How much effort did it take to forge a sword?

Smelting steel, reducing water, tempering, extending, fire forging, quenching.

Every step was extremely meticulous. If there was a slight mistake, the blade would break, and everything would be for naught.

Forging a sword required not only knowledge and skill, but also luck.

Sanjō Munechika was a swordsmith. Before today, he had successfully forged many swords.

However, most of these swords were thrown into the warehouse by Sanjō Munechika to collect dust.

Those swords that had been painstakingly forged and were admired by many people, and were enthusiastically pursued by many, were nothing more than scrap metal to Munechika Mijo that could be casually thrown away.

Not enough, not enough!

Sanjō Munechika was searching for a sword, a peerless sword that could truly be crowned with the title of "Sanjō"!

Once this sword was born, it should shake the mountains and rivers and make a sound that would never be heard again!

It should be a peerless treasure that would go down in history and be passed down for thousands of years!

And such a saber should have arrived today!

Sanjō Munechika looked at the blazing flames in the furnace. The red light of the flames reflected off his flushed face.

The scorching high temperature brought endless sweat. Munechika Mijo felt as if he had been fished out of water. What was even more unbearable was the burning pain brought by the high temperature. It was so fierce that it felt as if it was going to burn his skin, flesh, bones, and blood.

However, even so, Sanjō Munechika did not move away from the furnace.

Time was up.

Sanjō Munechika carefully took out the Odachi that had already been formed in the furnace and quickly cooled it down in water. This was the last step of forging a sword, quenching.

On one hand, it could make the sword harder and sharper. On the other hand, it could make the blade produce beautiful patterns.

This step required a lot of skill. It took more than three months of painstaking effort. Whether it was success or failure, it all depended on this moment!

No one would believe that this talented swordsmith who was sought after by countless samurai nobles at a young age was now like a young boy who was forging for the first time. He was so nervous that his hands were trembling.

"Chi —"

White mist rose from the water where the Odachi was immersed. For a moment, it was so hazy that people could not see clearly.

Then, in the next moment —

The sky suddenly turned dark!

Just a moment ago, it was still noon, and the sun was shining brightly.

But in the next moment, the world suddenly fell into darkness, as if someone had covered the sky with a layer of darkness.

In the forging room that was brightly lit a moment ago, only the flames of the furnace illuminated the world.

This was simply like the legendary Heavenly Dog Devouring the Sun!

Mijo Munechika heard the sudden explosion of voices and footsteps outside the forging room, mixed with the sound of things being overturned and knocked over. He could imagine the chaos outside the door.

Panicked and frightened, the servants of the three manors hurriedly lit the lamps. Then, with candles or lanterns in hand, they groped their way to the forging room in the dark.

The servants wanted to simply break into the forging room, but they remembered that their master had warned them not to disturb him. So, they could only suppress their uneasiness and fearfully knocked on the wooden door. "Lord Sanjō!

Lord Sanjo, are you alright? "

There was no reply from the other side of the door. The servants' hearts sank. Could it be that Lord Sanjo …

"Bang!"

The servants, who were worried about the master's safety, burst open the door and rushed in. Then, they were all shocked speechless by the scene in the room.

A saber was suspended in the empty saber forging room.

The blade was covered in a layer of golden light. Under the illumination of the flames of the furnace, it was as brilliant as the sun.

Then at the next moment, the light around the odachi suddenly became extremely bright, like a second sun rising from the ground!

In the golden light, everyone saw a blurry figure appear beside the Odachi — —

That person's face was blurred in the extreme radiance, and only a pair of golden eyes suddenly looked over.

It was a pair of eyes that could not be described with words. When you looked into those eyes, it was as if you were looking at the sun rising from the dawn of hope, gradually to the scorching noon, and then into the dim dusk.

From pale gold to brilliant gold, and then to pure gold, the world's most unreachable tomorrow rises in front of you!

The figure in the light gently raised his hand and grasped the hilt of the odachi.

Then, as if he was waving his arm, the figure suddenly held the sword and slashed towards the dark sky!

A crack appeared in the sky as if it had been torn apart by someone out of thin air. Immediately after, a sliver of sunlight seeped through the crack created by the sword and saber. Then, the crack grew bigger and bigger. In the end, thousands of rays of light poured down like a tidal wave, as if wanting to smash the entire world into pieces.

The darkness retreated, and the sun returned.

Everyone who witnessed this scene was speechless for a while, as if they had lost their souls, they stared at the figure holding the saber in the air.

In the end, Sanjō Munechika, who was standing in front of the saber, finally recovered from the shock. He looked up at the figure holding the saber, like an artist who was devoutly worshipping his masterpiece, his eyes full of obsession and enthusiasm.

"When you appear, even the sun has to avoid your sharp edge … You are, Sanjō Munechika's, one and only masterpiece in my life — Odachi, Jinjian!"

— The name is a curse.

As soon as the Bladesmith finished his sentence, the shadow in the air suddenly solidified.

The man with long silver hair had a beautiful face that did not belong to this world, and his golden eyes seemed to contain the brilliance of the sun.

He was wearing luxurious clothes, with gray, red, blue, and gold colors. He wore armor on his shoulders and waist, and two golden rings on his left ankle.

He held a odachi in his hand, and the blade reflected a cold light, the blade was sharp, and the aura of the sword was very threatening.

The man with the sun-like eyes blinked gently, and his thick eyelashes fluttered like butterflies.

His eyes swept across the people in front of him, and everyone who was glanced at by his particularly moving eyes couldn't help but straighten their bodies, as if they were devout believers who were worshipping their god.

Finally, he descended from the air and walked in front of Sanjō Munechika.

Under Sōjō Sōjō's anxious, expectant gaze, the man leisurely lowered his eyes. His voice was as clear and pleasant as a cool spring. "… Father."

Sanjō Munechika was so excited that his face flushed red, "Good, good, good!

Good child, I am your forger, Sanjō Munechika. "

As soon as Sanjō Munechika saw this man for the first time, his intuition as a creator told him that this was the Fu Mourning God that was born from the sword.

It was said that if an item was left for a long time and absorbed enough spiritual energy and emotion, it would give birth to a Fu Mourning God.

And the Jinjian had just been forged, and he already had a Fu Mourning God … Could it be that the eight million gods heard his prayers and gave him a blessing?

…

"Oh?

Sanjō Munechika's residence is really lively today! "

Suddenly, a voice sounded, and then a Yin-Yang Master holding a bat fan slowly walked in from outside the door and said with a smile.

"You're … Haruaki Abe -sama?"

Sanjō Munechika looked at the uninvited Yin-Yang Master and was very surprised. This was a Great Yin-Yang Master who had saved the capital several times and was at the peak of Yin Yang Mastery. Even he, who had always been focused on forging swords, had heard of him.

"Yes … It is indeed this one."

The handsome Yin-Yang Master slightly narrowed his eyes with red eye makeup and opened the bat fan in his hand to cover the fox-like smile on his face.

Sanjō Munechika asked, "May I ask why Haruaki -sama has come?"

Faced with such a question, the Yin-Yang Master simply smiled and didn't say anything.

Rather than saying that he was pretending to be mysterious, it would be more accurate to say that he was doing it out of bad taste.

Haruaki Abe didn't pay attention to the others and looked behind them.

He had already felt this pure and dazzling spiritual energy when he arrived.

Then, let's see what this is …

The silver-haired Yin-Yang Master slowly raised his eyes and was caught off guard by a pair of eyes that were as bright as the sun.

At this moment, all the sounds in the world faded away and the scenery became hazy. The only thing left in the Yin-Yang Master's eyes was the Fu Mourning God's face that didn't belong to this world.

"… This is truly a peerless beauty in the world …"

After a short while, the Yin-Yang Master sighed as if he was sleep-talking.

"Haruaki -sama, Jinjian is the newly born Fu Mourning God. He isn't some demon that needs to be removed!"

Sanjō Munechika hurriedly explained to the Yin-Yang Master while standing in front of the Fu Mourning God. It was as if he was protecting his child.

The Yin-Yang Master came back to his senses and covered his mouth with his sleeve. His eyes were even more beautiful because of the amazement from before. "Hey, Sanjō -sama, there's no need to be so nervous. I can tell the difference."

Sanjō Munechika: "Then, Haruaki -sama wants to …"

"Well, it's actually because I've divined that an old friend will be visiting here soon."

The Yin-Yang Master seemed to be in a good mood and winked slyly. The smile on his lips suddenly became meaningful.

Haruaki -sama's old friend?

Sanjō Munechika was stunned for a moment.

As a sword forger who scrupulously abided by his duties, Yin-Yang Masters and demons were far from his reach.

And in his limited life, he never thought that he would one day have a relationship with such an existence.

But seeing that the Yin-Yang Master didn't seem to be faking it, Sanjō Munechika's expression became serious and he was about to ask for more details.

But at this moment, Haruaki Abe suddenly closed the bat fan in his hand.

He suddenly raised his head and looked out the window. His long and narrow eyes narrowed slightly.

"It's here."

These ambiguous words were like the omen of a storm.

Pitch-black crow feathers suddenly floated down from the sky. A powerful demon aura was approaching at an extremely terrifying speed.

The person didn't seem to have the slightest intention of restraining himself. The unbridled pressure released made the air restless.

The surrounding wind that was originally gentle and silent suddenly flowed and surged, faintly turning into a sharp blade.

And in a place that ordinary people couldn't see, the little demons that were originally living in various corners of this mansion fled in panic because of the sudden aura.

They didn't stop to hide themselves in deeper corners. Then, like a group of pitiful little things, they huddled together and trembled.

Ordinary people naturally didn't know as much as the demons. But although they didn't know the identity of the person who came, they also felt inexplicable uneasiness and panic.

It was a keen human instinct that constantly warned them to flee.

Time suddenly became exceptionally long. Under this overwhelming pressure, every minute and every second became particularly torturous.

After a while, the surging wind finally calmed down.

At the same time, a young man appeared in front of everyone.

This young man's appearance was so sudden that no one saw how he came.

But when people saw his handsome face that clearly didn't belong to a human and the slowly folding wings on his back, all the unnaturalness seemed to have a completely reasonable explanation.

— He was a demon, and he was definitely an extremely powerful demon.

As if to confirm everyone's guess, Haruaki Abe looked at the young man who suddenly appeared in the room. His gaze revealed that he had expected this.

Then, his thin lips opened and he said a name that was enough to shake Pingan Jing.

"As expected, you came, Daitengu."

The silver-haired young man with the wings on his back glanced at the Yin Yang Master indifferently. His voice was as cold as ice. "It's you again, Haruaki Abe."

Daitengu's tone was cold, but everyone inexplicably felt the disdain in it.

Haruaki Abe wasn't affected in the slightest.

His expression was calm as he unfurled the bat fan in his hand. His voice, half-hidden under the fan, was somewhat low and deep. "As a legendary great demon, to appear in Jingdou with such great fanfare … you should know what kind of effect this will bring."

Daitengu coldly snorted when he heard this. He slightly raised his chin, revealing a cold arrogance. "So what? What do human matters have to do with me?

Or is it that … "

The wings on Daitengu's back unfolded slightly. The wind stirred up disturbed the current calm, and there was an oppressive danger surging within. "Or is it that … you plan to get in my way?"

"Well … it's really hard to say."

Haruaki Abe's gaze seemed to sharpen for a moment, and then it recovered its original elegance and calmness. "But first, I'm still rather curious — what is your purpose in coming here this time?"

The Yin Yang Master clearly didn't have the intention to beat around the bush.

And his straightforward question, which was almost interrogative, could be said to be completely offensive to the proud and arrogant great demon.

But strangely, Daitengu only glanced at the Yin Yang Master, as if he didn't plan to make too much of a fuss. After that, he didn't hide anything and very clearly turned his gaze to the newborn Fu Mourning God.

Daitengu's deep blue eyes, which had always seemed to be frozen in frost, suddenly revealed an almost imperceptible softness the moment he saw the other. He said in an unprecedentedly gentle tone, "I've come to take back my lower body."

This great demon, who had been imposing ever since he appeared, suddenly revealed an appearance that could be called docile.

Specifically speaking, it was probably because he was afraid of scaring the newborn child, so the originally powerful vicious beast withdrew its claws and teeth. Gently and carefully, he revealed his most harmless side.