The Cangwu Mountains stretch for eighty thousand li, their clouds and mists rolling like waves and never dispersing all year round. Qingshi Town, at the foot of the mountains, was named after the several-zhang-tall dark stone at its entrance. Backed by the Cangwu Secret Realm, it had also become a major thoroughfare for cultivators traveling through the Southern Jambu Continent.
At the blacksmith's shop on the eastern end of town, the youth Lin Fu was sweating as he worked. On the anvil, a piece of scarlet refined iron sparked under his hammer, its glow casting a red sheen over his sharply defined face. He was seventeen. His parents had died when he was young, and he made a living with the blacksmithing skills passed down by his family. His life was poor, but peaceful.
"Lin Fu, if you don't deliver this batch of black-iron swords soon, Shopkeeper Li is going to come knocking!" Auntie Wang from the neighboring general store poked her head inside, her voice booming.
