Chapter 32 Traveling on a Sword:

In front of the gate of Huanxue Mountain Villa.

Rong Xie entrusted the affairs of the manor to the three younger ones, repeatedly instructing them to guard the gate well, and if there was anything they couldn't handle, to go to the mountain-protecting formation and find the guards, who would then contact Elder Yunfeng.

"Brother Rong, don't worry, we know!" Shen Yan said.

Long Shaoye and Fang Renji nodded in agreement.

“Then we’re off. We’ll be back in the latter half of the month,” Rong Xie said.

"Be careful on the road!" "Have fun!"

The three younger children offered their blessings with envy in their eyes.

Rong Xie forced a smile. If he could, he really wanted to switch places with them; they could go to Shengjing, and he could stay at home.

Rong Xie regretted it as soon as he woke up this morning, but Shen Bing Si seemed very enthusiastic and told him about today's travel plans while still in bed. It was too late for him to back out.

Actually, the accommodations at Fanshige are quite good, no worse than Huanxue Mountain Villa. The restaurants and taverns in Shengjing have gathered famous chefs from all over the country, so you can enjoy different delicacies every day.

The only thing that Rong Xie resisted... was probably the mode of transportation.

Rong Xie slowly arrived at the lakeside, where Shen Bingsi had already been waiting for a while.

"Are you ready?" Shen Bingsi wasn't in a hurry at all. She stood there with her hands behind her back, admiring the lake, and even hummed a little tune that she had heard somewhere.

“Hmm…” Rong Xie replied heavily.

"good!"

Shen Bingsi stretched out her hand into the air, and a flash of golden light appeared, revealing a pure gold flying sword in mid-air.

That's right, the flying artifact that Shen Bingsi mentioned was not a floating boat or a cloud-riding chariot, but a flying sword.

Sword cultivators travel in such a simple and unpretentious manner.

"Really... do we have to sit here?" Rong Xie felt a chill run down his spine.

"Don't worry, I've already improved it." Shen Bingsi said, turning her palm to the side. A burst of golden light appeared, and the Shengxie Sword grew from a foot to over ten feet in length. It was a large, glittering piece of gold, floating in the air like a small golden boat.

If this entire piece of gold were given to Rong Xie, he would be overjoyed.

But now, he must get on it, and then fly over high mountains and valleys, through the depths of the clouds, enduring at least two hours of low temperatures and strong winds, to reach Shengjing, eight hundred miles away.

When asked how he knew, Rong Xie replied that he had flown there before; his fear of long-haul flights stemmed from his experiences traveling to Shengjing to discuss building materials.

"I don't..." Rong Xie instinctively wanted to refuse.

The golden light dissipated, revealing a golden scabbard. The scabbard was decorated with magnificent dragon patterns and had a jade sword buckle at the end. As the scabbard grew larger, the jade sword buckle also grew larger, resembling a jade bench with a canopy.

"Huh?" Rong Xie walked forward in surprise and touched the enlarged jade sword buckle. It was cool and comfortable to the touch. He couldn't imagine how comfortable it would be to lie on it in the summer.

"It's been improved; there's a place to sit this time." Shen Bingsi patted the edge of the scabbard, and the scabbard automatically lowered a bit until Rong Xie could step onto it.

"That's great!" Rong Xie breathed a sigh of relief.

He still remembered the last time he sat directly on the sword. The sky was wide open on both sides of the blade, and the sword was high in the middle and low on the sides, so there was nowhere to put his grip. If he was not careful, he would slip off.

Although Shen Bingsi wouldn't let him slip down, the visual experience was still terrifying.

That's great, I don't have to sit on the sword anymore. There's a scabbard with a chair that I can sit on, which makes me feel much more at ease.

Rong Xie helped the jade sword to its sheath, then sat down against the corner of the sheath. The armrest was also made of jade, making it very comfortable to lean against.

Shen Bingsi jumped up after him. He didn't sit down, but stood at the front of the scabbard and manipulated the scabbard to take off.

Strands of golden light shot out simultaneously from the scabbard and Shen Bingsi, merging in the air. The sword trembled slightly, then rose steadily from the ground, over the lake, and over the mountainside. Rong Xie, supporting Yu Shi, saw Huanxue Manor transformed into a small grid, with green tiles forming the edges and flower-filled courtyards as the core, like a paper model made before construction in a palace, both small and exquisite. The three servants on the steps in front of the door also shrank to tiny dots, only vaguely discernible as they looked up in this direction.

"It's sped up."

Shen Bingsi, with her back to Rong Xie, slightly turned her head to remind him.

Rong Xie had already prepared a freezing spell, firmly fixing himself to the jade chair.

In an instant, he felt the ground beneath his feet tilt to one side, revealing the sky above the sword. Rong Xie gasped, and with the immobilization spell already in effect, he clung tightly to the side of the jade sword hilt with both arms. Even so, he still felt intense fear and dizziness.

The tip of the sword sheath cut into the clouds, and suddenly a thick layer of white mist covered the view. Tiny ice particles hit the face and body, making crackling and popping sounds.

The temperature dropped sharply, but Rong Xie didn't feel cold. He had a heat-preserving talisman in his pocket, which he had used together with the immobilization talisman earlier. He was well-prepared.

Gradually, the pressure of falling backward disappeared, and the flight returned to stability.

All he could hear was the whistling wind, and nothing else. Rong Xie felt a bright light illuminating his vision through his eyelids, so he opened his tightly closed eyes a crack and saw a pure blue expanse.

The blue sky high above is deep and cold, so pure it's breathtaking.

Rong Xie opened his eyes wide, gazing greedily at the sky, a vast sky that stretched from his head to his feet, with bright sunlight piercing through the clouds and illuminating everything.

The shadow of the flying sword was projected onto the clouds, like a small worm.

Shen Bingsi's voice came from ahead:

"Would you like to stand up and try?"

Rong Xie snapped out of his daze and looked ahead. He saw Shen Bingsi standing in the middle of the sword sheath, without any talismans or incantations. The wind blew his clothes and hair, and a ponytail and black ribbon fluttered wildly in the air. He turned around and reached out his hand to Rong Xie.

The light shone from the front, and Rong Xie couldn't see his expression clearly, but that agile figure was imprinted in his field of vision for a long time.

So cool...

Rong Xie had also studied swordsmanship. Like other inner disciples, he had once lay on the communal bed with his peach wood sword, imagining himself flying across the five continents and seven seas on his sword.

Now, that feeling is back.

Rong Xie felt a surge of power in his chest, which made him stand up! He bravely walked towards his dearest friend!

However, as soon as he stood up and left the protective range of the jade sword buckle, Rong Xie's legs went weak again.

Rong Xie, are you crazy? This is thousands of feet in the air!

Rong Xie kept glancing at the edge of the sword sheath out of the corner of his eye.

Moving my legs became extremely difficult.

...

"Come on," Shen Bingsi beckoned to Rong Xie.

"I...I can't." Rong Xie's legs trembled as he looked back for something to hold onto. He regretted it and wanted to sit back on his warm and comfortable jade chair.

"Don't you want to learn how to fly on a sword? This is what it feels like," Shen Bingsi said with a smile. "Come on, I'll catch you."

"I...I can't move my legs." Rong Xie felt like a frail old man, afraid of falling and dying in the middle of the road, so he could only move by shuffling.

But Shen Bingsi stood there like a block of wood, not too close and not too far, refusing to move an inch, insisting on waiting for him to walk over on his own.

Rong Xie gritted his teeth and took a step forward. In the next moment, his hand was enveloped in a steady and strong palm.

Rong Xie stumbled into Shen Bingsi's arms, gripping his hand tightly with one hand and holding onto his belt with the other. According to Shen Bingsi's later description, Rong Xie's grip was so strong that he was afraid of pulling his pants down.

Shen Bingsi's aura enveloped him, and a deliberately suppressed laugh came from above: "Didn't you dance quite well?"

“Good…good my foot,” Rong Xie said, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. “I need to take a carriage back.”

Seeing that even her usually gentle best friend had sworn, Shen Bingsi stopped teasing him, wrapped her arms around his and brought him to her side.

Then it was flipped over.

Rong Xie turned around and stood at the forefront of the sword flight, with an extremely wide field of vision. The strong wind from high above rushed towards him, but was blocked by a layer of golden light, turning into a wind force that his body could withstand, blowing Rong Xie's clothes.

Is this what it feels like to fly on a sword...?

Rong Xie opened his eyes wide.

"Flying on a sword is a completely different experience from using a flying talisman," Shen Bingsi's voice came close to his ear, her warm breath brushing against his ear. "Look, riding a flying sword, soaring thousands of feet in the sky, overlooking the mountains and rivers, doesn't that feel like an eagle?"

Following Shen Bingsi's description, Rong Xie looked at the scenery before him and felt his vision broaden even further.

“Using a flying talisman, you can only fly three feet off the ground, at most seeing small potholes in the road ahead, just like a bird.”

"How far you can see depends on how strong you are. As long as your strength increases, your vision will naturally broaden and you will have more choices."

Shen Bingsi's voice was very steady, low and steady, as if he had a sense of control over everything, and as long as you followed his instructions, you would get everything you wanted.

As Rong Xie listened to his words, something seemed to swell within him; his ears burned, and his heart pounded.

Can he really go down this path?

Can he really achieve Foundation Establishment?

Will he really have many choices?

One moment he was worried about being kicked out, and the next he was given such strong hope.

What should he do?

What should he do about the person behind him who has stirred his heartstrings?

"Don't worry," Shen Bingsi softened her tone as she felt her best friend's body stiffen in her palm, "As long as we persist in dual cultivation, one day you will reach the Foundation Establishment stage, and you will be able to fly like this."

"..."

Rong Xie would rather he hadn't said that terrible second half of the sentence.

Around noon, the two arrived in Shengjing.

As planned, we stayed at Fanshige, one of the largest restaurants in Shengjing.

We also had lunch at Fanshige.

After enjoying the culinary skills of a master chef from the capital, the two returned satisfied to the large enclosed garden estate behind the Prosperous Pavilion. The guest rooms in the garden were significantly more expensive than those upstairs, and naturally, their quality and privacy were also much higher.

The servants brought buckets of hot spring water and placed them next to the orchid bath in the small garden, where one could bathe outdoors without worrying about being disturbed.

Rong Xie had been flying in the sky for two hours and was eager to take a hot bath. As soon as he returned to his room, he took off his clothes and put on his own bathrobe.

However, he couldn't bring himself to strip naked and walk into the bath in front of Shen Bingsi as soon as he arrived.

But that orchid bath looked really comfortable, with clusters of flowers around it. If it were filled with steaming hot spring water and a gentle breeze blew, the flowers would float all over the surface of the water, making it incredibly pleasant.

Rong Xie glanced at Shen Bingsi lying on the bench under the corridor. Although his feet were facing the small garden, he could see the whole situation in the bathhouse with just a slight tilt of his head if he wanted to.

After hesitating for a moment, Rong Xie still asked the waiter to pour the hot spring water into the bathtub in the inner room.

After taking a bath and changing his clothes, Rong Xie went to the inner room, removed the original quilts and sheets from the inn, and put on his own quilts and sheets prepared in his personal pouch, and then took out two pillows.

It looks much more comfortable now.

Shen Bingsi came in from the outer room and saw her best friend, who had been spinning around like a top, just finished making the beds. She asked in confusion, "Why make two beds?"

"Um……?"

Shen Bingsi tossed one pillow directly next to the other: "This is perfect, it's damp inside, but it can get some sun outside."

Rong Xie was slightly taken aback. In an instant, he realized what Shen Bing Si meant: "This...this is outside!"