Chapter 97: Master Sun

The Four Symbols Sect’s Armory Hall, nominally under the jurisdiction of the General Affairs Hall, was actually located deep within another mountain far removed from the General Affairs Hall’s main hall.

This mountain was named Cangyan, situated right beside Zhuque Mountain; it was said to harbor several subterranean fire rivers, making it ideal for forging artifacts, which was why the Armory Hall had been built here.

Inside a green stone hall within the mountain, five disciples of the Four Symbols Sect stood facing each other—two wore the robes of inner disciples, three wore the robes of outer disciples; four men and one woman.

Yet everyone, including Wang Yu, couldn’t help but sneak glances at the only woman among them, the other female inner disciple.

Because this woman was excessively “intimidating.”

She stood as tall as Wang Yu, clad in a pale gold half-armor, a short red staff slung diagonally across her back, cropped hair, thick black eyebrows like swords, a square face, and eyes as cold as ice.

Had it not been for her curvaceous figure, anyone would have taken her for a man radiating raw dominance.

She was the last to arrive; Wang Yu had already exchanged names with the other three outer disciples, but upon entering, she simply stood to one side, ignoring everyone entirely.

This left the other three outer disciples, who had intended to approach and pay their respects, standing awkwardly in place.

Wang Yu naturally had no intention of going over and making himself uncomfortable, but from the expressions of the other outer disciples, it seemed they didn’t recognize this inner disciple “senior sister” either.

Fortunately, the five didn’t wait long before a thin, black-robed old man silently entered the hall.

“Greetings, Master Sun.”

One of the three outer disciples, a pale-faced youth, recognized Master Sun; upon seeing the black-robed elder, he immediately stepped forward respectfully to pay his respects.

Wang Yu and the short-haired woman, among others, naturally followed suit, bowing with clasped hands.

Though Master Sun appeared elderly, his spiritual energy fluctuated far weaker than expected—he seemed merely a Qi Condensation late-stage cultivator.

“Though five of you came, I only need three assistants; two of you may return.” The black-robed elder glanced at the five and uttered words that left them stunned.

“You, the girl, and you—stay… hmm, you as well.” The black-robed elder directly pointed at the short-haired woman and Wang Yu, then hesitated slightly before adding the pale-faced youth who had greeted him first, then turned and walked back the way he came.

“Thank you, Master Sun.”

The pale-faced outer disciple beamed with joy, responded eagerly, and hurried after him.

Wang Yu and the short-haired woman naturally followed.

Inside the hall, only the other two outer disciples remained, their faces etched with disappointment.

…

Wang Yu and the others followed the black-robed elder out of the hall, passed through a long corridor, and ahead suddenly opened a vast space carved out of nearly half the mountain’s interior.

The vast space’s walls were steep cliffs, lined with neatly arranged stone caves, from which people occasionally flew out.

The black-robed elder flicked his sleeve, and a white flying boat materialized; he gestured to the three behind him, then stepped aboard.

Moments later, the flying boat descended, finally stopping at a stone cave in the lowest row.

The black-robed elder led the four down from the boat and entered.

Inside the cave, long corridors flanked rows of stone chambers.

Each chamber held two or three burly men busily at work.

Some swung iron hammers—“clang, clang, bang!”—striking something; others stoked furnaces, pouring molten metal into molds; still others ground strange objects into powder using stone mills.

“These people are all mortal blacksmiths, fit only for heavy labor; you, however, are cultivators who practice fire-affinity cultivation methods, so I need you to assist me in completing the forging of a fire-affinity artifact ordered by someone else.” The black-robed elder spoke calmly as he led the three to the very back, where a stone chamber was sealed shut by an iron door.

The iron door’s surface was inscribed with faint blue spiritual runes; approaching closer, one could even feel a chill.

When the black-robed elder pulled open the iron door, a wave of searing heat burst forth.

As Wang Yu and the others entered, they saw towering before them a three-legged, three-eared crimson giant cauldron.

The cauldron glowed entirely crimson, standing nearly ten feet tall, its three legs half-sunk into the ground, its three handles shaped like dragon heads, slowly exhaling streams of flame.

Amidst the swirling flames, a white dagger, half a foot long, floated silently above the giant cauldron.

“I’ve forged this Fire Dragon Blade artifact many times before, but previously they were all six-inscription, first-grade artifacts; now, after multiple trials, I’ve decided to change the inscriptions to seven, elevating the Fire Dragon Blade to an entry-grade artifact.

Since this is my first attempt, for safety’s sake, I requested you three as assistants from the General Affairs Hall.” The black-robed elder spoke as he led the three to stand before the giant cauldron.

Wang Yu felt waves of heat radiating from the cauldron; within moments, his throat grew dry, so he activated the Fire Spirit Art, causing a faint red glow to ripple over his skin, restoring normalcy.

Not just Wang Yu— the short-haired woman and the pale-faced male disciple also shimmered with spiritual light, clearly activating their own cultivation methods.

The black-robed elder ignored all this, continuing his explanation:

“Since you’ve accepted this task, you must have some foundation in forging; you should know that whether an artifact succeeds depends three parts on the initial embryo, seven parts on the later spiritual inscriptions.

Your job is simple: while I inscribe the spiritual runes, maintain stable ground-fire power within the Three-Dragon Cauldron—do not let the fire fluctuate unexpectedly and cause me to make errors.

Inscribing spiritual runes is a painstaking, slow process; I can only work one hour per day, spending the rest resting and conserving my spirit, so the entire process will take at least half a month, possibly up to two months.

Afterwards, I will pay each of you one hundred spirit stones, and during this time, I will explain to you certain forging techniques as additional compensation.

Now, if you have questions, ask. If not, today you’ll simply familiarize yourselves with controlling the Three-Dragon Cauldron; tomorrow we begin inscribing the runes.”

“Master Sun, during this period, can we return to our own lodgings?” The short-haired woman spoke, her voice unexpectedly clear and crisp.

“No. To prevent sudden disappearances, you must stay here. Several bedrooms are vacant next door—you may reside there. During this time, I will provide you free Spirit-Abstaining Pills.”

The black-robed elder flatly refused.

The short-haired woman’s thick eyebrows lifted slightly, but she said nothing further in objection.

“Master Sun, I noticed some forging chambers here are empty—can we use the tools and materials inside?” Wang Yu asked bluntly.

“If you’re interested, you may use any forging chamber except those I’ve sealed. Tools are free, but consumed materials must be paid for later in spirit stones.” The black-robed elder glanced at Wang Yu’s face and replied coolly.

“Fine, then I have no further questions.” Wang Yu nodded and fell silent.

“Master, I have no questions—I’m ready to begin anytime,” the pale-faced youth quickly added, eager to please the black-robed elder.

“Good. Go choose your lodgings first, then return here to familiarize yourselves with the Three-Dragon Cauldron. At noon tomorrow, when yang energy peaks, meet me again in this ground-fire chamber.

Now, I must make my final preparations.” The black-robed elder didn’t bother with further pleasantries; after speaking, he left the chamber on his own.

In moments, the ground-fire chamber held only Wang Yu and the two others.

At once, the short-haired woman cast a sidelong glance at Wang Yu and the pale-faced youth; without waiting for their reaction, she walked alone to the giant cauldron, placed one palm against its thick leg, closed her eyes, and seemed to be meditating on something.

Seeing this, Wang Yu smiled faintly and turned to leave the chamber.

The pale-faced youth, witnessing all this, scratched his head, then suddenly called out, “Senior Brother Wang,” and hurried after Wang Yu out of the chamber.