Smiling and as though making a vow, she said, “I won’t ever make you sad. Even in my next lifetime!”

A jolt went through Chu Yang’s heart. Looking at the young girl’s serious expression, he originally wanted to say, “These should’ve been my words, but you beat me to it.” But just as the words were about to leave his mouth, they instead turned into a gentle and content sigh. Gazing into Mo Qingwu’s eyes, he said with all his heart, “I believe you!”

Mo Qingwu beamed at him. Leaning into his embrace, as though she was talking in her sleep, she murmured, “Big Brother Chu Yang, I feel so blissful in your arms… It feels so familiar and warm, as if I’ve already been in your embrace for several lifetimes.”

The two of them leaned against each other, resting in each other’s arms in front of the window. For a long time, neither of them could bear to speak nor move, for fear of interrupting the beautiful peace and serenity of the moment.

At this moment, Mo Qingwu gave her whole body and soul to Chu Yang, while Chu Yang also fully let down all his guard and entered a completely relaxed state.

The only thing he did was to enjoy the night scenery with Mo Qingwu.

Next door, Mo Tianji was already in bed. He actually neither practiced his cultivation nor plotted anything that night, and had already fallen asleep.

Soft snores could be heard.

It seemed like he had let go of one of the biggest worries weighing on him. Thus, Mo Tianji also needed to fully relax for once.

There was a happy and comfortable smile on the face of the asleep Mo Tianji.

Before they knew it, the sky in the east was already beginning to brighten.

A night had actually passed.

When the morning breeze blew toward them, both Chu Yang and Mo Qingwu felt a little chilly. In Chu Yang’s arms, Mo Qingwu raised her head reluctantly and took a couple of steps back. Looking at the wrinkles that she had imprinted on Chu Yang’s robes from leaning her face against his chest, she couldn’t help but crinkle her nose. Then, she commented rather regretfully, “Dawn has broken…”

Chu Yang was also rather reluctant to part. “Yes, dawn has broken…”

All of a sudden, something occurred to Mo Qingwu and she giggled cheekily, her face red. She raised her head and cast a swift glance at Chu Yang before lowering her head back down. Even her neck had turned red. After stuttering for half a day, she finally said in a small and soft voice, “Big Brother Chu Yang… I-I…”

“What is it?” asked a perplexed Chu Yang.

“I-I…” Mo Qingwu’s head was tilted to the side and her face totally red, but she mustered her courage nevertheless. “… I really like… you kissing me…”

Chu Yang smiled indulgently at her and ruffled her hair. Then, he said in a low voice, “Big Brother Chu Yang also likes kissing you.”

Mo Qingwu’s clear and contrasting eyes swiveled as she suggested, “Then… When there’s no one around… Let’s kiss again?”

Chu Yang was full of enthusiasm. “Alright!”

His lower abdomen groaned as he thought to himself, “She’s always teasing me like this, yet I can’t eat her. Looks like I have a lot to suffer in the future. Do you know that when that kind of urge fully rises yet one is unable to vent it… a certain place will become very, very painful…”

Even though I was indeed a bit of a beast today… Hehehe, Little Wu’s first kiss is already…

Chu Yang licked his lips lightly, suddenly breaking into an obscene smile.

So sweet…

Memories lingered in Minister Chu’s mind.

Mo Qingwu obviously didn’t have any concerns in this aspect. The young girl was already turning around to leave, giggling as she did so. With her hands behind her back, she bounced and skipped a couple of steps in the room before she said, “Also, I really like this saber that you gave me a lot! Not only is it beautiful, but it’s also sharp, haha…”

Then, her brows furrowed. “Just that killing is too disgusting.”

But the next moment, she smiled thankfully. “It’s fortunate that blood doesn’t stay on the saber. Otherwise, it would really be very…”

Speaking of the Qing Wu Dream Saber, Chu Yang suddenly got reminded of something.

It seemed like it was time to strengthen the brothers’ weapons again.

At the moment, he really had quite a lot of Heavenly Treasures in his possession, as well as Exquisite Gold Jade Essence. After the strengthening process this time, the brothers’ weapons would definitely level up a great deal!

Surely he couldn’t let all those Heavenly Treasures collect dust in the Nine Tribulations Space, right?

Looking at Mo Qingwu’s Qing Wu Dream Saber, Chu Yang smiled and said, “Little Wu, pass me your saber.”

…

Chu Yang brought out the Exquisite Gold Jade Essence and a few other types of materials. After categorizing them neatly, he was ready to start.

A great war was imminent. If their weapons could be leveled up again, it would be extremely advantageous for the brothers. In fact, Chu Yang was even thinking of using Souls of Purple Crystal and various Heavenly Treasures, as well as Xue Leihan’s wine, to raise the brothers’ cultivation further during this period of time.

This way, he would feel more at ease about their journey to Aspen Valley this time.

“Little Wu, go and get your Second Brother, Dong Wushang, Gu Duxing and the others here. Just tell them that I want to reforge everyone’s weapons again.”

Mo Qingwu agreed and left the room, her footsteps light and upbeat.

Within the Nine Tribulations Space, the Sword Spirit, who had been in seclusion during this period of time, suddenly spoke.

“Lord Sword Master,” said the Sword Spirit. “I’ve been thinking about that strange spring water.”

Chu Yang was surprised for a moment there. “What spring water? Oh… The spring water in the Aspen Valley mine? The one that causes people to become mentally confused?”

The Sword Spirit replied, “Yes. Ever since Old Master Yang mentioned it, I’ve been thinking about it. And now, I’ve finally made some sense of it.”

The Sword Spirit’s voice was rather deep and low. “If my guess is right… It should be caused by one of the Nine Great Herbal Medicines, the Evil Illusionary Jade Crystal. Wherever the Evil Illusionary Jade Crystal is, a spring will definitely form. This spring is known as the ‘Evil Spirit Illusionary Spring’. There are also people who call it the ‘Evil Spirit Illusionary Water’… What the people from the Yang Clan drank is most likely spring water that has gone through innumerous rounds of dilution and then seeped out on the outermost layer.”

Chu Yang perked up. “How does that work??”

One of the Nine Great Herbal Medicines, the Evil Illusionary Jade Crystal? Chu Yang was rather excited. If he could obtain the Evil Illusionary Jade Crystal too… wouldn’t he possess a good half of the Nine Great Herbal Medicines?

At present, he also possessed the Mysterious Ice Jade Paste, Mysterious Yang Jade Essence, Heaven Poison Jade Crystal, Mysterious Jade Spirit Ginseng, Heavenly Heart of Wind and Thunder, and Heaven and Earth Jade Paste. If he could get his hands on the Evil Illusionary Jade Crystal too…

Drool dripped from the corners of Chu Yang’s lips. He was about to collect them all!

So now, he was left with just the Obscure Heavenly Crystal and the Mysterious Heaven Divine Essence?

“There are various types of medicinal effects among the Nine Great Herbal Medicines. These effects do not necessarily save or help people, but they are their own respective medicinal effects. The Evil Illusionary Jade Crystal is the most unique of them all, because it can both save and harm people. For people suffering from mental confusion, schizophrenia or… listlessness, while the Evil Illusionary Jade Crystal is able to help them recover, it is also capable of deteriorating the condition!”

“The Evil Spirit Illusionary Water also boasts the same effects! However, compared to the Evil Illusionary Jade Crystal, its potency is nevertheless weaker. As for what other fascinating effects the Nine Great Herbal Medicines possess, this is not something that I would know.”

“And now, people from the Yang Clan had become mentally confused after consuming that water. From what I know, other than the Evil Spirit Illusionary Water, there is no other type of liquid in this world that has the same function.”

Chu Yang nodded to indicate that he understood. All of a sudden, a spark of inspiration flashed in his mind and he exclaimed, “That’s not right!”

The Sword Spirit asked, “What isn’t?”

Chu Yang’s brows drew together. He pondered for a moment before he replied, “This is the place of Dragon and Phoenix Bringing Prosperity, which also means that this is where the seventh fragment of the Nine Tribulations Sword is, right?”

The Sword Spirit answered, “Of course.”

Chu Yang said, “I remember that back when I was still in the Great State of Zhao, you had once said that the appearance of the seventh fragment of the Nine Tribulations Sword would be accompanied by the Crystal Spirit Spring, and that this Crystal Spirit Spring is a hundred times stronger than the Vitality Spring Water!”

“But if what you just said is true, it is instead the Evil Spirit Illusionary Spring that has appeared now. There’s a difference of ten thousand miles between the former and the latter. They cannot be compared in the same context at all… In that case, could it be that the Nine Tribulations Sword isn’t there at all? Or is what you said back then wrong from the start?”

Chu Yang frowned deeply.

The Sword Spirit smiled. “Your memory is truly impressive! You remembered all of it when I was only casually mentioning it back then.”

He paused for a moment before he said, “This is the land of Dragon and Phoenix Bringing Prosperity. As the name indicates, both the dragon and phoenix are present! Dragons and phoenixes are races that ruled over the world in ancient times. Even though they do not encroach upon each other, they despise each other. While they cannot be said to be irreconcilable enemies, they have never had a harmonious relationship with each other.”

“Therefore, no matter when, the Dragon and Phoenix races would never live together! This is the reason why.”

“Both dragons and phoenixes are considered auspicious symbols in the hearts of regular folk of this continent. In fact, emperors refer to themselves as the sons of dragons. This is also why they don dragon-patterned robes.”

“However, there is a terrible misconception here, which is that dragons and phoenixes are paired together! Typically, the emperor wears dragon-patterned robes while the empress wears phoenix-patterned robes. They think that this is a matching pair, but this is a huge and terrible mistake! There are also people who say that Dragon and Phoenix Bringing Prosperity symbolizes a harmonious relationship between a husband and wife; this is even more of a groundless statement!”

“Dragons and phoenixes are not related to each other at all!” The Sword Spirit explained.

Chu Yang humbly accepted the lesson. “I understand now.”

However, he found it strange how the Sword Spirit’s reaction toward this matter regarding ‘dragons and phoenixes are equally famous’ was clearly too extreme.

Why was that?

He was just the spirit of a sword. Why was he being so…

Chu Yang couldn’t really come up with a word for it. It seemed like… Righteous indignation? Dissatisfaction?

The Sword Spirit took a breath before he continued. “Also, dragons actually aren’t that upright! The ancient saying goes, ‘The evil dragon and the impressive phoenix’! The Dragon race is born lewd and wanton, and charming and seduction is part of their natural instinct. Pursuing beauty is what the Dragon race loves the most. In addition, they accept every beauty that comes their way; the degree of how lustful they are is shocking! Thus… This Evil Spirit Illusionary Spring actually corresponds to the Dragon race in Dragon and Phoenix Bringing Prosperity!”

“Furthermore, the Dragon race is born miserly; every dragon is a standard moneygrubber. Moreover, the Dragon race is narrow-minded and short-sighted; they think highly of themselves and lord over others, considering everyone and everything beneath their notice… In my opinion, the Dragon race is honestly the most detestable race among them all!”

“On the other hand, the phoenixes are different. Possessing an upright nature and holds loyalty and sentimentality in high regard, phoenixes have always been the symbol of what is the best and most beautiful. They are pure and elegant, hold the world in their heart, and have always seen saving the world and bringing good fortune and blessings to the world as their cause. They are noble and righteous, and have exemplary conduct and nobility of character…”

With his forehead full of black lines, Chu Yang watched the Sword Spirit go on and on.

After belittling the Dragon race to no end, this fellow actually praised the Phoenix race to no end too. He threw the Dragon race straight into hell, yet boosted the Phoenix race to the high heavens!