<h4>Chapter 1242: Strike!</h4>


    Despite having put a lot of strength, the Chi Xiao Sword didn’t budge.


    Confused, Chu Liuyue took a closer look at it.<i>?It’s not rusty at all… Why can’t I pull it out?</i>


    She then gritted her teeth and tried harder this time.


    The Chi Xiao Sword showed no response though—it was like the sword was stuck in the sheath. No matter how hard Chu Liuyue tried, she just couldn’t get it out.


    After numerous failed attempts, Shangguan Jing said, “Stop wasting your energy. This sword can’t be used until its weapon soul is refined.”


    Chu Liuyue’s eyes bulged. “What?! So I won’t be able to use it if I don’t refine the weapon soul?”


    Shangguan Jing gave the question some thought before saying in all seriousness, “Hm… That seems to be the case. By the way, I forgot to tell you that the Long Yuan Sword’s sword soul has been transferred into this sword. This means that… the Long Yuan Sword is now useless.”


    Shocked, Chu Liuyue immediately summoned the Long Yuan Sword.


    A long, cold, and heavy ck sword appeared in her hand. She then injected her force into it, but there was no response from the Long Yuan Sword.


    “What…”


    “The supreme Yuan instrument is so powerful that it can easily crush the Long Yuan Sword. If I wasn’t around at the time, the Long Yuan Sword would’ve been destroyed the moment its sword soul was transferred to the Yuan instrument,” Shangguan Jing exined with a sigh. “It’s not so easy to control.”


    Chu Liuyue was speechless.?<i>So what am I going to do now? Not only am I unable to use the Long Yuan Sword, but I can’t even pull out the Chi Xiao Sword!</i>


    She rubbed her be in frustration.?<i>Doesn’t that mean there’s only one way left?</i>


    “Heh, this is nothing. I’m around anyway. I can help you call on the lightning while youplete the refining of the weapon soul. Isn’t it easy?”


    Chu Liuyue was at a loss for words.?<i>He seems to think a little too highly of me… But then again, there’s no other solution either.</i>


    After a slight pause, she said, “Please help me, Ancestor!”


    …


    Chu Liuyue walked out of the room and headed to the mountaintop, which was the most appropriate ce for her to call on lightning. Although she was worried that she would attract the attention of many people if themotion got too big, she couldn’t care so much right now. She figured that the barrier Rong Xiu had ced around Jiuheng Peak would be able to provide some shielding.


    After finding a rtively t spot, she took out the star stone and ced the Chi Xiao Sword on it.


    A translucent figure—Shangguan Jing—appeared at that moment.


    Chu Liuyue looked at him with squinted eyes. “Ancestor, why does it seem like you’re bing a lot more… opaque?”


    There was a vast difference between how Shangguan Jing looked nowpared to when he previously looked like an apparition.


    Shangguan Jing stayed silent for a moment before nodding his head. “You’re right. I feel the same.”


    The longer he stayed together with Chu Liuyue, the stronger he became. When they first met, he was in a state where he could dissipate at any moment, but he had gradually be stronger since then. He didn’t know what was going on though. Ever since the Long Yuan Sword’s sword soul entered the Chi Xiao Sword, he realized that he seemed capable of living independently.


    Chu Liuyue became more certain about her previous guess.?<i>This must be his soul. It’s just that his power diminished, and his memory became somewhat fuzzy over time. That must be why he thought that he was just a remnant of his consciousness.</i>


    After thinking about it for a bit, a thought suddenly struck her.?<i>If his soul still exists, then… does it mean that he has the chance toe back to life once I refine the Chi Xiao Sword’s weapon soul?</i>


    She took a deep breath and pushed the thought aside.<i>?Let’s think about it once I’m done refining the weapon soul!</i>


    …


    “Step back a bit.” Shangguan Jing—who was floating in the air—became serious as Chu Liuyue took five steps backward while staring closely at the star stone and the Chi Xiao Sword. His power began surging madly around as he lifted his arms in the air.


    A formidable pressure began spreading in all directions.


    Dark clouds soon gathered above, and the sky became darker, with the moon being hidden by the dense clouds.


    They were surrounded by undting mountains, and it was all quiet around them. The only thing that could be heard was the wind passing through the mountains and the forest.


    Chu Liuyue felt as if her heart was being squeezed. She could hear her heart beating wildly inside.


    As the wind blew and the dark clouds rolled in, a lightning bolt finally appeared from behind the clouds. It was followed by a second and a third one.


    Chu Liuyue gasped, for the speed at which the lightning bolts had appeared was far faster than she had imagined. She wondered how many lightning bolts she had to withstand in order to refine the supreme Yuan instrument’s weapon soul.


    From the looks of it, it would far exceed the number of lightning bolts she had withstood when forging the Cloud-Sky Copper Sword.


    …


    Almost at the same time the sky had changed, Rong Xiu—who had justid down in bed—suddenly opened his eyes and pushed his nket aside to hop off the bed. He then rushed out of the house and looked toward the mountaintop, where a few lightning bolts were hovering in the sky.


    His eyes narrowed slightly as he raised a hand.


    A golden stream of light flew out and transformed into countless dots of light before floating down on the barrier around Jiuheng Peak.


    Now that the barrier was strengthened, it perfectly hid what was happening inside.


    …


    Chu Liuyue had no idea about this as her entire attention was currently on the lightning bolts that were about to strike down.


    The dark clouds had gathered dozens of silver lightning bolts in just a short span of time, but the problem was that the number was still increasing.


    “I called on a total of 81 lightning bolts when you were forging the Long Yuan Sword, but I don’t know how many lightning bolts there’ll be this time since this is a supreme Yuan instrument,” said Shangguan Jing.


    Chu Liuyue’s eyelids twitched.


    As the Chi Xiao Sword was two grades higher than the Long Yuan Sword, it was hard to imagine how one could fill this huge gap.


    The ck star stone sparkled as it reflected the light from the numerous lightning bolts in the sky.


    When countless dots of light finally appeared on it, the Chi Xiao Sword slowly rose to the air. It quietly floated above the star stone while giving out an astonishing aura.


    Chu Liuyue hadn’t even begun the refining process, yet she could already feel something heavy pressing down on her heart. Even the simple act of breathing felt difficult to her.?<i>I wonder what will happen when the lightning strikes…</i>


    As soon as this thought appeared in her mind, she heard a loud rumble in the sky.


    A thick, shining lightning bolt came shooting down in a sh toward the Chi Xiao Sword.


    Chu Liuyue could hardly open her eyes in this blinding light.


    It was followed by another loud rumbling sound.


    This time, however, the rest of the lightning bolts came striking down one after another.