Chapter 2590: Refining the Sword Sheath

Winds Rise Across the Nine Provinces

Back when this scabbard was crafted, its purpose was to acquire a secret art called the Instant Draw Technique from the Fangs.

Lu Ye still remembered to this day that this was a legacy left behind by a human cultivator named Wang Xiu within the Fangs.

From this legacy, he extracted a spirit pattern and inscribed it within the scabbard. This allowed him to constantly channel power to nurture it, meaning that when not in combat, he continuously accumulated power using this spirit pattern, which he could then unleash entirely during battle.

Such a strike would far exceed his normal capabilities, making it very difficult for enemies to guard against.

Lu Ye had once used this secret art to catch some powerful enemies off guard.

Before reaching the Dao, this secret art was still useful to him, but after reaching the Dao, it was no longer effective.

This was because his power before reaching the Dao was completely different from his power after.

Ever since reaching the Dao, Lu Ye had been diligently cultivating, accumulating Dao power, and striving to improve his cultivation. How could he have any spare power to accumulate for the Instant Draw Technique?

This was one reason; another was that the scabbard's grade was too low, and it could no longer withstand the impact of his power.

Therefore, this secret art had been put aside a long time ago.

If it weren't for the sufficient Dao Fish currently in his possession and the large quantity of rare materials and resources seized by this city, Lu Ye would not have thought of retrieving this secret art again.

"Lian introduced you, so you should understand the rules," said Elder Qi, looking at Lu Ye. "I can certainly help, but can you afford the price?" He did not give him special treatment just because Lian had introduced him.

For him, making an exception to agree to craft for Lu Ye was already a form of special care, and it would also serve as an explanation for Lian later.

"Naturally," Lu Ye nodded, taking out two storage rings and pushing them across the table. "One contains Elder Qi's payment for this service, and the other contains the materials for crafting the scabbard."

"You're a sensible young man!" A hint of a smile finally appeared on Elder Qi's stern face. He first picked up the storage ring containing the Dao Fish. After a quick inspection, his eyebrows rose, and he looked at Lu Ye in surprise. "Young man, there are quite a lot of Dao Fish here."

"Because I have some specific requirements."

No sooner had Lu Ye finished speaking than Elder Qi tossed the storage ring back to him. "Get lost!"

No one had ever dared to make demands in front of him, not even if they offered more money!

Lu Ye raised a hand and caught the storage ring, placing it back on the table. He calmly took out a jade tablet and declared, "I want this Dao pattern inscribed within the scabbard!"

As his power surged, numerous Yin-Yang fundamental elements rapidly formed on the jade tablet.

To avoid startling others, Lu Ye deliberately slowed down, and several times showed signs of failing to construct it.

From the moment he began constructing the Dao pattern, the anger on Elder Qi's face suddenly vanished, replaced by a focused gaze on the unfolding fundamental elements on the jade tablet.

The information Lian provided was indeed correct: Elder Qi was hot-tempered and eccentric, but he was utterly obsessed with Dao patterns. As an Artifact Crafter, he was also, in fact, a Dao Pattern Master; however, the Dao patterns he encountered and mastered were primarily used for artifact crafting.

The Dao pattern Lu Ye was now constructing had quite a novel aspect, naturally piquing his interest.

After a long while, Lu Ye finally pretended to be mentally exhausted and pushed the jade tablet towards Elder Qi. "Elder Qi, if you can craft this, then the extra Dao Fish will be your gratuity. If you cannot, please say so early, and I will find another master."

Elder Qi couldn't help but let out a sneer. "Young man, don't use such childish provocation!" As he spoke, he picked up the jade tablet and examined it carefully, his expression shifting and occasionally revealing a thoughtful look.

After a long while, his eyes finally gleamed. "Young man, from whom did you obtain this accumulation Dao pattern?"

Lu Ye was secretly surprised. This Artifact Crafter in front of him had truly sharp eyes. After just a brief look, he roughly understood the purpose of this Dao pattern. This implied he had clearly encountered similar Dao patterns before.

Lu Ye looked at him expressionlessly. "Elder Qi, you only need to craft it. The rest is none of your concern."

Elder Qi was fuming. He had encountered many accumulation Dao patterns, most of which were largely similar, but none were as concise as the one before him. This must have been improved by an expert whose mastery in this field was absolutely extraordinary.

So Elder Qi wanted to know who possessed such great ability, so he could seek them out and exchange insights.

"I will craft it for you for free," Elder Qi said, looking at Lu Ye. "How about you introduce me to this person?"

Lu Ye thought, "Such a good deal?" He knew that crafting this scabbard was originally going to cost thirty thousand Dao Fish, and he had specifically prepared thirty-five thousand. Although his current wealth was indeed considerable, thirty-five thousand Dao Fish was still a significant amount for him.

"Agreed!" Lu Ye raised his hand and retrieved the storage ring containing the Dao Fish. Since the other party didn't want it, he certainly wouldn't force it upon them.

"You were introduced by Lian, so I trust you," Elder Qi said. "But young man, even if I craft this scabbard for you, will you be able to use it?"

He could tell Lu Ye's intention at a glance: the Dao pattern in this scabbard was merely for accumulating power and then unleashing an extremely powerful strike.

But this kind of power accumulation required constant, uninterrupted maintenance. Once interrupted, it would mean all previous efforts were wasted, requiring a restart from scratch. For any cultivator, this meant a prolonged consumption of Dao power.

Let alone Lu Ye, who was in the Fusion Dao realm; even a Unity Dao cultivator wouldn't waste their Dao power like this. It was important to know that accumulating Dao power was not easy for any cultivator.

Most importantly, this was also a prolonged burden on a cultivator's mental faculties.

Lu Ye frowned. "Does your Treasure Artifact Workshop ask so many questions when crafting?" His Dao power reserves were so vast, why would he need to worry about consumption? Furthermore, with the Talent Tree supporting him, and aided by the Dao pattern within the scabbard, he could maintain it continuously with little effort.

For others, this Dao pattern might be impractical, but for him, it posed no problem.

Elder Qi nodded. "Alright, if you insist, then I will grant your wish."

Saying this, he picked up the second storage ring, gave it a quick glance, and raised an eyebrow, saying, "There are indeed many good things here."

Of course, there were many good things. The materials stored in Yuanxi City's treasury were currently exceptionally abundant, including many exquisite and rare items. Lu Ye didn't know exactly what was needed to craft the scabbard, so he had simply selected and brought out a batch with Lian's accompaniment. These materials were enough to craft not just one scabbard, but several.

Elder Qi sorted through and picked out a batch. "Some are useful, some are not. You are missing some materials, so I'll use some of your other materials as compensation. Do you have any objections?"

"Of course," Lu Ye nodded.

"Alright, come back in three days to collect it," Elder Qi said, his eyes seeming to burn with fire as he stared at Lu Ye, "But young man, I expect to see that master then! If I don't, you'll regret it."

Lu Ye stood up and left.

He did not return to Yuanxi City. The city was currently heading towards Governor City, as Yuanxi was clearly going to settle accounts with Jing Lei. However, the journey was somewhat far, and they wouldn't arrive within three days, so he didn't need to rush back.

It wouldn't be too late to return after getting the scabbard.

He went directly to the Fighting Arena. Lu Ye found Gong Mao and asked him to arrange a few death matches for him.

Although the saber technique he had been studying had achieved minor success, it had, after all, only been tested on Fu Wei. As for its actual effectiveness against enemies, it still needed to be verified through life-and-death combat.

And the Fighting Arena was the best place for this. Lu Ye planned to spend these three days here.

Gong Mao didn't understand his intention. "Daoist friend, what level of opponent are you looking for?"

He genuinely couldn't figure out Lu Ye's requirements now. He could kill Unity Dao cultivators, and Fusion Dao cultivators too, making it truly difficult for him to make arrangements.

"Any will do!" Lu Ye said. "As long as it's a death match. But rest assured, Brother Gong, no matter the opponent, I will not use power exceeding theirs."

In fact, to test his saber technique, he would only see the effect if he suppressed his power to be weaker than the enemy, because this saber technique was originally developed to counter stronger enemies.

Only such battles would be meaningful.

"If that's the case, then no problem, I'll arrange it," Gong Mao readily agreed.

The Fighting Arena had never had such a precedent, but for Lu Ye's sake, many exceptions had already been made. Gong Mao also believed Lu Ye would keep his word and not ruin the Fighting Arena's reputation.

A moment later, inside an arena, Lu Ye faced a fifth-level Fusion Dao cultivator.

He activated 'Thousand Faces' to alter his appearance, and even suppressed his strength to the level of an ordinary third-level Fusion Dao cultivator.

In fact, he didn't even activate the power of the Immovable Mountain Saber.

This opponent was also a saber-wielding soldier-cultivator who had already won seven matches in the death arena, his morale soaring. Originally, upon their first encounter, after realizing Lu Ye was only at the third-level Fusion Dao realm, he felt certain of victory this time and believed he could easily defeat his opponent.

However, just a moment later, his mindset shattered.

For no other reason than that Lu Ye's saber was simply too bizarre.

Just like at this moment, when Lu Ye's saber slashed down, even with full concentration, he couldn't understand where the strike was aimed. In his perception, the strike was aimed at his neck, but after several previous misjudgments, he no longer dared to easily trust his eyesight.

So, facing this strike, he could only unleash all his power, wielding his long saber in an impenetrable flurry, forming a dense defense.

Looking at the arena, the scattered spectators were all baffled by the scene, not knowing what Lu Ye's opponent was doing. Lu Ye's strike clearly appeared incredibly simple, yet his opponent was defending like a madman. Such a defense consumed a significant amount of Dao power.

What puzzled them even more was that the next instant, Lu Ye's long saber struck his opponent's chest. This seemingly simple strike had, without a trace, pierced through the impenetrable defense.

With a single strike, the soldier-cultivator was forced back several steps by Lu Ye's power.

He looked down to see his chest completely unharmed; not even his clothes were cut. He immediately looked up at Lu Ye with a pained expression. "Are you humiliating me?"

This wasn't the first time Lu Ye had struck him. Several of the previous locations Lu Ye had struck were vital points, yet he had not sustained any injuries.

This was undoubtedly because his opponent had held back, so he felt deeply humiliated.