Chaos.
Stunned.
Regret.
These were the feelings swirling within Ouyang Ye's heart at this very moment.
Just moments ago, she had suspected this was all a scheme, and had even begun to believe it.
In her mind, this fellow must have been putting on an act in front of her, deliberately luring her in. He was just paying lip service, absolutely not daring to act himself. However, when she witnessed with her own eyes Gu Qingfeng walk over, reach out, and simply pluck the Cloud-Color Sword floating within the Cave Manor Eye, Ouyang Ye was utterly dumbfounded.
Mechanisms?
There were none.
Traps?
None either.
Even the murals she had been suspicious of showed no reaction whatsoever. Even the cloud-color spiritual energy within the Cave Manor Eye continued to flow gently. Everything, everything was perfectly normal.
At this moment, Ouyang Ye finally realized a fact she could hardly believe: when this fellow said he was giving it to her, it wasn't a frame-up—he truly meant to give it to her!
No!
To be precise, she couldn't accept that her own stupidity had caused her to lose a Cloud-Color Sword that was originally hers...
Regret!
She regretted it to death.
She regretted it so much she wanted to slap herself hard across the face several times, even regretted it enough to consider suicide. She felt she was the most foolish woman in the world, and even if she lived on, she'd have no face left to show anyone.
How could she?
He had kindly brought her here, and not only that, but had even offered her a Cloud-Color Sword.
And what had she done?
She had measured the heart of a gentleman with her own petty yardstick.
It was utterly foolish!
Ouyang Ye was practically on the verge of crying from her own stupidity!
Meanwhile, Gu Qingfeng beside her pulled out another jug of wine. While admiring the Cloud-Color Sword, he praised, "Not bad, not bad...
Truly a fine sword. The blade is crystalline and flawless, with clouds flowing within, layer upon layer of Profound Mystery. The crafting technique is particularly masterful—it's 'beautiful on the outside, wise within,' and this wisdom is nothing short of Great Perfection, containing a full eighty-one cloud-color mysteries... no...
It's nine hundred and eighty-one mysteries!
Impressive!
Truly impressive! If this sword was also forged by the master of this Cave Dwelling, then he was undoubtedly a rare genius!"
Opposite him, Ouyang Ye, already regretful over her foolishness, felt as if struck by lightning upon hearing Gu Qingfeng say the sword contained a full nine hundred and eighty-one mysteries. Her lovely face paled and flushed alternately, her expression indescribably complex, her body trembling uncontrollably.
Yes!
Trembling.
Because she knew that any Spirit Sword between heaven and earth contained mysteries.
However, ordinary Spirit Swords contained simple mysteries, most only possessing nine.
The more mysteries a sword contained, the more powerful it naturally was.
If a Spirit Sword contained eighty-one mysteries, it was a Minor Perfection Spirit Sword.
Such swords were rare, and their forging difficulty was extremely high. Forget ordinary cultivators, even some direct disciples of major sects might not possess a Minor Perfection Spirit Sword.
But Minor Perfection was just Minor Perfection.
Above Minor Perfection was Double Minor Perfection, Triple, Quadruple...
Up to Ninefold Minor Perfection, which was Great Perfection!
Such a Spirit Sword was no longer merely a top-grade blade among swords, but a king among swords.
And now, right before her eyes was such a king among swords—a Cloud-Color Sword of Great Perfection—yet because of her own stupidity, her own suspicion, she had lost it...
Heavens above!
Earth below!
Do you have to punish your auntie like this?!
I haven't wronged anyone!
Why!
Ouyang Ye screamed inwardly.
Gu Qingfeng continued to admire the Cloud-Color Sword. As if noticing something, his brow lifted slightly. He flicked a finger against the blade. The Cloud-Color Sword emitted a faint hum, bursting forth with multicolored cloud radiance. Nodding, he added, "Remarkable!
Truly remarkable. I hadn't expected this sword to already possess a degree of sentience. If one refines and nurtures it properly, birthing a Sword Spirit would only be a matter of time..."
Whoosh!
Ouyang Ye could no longer withstand such a devastating blow. She slumped to the ground, her mind blank save for the words 'sentience'...
'Sword Spirit.'
If a Spirit Sword containing nine hundred and eighty-one mysteries was a king among swords,
then a Spirit Sword possessing sentience was a sovereign among swords.
And a Spirit Sword that possessed a Sword Spirit? That would be an overlord among swords!
A king among swords, while precious, could still be sought.
However, a Spirit Sword with sentience was something one could only encounter by chance, not seek out.
The difference between the two: the former, while difficult to forge, could at least be crafted. The latter's sentience could not be forged.
In the Great Northwest Frontier, kingly swords containing nine hundred and eighty-one mysteries were exceedingly rare. Spirit Swords with sentience were even fewer in number. Such a thing was a blessing of fortune, a stroke of fortuitous opportunity—it couldn't be sought.
At this moment,
Ouyang Ye's mind wasn't just chaotic; it was beginning to crumble.
She felt she was the most foolish woman in this World, bar none.
A precious Cloud-Color Sword that was originally hers.
A rare, peerless Cloud-Color Sword of Great Perfection containing nine hundred and eighty-one mysteries that was originally hers.
A Cloud-Color Sword with sentience, a chance encounter not to be sought, that was originally hers.
Just like that...
Just like that... it was gone...
Ouyang Ye felt as if the sky had collapsed. At the very least, her World was now spinning in chaos, her mind filled with nine hundred and eighty-one mysteries, filled with sentience, with Sword Spirits...
With that multicolored cloud radiance...
"A pity!
What a true pity! These days, it's hard to be a good person. You offer something kindly to another, and not only do they not appreciate it, they suspect traps and schemes. Truly, the morals of the age are in decline, and human hearts are no longer what they were...
What a waste of such a fine sword!"
Gu Qingfeng's lament reached her ears. Ouyang Ye wished the ground would swallow her whole.
"Well then!
Since others don't want it, I suppose I'll just have to trade it for some fine wine. A sword this good should fetch a few decent jugs."
"Wait!"
Upon hearing Gu Qingfeng intended to trade such a fine sword for wine, Ouyang Ye scrambled to her feet regardless of everything. "You...
You really intend to take this Cloud-Color Sword to...
trade for wine?"
"Why not? I have no use for it anyway."
A faint smile played on Gu Qingfeng's lips. "Besides...
I offered it to you just now, and you didn't want it..."
"I...
I..." Ouyang Ye was on the verge of tears. "I...
I never said I didn't want it!
I just...
Just...
Just...
was afraid you were tricking me..."
"Tricking you? Little sister, what are you saying? Do I look like a swindler to you?"
"No...
Not at all, you don't look like one in the slightest. You're a good person!
You're the most...
kind person I've ever met!"
Ouyang Ye wasn't deliberately flattering. Though young, she had experienced her fair share. Incidents like breaking into ancient Cave Dwellings numbered not in the thousands, but certainly in the hundreds. It wasn't that she had never encountered people giving precious gifts before, but for a first meeting, to be gifted a rare treasure like a Cloud-Color Sword that seldom saw the light of day—she had never experienced it, hadn't even dared to imagine it.