Firmament Sword

At first glance, the three-story pavilion where Huo Feng lived didn’t seem particularly remarkable. The grayish-blue wall tiles exuded a mottled, ancient air, looking as if they had weathered many years. But when Xu Luo took a closer look, he was so shocked he nearly tripped over his own feet!

The pavilion’s wall tiles... were actually all made from whole Spirit Stones!

It was just that the outside had been sealed with a glaze that resembled blue brick! This made them look like ordinary blue bricks, but by releasing just a sliver of Divine Sense, one could feel the abundant Spiritual Power within the walls!

’Never mind anything else, this three-story pavilion built entirely of Spirit Stones is a priceless treasure in itself!’ Xu Luo marveled inwardly. ’Cultivating every day while living in a house like this... It really would be an incredibly blissful thing to do!’

The absurd thing was, within Huo Feng’s memories... there wasn’t a single shred of recollection about this!

Even a tiny bit... would have led Xu Luo to believe he might not have fully obtained all of Huo Feng’s memories. But there was nothing... which could only mean that this young master of the Huo Family had never once paid these things any mind!

Even those two Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Medicines, which anyone could tell were of the highest quality, and this entire house built of Spirit Stones, were worth less to Huo Feng... than a beautiful woman from his harem whose name he couldn’t even recall.

’He really was... a profligate dandy to the extreme!’ Xu Luo couldn’t help but smile bitterly to himself as he thought: ’For such a menace to have become the target I chose for my transformation... I have to say, a person’s life... is full of drama.’

If he’d had a choice, Xu Luo would never have chosen to transform into such a person.

Pushing open the door, he found that beautiful women had already prepared his bathwater and eagerly came forward to serve him as he bathed.

Xu Luo frowned and said in a low voice, ”I’m tired. I want to soak by myself for a while. You may all leave.”

According to Huo Feng’s habits, this wasn’t entirely unprecedented, though it was rare...

So, although the several very beautiful young women were a little surprised, their thoughts quickly turned to: ’Perhaps the Young Master’s trip this time was truly arduous...’

One of the pretty girls nodded and said softly, ”Young Master, if you need anything, call for us at any time. We will be waiting right outside the door.”

Xu Luo waved his hand, dismissing the girls. He didn’t immediately head for the bathtub but instead looked around, observing the various furnishings inside.

He had to admit, although that guy Huo Feng was the ultimate dandy, his taste was actually quite good. The decor of the entire house gave off a grand and classical feeling. Only a true connoisseur could perceive the shudder-inducing luxury within!

If an ordinary person were to walk in here, they definitely wouldn’t think there was anything special about this place. In other words, if one hadn’t reached a certain level, they wouldn’t be able to discern the class of this place at all!

Every single decorative object radiated waves of Spiritual Qi; none of them were ordinary items.

Xu Luo even discovered a Spirit-Connected Magical Artifact in a corner!

It was a large vase, taller than a person. If one didn’t look closely, it was easy to overlook this big fellow. Despite its considerable size, it seemed to have very little presence.

If not for Xu Luo’s powerful Spiritual Sense, he would have overlooked it as well.

After confirming that this large vase was a Spirit-Connected Magical Artifact, Xu Luo was left speechless. A treasure that could stir up a bloodbath over a single piece on the Central Plains Star Continent... was it just common junk on the Ancient Race Continent?

Xu Luo tried to communicate with the large vase. Immediately, a feeling of joy was transmitted to him, tinged with a hint of grievance...

This left Xu Luo even more exasperated. This large vase wasn’t just any Spirit-Connected Magical Artifact; it was a top-grade one!

Not only did it possess spirituality, but it also had a sliver of independent consciousness and could even produce various emotions... This kind of Spirit-Connected Magical Artifact was one in a million, truly top-grade!

And yet, it had been left in this corner, gathering dust for who knows how many years.

”It’s true what they say, there’s no ’most wasteful,’ only ’more wasteful!’” Xu Luo muttered under his breath. With a wave of his hand, the large vase rapidly shrank, transforming into a small, inch-tall bottle that flew into his pocket.

’A good thing, of course, can’t be wasted. Since you’re not using it, I’ll be the one to let it shine!’ Xu Luo grumbled. He then took off his clothes and slipped into the wooden tub. The temperature inside was just right, so comfortable that Xu Luo felt the urge to groan.

Moreover, this bathwater was no ordinary thing. On the surface, it looked normal, but the moment one entered, they would feel a large amount of Spiritual Power constantly boring into their body, and all fatigue would instantly vanish!

’He really knew how to live it up!’ Xu Luo sighed. ’If all the families on the Ancient Race Continent are like this... who would still bother to cultivate desperately? It’s no wonder this guy became such a thorough dandy. It’d be hard for a child raised in this environment *not* to covet a life of pleasure!’

Just then, the sound of a conversation came from outside.

”Is Feng’Er in there?” came a middle-aged woman’s voice, tinged with urgency.

”Replying to you, Madam, the Young Master is currently bathing...” This was the voice of the pretty girl from before, very gentle.

SLAP!

A crisp, loud slap suddenly rang out, startling Xu Luo.

Immediately after, the middle-aged woman’s cold, harsh voice sounded: ”You audacious slaves! The Young Master just returned, weary from his journey, and you dare to slack off while he’s bathing? You’re not by his side to serve him? Do you think I won’t punish you?”

”Calm your anger, Madam, calm your anger...” Having been struck, the pretty girl’s first reaction wasn’t grievance, but terror. She said with a trembling voice, ”It is this servant’s fault... This servant deserves to die...”

Xu Luo frowned. He knew from his memories that this voice belonged to Huo Feng’s mother, a daughter of the Bai Family, another major family on the Ancient Race Continent. Her temperament was cold, selfish, and cruel. She was extremely ambitious, but when it came to her son, Huo Feng, she couldn’t possibly be any better.

Although he had no particular feelings for any of the girls here, Xu Luo didn’t want them to be harmed because of him. So he said, ”I was the one who told them to leave. I’m tired. Besides, I gained a lot from this trip, and my state of mind has improved.”

In his memories, Huo Feng rarely called Bai Jie ”Mother.” The great dandy saw his mother only a few times a year, and whenever they met, he almost never had a chance to speak, only to listen to Bai Jie talk.

”Ah, good, good! My precious son has finally grown up! Gaining something is a good thing; Mother is happy for you!” To Bai Jie, the girl was just a mere servant. She wouldn’t give her a second thought. Beating her or even killing her meant nothing; all of it combined was not as important as a single word from her son.

As Bai Jie spoke, she was about to push the door open, but then she heard ”Huo Feng” say, ”I’m bathing. You probably shouldn’t come in, right?”

”Hee hee, you silly boy. You were born from your mother. What part of you hasn’t Mother seen before? Now you’re starting to be shy around me, really! Are you getting bashful?” Bai Jie said dismissively. However, she remained outside and didn’t enter, asking through the door, ”My son, what did you gain this time on the Central Plains Star Continent?”

Xu Luo had already thought about this. When Bai Jie asked, he casually replied, ”On the Central Plains Star Continent, I saw many things and broadened my horizons. I met that fellow who is rumored to be Beidou’s Eighth Star. We fought once. Your son was no match for him and fled. Unfortunately, everyone else died.”

”What? You met that Beidou’s Eighth Star, Xu Luo? And you even clashed with him?” Bai Jie’s voice suddenly rose several notches. Even though she knew her son was right there, a look of worry appeared in her eyes.

Just then, Huo Fengyan also arrived. He happened to overhear this, and the expression on his face immediately became quite colorful. He muttered, ”With your abilities... you encountered the Xu Luo who defeated Uncle Wanzhang, and you managed to escape with your life?”

”You, surnamed Huo... Are those the words of a human being? Why shouldn’t my son be able to escape with his life after encountering him?” Bai Jie flew into a rage, glaring at Huo Fengyan, looking as if she would attack if he said another word she disliked.

Inside the room, Xu Luo soaked comfortably in his bath, thinking to himself: ’What a pity... your son did encounter me, and he definitely did not escape with his life... Although deceiving you isn’t my intention, there’s nothing to be done... Who told us to be enemies?’

Huo Fengyan also felt his words had been a bit out of line. No matter what, that was his son, after all. He immediately closed his mouth.

Bai Jie pressed, ”Feng’Er, tell Mother, what exactly happened?”

”It was like this. Your son first went to the secular nation where Xu Luo is located. In that country’s Imperial Capital, I met a few women... ahem...”

Huo Fengyan shook his head, filled with the exasperation of ”hating iron for not becoming steel.” He wanted to say something but held back, though the depths of his eyes were full of disappointment.

”In that kind of backwater, what kind of outstanding women could there be? Can it be that my son went out for a while and his tastes have worsened?” Bai Jie asked, looking astonished.

’Damn... No wonder that guy Huo Feng was such a dandy. With a bizarre mother like this, it would be hard *not* to be one!’

Xu Luo thought to himself. Aloud, he said, ”Those women were all top-tier beauties from the Central Plains Star Continent. When your son saw them... I was naturally smitten. If you saw them, you would naturally approve of my taste!”

”Mm-hm, what my son says makes sense. Continue!” Bai Jie said from outside the door.

”Only later did I discover that those women were all connected to that Xu Luo. Then, your son also found out that Xu Luo seems to have... some connection to the Beidou’s Eighth Star we are looking for!” As Xu Luo said this, if anyone had been present, they would have surely seen the sardonic, half-smiling expression on his face.

”My Feng’Er has truly grown up. He’s become so outstanding, balancing both cultivation and handling business!” Bai Jie never skimped on praising her son.

”So later... we got into a fight. I never expected that Xu Luo would be so powerful! Everyone else with me was killed by him. It was only with great difficulty that I managed to escape!” Xu Luo said.

Just then, Bai Jie said with some surprise, ”Didn’t Mother have your father get you a number of rare poisons from the Ancestor? A tiny bit can kill a person without a trace. Didn’t you use them?”