The memories of all humanity are awakening, except for mine.

Jiang Chuan then noticed that her wrist, which was exposed from her sleeve, was wrapped with a sword tassel, a standard feature of the Zuowang Peak disciples, but the color was plain and there were no pearls or jade ornaments commonly used by women.

"Third...Third Senior Brother?" Jiang Chuan's throat tightened, and his gaze involuntarily swept over the other's chest.

Flat and level, without any undulations.

He suddenly remembered that the outer disciples said that there were many extraordinary people on Zuowang Peak, and that some disciples even shaved their own hair in order to practice swordsmanship.

He became even more convinced, "I am Jiang Chuan, a newcomer to your peak, and I hope my senior brother will take good care of me."

"care?"

The man drew his narrow sword three inches from its sheath, and the purple clay teapot on the stone table cracked with a "crack," splashing boiling water that soaked his front.
"I am Zhuang Yan, the third senior sister!"

She jabbed her fingertip hard at the red lotus mark between her eyebrows. "Sitting in Oblivion Peak, no one binds their chest or wears hairpins. Can't they even tell the difference between men and women?"

Jiang Chuan then realized what was happening and hurriedly cupped his hands in apology: "Senior Sister, please forgive me! I saw that your sword tassel was plain and you were not wearing any makeup, so I assumed that..."

His ears burned, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Pei Guoguo squatting on the ground, desperately trying to suppress her laughter. Chen Ping turned his back, and the blade of his heavy sword scraped against the stone slab with a piercing sound.

Zhuang Yan stared at him, then suddenly sighed and sheathed her narrow sword: "Never mind, last year that brat Yun Wanggui also called me 'Brother Zhuang,' and I burned half of his 'Yunhai Qi Jing'."

Her fingertips traced the cracks in the stone table, and as her sword intent flowed, the cracks healed. "Sitting in Oblivion Peak doesn't have so many rules; it's just a matter of calling it the wrong way."

She glanced at Pei Guoguo and said, "Just like that girl, she went to the Sword Tomb to draw butterflies on the Sword Intent Stone."

Pei Guoguo suddenly jumped up: "Third Senior Sister is bringing up the past again! The butterfly I drew can fly!"

She ran to Zhuang Yan's side and pointed at the other's cuff, "Look, look, the red lotus pattern I embroidered for you is much prettier than the Youth Preservation Pill from Chiyang Peak!"

Taking the opportunity, Jiang Chuan nudged Lin Xiao beside him and said, "Second Senior Brother, I haven't met Fifth Senior Brother yet."

Lin Xiao was munching on wild fruit when he heard this and pointed to the big yellow dog in the yard: "Look, that's my fifth senior brother, Huang Yue."

"Wang Wang!"

The big yellow dog came running over, wagging its tail. The collar around its neck was engraved with the words "Zuowang" (a Buddhist term meaning to sit in oblivion). Its tongue was sticking out, and drool dripped onto Jiang Chuan's shoes.

Jiang Chuan was stunned: "Second Senior Brother, you must be joking. How could Fifth Senior Brother be..."

"It's a long story."

Zhuang Yan sat down again and poured herself a cup of tea. "My senior brother picked her up five years ago."

At that time, its spiritual veins were damaged by a demonic beast, leaving it on the verge of death. Its master used the *Boundless Sword Scripture* to restore its spiritual roots. And now…”

She watched as the big yellow dog took Pei Guoguo's calligraphy brush away. "It can understand human speech, can squat in the sword tomb to comprehend sword intent, and just loves to eat roast chicken."

"Fifth Senior Brother is the best!" Pei Guoguo hugged the big yellow dog's neck.

"Last year, when Lieyangzi from Chiyang Peak came to Zuowang Peak, my fifth senior brother roared at him three times, scaring the old man so much that he tumbled and crawled down the mountain!"

Jiang Chuan squatted down and tentatively stroked the big yellow dog's head. It felt warm to the touch, and there were still a few bamboo leaves stuck in its fur.

"Fifth Senior Brother, please forgive me."

The big yellow dog wagged its tail at him, then suddenly turned and ran towards the kitchen, scratching at the wooden door and barking.

"It smells meat."

Lin Xiao wiped his mouth. "Let's go prepare a welcome feast for Master. He's forging swords in the furnace; he's probably starving."

As everyone headed toward the kitchen, the distant clanging of blacksmithing echoed, and wisps of smoke drifted from the chimney of Tao Hongjing's thatched hut.

Zhuang Yan rolled up her sleeves and pulled out half a pheasant from the corner: "Qingyang, can you cook?"

"I know a little bit."

Jiang Chuan recalled the days when he and Xie Xuan traveled through the northern border and stewed meat in a clay pot in a dilapidated temple. "Do you need help chopping vegetables?"

"That would be perfect." Zhuang Yan handed him the kitchen knife, the blade still bearing the nicks from when she chopped the sword intent stone that morning.
“Pei Guoguo can split a cutting board in half when she cuts vegetables, Chen Ping can only use his sword intent to turn ingredients into mud, and Lin Xiao…”

She glanced at Lin Xiao, who was chasing after the big yellow dog, and said, "He can sprinkle salt like sugar."

The kitchen suddenly became lively.

Zhuang Yan was in charge of cooking, Jiang Chuan was chopping vegetables, Pei Guoguo was in charge of digging wine from the cellar, Chen Ping was squatting in front of the stove adding firewood, and the big yellow dog was lying on the threshold staring at the meat chunks in the pot.

Jiang Chuan held the cleaver, the blade dancing lightly on the cutting board, when he suddenly heard Zhuang Yan whisper, "Your knife skills are quite good. Who taught you?"

"When I was a child, I traveled around with my master."

Jiang Chuan cut the potatoes into even, rolling pieces, recalling the scene of Xie Xuan teaching him how to hold a knife by the campfire.
"Back then, we were always in remote, desolate areas, and we had to cook for ourselves."

"Your master..."

Zhuang Yan paused for a moment, "Peak Master Xie Xuan hasn't returned to the peak for five years. Last year, when he was slaying the dragon vein in the Northern Territory, he sent back half a sword intent stone engraved with the character 'slay'."

She suddenly chuckled, "If he knew you could cook now, he'd probably regret not taking you out to eat more often back then."

The aroma of meat wafted from the pot, and Pei Guoguo stumbled in, carrying three jars of wine:

"Junior Brother Qingyang, your cooking is better than Master's! Last time he used spirit wine as cooking wine, and the stewed meat was all drunk!"

Jiang Chuan smiled but didn't say anything.

The firelight illuminated his profile, reminding him of Xie Xuan's words, "Sword cultivators shouldn't be confined to the stove."

Yet on every stormy night, gazing out the window, she would mutter to herself, "Jianjia loves to eat perch sashimi."

Master is searching for the Immortal Grass for the woman who died in battle at Hulao Pass. He also knows that the bladeless sword at Master's waist was once stained with blood for her.

"The food is ready!" Zhuang Yan lifted the lid of the pot, and steam rose up, releasing the aroma of stewed pheasant and mushrooms.

Pei Guoguo, carrying a wine jar, burst through the wooden gate. The lotus leaf at the mouth of the jar was askew, and the aroma of wine wafted out on the evening breeze.

On the stone table were Zhuang Yan's roasted pheasant, Jiang Chuan's chopped wild vegetables, and Chen Ping's spirit rice cake shattered with his sword intent.

Tao Hongjing sat in the head seat, his cuffs still covered in iron filings, yet he picked up a rough pottery bowl with the words "Forget the Dust" engraved on the bottom, clearly Pei Guoguo's masterpiece.

"Qingyang, this is your third senior sister Zhuang Yan, who is at the middle stage of the Supreme Realm; and your second senior brother Lin Xiao, who is at the peak of the Supreme Realm."

Fourth junior brother Chen Ping, Supreme Realm Initial Stage; Fifth senior brother Huang Yue.

Tao Hongjing looked at the big yellow dog lying under the table and said, "Don't underestimate it. Back in the day, it was capable of tearing apart the Fire Scale Leopard of Chiyang Peak."

Jiang Chuan tightened his grip on the ceramic bowl.

Above the Purple Mansion Realm is the Supreme Realm, and above that is the legendary Sage Realm. And the senior brothers and sisters in front of me...

At the very least, he was at the initial stage of the Supreme Realm, which was two minor realms higher than Wang Han, his opponent at the Mountain Gate Conference.

"take it easy,"

Lin Xiao put a chicken leg into his bowl, the oil dripping onto the stone table. "We at Feng don't care about realm, we only care about sword intent."

Last year, Pei Guoguo was still at the Purple Mansion Realm, yet she still managed to carve the sword intent stone of the Sword Tomb into a butterfly nest.

Pei Guoguo was fighting with the big yellow dog for a chicken bone when she heard this and looked up: "That's the Green Wood Sword Intent that Master taught me!"

She suddenly raised the wine jar, "Come on, toast to our new junior brother! May he smash up the weapon-refining pavilion on Chiyang Peak soon and get us a new set of bowls and chopsticks!"

The crowd burst into laughter. Tao Hongjing shook his head and drank the wine in his bowl: "The weapon-forging skills of Chiyang Peak are indeed superb, but the swords of Zuowang Peak have never relied on weapons to win." He looked at Jiang Chuan, his gaze falling on the Wufeng Sword. "Your senior brother Zhao Xin once said, 'The sword is the man, the sword dies, the man dies.' You should remember these words well."

After a few rounds of drinks, Zhuang Yan suddenly put down her chopsticks: "Master, I heard you plan to teach Qingyang how to forge swords?"

Her fingertips traced across the stone table, and as her sword intent flowed, the oil in the soup automatically gathered into the shape of a red lotus.

"Back then, the eldest brother's 'Buzhou Sword' was forged by you personally."

“Not bad.” Tao Hongjing wiped his mouth. “Sword cultivators forging swords is like scholars grinding ink; they must understand the heart of the sword.”

As he stood up, he created a gust of wind, causing the pages of paper on the stone table to rustle.
"Qingyang, come with me to the sword furnace. The rest of you, clear the dishes. Lin Xiao, don't let Pei Guoguo smash the wine jar."

The sword furnace is located on the west side of Zuowang Peak. It is a half-person-high earthen kiln with residual heat still emanating from the furnace mouth.

Tao Hongjing pulled out a pair of iron pliers from the corner of the wall. The jaws of the pliers were engraved with dense sword patterns: "When did you break through to the Purple Mansion Realm?"

“Back in Longhai County,” Jiang Chuan stared at the embers in the furnace, “he condensed the water-attribute sword intent in his Purple Mansion, and now he can draw upon the mountain streams.”

Tao Hongjing commented: "Water is gentle and suitable for establishing a solid foundation."

"Don't rush to condense the second level. First, refine the 'Dragon Elephant Divine Demon Technique' to the fourth level. It requires the essence blood of seven kinds of demonic beasts. Next month, go to the Forest of Ten Thousand Beasts with Chen Ping."

He suddenly turned around and slammed the iron tongs heavily against the furnace wall. "Did Xie Xuan teach you how to forge swords?"

"Master said that the fourth realm of the Sword Realm, 'Sword Heart,' can only be comprehended by forging a sword with one's own hands."

Jiang Chuan recalled the scene of Xie Xuan forging a sword in the dilapidated temple. The prototype of that bladeless sword had left a mark on his palm.

Tao Hongjing took out a piece of black refined iron from his sleeve, its surface swirling with chaotic energy:

"This is Kunlun Black Iron. In three years, the Cloud Sea Immortal Sect will open the Kunlun Secret Realm. If you can forge your natal sword, you can come with me."

"The Kunlun Secret Realm?"

Jiang Chuan's pupils contracted slightly. He had seen a record of it in the "Chronicles of the Nine Provinces," which was said to be a relic left by a Taoist immortal.
Do true immortals really exist?

Tao Hongjing sneered, and the refined iron sizzled in the furnace.

"Legend has it that true immortals can create heaven and earth, but in this vast land of China, who has ever seen a terrestrial immortal ascend to heaven?"

He suddenly looked towards the sword mound in the distance, "Li Muzhi wrote a poem: 'On the summit of Kunlun, no one is to be found, only the bones of swords remain to sleep with the clouds.'"
Perhaps, the so-called true immortals are nothing more than more powerful cultivators.

The flames in the furnace suddenly surged, and Tao Hongjing's profile flickered in and out of the firelight:
"Don't think too much, focus on sword forging first. Starting tomorrow, you'll learn iron forging with me in the morning and hunt monsters with Chen Ping in the afternoon. Go back and rest now."

Jiang Chuan responded and followed Lin Xiao through the waist-high weeds, his boots covered with grass seeds wet with night dew.

The shadows of the purple bamboo grove swayed in the moonlight. Lin Xiao suddenly stopped and pointed to a crooked bamboo house in front of him:

"We've arrived. This is the place where my fourth junior brother and I share a room. The one on the left has been prepared for you."

The bamboo house's door is woven with vines, and several strings of dried sword tassels hang on the door frame, jingling in the mountain breeze.

Jiang Chuan pushed open the door and entered. The room was simply furnished, with a newly dried straw mat on the stone bed and a sword rack about half a person's height in the corner.

Leaning against it was Lin Xiao's "Taihuang Sword"—it was more like a rough iron bar than a sword, with hammer marks all over its blade.

"The rules of Zuowang Peak are that you build your own accommodation and find your own materials."

Lin Xiao lay down on the straw mat, put his hands behind his head, and gazed at the starlight filtering through the roof.
"Third Senior Sister's bamboo house was built by Eldest Senior Brother, Fourth Junior Brother lives under the waterfall, and Fifth Senior Brother..."

He glanced at the big yellow dog curled up by the door, "Sleeping in the cracks of the Sword Tomb."

Jiang Chuan touched the patterns on the sword rack and suddenly remembered Tao Hongjing's words: "A swordsman's forging of a sword is like polishing his heart."
He casually asked, "Why doesn't Second Senior Brother carry a sword?"

"Qi Sword".

Lin Xiao raised his wrist, and a pale blue sword aura flowed in his palm.
"After reaching the Supreme Realm, the sword energy solidifies and no longer relies on the scabbard."

He suddenly chuckled, "But my third senior sister always says I'm 'slacking off.' Her 'Red Lotus Spear' was forged in the sword furnace of Crimson Sun Peak for three years."

In the stillness of the night, the sound of Chen Ping's sword echoed intermittently outside the bamboo house.

Jiang Chuan lay on the straw mat, gazing at the swaying bamboo shadows on the roof, recalling Tao Hongjing's description of the Kunlun Secret Realm.

The trial three years later, the legendary ruins of the Daoist immortals, and the immortal herb that Xie Xuan was searching for...

He touched the green scales in his arms. The little fox demon was sleeping soundly, its tail curled into a fluffy ball.

"Xiao Qing, once I reach the Supreme Realm, I will take you to find your mother."

Jiang Chuan muttered to himself, his fingertips tracing the blue scales on Qing Lin's forehead, the mark of his demon bloodline.

He still remembered when they first met in Heyang City, the little fox demon was huddled in a corner of a dilapidated temple, covered in wounds.

Now she can transform into the appearance of a five or six-year-old girl, though her furry ears still occasionally show.

At dawn the next day, Jiang Chuan was just having his nose brushed by Qing Lin's tail when the wooden door was pushed open, and Pei Guoguo's head poked in: "Junior Brother Qingyang, get up—"

Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly widened her eyes, staring at Qinglin on the bed, her finger trembling as she pointed at him:

"You...you...you're keeping a mistress?!"

"What nonsense are you talking about!"

Jiang Chuan hurriedly picked up Qing Lin. The little fox demon was still sleepy, her ears peeking out, and her tail swaying in his arms.

"This is Qinglin, I brought it back from Heyang..."

"Monster clan!"

Lin Xiao was standing at the doorway at some point, "He can actually take human form? And this aura..."

He leaned closer for a closer look, and Qinglin suddenly shrank into a small fox, its blue scales gleaming faintly in the morning light.

"It's likely that it has the bloodline of the sacred beast, the white fox. No wonder it was able to evade the detection of the spirit-testing stone."

Pei Guoguo had already rushed to the bedside, clasping her hands together in a gesture of worship: "So cute! Let me kiss you!"

With a squeak, Qinglin scurried into Jiang Chuan's clothes, leaving only its fluffy tail showing.

Jiang Chuan sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation: "Where's Third Senior Sister? Isn't she going to do anything about you?"

"Third Senior Sister went to the Sword Tomb to carve words!" Pei Guoguo persistently poked Jiang Chuan's arm.
"Please make Qinglin turn back quickly! I saw a fox spirit candy figurine seller at the market yesterday, and it looked exactly like her!"

Jiang Chuan, realizing he couldn't hide it any longer, coaxed Qing Lin into revealing herself.

The little fox spirit pouted, its blue scales on its blue forehead resembling tiny flower petals: "Sister Pei is mean, she scared me."

"Not bad, not bad!" Pei Guoguo pulled out a candy. "The Youth-Preserving Candy from Chiyang Peak, eating it will make you beautiful!"

Lin Xiao scoffed from the side: "Come on, eating too much of that candy will turn your tongue red. Last year you tricked Chen Ping into eating three of them, and he didn't dare to speak for three days."

Jiang Chuan took the opportunity to ask Pei Guoguo why she had come, only to find out that she wanted to take him to the market.

After a quick wash, the three of them took off on their swords. Qinglin shrunk into a little fox and perched on Jiang Chuan's shoulder, its tail tightly wrapped around his wrist.

Pei Guoguo's sword light shimmered with the scent of green wood, like a moving green leaf, making the butterfly hair ornament on her braid appear even more vibrant.

"The market town on Zuowang Peak is called 'Boundless Market'," (End of Chapter)