Chapter 295: Divine Smiths' Gathering

"Aaaah~"

Sword light shot skyward, clear and high like a dragon.

On Pure Yang Peak, heads swarmed; under the gaze of the onlookers, as Li Yuan's heavy hammer fell, the silent iron sword leaped into the air like a startled water dragon.

The sword sound echoed, lingering for a long time without dispersing.

"Quasi-Divine Weapon!"

Lin Tingfeng's beard trembled; through that sapphire sword light, one could see the treasure sword trembling in the air.

That treasure sword was entirely sapphire, covered in fine patterns like dragon scales; the blade was smooth and soft, emitting a faint blue glow, like a water dragon occasionally manifesting in the clouds of the sky, breathtakingly beautiful.

【Blue Dragon Sword (Sixth Tier)】

【Made primarily from the bones and scales of the Blue Water Dragon, mixed with the essence of various refined irons... The Weapon Master struck with a heavy hammer, infusing will to nurture a soul, gradually awakening faint spiritual awareness...】

【Mastery Conditions: Mastery of an Ultimate Sword Art, Weapon Master's Bloodline】

【Mastery Effects: Seventh Tier (Pale Gold): Dragon-Bone Sword Heart】

【Sixth Tier (Yellow): Sword Art Talent, Extreme Sharpness】

【Fifth Tier (Pale Yellow): Resistance to Wear】

Quasi-Divine Weapon!

Gazing at the sapphire sword dragon in the air, Li Yuan's heart relaxed; his vision pierced the clamorous crowd, seeing Nie Xianshan stroking his long beard with a gentle smile,

and Wan Chuan, who struggled to maintain composure yet still looked stiff-faced.

"It should be secure..."

Having accepted the commission to forge a top-grade famous artifact, yet expending great effort to hammer it into a quasi-divine weapon, Li Yuan did not do so merely to hone his weapon-forging art.

He also sought the invitation to Nie Xianshan's banquet for the Divine Smiths.

Now it seemed, it should be secure.

"What a sword!"

Amidst the clamorous crowd, a handsome young man strode forward, his face filled with excited smiles:

"Junior Brother Li is truly a genius of heaven!"

His name was Shen Shen Wuming, an inner disciple of Longhu Temple; before turning sixty, he had ranked in the top twenty of the Dragon List, and now held a place on the Tiger List; he was the employer who commissioned Li Yuan to forge the top-grade famous artifact.

At this moment, among the entire crowd, he was the most excited and agitated.

"Senior Brother Shen overstates it."

Li Yuan waved his hand; that sword light, like a dragon, spiraled and landed in his hand; a slight shake made the sword light flow like water, dazzling beyond measure.

"This sword is still only a Semi-finished product; it will require about half a year of further polishing."

Li Yuan was also very satisfied; the quality of this sword was no inferior to the Fire Dragon Sword; if wielded by a Grandmaster, there was no lack of possibility for it to ascend to a Divine Weapon.

It was the ultimate display of his weapon-forging art, a work that satisfied him greatly.

"As for the polishing, there is no need for Junior Brother Li to trouble himself."

Lin Tingfeng also came over; he took the Blue Dragon Sword, finding it hard to put down; he had witnessed the entire forging process and could not help but feel admiration in his heart.

Li Yuan's weapon-forging attainment was merely good, not necessarily surpassing his own, but that air of confidence, with every step executed in one continuous flow, was truly something he did not possess.

In fact, counting the earliest Autumn Water Sword by Xin Xin Wenhua, Li Yuan had forged four top-grade famous artifacts up to now, without a single failure.

"Greetings, Sect Master!"

At this moment, the crowd also noticed Nie Xianshan's arrival one after another, and bowed in greeting.

Li Yuan also clasped his hands in salute: "Junior Uncle, Senior Wan."

"Zing~"

Nie Xianshan raised his hand to take the Blue Dragon Sword from Lin Tingfeng, stroked it with two fingers, gave it a slight shake, and visible sword light shot forth, then rose upward.

Zing!

Sword qi surged to the heavens, the air currents trembling like thunder and wind exploding; in an instant, Pure Yang Peak fell into dead silence, and everyone looked up at the sky.

Li Yuan's eyelid twitched, and he looked up as well.

He saw that sapphire sword light, like a dragon, slicing through a hundred zhang of empty space, cutting through the churning clouds, leaving a trail that would not disperse for a long time, extending at least five hundred meters,

like the contrails occasionally seen in the sky in his past life.

At first glance, it seemed as if the sky itself had been cleaved open by a single sword strike.

A casual sword strike...

Li Yuan's eyes were stung by the brilliance; with just this one strike, he reckoned that even if he exhausted all his means, he could hardly withstand it.

Old Dragon Head had been severely injured for over forty years, yet this Old Daoist Nie had not; he remained one of the supreme experts of the current age.

"This sword possesses the potential to ascend to a Divine Weapon."

Nie Xianshan nodded with a smile and tossed the sword to Wan Chuan, who was struggling to maintain composure nearby; the latter reached out to catch it, examined and appraised it for a moment, then nodded with restraint:

"Indeed, it is an excellent sword."

How could it be merely "excellent"?

Wan Chuan's heart churned with surging waves; had his temperament not been relatively steady, he would have cried out in shock at this moment.

With his weapon-forging attainment, a quasi-divine weapon alone was insufficient to elicit such admiration from him, but upon touching it, he detected at least a perfected-level Startling Dragon Hammer Technique within!

Brother Qiao Tianhe watched eagerly; he also wanted to reach out and touch it.

"Junior Nephew Li truly lives up to being our sect's Qianshan Qianshan Qilin!"

Nie Xianshan was in high spirits, sparing no praise, and extended an invitation: "Just so, Junior Uncle has set a banquet in the mountains; several famous Divine Smiths are also present; come along with us."

"Thank you, Junior Uncle!"

Li Yuan had been waiting for this; of course, he would not decline.

Wan Chuan turned with a wooden face, the palm on his chest cracking 'crack-crack', and a regret he could not suppress rose in his heart.

If not for the wrong setting, he would have been pounding his chest and stamping his feet — this kid, he had seen his extraordinariness coming years ago…

"Senior Wan."

Li Yuan cupped his fist in salute: "Many thanks for your guidance back then. Those few hammer techniques, this junior has benefited from them endlessly."

"Mm."

Wan Chuan turned back, glanced at him with feigned calm, and said lightly:

"I merely pointed out one or two things in passing. If you gained some insight, that is your own fortune."

"Still, I must thank you, Senior."

Li Yuan's manners were impeccable, yet out of the corner of his eye he could not help glancing toward the forging hammer in his sleeve.

That was a divine-weapon-grade forging hammer — a treasure even Longhu Temple could not lay hands on a single one of. With such a hammer in hand, he felt he could already forge divine weapons.

"Enough, let's not stand on ceremony."

Nie Xianshan spoke softly, and only then did the group head toward Tiger Peak.

"Gate Master, Senior Wan…"

At that moment, a voice came from behind. Shen Shen Wuming rubbed his hands together, indicating that the sword was his.

Zheng~

Wan Chuan tossed it casually, and the sword's hum sounded like a dragon's cry.

Shen Shen Wuming reached out to catch it. Sword and body moved as one as he performed several sword forms. He felt an indescribable exhilaration and immediately burst into repeated praise and gratitude.

"Nie-shishu, please wait!"

Lin Tingfeng came to his senses. He brazenly sidled over: "This disciple also wishes to seek guidance from the several Divine Smiths. I hope Nie-shishu will grant my wish."

"Another day."

Nie Xianshan's expression was cold. A single glance silenced Lin Tingfeng, who fell mute as a cicada in winter.

His Nie-shishu was famously cold. Over all these years, he had only seen him smile when he was with Li Yuan.

"Brother Li."

On the mountain path, Nie Xianshan and Wan Chuan walked ahead. Behind them, Brother Qiao Tianhe greeted them softly, his face full of the joy of old friends reunited.

"Brother Brother Qiao."

Li Yuan smiled. His impression of Little Brother Qiao was quite good. Back at the Divine Weapon Valley, he had learned a great deal from him.

……

Dragon Mountain is grand; Hushan is perilous.

The three halls of Tiger Gate were all situated at terrain of strategic importance, in a sense guarding the rear mountain.

Outsiders were forbidden from entering the Mi Jing of Nurturing — this was an ironclan rule of the sect, so Nie Xianshan naturally set the banquet venue at the Surging Waves Hall.

The year-end had arrived, yet the mountain had already thawed. From a great distance one could hear the sound of water — the crashing of the waterfall in Surging Waves Mountain against the shore.

"Father, Senior Wan."

Before Surging Waves Mountain, Nie Ying, dressed as a Daoist nun, seemed to have been waiting for some time. Accompanying her was Xin Xin Wenhua, whom they had not seen in many days; the latter looked travel-worn, as if he had just returned.

Li Yuan glanced at him and understood at once — clearly he had gone to that mountain valley where he had discovered the Flood Dragon Blood Golden Body Fruit.

"Mm."

Nie Xianshan responded and stepped slowly into the hall.

The great hall was brightly lit, the aroma of wine and food heavy. Before the main hall stood a great table with seats for more than ten; at this moment, three people were already seated.

Behind the three hung that painting of towering mountains, surging waves, and a fierce tiger.

In Li Yuan's eyes, it was naturally the "Surging Waves Zhang Fa Form Diagram (Sixth Rank)." Over these past months, every time he came to Hushan, he had been invited here by Nie Ying to contemplate it.

On several occasions, he had brushed against the two supreme arts — the "Surging Waves Zhang Fa" and the "Pure Yang Finger Art" hidden within the painting. If not for consideration of Old Daoist Nie, he would long since have comprehended those two supreme arts.

With the augmentation of an epoch-defying talent, those two supreme arts were practically laid out before him.

"Nie-zongshi (Gate Master)."

Seeing Nie Xianshan, the three rose in turn to salute, and also exchanged greetings with Wan Chuan.

"All Divine Smiths…"

Li Yuan was somewhat dazed. Before his eyes, colors flickered, as if he saw three treasure mountains.

Their bodies covered in famous weapons was one thing, but each also carried a divine weapon. Especially one among them — not only did he possess a divine-weapon-grade forging hammer, but also a divine-weapon-grade armor.

Listening to their conversation, Li Yuan also identified who the three were.

The only woman among the three was named Jiang Xie. Her background was the finest — she was an elder of the Azure Dragon Pavilion of the Dragon Hidden Dao, one of the Wudadao Sect. The one wearing the divine armor was her.

'What a strapping woman this is.'

Li Yuan took one look and remembered.

Over the years, the largest build he had seen was Ba Ba Wanli, but among women, the largest was the one before him — even seated, she was taller than others standing.

To Jiang Xie's left and right sat two elders. One was robust of body, named Gui Gui Haiyou, of Yanshan Dao — a Supreme Elder of a sect under the Dao Sect's Sanmai Grotto.

The other was wizened and thin, of Mount Hengshan Dao — a guest retainer of the Seven Fiends Gate, named Bei Mount Wuji.

Counting Wan Chuan, these were the four great Divine Smiths.

"No need for such ceremony, everyone."

Nie Xianshan smiled and invited them to be seated. Nie Ying gave her horsetail whisk a flick and ordered the disciples to serve the dishes.

A banquet hosted by the Tiger Gate Master was naturally excellent — all manner of spirit rice, spirit plants, and spirit tea were present. Nie Xianshan did not abstain from meat, so spirit beast flesh was naturally not lacking.

There was even a bear's paw the size of a face-plate.

Spirit wines such as Hundred Herbs Brew, Immortal's Drunkenness, and Hundred Flowers Drunkenness were brought out jar after jar — the proprieties could not have been more thoroughly observed.

'Old Daoist Nie certainly has grand ambitions — what divine weapon is he planning to forge?'

As a junior, Li Yuan and Brother Qiao Tianhe sat at the edge. Listening to Brother Qiao Tianhe's quiet introductions, Li Yuan was somewhat startled.

Only those who forge two divine weapons entirely on their own earn the title of Divine Smith; forging just one divine weapon wouldn't require summoning four.

But very soon, Li Yuan found out.

Nie Xianshan pulled a blueprint from his embrace, and he took it for a look as well. The blueprint for that "Dragon-Tiger Pure Yang Sword" was extremely intricate—not only did it require a great many materials, needing all manner of exceedingly rare heavenly treasures and earthly marvels,

but it also required at least four or more Divine Smiths working simultaneously to forge it.

With just one glance, Li Yuan's heart gave a sudden leap:

"You're forging a top-grade divine weapon?"