Chapter 29

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Chapter 29: Ambush

As Xu Fan bid farewell to the young couple, he felt a twinge of regret. The materials for the two artifacts weren’t particularly rare, but the crafting process was a hassle.

“On the 15th of next month, I’ll leave the sect to attend their wedding.”

“It’s my first trip away, so I should prepare.” Xu Fan glanced at the invitation in his hand.

He pulled out his phone artifact and sent a message to Pang Fu.

The next day, Xu Fan arrived at the newly renamed Alliance headquarters, where Pang Fu had been waiting outside for quite some time.

After three years of growth, the trading association Pang Fu had built had become a big name among the outer disciples. Rumor had it that a master alchemist was affiliated with the association, and high-quality pills suitable for the Qi Training Stage were often available inside.

There was also an artifact master; if you met the master’s conditions, you could get a custom-made artifact that was no less impressive than a top-tier one.

Thanks to these two masters, the association’s staff had grown to over ten thousand members.

In the reception room, Pang Fu respectfully handed a storage bag to Xu Fan.

“Master Xu, someone from the Artifact Crafting Peak asked me to pass along a message. They want to recruit you to help repair the Floating Sky Ship,” Pang Fu said with respect. He couldn’t help but show deference, as Xu Fan had become a cornerstone of the trading association.

It could be said that half of the association’s success was thanks to its two mysterious masters, one of whom was standing right in front of him—Xu Fan.

“Alright, I’ll go. The reputation of the association’s artifact masters is too high-profile; I can’t use this identity.”

“Understood,” Pang Fu nodded.

“By the way, our sect’s rising star wants to commission you to craft a precious artifact. Are you interested?” Pang Fu added.

“What kind of precious artifact?”

Does the protagonist still need a magic treasure?

“What kind of artifact, and what’s the payment?”

“A sword box that can hold 100 flying swords, and it must be of precious artifact grade.”

“The reward is a piece of soul iron you’ve been trying to get your hands on for a while, weighing about 4 pounds.”

When Xu Fan heard the reward was soul iron, he was instantly thrilled. This was a crucial material he’d been missing for some time—he’d used less than three taels of it when crafting the dragon pearl’s supporting artifact.

“No problem. What are their requirements?” Xu Fan said with a grin, feeling like the heavens were smiling on him. It seemed he always got what he needed.

“They want it to nurture flying swords, enhancing their spiritual essence. The most important feature is a system that converts spirit stones into spiritual energy within the sword box.”

“There’s also a strange request: the flying swords shouldn’t get bored inside.” Pang Fu said, looking puzzled.

“Not get bored.” Xu Fan thought for a moment and understood what that meant.

“Got it. I’ll make a list and charge this rising star accordingly.” Xu Fan replied confidently.

“Alright.”

After leaving the Spiritual Wind Boat, Xu Fan headed straight to the Earth Core Workshop to start crafting some artifacts he’d need for his trip.

A month later, fully equipped, Xu Fan stepped out of Que Tian Gate for the second time—the first time being when he tested the dragon soul pearl.

Wang Yulun’s wedding was being held in a fairy city called Dai Ding City, over 6,000 kilometers from the sect, where Wang Yulun’s family held a mid-tier position.

As soon as Xu Fan exited Que Tian Gate and was about to summon the Spiritual Wind Boat to activate its concealment, he was interrupted by a rapidly approaching streak of light.

A young man with sword-like brows and star-like eyes, exuding elegance, appeared riding a sword beside the Spiritual Wind Boat.

Upon seeing the man, Xu Fan’s joy from his journey was instantly extinguished.

What is this guy doing here? We can’t possibly be on the same path.

“Junior Brother Xu, it’s been three years since we last met, hasn’t it?”

“After the secret realm, I wanted to find you to be friends, but I was always caught up with various trivial matters.”

“I never expected to run into you here today; what a twist of fate!”

Ye Xiaoyao clasped his hands in greeting, looking at Xu Fan with genuine warmth.

He still remembered the encouraging words Ye Xiaoyao said during tough times.

“What a coincidence, Senior Brother Ye! I heard you’ve become a talent of our sect. I haven’t congratulated you yet.” Xu Fan said with a smile, feeling it would be rude to reject such sincerity.

“There’s no need for formalities between us.”

As Ye Xiaoyao casually settled onto Xu Fan’s Spiritual Wind Boat, he asked, “Is the tail wing at the back of your boat designed to increase speed?”

Xu Fan resolved that from now on, he would definitely use a disguise before leaving the sect.

“I got this in the secret realm. The tail wing enhances the wind power runes, allowing for a considerable speed boost at crucial moments.”

“Senior Brother Ye, if you have business to attend to, please go; I wouldn’t want to delay your important matters.” Xu Fan urged, hoping he’d leave soon.

“I’m heading to a junior brother’s wedding. What about you, Junior Brother Xu?” Ye Xiaoyao replied, feeling a bit regretful that the world lost another naive and lovely junior sister.

“Senior Brother Ye’s junior brother is named Wang Yulun.”

Xu Fan felt an ominous premonition.

“Haha, that’s right! Are you attending as well?”

“It would be great to go together and chat with you on the way.”

As Ye Xiaoyao spoke, a streak of sword light shot out from behind him, and a Sword Boat appeared beside the Spiritual Wind Boat.

“Junior Brother, ride on my Sword Boat; it’s faster.” Without waiting for Xu Fan’s agreement, Ye Xiaoyao brought him onto the Sword Boat and gestured for Xu Fan to stow his Spiritual Wind Boat.

This…

With no other choice, Xu Fan had to accompany Ye Xiaoyao.

‘Boom~~’

An explosive sound erupted as the Sword Boat accelerated from zero to Sonic Speed in just 0.1 seconds. At that instant, Xu Fan quickly added a layer of protective air shield around himself.

On the Sonic Speed Sword Boat, Ye Xiaoyao realized he hadn’t activated the protective shield.

“I’m sorry, Junior Brother Xu; I didn’t notice earlier,” Ye Xiaoyao apologized, having forgotten that Xu Fan’s cultivation was only at the high level of Qi Refinement.

“It’s alright; I actually interrupted you.” Xu Fan said lightly, feeling an uneasy premonition brewing inside him.

On the Sword Boat, Ye Xiaoyao began to treat Xu Fan with utmost hospitality, continuously serving top-grade celestial fruits and spirit tea.

“All right, Senior Brother Ye, please stop bringing more in; we’re running out of space on the table!” Xu Fan helplessly remarked, feeling that Ye Xiaoyao was being overly enthusiastic.

The warmth was rapidly reaching Xu Fan’s warning threshold.

At that moment, almost simultaneously, both of their gazes turned forward.

Ye Xiaoyao transformed into a streak of sword light and shot out of the Sword Boat.

“Please wait a moment, Junior Brother Xu; I need to take care of some pests.”

“Rascals, this place is less than ten thousand miles from Que Tian Gate, and you dare to act so brazenly?”

Ye Xiaoyao stood proudly at the front of the Sword Boat, surrounded by five extraordinary flying swords.

“Five flying swords with attributes of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth; is the protagonist a bit obsessive?” Xu Fan thought as he observed the five flying sword artifacts surrounding Ye Xiaoyao.

“Ye Xiaoyao, you killed my brothers from the Desire Demon Sect. Even within Que Tian Gate, you must die.”

As a soft, sinister voice echoed, five cultivators from the Desire Demon Sect surrounded them on their Sword Boats.

“I knew following the protagonist would not lead to good things,” Xu Fan thought with a frown.