Fantasy, starting with a treasure bowl

...

Gaoxing Peak, dusk was approaching.

Inside the cave, the two people and the cauldron stood motionless, as if time had stood still. Only the flames inside the Golden Scale Cauldron of the Tomb Tiger could be seen churning, making the surroundings as bright as day, and the air was filled with a scorching heat.

Clang...!

After an unknown amount of time, another heavy, resounding thud echoed.

The next moment, Xia Xihai suddenly stopped and stood up, turning back to look at the silent Lu Feng behind him. He raised an eyebrow slightly, "Hmm? You're still here?"

He originally thought the other party had left long ago, but he never expected that Lu Feng would be so patient, standing there silently until dark without leaving.

"In response to Vice Dean Xia, your weapon-forging skills are truly divine. I was so captivated by your performance that I forgot to leave..."

In response to Xia Xihai's question, Lu Feng cupped his hands in greeting and then expertly began showering him with compliments.

"Hehe, it seems you're not only exceptionally talented, but you also have a silver tongue. You can spout one sweet word after another. No wonder Junior Sister Liu thinks so highly of you..."

Faced with Lu Feng's flattery, Xia Xihai grinned, then flicked his sleeve and said seriously, "Very well, since you've been waiting for so long and are so interested in the art of weapon forging, then I, Xia, will teach you a little trick to make money and find work...!"

"A little skill for making money and finding work?"

Lu Feng was taken aback, his expression showing slight surprise.

"good."

Xia Xihai picked his nose, then flicked his finger and said casually, "The damage to the Extreme Ice Shield Axe has been mostly repaired. However, since the spirit ore and demon core haven't fully fused yet, we still need to use the weapon fire to lock it inside the Tomb Tiger Golden Scale Cauldron and burn it for a full thirty days before it's completely finished..."

"Before that, I happened to have some free time, so if you really want to get involved in the art of weapon forging, I wouldn't mind teaching you some basic skills..."

Xia Xihai stood with his hands behind his back, his tone still calm.

After all, it would take another month to open the Tomb Tiger Golden Scale Cauldron, and he was just idling around anyway. Lu Feng happened to be nearby, so he could take this opportunity to test whether Lu Feng had any talent for forging weapons.

"This disciple thanks Vice Dean Xia...!"

Faced with Xia Xihai's probing, Lu Feng agreed almost without hesitation, while a barely perceptible gleam of ecstasy flashed across his eyes.

As the saying goes, why not take advantage of a freebie that's offered to you?

Besides, he'd been standing here waiting all day, wasn't that exactly what he was waiting for?

"very good!"

Nodding again, Xia Xihai changed the subject, asking, "By the way, do you have a cauldron?"

For most weapon craftsmen, the so-called way of weapon crafting can be simply summarized in four words: "ruler, minister, assistant, and envoy." The ruler is the fire of the weapon, the minister is the vessel, the assistant is the demon core, and the envoy is the spirit ore.

Although these four elements differ in importance and value, they are all indispensable and form an integral whole!

As for the vessel, it is the foundation among the four elements of "ruler, minister, assistant, and envoy," and its importance is second only to the vessel and fire.

For most casting masters, if they do not have a suitable vessel, no matter how superb their casting skills are, they are like a rootless duckweed, unable to fully utilize their abilities!

Therefore, this is also the reason for Xia Xihai's question.

If Lu Feng didn't have a suitable cauldron, even if he wanted to teach the other party some real skills, he would have nowhere to teach them!

"Uh, in response to Vice Dean Xia! This disciple currently does not possess any cauldrons, but does have a furnace for refining medicine...!"

Faced with Xia Xihai's question, Lu Feng was taken aback for a moment, then bowed respectfully and said somewhat awkwardly, "Vice Dean Xia, would it be possible to use a furnace cauldron instead of the vessel cauldron?"

He was currently penniless, and the only valuable thing he owned was the Four-Sheep Square Cauldron that Xia Xihai had given him in the past. So, let alone a cauldron, he couldn't even afford to buy a few pills!

"The furnace and the vessel are two completely different things, and they are not related at all. How can they be confused..."

Seeing Lu Feng's troubled expression, Xia Xihai flicked his sleeves and smiled helplessly, "Fine, since I promised to teach you some skills, I can't go back on my word. I'll give you this cauldron!"

After speaking, Xia Xihai raised his hand and lightly touched the storage ring between his fingers, then took out a small, square cauldron that was completely black and slightly dilapidated.

"This cauldron is called the Square and Round Small Spirit Cauldron. Although its grade is not high, only around the fifth grade, it is still acceptable for a newcomer who is just beginning to learn the art of cauldron making. From now on, I will leave it to you to practice on."

Xia Xihai handed the small spiritual cauldron to Lu Feng and said in a calm tone.

"This disciple thanks Vice Dean Xia for bestowing the cauldron!"

Suddenly getting a fifth-grade artifact cauldron for free, Lu Feng was overjoyed and quickly put it into his storage ring.

Although this vessel is not of high grade and its value is average, even a small amount is still something!

Moreover, Xia Xihai was going to teach him some weapon-making techniques later, and if he didn't have a cauldron in hand, all of that would be in vain!

"Lu Feng, you better listen carefully. The so-called art of weapon forging is nothing more than the four elements of 'ruler, minister, assistant, and envoy.' The ruler is the fire of the weapon, the minister is the vessel, the assistant is the demon core, and the envoy is the spirit ore. These four are indispensable and form an integral whole..."

"The entire forging process is nothing more than three steps: melting the ore to form a mold, quenching and sharpening the blade, and finally fusing with the demon core. These three steps are generally known as the three principles of forging..."

Xia Xihai glanced at Lu Feng, who was beaming with excitement, and then slowly explained as he took out a brown cauldron from his storage ring, seemingly intending to give Lu Feng a hands-on demonstration himself.

"The roles of ruler, minister, assistant, and envoy are all indispensable, as well as the three principles of casting..."

Upon hearing this, Lu Feng also looked thoughtful, as if he understood something.

"good."

"Once you fully master this knowledge and experience, even if you don't become a master craftsman in the future, earning some spirit stones using this crafting technique won't be difficult..."

Nodding again, Xia Xihai placed the brown cauldron in his hand on the ground and tossed a low-level storage ring to Lu Feng. His tone remained calm as he said, "As the saying goes, a hundred words are not as good as a single attempt."

"This storage ring contains a small amount of common ores and low-level demon cores. You can start forging your own artifacts now. If you have any questions later, come find me."

After saying that, Xia Xihai took out a large pile of mineral cores from his storage ring and began to work on the brown cauldron in front of him. He ignored Lu Feng and was completely absorbed in forging the weapon, as if he was oblivious to everything else.

"Fire! Start the weapons!"

Seeing this, Lu Feng didn't dare to disturb Xia Xihai. He immediately followed the other's example and used his Yuan Power to create a wisp of weapon fire, which he then poured into the fifth-grade square small spirit cauldron.

"With the firing temperature stable and all four elements of the 'ruler, minister, assistant, and guide' present, the next step is the first step in the casting process: melting the ore and casting the mold...!"

After sending all the mineral demon cores that Xia Xihai had left him into the cauldron, Lu Feng took a deep breath, then made hand seals and summoned two giant hands of Yuan Power wielding iron hammers. This was the "Transformation of Spirits into Soldiers" technique, exclusive to Yuan Hai Realm experts.

However, compared to Xia Xihai's "transformation of spirits into soldiers", the giant hand of Yuan energy summoned by Lu Feng was much smaller and its aura was also very weak, almost not on the same level as the former!

After all, Lu Feng had only recently broken through to the Yuanhai Realm, and his soul power was only at the seventh level of the Soul Power Realm. He was no match for Xia Xihai, a Grandmaster-level weapon-forging expert. It was normal for him to have such a gap at the moment!

"go!"

Without any hesitation, Lu Feng immediately threw a large amount of ore into the small spiritual cauldron, while simultaneously controlling the two giant Yuan Power hands to hammer and strike it repeatedly. His movements were swift and precise, without a single error, just like a skilled blacksmith.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Accompanied by a series of crisp iron hammering sounds, the mineral essence inside the small spiritual cauldron was continuously refined and extracted, gradually merging into one, until finally transforming into a white sword embryo about three feet long. Moreover, the entire process took less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn!

"Um?"

The moment Lu Feng forged the white sword blank, Xia Xihai couldn't help but cast his gaze, then a hint of surprise appeared on his face. "It's only his first time forging a weapon, and he's already managed to successfully forge a complete sword blank in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn?"

"Heh heh, truly a promising student...!"

Xia Xihai glanced at Lu Feng, who was engrossed in forging weapons, and nodded silently, his appreciation for the former growing even stronger.

After all, it's not easy for ordinary martial artists to become weapon forgers. Even just the first step of ore forging takes most novices dozens of failures before they succeed, and it usually takes a long time!

As for Lu Feng, who takes only a short time (about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn) and succeeds on the first try, he is extremely rare and a true genius in weapon forging!