Chapter 142: Lingling

When a wisp of divine consciousness and a sword spirit traversed the dark and silent path along which they had come, it took perhaps only a few breaths of time for Ye Junze’s divine consciousness to return to his sea of consciousness.

Simultaneously, a tiny golden figure had materialized upon the body of the Lingxu Sword. Standing steadily upon the blade, it blinked its large eyes, tilting its head to observe the unfamiliar surroundings.

In those wide eyes of the tiny golden figure, there was an abundance of curiosity, as if it were asking, "Where is this place?"

Seeing such an adorable little golden figure upon his sword, Ye Junze could not help but smile.

Looking at the tiny golden figure, Ye Junze said, "Welcome to the illusory realm of Taixu. This is the place where I usually practice cultivation."

With that, Ye Junze called out into the empty air, "Mengyuan!"

Before long, Mengyuan’s voice resonated once more from an indeterminate direction, replying, "Present."

Hearing the voice, the little golden figure on the sword seemed startled. It hurriedly clutched the Lingxu Sword tightly, wearing an expression of extreme tension.

Seeing this, Ye Junze smiled; the tiny golden figure was simply too endearing.

After chuckling, Ye Junze looked at the little golden figure and said, "Don't be afraid. The one who just spoke is Mengyuan, who helped you awaken. Like you, it is a spiritual entity, except that it is the guardian spirit of this Taixu Illusion, responsible for protecting and guarding this place."

Upon hearing this, the little golden figure finally released its grip on the sword body, sitting down securely upon it. It then looked at Ye Junze and asked, "But where is it? Why can't I see anyone?"

Before Ye Junze could reply, Mengyuan spoke up once more. "For certain reasons, my spiritual entity is not suited to manifest at present. Therefore, you can only communicate with me through my voice. But do not worry, I can hear everything you say."

Hearing Mengyuan's explanation, the little golden figure belatedly nodded its rather charming little head.

Ye Junze did not appear particularly surprised, as he had already learned about this from Mengyuan beforehand. Indeed, he had intended to explain it himself just moments ago, but Mengyuan had beaten him to it.

Seeing that the little golden figure was no longer frightened, Ye Junze reached out and gently rubbed its head.

The tiny golden figure seemed to thoroughly enjoy the gesture, an expression of utter satisfaction blooming across its face.

Noticing this, Ye Junze made his movements even gentler.

Suddenly, as if recalling something, Ye Junze looked at the little golden figure and asked, "Come to think of it, do you have a name? Since you are the sword spirit of the Lingxu Sword, surely you aren't just called Lingxu, are you?"

Hearing this, the little golden figure lowered its head in thought. After a moment, it shook its head, raised its gaze to Ye Junze, and said, "I've forgotten what I used to be called. Why don't you give me a name, Master?"

Ye Junze smiled, nodded, and murmured in contemplation, "I'm not particularly good at naming things... How about Lingling? What do you think?"

The tiny golden figure muttered the name to itself, "Lingling? Lingling? Lingling!"

After repeating it a few times, the little golden figure said with overflowing delight, "This name is wonderful! I'll take this name, then. Thank you, Master, for bestowing this name upon me."

Ye Junze smiled, waved his hand, and said, "As long as you like it."

"I like it, I like it!" the tiny golden figure, now named Lingling, answered happily.

Ye Junze smiled and said, "Then go ahead and look around here, Lingling. I'm going to resume my cultivation. If you need anything, feel free to find either Mengyuan or me."

Lingling replied, "Understood, Master. I've remembered it."

With that, Ye Junze turned away and resumed his cultivation.

Meanwhile, Lingling stepped lightly upon the Lingxu Sword, moving with effortless fluidity as it darted back and forth through the air, exploring the place that filled it with such wonder.

After encountering many unfamiliar objects, Lingling noticed Ye Junze meditating nearby and sensibly chose not to disturb him. Instead, imitating Ye Junze's earlier manner, it called out, "Mengyuan, Mengyuan, what is this?"

Hearing the call and seeing what the little sword spirit was pointing at, Mengyuan replied, "A testing instrument, used for measuring spiritual power."

Lingling nodded, then pointed at another object and curiously asked, "And what about this?"

Mengyuan answered once more, "An incubator. There is still an egg incubating inside it right now."

"Wow, how magical," Lingling said in pleasant surprise.

After that, Lingling acted like a newborn baby full of questions, inquiring of Mengyuan whenever it laid eyes on something it had never seen before.

And Mengyuan continued to answer Lingling's questions with inexhaustible patience, harboring no hint of annoyance despite the little spirit's complete ignorance.

Upon closer reflection, this was only natural. After all, after so many years, Lingling was virtually the first spiritual entity to enter the Taixu Illusion. Even though it was merely the sword spirit of a weapon and fundamentally different from a guardian spirit like Mengyuan, this did not prevent Mengyuan from feeling a natural fondness for Lingling.

After all, who could possibly dislike such an adorable little creature?

Even someone as aloof as Ye Junze usually had no defense against the charming Lingling, did he?

"Therefore, there is nothing wrong with me acting this way. Even if there were anything amiss, it would be the Master's fault. Yes, exactly like that," Mengyuan, hidden in some unknown space, consoled itself as it watched Lingling bounding joyfully about.

Thus, a sword spirit possessing a spiritual entity and a guardian spirit without a physical manifestation gradually came to converse and chat like inseparable friends through their continuous questions and answers.

As Lingling continuously piloted the Lingxu Sword across the Taixu Illusion, it gained a thorough understanding of the realm and acquired a general grasp of the current world, realizing that the present era was vastly different from the time when it had last been awake many years ago.

Through idle chats with Mengyuan, Lingling also learned how it had come to be awakened.

Consequently, despite its small stature, Lingling bowed very earnestly to express its gratitude to Mengyuan. "Thank you, Mengyuan. You must have put in a lot of effort to awaken me. Master mentioned it just now as well."

Hearing Lingling's expression of gratitude, Mengyuan replied, "It was nothing. Actually, the credit still belongs to the Master. Without his ability to find such a piece of mysterious iron fragment, wanting to awaken you would probably have taken much longer."

Lingling nodded and smiled in response, "I know. I'll properly thank Master later on as well."

After piloting the Lingxu Sword for a while, Lingling seemed somewhat tired of flying and chose a spot to land. It sat securely upon the Lingxu Sword, lost in thought.

Suddenly, Lingling spoke to the empty air once more, "Mengyuan, what kind of person do you think our Master is?"

Hearing this, Mengyuan did not reply immediately as before, instead appearing to fall into deep contemplation.

After a short while, Mengyuan's voice sounded again. "Him? He looks cold on the outside, but beneath that surface lies a kind heart. For many things and many people in this world, he holds a gentleness that belongs solely to him. Of course, if anyone harms those he cares about, he will also reveal the uncompromising side of his character and make them pay dearly. In short, despite occasionally missing minor details, he keeps all important matters close to heart."

"Take the matter of your awakening, for instance."

Curious, Lingling asked, "Oh? What about it?"

Hearing Lingling's inquiry, Mengyuan slowly explained, "Back when he first obtained you and learned that the sword spirit of the Lingxu Sword—which is you—was in a deep slumber, a seed of the desire to awaken you was already planted in his heart. Today, when the opportunity finally arose, even though I was not directly involved, I could feel just how immensely happy he was at that moment. Because of that, he had already resolved to purchase that piece of mysterious iron fragment no matter the cost. Although he thought he hid it well when he handed the fragment over to me earlier, I still sensed the barely suppressible anticipation in his heart and the trembling of his fingers. Perhaps he is the person in this world right now who anticipates your awakening more than anyone else."

After listening to Mengyuan's words, Lingling remained silent for a very long time. After pondering deeply for quite a while, it said with profound gratitude, "Our Master is truly a wonderful person."

Mengyuan replied with shared sentiment, "Indeed, he is truly good. So, you needn't worry about whether he will treat you poorly in the future. Since he spared no effort for your awakening today, he will naturally treat you even better from now on."

Naturally knowing what Lingling was worrying about, Mengyuan straightforwardly dispelled its doubts to save it from overthinking in the future.

Lingling nodded gratefully and smiled, "Mm-hmm, I've remembered it. Thank you, Mengyuan."

Mengyuan replied indifferently, "You're welcome. Although I do not know what you experienced in the past that caused you to be sealed and plunged into a slumber from which you could not wake, since Ye Junze has become your master, he will naturally treat you well. Even though he doesn't say it, I know that if real danger ever strikes, he will prioritize our safety before considering his own life and death. Therefore, there is only one thing I wish to say here."

Sensing something, Lingling spoke with a serious expression, "Go ahead, Mengyuan, I'm listening."

Mengyuan stated slowly, "If—and I mean if—such a day truly arrives as I described, I still hope you will do your utmost to safeguard Ye Junze's safety. No matter what, he is our master, and his unwillingness to let us suffer harm is certainly no reason for us to stand by and watch him march to his death. Therefore, if any crisis truly befalls us in the future, we must still use our utmost strength to protect his safety. Agreed?"

Although Mengyuan's tone at the end carried a hint of consultation, Lingling distinctly caught a trace of pleading within it.

After pondering for a moment, Lingling replied, "I understand. I will. Isn't this ultimately our destiny as well? Furthermore, such a master is entirely worthy of our doing so. Therefore, I make a promise to you today, Mengyuan: if a day like the one you described truly comes, the very first to perish shall be me, Lingling."

Mengyuan remained silent for a long time, lost in thought.

After a while, Mengyuan spoke once more. "I merely raised a possibility; we should always look on the bright side of things. Let us not let Ye Junze know about the words we exchanged today."

The adorable golden sword spirit, Lingling, smiled and answered, "Alright, I've remembered."

With that, Lingling drove the Lingxu Sword into motion once more, flying over to Ye Junze, who was sitting cross-legged in meditation.

Halting the Lingxu Sword, Lingling copied Ye Junze, sitting cross-legged with closed eyes just like him, as if engaging in its own cultivation.

One person and one sword spirit, remarkably harmonious.