Elder Tai Ho

"Just here to visit this guy's long-time friend," Instead of Hua Tianshu, it was Jie Fu Lian who spoke up and answered her question with a sarcastic tone, "Our brother Hua really missed that old fart so we decided to come and see if he was still alive or not."

The girl once again glared at Jie Fu Lian and for a second there, Jie Fu Lian even felt as if she had growled at him like an angry animal.

"Elder Tai Ho is currently cultivating. Come back later."

As soon as she had said this, the door opened from the inside and a bald-headed man could be seen standing in the doorway.

'Little sister, when you lie, at least make sure you aren't caught this soon.'

Elder Tai Ho's eyes swept across the faces of the three guests and the young girl before they finally rested on Hua Tianshu.

"What brings you here?"

Hua Tianshu smiled as he cupped his hands and bowed his head to respectfully greet the man.

"We had something to discuss with the elder," Hua Tianshu spoke as he lifted his head, "It would be great if you could spare us some of your time."

Elder Tai Ho frowned as he heard this and his eyes suddenly turned to stare at Jie Fu Lian who was standing straight with an expressionless face, trying his best not to reveal his identity.

"Is he with you?"

Hua Tianshu nodded his head with a smile.

"Do you know who he is?" This question was certainly not normal and contained a deeper meaning that most people might not have been able to understand.

Hua Tianshu once again nodded his head.

Jie Fu Lian gulped as he internally cursed this old man for being quick-witted, 'Had he already been found out?'

"Then, come in." Elder Tai Ho didn't ask anything more nor did he try to explain the reasoning behind his strange question. After seeing Hua Tianshu's confident demeanor, he simply let the three guests enter his house.

"Ren Lei, prepare tea for us," Elder Tai Ho turned to the young girl and softly spoke.

The young girl called Ren Lei nodded and politely bowed her head, "Yes, Master."

"Elder Tai Ho, who is that?" Jie Fu Lian was the first to question.

"She's my disciple. I found her a few years ago. She doesn't have innate talent but she is hard-working and a quick learner. She has a bit of a foul mouth and a bad attitude but she has a kind and honest nature. In the future, when she descends the mountain, you might get to hear her name more often," Elder Tai Ho sounded pretty proud of his disciple as he spoke.

When Jie Fu Lian thought back to how the girl had glared at him and called her own master an 'old geezer', he couldn't help but nod his head as he thought, 'I can't say about the rest but she certainly had a foul mouth and a bad attitude.'

The four people sat around a table and at first, shared some friendly greetings before coming to the main matter as to why they had suddenly visited.

Hua Tianshu, "Elder Tai Ho, we wanted to know more about Xue Lan and the art of controlling spirits."

Elder Tai Ho looked to be a bit taken back as he heard this and for a second, he hesitated before he asked, "Why are you asking about that?"

"Elder Tai Ho, were you not the one who forged immortal Xue Lan's sword?"

Jie Fu Lian snapped his head towards Hua Tianshu with a stunned expression plastered on his face.

"It is true that I forged his spiritual sword but our relationship wasn't too deep. I'm afraid there isn't much I can say about him."

Hua Tianshu's smile didn't falter in the slightest as he heard this, instead, it almost looked as if he had expected this response and was well-prepared with a reply.

"There is no need to lie. Your relationship with immortal Xue Lan was good. In fact, you two were considered sworn brothers, were you not?"

Elder Tai Ho glared at the man sitting in front of him and refused to comment.

"Elder Tai Ho, correct me if I'm wrong but didn't you forge his sword knowing he was a half-demon? You even kept it a secret from everyone else. Are you sure you don't know much about him?"

Elder Tai Ho's eyes dangerously narrowed down on Hua Tianshu, "How do you know all this?"

Hua Tianshu smiled, "Some of it was information I got from reading old textbooks and the rest was nothing more than a guess."

"..."

No matter how many textbooks one would read, such information was clearly never going to be provided in any of them so it was clear that most of what he had said was nothing more than speculations and guesses.

Elder Tai Ho was quite a famous man. He looked old but his face didn't give out his actual age which was much more than a few centuries. Currently, he was one of the oldest men alive but Jie Fu Lian didn't feel like the age was that impressive. When compared to the demon king, Elder Tai Ho was still the younger one.

What was truly impressive about Elder Tai Ho was the fact that the man was somebody straight out of most legends. He was one of the only cultivators who had attained the Peak stage of the divine realm and instead of aiming for ascension, he stayed at the top of a mountain and forged swords.

There was once a saying: 'If you had a sword that was forged by the great elder Tai Ho, your name would surely be remembered for the next thousand years to come.'

When Jie Fu Lian was little, he had looked up to the Elder Tai Ho of the legends and he aspired to be someone like him. However, after actually meeting the man and becoming acquainted with him, he no longer had the same aspirations.

The swords created by this man were certainly great and his achievements were also extraordinary, but Jie Fu Lian wasn't fond of his personality.

No matter how great Elder Tai Ho was, at the end of the day, this man only did what he did for his own personal gain.

He was too selfish and arrogant.

Hence, Jie Fu Lian didn't get along with the man.

Suddenly Ren Lei returned with the tea and politely placed the teacups on the table as she poured tea for the guests.

Shockingly enough, although her actions were polite and considerate, the expression on her face was still hostile and unwelcoming.

Out of the three guests, she showed her outright dislike by glaring at the one who sat in the middle, Jie Fu Lian.

Jie Fu Lian couldn't help but frown a little as he wondered how he had wronged this young girl.

"Xue Lan was indeed a half-demon," Elder Tai Ho sighed as he picked up the teacup and took a sip of the herbal tea, "But he wasn't bad. He was a kind man with a pure heart. He was the rarest of talents I had ever met, a man born only once every thousand years."

The three guests listened attentively to what Elder Tai Ho had to say and dare not interrupt.

"He never planned on hiding his origins. He believed there was nothing wrong with being a half-demon. As long as one's mind was clear and heart was free, be it a demon or a human, one would still be able to understand the greater Dao. That's what he always said."

Jie Fu Lian gulped as he heard this and suddenly felt his admiration for this Xue Lan increase.

"I had known him since he was a child and I was the one who suggested for him to hide his origins. He was young and innocent, how could he know that not everybody shared his thoughts? I didn't want him to face discrimination and hate so I told him to hide his origins. The sword that I forged for him did exactly that. It was a spiritual tool that helped conceal his demonic blood. As long as the sword was with him, unless he revealed it himself, his identity would never be known."

Elder Tai Ho took another sip of the tea and placed it back down on the table with a sigh as he continued, "He wanted to become the greatest cultivator that ever lived so that people like him wouldn't be discriminated against. However, none of the cultivation techniques suited his physique. Since there were no cultivation manuals he could follow, he decided to create his own new ones. The 'him' of that time perfectly fit the saying: If the path is unclear, True determination would pave a new road."

'If the path is unclear, true determination would pave a new road.'

For some reason, Jie Fu Lian smiled as he heard this and couldn't help but feel like he could understand this Xue Lan very well.

After all, Jie Fu Lian was also a man who perfectly matched that saying.

In a world where innate talent stood on top, Jie Fu Lian proved that even without talent, as long as a person was determined and willing to work hard, even the sky would bow down before them.