Chapter 666: Forging Weapons (Part 1)

Six hours had passed, and she had taken healing pills, but she still hadn't recovered. That was far too slow.

"The injuries are quite severe... Even with the medicine, it will take about three days to recover, and at least half a month for full recovery."

Stopping her cultivation, Luo Qiqi looked up and said.

In the previous battle, she had suffered serious internal injuries. Recovering in three days was already considered fast.

After all, injuries were not like eating; one couldn't speed up at will.

"The longer we stay, the greater the danger!" Hearing it would take that long, Zhang Xuan frowned.

Although the formation hid them from the puppet, no one could guarantee there wouldn't be unforeseen changes. They had to speed things up.

After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Do you have any Qi Restoration Pills on you?"

"Qi Restoration Pills?" Luo Qiqi was startled. "Yes."

Qi Restoration Pills were one of the most common medicines for cultivators, used to restore true qi. Their grade varied with cultivation level.

Like the spirit-gathering arrays in formations, each level of medicine had such pills, but their effects were vastly different.

The Qi Restoration Pill she had was at the early stage of Five-Star. Even if her true qi were completely depleted, taking one could restore about fifty percent in a short time, enough to handle some dangers and problems.

With a flick of her wrist, she took one out.

"Mm."

Taking the pill, Zhang Xuan held it in his hand for a moment, then handed it back. "Eat it."

"Yes." Though puzzled, Luo Qiqi opened her mouth and swallowed the pill.

Qi Restoration Pills were only used to restore true qi. Her true qi was already abundant; what use was this?

Just as she was wondering, she felt the pill slowly dissolve in her mouth, and then a warm current instantly flowed through her body.

Wherever the current passed, internal and external injuries visibly healed. After a few breaths, she felt as if she had been reborn, renewed like a phoenix from the ashes.

"This..."

Her eyes wide, Luo Qiqi stood up, unable to believe it.

An injury that would take at least half a month to fully recover was completely healed after taking a Qi Restoration Pill!

"Teacher, this Qi Restoration Pill..."

Even if she were foolish, she understood that the teacher must have tampered with the pill, turning it into a miraculous healing medicine.

He had only held it, without touching the furnace or adding any herbs, yet he changed the pill's properties and effects... How was that possible?

"Prepare for weapon forging."

Without explaining, Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

Relying on her healing methods, it would be ages before she could forge weapons. To heal quickly, he had to use the Heavenly Dao true qi.

However, this true qi was too special, and she was a Five-Star master teacher. If he infused it directly, she might discover something, so he had to use a medium.

Qi Restoration Pills contained狂暴 spiritual energy; incorporating the true qi into them was the best way to carry it. Once inside her body, it would merge with her own true qi, making it impossible to detect even if she suspected later.

The so-called "healing holy water" earlier worked on the same principle.

The wine was pungent, and the true qi was infused into it, so even the most skilled person couldn't detect it.

"Mm."

Seeing that the teacher didn't elaborate, Luo Qiqi wisely refrained from asking more and walked over to the Red Flame Cauldron.

Around the cauldron, coal and various minerals were plentiful, enough for her to forge.

"Begin."

Taking a deep breath, Luo Qiqi flicked her wrist, placed coal into the cauldron, and ignited it with a special method. Driven by her true qi, it soon emitted astonishing heat.

The temperature required for forging was even higher than for alchemy. Flames surged in the cauldron, and the surroundings were scorching hot, as if a longsword thrown in would melt instantly.

"What level of weapons have you forged at your best?"

Seeing her prepare the charcoal with fluid movements full of rhythm, Zhang Xuan knew she had a solid foundation. He nodded and asked.

"Teacher, at my best, I have forged weapons at the peak of Spirit-grade lower rank... I have never succeeded with Spirit-grade middle rank..."

Her face flushed, Luo Qiqi said.

The entry standard for a Five-Star blacksmith was the peak of Spirit-grade lower rank. It seemed she barely reached that level.

"An early-stage Five-Star blacksmith... It is indeed difficult to forge a Spirit-grade upper-rank weapon."

Zhang Xuan frowned.

Forging was different from alchemy.

In alchemy, if the purification steps were done precisely, there was a high chance of forming a pill.

But in forging, if one's cultivation was insufficient, the charcoal couldn't produce maximum heat, making it hard to even melt ores, let alone forge a suitable weapon.

Luo Qiqi had never succeeded with a Spirit-grade middle-rank weapon, indicating a major flaw in her control of charcoal. With her strength, she couldn't even melt ores; how could she succeed?

His face dark, he looked down at the items left by Wu Yangzi.

"Red Hero Ore, Purple Glow Iron Ingot, Cold Cyan Stone..."

With each ore he saw, his expression grew worse.

These ores were extremely difficult to forge. Even the easiest to melt, Cold Cyan Stone, required the true qi of a Mortal Transformation Seventh Layer expert to reach its melting point. As for Red Hero Ore and Purple Glow Iron Ingot... without the strength of Mortal Transformation Eighth or even Ninth Layer, they couldn't be refined!

In other words... not to mention forging weapons, even melting these ores was difficult!

"If we simply forge a weapon, with your strength, a Spirit-grade upper-rank is almost impossible... But upgrading a weapon's quality would be much simpler."

After hesitating for a while, Zhang Xuan said.

Without melting ores, one couldn't forge a weapon blank, and thus couldn't forge a weapon.

However, upgrading a weapon's quality would be much simpler.

Because with a finished product, one didn't need to completely melt the ores to accomplish it.

After all, she had said that either forging or upgrading a weapon to Spirit-grade upper rank would earn the inheritance. Upgrading quality to that level also met the requirement.

"Upgrade?"

Luo Qiqi was a bit embarrassed. "Upgrading quality is indeed simpler than forging, but... I only have one Spirit-grade middle-rank weapon, and I lost it during the earlier fight... Moreover, none of my weapons can be upgraded; they can't be raised to a higher level."

Upgrading weapon quality was indeed much easier than forging, but one needed a suitable weapon first.

She only had one Spirit-grade middle-rank longsword, but during the battle in the small stone chamber earlier, it had been knocked away and stuck in the wall; she hadn't retrieved it yet.

Most importantly, these weapons were completely finished products. Reforging them would not only fail to upgrade them but might even degrade them.

Only legendary upgradable weapons could be further refined.

But such weapons were extremely rare. Even she had seen only a few, and finding one here was not easy.

"Use mine."

With a flick of his wrist, Zhang Xuan took out the Ice Rain Sword.

This longsword was obtained from the Curio Pavilion back then. It was an upgradable weapon and had already reached the peak of Spirit-grade middle rank, ready to advance further.

"This... Alright."

Seeing that the teacher was willing to let her forge his own weapon without worrying about degradation due to her mistakes, Luo Qiqi felt warmth in her heart and nodded.

"Don't be nervous. Strictly follow my instructions, and upgrading the Ice Rain Sword to Spirit-grade upper rank won't be difficult."

Seeing her lack of confidence, Zhang Xuan comforted her.

After studying the six volumes of Heavenly Dao Forging, his understanding of blacksmithing had reached a level that even Wu Yangzi would find hard to match.

Although limited by his cultivation, he couldn't melt many ores, upgrading the Ice Rain Sword, which was already at a critical point, to Spirit-grade upper rank was not too hard.

"But... our goal now is not to reach Spirit-grade upper rank, but... supreme rank!"

Raising his eyebrows, Zhang Xuan said.

"Supreme rank?" Luo Qiqi was stunned.

Reaching upper rank would satisfy Wu Yangzi's requirement and earn the inheritance. Why aim for supreme rank?

Spirit-grade supreme rank was something even Six-Star blacksmiths struggled to achieve. Even if Grandmaster Wu Yangzi were resurrected, it would be hard to say whether he could forge one.

For her to forge it... even just upgrading, it was impossible!

"Exactly."

Zhang Xuan nodded. "That puppet outside is made of countless special ores. Ordinary weapons can't harm it at all. To kill it, we need a weapon of this level..."

"Even if we successfully obtain Wu Yangzi's inheritance and find an exit, if we can't deal with that thing, we'll still be in danger. Rather than trouble, it's better to succeed in one go, forge a Spirit-grade supreme-rank weapon, and then kill it!"

His eyes flashed, and Zhang Xuan clenched his fist.

From his earlier battle with the puppet, he knew that ordinary weapons couldn't harm it. To kill it, the weapon had to reach Spirit-grade supreme rank.

Since they were upgrading weapons anyway, they might as well take this opportunity to succeed and eliminate the future threat.

"This..."

Luo Qiqi's face twisted.

She wasn't even confident about succeeding with Spirit-grade upper rank. Supreme rank? How could that be possible?

"Teacher, with my current strength, I can only soften this Cold Cyan Stone and refine it a bit, but I can't melt it completely. It might be... very difficult to forge a supreme-rank weapon."

Unable to hold back, she said.

"That's enough." Knowing her worry, Zhang Xuan smiled slightly.

"Enough?"

Luo Qiqi blinked.

Cold Cyan Stone was indeed a rare and valuable ore, but compared to Red Hero Ore and Purple Glow Iron Ingot, it was far inferior.

If it were incorporated into the Ice Rain Sword, it would be good if it didn't cause degradation. Supreme rank?

How could that be possible?

"In forging, to make a weapon sharper and of higher grade, what is the most important step?" Zhang Xuan looked at her.

"It's... quenching."

Luo Qiqi nodded.

Quenching could instantly transform a weapon, allowing all its materials to fuse better.

With the same materials and forging steps, the more perfect the quenching fusion, the higher the grade.

It was like alchemy: the better the neutralization of various medicinal properties, the higher the quality of the pill.

It could be said that quenching was of utmost importance.

It was something countless blacksmiths wanted to master but couldn't fully grasp.

"Exactly, it's quenching. Generally speaking, the greater the temperature difference, the better the effect. Since your cultivation limits you from increasing the weapon's heat, then... we can lower the quenching temperature!"

Zhang Xuan smiled.