Chapter 121

A figure stepped on firelight and landed on the Correction Office of Bai Hu Mountain.

The Correction Office had high walls and black tiles, lacking a bit of the gorgeous nobility of the Nine Heavens Yingyuan Office, but having a bit more solemnity and majesty.

The Correction Office was divided into two divisions and two courtyards.

The two divisions were the functional agencies of Sanqing Mountain: the Correction Division managed discipline within the sect, and the Investigation Division managed spying outside the sect.

The two courtyards were places of practice: the Weaponry Courtyard practiced the Dao of refining treasures and casting, and the Puppet Courtyard practiced the Dao of mechanisms and puppets.

Cheng Xinzhan wasn't too familiar with the Correction Division, and to be honest, I'm afraid the whole sect wasn't too familiar with the Correction Division, after all, they stayed far away when they saw them. The Daoist robes of the various peaks of Sanqing Mountain had different base colors, but all had the mountain mist pattern on the chest and the Bagua pattern on the back. Only the Correction Division had the Bi'an pattern on the chest, which was truly conspicuous.

He was familiar with the other three. He got involved with the Investigation Division because he took the initiative to find them after returning from Baiyujing half a year ago, telling them about the relationship between Mount Huangshan and Emei, and also mentioning the suspected Little Tian Shi of Longhu Mountain lingering in red-light districts. These two were the leading sects of the Eastern and Western Daoist sects, and also the ones the Investigation Division paid most attention to daily.

The Puppet Courtyard was because Zhu Jianmo practiced there, and the two met often. Although Cheng Xinzhan didn't take the Zhu Ming bloodline seriously, Zhu Jianmo always considered them cousins in his heart, usually taking great care of Cheng Xinzhan, and sometimes even sending him some small puppet gadgets he made.

As for the Weaponry Courtyard, it was because he was auditing there.

Yes, the day after returning from Baiyujing, the Sect Master issued an order: the twenty-sixth generation disciple and Mingzhi Mountain true disciple Cheng Xinzhan would audit thunder method at Shuji Mountain in the first ten days of each month, sword method at Toujian Mountain in the middle ten days, and refining method at Bai Hu Mountain in the last ten days. All mountain offices and divisions were to fully cooperate, teaching according to true disciple methods, without holding anything back, for a period of two years.

Now half a year had passed, and most people in the sect knew that Mingzhi Mountain had produced a character: high in talisman method, high in thunder method, high in sword method, and digging deeper, he had even consumed Qi for six breaths and made it onto the Nandou list back then.

Now, it was the Deputy Courtyard Master of the Weaponry Courtyard, Daoist Jiang Weishan, who was personally leading Cheng Xinzhan.

Cheng Xinzhan walked into the Weaponry Courtyard, turned several corners, and took the stairs to a hollow space underground, which was called the Alchemy Cave.

The underground space was very large, with a height of more than ten feet. The soil and stone on the cave ceiling had been smoked into a glazed state by the furnace fire, reflecting the firelight, which instead created a sparkling effect underground.

The Alchemy Cave was too big, so even though there were many tall, crimson refining furnaces densely placed, it still felt very empty.

Each furnace was six or seven feet high, with ground fire led underneath, constant all year round, so the cave was also very hot, smoky and fiery.

People weren't as tall as the furnace feet, and walking in the cave felt like walking in a forest of copper and iron.

Cheng Xinzhan greeted people along the way and came to a furnace emitting five-colored glow. Someone was sitting at the furnace mouth. He walked over and bowed,

"Master."

Jiang Weishan looked to be fifty or sixty years old, his face was red, and he didn't have much hair. In the sweltering underground, he didn't wear a Daoist cap, only a few strands of hair fluttering. He had explained to Cheng Xinzhan that this was a bad habit caused by staying by the furnace fire all year round without moving.

Therefore, when Cheng Xinzhan first saw his master sitting on the ground by the furnace at night, he also proposed to do the same so he could learn more things, but he was sternly refused by Jiang Weishan, who also smiled and said that such a handsome young man, if he ruined his face learning method here, not to mention Wen Sukong, even the Sect Master wouldn't forgive him.

"Xinzhan is here, sit down."

Jiang Weishan greeted Cheng Xinzhan with a smile. He was satisfied with this kid no matter how he looked at him: smart, sensible, polite, learned as soon as he was taught, drew inferences from one instance, and he only realized the joy of being a teacher after becoming his master.

I really envy Wen Sukong!

Cheng Xinzhan sat down, naturally took the fan from Jiang Weishan's hand, fanned the furnace fire gently, and said,

"Master, I went back and checked, and I might have found the reason why Blue Water Earth Gold and Red Ring Precious Tin cannot be melted together."

"Oh, tell me about it."

Jiang Weishan didn't underestimate this young man who had only been practicing refining method for half a year. Sometimes his many whimsical ideas truly helped him.

"I checked from the Alchemy Scripture: The girl on the river is spiritual and most divine, flying when she gets fire, not seeing dust. If you want to control her, yellow sprouts are the root.

"The girl flies when she gets fire, so she is called flying mercury, so I guess, could this Blue Water Earth Gold be somewhat similar to the nature of the girl? The difference might be that the temperature required for Blue Water Earth Gold to fly is much higher than that of the girl, but the temperature requirement for melting Red Ring Precious Tin is very high. When Red Ring Precious Tin melts, Blue Water Earth Gold might have already flown, so we can't see the combined gold of the two every time we open the furnace."

Jiang Weishan listened carefully and nodded. Blue Water Earth Gold was a very rare treasure material, which could only be found in the depths of mountain gullies that never saw the sun all year round. In the damp and cold underground, it was light yellow gold, but once brought to the ground, it would turn into blue water.

"Then do you have any ideas?"

Jiang Weishan asked.

"The Alchemy Scripture says yellow sprouts can control the girl. Yellow sprouts in alchemy are sulfur stones. I checked that wild fire sulfur stones and Red Ring Precious Tin are very compatible, and melting them together won't change the fire affinity of Red Ring Precious Tin, but instead can further stimulate the fire ring phenomenon of the precious tin. This time when opening the furnace, can we add some?"

Cheng Xinzhan replied.

"Then how much to add?"

"According to the Blue Water Earth Gold we have left, we can still combine it three times. This time, let's try it. Adding two taels of wild fire sulfur stone should be about right."

Jiang Weishan closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then nodded, "It's worth a try. First use Ding-3 fire, and after half an hour, turn to Ding-6 fire. If it works, the wild fire sulfur stone should have solidified the Blue Water Earth Gold by then. Maintain it for ten breaths, then turn to Bing fire, and use Bing-10 fire to refine it urgently."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded. The combination of different materials and Yin-Yang fire power was a very profound science. He was still learning this, but Master Jiang taught very meticulously, and he had gradually entered the door.

The fan in his hand was also a magic tool, and using wind to control the fire nature and fire power of the ground fire was also not simple. Fortunately, Cheng Xinzhan's practice of the "Tiangang Dixun Human Spirit Manifestation Scripture" had gradually entered a superior state, and he was even more familiar with fire method, so he learned this thing very quickly. Less than a month after coming to the Alchemy Cave, Jiang Weishan had already safely let him be a fan-fanning boy.

It was called refining tools, but in fact, it was also refining the four natures of wind, fire, earth, and gold.

Open furnace, start fire, throw in gold, close furnace, change fire, open furnace again.

After about an hour and a half, they opened the furnace, and the master and apprentice looked into the furnace, immediately beaming with joy.

The piece of refined gold in the furnace was shimmering blue, but it was surrounded by a ring of fire. This was the combined gold of Blue Water Earth Gold and Red Ring Precious Tin they wanted: fire-affine, with fire ring phenomenon, capable of self-absorbing fire Qi to refine itself, and at the same time having the softness of water, so it wouldn't be too passive when encountering water-natured treasures due to attribute conflict.

This was one of the main materials for the first magic sword forged by the Weaponry Courtyard for Cheng Xinzhan.

This was an order secretly given by the Sect Master to the Weaponry Courtyard. All materials came from the Sect Master's secret treasury, and Cheng Xinzhan had to be brought along when refining the sword, so he could fully master his own sword weapon.

Jiang Weishan looked at Cheng Xinzhan. Everyone said that stones from other mountains could polish jade, but finding refining methods from alchemy scriptures wasn't something ordinary people could think of. His whims and comprehension always surprised him time and time again. "Xinzhan, really don't consider coming to the Weaponry Courtyard? As long as you nod, I can find the ancestor to talk to the Sect Master."

He asked this question again.

Cheng Xinzhan smiled bitterly and shook his head. In the past six months, he had heard too many identical words at Shuji Mountain, Toujian Mountain, and Bai Hu Mountain.

Jiang Weishan sighed, but still didn't give up. There was still a year and a half left, so there was still a chance.

He continued to take Cheng Xinzhan to refine materials and explain the nature of the five metals.

Most of the day passed.

He came to another furnace and sat in the main seat at the furnace mouth. This was a furnace specifically allocated to him by the Weaponry Courtyard. If people from outside the sect came in to borrow the furnace, it would cost fifty gold a day.

Every day, he first acted as a fan-fanning boy, listening and watching, learning refining from Jiang Weishan, and then practiced and operated on his own, acting as the main refiner.

Cheng Xinzhan opened the furnace. In the furnace was "Taodu".

Now the three sections of "Taodu" had merged into one, but looking closely, two subtle cracks could still be seen. However, the cracks at this time were only a finger wide, which was much better than the completely transverse appearance when it was first refined.

He had already inquired through the Investigation Division that "Taodu" was a flying sword refined by an immortal before ascending, a set of seven. He had already seen the other five, and the remaining two were said to be in the hands of the Emei Sect Master Daozi.

=9+Shu_ba

It was truly worthy of being a flying sword refined by an immortal. Even in the situation where the sword body was broken and the spirituality was greatly reduced, Cheng Xinzhan borrowed the ground fire, and with the sword spirit recognizing its master, it still took nearly four months to melt the broken surface of the sword body and make the three sections stick together again.

"Taodu's" sword body used exotic iron from outside the sky. Jiang Weishan guessed it might be star iron that fell from Mars or the Pleiades, and it was unlikely to have come from the Sun Star.

The sword hilt was also rare, very likely the branch of the ancient Taodu tree. This tree was the only one in heaven and earth, and had already disappeared in ancient times. It was the place where "Taodu" stored solar fire.

There was nothing to say about the sword hilt. The flying star sword body gave "Taodu" agility and sharpness, but rigidity is easy to break, and a single gold material also made "Taodu" lack a trace of toughness.

The idea Jiang Weishan gave Cheng Xinzhan was to add fire feather cinnabar. Fire feather cinnabar was flaky, with feather patterns on it. Legend has it that it was transformed from the feathers of the Vermilion Bird, fire-affine, soft in nature, light, and could improve the toughness and strength of the gold material, and wouldn't affect "Taodu's" light and agile nature.

Fire feather cinnabar was also very rare, but the Sect Master's secret treasury had some, and Jiang Weishan asked for some under the pretext of forging a magic sword for Cheng Xinzhan.

When Cheng Xinzhan started the furnace, he chose to slowly calcine it with ground Ding fire, melting the fire feather cinnabar into "Taodu". Moreover, he also ingeniously added a small amount of purple fire rotten peach evil water forced out of his physical body. Although it was only a small amount, combined with the fire feather cinnabar, it could achieve the effect of seeing softness in rigidity, Yin in Yang, and using water to adjust fire.

So now, because of the melting of fire feather cinnabar and purple fire rotten peach evil water, faint feather patterns also appeared on "Taodu's" sword body, and the sword body also emitted the gorgeous brilliance unique to purple fire rotten peach true evil.

Cheng Xinzhan repaired "Taodu", adding fire feather cinnabar and purple fire rotten peach evil water in small amounts many times. Counting from the time the three sections merged, it had been two months. His plan was to melt it for eighty-one days, so in about twenty more days, it should be ready to come out of the furnace.

When the sword body was refined, it would still need to be slowly nourished to repair its spirituality. However, looking at the rooster sword spirit bathing its wings in the ground fire, the damage to the sword spirit shouldn't be very great, especially when he was in the final sword duel in Baiyujing, his soul and the sword spirit controlled the broken sword together, counterattacking in a desperate situation, and the person and sword became one, so the sword spirit's spirituality had also greatly increased.

Moreover, he had a more suitable nourishing and refining method for "Taodu" in his heart, but it was still being verified.

During this time, he not only repaired "Taodu" but also borrowed the refining furnace to melt the flowing frost flying mercury bestowed by the Master of Huanzhu Tower and the gold essence he collected into "Qiushui".

Flowing frost flying mercury was bestowed by the Sword Immortal and was full of spirituality, and "Qiushui's" grade also went up quite a bit.

Now he had three weapons in his hands.

"Taodu's" material and refining method were top-notch, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a semi-immortal weapon. However, the problem was that after the Emei White Eyebrow Ancestor refined the Seven Cultivation Swords, he ascended, and the sword weapon was sealed in the Sky Wave Wall. Although it received the essence of the sun and moon, it hadn't experienced the heavenly tribulation with the sword master. After being born, it was obtained by a few juniors, and hadn't been tempered by the heavenly tribulation. Therefore, it couldn't reach the level of a true semi-immortal weapon. Now that it was in Cheng Xinzhan's hands, it could at most exert the power of a Dan weapon.

"Gao Zhen's" material was very high. Now it was being nourished by Cheng Xinzhan with magic power, engraved with talisman patterns, and tempered by heavenly thunder. As long as there was enough time, it wouldn't be a problem to advance to a semi-immortal weapon. But time was ultimately short. Among magic tools, it could be counted as top-notch, but it couldn't be counted as a magic treasure.

"Qiushui's" material was actually not bad, but compared to "Taodu" and "Gao Zhen", it was far behind. Fortunately, it had recently melted flowing frost flying mercury, so it could be counted as a mid-grade magic tool. How far it could go in the future would depend on the sword master's feeding.

He calcined "Taodu" until nightfall, then bid farewell to Jiang Weishan. After walking out of the Weaponry Courtyard, he didn't return to Mingzhi Mountain, but instead went directly to Pingding Mountain.

He walked into the Pure Yang Hall.

Daoist Tongxuan was already waiting for him.

"Grandmaster."

He bowed.

Daoist Tongxuan smiled and asked him to sit down,

"You, a disciple, are busier than me, the Deputy Sect Master."

Cheng Xinzhan smiled bitterly. He didn't want to disturb his grandmaster late at night either, but his master was away undergoing tribulation, and he had no bottom in his heart about what he wanted to do, so he had to come and ask his grandmaster for advice.

Cheng Xinzhan sat down, and Daoist Tongxuan also restrained his smile, looking at him,

"I have carefully pondered the idea you told me a few days ago. It should be feasible, but it's not without risks, especially the pain is extreme. Do you really want to try?"

"May I ask Grandmaster what percentage of risk there is?"

He only asked about the risk, not the pain.

Daoist Tongxuan smiled, "With your grandmaster here, it's hard to say full, just risk it."

Cheng Xinzhan also smiled, straightened his back and bowed, "Please take care of me, Grandmaster."

Even a figure like Daoist Tongxuan couldn't help but feel a bit of admiration for this junior of the same branch in his heart.

Using the Yang Hall as a furnace, using Yang Gang as fire, and tempering a flying sword in the eyes—was such a bold idea something a young man who had only been in contact with the refining Dao for half a year could think of?

Ask for monthly tickets and recommendations, welcome to comment and leave messages!

(End of chapter)