The Heavens: Man Covers the Heavens, Refines Treasures to Become an Emperor

Jiang Xuan stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the high-quality spiritual materials on the table, and nodded.

"Thank you for your help, Brother Chu Feng. These are exactly what I need, nothing is missing."

He was also somewhat moved. Chu Feng was indeed thorough and efficient in his work. These spiritual materials were not easy to collect, and some of them were quite rare. The fact that he could gather them all in just a few days showed his dedication and ability.

"Haha, you're too kind, brother. It was nothing at all."

Chu Feng laughed heartily and chatted for a while about the interesting news in the city recently, mainly about how the mysterious "Master Xun" was becoming more and more famous, attracting many forces to secretly investigate, but all of them had come up empty-handed.

Seeing that Jiang Xuan seemed unwilling to talk any further, he tactfully got up to take his leave.

“Since you’re busy with important matters, I won’t bother you any longer. If you need anything, feel free to come to the commune to find me.”

After seeing Chu Feng off, only Jiang Xuan, Xue Jin, and Qiu Qiu, who had appeared out of nowhere, remained in the courtyard, curiously hopping around the spiritual materials.

Xue Jin took a swig of wine, squinted at the direction Chu Feng had left, and lazily commented.

"This kid is a smart man, and he's willing to invest."

Jiang Xuan replied as he began to categorize the spiritual materials on the stone table.

"Yes, Brother Chu Feng is indeed a good person; he has helped me a lot."

"Hehe, he's eyeing your future potential."

Xue Jin chuckled, his tone carrying a hint of world-weariness.

"This amount of investment is nothing to him right now."

What he's asking for is probably quite substantial.

Jiang Xuan paused slightly in his movements, then resumed as usual.

It's just a mutually beneficial arrangement.

He naturally understood Chu Feng's thoughts, but in this world, pure goodwill is rare, and mutually beneficial relationships are more lasting and stable.

He stopped thinking about it and focused all his attention on the spiritual materials in front of him.

This crafting process was completely different from the standard magical artifacts that were casually crafted in order to obtain resources.

What he wanted to forge was a battle blade that truly belonged to him and could perfectly match his own martial arts and fighting style!

This means that he needs to prepare the spirit ink himself, decide on the basic material and structure of the battle sword himself, and design and engrave his own unique spirit patterns.

This is a huge challenge with an extremely high risk of failure. Usually, only those experienced spirit rune masters who have absolute confidence in their spirit rune skills dare to attempt such a "tailor-made" approach.

However, there was no fear or hesitation in Jiang Xuan's eyes.

Having followed Mr. Lu since childhood, he had witnessed countless exquisite and ingenious spirit rune designs, broadening his horizons far beyond his peers. Although his hands-on experience was still insufficient, the vast knowledge base deeply rooted in his mind gave him the confidence to try anything.

He first carefully inventoried and categorized all the spiritual materials. These included "Star Sand," "Flowing Cloud Gold Powder," and "Lightning-Struck Wood Core" for refining spiritual ink; "Sinking Silver Iron Mother," "Wind Pattern Steel," and "Crimson Fire Copper" for use as the main materials for battle blades; and "Ice Soul Stone Fragments" and "Earth Vein Stone Essence" for blending and amplification, among others.

Then, he closed his eyes and began to conceive ideas rapidly in his mind.

What kind of knife does he need?

It must be able to withstand the pure and violent spiritual energy refined by the "Storm Millstone"; it must be tough enough to support the extreme burst of the "Star Gathering" technique; it must also possess a certain speed and versatility to complement the perfect execution of the "Six-Character Blade Technique"; and ideally, it should also have some affinity and amplification for wind and lightning attributes...

One by one, needs emerged in my mind, and gradually corroborated and combined with the characteristics of those spiritual materials.

He seemed to enter a mysterious state, his fingers unconsciously tracing patterns in the air, with faint shadows of spiritual runes appearing and disappearing.

Time slips away quietly while you're focused.

For the next few days, Jiang Xuan hardly left his house.

Thanks to the effects of the medicine and his own powerful recovery, the wound on his chest had almost completely healed, leaving only a faint red scar. The "Storm Millstone" within his body slowly rotated, not only completely stabilizing his cultivation at the Human罡 Realm, but even making a slight improvement, with his spiritual罡 becoming increasingly profound and condensed.

And Chiu Chiu has woken up again in the past few days.

The little guy seemed to be exceptionally energetic after consuming that top-grade Azure Spirit Crystal. His red fur seemed even brighter. He hopped and skipped around the yard, sometimes transforming into a streak of fire and appearing instantly on the top of the yard wall, sometimes curiously sniffing the spiritual materials, and even trying to pry at the heavy "Sinking Silver Iron Mother" with his claws.

The result was naturally that it didn't budge, which made it chirp in frustration. Its adorable yet intelligent appearance made Xue Jin, who occasionally woke up, smile and secretly marvel at the incredible talent of this little thing.

Jiang Xuan was completely immersed in the conception and design of the battle sword.

He spread out a large sheet of Xuan paper on the floor of the room and began to write and draw on it with a special charcoal pencil. The proportions of the spirit ink, the length, curvature, thickness, and center of gravity of the battle sword, the pattern structure of the core spirit rune, the nesting method of the auxiliary spirit runes... he listed, deduced, and modified countless intricate details one by one.

This was an extremely mentally taxing process. Countless times he thought it was perfect, but upon closer examination, he discovered new flaws or better alternatives.

But he never tired of it, his eyes always bright and focused.

What he wanted to create was not just a weapon, but his most trustworthy partner on his path of martial arts.

With all the preliminary preparations, including the initial formulation of the spirit ink and the overall design of the battle sword, largely completed, Jiang Xuan finally decided to begin refining the most crucial spirit ink.

This was his first time trying to prepare such a complex and demanding spirit ink, and he couldn't help feeling a little nervous and expectant.

He carefully took out the required spiritual material powders and was about to mix them according to the order he had deduced countless times when suddenly there were hurried footsteps and knocking on the door outside the courtyard.

"Brother Jiang Xuan! Brother Jiang Xuan! Are you there? Something's happened!"

It was Chu Feng's voice, carrying an unprecedented solemnity and a hint of barely perceptible panic.

Jiang Xuan frowned slightly, put down the tools in his hands, got up and opened the courtyard gate.

Chu Feng stood outside the door, his face pale and his forehead covered in fine beads of sweat, a stark contrast to his usual shrewd and composed demeanor.

"Brother Chu Feng, what's the matter that you're in such a panic?"

Jiang Xuan stepped aside to let him in.

Chu Feng strode into the courtyard, not even having time to greet Xue Jin who was lying in the rocking chair, and hurriedly spoke to Jiang Xuan.

"Brother, I'm afraid I've gotten myself into big trouble this time!"

"Tell me slowly, what happened?"

Jiang Xuan poured him a glass of water, signaling him to calm down.

Chu Feng took the water glass, but didn't drink it. He took a deep breath and lowered his voice.

“Just last night, a person came to the commune, specifically asking for ‘Master Xun’! Her tone was very forceful, saying that Master Xun had to come with her!”

Jiang Xuan's eyes narrowed. "Who is it?"

"An old woman!"

A hint of lingering fear appeared on Chu Feng's face.

"He looked quite old, with white hair, and was using a dragon-headed cane. He was dressed very simply."

But… the aura emanating from her was unfathomable! She felt even more terrifying than our commune's geomancer! She was definitely someone of formidable power and extraordinary origins!

He paused and continued.

“She came directly to me, obviously knowing I had some connection with ‘Master Xun.’ I was so scared I broke out in a cold sweat. I didn’t dare refuse, nor did I dare reveal your identity, brother. I could only say that Master Xun’s whereabouts were uncertain and I needed time to contact him. I barely managed to get three days to consider it. She will come again in three days!”

Xue Jin, who was lying in the rocking chair, opened his eyes at some point. After listening to Chu Feng's account, he curled his lips and let out a cold laugh that was hard to understand. Then he closed his eyes again, turned over, and continued to sleep soundly, seemingly neither surprised nor concerned about the matter.

Jiang Xuan's attention was entirely focused on Chu Feng, and he did not notice Xue Jin's unusual behavior.

He pondered for a moment, then asked.

"Brother Chu Feng, you've agreed to her request?"

"How could I dare!"

Chu Feng wore a bitter expression.

"That old woman is clearly not a good person. If I just bring someone to impersonate her, or agree to it directly, and things go wrong, or the magical artifact can't be repaired at all, she might kill me to vent her anger in her fury!"

Jiang Xuan nodded; Chu Feng's concerns were quite realistic. The emotions of a mysterious and powerful expert whose strength was unfathomable were indeed difficult to fathom.

"Do you know what her purpose is? Is it also to repair the magical artifact?"

Jiang Xuan asked, recalling the young woman in blue robes disguised as a man and her maid he had met in the square earlier. They seemed to be searching for a master to repair the "Ancient Law Spirit Ocarina".

“She didn’t say exactly what kind of magical artifact it was,” Chu Feng shook his head.

"They only said it was an heirloom, damaged over time, and its original sound had been lost. They specifically requested a master to repair it, and said... if the master they sought was not up to par, or dared to shirk responsibility, they would bear the consequences themselves."

His voice was filled with deep worry.

"Brother, I'm afraid I can't refuse this time. I'm worried... your identity might be exposed, and then..."

Jiang Xuan fell silent, his fingers lightly tapping the table. Revealing the identity of "Master Xun" would indeed bring unknown risks, potentially disrupting the current peace and attracting unnecessary attention and trouble.

But since the other party has already come knocking on our door and is so assertive, simply avoiding them is probably not a good strategy.

Moreover, judging from the description, it seemed that what he was looking for was an antique related to music, which aroused his interest.

After much deliberation, Jiang Xuan raised his head, his eyes regaining their calm and resolute expression.

“Brother Chu Feng, there’s no need to worry too much. I’ll go with you to meet this old woman in three days.”

Upon hearing this, Chu Feng was taken aback at first, then a complex expression appeared on his face, a mixture of relief and worry for Jiang Xuan's safety.

"Brother, you...you really want to go? That old woman might be difficult to deal with."

"It's a blessing, not a curse. It's a curse that cannot be avoided."

Jiang Xuan spoke calmly.

"Since we can't avoid it, let's go and see. Perhaps it's not all a bad thing."

Three days passed in a blink of an eye.

That morning, Jiang Xuan and Chu Feng arrived at the Spirit Pattern Master Commune on time. On the second floor of the commune, in a quiet room usually used to receive VIPs, the atmosphere was somewhat tense.

Chu Feng stood to the side, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead, his expression tense.

Jiang Xuan's gaze fell on the old woman sitting upright in the armchair in the center of the quiet room.

The old woman looked extremely old, with her full head of silver hair neatly combed and tied into a simple bun at the back of her head, secured with what appeared to be an ordinary wooden hairpin.

Her face was covered with deep wrinkles, etched with the marks of time. She wore a faded gray cloth robe, and her hands were folded together, holding an old-fashioned dragon-head cane resting on her knees. At first glance, she looked like an ordinary, frail old woman in her twilight years.

However, the moment Jiang Xuan's eyes met hers, the hairs on his body stood on end!

In that one glance, he seemed to see not an old man, but a dormant volcano that had been silent for millennia, yet contained within it an energy capable of destroying the world! An indescribable sense of terrifying pressure surged forth like an invisible tide, almost suffocating him! The "Storm Millstone" within his body even accelerated its rotation uncontrollably, and his spiritual energy operated autonomously, barely managing to resist this invisible pressure.

But this feeling only lasted for a moment.

When Jiang Xuan subconsciously mobilized his soul power, the twenty-one soul stars in his sea of ​​consciousness lit up slightly. When he looked again, the heart-palpitating feeling on the old woman had disappeared, and she still looked ordinary and on the verge of death.

But Jiang Xuan's heart sank.

He knew that what he had just seen was no illusion! The old woman's strength had definitely reached a level he could hardly imagine, at least on par with Yao Tuohai, or even possibly with the Dark Night Queen he had only glimpsed! Her cultivation had reached the point of returning to simplicity and her aura was as restrained as an abyss.

"Master!"

Jiang Xuan felt a chill run down his spine, raising his vigilance to the highest level.

The old woman's cloudy yet shrewd eyes swept over Jiang Xuan, her voice calm yet carrying an undeniable authority.

"You are the so-called 'Master Xun'?"

Her gaze was almost tangible, as if she wanted to see through Jiang Xuan inside and out.

Jiang Xuan's mind raced. On the way here, he had discussed a plan with Chu Feng. Facing such an unfathomable figure, directly revealing himself as "Master Xun" was too risky.

He stepped forward, bowed respectfully without being humble or arrogant, and spoke before Chu Feng could.

“I am Jiang Xuan, not my master. My master is of a detached nature and dislikes worldly affairs. He is currently in seclusion, researching a difficult problem related to spirit patterns, and is unable to spare any time for me. I am not talented, but I have been accepted as a disciple by my master and have received his true teachings. If you have any spirit artifacts that need repair, senior, you may give me a chance to try.”

His words were half true and half false. He both pointed out that he was "Master Xun's" disciple, thus elevating his master's status, and left himself room for maneuver.

Upon hearing this, the old woman frowned almost imperceptibly and let out a cold snort.

"They certainly have quite the airs."

His tone revealed no emotion.

Chu Feng, who was standing nearby, quickly stepped forward to smooth things over, explaining with a smile.

"Mother-in-law, please calm down. Master Xun... does indeed have some eccentricities; he dislikes being coerced into doing things." (End of Chapter)