Chapter 146: Guarding Creation

The so-called Thousand Refining is absolutely not as simple as hammering the metal a thousand times; rather, it is through continuous hammering to completely eliminate impurities inside the metal and increase its density, and at the same time, the greatest effect of Thousand Refining is sublimation.

Only when the process of hammering metal produces the sublimation effect is it true Thousand Refining.

The sublimation effect is not ordinary light pollution; strictly speaking, it is an added ability, like tungsten steel, which itself is very strong; after Thousand Refining, the volume of tungsten steel itself shrinks by one-third, while its strength increases by two hundred percent, and its sublimation effect increases weight by thirty percent.

For the same piece of metal, only by undergoing a qualitative change can its weight possibly increase, thereby demonstrating its ultra-high strength.

Increasing weight through this sublimation is the simplest; an excellent Thousand Refining can also produce some special sublimation effects, and the better the sublimation effect, the higher the value of the metal produced by Thousand Refining.

Upon reaching the level of Thousand Refining, one must first Thousand Refine the metal itself, then use the same method to shape it.

Qian Renxue raised her twin hammers and began continuous hammering; she did not use full force, the hammers raised by her arms basically using only one to two tenths of her strength.

For a moment, sparks flew everywhere, the rhythmic hammering sound like joyful percussion, echoing in the forging room.

Just as if protecting a precious treasure, Qian Renxue's hammering force not only did not increase, but slightly contracted; through continuous hammering, to judge the grain of the demon silver itself, to feel its characteristics, bit by bit completing the purification process.

Lou Gao's face bore a hint of relieved smile; that's how it should be.

When dealing with rare metals, one should treat them as one would a beloved person, protecting them during the forging process rather than blindly striking hard; although the surface of rare metals is tough, once their internal grain is damaged, their intrinsic properties will be affected to some extent.

Qian Renxue's previous heavy blows were entirely reliant on her powerful mental strength as a safety net; otherwise, the metal's grain would have been shattered long ago.

Although hammering with little force consumes more time, this is undoubtedly the most prudent approach.

Half an hour passed, and Qian Renxue's hammering sound became even denser.

Even Qian Renxue herself did not know how many times she had hammered; gradually, the roar brought by the hammering disappeared, before her eyes, that piece of demon silver seemed to emit a faint light, each hammer strike making it seem to breathe once, in sync with Qian Renxue's breathing.

Qian Renxue's pupils gradually turned into dark gold diamonds, hidden within her clothing, faint gold patterns gradually appearing on her skin.

Beside him, Lou Gao's entire attention was focused on that piece of demon silver, not noticing the changes in Qian Renxue.

The hint of dark gold deep in Qian Renxue's eyes brightened slightly; the hammer in her hand seemed to have become part of her body, each strike causing the demon silver to seemingly emit a comfortable chant.

Qian Renxue's eyes grew brighter, and the frequency of her hammering began to increase.

The demon silver became increasingly solid, its volume gradually shrinking by five percent, ten percent, fifteen percent.

At this point, its density seemed to have reached the limit, no longer contracting inward, but each of Qian Renxue's hammer strikes subtly improved its grain, making it more rational.

The firelight illuminated, casting the entire Number Eight Forging Room in a bright red; beside him, Lou Gao was already sweating on his forehead, his physique naturally averse to heat.

On the contrary, Qian Renxue, who was forging, appeared relaxed; these waves of boiling heat instead made her body feel refreshed and pleased.

This temperature, to her, was like basking in warm sunlight during winter, quite comfortable.

Thousand Refining has spirit; this is the feeling of Thousand Refining having spirit. Lou Gao, extremely keen, caught the sense of harmony between Qian Renxue's hammering and the demon silver before her.

Suddenly, that piece of demon silver trembled slightly under Qian Renxue's hammering; immediately, a wisp of strange silver light burst through the furnace fire's blockade, bathing the entire forging room in silver-white.

Qian Renxue's twin hammers fell simultaneously, striking heavily upon it; instantly, that silver light became even more unrestrained.

"Thousand Refining succeeded! Quick blood offering! This metal is the most suitable for your martial soul!" Lou Gao shouted excitedly.

But Qian Renxue did not heed his voice to stop; instead, she continued hammering, she wanted Spirit Refining! Spirit Refining and Thousand Refining are a qualitative difference; Spirit Refining lets metal undergo sublimation, sublimation entering another realm.

Qian Renxue is now completely immersed in the process of communicating with the demon silver; she can feel the pleasure and a hint of timidity transmitted from the demon silver, which seems reluctant to take that step, while Qian Renxue's task is to guide it across this crucial step.

Spirit Refining is the communication between soul power and metal, the fusion of one's spirit with metal, the process of endowing metal with life.

Thousand Refining merely fully unleashes the metal's own potential, whereas Spirit Refining is the process of inducing mutation in the metal, enabling it to truly transition from quantitative change to qualitative change.

To accomplish Spirit Refining, one must unite body and mind as one, truly immerse oneself in the metal's world, and at the moment of its completion, let it come alive.

Spirit Refining is the creation of life.

One step of sublimation, myriad refinings bring forth spirits.

Spirit myriad refinings, that is constant exchange and communication; each light hammer strike maintains the spirituality of the Thousand Refined demon silver, infusing soul power, guiding it to generate its own life.

This is like soul beast cultivation; a ten-year soul beast has no significant wisdom advantage over ordinary animals, while a hundred-year soul beast already possesses some spirituality.

Upon reaching a thousand years, their vitality undergoes a qualitative leap, while wisdom gradually grows; and a ten-thousand-year soul beast's wisdom is already on par with humanity.

The higher the rank of the soul beast, the stronger it is, not only due to its own immense energy, but also because of its wisdom enhancement.

Metal is the same; the more abundant its spirituality, the more it can enhance itself and undergo qualitative change.

A strange scene began to unfold; the piece of demon silver, already greatly reduced by Thousand Refining, trembled continuously under Qian Renxue's light hammering; the silver-gray light emanating from it gradually began to change, layers of colorful specks like cosmic nebulae gently rotating, while its volume naturally shrank on its own, and the silver light emerging from it grew increasingly intense.

This means that Qian Renxue's communication with it is smooth; the two have successfully established a connection.

Now it depends on whether Qian Renxue can maintain this connection, continuously inducing qualitative change in the demon silver, ultimately completing the sublimation process.

Soul power continuously transmitted through hammering and the golden feathers floating in the forging room into the demon silver; Qian Renxue's inner soul power and the Angel's Sacred Core operated vigorously, replenishing her consumption.

That demon silver was like a bottomless pit, incessantly devouring her soul power; Qian Renxue was not startled but delighted, "Eat up, eat more, the more you eat, the stronger."

The true difficulty of Spirit Refining, aside from communicating with the metal, is whether the forge master's soul power can persist until the metal undergoes sublimation.

And Qian Renxue's total soul power had long surpassed that of an ordinary Super Douluo; each of her hammer drops and each communication with the demon silver were just right, causing the demon silver to continually exhibit wonderful changes; this change, while Qian Renxue and the demon silver maintained communication, guided her to better exert herself.

Lou Gao's eyes instantly lit up, "There's a show! If this continues, there will be a chance of success; Qian Ling'er has already established a connection with the metal."

During Spirit Refining, what is most feared is the severing of the connection with the rare metal, causing the life construction to be discontinuous; once that happens, the rare metal instantly loses all spirituality, becoming ordinary metal, not even qualifying as Thousand Refined; this is also why Spirit Refining consumes so many resources. Lou Gao, over these two months of forging, has lost who knows how many pieces of meteorite iron; fortunately, Geng Xin City lacks no rare metals, and the Blacksmith Association is not short of money.

The silver light flame grew ever more prosperous; Qian Renxue's forging hammer continued to circle around the heavy silver, her twin hammers constantly striking the side of the demon silver; the heavy silver's original brilliant silver light instantly gained a thin layer of gold.

"Ding ding, ding ding, ding ding!" Clear hammer strikes, one after another strange collision, made everything wonderful and rhythmic.

At this very moment, Lou Gao's eyes widened, eagerly anticipating witnessing the impending miracle.

The metal's own dull silver light grew ever weaker, while the faint specks of seven-colored light twined around it.

Finally, when the silver of the demon silver was hammered down to just a last trace, Qian Renxue's whole body shuddered, she spat out a mouthful of light gold blood, which fell precisely onto that final layer of the demon silver.

Her right hand simultaneously withdrew, the twin hammers still in grip, and she came down with a fierce smash.

"Boom——"

A seven-colored light flame instantly shot up into the sky, rising as high as five feet or more; moreover, miraculously, a holy voice rang out, within that seven-colored light flame as if an eight-winged angel soared within, the piercing seven-colored radiance, brimming with the undulation of life's breath, giving an indescribably strange feeling.

That was clearly a living being, praising its own existence and cheering its emergence.

It was born! Thousand Refining has spirit, myriad refinings bring forth spirits, Spirit Refining completed! The seven-colored light flame persisted for over ten seconds before gradually fading; Qian Renxue's eyes fixed firmly on the metal before her, the original silver-gray demon silver had turned entirely into a bright silver emitting seven-colored light, appearing crystalline and extraordinary, the return lines forged by Thousand Refining had completely disappeared, replaced by a faintly visible angelic pattern.

No longer the previous feeling of bloodline connection, but a sense of complete unity; only seen, a flash of silver light on Qian Renxue's left hand, the demon silver on the forging platform had silently merged into her palm and vanished; indeed, it merged into her palm, rather than disappearing into her storage soul tool.

Spirit forging, bound by life!

Once the spirit-forging realm is reached, metal gains life and will inevitably merge as one with the entity that gave it life; that is why spirit forging is so precious.

Qian Renxue stared at her palm in disbelief, still not quite back to her senses, she murmured: "I actually managed to forge it."

"She, she succeeded—she actually succeeded; she's merely a newcomer, yet she's ahead of me in spirit forging, able to fuse metal into the body."

Lou Gao's gaze also became dazed; he succeeded, he completed spirit forging—a fourteen-year-old spirit forger, surpassing the divine craftsman's forger, walking a path no one else has taken; she is the true pioneer on this forging road.

On the entire Douluo Continent, there are currently only three divine craftsmen, but in Lou Gao's view, they're nothing! This girl before him is the true divine craftsman!

Lou Gao swallowed a mouthful of saliva, he strode up to Qian Renxue, his face flushed with excitement, he rubbed his palms and bowed directly: "Qian Ling'er Master, may I see your spirit-forged metal? This is my lifelong request!!!"

Qian Renxue flipped her wrist, and a piece of spirit-forged magic silver appeared in her palm; Lou Gao didn't dare touch it, fearing to damage the sole spirit-forged metal, he merely widened his eyes, staring intently at every detail.

Lou Gao couldn't help but exclaim, then curiously asked: "What different insights did you have during spirit forging? Why can't I complete spirit forging, when we were basically the same in the early stages?"

Qian Renxue thought for a moment, then replied.

"The problem arose in your process of giving life to the metal; the metal itself gradually develops sentience during forging, and when sentience accumulates to a certain degree, the metal gains the basis for a qualitative change. At that point, relying on us forgers to awaken its sentience with our own life force, truly granting it life, thus completing spirit forging. Since the metal originally had no life, the degree to which its sentience is awakened is crucial to whether spirit forging succeeds."

"I observed your forging process earlier; although meteoric iron can also develop sentience, the total amount of sentience born is insufficient—this is strange, given that your forging skill is stronger than mine, yet perhaps your soul power is lacking, for I saw you lacking soul power each time you attempted spirit forging, leaving you exhausted. Maybe you should try spirit forging with a different metal instead of persistently hammering meteoric iron."

"Do you know? At the instant this magic silver's life is created, it suddenly generates an energy that ordinary people cannot fully perceive, barely audible, yet extremely pure; if not for my angel martial soul possessing the life attribute, even I wouldn't sense it. Perhaps the birth of this unknown energy is what makes spirit forging possible—a thing that can only arise under certain rules."

"As for meteoric iron, I doubt it can undergo spirit forging. Don't you remember? Meteoric iron is a rare ore refined from extraterrestrial meteorites; a forger's spirit forging is entirely based on the soul master system, a native system of the Douluo Continent. Perhaps meteoric iron truly holds unknown potential from other worlds, but can meteorites from outside this world truly undergo life‑awakening spirit forging under the Douluo Continent's rules?"

"If that's impossible, then just teach me fusion forging."

Lou Gao's eyes lit up. "Right! It's not his technique or procedure that's the problem; could it be the metal itself?"

But if meteoric iron cannot undergo spirit forging, its future value will be greatly diminished, and Lou Gao inevitably feels some worry.

He had always been researching the forging of meteoric iron, after all, that ore which cannot be produced was once the scarcest resource on the Douluo Continent; it is also his favorite metal, and his over‑decade of research would become useless in the future battle‑armor system.

Lou Gao pondered for a moment, then said: "That works; your forging progress must not slow down, so I'll first teach you alloy fusion forging. Although I haven't mastered spirit forging, I am a true expert in alloys!"

"An alloy formula of eight metals! You haven't seen it, have you?! I possess the unprecedented strongest alloy formula! This is my own research! It doesn't lose to your spirit forging!"

Qian Renxue nodded, then bade farewell to Lou Gao and returned to the Martial Soul Main Hall. Although the metal spirit forging is finished, there's still battle‑armor design to consider—not just the appearance, but also a core magic circle, which she doesn't know; she can only figure it out slowly herself. She wishes she had a teacher versed in formations.

Just like Huo Yuhao's teacher, the Undead Natural Disaster Icelex, he certainly knows formations; I don't know if Jin Huang'er will or not—no, I should ask whether there are any other sword‑shaped formations.

After all, Jin Huang'er previously said that although they are all sword masters, besides sword techniques each has a different ability, such as medical arts; Jin Huang'er said her ability differs from others', cannot be taught, is directly bestowed, and her ability is good fortune.

Qian Renxue didn't inquire in detail before; this time she must find out properly upon returning—if there truly is a formation master, she would go straight to seize the sword formation.

Moreover, what Qian Renxue told Lou Gao earlier isn't entirely correct; ordinary thousand‑fold forging cannot be elevated to spirit forging—true spirit forging must be born within the alloy produced by fusion forging.

Of course, meteoric iron truly cannot undergo spirit forging, because it cannot be fused with other metals into an alloy—not even Lou Gao himself has managed to research it.

He originally intended to incorporate meteoric iron as the ninth metal in the fusion, but never succeeded, so what he forged is merely the Eight‑Treasure Wish‑fulfilling Soft Armor; otherwise it would have been the Nine‑Treasure Wish‑fulfilling Soft Armor.

The better the metal, the greater the chance it can be spirit‑forged; creating life is an exceedingly sacred act in the entire universe.

At the moment life is created, the energy produced is subtle for soul masters, even imperceptible.

But for objects that inherently lack life force, that energy is immense; if they can accept it, the metal becomes a living being, yet if they cannot withstand this special energy, the metal will break.

This is also why spirit forging fails, causing the loss of rare metals.

And the reason Qian Renxue succeeded largely is that she supplied an abundance of soul power.

Soul power surged into the magic silver, aided by her own mighty angelic soul power, giving the silver sufficient toughness to endure; it was successfully granted life, this forging step is called Guardianship of Creation, requiring several times the soul power of ordinary alloy spirit forging.

Qian Renxue also doesn't recall the details clearly; she only knows the terms hundred‑fold, thousand‑fold, spirit, fusion, soul, and heaven forging, plus some summary‑like phrases, thinking metal upgrades like a soul master, step by step.

Actually not, or perhaps she misremembered; fusion forging should precede spirit forging, and after so many years she's forgotten much of it; besides, in her past life she didn't know she would reincarnate onto the Douluo Continent, so why bother remembering that? This is still a testament to her good memory.