Chapter 8: Attempting Artifact Forging
Fang Yuan let out a slow breath.
"Stay calm. Stay calm."
He turned his gaze toward the small mountain of failed Pills beside him.
Roughly 2,500 pounds of failed Pills — he had no idea what decomposing them might yield.
He pressed a finger against one of the failed Pills. The pitch-black medicine gave no hint of its original composition.
"Decompose!"
A flash of golden light!
The failed Pill, black as coal a moment ago, instantly crumbled into several portions of powder.
[Qi-Gathering Herb Powder] + [Twin-Color Flower Powder] + [Sunward Herb Powder]
"Tch. It just decomposed straight into raw ingredients? Not a single useful component?"
Fang Yuan shook his head.
Herb powders could be swallowed directly for some effect, but they generally came with side effects.
Many of the supplementary ingredients in Pills served to neutralize the side effects of the primary materials or balance their elemental properties.
Without a proper understanding of pharmacology, one couldn't simply eat them at will.
Fang Yuan decided not to continue decomposing. He stored all the scrap material in the Cave Dwelling's attached warehouse, setting it aside for future use.
"These herb powders can't be converted to value directly — they'd need to be refined into Pills first."
"There's no rush to use Pills for cultivation right now. I'll wait until I find a technique to conceal my aura and Spiritual Power fluctuations before using Pills to cultivate."
Fang Yuan was remarkably clear-headed. With so many powerful cultivators within the sect, he saw no reason to rush into Pill-assisted cultivation — training through his technique alone was sufficient.
At his current rate of breaking through realms, his progress was already frighteningly fast.
A speed like that could still be explained away by exceptional comprehension and Pill consumption. Any faster, and it would look decidedly unnatural.
Xu Zhongshan had said something that stuck with him: if one cultivated without relying on Pills, one's foundation would become incomparably solid — every trace of Spiritual Power refined again and again — and one's future potential would be far greater.
"Nothing else to do. Time to try Artifact Forging!"
Fang Yuan activated the furnace in the Artifact Forging Chamber.
A surge of Earth Fire erupted from the vent below, and the furnace quickly blazed a deep red.
"I'll start with the simplest lower-grade Magic Artifacts."
Fang Yuan selected some Refined Iron, Spirit Sand Gold, and Black Forged Stone.
He followed the steps from memory.
For a normal Artifact Refiner, the first step was working the Refined Iron — using the Earth Fire's heat to warm it while the Spiritual Sense monitored the temperature throughout, burning away impurities without damaging the iron itself.
If the flame ran too hot, it wouldn't just incinerate the impurities — the Refined Iron itself would be ruined. This step demanded considerable skill!
"But I don't need to purge impurities at all."
Fang Yuan skipped that step entirely, heating the Refined Iron and moving straight to shaping it.
Under the guidance of his Spiritual Sense, the rough form of a longsword gradually took shape. The process was somewhat harder than he had imagined — as a first-time practitioner, his proficiency simply wasn't there yet, and it took him quite a while.
At this point Fang Yuan split his attention, continuing to shape the blade while simultaneously directing his Spiritual Sense to guide the Spirit Sand Gold into the furnace to be smelted.
Under the scorching Earth Fire, the Spirit Sand Gold melted quickly. This step also normally required purifying impurities, but Fang Yuan skipped it just the same.
He used his Spiritual Sense to draw the Spirit Sand Gold out into a long, thin wire — wire-drawing was one of the most demanding skills in Artifact Forging.
With the experience and insight of a first-tier mid-grade Artifact Refiner, he made two mistakes before succeeding.
He then manipulated the wire, twisting it into a complete Spiritual Power circuit, and guided the golden circuit wire onto the Refined Iron sword blank. Once he had the position aligned, he branded it into place.
The Spirit Sand Gold, still at high temperature, gradually fused into the interior of the Refined Iron.
Under the Earth Fire's heat, the two materials slowly merged, and the Spiritual Power circuit migrated toward the center of the sword blank. Whether it landed precisely at the center was yet another test of skill.
Once that step was complete, his Spiritual Sense guided the Black Forged Stone into the Earth Fire.
Under the Earth Fire's forging heat, the Black Forged Stone likewise melted, forming a mass of black liquid.
He manipulated that black liquid, coating the entire surface of the Refined Iron sword evenly from top to bottom. This would make the Magic Artifact more durable and stable, resistant to decay.
With that step finished, the work was nearly done. He withdrew the blade from the furnace and plunged it into the cold spirit water nearby to quench it.
Amid a series of sizzling sounds and billowing Spiritual Energy steam, a jet-black longsword emerged, freshly forged.
The whole process seemed brief, but when Fang Yuan finally came back to himself, two and a half hours had already passed.
Two-thirds of his Spiritual Sense had been consumed.
"Still not proficient enough. Under normal circumstances, I should only need to use at most one-fifth of my Spiritual Sense."
Fang Yuan muttered to himself, then retrieved the Black Xuan Sword.
When he channeled his Spiritual Power into it, the power flowed through it with extraordinary smoothness.
"Rise!"
Fang Yuan formed a hand seal, activating the Object Control Art.
The Black Xuan Sword before him wobbled and then lifted off the ground, hovering in midair!
"Go!"
Under Fang Yuan's Spiritual Sense, the Black Xuan Sword shot forward with a whoosh, striking a stone that had been set aside specifically for testing.
Ding!
A sword mark appeared on the stone.
Fang Yuan nodded with satisfaction. "I actually succeeded on the very first attempt!"
He stroked the blade lovingly, unable to put it down, and a line of appraisal information appeared before his eyes.
[Item]: Black Xuan Sword
[Grade]: Yellow Grade, Lower Tier (Excellent Quality)
[Effect]: Can be used for sword-riding attacks or to channel Spiritual Power slashes
"A Magic Artifact — it worked!"
Fang Yuan felt as though he were dreaming.
He had succeeded on his very first attempt at Artifact Forging, and the finished product was even of Excellent Quality. The future looked bright indeed!
By now, night had fallen.
Early to bed is good for the body.
Fang Yuan returned to his bedroom and fell straight asleep.
* * *
In the early morning, Fang Yuan rose well before dawn.
He made his way swiftly to the front hall of the Treasure Pavilion and slipped into one of the Exchange Rooms.
He placed the Black Xuan Sword he had crafted onto the counter.
Xiaobao's mechanical voice rang out.
"Beep — scan complete. Item identified as Black Xuan Sword, a standard lower-grade Magic Artifact, valued at 400 Contribution Points. Quality assessed as Excellent, granting an additional 100 Contribution Points. Total exchange value: 500 Contribution Points. Confirm contribution?"
"Contribute!"
Fang Yuan said calmly.
"Contribution successful!"
Fang Yuan checked his disciple token — his Contribution Points had now reached 530.
That felt very comfortable.
He stepped out of the room and turned toward the Scripture Repository.
In just fifteen minutes, he arrived at the Scripture Repository. At the entrance, he unexpectedly ran into a familiar face.
"Oh! Fang Yuan, I've finally found you!" Yu Jin called out with delight.
"Oh? Senior Brother Yu, you've broken through?" Fang Yuan said in surprise.
"Haha, I took a Barrier-Breaking Pill and managed to break through by luck! Our master is truly generous!" Yu Jin laughed heartily. "By the way, I've taken a master — none other than the Peak Master of Qiyun Peak!"
"Congratulations! Congratulations!" Fang Yuan offered his well-wishes.
"Why didn't you choose Zhenyue Peak before? My master had high hopes for you too! Want me to have a word with my master about bringing you to Qiyun Peak?" Yu Jin asked.
"No need — I'm doing just fine where I am."
"Where are you stationed now?"
"The Treasure Pavilion!"
"Uh…" Yu Jin scratched his head, at a loss for words.
He said, "You know that among the disciples of our intake, whoever breaks through to the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining first will receive a Foundation Establishment Pill as a reward, right?"
Fang Yuan looked surprised. "There's something like that?"
"Yes. Including the thirty-three of us who were dispatched, this intake of the Red Dream Branch has over five hundred disciples in total, most of them with lower-grade Spiritual Roots. You were the first to break through in the rankings before — you still have a chance to compete for that spot. But if you stay cooped up in the Treasure Pavilion, it'll be a tough ask!"
Fang Yuan waved a hand. "I'm a lazy sort by nature — I don't want to move around. We'll deal with the future when it comes. Are you here at the Scripture Repository to exchange for a technique?"
Yu Jin smiled. "That's right. I'm here to exchange for a Spiritual Sense cultivation technique. My master said that Spiritual Sense, physical body, and Spiritual Power are best developed in balance. I plan to get a Spiritual Sense cultivation method to train with."
"I see!" Fang Yuan asked curiously, "Did your master make any recommendations?"
"He said all techniques are the same in the end — what matters is the depth of one's comprehension. A higher-grade technique isn't necessarily the best. That said, he did recommend a Heaven Grade technique to me — the Qi Refining section of the Grand Yan Forty-Nine Heavenly Scripture. It's a bit harder to get started with, but the advantage is that you won't need to switch techniques frequently down the road."
Yu Jin mentioned it offhandedly.
"Is it expensive?"
"A bit. Just the first three layers of the Qi Refining section cost five hundred Contribution Points, and further cultivation requires special Spiritual Sense Pills. Fortunately, my master provided some support, and I've saved up a little myself."
"What a coincidence," Fang Yuan said with a smile.
"What do you mean?" Yu Jin asked, puzzled.
"Nothing." Fang Yuan shook his head. "How long do you think it'll take you to reach the Novice stage?"
"Haha, who can say for certain? I'd guess it'll take me at least three months to reach Novice," Yu Jin said modestly.
"Hiss — Senior Brother Yu is impressive! A technique of that caliber, and you only need two or three months to reach Novice!" Fang Yuan said with an expression of genuine admiration.
"Haha, keep it modest — my master says I have a bit of a talent for Spiritual Sense, something like how upper-grade Spiritual Root cultivators are with Spiritual Power. Hahaha, just a small gift, I suppose." Yu Jin laughed openly and warmly.
Fang Yuan smiled. "Go ahead and make your exchange. I'll go look for a technique too — my lower-grade technique is due for an upgrade."
"Haha, true enough. You should switch to a better technique soon. I'd suggest finding a master sooner rather than later — having a teacher to guide you saves a lot of wrong turns." Yu Jin offered the advice earnestly.
"Thanks for the tip! I'll keep it in mind."
The two parted ways and each entered a selection room.
Fang Yuan tapped through the catalogue, searched for a moment, and sure enough found the entry for the Grand Yan Forty-Nine Heavenly Scripture.
[Grand Yan Forty-Nine Heavenly Scripture: A Heaven Grade, Supreme Tier Spiritual Sense technique. Upon reaching Completion Stage, one can condense thirty-six Grand Yan Spiritual Sense Thoughts, splitting one's mind thirty-six ways to simultaneously control thirty-six Magical Artifacts at full power against enemies! It is the prerequisite technique for the five-tier technique "Heavenly Yan Forty-Nine Mystic Scripture." Exchange cost: Hidden]
He then searched for its Qi Refining section.
[Minor Yan Nine Truth Art: A Yellow Grade, Supreme Tier Spiritual Sense technique. Upon reaching Completion Stage, one can condense nine Minor Yan Spiritual Sense Thoughts, comparable in Spiritual Sense strength to early-stage Foundation Establishment. Full volume exchange cost: 50,000 Contribution Points. First three layers exchange cost: 500 Contribution Points]
Fang Yuan chose to exchange for the first three layers of the Minor Yan Nine Truth Art.
This time he did not select the original copy — the Heaven Grade technique's original was kept at headquarters, and even if he could exchange for it, he couldn't afford it!
As he walked out of the selection room, Yu Jin happened to emerge from another selection room at the same moment.
The two exchanged a smile, then each headed into their respective Exchange Rooms.