Moonlight like frost spilled across the courtyard.
Two elegant houses stood quietly within.
Li Zhexian was still busy in the yard.
With the healing of his Sword Wine Martial Soul, supplemented by Qian Renxue's pure light-attribute Spirit Power, his injuries were no longer serious—only a faint pallor lingered on his face.
At this moment, he had removed the Wind Binding Gauze, wholly absorbed in brewing the Wandering Spirit Wind Essence.
Pain?
The thought of the impending fine wine had already healed more than half of his ailing body!
Crack—
Crack—
Beside him, Qian Renxue was grinding the hard Wind Spirit Crystal clusters with a stone roller.
When the crystals shattered, sharp astral wind would escape; she had to carefully block it with her Spirit Power.
"Qian Renxue, is the crystal powder ready?"
Qian Renxue quickly handed over the freshly ground powder.
Her own task completed, she leaned against the stone table, resting her snow-pale cheek in her hand, watching Li Zhexian's focused figure.
Moonlight poured over her dazzling golden hair, tinting it with a platinum halo.
Her gentle brows and eyes—like a holy angel touched by mortal longing—quietly descended into the human world.
A pity.
Such beauty—
Only the boy before her, intent on brewing wine, could behold it.
"Whew…"
Li Zhexian exhaled deeply.
Fortunately, his Wishful Hundred Treasure Purse held all the tools for brewing.
He could make wine anywhere, anytime.
The instant the Wind Spirit Crystal powder—fine as dust—fell into the specially prepared wine mash—
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
A clear, ethereal wind suddenly spread out from the gourd-shaped vessel at the center.
The breeze stirred Li Zhexian's white robe, lifted Qian Renxue's golden hair.
She lifted her flawless face in surprise, gazing at the transparent wine vessel in his hand.
She saw the rising white vapor slowly turn a blue-green hue—this mist drifting away, becoming wisps of wind.
Within the pot, the wine condensed into pale green threads.
Under the moonlight, it flowed like the aurora, strangely layered—
The upper layer as clear as a spring, the lower layer suspended with sand-like Wind Spirit Crystals.
This bottle of lively, ethereal wine seemed as though it might become wind and burst free in the next moment!
"So this is… Wandering Spirit Wind Essence?"
Li Zhexian's eyes reflected the beautiful liquor.
Merely holding it, a lightness spread through his body—his white robe billowed without wind, fluttering endlessly.
The wind whispered at his ears, flowing eddies coiling around him.
The comprehension he had gained over the past two days in the Wind Eye seemed to awaken in his mind, vividly clear.
Li Zhexian's breath quickened; joy spread across his handsome face.
"Yes, yes!"
"This is it! This is exactly it!"
One hand tightly clutching the Wandering Spirit Wind Essence, he seized Qian Renxue with the other and dashed toward the courtyard gate.
"Li Zhexian, you… what are you…"
Qian Renxue was caught off guard.
For the first time in her true female form, she was pulled along by Li Zhexian—her golden hair dancing in the night wind, her flawless cheeks tinged with rosy clouds, her steps unconsciously keeping pace.
"Come with me back to the Wind Eye!"
"Tonight I will comprehend the sword!"
Qian Renxue turned her head slightly.
Seeing the boy's side profile lit with excitement as he gripped her wrist, her lips curved softly.
"All right."
At the Wind Eye in the mountain hollow—
Moonlight poured like a waterfall through the hourglass-shaped gap in the peaks.
All was silent save for the howling of astral wind, clearer and sharper than ever in the night.
Li Zhexian's eyes were bound with the Wind Binding Gauze; before him sat the Wandering Spirit Wind Essence, exuding a gentle breeze.
He listened intently…
Here, the wind sounded like ten thousand swords clashing!
The holes in the rock walls cut the airflow into sword-tones—
Some clear as a young phoenix's cry, some heavy as an old ape breaking branches!
"Marvelous sound… marvelous sound…"
In this moment—
Li Zhexian finally understood the true meaning of Feng Bailong's words: "The rhythm of the wind is pleasing to the ear."
Though his eyes were covered, every sound in the world became sharper, as if he had gained an extra sense.
The wondrous sensation filled him with delight.
Li Zhexian pressed his palm to the ground—
His fingertips traced the wind-scoured marks upon the rock wall.
These were all natural sword manuals, carved by a thousand years of astral wind.
"Good! Good!"
At first—
His ears were overwhelmed with chaotic noise.
But gradually…
A pure, matchless sword cry seemed to pierce the chaos, ringing in his mind!
The sound grew grander, clearer!
Outside the Wind Eye—
Qian Renxue's beautiful eyes widened—
The violent astral wind in the hollow suddenly stilled.
Countless unseen currents, as if summoned, converged toward Li Zhexian's palm.
Wind—
Formless, intangible—
Now gathered as though it had substance.
It outlined the hilt, spine, and edge of a sword—
The exact shape of Li Zhexian's Qinglian Sword.
The wind-forged blade was as transparent as crystal; twelve lotus blossoms lit up one by one.
It was as though the breeze filled them, causing each petal to unfurl and sway in grace.
With each lotus blooming, the blade trembled lightly—
Emitting a clear sword tone that blended perfectly with the surrounding astral wind.
"The wind's roar can become a sword's cry!"
"Like this sword—why cling to set forms?"
"One should go with the flow, rise with the wind!"
Li Zhexian's mind opened wide.
The formless wind, the rock-splitting wail—
In his ears, they had shed all ferocity, revealing their truest rhythm.
When seeking the sword of wind—
He had imagined what such a strike would be.
Now recalling his past struggles with sword moves and stances—how clumsy and forced they seemed!
He raised the Qinglian Sword formed of wind's intent—
Striking out with a blade that, though tangible, seemed to merge into the unrestrained wind.
"Wind…"
"When it meets mountains, it flows around them; meets gaps, it passes through; meets obstacles, it howls; meets open space, it spreads wide!"
"So too must the sword of wind be!"
"If bound by fixed openings, paths, and killing moves—would that not be like forcing the formless wind into a rigid mold?"
Li Zhexian's eyes shone brilliantly; his whole being felt utterly clear.
"This sword of mine shall be like the wind…"
"Without shape, yet everywhere; without set form, yet hiding countless killing chances!"
His white robes whirled madly.
The once skin-cutting astral wind could no longer harm him—
Instead, it coiled around him, forming swirling wind-rings.
Blindfolded with black silk, he heard the most beautiful rhythm he had ever known.
"With the heart as eyes, observe the laws of heaven and earth."
"With the body as scabbard, contain the winds of the eight directions."
"This is—"
"Free and unbound, following the heart, riding the wind, the sword drawing heaven's song!"
At the instant his thoughts cleared—
The Qinglian Sword-shadow in his palm flared brilliantly, letting out a cry clear as a dragon's roar.
"Hahahaha—!"
Li Zhexian laughed long and freely.
He seized the Wandering Spirit Wind Essence and drank deeply.
Lightness swirled around him, as though he might ride the wind away at any moment.
His gaze turned toward the Wind Eye's edge—
Toward Qian Renxue, whose eyes shone with strange light as she watched him.
The Qinglian Sword in his hand spun into a graceful flower.
The sword of wind intent in his heart, ready to burst forth, yearned to be shared.
"Qian Renxue, will you dance a sword with me?"
Qian Renxue's breath caught.
Light-attribute Spirit Power flowed in her palm, forming a radiant longsword.
Without the slightest hesitation—
Ignoring the astral wind that could tear rock apart—
Her toes pressed lightly against the ground.
She leapt toward the flying sword-light and the white-robed youth in the wind…