Qin Yun''s strength was only noteworthy among his peers; to true powerhouses, he was still immature. Chu Yong, one of the most fearsome hidden demons of Guangling County, had scoffed at the idea of such a young upstart.


    "You killed me... the Water God will never let you go." Chu Yong''s consciousness dimmed as he roared in defiance, unwilling to succumb. "The Water God will avenge me! You won''t escape him!"


    "The Water God? In Guangling County, seven out of every ten demons are under his command." Qin Yun sneered. "Killing demons and fearing retribution? What a joke."


    Chu Yong''s upper body reverted to his true form—a massive boar—before finally succumbing to silence, lifeless.


    The grand hall fell into an eerie stillness.


    The demon leader, along with his eight followers, including the cat demon, and the pink-robed woman and black-robed elder, had all perished.


    Only Qin Yun stood in the hall, deep in thought.


    "Looking at this demon leader’s corpse, a single sword strike cleaving his body is unmistakable. In all of Guangling County, few could achieve such a feat. My identity could easily be exposed. I just returned home after six years; it’s not the time to openly confront the Water God yet," Qin Yun resolved silently. He quickly searched the hall and soon discovered a chest containing Star Pattern Steel.


    "Star Pattern Steel?" Qin Yun gazed at the gleaming silver-white metal blocks revealed by the broken chest. "With these dozens of pounds of Star Pattern Steel, my Natal Flying Sword will have a stronger foundation, and the time required for its completion can be reduced by a month or two."


    After inspecting all the demon corpses in the hall, Qin Yun found nothing else as valuable as the Star Pattern Steel.


    He then retrieved a red silk pouch from his robes, opened it, and took out a small vial. Uncorking the vial, he carefully dripped the liquid onto the corpses—seven or eight drops for Chu Yong''s body, while the others received only one or two drops.


    "Hiss, hiss, hiss."


    He then set the corpses ablaze.


    Typically, a boar demon like Chu Yong would leave behind bones even after days of burning, but the liquid produced ghostly blue flames that consumed the corpse within a dozen breaths, leaving only ashes. The other demon corpses, touched by just a drop or two, were similarly reduced to ash.


    "This ‘Ghostwater’ is running low. I’ll need to prepare more," Qin Yun murmured. He moved to the throne’s armrest, adjusted it slightly, and restored its original appearance.


    "Rumble~~~" The side doors of the hall, which had been sealed, reopened.


    With his magical vision, Qin Yun easily located Chu Yong''s living quarters. After a thorough search, he uncovered a cache of treasure chests filled with gemstones, pearls, and a stack of silver banknotes.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    "Six thousand three hundred taels?" Qin Yun counted the banknotes, pleasantly surprised. "This old demon served under the Water God, likely handing over much of his spoils as tribute. With his own cultivation expenses, it’s impressive he managed to save this much."


    "In cultivation, the essentials are method, wealth, companionship, and location. Among these, method is paramount. Without a proper method, cultivation is impossible. Wealth comes second." Qin Yun shook his head. "As a Sword Immortal, my other expenditures are minimal, but the cost of nurturing my Natal Flying Sword is immense. Most of my earnings over the past six years have been poured into it. Fortunately, these banknotes and the Star Pattern Steel will sustain me for the next year."


    Cultivation was no small burden.


    For example, talisman practitioners needed costly materials like talisman paper and cinnabar, while alchemists and artifact forgers required vast investments just to practice.


    After ransacking the underground palace, Qin Yun carried two large bundles and prepared to leave. Before departing, he projected his voice throughout the palace, sounding like an elderly sage: "All demons here have been slain. Leave this place and save yourselves while you can." With that, he vanished.


    The underground palace, a haven of debauchery for demons, had been a living hell for humans.


    Despite hearing the earlier commotion, the dancers, musicians, and servants hid in terror. Only after hearing Qin Yun’s proclamation did they cautiously emerge. Finding no resistance and seeing the opened gates, they fled to the streets, where patrolling constables discovered them. The underground palace was soon exposed.


    An investigation revealed that the palace''s master was none other than the notorious demon leader Chu Yong, who had terrorized Guangling County for decades while his lair remained elusive.


    The news shook the county’s leadership.


    At Qin Yun’s courtyard in the Qin Manor:


    Warm light filtered through the lampshade, illuminating the cozy room.


    "Thud." Qin Yun casually dropped the bundle of silver and jewels into a chest by his bed. The other bundle, containing the Star Pattern Steel, was opened on the bed, revealing blocks of the precious metal. "Star Pattern Steel. Possessing this privately is punishable by death and confiscation of property. But with my status, having a little is hardly a crime."


    He sat cross-legged on the bed, closed his eyes, and calmed his mind.


    In his dantian:


    The dantian was like a sea, with rivers of true essence flowing through it. Suspended within was a bright silver metallic sphere.


    Suddenly, the sphere began to spin and unfurl into a strand of ‘metallic hair.’ Though the sphere was the size of a grain of sand, the elongated strand was as fine as a hair.


    "Whoosh."


    The strand shot out from the dantian, traveling through the meridians and reaching Qin Yun’s right index fingertip, where it pierced the skin, leaving a tiny mark that healed instantly.


    The strand then expanded rapidly, transforming into a three-inch-long silver sword that hovered before Qin Yun.


    "My Natal Flying Sword." Qin Yun gazed at the three-inch sword. "It’ll take another year before it’s fully completed. Then I won’t have to handle it so cautiously."


    Currently, the sword remained unrefined, requiring careful storage in the dantian as a compressed ‘sword pill.’ In its current form, any mishandling could damage his dantian and cause irreversible harm.


    Once completed, the Natal Flying Sword would become a powerful magical artifact, capable of immense destruction and bound to him for life.


    "Go." Qin Yun tossed a ten-pound block of Star Pattern Steel into the air, which floated beneath the hovering sword, wrapped in threads of true essence.


    "Humm~~~"


    With a chant, the sword emitted a glowing aura, absorbing the essence of the Star Pattern Steel. Tiny fragments of light streamed into the sword, while debris fell away from the block.


    Half an hour later, the sword quivered, releasing a resonant hum.


    "That’s enough for today." Qin Yun retrieved the diminished block, now reduced to two pounds. "Eight pounds absorbed in one session. At this rate, I’ll refine all the steel in ten days, significantly strengthening my Natal Flying Sword."


    Crafting a Natal Flying Sword was no easy feat. For ordinary cultivators of the Sword Immortal lineage, it could take decades of effort. However, with his mastery of the ‘Drizzle Sword Intent,’ Qin Yun could expedite the process tenfold, completing it in a few years. Even so, the materials required were indispensable.


    "A mountain of gold and silver, all for a single sword," Qin Yun sighed, marveling at the cost.