() In just one week, Du Huairou, the world's No. 1 sword-casting master who had been in seclusion for many years, was about to reappear in the rivers and lakes, and the shocking news of the sword-casting would be made public and swept across the entire Heavenly Flame Continent like a tide in the sea. The elders of the three major families of Dongfang, Nangong, and Ximen, as well as celebrities from all walks of life, all received invitations from the Beitang family.

For this grand public casting, the Beitang family specially selected the peak of a mountain peak in the territory to build a casting site, and named this nameless mountain peak "Jinshou Mountain", and built a hollow wall at the newly opened mountain crossing, and inlaid the name on it.

"Gold" and "longevity", spelled together is a "cast" word, this name is not only good, but also should be a thing, but also contains the beautiful meaning of prolonging life, it is said that it was inscribed by the patriarch of Beitang - Beitang Chun himself.

The flat place of the top of the mountain is only more than 30 zhang in circumference, and a high platform is erected in the center, and the platform is six zhang high. The casting platform and sink are on top of the high platform. The auditorium is surrounded by a high platform, and then down the hill is a circle of auditorium.

It stands to reason that the casting site is more suitable for observation in the valley, but the Beitang family also has their own ideas. In fact, they didn't want others to know too much about Du Huairou's knife casting method, but this time the public knife casting was the master's personal will, and they couldn't interfere, so they had to set the venue on the mountain peak, which could not only accommodate many spectators, so that people from other families couldn't find fault with it, but also achieve the goal of making most people unreal.

To Du Huairou and Xiao Tianhe's surprise, the news that "Master Du is actually a woman" did not spread. It can be seen that Beitangli is still quite jealous of Du Huairou. As for whether this high-profile comeback will attract the attention of the demon lord, Du Huairou doesn't care. Because Xiao Tianhe is in the light and the demon lord is in the dark, Du Huairou hopes that the demon lord can come and use her perception ability to confirm the location of the demon lord is not difficult, so that she can be prepared and better protect Xiao Tianhe.

In March, the wind is warm and the sky is clear. Du Huairou's scheduled casting date is on the 25th of this month.

Since the beginning of March, high-ranking people from all sides of the Heavenly Flame Continent have successively gathered from all directions to the state city surrounding the Jinshou Mountain Peak, and even many people who have not received the invitation letter are uninvited, hoping to have the opportunity to see Master Du's dignity at that time. In a short period of time, a large number of guests poured into the originally deserted small cities, and inns, restaurants, and even private houses were overcrowded, and the city lords had to order the city gates to be closed and no longer accept customers. The people who came after simply looked for caves, built tree houses, and pitched tents near the city. While waiting for the Knife Casting Conference to begin, people drank, laughed, and discussed, as if they were celebrating the grandest festival in the Heavenly Flame Continent. There are many shrewd vendors who have set up their stalls on both sides of the avenue outside the city, selling everything from eating, drinking, playing and having fun.

Du Huairou likes this kind of excitement very much. She dragged Xiao Tianhe to hang out almost every day, anyway, people didn't know what Master Du looked like, she just did what she wanted and was free.

Xiao Tianhe was relatively silent, he was not interested in shopping in the first place, let alone having something in his heart. Although Du Huairou was by his side, he was always a little uneasy, worried that the demon lord would suddenly appear. According to Du Huairou, the best time to take away is in the early stage of the tribulation realm, because the body strength of the demon cultivator in that period is enough to withstand the impact of the Yuan Force after the seizure, and the soul strength is slightly weaker than that of the people in the later stage of the Tribulation, it is relatively easier to take the relinquishment, and the Yuan power consumed is less. This is also the reason why the Demon Lord stipulates that you can enter the core if you cultivate to the realm of tribulation. However, this standard is not fixed, a genius like Xiao Tianhe has a higher soul strength than others, and it will undoubtedly be very difficult to wait until the Tribulation Realm to take it away. In addition, his physical strength also surpassed that of demon cultivators in the same realm, and he had already reached the requirements of taking away in the Mahayana realm, so it was very likely that the demon lord would attack quickly.

With Xiao Tianhe's current realm, it is obvious that he can't fight the demon lord, not to mention that the demon lord can command several powerful demon clans. Xiao Tianhe once thought that the safest way was actually to hide in the misty sea area, rely on the Xuan Qi in the Sky Splitting Knife to cultivate into a sword demon, and then come out to fight with the demon master. But there are many disadvantages to doing so.

The first is the inconvenience of contact. The demon lord can't enter the misty sea, and the demon clan can't enter either. During the loss of contact, anything can happen to the Sky Flame Continent. If Xiao Tianhe wanted to know the movements of the Demon Lord, he had to stay on the Sky Flame Continent.

The second is that time does not allow. From the early stage of Mahayana to the cultivation of sword demons, no one knows how many years it will take. According to Du Huairou, it is not far from the time when the demon lord finishes refining Meng Zhangpei, and if the demon lord completely controls Shi Haoming in the future, it will be even more troublesome to deal with him.

Finally, there is the restlessness. Xiao Tianhe always remembered what he had promised Nangong Yan. The Nangong family was not kind to him, and he disappeared without saying a word, how could he cultivate with peace of mind? More than thirty years have passed, no matter whether the head of the Nangong family is still Nangong Yan or not, Xiao Tianhe intends to fulfill his original promise.

After thinking about it, Xiao Tianhe still denied the method of hiding in the misty sea. Since Du Huairou had never mentioned the issue of the strength gap between Xiao Tianhe and the Demon Lord before, it meant that she and Shi Haoming must have a better plan.

Regarding how Du Huairou used demonic power to forge a magic knife, Xiao Tianhe once asked her. But Du Huairou didn't answer, he only knew when he said it.

On March 25, the day of public knife casting finally arrived.

But the sky is not beautiful, and the spring rain has been floating since the hour.

For observers, rain is not a problem. Not to mention the rain, even if it is a knife, I am afraid that people will be willing to come to see Master Du's demeanor. But for the knife forger, the impact of the weather is enormous. Since the place where the knife is cast is an open place, wind and rain may cause impurities to be mixed in the knife embryo.

The elders of the Beitang family were anxious. Du Huairou has been silent for a long time, and the biggest beneficiary of the comeback casting knife must definitely be the Beitang family. If you make a big show, the magic knife that you cast in the end is of poor quality, not only does it outweigh the losses, but it will also be laughed off by others. If you put a canopy on the cast platform, the guests who have come from all over the world will definitely fall out, and what will you look at when they are all covered?

After urgent discussion among the elders, the Hokudo family decided to postpone the sword-casting conference. It's better to make your guests wait a few more days, and at most complain, than to make an accident. But at this juncture, Du Huairou can't be found. Bei Tangli also deliberately rushed back to the Sword Garden in Beilu City to look for it, and the gate was locked.

Du Huairou couldn't be found, and the Beitang family didn't dare to postpone the sword-casting conference for the master, so they had to pray that the rain would stop soon.

Seeing that the noon of the knife casting conference is getting closer and closer, the guests are basically seated, but the rain is getting stronger and stronger. The guests were all talking in twos and threes, and for a master like Du Huairou, as long as the magic knife cast was not of the best level, it was equivalent to failure. Therefore, some guests are looking forward to watching how Master Du can cast the knife despite the influence of the weather, while others are waiting to see a "failure" of knife casting.

At three o'clock, the elders of the Beitang family finally took their seats, and their seats were the closest circle to the high platform. There should be a total of twelve elders in the three major ministries, including the patriarchs, but there were only eleven people sitting at the table.

After waiting for a while, Du Huairou was still nowhere to be seen. Everyone was talking about it, could it be because of the rain that Master Du refused to cast the knife? Then why didn't the Beitang family inform in advance?

As it got closer and closer to noon, the discussion became louder and louder, and the elders of the Beitang family finally couldn't sit still, one of them stood up, jumped onto the high platform, and said in a loud voice: "Everyone, please be at ease, noon is still not yet here, let's wait a little longer." "This person is the head of the White Deer Tribe, Beitangli, because Jinshou Mountain is located in the territory of the White Deer Tribe, so he thinks it is necessary for him to stand up and calm down the riots at the scene. When he shouted, he used Xuanli, but his voice was high but not sharp, but the sound was not broken, so that the entire Jinshou Mountain could hear it clearly.

Unexpectedly, someone in the audience immediately shouted: "What about the patriarch of Beitangchun, why did you let a department master come out to speak?" The person who replied was a big man with muscular pimples, his black beard was scattered like pine needles, from his chin to his sideburns, his complexion was dark, and his face was cross-faced, like Zhong Kui, a ghost-hunting master in folklore. This person is wearing his upper body, obviously under a giant umbrella, but he is covered in sweat, and he doesn't know if it is hot on a rainy day, or he is in a hurry. His reply also used Xuan Li, which was louder than Beitangli's voice, like a thunderclap in the mountains, and the aftermath rumbled.

The people who could be present to watch were all figures with heads and faces in the Heavenly Flame Continent, so they were all old acquaintances with the elders of the Beitang family. Don't look at the strong man's rude and unkempt appearance, Bei Tangli still laughed and said, "Don't worry, Patriarch Ao. Since my family patriarch is in retreat, I am in charge of this sword-casting meeting. To tell the truth, Master Du has always been idle and wild, and his whereabouts are uncertain, and we can't find them if we want to, so we have to wait here. I believe that Master Du will definitely give you a satisfactory explanation!" "It turns out that the big black man is the patriarch of the Dongfang family, Dongfang Ao. Beitangli's words were not only a reply to Dongfang Ao, but also an explanation to all the guests, lest the guests blame Du Huairou's failure to blame the Beitang family's unfavorable affairs.

"Hmph, then I'll wait until noon!" Dongfang Ao suppressed his anger.

Sure enough, the scene was a lot quieter. Du Huairou is a dignified knife casting master, will he put everyone together? Everything will be known at noon.

"She wouldn't have deliberately taken revenge on me for the sake of that day, would she?" said to him, as he kept an eye on the horizon in all directions, hoping to spot the figure of the sword flying. If Du Huairou really didn't come, it would be really messy. Although the fault is not in the Beitang family, how can they appease the angry guests who are full of emotions?

"It's noon!" suddenly shouted from the crowd. Jin Shoushan exploded in an "uproar", and said everything: Some people scolded Du Huairou for not believing his words, and everyone came in vain and was drenched in a rain; some people complained that the Beitang family was not well organized, and even the people who forged the knife could not be found, and what kind of knife casting conference was held? There were also people who shouted Du Huairou's name loudly. Gradually, more and more people joined the shouting, and the shouts became louder and louder, "Du Huairou, Du Huairou, Du Huairou", one after another shouts echoed in the mountains, and even many people clapped their hands and stomped their feet to beat the rhythm.

Bei Tangli was still talking and talking with a pen on the high platform, but where could his voice alone be able to suppress the chorus of guests all over the mountain?

A few people in the audience stood up and gathered towards the summit. Kitado, who was signaling everyone to be quiet, immediately jumped off the high platform. In addition to Dongfang Ao, there was also a young and strong young man, a thin and gentle middle-aged man, these two people were Nangong Patriarch Nangong Yan and Ximen Patriarch Ximen Ding. Beitang Gong, the head of the Hanzhang Department in the elder's seat, also greeted him, and in the absence of the patriarch, he and Beitang Li were the two highest-ranking people in the family.

When the three patriarchs gather together, they must have something important to say.

"Master Libu, it seems that Master Du will not come today, what are you going to do?" The corners of Nangong Yan's mouth rose, and he seemed to be a little gloating.

Ximen Ding twisted his green beard: "I think the two of you should not wait, hurry up and ask the patriarch of Beitang Chun to come forward." For such a major event, I don't believe that he would choose this time to retreat and practice. ”

"It's true that the patriarch is not in retreat, but he, like Master Du, is unpredictable, and you don't know it. We don't know where he is at this moment!" said Bei Tangli anxiously.

Dongfang Ao proposed: "I have a way to stabilize the situation. I just don't know if your Beitang family is reluctant. ”

"I beg for advice!" said Kitado arched his hand.

"It's very simple, we all came to see the casting knife, but we didn't see anything, and we were drenched in a rain, and we must be unhappy. As long as you give us something good to compensate, everyone will be happy, and it will be fine. Dongfang laughed proudly.

"This ...... I'm afraid it won't work......" Beitang Li looked embarrassed, but he was scolding fiercely in his heart: "I'm sorry!

"Heh, then you can figure it out yourself!" Dongfang Ao spread his hands.

"Patriarch Ding, Patriarch Ao, I wonder if Master Tu Lingchun or Master Deng Xianjue of your family are also here?" asked Beitang respectfully.

"Master Du has made a comeback after a long hiatus, and it is the first time that he has cast a knife in public, so Master Deng of my family will naturally not miss this opportunity to observe. Simon said.

"Lao Tu is also here, and he is sitting down there. Dongfang Ao pointed to the seating area of the Dongfang family.

Beitang Li was awakened by Beitang Gong's words, and immediately said, "That's easy." On behalf of the Beitang family, I implore Master Tu or Master Deng to take the stage to cast the sword, not only

All the materials are from my Beitang family, and we don't want the magic knife that was cast in the end, and we will give it a big gift afterwards, how about it?" In any case, it is much more cost-effective to put on some materials and a generous gift than to appease all the guests with "good things".

"No, I don't agree. Simon Ding shook his head.

Beitang was immediately anxious: "Patriarch Ding categorically refused before he asked Master Deng, why is this?"

Dongfang Ao sneered: "I said Beitangli, are you a fool for us? Or are you a fool when Lao Tu and Lao Deng are fools? Even Du Huairou refused to cast a knife because of the rain, and you still let the two of them go to cast a knife? Who is willing to go? You should provide materials, and the gift is also deserved, but because of the weather, the knife forged is not good, how should you compensate for the damage to your reputation?"

Indeed, Dongfang Ao's words are not rough.

"Listening to Patriarch Ao's meaning, as long as they don't damage the reputation of the two masters, Tu and Deng, they can go on stage to forge swords?" asked Beitang Gong.

Dongfang Ao didn't expect Beitang Gong to ask this, and his mind turned, how could there be a way not to damage his reputation? If there were, Du Huairou would not hide. But to be on the safe side, he still didn't let go: "Then I have to hear what good ideas you have first." If it's really as you said, I'll discuss it with Lao Tu again. ”

Ximen Ding was also interested: "I would like to hear about it." ”

Beitang Gong said: "Please Master Tu and Master Deng on the stage together, just on this rainy day, in this Jinshou Mountain, there will be a sword-casting duel! What if the weather is bad? Only those who can cast high-quality magic knives on a rainy day can be called masters! Besides, the environment and weather conditions are the same, and the two of them just have their own magical powers." The two masters have long been famous, but they have never competed on the same stage, and they must be happy to compete with each other. The guests enjoyed watching it, even if they couldn't forge the best magic knife in the end, it didn't matter, everyone could see it, if even the two masters couldn't overcome the problem of bad weather, it means that the impact was indeed huge, and the reputation of the two masters would naturally not be damaged, how?"

Beitang secretly applauded in his heart. Beitang Gong's words directly turned the passivity of the Beitang family into an active one, so that Dongfang Ao and Ximen Ding did not agree, nor did they agree.

If the two of them agreed, it would be of the greatest benefit to the Beitang family, not only to solve the urgent needs of the moment, but also to shift the attention of the guests to the two masters, Tu and Deng.

But for the Dongfang family and the Ximen family, it is troublesome, which is tantamount to betting on the future interests of the two families. What Beitang Gong said about "reputation will not be damaged" is one-sided, and it is only useful to the winning side, but if he loses, the whole world will know that his own sword-casting master is not as good as another master's master, how can his reputation not be damaged? In case the quality of the magic knife forged by your own master is not high, and the other party is lucky enough to successfully cast the best magic knife, it will be a fiasco, not only will the master's reputation plummet, but even the prestige of the family will be implicated.

However, if you don't agree and the other party agrees, it means that you have retreated, and if you admit it, it is equivalent to taking the initiative to admit that your own master is not as good as the master of the other family, and your reputation will still be lost.

Dongfang Ao frowned, Ximen Ding stroked his beard and pondered, and neither of them immediately replied.

"Hey, why rush to compete for a while? Rainy days must have an impact on the two masters, and it takes a lot of effort, effort, time, and trouble, but the quality of the magic knife cast is not the highest, so why bother? You can choose another day with good weather, and it will also give the two masters Tu and Deng time to prepare well. Besides, the masters both have a preference for certain materials, and it seems fair for the Hokudo family to provide materials, but in fact it is unfair, in case one of them is good at using that kind of material and the other is not, then what better than having the two of them collect materials separately? Nangong Yan persuaded while winking at Dongfang Ao and Ximen Ding.

Beitang Li and Beitang Gong hated that they couldn't swallow that Nangong Yan in one gulp, his words were tantamount to a wake-up call to Dongfang Ao and Ximen Ding, and the best response to the Beitang family's request was that neither party agreed. In this way, the reputation of the master and the family will not be damaged, and the ball will be kicked back to the Hokudo family.

"Master Gong, you don't know how much effort it takes to forge a knife, you have to give the master time to prepare carefully, right? Even if I agree to your proposal, Lao Tu will not agree. Dongfang Ao excused himself, "Patriarch Ding, what do you think?"

Ximen Ding naturally understood, and sang a harmony with Dongfang Ao: "That's right! You can't risk your reputation in order to save your Beitang family! I think Master Deng will definitely refuse." For the time being, you might as well think of another way!"

"Yes, yes. Beitang said helplessly. He glanced at the guest seats on the hillside, and everyone was still shouting to the beat: "Du Huairou! Du Huairou ......"

"Well, that's all it had to be. Bei Tangli jumped onto the high platform again, made a silent gesture and turned around, and the guests gradually quieted down to see what he had to say.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm really sorry for today's events, it seems that Master Du will not come. I originally wanted to invite Master Tu Lingchun Tu and Master Deng Xianjue Deng to take the stage together to have a knife casting competition, which can also feast everyone's eyes, but the weather is really bad, lest it affect the final result. I propose that everyone disperse for the time being, and also give the two masters Tu and Deng some time to rest and prepare. After the weather clears up next week, how about inviting the two masters to compete on stage?" Bei Tangli knew that Dongfang Ao and Ximen Ding couldn't discuss, so he simply said directly.

"What is that old guy talking nonsense, when did we promise?" Dongfang proudly grabbed the placket of Beitang Gong in the audience.

"The proud patriarch is angry, angry. Aren't you worried about the weather's impact on the sword-casting?Then why do you want to get angry?" Beitang Gong smiled and pushed away Dongfang Ao's hand.

Beitangli had already poked the words out, and Dongfang Ao and Ximen Ding couldn't refuse in front of the public. Hearing that the two masters were going to compete on the same stage, the guests cheered loudly together.

Tu Lingchun in the banquet sat with his arms crossed, his face gloomy. Deng Xianjue snorted dissatisfiedly, stood up and prepared to leave.

Seeing that the guests were not as angry as before, Kitado was secretly relieved. When he was about to step down and say something kind to the two patriarchs of Dongfang and Ximen, he heard a high-pitched female voice in the crowd shouting: "If you want to choose another day at this time, you can forge the best magic sword on a rainy day, that is a well-deserved master!"