Born with immortal seed

Chapter 857 Fifth-Order Weapon Refiner

"Xiao Hui, this sword was earned by your mother working hard from dawn till dusk to prepare food for the restaurant. Don't get into fights and break the sword."

The Taoist put down his book, took the dazzling short sword, and examined it closely.

This sword is only of the third rank, but both its material and the forging technique are of the fourth rank.

Conversely, after much effort, they used an ingenious restriction to keep the flying sword at the third rank.

As long as one uses a fourth-order pure yang spiritual fire to break through, the restriction will automatically dissipate, and the true level will be revealed.

This is done so that cultivators whose cultivation level is not high enough can use it in advance without having to frequently change their flying swords.

The cost and time required to forge it are twice as much as those required for a normal fourth-tier flying sword.

"Master Bai, rest assured, I was sparring with my fellow disciples in the academy... It's just that Senior Brother Leng just broke through today and couldn't control the power of his sword, which is why he slightly damaged the blade."

The boy is lively and energetic, yet he is polite and knows how to behave appropriately.

In the Immortal Realm, anyone can embark on the path to immortality, as long as they are willing to cultivate and form their core. However, not everyone can devote all their energy to cultivation.

Take Fang Hui, for example. His father was seriously injured while hunting ancient beasts and died. Over the next few years, the family's wealth was depleted and they were left with a large debt.

Fang's mother used her delicious cooking skills to pay off debts and raise Fang Hui, which took up all her time and was tantamount to giving up her own path.

Fortunately, Fang Hui lived up to expectations and joined the well-known Jinghuang Sword Hall nearby. By the age of seventeen or eighteen, he had already reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

He can't compare to those top geniuses, but his speed is still considered decent among the lower-level youths in the outer city.

Once they reach the Core Formation stage, they will have some income, their family's life will be much better, and they will begin to slowly pay off their debts.

This Taoist priest moved to this market three years ago and opened this sword-making shop. Occasionally, he would take out a finished flying sword to sell.

He also spends his time repairing flying swords and trading ore concentrates.

According to the instructors at the Shocking Sword Pavilion, this person was at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm and was not considered a significant figure even in the outer city.

The other party returned and said that the Nascent Soul stage was already an extraordinary senior.

Despite having the Golden Heavenly Root and cultivating very quickly before reaching the Nascent Soul stage, there are several peers in the Sword Hall whose aptitude surpasses his.

In the realm of earth immortals, spiritual roots alone are hardly considered top-tier; only special physiques and divine bloodlines can be considered top-tier talents.

For example, if a senior brother possesses the Gengjin Sacred Body, regardless of the cultivation method he practices, his magical power is incomparably sharp and has the characteristic of breaking through restrictions and penetrating.

He and a swordsman are a match made in heaven, and the sword light he wields is three times more ferocious than that of other cultivators of the same level.

Even at the Refinement of Emptiness realm, the Gengjin Sacred Body can still function.

And then there's Senior Brother Leng, who just defeated him today. His family has also fallen on hard times, not much better off than Fang Hui, yet even the Sword Hall Master personally came out to take care of him.

There is no other reason than that he was identified as a descendant of immortals.

Only those who have been connected to a powerful being within ten generations of direct blood relatives can be called descendants of immortals.

These kinds of people are far more precious than any demon bloodline or otherworldly lineage.

During the cultivation process, he is blessed with abundant fortune, turns misfortune into good fortune, and even the tribulation of breaking through realms is easier for him than for ordinary people.

The White Taoist took the golden sword, blew out a breath of infant fire, and burned a ring around the sword, causing the nick to disappear on its own.

Then a handful of gold dust was sprinkled on top, and it was perfectly intact. The whole process only took a few breaths.

"Your weapon-forging skills are amazing! I wish I could learn them!"

Fang Hui looked on with amazement; no wonder he was a swordsmith who could successfully forge a fourth-order flying sword.

The rewards from one sword-forging session were enough for him to cultivate for many years.

"Be careful, your mother doesn't earn spirit stones easily..."

The White Taoist handed the golden sword back and said meaningfully again.

If the Rainbow Gold Sword hadn't reached the fourth tier in essence, it would have been broken in two, not just left with a small nick.

The opponent in the sword fight was not as Fang Hui claimed, who couldn't control his strength; rather, he did it deliberately, using all his magical power.

"I understand. I will collect enough Jadeite Stones from the Hundred Apertures next month to repay the repair spirit stones I owe you."

Fang Hui bowed respectfully and walked towards his home.

"It seems that Master Bai has no intention of taking on disciples... I was just being delusional. Such sword-forging skills are either inherited from a family or passed down in a sect. Even the few exquisite sword manuals in the sword hall will not be taught without ten top-grade spirit stones, let alone be able to support a family's cultivation skills."

His impoverished life made him exceptionally mature at a young age, and his frequent visits to the sword-making shop were partly due to his concern for the sword-making skills.

In fact, Fang Hui could easily see that Senior Brother Leng had intentionally destroyed his flying sword during the sword duel. However, after confirming Leng's identity as a descendant of immortals, the situation had changed.

Even if he brought this up in front of the sword club instructor, no one would care, and if the conflict escalated, he would be the one who suffered.

Fang Hui needs his identity as a disciple of the Fright Sword Pavilion to intimidate his creditors and prevent them from committing extreme acts of violence. He absolutely cannot lose this identity.

The aptitude of a Heavenly Spiritual Root is only significant before reaching the Nascent Soul stage; there is no bottleneck until reaching the Core Formation stage, and no spiritual object is needed to assist in its formation.

In addition, its efficiency in refining spiritual energy is outstanding, which can save a lot of cultivation resources.

These are naturally rare seeds for cultivation in the human realm, and every sect strives to acquire them, as each additional seed adds to the sect's foundation.

However, the Immortal Realm is rich in spiritual energy and resources, so spiritual items that break through to the Nascent Soul stage are not considered precious.

However, those with Heavenly Spiritual Roots need to put in more effort when attempting to break through to the Void Refinement stage.

Compared to the small benefits gained, it's not worth it.

Therefore, those with pure Heavenly Spiritual Roots will not receive much preferential treatment in the Earthly Immortal Realm.

Fang Hui turned his head and glanced around, only to find that the sword-making shop had already closed. This Taoist priest Bai was unconventional and unrestrained.

He only opened and sold goods according to his mood, and often closed his shop for several days at a time. He was not very enthusiastic about even forging swords.

"The cave dwelling he rented must be very expensive. I really don't know how Master Bai makes a living?"

Fang Hui shook his head, feeling that this senior was full of mystery and was not in the same style as other Nascent Soul cultivators.

……

"Even a fourth-tier flying sword crafted using only the most common fourth-tier materials has the potential to be upgraded. It seems I'm not far from the fifth-tier weapon crafting level."

Bai Zichen was quite pleased as he placed the bright red, dazzling Shura Five Fiends Sword on the shelf.

If two fifth-tier refined ores are added during the refining process, there is an 80% chance that the sword will attract a spiritual treasure tribulation the moment it is completed, directly reaching the fifth tier.

He spent three years in seclusion at Jianguan, and his greatest achievement was to pick up weapon crafting again.

To leave uncultivated the weapon-refining skills passed down by a true immortal would be a terrible waste.

Calm down, stop thinking about the enemies you've offended, stop worrying about the progress of the assassination attempt against the Heavenly Sword Pavilion, and stop caring about the changes in the overall situation of the Earthly Immortal Realm.

Bai Yuchan, who truly believed himself to be an alias, was merely a Nascent Soul cultivator with some achievements in sword forging, harboring some minor secrets, and insignificant in front of important figures.

The sword-forging skills improved rapidly under such circumstances, mainly because the level of skill was high enough that it was much easier to go back and practice.

Furthermore, using the Heart Refining Method passed down by Daoist Taiyi only to refine fourth- or fifth-order flying swords would be a waste of its potential.

"In three to five years at most, I will be able to become a genuine fifth-tier weapon refiner... but the most crucial thing, using the super teleportation array, is still a complete mystery."

Bai Zichen originally planned to find out the details of Jianguan Pass and then try another path to see if he could join a team that was using the super teleportation array normally, so as to ignore the identity check.

After inquiring, I learned that using the super teleportation array once comes at an astonishing cost, requiring tens of thousands of immortal crystals to be invested each time it is activated.

The number of people being transported was a mere six.

Such extravagance, coupled with owing favors to the other party, is something few could afford to do together.

No wonder that in other immortal cities, this is a forbidden realm for those who wish to merge with another, and it is only opened for important matters.

"There are other ways to fix the gap in the Immortal Crystal. Several spiritual plants have matured in the cave, among which the Azure Crystal Fruit is a sacred medicine for body refining, helping fifth-level body-tempering cultivators to reach perfection. The Worry-Free Ring-Holding Grass can remove inner demons and has miraculous effects on cultivators below the Void Refinement stage..."

The benefits of Shaohua Cave have been digested, and another wave of exotic flowers and plants have matured.

When they are harvested and sold, they should be able to collect about a thousand Immortal Crystals.

The real challenge lies in gaining people's trust and obtaining the qualification to use the super teleportation array.

Besides the Heavenly Sword Pavilion, the only other influential figures at Sword Pass are the Pine Elder's lineage and the Myriad Swords Alliance.

Old Man Song was a highly experienced rogue cultivator. In the early days, before the Sword Pass was established, it was his sect that set up an array here to stop a million ancient beasts and prevent widespread destruction.

As a result, only three or four of his dozens of fellow disciples survived.

Therefore, he was highly respected, and once the old man of the pine tree was reunited with him, he naturally gained a place in Jian Pass.

In addition, he was extremely good at teaching disciples, and had hundreds of students, most of whom were at the stage of refining emptiness.

Among them, the eldest disciple and the seventeenth son even climbed the immortal ladder and successfully advanced to the Integration Realm.

The Ten Thousand Swords Alliance is an alliance of all sword halls inside and outside the Sword Pass. In terms of numbers, it far surpasses the other two, encompassing almost half of the mid-level cultivators.

However, there is no powerful expert at the Fusion Realm in the open, and they are often ridiculed for not being presentable.

But since they were able to get a share of the pie at Jianguan, the strength of the Ten Thousand Swords Alliance is clearly more than what is shown on the surface.

Its existence inherently represents the interests of all sects in the Seven Treasures Immortal Realm except for the Heavenly Sword Pavilion.

If you delve deeper into those sword schools, large and small, you can find traces of the Sword Sect.

Branch lineage cultivators, nominal disciples, and even true disciples who failed to break through or were old and weak were directly parachuted into the hall master's place.

With so many sects combined, even the Heavenly Sword Pavilion cannot ignore them.

"I originally thought of starting with a sword club, but when I actually tried to integrate, I found that this place is extremely exclusive. It's not difficult to join a top-notch sword club, but you can only be cannon fodder on the periphery."

"To even think about getting close to the core would take hundreds of years... In that time, I could have reached the Six Blessings Immortal Realm long ago with just a star map."

In the sword-making shop, only the firelight in the furnace illuminated the scene, casting an unpredictable expression on Bai Zichen's face.

In fact, the mind cultivation method of the Taiyi Daoist he practiced did not require raging earth fire like fire cultivation, nor did it require a stable spiritual spring like water cultivation.

With the heart as a furnace, one can melt all things in the world.

The refinement of divine sense surpasses the art of weapon forging by a thousandfold in its subtlety.

It is precisely in this way that we can break through the shackles of traditional weapon-making techniques.

I vaguely sensed that this method of mental cultivation, besides being an unparalleled weapon-refining inheritance, was also a cultivation technique.

If someone were to use this as a blueprint to study and refine it, it would be nothing short of a combined divine skill.

Of course, all the wonders of the cultivation techniques are for the purpose of weapon crafting; it's impossible to excel in combat.

Therefore, the stove in the shop was purely for concealment.

"Although time is on my side, there are four or five Nascent Soul cultivators in just one Sword Pass, not to mention the behemoth that is the Heavenly Sword Pavilion. The potential dangers are too great. If my identity is exposed, as long as the great formation is activated, the Nascent Soul cultivators will come knocking on my door, and I won't even have a chance to escape."

Bai Zichen lightly tapped his fingers together and muttered to himself.

"You have to show some talent and speed up the pace a bit to have a chance to reach a higher level."

Looking around the Shaohua Cave, a piece of pure Geng metal, three grains of extraterrestrial Shen metal, and five clusters of great sun fire flew out at the same time.

With a flick of his hand, he tucked them all into his sleeve.

A furnace lit up in his sea of ​​consciousness, replacing the original furnace of heaven and earth.

More exquisite and profound, with inscriptions of golden tadpole spirit texts engraved on the furnace body.

When the energy reaches its peak, and all the golden tadpole spirit runes are lit up, a phantom image appears in front of you.

This is the wonder of the Mind Refining Method; it even eliminates the need for refining tools like cauldrons and furnaces.

All the materials for sword forging fell into the furnace, where they began to slowly rotate.

As the sword blank took shape, auxiliary materials were added one by one, and a great sun slowly rose.

If it weren't for the elaborate array set up inside for refining weapons, the sweltering heat would have already set the shop ablaze.

……

Months later, the market became bustling with activity, and many new faces appeared.

"Are there really fifth-tier flying swords for sale?"

"The goods are genuine! They have been on public display for several days, and we are just waiting for the end of the month to submit bids for a private auction."

"A dragon emerges from shallow waters, how strange... A swordsmith with such skill would actually stay in the outer city. Any sword shop in the inner city, including the Ten Thousand Swords Alliance, would treat him as a VIP."

"Perhaps he just mastered the fifth-order sword-forging technique and didn't have time to find a good backer... I heard that several important figures have come to the inner city, not only for that flying sword, but also to recruit this swordsmith under their command."

In the Seven Treasures Immortal Realm, flying swords receive more attention than any other magical treasures.

Because of the abundance of sword cultivators, even though this place has the most newly forged flying swords in the Earthly Immortal Realm, the transaction price is still 30% to 40% higher than in other Immortal Realms.

A swordsmith who specializes in forging swords is always treated as an honored guest wherever he goes, enjoying the most generous treatment.

Simply put, being a fifth-tier weapon refiner does not mean one can forge a fifth-tier flying sword. The higher the level, the higher the requirements for the refiner's swordsmanship.

There are cultivators who possess both swordsmanship and weapon crafting talents, and who can excel in both areas, but the vast majority of them hold high positions.

They come from the most elite sword sects and are not something ordinary people can access.

For example, the current Tian Jianzi is a seventh-level weapon refiner. Of course, his only seventh-level work is more like a feedback after he has attained the Great Dao, and cannot represent his true weapon refining level.

His main works are still those sixth-order flying swords.

“Master Bai, the conditions offered by our Ten Thousand Swords Alliance are valid indefinitely… In addition to the normal Immortal Crystal stipend, our alliance will provide all the resources you need to cultivate to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, as well as a sufficiently safe cave dwelling.”

In the cramped sword-making shop, the strangely-looking old man spoke slowly, and before getting up to leave, he said one more thing.

"If you have any other requests, you can come to the alliance to discuss them in detail. Everything is negotiable."

"I've got it. Take care."

Bai Zichen saw off the most high-ranking persuader he had met in recent days, took down the Great Sun Furnace Sword from the shelf, and fell into deep thought.

An elder in the mid-stage of the Void Refinement realm, who was in charge of alchemy, artifacts, talismans, and swords, personally came to recruit him, indicating that the Myriad Swords Alliance highly valued this newly emerged fifth-tier artifact refiner.

(End of this chapter)