“However, considering that I am not familiar with the physiological structure of female humans, in order to ensure the efficiency of my care, I suggest using a master-servant contract to gain a deeper understanding of you. I wonder if you mind...”

　　“Get lost, get lost, get lost, get lost, get lost, get lost!”

　　“Alright then, I’ll use a more universal method. First, drink more hot water...”

　　“Go away ah ah ah ah ah!”

　　……

　　After a round of pointless bickering, Henry Martinez saw that Emily Thompson had fallen into a deep sleep. With nothing else to do, he began adding a few decorative elements to the sword world.

　　Dragon Chant Flower, Hundred-Lock Vine.

　　Unlike the previous inanimate decorations like the Shaping Array and Gentle Breeze, these two are both living things with a certain degree of vitality. The Hundred-Lock Vine can detect extremely subtle fluctuations from the outside world, while the Dragon Chant Flower, a companion plant to the vine, can analyze and reproduce the fluctuations captured by the vine, transforming them into their original sounds. These two plants can greatly enhance the Heavenly Sword’s perception of the outside world, while consuming almost nothing themselves. For a blank-state divine sword, they are the top priority for cultivation.

　　As for the materials needed to cultivate these plants, naturally they come from the mount’s high-quality, pure vital energy... After all, she’s just lying there anyway.

　　After spending about a morning and an afternoon, Henry Martinez finally completed the project within the sword world. He watched as a vine hundreds of zhang long rose from beneath his feet, climbing invisible steps and gradually growing into the hazy sky, spreading out like a web in midair, its tendrils constantly extending outward. On the ground, several Dragon Chant Flowers of various colors bloomed, and sounds from the outside world were transmitted through the long green vine, converging in one place.

　　Just as the vine and flowers were being nourished by vital energy and fully formed, Henry Martinez vaguely heard a sound coming from underground.

　　The sound was not human, but more like a natural fluctuation from some rare treasure, extremely faint, but because it was so close, Henry Martinez could just barely hear it.

　　This discovery immediately aroused the sword spirit’s great curiosity.

　　This impoverished mount actually had rare treasures buried beneath her own home? Oh, wait, it probably wasn’t Emily Thompson who buried them, but rather a treasure left to her by her late mother.

　　The source of the fluctuation was beneath the kitchen. With the vine and flower continuously locking onto it, Henry Martinez quickly found the mechanism. Using the Shaping Array, he moved aside an old square brick under the stove, and with a rumbling sound, a pitch-black entrance appeared in the floor.

　　Below was a short, narrow passageway, ending in a small secret room about a zhang square. A perpetual lamp hung from the ceiling, powered by a high-grade spirit stone that provided nearly inexhaustible energy. In the center of the room were several old wooden chests, and the fluctuation Henry Martinez heard from above came from the one in the middle.

　　The moment he approached the chest, Henry Martinez suddenly heard a startled, even panicked, human voice.

　　“Eh, who are you?”

　　In the next instant, Henry Martinez saw the phantom of a tall woman appear in front of the treasure chest.

　　It was a guardian spirit.

　　Henry Martinez saw through the nature of the phantom at a glance. A cultivator above the Overcast Rain Realm could split off a portion of their primordial spirit, supplement it with true essence and specific techniques, and leave behind a guardian spirit similar to a clone.

　　The strength of the guardian spirit depended on the cultivator’s skill and the strength of the split primordial spirit, but over time, it would inevitably weaken. So it was usually injected into a formation, lying dormant most of the time, only awakened under specific conditions to conserve spiritual power.

　　At this moment, he had triggered the formation and awakened the guardian spirit.

　　Although her form was indistinct and her image blurry, it was still possible to discern that the woman was stunningly beautiful. What was even more surprising was how closely her facial features resembled those of Emily Thompson.

　　Considering her physique and age, the location and timing of her appearance, and following strict logical reasoning, her identity was obvious.

　　“Sophia Sullivan?”

　　As a fellow spirit, the woman directly heard Henry Martinez’s voice and opened her eyes wide in surprise. “Y-yes. May I ask who you are?”

　　“I am the sword spirit of the Heavenly Sword, forged by the blood sacrifice of the Nine Immortal Lord during the Immortal-Demon War of the Nine Provinces. I was awakened by the call of the descendant Emily Thompson, and now serve as her master, active in the reconstruction of the sword world and the exploration of Shen Garden.”

　　“Huh? What...”

　　It took Sophia Sullivan a full half-stick of incense to recover from her shock. Afterward, she gently lowered her head, her face solemn as she fell into deep thought, muttering to herself.

　　“The Immortal-Demon War of the Nine Provinces, the Nine Immortal Lord, the Heavenly Sword... all concepts I’ve never heard of. If this isn’t a sword spirit gone mad or a mind collapse... Actually, it could vaguely correspond to some fragmented history from the primordial era, but could there really be such a coincidence? To encounter a relic from the primordial era in the basement of Shen Garden’s kitchen, and it just happens to form a contract with Qingming? No, considering that both the Li and Shen families may have survived since the primordial era, perhaps this item is simply fated with our ancestors. But why did it awaken only now? No, I should look at it from another angle. So far, the awakening time of primordial relics has always been completely unpredictable, so it’s reasonable for it to awaken by Qingming’s side. Even that faint spiritual fluctuation can be explained as spiritual power dissipating during a long slumber...”