Refining Tools

Half a month later. Wenyue Cultivation Market. Familiar with the route, Qin Sang walked into the shop of the shopkeeper surnamed Wu. As it happened, there was already a customer inside, so he sat down further back and waited for Shopkeeper Wu to see the guest off. "Fellow Daoist Qin, it has been quite a while! Your cultivation has grown even deeper and more profound." Shopkeeper Wu walked over warmly and poured tea for Qin Sang. "May your business prosper, Fellow Daoist Wu." Qin Sang smiled and took a sip of tea. He was actively running the Spirit Concealment Art, so how could Shopkeeper Wu possibly gauge the depth of his cultivation? It was merely empty flattery. "I came today to ask a favor of you. If I were to provide you with the carcass of a demon beast, could you refine it into magic tools?" Qin Sang had spent his time secluded in his cave abode, bitterly cultivating. He had always lived quietly and kept a low profile, so he knew few people, and Shopkeeper Wu was the only tool-refining craftsman among his acquaintances. From their previous interactions, Qin Sang could tell that this man was quite accomplished in the craft of refining tools, and their dealings had been pleasant. Thus, after returning from the Yuncang Great Marsh and reporting back to his sect, Qin Sang had headed straight for Wenyue Cultivation Market. The corpse of a Demon Spirit stage beast could fetch a decent sum if sold, but Qin Sang preferred to have it crafted into a few handy magic tools to broaden his means of self-defense. His materials were limited to just this beast's remains; he possessed no other spiritual materials. If he commissioned a renowned master craftsman, the cost would be steep, yet the quality of the resulting magic tools might not be much better. "A demon beast carcass?" Shopkeeper Wu perked up at the words, but he cautiously added, "You need not worry, Fellow Daoist Qin. Running a shop in the cultivation market, I naturally possess a few signature tricks. As for what kind of magic tools can be made, that depends on what sort of demon beast carcass it is." Qin Sang glanced left and right. Understanding his meaning, Shopkeeper Wu stood up, shut the shop door, activated the boundary restriction at the entrance, and gestured. "Fellow Daoist Qin, please follow me." Behind the shop lay a sizable courtyard. The rear wing's heavy doors were shut tight, sealed by restrictions; that was likely where Shopkeeper Wu refined his tools. Arriving in the backyard, Qin Sang lightly brushed his finger across his mustard seed bag. Instantly, an enormous beast carcass and several scattered remnants flew out, landing on the ground with a dull thud before Shopkeeper Wu's stunned gaze, an overpowering reek of blood and fishiness washing over them. The large carcass was naturally that of the white rhinoceros demon beast. The miscellaneous pieces, however, consisted of a snake tail roughly a zhang in length, two broken venomous fangs, and a handful of palm-sized, snow-white scales—some intact, but most covered in cracks. That snake demon had not been an ordinary novice like the white rhinoceros demon beast that had only just broken through to the Demon Spirit stage. Its cultivation had been far deeper, and its nature cunning and treacherous. The instant it fell into the Ten Directions Yanluo Array, it had sensed the danger, decisively severing its own tail to escape the formation. Moreover, the snake possessed flood dragon bloodline, making its scales extraordinarily tough. Qin Sang had wielded his ebony sword to tangle with it for a long time without managing to kill it. In the end, he had only managed to use the lightning-struck spirit wood to unleash the Gui Water Yin Thunder Incantation, snapping off two of the serpent's venom fangs right before it used an escape technique to flee. Having suffered such severe injuries, the snake demon would take over a decade of recuperation to recover. These scales, fangs, and severed tail were all prime materials for refining tools. "A Demon Spirit stage demon beast..." Shopkeeper Wu's voice turned dry and strained. Being well-versed in the craft of artifact refining, he could naturally tell that this beast carcass had been slain not long ago. Leaving aside the direct kill of a white rhinoceros demon beast, anyone capable of severely wounding such a snake demon had to be a Foundation Establishment cultivator. This meant Qin Sang had either hidden his true strength, or had a Foundation Establishment cultivator backing him. "I happened to run across two demon beasts locked in a fierce battle and took advantage of the situation," Qin Sang remarked casually, unconcerned with whether Shopkeeper Wu believed him. He could sense that Shopkeeper Wu's demeanor had become noticeably more deferential, which was not a bad thing, as it meant the man would put his full effort into the crafting. "One is a white rhinoceros demon, and the other is a snake demon possessing flood dragon bloodline. Please take a look, Fellow Daoist Wu, and tell me what magic tools can be refined from them." Shopkeeper Wu took a deep breath, composed himself, and walked over to the carcasses. After a thorough examination, he pondered and asked, "Do you happen to have any other spiritual materials, Fellow Daoist Qin?" Qin Sang shook his head; the lightning-struck spirit wood still had to be reserved for pairing with the Gui Water Yin Thunder Incantation. Shopkeeper Wu said with a trace of disappointment, "Since ancient times, refining magic tools has always required supplementary spiritual materials to draw out their full potential. If we rely solely on the carcasses, an early Demon Spirit stage beast is somewhat lacking. I should be able to help you craft several medium-grade magic tools. Alternatively, we could choose one primary material from the carcasses and use the rest as supplements..." Shopkeeper Wu circled the carcasses, pointing with his fingers as he spoke. "Both the horn and the hide of the white rhinoceros can serve as primary materials. The horn is rich in water essence and can be refined into a water-attribute offensive magic tool of no small might. I have heard of a war drum magic treasure refined from the hide of a rhinoceros demon on the verge of shapeshifting; when struck, its sound shook the cosmos, capable of scattering an enemy's soul. We could imitate that treasure to craft a war drum magic tool. In addition, using these two snake fangs as the primary materials, we could fashion something like a poisoned sword. Taking any of these three as the primary material would be sufficient to produce an exquisite high-grade magic tool, with a slight chance of breaking through to become a top-grade magic tool. However, even among top-grade magic tools, there is a world of difference..." "Only a high-grade magic tool?" Qin Sang felt a twinge of disappointment. He knew nothing of tool refining and had not expected the requirements to be so demanding. He had neither the time nor the energy to travel abroad in search of rare spiritual materials right now. The few tools he possessed were all potent—especially the ebony sword and the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner, which rivaled talisman treasures in strength. As a result, he looked down somewhat on ordinary high-grade magic tools. It was also because after joining the Kuiyin Sect, he had directly obtained several baleful artifacts personally refined by Sect Master Yi, all equivalent to top-grade magic tools. His standards had inadvertently risen, blinding him to the hardships of ordinary cultivators. Among Foundation Establishment cultivators, only an extreme minority possessed talisman treasures to rely on. To craft a single handy top-grade magic tool, most had to run around seeking materials for who knew how long. Observing Qin Sang's expression and seeing his hesitation, Shopkeeper Wu hurriedly said, "If high-grade magic tools do not catch your eye, I can also craft a single-use magic tool. Although they can only be used once, their power is astonishing, and they can be relied upon to save your life when you are trapped in dire peril. The horn of this white rhinoceros is rich in water essence and surges with violent spiritual power, making it an ideal candidate for such an artifact." Hearing this, Qin Sang's eyes flickered, reminding him of the bead he had looted from Zhao Yan. "Is it the kind of single-use magic tool that can detonate like a bolt of thunder?" Shopkeeper Wu nodded. "That is merely one type; there are also protective ones. Though powerful, very few people are willing to waste precious spiritual materials on tools that can only be used once. Among them, the Xutian Thunder of the Xuling Sect is the most famous. That is a terrifying treasure capable of severely wounding a Golden Core Master, serving as the Xuling Sect's protective heirloom, and its difficulty of refinement is exceedingly high. In my family's heritage, there happens to be a refining method for a tool called the Essence-Devouring Awl. An Essence-Devouring Awl refined from this carcass will definitely not disappoint you, Fellow Daoist Qin..." Qin Sang neither agreed nor disagreed. Instead, he retrieved the black bead from his mustard seed bag and asked, "Do you recognize this magic tool, Fellow Daoist Wu?" After breaking through to Foundation Establishment, he had inspected the bead multiple times, confirming that it was not a baleful artifact like the Chilong Sword, nor did it require any special sacrificial refinement methods.