Fantasy, starting with a treasure bowl

"Is the Frost Shield Axe damaged?"

Upon hearing Gu Canyang's words, Lu Feng was also taken aback for a moment, and then subconsciously took out the Extreme Ice Shield Axe to examine it closely.

"Huh, how could this be...!"

Lu Feng's gaze suddenly stopped on the inside of the blade of the Ice Shield Axe, and his pupils shrank slightly, revealing deep surprise.

The entire Ice Shield Axe still displayed its sharpness, but a narrow notch suddenly appeared on the inside of its blade, and a crack ran vertically downwards from the notch until it disappeared into the end of the handle, almost imperceptible to the naked eye.

If Gu Canyang hadn't reminded him, Lu Feng wouldn't have noticed at first, let alone known that the Extreme Ice Shield Axe was damaged.

"Hehe, people are born, grow old, get sick, and die. Although magical artifacts are not living things, the same principle applies. You've fought your way up to this point, encountering countless battles of all sizes. It's perfectly normal for your magical artifact to be slightly damaged now..."

Seeing the surprise and confusion in Lu Feng's eyes, Gu Canyang stroked his beard and smiled, offering a casual remark, as if he were already used to it.

However, despite offering guidance, Gu Canyang did not rush to appear; a wisp of his remnant soul remained hidden inside the treasure basin.

After all, once the secret of the treasure basin is exposed, not only will Lu Feng himself be in big trouble, but even the spirit of the artifact, Gu Canyang, will not fare much better. Therefore, he has always been cautious and never shows himself easily!

"No wonder I always felt something was off, and the Ice Shield Axe's power was much weaker than before. So that's the reason...!"

Lu Feng glanced again at the narrow notch on the inside of the axe blade, his brows furrowing slightly. He couldn't help but recall the bloody battle on the banks of the Blackwater River. "Could it be because of that Ghost Kiss Crocodile...?"

After all, the Ghost Kiss Demon Crocodile that the old thief Tianmu once kept was a high-level Heaven-rank demon beast, with strength comparable to a sixth-level Yuanhai Realm expert among human martial artists.

Moreover, the Ghost Kiss Crocodile's fangs and iron tail are incredibly powerful, capable of even biting through a ninth-grade spiritual treasure!

Although Lu Feng's Extreme Ice Shield Axe was as powerful as a top-grade Xuan-level magic weapon, it was not indestructible. It was still possible for it to be damaged in the face of repeated attacks from a high-level Heaven-rank demon beast!

"That possibility cannot be ruled out."

Gu Canyang nodded as well.

"By the way, Ancient One, with the spiritual energy of the Treasure Basin, it should be able to easily repair the Ice Shield Axe, right?"

Seemingly remembering something, Lu Feng had a flash of inspiration and immediately asked, "Didn't you say before that the Treasure Basin has recovered about a quarter of its original strength, and its spiritual energy is even greater than before? Repairing a mere top-grade Xuan-level magic artifact shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"No."

Faced with Lu Feng's question, Gu Canyang just chuckled and then said slowly, "Let alone the fact that the Treasure Basin has only recovered a quarter of its spiritual energy, even if the Treasure Basin's spiritual energy were fully restored, it still wouldn't be able to repair this Extreme Ice Shield Axe."

"Holy crap! This is outrageous!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Feng couldn't help but swear, still looking puzzled. "But that doesn't make sense! The Ice Shield Axe was also damaged back then, so why was the Treasure Basin able to repair it...?"

"Young man of the Lu family, I really don't know if you're naive or stupid. The loss of the Extreme Ice Shield Axe was merely a 'loss of spiritual energy,' not a 'damage to spiritual ore.' These are two different things, how can you confuse them?" Gu Canyang said somewhat irritably.

"Loss of spiritual energy? Damage to the spiritual mine? What does this mean...?"

Hearing this, Lu Feng was still completely bewildered, clearly not understanding the meaning behind Gu Canyang's words.

"To put it simply, to forge a qualified magical artifact, you need to ensure a perfect balance between 'spiritual energy' and 'spiritual ore.'"

"And the Frost Shield Axe in your hand is like a wooden bucket filled with water. The 'spiritual energy' is the water itself, and the 'spiritual ore' is the plank that makes up the bucket. Now that a plank is broken, the Frost Shield Axe 'bucket' naturally can't be filled with water anymore..."

Seeing that Lu Feng didn't understand, Gu Canyang shook his head helplessly and explained, "As for the Treasure Basin, it can only restore the 'loss of spiritual energy' of a magic artifact, but it cannot change the 'damage to spiritual ore' inside it. You should understand now, kid?"

Although Gu Canyang himself was not proficient in the art of weapon forging, he had lived for tens of thousands of years and was a powerful figure on a continent during his lifetime. He had extensive experience in various aspects and was able to see through the damage to the Extreme Ice Shield Axe at a glance.

"Old man, judging from your words, there must be some other solution, right?"

Lu Feng frowned and couldn't help but ask again.

After all, the Frost Shield Axe is not only as powerful as a top-tier Xuan-grade magic weapon, but it is also one of his trump cards for survival.

Without the Ice Shield Axe, Lu Feng's strength would be greatly reduced, by at least 30%!

"There are solutions, of course."

Stroking his long beard again, Gu Canyang said unhurriedly, "All we need to do is find some suitable spirit mineral materials and then use high-level demon cores to reforge it, and we can complete the task."

"However, this matter should be addressed sooner rather than later. Otherwise, as the gaps on the Ice Shield Axe grow larger, its power will weaken, and it might even eventually become nothing more than a piece of scrap metal..."

"Reforge the Ice Shield Axe?"

Faced with Gu Canyang's suggestion, Lu Feng stroked his chin, then looked troubled. "Damn it! Looks like I'll have to go visit Senior Xia Xihai again..."

While he was skilled in alchemy and medicine making, Lu Feng was completely clueless about weapon forging and crafting.

Therefore, if Lu Feng wants to rebuild the damaged Ice Shield Axe, he can only rely on Xia Xihai, the vice dean of Falling Star Academy, and there is no other way!

After all, the other party was not only an expert at the eighth level of the Yuanhai Realm, but also a master of forging. He had been immersed in the art of weapon forging for many years and was known in the martial arts world as "Divine Craftsman". His reputation was known far and wide!

In Lu Feng's opinion, with Xia Xihai's forging skills, repairing a mere top-grade Xuan-level magic weapon should not be a problem!

"Hmm, I wonder what Senior Xia Xihai's interests and hobbies are... I can't very well show up empty-handed, can I?"

After frowning and pondering for a moment, Lu Feng slammed his fists together, seemingly having finally made up his mind. "No! I still need to go back to the academy first, and then ask Elder Liu for information, lest I delay my important business...!"

As the saying goes, when asking someone for a favor, cater to their preferences; this is a universal truth!

Lu Feng, who was exceptionally intelligent from a young age and had spent many years struggling in the lower classes, naturally understood this principle as well.

"Brother Lu! So this is you! I've been looking for you for ages!!"

At that moment, a surprised exclamation suddenly came from the side of the training ground.

The next moment, a strong young man in a beast-patterned robe landed on the training ground. He was covered in dust and his dark face was full of anxiety. He was none other than Wu Yunran, whom we hadn’t seen for several days.

"Brother Wu?"

Seeing the other person's anxious expression, Lu Feng also looked puzzled and asked, "Why do you look so flustered? What happened?"