As Ji Yuan and his group arrived at the prefecture city, news of the demise of the representatives from the thirteen forces in Qianyu City spread silently and rapidly.
Within a mere hour or two, it had reached the ears of all factions, large and small, in the prefecture city, causing widespread astonishment.
This night was destined to be far from peaceful. No one knew how many would pay the price for this incident, nor how many ‘drowned’ bodies would appear in the river tomorrow.
However, these matters were of no concern to Ji Yuan for the time being.
He now stood in a room, and after carefully confirming that no hidden traps had been set, he took out a set of formation flags and arranged them within the room.
This set of formation flags had been given to him by Song He. They possessed the ability to isolate spiritual energy fluctuations and prevent outsiders from casually probing the area within the formation. They also offered a degree of protection.
After setting up the formation flags, Ji Yuan sat cross-legged in the quiet room, his gaze fixed on a bronze cauldron with four legs and a square base.
This cauldron was specifically used for crafting artifacts. It was inscribed with nine layers of restrictions, making its value comparable to a magical artifact. He had specifically borrowed it from Qian Ni Chang.
He appeared to be in deep thought. With a tap on his mountain and river pouch, a stream of light emerged, and dozens of spiritual materials materialized beside him.
“Cracking Gold Stone, Floating Cloud Jade, Flowing Moon Steel, Three-Colored Wood Heart, Pure Yang Spirit Blood, Extreme Yin Yuan Water…”
Looking at this pile of spiritual materials, Ji Yuan’s mind immediately conjured their corresponding names and their respective effects.
Among them were metallic items, many spiritual herbs, and even materials from spiritual beasts. All of these were recorded in the Profound Heaven Sword Art as items used for forging a natal flying sword.
For a sword cultivator, a satisfactory natal flying sword could undoubtedly maximize their destructive power and bring boundless benefits to their future path of cultivation.
And in a complete sword art, there would naturally be a method for forging the most suitable flying sword.
However, Ji Yuan was now faced with two choices, leaving him unsure of how to proceed.
The exclusive flying sword of the Profound Heaven Sword Art allowed for either refining a suitable flying sword or forging one oneself. In terms of compatibility, the latter would undoubtedly be superior.
But this was contingent on finding a flying sword that was incredibly suited to one’s own great path. In such a case, it would be a different story.
And as it happened, he possessed a flying sword in his hand that was even more suited to him than one he could forge himself, and its quality was exceptionally high.
After a long period of contemplation, Ji Yuan gently tapped his brow. The white jade flying sword, which had been nurtured in his Purple Mansion, immediately materialized, hovering quietly before him.
As if sensing its master’s thoughts, the white jade flying sword, named ‘Xiao Bai,’ glowed with an even brighter multicolored radiance.
“After all, it was a powerful rogue cultivator who stole the Thousand Mile Jade Vein and refined it with ten thousand-year-old jade marrow. Even if it’s not the absolute top-tier magical treasure in the world, it should be close, right?”
He muttered to himself, his eyes filled with contemplation.
This sword, with jade as its core, was naturally beyond the five elements. It carried no elemental affinity, essentially being a blank canvas, ready to be painted upon.
Ji Yuan only needed to refine it into his natal flying sword, and then, using the secret techniques recorded in the Profound Heaven Sword Art and nourished by various spiritual materials, he could gradually cultivate the characteristics required by the sword art.
In this way, it would be much more convenient than forging a flying sword himself, and it would also bring immense benefits to his future cultivation.
However, once Xiao Bai was refined, it would mean he had completely accepted the karma from the past, and the two could no longer be separated. In the future, he might be targeted by the powerful individual who had seized it back then.
This was the root of Ji Yuan’s prolonged indecision. If not for this, he would have unhesitatingly refined it into his natal flying sword.
“What heaven bestows, if not taken, will lead to blame!”
After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, he gritted his teeth and finally made his decision.
Since the hidden good fortune had led him to this opportunity, the subsequent troubles, however numerous, would only arise in the future.
And who knew whether this future was decades or centuries away?
With his decision made, Ji Yuan wasted no more time. Following the instructions in the sword art, he began forming hand seals.
Once all one hundred and eight hand seals were formed, the vital energy within his body surged forth, condensing into a seal with the character ‘Xuan’ before him. With a thought, it was imprinted onto the body of Xiao Bai.
Instantly, multicolored radiance filled the entire quiet room. The seal on the sword’s body continuously seeped in, finally embedding itself permanently within the sword’s form.
Seeing this, he popped a few pills to restore his vital energy into his mouth. Then, with one hand forming a seal and the other pointing towards the dozens of spiritual materials beside him.
The next moment, Xiao Bai, with a slight tremor, appeared above the spiritual materials. Immediately, a swirl of multicolored light enveloped them, and eighteen types of spiritual materials began to float around its sword body.
“Eat your fill!”
A sharp glint flashed in Ji Yuan’s eyes. As his words fell, countless specks of light emerged from these spiritual materials.
These specks of light contained the essence of the spiritual materials themselves, and they flowed into the white jade flying sword. A small portion condensed deep within the sword’s body, within the ‘Xuan’ character seal, while the remaining majority was absorbed by Xiao Bai.
Before long, only the residues of the eighteen spiritual materials remained, and Xiao Bai, with a swirl of multicolored light, swept them aside, appearing somewhat disdainful.
Then, with a tremor, it transformed into a stream of light and returned to Ji Yuan’s Purple Mansion, disappearing into the vast lake of sword energy.
“It should… have succeeded, right?”
Ji Yuan muttered to himself, feeling a faint connection finally established between himself and Xiao Bai. He couldn't help but smile.
Although this spiritual object, crafted by a powerful cultivator, had chosen him as its first master after three hundred years, no connection had existed between them before tonight, let alone the mutual understanding between a cultivator and their magical artifact that cultivators pursued.
Now, with the ‘Xuan’ character seal formed, a faint connection had finally emerged between them.
“However, to truly refine it into a natal flying sword, I will need to possess spiritual power and then proceed gradually.”
He seemed to have thought of something and suddenly sighed, a hint of worry appearing on his face.
Now, while a connection had indeed formed between him and Xiao Bai, there was still a long road ahead to fully refine it into his natal flying sword.
The most crucial part was to reach the Second Realm and generate spiritual power within his body. Only then could he continue to employ the other secret techniques recorded in the sword art.
And the spiritual materials required during this process were staggeringly numerous. The batch he had purchased from Qian Ni Chang was barely enough for a beginning.
The thought of the enormous expenditure required in the future made Ji Yuan’s heart ache. This was also one of the reasons he had been so hesitant about refining Xiao Bai into his natal flying sword.
“It all depends on whether this Li family can help me make a fortune before I leave!”
A sharp glint flashed in Ji Yuan’s eyes as he began to anticipate the coming days with some expectation.
He then closed his eyes and began cultivating the second layer of the Profound Heaven Sword Art, while also diverting some of his attention to nurturing the flying sword in his Purple Mansion.
The night passed in an instant. It was only when the sun was high in the sky that he concluded his cultivation and pushed open the door, stepping into the courtyard.
Qian Ni Chang was already waiting in the pavilion. Seeing him emerge, she stood up and slowly walked towards him.
“Let’s go. I’ll take you to collect your benefits as a Special Offering.”
She blinked, a smile on her face.
Despite having not slept all night, Qian Ni Chang’s spirit and energy showed no signs of fatigue. Golden light occasionally flickered around her, as if merit was constantly flowing towards her from the unseen realms.
“What happened last night?”
As Ji Yuan walked alongside her, he asked casually.
In fact, even without asking, he had already guessed several possible outcomes, and regardless of which one it was, it would not affect his plans going forward.
Upon hearing his question, Qian Ni Chang pondered for a moment before recounting the events of the previous night.
First, the news of the thirteen forces losing all their members in Qianyu City had spread to all factions in the prefecture city in a very short time, causing a massive uproar.
Following this, Li Wen Qing returned to the Prefectural Governor's mansion. Within half an hour, hundreds of soldiers, under the command of the Prefectural Governor, had confiscated all the properties of the thirteen forces within the city on the charge of assassinating a mandated imperial official.
In one night, over a thousand people were imprisoned, primarily those belonging to the thirteen forces.
It was only after dawn that news emerged from the Prefectural Governor's mansion, stating that the representatives of the thirteen forces, envious of the immense merit from disaster relief and coveting enormous profits, had colluded to kill Li Wen Qing, who was in charge.
Fortunately, a cultivator of the Third Realm from the Li family had intervened, eliminating all those with malicious intent and escorting Li Wen Qing back to the prefecture city to report the matter to the Prefectural Governor.
This led to the confiscation of the thirteen forces' properties last night.
Even this morning, the Prefectural Governor had sent people to the respective residences of the involved families, summoning their leaders to the Prefectural Governor's mansion to provide an explanation.
“I heard the Prefectural Governor has ordered the collection of evidence and is preparing for a thorough investigation,” Qian Ni Chang said with a slight chuckle, a hint of schadenfreude in her tone.
As they spoke, they had already left the Qian family mansion and boarded a waiting carriage.
“As the Prefectural Governor, he has collected evidence of violations of the Great Yu laws by various sects and factions over the years,” she said, leaning against the carriage, her gaze deep. “Normally, even if this evidence were presented, it would be useless. There were always ways to escape, and if all else failed, a scapegoat could be found.”
But now, it was different. The news of assassinating a mandated imperial official had spread throughout all factions in the prefecture city. This morning, the Prefectural Governor's mansion had even posted a notice, and likely many ordinary citizens were aware of it.
Therefore, these forces would have to choose between the assassination of a mandated imperial official and their other past transgressions, and grudgingly accept one.
Otherwise, if the matter were reported to the imperial court, it would be tantamount to walking a path of no return.
And as long as the leaders of the thirteen forces were not fools, they would choose the latter, paying a heavy price to appease the ‘furious’ Prefectural Governor.
“Individually, each would likely have to offer at least hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, along with a few favored disciples, to quell the Prefectural Governor’s wrath.”
Qian Ni Chang said with emotion.
Hundreds of thousands of taels of silver per family, totaling tens of millions of taels, was equivalent to a prefecture’s annual tax revenue.
Most of this would certainly be remitted to the prefectural city, but a significant portion would also fall into the Prefectural Governor’s coffers, a substantial gain indeed.
Moreover, given that the Prefectural Governor had spent almost all his reserves in recent years to prolong his life and due to his youngest son’s serious injury, this opportune moment would likely see him exact an even steeper price.
And Li Wen Qing, who had presented such an opportunity, would undoubtedly see his status in the Prefectural Governor's mansion soar, becoming a favored figure by the Prefectural Governor’s side, whom no one would dare to easily retaliate against.
In this way, the losses and wrath of the thirteen forces would inevitably be directed towards the Li family.
Otherwise, as a major power, suffering such a significant loss without any reaction would undoubtedly damage their prestige and lead to provocations from other factions in the future.
Not to mention that tens or hundreds of thousands of taels of silver were not a small sum even for these forces. While it might not cripple them, it would certainly be a severe blow.
Such a loss could not be swallowed silently; someone must be found to bear it.
Even without any instigation, the thirteen forces would naturally band together and jointly exert pressure on the Li family, who had played a crucial role in this matter.
Whether the two sides would realize that this might be a ploy, and someone was scheming against them, seemed to become unimportant.
Because the trap had been set, and regardless of their willingness, they could only step into it, their fate left to heaven.