When Gu Qingfeng mentioned there was still a condition, both Ouyang Ye and Han Dong thought he would make an exorbitant demand. Yet, to their utter astonishment, the condition this fellow proposed was merely to be well-fed and well-taken care of.
What kind of condition was this?
No!
Could this even be called a condition?
This was practically giving it away for free!
Suppressing the excitement in her heart, Ouyang Ye asked in disbelief, "You... you're sure it's that simple? Just let us feed you well and take good care of you, and you'll... give me the Cloud-Color Sword?"
"Why not?"
Gu Qingfeng shrugged, glanced at the sky outside, and said, "Alright, that's settled then. I'm going out for a bit now. You two hurry up and prepare, get all the good food and drink ready."
"Wait!"
Just as Gu Qingfeng was about to leave, he heard Ouyang Ye's shout. He turned around and asked, "What's the matter? Not happy about it?"
"No! Not at all! I'm very happy!" Ouyang Ye stared with wide eyes, asking nervously, "You... where are you going?"
"Outside."
"Where outside? I can... I can go with you!"
Gu Qingfeng chuckled dryly. "What's this, big sister? Are you afraid I'll run away?"
"I... I..." Ouyang Ye stammered for a long time, not knowing what to say. Indeed, she was truly afraid Gu Qingfeng would run away. Back in the cave dwelling, she hadn't seized the opportunity. Now that the chance had come again, she didn't want to lose it once more.
"It's just a broken sword, is it really worth all this?"
With a thought, Gu Qingfeng retrieved the Cloud-Color Sword from his storage bag. Without even glancing at it, he tossed it over and said, "Here's the thing for you. When I come back later, don't forget to prepare plenty of good food."
With that, he left, leaving behind a bewildered Ouyang Ye and a suspicious Han Dong.
Yes, bewildered.
Ouyang Ye had always thought this guy resented her for suspecting him in the cave dwelling, so this time he would definitely make things difficult on purpose. Even when Gu Qingfeng's condition turned out to be just good food and drink, she still thought so, even suspecting at one point that this fellow wanted to take the chance to escape. But she never expected...
He just casually tossed the Cloud-Color Sword to her like that.
How could Ouyang Ye not be bewildered?
She was like this.
And Han Dong was no exception. The suspicion in her heart was no less than Ouyang Ye's.
However, what she found suspicious wasn't Gu Qingfeng making such a simple request.
To be honest.
After learning the course of events from Ouyang Ye, she had vaguely guessed that this fellow called Lao Jiu didn't really want to exchange this Cloud-Color Sword for something from Ouyang Ye. More likely, he just wanted to teach Ouyang Ye a lesson for suspecting him in the cave dwelling.
She thought it should be like this. Otherwise, when Ouyang Ye found this guy, he wouldn't have obediently followed along, nor would he have only made such a simple condition. It was obvious from the start he never intended to exchange the Cloud-Color Sword for anything.
What truly made her suspicious was the natural, indifferent, unconcerned air that emanated from this fellow's words and actions.
It was truly indifference, truly unconcern.
Just now, when Han Dong had taken out the Spirit Treasures from her storage bag one by one, she had been secretly observing. She discovered that person had only glanced at her Spirit Treasures—just a single glance. That look was something Han Dong couldn't forget. It wasn't disdain, nor mockery, but a very calm look, as if the Spirit Treasures she took out were no different from some broken stones in his eyes.
And then there was this Cloud-Color Sword in Ouyang Ye's hand. Han Dong looked at it; she could also tell that this Cloud-Color Sword was exactly as Ouyang Ye had said—imbued with 981 Great Perfection mysteries and possessing spirituality. It could absolutely be called a rare treasure. At least in the Great Northwest Frontier, there were very few Spirit Treasures that could rival this Cloud-Color Sword.
Yet, such a rare treasure had just been tossed to Ouyang Ye by that person as if it were garbage.
Without any hesitation, without any delay.
This was the real reason Han Dong felt suspicious.
She couldn't understand how a mere Golden Core Rogue Cultivator could be so generous. No!
Not generous, but simply unconcerned, indifferent.
This was a Cloud-Color Sword with Nine-Nine Great Perfection and spirituality! Not to mention a mere Rogue Cultivator, nor some young master from a great family or major sect, nor even a Daozun ancestor who had cultivated for thousands of years—even Earth Immortals would absolutely have their eyes light up upon seeing this Cloud-Color Sword. Even reincarnated great powers would likely covet it.
He was just a Golden Core Rogue Cultivator, neither reincarnated nor possessing someone else's body. Why was he unconcerned?
Why was he indifferent?
Could it be that at such a young age, his mental state had already reached that realm of having no desires, no wants?
Was that possible?
She couldn't figure it out.
This was the first time Han Dong had encountered such a strange person. She always felt something was off, but exactly what was off, she couldn't say.
"Wow... the Cloud-Color Sword! I... I've finally got the Cloud-Color Sword!"
Ouyang Ye wouldn't overthink things. Holding the Cloud-Color Sword with both hands, her delicate body trembled with excitement. Her beautiful face was radiant with joy, her mouth unable to close from happiness. She kept murmuring, "This grandaunt has struck it rich this time... struck it rich... With the Cloud-Color Sword, this grandaunt in the future... will be invincible under heaven! Let's see who dares to act tough with this grandaunt!"
Perhaps imagining her heroic posture wielding the Cloud-Color Sword, invincible under heaven, Ouyang Ye happily placed her hands on her hips and laughed heartily.
"Yeye, the Cloud-Color Sword's power is certainly immense, especially since it contains Nine-Nine Great Perfection mysteries. Its power is probably unimaginable. Similarly, refining it is definitely not an easy task. Plus, it possesses spirituality... the difficulty of refinement is as unimaginable as its power."
Between heaven and earth, any Spirit Treasure, even a mere crystal, must be refined before it can be used for oneself. And the difficulty of refinement, as Han Dong said, was that the more powerful the Spirit Treasure, the higher the difficulty of refinement. If one's cultivation, Primordial Spirit, or mental fortitude was insufficient, one might even suffer a backlash during refinement. Since ancient times, countless people had been utterly destroyed attempting to forcibly refine treasures.
"Hehe! Not afraid..." Ouyang Ye didn't seem to mind these things. She said excitedly, "I have my own methods!"
Ouyang Ye couldn't wait to refine the Cloud-Color Sword immediately, lest the long night bring many dreams. But Han Dong advised her to calm down first.
Refining a Spirit Treasure required a tranquil heart.
Right now, Ouyang Ye's heart was far from tranquil—it was surging with emotion. This was a major taboo for refinement.
That wasn't the important part. The important thing was that no matter what Spirit Treasure one refined, one must first understand that Spirit Treasure. Only then could refinement proceed more smoothly and without losing composure. If one refined blindly, it was easy to suffer a backlash.