Artifact Crafting

Shaohua Mountain. Qin Sang appeared at Daomen Peak. The disciples coming and going across Daomen Peak were all unfamiliar faces. Qin Sang concealed his cultivation to avoid unnecessary trouble, walking up the steps toward the wooden hall of Daomen Peak. The hall doors stood wide open, with several disciples bustling in and out. Qin Sang stepped inside; he did not see Senior Brother Wen, but instead caught sight of a long-unseen acquaintance—Zhuang Yan! "Senior Brother Zhuang." Qin Sang noticed that Zhuang Yan had successfully broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage. It seemed Zhuang Yan's years of bitter cultivation had not been in vain. "Junior Brother Qin!" Zhuang Yan was just assigning duties to a disciple when he looked up and spotted Qin Sang. An expression of pleasant surprise instantly broke across his face. Dismissing the disciple with a few quick words, he strode over and laughed heartily. "Word came back from the Ancient Immortal Battlefield that you've already broken through to the middle Foundation Establishment stage. Calling you 'junior brother' makes me feel rather sheepish! Good thing I didn't run into you in earlier years; otherwise, I would've had to call you 'martial uncle' for a few years, and I really wouldn't have known where to hide my old face! Haha..." Qin Sang chuckled as well, cupping his hands in teasing congratulation. "Congratulations, congratulations! The prodigal son has returned, Senior Brother Zhuang... Where is Senior Brother Wen?" Zhuang Yan shook his head and said wryly, "Master intends to spend his remaining years in quiet retirement, unbothered by worldly matters. Right now, he's probably playing chess for amusement with some old friend, so this disciple of his has to shoulder the burden instead." "Master?" Understanding dawned on Qin Sang. It seemed Zhuang Yan had accepted Senior Brother Wen's protective kindness and formally become his disciple. The forms of address among the three of them might have sounded utterly chaotic, but in the cultivation world, this was entirely normal. Qin Sang addressed them as Senior Brother Wen and Senior Brother Zhuang based on the conventional customs of the cultivation world and his personal rapport with them, which allowed for a great deal of casual flexibility as long as one took care not to cause offense. Zhuang Yan formally bowing to Senior Brother Wen as his master, however, was their private matter. The bond between master and disciple was paramount; even if a disciple's cultivation surpassed that of their master by an entire realm, they still had to observe the etiquette due to a master. Public and private boundaries were clearly drawn. Each maintained their own relationship. Zhuang Yan pulled Qin Sang toward a quiet room to sit. "When Master learned that you broke through to the middle Foundation Establishment stage, he was exceedingly gratified and cheered with delight. I'll send a transmission to let him know right away—he'll surely be thrilled. First, tell me: what is the situation inside the Ancient Immortal Battlefield really like?" "Does Senior Brother Zhuang also intend to venture into the Ancient Immortal Battlefield to temper yourself?" Qin Sang caught the subtext in his words. Zhuang Yan nodded. "Staying within the sect is safe and peaceful, but it's hard to achieve anything great. Only by going out into the world does one have a chance to seek out opportunities. Master feels the same way." Seeing the faint envy hidden in Zhuang Yan's eyes, Qin Sang guessed that Zhuang Yan assumed he had encountered some great fortune in the Ancient Immortal Battlefield to achieve his breakthrough. Rather than dispelling the notion, Qin Sang pondered briefly and said, "Going to the Ancient Immortal Battlefield now might not be the best timing for you, Senior Brother Zhuang. You must have heard that a spirit tide is approaching, right?" Zhuang Yan hummed in acknowledgment and leaned in, speaking in a conspiratorial whisper: "With all the rumors lately, even the Qi Refinement disciples have begun gossiping endlessly. How could I not know? To respond to this upheaval, sect affairs are now controlled by Senior Brother Qi, while Sect Master Yu is reduced to a mere yes-man. It's only to prevent panic among the disciples that they haven't replaced the sect master yet. Aside from that, the sect is currently preparing to assemble manpower to patrol the Yuncang Great Marsh. I've also been hesitating between heading to the Ancient Immortal Battlefield and staying in the Yuncang Great Marsh." "With the spirit tide approaching, chaos is already brewing in the Ancient Immortal Battlefield. Compared to patrolling the Yuncang Great Marsh, it's hard to say which is more perilous. Still, we have our sect backing us. If you can make up your mind, Senior Brother Zhuang, the spirit tide will still take some time to brew, so taking a chance in the Ancient Immortal Battlefield is not out of the question." Following that, Qin Sang recounted what he had seen and heard in the Ancient Immortal Battlefield in detail, leaving Zhuang Yan to decide for himself. Zhuang Yan fell into deep thought, remaining silent for a long time. Learning from Zhuang Yan that not only Shaohua Mountain but several other major sects were also organizing personnel to patrol both the Yuncang Great Marsh and Tianduan Mountain, Qin Sang finally felt viscerally how tense the situation had become. As for what choices he himself should make in the future, he would need to plan carefully as well. Before long, Senior Brother Wen returned as well. Reunited, the three conversed with great pleasure. Not until dusk did Qin Sang bid them farewell and head to Pagoda Peak. First, Qin Sang selected several incantations, intending to practice them gradually in the future. Then, he began searching through the vast sea of ancient records. Early the next morning. A streak of escaping light flew out of Pagoda Peak, heading toward a verdant peak on the outer edge of Shaohua Mountain's territory. Though this verdant peak appeared unassuming amidst the surrounding mountains, it held hidden depths. It sat squarely upon one of Shaohua Mountain's spirit veins; while the mountain was not imposing, it possessed several cave dwellings well-suited for Foundation Establishment cultivators to cultivate. The escaping light circled the peak once and came to a halt before a cliff face on its western slope. The newcomer was none other than Qin Sang. Sweeping his gaze across the cliff face, Qin Sang waved his hand to cast a seal, and the rock wall rippled and shifted, revealing the entrance of a cave. This was the cave dwelling Zhuang Yan had chosen after breaking through to Foundation Establishment, which Qin Sang had borrowed for temporary use. Entering the cave dwelling and sealing the restriction behind him, Qin Sang recalled his busy night and could not help but shake his head. After a whole night of toil, most of what he had found concerning the Ziwei Palace was mere rumor and speculation. Evidently, truly valuable information was not kept in Pagoda Peak. It might circulate only among Core Formation stage cultivators, and with his current cultivation, he was not yet qualified to access it. There was also another possibility: that Shaohua Mountain simply did not know much about the Ziwei Palace. The Ziwei Palace was exceedingly mysterious; even after so many Nascent Soul Patriarchs had ventured inside, they had only explored a tiny fraction of it. After quietly pondering for a while, Qin Sang turned his palm over and retrieved the jade slip given to him by Shopkeeper Wu. In front of Shopkeeper Wu, Qin Sang had merely skimmed through it without studying it in depth. He had vaguely sensed that the contents would be helpful for the ebony sword, though he wasn't clear on just how helpful they would be. Qin Sang surmised that the reason for this likely stemmed from the unique refinement method of the ebony sword. According to the cultivation method, if Qin Sang could find top-grade spirit wood, he could possess a life spirit sword on par with a magic treasure while still in the late Foundation Establishment stage. This meant that the method for refining the life spirit sword recorded in the art had, from the very beginning, followed the path of refining magic treasures. As the saying went, mastering one thing opened doors to others; it was no surprise that he could derive insights from the jade slip that benefited the refinement of the ebony sword. Yet as Qin Sang delved deeper into the material, he found it increasingly strenuous. Comprehending it thoroughly was truly no easy task. Qin Sang could guess why: he was completely ignorant of artifact crafting. He didn't even understand how to refine ordinary magic tools, so expecting to directly comprehend the jade slip was simply unrealistic. Qin Sang shifted his gaze to the crafting notes left behind by Shopkeeper Wu's ancestors. Comparatively speaking, these notes were far shallower. However, to master them thoroughly, one could not simply sit idly in a cave dwelling; practical experience was essential. Could it be that he would have to divide his attention to learn artifact crafting? It wouldn't exactly be a waste—once he broke through to Core Formation, such experience would definitely prove useful when refining his life magic treasure. But for now, he could not spare the energy. Qin Sang shook his head inwardly and returned the jade slip to his mustard seed bag. From then on, Qin Sang split his time between cultivating, visiting friends, and attending to minor affairs. Before he knew it, the time to depart had arrived.