Time flies, and without realizing it, Chen Mo and Zhang Long have been in the Craziness Sand Sect for three days.
Since obtaining Chen Mo's Ice Ghost Herb, the Sandsword Immortal Shi Tianjian closed himself off in seclusion for a full three days; during these three days, not a single piece of news was heard. Thankfully, the Craziness Sand Sect is a place that knows how to repay kindness; in terms of hospitality, they showed no negligence and treated Chen Mo and the other two as honored guests.
The Craziness Sand Sect is known for its sword cultivators, and Chen Mo knows little about sword techniques. Taking advantage of the three days of free time, he secretly learned some skills in the background. When Shi Han Mountain saw this, he didn't hesitate to teach him directly.
Not only Shi Han Mountain, but even the numerous elders came over, making Chen Mo feel a bit awkward, but he also couldn't refuse; the others also took this opportunity to ask some questions to the latter, and he was not stingy with his advice.
In contrast, Zhang Long was living a much more comfortable life than Chen Mo. He would spar with the disciples of the Craziness Sand Sect every day, and anyone ranked at the ninth level had no choice but to lose to him. Although he was not as skilled as the eighth-level disciples, his swordsmanship was also commendable; even Shi Han Mountain thought he was a promising talent and wanted to take him as a disciple.
Unfortunately, Zhang Long rejected the offer under the pretext of protecting Chen Mo.
That day, Chen Mo was still learning swordsmanship from Shi Han Mountain when a sudden gust of wind rose in the mountains. A sword qi surged up into the sky, gathering dark clouds, immediately catching the attention of many disciples of the Craziness Sand Sect.
Shi Han Mountain put down his long sword, looking excitedly at the sky, "It's done, my elder is out of seclusion; his power has been restored."
"The time is about the same as what I predicted."
Chen Mo smiled slightly, holding an iron sword in his hand, looking up at the sky. Suddenly, a shadow appeared beside him like a ghost, who else could it be but Shi Tianjian.
"It seems that the sword immortal has recovered."
Chen Mo laughed and said.
"About ninety percent"
Shi Tianjian stood with his hands behind his back, looking proud and dignified, like a cultivator of the path of the sword with a mystical aura. Seeing Chen Mo, he laughed heartily, "Haha, all this is thanks to the Ice Ghost Herb from Chen Mo, young friend. Otherwise, I might not have been able to break out of my predicament for several more years, and our Craziness Sand Sect would have surely faced crisis."
"It's an exaggeration."
Chen Mo shook his head.
"You're too modest... Well, even though I've recovered about ninety percent, it's not a difficult task to retrieve the dragon blood grass from the beast nest. Young friend, wait here for me. I'll be back shortly."
As soon as the words fell, Shi Tianjian vanished like a wind in front of Chen Mo.
Half an hour later, Shi Tianjian returned, covered in blood, with a blood-red spirit herb in his hand.
"Uncle Shi, you, you, you are all right, aren't you?"
Shi Han Mountain slightly stunned and worriedly said.
Shi Tianjian adjusted his back and twisted his head for a moment, grimacing and quickly turning around after managing his expression, "Don't underestimate old man. Even if I have only recovered about sixty-seven percent, I can still go to the beast nest and have a round trip. These are the blood of beasts on my body."
Shi Han Mountain exclaimed, "Uncle Shi is awesome!" After praising Shi Tianjian, the latter felt rather proud.
"Young friend, this is the dragon blood grass you requested. Your second condition has been completed. Now it's time for the third, let me see that boy."
Chen Mo took the dragon blood grass from Shi Tianjian and then pointed to Zhou Long, who was sparring with the disciples of the Craziness Sand Sect on the distant square, "That's him."
Since the agreement was established, Shi Han Mountain knew about Chen Mo's three conditions. Seeing Shi Tianjian's attention drawn to Zhang Long, he hastened to echo, "Uncle Shi, that person is called Zhang Long. Although he is only at the ninth rank, his swordsmanship talent is amazing. None of our sect's ninth-rank disciples can match him. While those at the eighth rank are stronger in terms of strength, they are slightly inferior in swordsmanship..."
"You don't have to explain, uncle. I will make the right judgment."
Shi Tianjian dropped a line and then, like a gust of wind, appeared on the square.
At this moment, Zhang Long was sparring with an eighth-rank disciple of the Craziness Sand Sect, engaged in a heated swordsmanship duel. Suddenly, a terrifying surge of sword qi descended abruptly, striking at the top of both their heads.
The eighth-rank disciple saw the situation and was terrified, his liver and gallbladder splitting. In contrast, Zhang Long showed excitement, picking up a taomu sword and countering the sword qi with it.
The sword qi descended slowly, pressing Zhang Long's body as if millions of tons of stone were weighing him down, rendering him immobile. He could only endure it.
After ten breaths, the eighth-rank disciple had collapsed unconscious, while Zhang Long was still bleeding from all five orifices and struggling to endure. His green robe had been shattered, and his flesh showed numerous small scars. His consciousness was blurred, but his body showed no sign of giving up.
"Very good."
Shi Tianjian withdrew the sword qi and said with satisfaction, "What is your name?"
The pressure suddenly disappeared, and the tense Zhang Long relaxed immediately. Staring dizzily at the elder who had appeared before him, he replied casually, "Zhang Long."
"My name is Shi Tianjian, the Supreme Elder of the Craziness Sand Sect and also known as the Sandsword Immortal in the world."
Shi Tianjian dropped it casually, which made the confused Zhang Long suddenly clear up quite a bit, "Are you the Sandsword Immortal?"
"That is indeed me."
"I, I..."
Zhang Long became excited and spoke incoherently. Swordsman was his most revered object. Although Shi Tianjian was not the strongest sword cultivator on the Nine Regions Continent, he was definitely one of the top ones in Tianlong Emperor's dynasty.
"Zhang Long, I ask you, are you willing to become my disciple and follow me?"
Shi Tianjian chuckled lightly, smiling proudly and stroking his white beard, not forgetting to turn back and give Chen Mo a provocative look; Zhang Long admired him so much that he became excited and incoherent when he saw him. He worshiped him as a deity and would never refuse Shi Tianjian's request to become his disciple.
Chen Mo smiled faintly, ignoring Shi Tianjian's provocation completely. He didn't have any opinion whether Zhang Long accepted or refused.
"Under the mistake of Swordsman Senior's love, Zhang Long is very grateful... But, Third Young Master saved my life and gave me the opportunity to grow. If I were to abandon him today for fame and fortune, that would be forgetting my gratitude and being a traitor to his benevolence. Please forgive me, Senior Swordsman."
Is this a refusal?
Shi Tianjian's mustache twitched and his eyes bulged as his old face turned a deep liverish color. He nervously glanced at Chen Mo, who returned with a mocking smile; in an instant, he was so angry that his face turned green.
He was the Sandsword Immortal, whose name echoed throughout the Tianlong Empire. There were countless people who wanted to become his disciples, but Zhang Long had never heard of him before. How could he dare to refuse?
Chen Mo smiled faintly and patted Shi Tianjian's shoulder, "Senior, there's no need for such concern. One day, he will come back to find you. However, I'm curious. Zhang Long is obviously talented, but why hasn't he broken through the eighth-ranking level after ten years? Even with the consumption of countless rare herbs and elixirs, it seems ineffective."
Upon hearing Chen Mo's words, Shi Tianjian's ugly expression subsided, and he said gravely, "His talent is not bad; it's too good. It's precisely because it's too good that his sword heart hasn't been formed yet, and he struggles to break through. His sword heart is his obsession. Perhaps, after he repays your kindness, he can forge a sword heart. However, your kindness is so great that I think it will be difficult..."
