"So this is the sword spirit of the Abyssal Ancient Sword!"
Uncle Yule glanced at Ian Song, sounding quite surprised.
He hadn't expected the young master to awaken the sword spirit inside the Abyssal Ancient Sword so quickly. But this sword spirit already possesses second-layer Ancestral Immortal cultivation, and clearly doesn't want to submit to the young master—instead, she's trying to escape.
"Who are you? Why are you stopping me from leaving?"
The beautiful sword spirit spoke again. Her voice was clear and melodious, enchanting to the ear.
Uncle Yule said coldly, "The Abyssal Ancient Sword was given to the young master by the master. As the sword spirit, you naturally belong to the young master too. If you want to escape, you'll have to get my permission first!"
"I don't care about any master or young master. Just one thing: let me go, or I'll kill you, old slave!" the beautiful sword spirit replied coldly, refusing to back down in the slightest.
"How dare you! A mere sword spirit dares to speak so rudely—let me erase your intelligence and make you an obedient sword spirit!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a giant verdant pine tree over ten zhang tall suddenly appeared behind Uncle Yule, radiating an incredibly dense life force. Just one look at that pine left Ian Song deeply shaken—he knew the tree was condensed from Uncle Yule's Ancestral Immortal Dao.
It was a truly super immortal tree.
"Hmph!"
The beautiful sword spirit let out a cold snort, refusing to yield. Behind her, a seven- or eight-zhang tall snow-white ice sword materialized, radiating bone-chilling cold that froze the entire space. Ian Song's limbs went numb; if not for the protective formations in Greenmount Courtyard, the whole compound would have been turned into a world of ice and snow.
"Retreat!"
On instinct, Ian Song dashed into the small courtyard, pulling Joy and Cici with him as they quickly retreated.
"Boom!"
At the exact moment they pulled back, Uncle Yule's verdant pine shot up and collided with the beautiful sword spirit's giant ice sword.
A formless shockwave rippled out, turning everything nearby to dust. Fortunately, Ian Song and his group retreated in time—otherwise, they would have been seriously injured, if not killed.
"Hmph!"
At that moment, a cold snort echoed from Ancestor Martin's seclusion chamber. Instantly, the Ancestral Dao behind the beautiful sword spirit collapsed, and even her spirit body rippled violently, nearly falling apart.
A figure flashed overhead—Ancestor Martin appeared in mid-air, staring coldly at the beautiful sword spirit.
Amazing! Is this the power of an expert above the tenth layer of Ancestral Immortal? Just a single cold snort rendered a second-layer Ancestral Immortal sword spirit powerless!
Witnessing this scene, Ian Song was deeply shaken.
"This old servant was incompetent and disturbed the master. Please punish me!"
Uncle Yule suddenly knelt to confess his failure.
The beautiful sword spirit, her spirit body on the verge of collapse, looked up at Ancestor Martin in the sky, fear growing in her heart. This old man was terrifying—even her twisted father at his peak wasn't as strong as him.
"Rise!"
With a casual wave, Ancestor Martin helped Uncle Yule to his feet, then fixed the beautiful sword spirit with a stern gaze. "A mere sword spirit dares to make trouble in my Greenmount Courtyard. For Ian's sake, I'll simply erase your intelligence!"
As he spoke, Ancestor Martin raised his hand. The beautiful sword spirit tried to dodge, but found her entire spirit body locked in place—she couldn't even move a finger, let alone escape.
"Master, please wait!"
Ian Song suddenly shouted, flashing forward to intervene.
Seeing Ian Song, Ancestor Martin's expression softened and he smiled, asking, "Disciple, are you here to plead for the sword spirit?"
"Master, you really do see through everything!"
Ian Song hurried to flatter his master.
Ancestor Martin said, "This sword spirit is far too arrogant. If you don't erase her intelligence, you'll never be able to control her. It's better to let me wipe her mind so she can serve you wholeheartedly as a weapon spirit."
Ian Song replied, "Master, you're right. But how about I talk to her first? If she's willing to submit, there's no need to erase her mind. If she refuses, I can always ask you to act later."
"Very well. I'll give you half an incense stick's time. Once this is settled, I'll return to studying the Pill Canon!" Ancestor Martin said.
"Thank you, Master!"
After thanking his master, Ian Song walked over to the beautiful sword spirit.
"Don't even think about making me submit to you!"
The beautiful sword spirit snapped angrily.
Ian Song smiled, "How about we make a deal?"
"What deal?"
"Be my sword spirit for ten years. After ten years, you can choose to stay or leave as you wish," Ian Song said.
"You mean it?"
The beautiful sword spirit's eyes lit up, clearly moved by the proposal.
Ian Song continued, "Why would I need to lie to you? Even if your intelligence is erased, it would only affect part of the Abyssal Ancient Sword's power, but for me as a Profound Immortal, the impact isn't that great. So there's no need for me to trick you. Besides, my master is a famous big shot in the Immortal Realm. As his only disciple, I wouldn't do anything to tarnish his reputation, right?"
For a moment, the sword spirit was even more tempted and glanced at Ancestor Martin.
Ancestor Martin said solemnly, "My disciple speaks the truth. Since he promised to let you go after ten years, I won't interfere."
"Fine! I accept!"
The beautiful sword spirit agreed.
Ian Song reminded, "Just so we're clear, during these ten years, you can't slack off. If I'm ever in danger, you have to protect me with all your strength."
The sword spirit—Rora Nance—replied, "Don't worry. Since I've agreed to be your sword spirit for ten years, I'll guard you wholeheartedly."
"Good!"
Ian Song nodded in satisfaction, then looked to Ancestor Martin, who immediately released the restrictions on the sword spirit.
"Old Yun, go ask that old friend of yours to send someone to repair the damaged formation!" Ancestor Martin instructed.
Ian Song quickly said, "Master, I can repair the formation myself. No need to trouble anyone else. Besides, the damage was partly my fault, so it's only right that I fix it."
"You know formations?" Ancestor Martin asked in surprise.
"Just a little!" Ian Song replied modestly.
"Alright, then you try repairing it. If you can't, Old Yun can go ask that old fellow to send someone," Ancestor Martin said.
"Yes, Master!"
Ancestor Martin's figure flashed and disappeared into the sky.
As soon as Ancestor Martin left, Ian Song turned to Rora Nance and asked, "So, Rora Nance, do you want to stay outside or return to the sword spirit space?"
"Hmph! I'm going back! Don't bother me unless it's important!" Rora Nance replied.
With that, the beautiful sword spirit turned into a stream of light and flew into the Abyssal Ancient Sword. Ian Song knew she was injured by Ancestor Martin's pressure and needed to recover inside the sword spirit space.
Greenmount Courtyard's formations were extremely sophisticated. Setting them up from scratch would take a long time, but repairing a damaged section was much easier.
So, in just a quarter of an hour, Ian Song completely repaired the damaged formation.
"I didn't expect the young master's formation skills to be this high!" Uncle Yule exclaimed.
Seeing the repaired formation, Uncle Yule couldn't help but praise him.
"Heh, I just know a bit!" Ian Song replied with a humble smile.
Ian Song smiled modestly.