[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-ascending-to-the-jade-palace":3,"chapter-ascending-to-the-jade-palace-ascending-to-the-jade-palace-chapter-35":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Ascending to the Jade Palace",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2320497,4538,"Chapter 35","ascending-to-the-jade-palace-chapter-35",35,"\u003Cp>Spiritual fire is essential for forging, and Yulou skillfully added peach wood spiritual charcoal to the forging furnace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside him, Hongmei sat on a chair, silently watching the two brothers work in tandem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without forging bead-shaped magic tools, reshaping the ink jade required spiritual water; Yuan quickly went to the stream called Qin Yun Qingxi behind the courtyard and fetched a basin of spiritual water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Begin now—the spiritual fire’s temperature is perfect,” Yulou reminded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuan took a deep breath, tossed the ink jade into the forging furnace, then used spiritual energy to draw some spiritual water and poured it into the furnace’s water trough for later use.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Skillfully following the forging methods he’d learned over the past three years, he carefully manipulated the spiritual fire to begin refining the ink jade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But soon, Yuan’s expression turned strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master, something’s wrong,” Yulou also noticed the issue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reaction between the spiritual water and the ink jade’s spiritual nature didn’t match past experience—this piece of ink jade seemed flawed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hongmei rose and took control of the forging furnace and spiritual fire, using his spiritual sense to examine the ink jade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No problem... wait—no! It’s not the ink jade’s fault!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Damn it, Jiang Bao left, and this new guy’s even worse—he actually diluted the spiritual water with regular water!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How vile could the garrison cultivators sent by Hongdengzhao possibly be?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hongmei’s answer: Don’t insult animals!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do we do now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not just Yuan, even Yulou was stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Hongdengzhao disciples’ greed was truly disgusting—they’d paid every required tribute to Huafeng Manor every year, handing over hundreds of spirit stones, yet the garrison cultivators still squeezed for more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too vile!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do nothing!” Hongmei snorted, manipulating spiritual energy to stir the water Yuan had brought—the ordinary water instantly separated out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Continue. Here, take control.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuan, drenched in sweat, resumed forging; Yulou turned to his master and asked:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Won’t they fear someone reporting this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hongmei replied with a dark expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmph, Jiang Bao’s ancestral ancestor was a disciple of a Jin Dan True Person, with Zi Fu cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This Mu Chunze? His master is also Zi Fu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Do you think these garrison cultivators are just pocketing spirit stones?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No—they’re here on official missions. Who dares speak up?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, Hongdengzhao’s Merit Hall has drained the surplus wealth of all cultivators in this region; naturally, Mu’s kind must scrape the land even harder.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this, both fell silent, watching Yuan forge in silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Half a quarter-hour later, sweat-soaked Yuan finally completed the ink jade axe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the palm-sized blade, three basic restrictions had been forged in: durability, control, and power enhancement—it was already a low-grade magic tool.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Acceptable. Though only six refining spaces remain, it’s at least entered the mid-grade category.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hongmei examined the ink jade axe Yuan had forged and gave his judgment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mid-grade magic tools required nine to seventeen restriction layers; the ink jade axe had barely entered the category.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Yuan was only at Qi Refining Fifth Layer—this result was already impressive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Hongmei turned to Yulou and warned:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yulou, your turn. This blood-soaked purple copper is infused with the spiritual blood of a Ren Water poison frog—it carries water nature, with traces of metal and water duality. How confident are you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Playing with the blood-soaked purple copper in his hand, Yulou replied modestly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll do my best.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nearby, Yuan had already fetched another basin of spiritual water from Qin Yun Qingxi for his elder brother, watching his master with hopeful eyes, silently urging him to finish the water preparation so Yulou could begin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good. I’m looking forward to it,” Hongmei smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou remained calm, studying the blood-soaked purple copper for a long time before finally placing it into the forging furnace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The peach wood spiritual fire burned fiercely; Yuan’s face was smeared with ash from the charcoal. The searing flames licked the purple copper inside the furnace, and under the stimulation of spiritual fire and water, its spiritual nature quickly reached peak activity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou selected several other auxiliary materials from the rack and added them one by one to the furnace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuan recognized the pattern—it was the formula for a purple copper sword!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re forging a flying sword?” he exclaimed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Quiet!” Hongmei snapped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuan scowled—when I was forging, you two chatted freely; now that he’s forging, I can’t say a word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master, I’m your disciple too!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feeling the changes in the purple copper, sweat began to bead on Yulou’s forehead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The strength of purple copper differed from cold iron—it was one of the rare heavy-hitting base materials among the ninth-grade spiritual substances, producing tools with exceptional offensive power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But purple copper excelled in high spiritual energy conversion efficiency; the purple copper beads Zhong Ningyao gave the brothers could be used as remote artillery platforms to cast spells during combat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the form of a purple copper sword meant it couldn’t just be an artillery platform—that would be pointless; they could’ve just forged it into beads instead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The purple copper sword was designed for spell-breaking!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When an opponent’s spell flew toward you, you simply raised the purple copper sword and slashed through it—consuming only three parts of your spiritual power to shatter a spell fueled by ten parts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You’d gain a decisive advantage in a single exchange!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But forging a spell-breaking purple copper flying sword was extremely difficult. Halfway through, Yulou realized he’d overreached.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He summoned the Jade Ruyi in his mind—the Jade Ruyi now held another small vial of Jin Guang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching Yulou drenched in sweat, Hongmei grew tense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew Yulou was barely holding back the turbulent spiritual nature of the purple copper—the high spiritual energy conversion rate came with unique instability; purple copper was far harder to control than ink jade and prone to exploding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Hongmei’s emotions were conflicted—he hoped Yulou could forge the purple copper sword, for he’d taught Yulou for years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet secretly, he also hoped Yulou would fail—if Yulou could forge a mid-grade flying sword at sixteen, how could Hongmei, who only forged his first mid-grade flying sword in his forties, face himself?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The realm where disciples need not be inferior to their masters, and masters need not be superior to their disciples, is not easily attained by just anyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the forging furnace, Yulou gritted his teeth and made a dangerous decision—the purple copper sword was impossible to forge; even the Jin Guang in the Jade Ruyi wouldn’t help.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He channeled spiritual power and abandoned one-third of the molten purple copper, keeping only two-thirds to continue forging.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With reduced quantity, Yulou successfully suppressed the turbulent spiritual nature within the purple copper!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Jin Guang in the Jade Ruyi drained rapidly; Yulou’s forging technique grew steadier and faster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The speed and precision of restriction forging improved dramatically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hongmei exhaled, his tense nerves relaxing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t believe two-thirds of the purple copper could forge a mid-grade magic tool—mid-grade tools required at least nine restrictions; too little base material couldn’t hold nine layers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Hongmei wasn’t pleased—he felt regret.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Yulou could forge a mid-grade flying sword at sixteen, it would’ve been wonderful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But soon, his expression grew grim again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For under Yulou’s control, the “flying sword” inside the furnace was rapidly taking shape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet as its form became clearer, it looked less and less like a sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was he... forging a copper cone?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No—not even a cone!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then what?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why was it flat?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was he forging a copper mirror?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In magic tool forging, excessive pursuit of surface area under equal mass leads to insufficient durability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But insufficient surface area prevents high restriction layer counts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou chose to forge the remaining purple copper into a flat copper mirror—sacrificing durability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He adopted an extreme approach to maximize functionality!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thin copper mirror could achieve maximum restriction layers by abandoning durability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From flying sword to copper cone, from cone spreading into mirror—Yulou had Hongmei utterly bewildered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, when Yulou presented the copper mirror to Hongmei, Hongmei didn’t know what to say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This... never mind. A Ren Water dual-natured purple copper mirror—Yulou, you’ve got ideas.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Studying the purple copper mirror in his hand, Hongmei was stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It too held three restriction layers, but Yulou’s masterful forging skill had left at least ten refining spaces—this was already a high-quality mid-grade magic tool blank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching his elder brother’s copper mirror, Yuan comforted himself: I just lack a fire elemental root; when I forge with Earth Nourishment Method later, I’ll do better than Yulou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is your first mid-grade magic tool. Half-mid-grade is still mid-grade. Yulou, name it,” Hongmei said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou thought for a moment, then replied:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Call it Ren Water Magic Mirror. But... its current state is too awkward—useless. Could you please refine it slightly, Master?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This mirror prioritized functionality, but with only three restriction layers, its function was completely inert—it was now useless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fine. Yuan, hand me your ink jade axe—I’ll refine both together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Your forging skill is sufficient to produce mid-grade tools; now you must learn refinement and power enhancement.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taking the ink jade axe, Hongmei looked at the two youths.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come early tomorrow—I’ll take you out of Qingxi Fang to learn how to amplify a tool’s power using the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1525,"2026-06-20T15:48:26.995Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","e9a492c0abcf4beeb38676cdb8080ced556e6a5ccb093d463104787aff027585","ascending-to-the-jade-palace-chapter-36","ascending-to-the-jade-palace-chapter-34",243,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fascending-to-the-jade-palace-cover.jpg"]