Zhao Yunxiao did not linger long. Now that he was done with the forging process, he quietly cleaned up and left, going as far as sneaking out of the Forge to avoid seeing any familiar faces.
It was not like others would be too surprised to see him at the Forge since he visited every now and then, even when he was not on duty.
However, he would prefer not to have anyone realise that he had spent such a long time here in one go, for that would only lead to unwanted questions.
A cultivator's main weapon was a huge part of their combat capability.
Exposing its appearance was inevitable, but accidentally revealing details about its forging process, structure, or materials would only allow others to deduce its strengths and weaknesses.
That was definitely something that Zhao Yunxiao would want to avoid at all costs!
The first thing Zhao Yunxiao did after leaving the Forge was to determine how much time had passed.
He had been so focused during the forging process that he had failed to keep track of the time, and the fact that there were no windows in the furnace room did not help either.
Thankfully, finding out the date was not a difficult task at all.
There were notices put up at all major locations within the sect territory, stating the date and upcoming events.
Just like what happened to Zhao Yunxiao, it was not uncommon for cultivators to get carried away with all sorts of different tasks. At higher cultivation levels, cultivators could even remain in a meditative state for years in a single setting.
Considering that, this was the least that the sect could do to help its members recalibrate to society after being out of the picture for extended periods of time.
Zhao Yunxiao looked at the noticeboard erected at the entrance of the Outer Disciples' Quarters and let out a helpless sigh.
Without realising it, ten days had passed while he was at the Forge.
It was longer than he would have liked but at least still within the upper limit of his estimations, so he was not too surprised. However, this also meant that there were only two days left until the opening of the Four Symbols Mystic Realm.
This meant that he would have to attend the briefing for helpers tomorrow.
He only had today left that was free, eh?
Zhao Yunxiao looked up at the sky.
The weather was great. Huge clouds covered the sky, just enough to provide shelter without giving off a gloomy feeling. The sun was hanging directly overhead, indicating that it was around noon.
There was still half a day left – plenty of time to get things done.
Zhao Yunxiao Two rose from the ground and returned to his residence, while he himself headed for the Lightwind Pavilion.
While he sought to satiate his hunger with some good food, his earthen clone would be performing some long overdue equipment maintenance.
After returning from Ghost Fog Valley, he had immediately dived into preparations for the duel with Gan Luozhi, followed by the forging of the Penta-Edge Grimoire Halberd.
Things had happened one after another, giving him no respite to perform his equipment maintenance in peace.
It was only now that he could finally do so without any urgent issues weighing down on his mind.
Zhao Yunxiao slowly made his way to the Lightwind Pavilion, strolling along while appreciating the beautiful sea of purple flowers that had taken over the mountain.
Even the narrow dirt trail that led to the Lightwind Pavilion was no exception.
What was originally an unimpressive dirt trail now had its aesthetics greatly accentuated by the flowers blooming on each side, forming two low walls of purple plums that gave visitors the illusion of being welcomed by nature itself.
Coming to the end of the trail, Zhao Yunxiao carefully checked the talismans that he and Nie Hanchang had put up more than a week ago.
Good, everything was still in order.
It was only then that he finally turned the last corner and stepped into the open clearing of the Lightwind Pavilion.
There had been some changes to the Lightwind Pavilion over the past few days, though there was nothing that he had not already expected.
With the introduction of the spiritual plants by the pond, the density of world origin energy had indeed gone up as Gu Qiansi had intended. It was not by much, but the extra comfort provided by this small difference was still sufficient to lift one's mood.
But rather than that, the greatest difference had to be the thin layer of mist that hung just above the ground, making it seem as though everything was built upon clouds.
This was the unmistakable effect of the fairymist flower.
"Senior Martial Brother Zhao, you have finally appeared!" Lu Zhiying exclaimed in surprise upon seeing him. "This Hua Xian is really interesting! With him around, Lightwind Pavilion has become akin to a place for immortals!"
"I'm glad that you are enjoying yourself," Zhao Yunxiao said with a smile. "However, don't let your guard down around him. He is still a demon after all – a demon who had taken the lives of who knows how many people."
He was not surprised that Lu Zhiying knew Hua Xian's name. Either Nie Hanchang or Hua Xian himself could have told her.
"Also a demon who has reformed and changed his ways," Hua Xian added from the edge of the pool.
"That remains to be seen," Zhao Yunxiao scoffed. "That said, are you here alone, Junior Martial Sister Lu?"
This was actually the first time that Zhao Yunxiao had seen Lu Zhiying at the Lightwind Pavilion all by herself.
"That's right," Lu Zhiying answered. "Senior Martial Sister Gu is at the Sect Library, looking into the matter of corrupted plants. I think she got worried after we went on the previous mission."
"Why didn't you go with her, then?" Zhao Yunxiao asked while casually retrieving some food.
"Spare me, Senior Martial Brother Zhao. I don't understand half the things in those documents!" Lu Zhiying's shoulders fell. "I will leave that to the expert and concentrate on what I can do instead."
"Oh? What great things could you possibly be concentrating on right now?" Zhao Yunxiao raised an eyebrow before munching on a piece of roasted meat.
"Hey! It is not nice to doubt me like that!" Lu Zhiying complained. "I am seriously thinking about how I can become stronger!"
"Ah, that," Zhao Yunxiao nodded in understanding. "So far, do you have an inkling of the path that you want to pursue?"
Lu Zhiying had mentioned wanting to learn how to fight after his duel with Gan Luozhi. It would appear that it had not been a fleeting thought.
Since that was the case, it was his duty as a senior to point the way for her.
Still, everyone was different.
Even though he was her senior, it was not as though he could just decide the path for her. Not to mention the fact that he was just an outer disciple, even inner or core disciples would not be able to do so easily.
After all, choosing the ideal path for themselves was already difficult enough, so choosing it for others was even more so.
And if his advice ended up causing Lu Zhiying to go down the wrong path, it would be doing her a huge disservice by negatively impacting her future accomplishments!
Therefore, Zhao Yunxiao only intended to provide small prompts along the way, helping Lu Zhiying find the path by herself.
"Dance," Lu Zhiying answered without hesitation.
"What?" Zhao Yunxiao found himself blurting out in response.
"Dance," Lu Zhiying repeated. "That is the path that I want to pursue."
"Dance?" Zhao Yunxiao was surprised for a moment, but quickly understood.
The path of dance – that was an unconventional one. But when he thought about it, perhaps this was something that he should have seen coming as well.
Up till now, Lu Zhiying had probably shown the most interest when practising for her New Year dance performance. And ever since the New Year, her movements all seemed to have a tinge of dance elements incorporated in them as well.
That was made especially apparent when they last visited the Hundred Puppets Array, where she had literally danced around the puppets.
"Is it not a good choice?" Lu Zhiying naturally noticed the change in Zhao Yunxiao's expression.
"That's not it. In fact, there are no good or bad choices, only choices that are more or less suitable. As long as you wholeheartedly believe in it, then it will naturally be the right choice," Zhao Yunxiao answered with a smile.
Some might not agree with him, but Zhao Yunxiao truly thought this way.
Nie Hanchang was the best example.
Nobody believed that he could go far on the path of bow and arrow, yet he persevered regardless. Yet here he was, rapidly gaining accomplishments on that very path that others had disapproved of.
And that was Nie Hanchang.
Considering how much more talented Lu Zhiying was, as long as she truly believed in it, perhaps she would be capable of deriving miraculous results even from the most unconventional of paths!
"Speaking of dance, have you sought advice from Senior Martial Sister Leng?" Zhao Yunxiao asked. "You are still receiving dance training from her, aren't you?"
"I am, but this is different," Lu Zhiying shook her head. "Learning her dance style is one thing, but incorporating it into my combat style is completely different. That would result in a combat style that isn't truly my own, thereby making it difficult for me to advance further."
"You have learnt quite a bit. Indeed, it is best to come up with your own style," Zhao Yunxiao praised. "However, taking advice from her doesn't mean just copying her. You will just be understanding her train of thoughts so that you would know what to consider when coming up with your own style. At the same time, why don't you start reading up on all the various dance techniques to see if anything interests you?"
"But there are so many documents on dance! How long would it take to finish reading them all?" Lu Zhiying complained.
"You don't have to finish them all, just enough to be able to form your own ideas. And if that still sounds like too much, then you can only blame yourself for not having any ideas otherwise," Zhao Yunxiao shrugged. "If you are able to come up with something good by yourself, then there will naturally not be a need for you to go through all that."
"...Fine," Lu Zhiying said begrudgingly. "I will do that."
"Mm," Zhao Yunxiao nodded. "But don't worry, you are not alone on this path. This is just the starting point. If you have any questions along the way, feel free to approach me or your Senior Martial Sister Gu, as well as any other seniors in the sect. That said, try not to reveal too many details to those whom you don't trust as much, or it could be used against you in the future."
"I definitely won't stand on ceremony!" Lu Zhiying said with a pout.
"You don't have to," Zhao Yunxiao smiled.
At the same time, he could not help but be impressed by Lu Zhiying.
If even someone as talented as her was trying this hard to improve, then he definitely had to try even harder to do so.
Only by working even harder could he delay the amount of time needed for Lu Zhiying to overtake him, thereby ensuring that he would be able to guide her along for as long as possible!
The duo did not linger long at the Lightwind Pavilion.
Having decided on her next step, Lu Zhiying quickly left for the Sect Library to read up on existing dance techniques.
On the other hand, Zhao Yunxiao returned to his residence after having his fill of food.
It had been a long ten days, and he was really looking forward to catching up on all the cultivation sessions that he had skipped in that time!