Chapter 84 – Item Spirit
Her eyes closed, a girl is sitting cross-legged on a bed.
Incredibly, a reddish-gray long sword is hovering before her.
The sword appears to be wrapped in white mist and exudes a faint white glow.
The sword blade emits faint, hazy specks of light that float around the girl like fireflies, blurring the beautiful silhouette behind the sword.
This scene gives off the illusion of being trapped in a dream, or being in a holy realm that can purify anything unclean.
But then Xue Qilin rushed in – she exclaimed in surprise: “Wow! Little Seven, what are you doing?”
At the same time, the girl extended her hands from between the white specks of light in an attempt to touch the source of pure and holy.
“…Ah!”
Startled, the girl opened her eyes subconsciously.
Radiating a white glow, sparkling tears welled up inside her eyes and hang from the corners of her eyes.
As if feeling the girl’s agitation, the long sword suddenly became noisy and rocked violently atop Qi Qiqi’s hands.
“Don’t!” Qi Qiqi pleaded helplessly.
“Hmm?” Seeing the goings-on, Xue Qilin made a puzzled sound.
As if in response to her queries, the countless specks of light floating in midair dispersed in an explosive manner.
“Hey, what’s going on?!”
Blinking her eyes, Xue Qilin searched for the specks of light.
However, the specks of light have long since dissipated and disappeared without a trace like a fog.
“… be careful!”
Qi Qiqi suddenly exclaimed, prompting Xue Qilin to turn her head subconsciously.
The bright yellow eyes reflected sharp, cold light in an instant.
Unknowingly, the long sword shot out and appeared right before the lass’s eyes.
Xue Qilin shot her right leg forward, and her upper body leaned backwards, The Matrix style. The long sword missed the tip of her nose by the skin of her teeth, and then took away a few strands of her jet-black hair.
Dong…! A penetrating sound came from behind
Maintaining the evasive posture, the lass saw the long sword accompanied by an afterglow tracing a white afterimage in the air pierce through a folding screen, and then bury deeply into a wooden pillar embedded in the wall.
The hilt shaking, the sword blade is completely embedded in the wooden pillar. This illustrates the strength of the blow.
If she didn’t dodge in time, the lass would have been skewered. She suddenly had a chill go down her spine.
“…”
In a state of shock, Xue Qilin straightened her self up, speechless.
“Boo hoo… my Sky Apart!”
With tears in her eyes, Qi Qiqi got down from the bed. Without putting on her boots, she walked around the still shocked Xue Qilin and ran to the long sword, flustered.
The girl pulled out her long sword and looked at it rather nervously.
What! Seeing Qi Qiqi more worried about the long swords than herself, Xue Qilin felt upset.
“Little Seven, shouldn’t you worry about me first?”
“Serves you right! You shouldn’t have scared me!” Qi Qiqi turned her head, stared at Xue Qilin, and said, enraged.
Immersed in the gaze of fury, Xue Qilin looked away, feeling guilty.
“Even if this is the case, you don’t need to throw the sword at me!” The lass grumbled.
“I didn’t! You scared me, and so I lost control of my true qi, and Sky Apart flew away with a whoosh!”
Hearing the girl’s explanation, Xue Qilin couldn’t help spurt out a laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“Flew away with a whoosh! Whoosh!”
“Huh…” Qi Qiqi crooked her head, doubtful, “Isn’t this a suitable mimicry of the sound?!”
It is, it sounds like a child making a description!
Xue Qilin held in a smile, and didn’t voice this thought.
Then, the lass climbed onto Qi Qiqi’s bed without hesitation, kicked off her shoes, and sat cross-legged. She picked up the red pillow and hugged it, looking like the bed is hers.
“Say, what were you doing just now?”
“I was doing sword raising! … Now, pass me the scabbard.”
“Oh.”
At the foot of the bed is a black scabbard engraved with a red pattern.
Xue Qilin picked up the scabbard, took a look at it, and then handed it to Qi Qiqi.
“What’s sword raising?”
“Huh?” Qi Qiqi sheathed the sword, “What’s sword raising? Sword raising is when you use true qi to nourish a sword.”
Xue Qilin blinked her eyes several times, and then clapped her hands like she figured something out.
“Oh, so you were spirit raising.” The lass nodded, “It turns out that there are item spirits here as well!”
“Item spirits? What’s that?”
As she spoke, Qi Qiqi pushed Xue Qilin aside, “Make space for me.”
While moving aside, Xue Qilin asked doubtfully. “Aren’t you sword raising? By keeping it up, won’t you create a sword spirit?”
The girl sat down lightly, and the mattress submerged slightly.
“Sword spirit? Can you eat it? I haven’t heard it before!”
Is there anything else in that head of yours besides eating? Xue Qilin mocked inwardly.
The lass laid down sideways and put her head on the girl’s thighs, and a delicate fragrance filled her nose at once.
“What are you doing… Really, you don’t use a pillow, yet you insist on lying on my lap.”
Despite appearing a little displeased, Qi Qiqi didn’t put up any resistance.
“How comfortable.” Xue Qilin slightly adjusted her posture and yawned. Feeling a little tired, her consciousness turned hazy almost instantly.
Qi Qiqi’s thighs are well-proportioned, and have good elasticity due to the practice of martial arts. This warmth and moderate elasticity are indeed much more comfortable than those of pillows.
No wonder so many people like lap pillows… Xue Qilin mused, dazed.
“Do you really not know what sword spirits are? Then what’s the deal with sword raising…”
In order not to fall asleep, Xue Qilin roused her spirit and restarted the topic.
“You’re really funny. By using true qi to refine an item, it can enhance the quality of the item.”
Qi Qiqi played with one of the lass’s buns.
“As for sword spirits, I haven’t heard of them before. What are they?”
“Well… let me think about how to explain it to you.”
“What…”
What’s going on? Xue Qilin contemplated.
She soon figured out the cause behind this.
True qi is a kind of spiritual qi.
Nurtured for a long time by special forces – such as magic power, mana, true qi, internal force – collectively known as spiritual qi, an implement will gradually germinate a spirit, which will then gain consciousness, and eventually develop a form and become an item spirit.
However, it takes a long time for a spirit to develop into an item spirit. Depending on the strength and dedication of the master, it will take hundreds or even thousands of years.
This is why Qi Qiqi doesn’t know about the existence of sword spirits.
Spirit is the purest existence. After being nurtured by spiritual qi of identical nature for a long time, it will thrive and eventually become an independent spirit.
On the other hand, even if it is true qi, based on each person’s cultivation method, physique, and other differences, there will be some differences in true qi between different people.
In other words, only if an item is nurtured by a single person’s spiritual qi, or in this case true qi, for hundreds or even thousands of years is it possible to produce an item spirit.
However, as far as Xue Qilin knows, even Grandmaster Realm master have a lifespan of only about 250 years. If it is a martial beast, they may have a longer lifespan, but it’s still only about 400 years.
In this way, even if a martial practitioner spends their whole life, it’s still not enough for them to cultivate an item spirit.
As a result there won’t be any item spirits in this world.
… However, how should I explain this? Xue Qilin is a little troubled. If she tells it like it is, will Qi Qiqi wonder why she knows these things?
But there is another thing that the lass minds.
After an item gains a spirit, they will develop the instinct of pursuing integrity, especially after producing a hazy consciousness.
When such items lose their original master, according to their instincts, they will absorb the true qi, or even devour thee soul of anyone who touches them.
People call such items – taboo items.
“Little Seven, when a martial practitioner passes away, what happens to their sword?”
While talking, Xue Qilin turned slightly and looked at Qi Qiqi’s chin.
Qi Qiqi lowered her head in surprise and met the lass’s gaze.
“In general, it is buried together with the person … However, if it is the sword of a Heaven Realm or Grandmaster Realm master, they have to be dealt separately.”
There is a look of apprehension on Qi Qiqi’s face.
“They are a bit strange. I heard they will devour people’s souls.”
The sword of a Heaven Realm master is nurtured with spiritual qi for at least 100 years, so it may develop a spirit to some degree.
“How do you deal with such swords?”
“We place them in the Sword Mound.”
So that’s how it is. This is probably one of the reasons why the Sword Mound is a forbidden area. Xue Qilin mused
“That said, you haven’t told me what a sword spirit is yet!” Qi Qiqi hasn’t forgotten this unfamiliar term, and she asked again.
“Ah, I don’t know how to explain this… In simple terms, it’s the same as pregnancy…”
Next, Xue Qilin talked some drivel, and figurative question marks popped up on Qi Qiqi’s head.
“… Do you understand?”
“I seem to understand, but also seem not to understand…”
“That’s right. Much like Tao Te Ching [1], this thing is very mysterious. It’s normal to not really understand it.”
“So ah…”
Qi Qiqi nodded grudgingly.
“But I can understand Tao Te Ching!”
“It’s just an analogy!”
Xue Qilin sniffed, and Qi Qiqi frowned right after.
“But it’s not fitting.”
“Then you come up with a better analogy!”
Xue Qilin rolled her eyes, helpless.
“… Fine.”
After a pause, Qi Qiqi spoke: “I’m still waiting for you to teach me magic. You haven’t taught me for a while.”
“Okay okay okay.”
Xue Qilin yawned.
“I’ll take a nap. Call me when dinner’s ready.”
Xue Qilin turned over and went to sleep, her head still resting on Qi Qiqi’s lap. She has no intention of changing pillows.
In response, Qi Qiqi’s eyebrows shot upwards, dissatisfied.
“Hey, what’s the deal with sleeping on my lap?”
“Hmm…”
The lass responded with a sound, her conscious hazy.
Then, her body gradually relaxed in a short period of time, and her breathing became steady and peaceful.
“Ah… really, you have it good.”
Qi Qiqi gently pushed aside a few strands of hair from the lass’s face and sighed helplessly.
Under the swaying candlelight, moving lightly, the girl took a book placed on the bedhead and started reading.
[1] – Tao Te Ching
