The Sword Named Stardust Part 1

When news spread in the Lingxu Sect that Zhang Jingmo had given up the right to the first-place token, everyone was shocked.

Those in the know all felt that Zhang Jingmo's mind had gone muddled, to make such a losing deal.

Afterwards, the Sect Master and Yu Fen both came to find Zhang Jingmo, clearly wanting to persuade him to change his mind. But Zhang Jingmo was stubborn as an ox, his mind set.

Seeing that persuasion was useless, the two could only let Zhang Jingmo go ahead with this unpromising deal.

As for Lu Guijiu, one of the involved parties, he was exceptionally calm, as if certain that Zhang Jingmo would not let him get the short end of the stick.

The sword forged from that first-place token was already ninety percent complete, only needing a drop of essence blood before it could emerge from the furnace.

Ever since making this deal with Zhang Jingmo, Gong Cheng felt he had gotten a huge bargain and was naturally very smug. He not only sent out invitations everywhere inviting people to witness the spectacle of the first-place token sword's emergence, but also studied the feng shui timing in depth, deeply afraid of missing the best opportunity if he was even a moment late.

Faced with the clamor outside his cave abode, Zhang Jingmo still appeared exceptionally calm. He turned a deaf ear to outside matters, single-mindedly focused on his cultivation.

Although Gong Jiguang disliked Gong Cheng's act of snatching what others loved, when it came to weapon forging, he would not allow the slightest negligence. This sword forged from the first-place token was already the pinnacle of his thousands of years of forging. Even with Gong Cheng interfering, he absolutely would not permit any oversights.

Therefore, Gong Jiguang calculated the timing and set the time for the blood-dripping recognition ceremony.

That evening at dusk, a group of Gong Cheng's friends had already gathered outside Gong Jiguang's cave abode. Every one of them had been invited by Gong Cheng to see just how extraordinary this weapon forged from the first-place token was.

Gong Cheng's disciples had also bathed and changed clothes, in high spirits, clearly having made ample preparations.

Gong Jiguang's face didn't look too good, but he also showed no intention of stopping it. He only repeated in a gloomy tone the issues needing attention for the blood-dripping ceremony.

Gong Cheng's disciples acknowledged one by one, their expressions revealing hints of nervousness and excitement.

As a disciple of the Lingxu Sect, Gong Cheng naturally knew just how powerful the sword forged from that first-place token was. Without this sword, there was no way Zhang Jingmo's senior brother Bai Lingxiao could have so easily broken through to the Nascent Soul stage.

And now, although his own breakthrough was hopeless, his biological son had an excellent future ahead. Perhaps in a thousand years, their Gong family would produce another Nascent Soul Patriarch. And by then, no one would be able to stop his son from returning to his ancestral roots.

Thinking of this, Gong Cheng revealed an excited expression. He said, "My disciple, you must strive to bring glory to your master."

That disciple said, "Master, your disciple will definitely do so."

Only then did Gong Cheng nod in satisfaction. He suddenly thought of something and swept his gaze over the crowd, deliberately saying, "Why didn't Elder Zhang come today? Feihan, did you not inform him?"

The disciple called Feihan, how could he not understand his master's meaning? Taking up where he left off, he said, "Master, I personally delivered the invitation to Elder Zhang. It's just that he said he was unwell and couldn't make it today."

Gong Cheng said, "Can't make it? What a pity. In the Lingxu Sect, those first-place tokens can be counted on one hand. If he doesn't see it today, who knows when he'll have another chance."

The two played off each other, causing Gong Jiguang on the side to reveal a look of disgust. He almost spat out the words "petty person succeeds".

But in this cultivation world, regardless if one was a petty person or a good person, as long as the goal was achieved, they were the victor.

Zhang Jingmo was unaware of the liveliness outside the manor. He also didn't care, only bringing a pot of wine to the courtyard to drink.

Lu Guijiu also sat by Zhang Jingmo's side, pouring wine for his master.

At this time, the sky was already dark, a thick layer of dark clouds covering the sky. An occasional gust of cold wind blew by, clearly not a good day for drinking.

But Zhang Jingmo's expression was relaxed, the corners of his mouth even carrying a hint of a smile. He seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood.

Lu Shu in Lu Guijiu's sea of consciousness saw this and said, "Your master definitely has some bad idea again."

Lu Guijiu said, "Mm."

Lu Shu said, "Every time your master schemes against someone, he smiles like a gentle scholar."

Hearing this, Lu Guijiu looked at Zhang Jingmo again and had to admit Lu Shu was right.

Lu Shu then said, "But in the end, he's a ruthless butcher."

Lu Guijiu said, "That's exactly the kind of master I like."

Lu Shu sighed, "I think your master probably had it all planned out long ago regarding the first-place token; I just don't know what method he used."

Lu Guijiu poured another cup of wine for Zhang Jingmo, "I don't know."

Hearing this, Lu Shu inwardly sighed, thinking that Lu Guijiu's trust in his master had reached a pathological degree.

Zhang Jingmo drank his wine, his expression calm. He suddenly raised his head to look at the sky and abruptly asked, "Guijiu, do you like stars?"

Lu Guijiu also looked over in the direction Zhang Jingmo was gazing, but after a moment, shook his head.

Zhang Jingmo seemed a bit surprised. He said, "Why don't you like them?"

Lu Guijiu smiled, "Guijiu wants to be the sun."

Zhang Jingmo said, "That's true. How can the light of a firefly dare to compete with the sun and moon." After saying this, he also laughed. "But how do you know that star isn't another sun?"

Lu Guijiu said seriously, "Guijiu only wants to grasp what's in front of him."

Zhang Jingmo didn't reply, but his expression revealed a hint of laziness.

As it got later, the sky should have gotten darker and darker. But strangely, the stars originally covered by dark clouds grew brighter and brighter, actually illuminating the pitch-black sky.

The sky color gradually changed from dark to light, slowly becoming as bright as day.

Zhang Jingmo said, "Your first-place token sword is about to emerge."

Lu Guijiu stared at the sky without speaking.

The stars in the sky grew brighter and brighter, densely covering the entire sky. Their radiance became a bit dazzling. If you disregarded their size, they really did resemble many little suns hanging in the sky.

Lu Guijiu suddenly sensed something unusual. He felt that in the obscure distance, something related to him had emerged into the world. Furthermore, that thing seemed to originally be a part of his body. He could even vaguely sense where that object was. Zhang Jingmo's expression remained lazy, but a mocking smile hung on the corners of his mouth. He said, "The first-place token, heh."

Lu Guijiu's face was solemn, as if he understood something, and he softly called out, "Master."

Zhang Jingmo took another sip of wine and sneered, "That Gong Cheng is so greedy, but unfortunately his appetite is too small. Swallowing something big will burst his stomach."

Just as Zhang Jingmo spoke, the stars in the sky had completely illuminated the heavens, making the entire Lingxu Sect seem as if daytime had reignited and fighting spirit had been reborn.

Then Lu Guijiu heard the sound of a sharp weapon leaving its sheath. His face became dazed, as if his soul had slipped out of his body.

Zhang Jingmo had long anticipated this scene. He laughed softly at first, but his laughter grew louder and louder.

Lu Guijiu could not hear Zhang Jingmo's laughter. His soul had already left the small courtyard where he and Zhang Jingmo were sitting together and entered a scorching red furnace. He had become a sword, a sword that was being forged.

There was noisy laughter all around. Lu Guijiu was a bit dazed. He looked up and discovered that the furnace had been opened. An excited voice came from above his head. Before Lu Guijiu could hear clearly what the voice said, he smelled a strong scent of blood.

The spiritual energy contained in this blood was very rich, making him instantly excited. However, Lu Guijiu could not fully control his own body. He only knew that he was very excited, so excited that he flew straight out of the furnace.

A pot of wine was nearly finished, and the matter was also coming to an end.

The myriad stars in the sky illuminated the earth as bright as day. At the peak, they fell to the ground one by one, leaving only the largest and most dazzling star hanging in the sky.

This star originally had a pure white light, but it gradually took on a blood-red color. Zhang Jingmo watched with narrowed eyes, as if listening to the most wonderful play.

The blood color on this star grew more and more, and finally it even began to emit a blood-red glow.

Lu Guijiu, who was sitting beside Zhang Jingmo, still had a dull and foolish appearance, as if his mind was wandering. Perhaps he had drunk too much. Seeing Lu Guijiu like this, Zhang Jingmo suddenly reached out a finger and poked Lu Guijiu's face.

The skin was soft and warm, belonging to a living person.

Zhang Jingmo no longer poured wine and began to wait for this grand play to end.