"Worryless?"
Quinn Shepherd's heart stirred. He looked again at the sword's vein patterns, but the characters for 'Worryless' were already gone—as if the flowing marks he'd seen a moment ago were just a trick of the light. But it wasn't an illusion. He was certain the word 'Worryless' had truly appeared!
"Is this sword called Worryless somehow connected to Carefree Haven?"
He fell into thought. Could the Worryless Sword have originated from Carefree Haven?
But why did it become a broken sword?
Why did the broken sword return to its original state after encountering that unknown metal?
It all seemed fated: the broken Worryless Sword ending up in Loulan Golden Palace's hands, the Holy Cult obtaining the metal, Quinn stealing the sword from Loulan, Quinn bringing metal and sword together, the Worryless Sword being restored. Too many coincidences—surely not mere chance, but some force guiding these events.
Too many coincidences means it probably isn't coincidence at all—there must be some force at work behind it.
"Serena, that metal came from beyond the world? When did it arrive?" Quinn asked.
Serena Yunxiang was so stunned by the spectacle that she couldn't close her mouth or recover her senses. After a moment she snapped back, shot Quinn a look, and said, "It came from beyond the world, but I don't know exactly when. We'll need my grandmother to check the records. And stop calling me Serena so sweetly—when you talk like that, I wonder if you're just buttering me up while secretly plotting to kill me."
Quinn said awkwardly, "Then please, Saintess, help investigate the origin of this metal."
Serena Yunxiang took out her mirror, spun it twice, and a mirror-within-a-mirror appeared—Grandmother Sykes showed up on the other end. Serena explained; Grandmother Sykes was shocked and said, "Is that so? Wait, I'll check. Divine metals like this are always recorded."
Soon, Grandmother Sykes returned with a ledger. "This is heaven-fallen divine metal. It appeared sixteen years ago—the record says that in winter, sixteen years back, a divine light tore across the sky and crashed into Nethergloom Ravine. Cult disciples went to investigate; dozens died, but they recovered this divine metal and offered it to the vault."
"Sixteen years ago?"
Quinn was startled. It had been fifteen years since Granny Sue found him, and this divine metal that repaired the broken sword appeared in the winter sixteen years ago—almost the same time.
"Were there Loulan Golden Palace people nearby at the time?" Quinn asked quickly.
Grandmother Sykes looked at him in surprise. "How did the Holy Cult Master know? Nethergloom Ravine sits behind the Duck-Tongue Strip in front of Qingmen Pass. Our Holy Cult disciples were stationed at Qingmen Pass, and when the divine light came, they saw it and immediately entered the Duck-Tongue Strip. On the other side, Loulan Golden Palace's great witches and Witch Kings were also present and went to investigate. Our Holy Cult lost a Hall Master and dozens of divine-art experts; Loulan Golden Palace lost many as well. The battle was fierce, and after we got the divine metal, we had to withdraw from the ravine. Loulan's great witches and Witch Kings seem to have obtained a broken sword..."
Quinn's mind was shaken—so that's how it was!
Both the broken sword and the divine metal came from sixteen years ago—the Holy Cult got the metal, Loulan Golden Palace got the sword, but they're really two parts of one treasure. Only together do they become whole!
Nethergloom Ravine!
"I have to go see it for myself!" Quinn thought to himself.
Grandmother Sykes said, "Nethergloom Ravine behind the Duck-Tongue Strip is extremely dangerous. The Holy Cult searched it several times, but the dangers inside forced us to retreat each time—we never went deep."
Quinn thanked the old lady. Serena Yunxiang, though the Saintess and matriarch of the Sykes Family, was not the true power—the old lady was. She held immense status in the Holy Cult, having once served as Saintess before passing the title to Granny Sue.
Serena Yunxiang put away the bronze mirror and glanced at the sword in Quinn's hand. "Cult Master, about your sword..."
Quinn tightened his grip on the Worryless Sword, wary. "This is the mother sword of the Sword Pill. I can't give it to you."
Serena Yunxiang giggled. "I never said I wanted it. I just wonder, after all this time and effort, did you actually finish your Sword Pill?"
Sword Pill—the 'pill' means it's round. To merge thousands of swords into a sphere takes extreme calculation skills. The curve at the base of each hilt divides a sphere into eight thousand equal parts, each identical, requiring precision to the smallest decimal!
Quinn said proudly, "My calculations have always been excellent."
Lynn Ling and Serena Yunxiang both pursed their lips.
Quinn laughed, gripped the Worryless Sword, and poured his yuanqi into it. Instantly, the mother sword resonated with the other 7,999 child swords. Blades howled through the air, sword light filled the foundry, swirling everywhere.
Quinn brandished his sword, and countless sword lights howled toward him, clashing with metallic clangs, each disappearing in turn.
Quinn's face grew redder and redder. He grunted, his legs trembling, his arms shaking.
Suddenly, the stone slab beneath his feet shattered, and his shoes were crushed to pieces.
More sword lights flew in. With a thunderous boom, Quinn vanished—pressed into the ground, leaving a huge hole in the factory floor!
Lynn Ling and Serena Yunxiang were stunned, rushing over and shouting, "Help! Somebody, save him!"
Other Heaven-Craft Hall disciples in the foundry rushed over. From underground came rumbling noises—the Sword Pill was so heavy it kept sinking, pressing Quinn deeper, now at least three to five zhang below.
Everyone prepared to dig Quinn out when suddenly his muffled voice came from underground: "I'm fine, it's just too heavy. Move aside!"
Everyone quickly stepped back. From the hole, countless flying swords shot out like a fountain—eight thousand swords danced in the air, then stabbed into the ground, hilts still quivering.
Quinn leapt out of the hole, landed, though his legs still trembled and his face looked pale.
He brandished his sword again—this time, Quinn was smarter. He stood atop the heap of black iron in the foundry, sword tip down, merging eight thousand swords into a sword sphere.
Just as he said, the base of all those sword hilts could merge into a perfect sphere—margin of error nearly zero.
Only, the Sword Pill was unexpectedly huge—almost two zhang across.
"Such a big Sword Pill is rare..." Lynn Ling circled the sphere, gazing up, unable to hold back a smile.
"Smaller!"
Quinn channeled his power, and the giant Sword Pill began to shrink. At its smallest, it was still three chi across.
Quinn pushed his yuanqi to the limit, his face flushed red, but still couldn't shrink it further.
Actually, all eight thousand flying swords could be refined down to an inch long, but with so many, the Sword Pill still seemed huge.
"I haven't spent enough time refining it yet—it needs more nurturing and sacrificial forging. If I could refine them as thin as silk, the Sword Pill could be as small as a pigeon egg. But for now, it's not possible. Luckily, my swords have another form."
Quinn exhaled, gripped the Worryless Sword, and spun it. Instantly, the 7,999 child swords in the Sword Pill expanded outward with a clang, floating in the air, their tips pointing to the center.
He activated the Worryless Sword again. Each flying sword shot toward him, humming as they struck the mother sword, then vanished into it.
The collisions grew faster, more swords vanishing from the air.
Everyone gasped. Quinn was now using another Sword Pill refining technique.
There are two ways to refine a Sword Pill. One is to merge swords into a sphere, tips pointing to the center—this method requires advanced calculation skills, favored by Daoist sword sects.
The second is for the mother sword to absorb the child swords, storing them within—mostly used by southern sword sects.
For the second method, the mother sword must be extremely flexible. After absorbing the child swords, rub the sword between your hands to form a Sword Pill—no advanced calculation needed.
Each method has its strengths. The first makes it easy to unleash sword techniques or form sword arrays quickly.
The second, swallowing swords, channels their power into the mother sword, unleashing immense force.
The two methods are incompatible—you can only use one.
But now, Quinn managed to use both methods at once—and succeeded! Unbelievable!