Chapter 414: Divine Patterns Forge Armor

On the riverbank, the sound of heavy hammers striking rose and fell, drowning out the roar of the waterfall crashing against the shore!

Furnaces blazed with Xiong Xiong flames; even from a li away, one could feel the heat waves rushing to the face. Nearly a hundred burly men either wielded heavy hammers to forge iron, or quenched and polished, all in perfect order!

Not far away on the riverbank, Xin Xin Wenhua directed a group of disciples moving iron materials, while nearby, Jing Jing Shuhu and Lei Lei Jingchuan observed!

Although the four Divine Artisans joining hands to forge weapons had not caused a stir in the Jianghu, for the various weapon-forging sects, this was a rare grand event!

Since Lei Lei Jingchuan and the other arrived, they had come here to watch almost every day!

"That young fellow's Startling Dragon Hammer Technique is improving not slowly; I estimate it is nearing perfection."

Lei Lei Jingchuan looked at Brother Qiao Tianhe. Compared to the other three Divine Artisans, Wan Chuan had brought only him. Although he was the youngest in age compared to the others, his skill was by no means inferior!

This young man has plenty of spiritual wit. If nothing unexpected happens, he has the potential to become a Divine Artisan. No wonder Wan Chuan takes only him wherever he goes!

Jing Jing Shuhu was very relaxed, sitting on a bench and eating melons, fruits, and snacks!

The lineage of Wan Chuan truly has good fortune; several Divine Artisans have emerged in succession, greatly increasing the reputation of the Seven Stars Palace!

While commenting on Brother Qiao Tianhe, Lei Lei Jingchuan actually looked left and right, feeling that the disciples taken in by these Divine Artisans were all weapon-forging geniuses, skilled in technique, and full of spiritual wit!

"Speaking of fortune!"

Jing Jing Shuhu paused, looking toward the distance where Li Yuan, holding a hammer, walked over at a leisurely pace!

"It takes seven hundred years of fortune to produce a Li Yuan; a blessing for the sect!" Lei Lei Jingchuan wiped his beard, in a good mood; now he did not find Wan Chuan so disagreeable!

"Old Master Lei, Old Master Da Chang, do you not wish to try your hands?"

Li Yuan was not in a hurry to start the fire; he came closer. With a Grand Master intervening to regulate their conditions, although the injuries of the two had not fully healed, most of them had recovered!

"Not yet!"

Glancing at the eager Lei Lei Jingchuan, Jing Jing Shuhu stopped him in time: "This is forging an exquisite divine weapon; do you dare to touch it?"

"This..."

Lei Lei Jingchuan was speechless; he truly did not dare!

"Senior Brother Lin still has quite a bit of unused iron material. If you wish to try your hand, I will ask to borrow it from him!"

As Li Yuan spoke, Lin Tingfeng had already put down his hammer and strode over to meet them. He had heard and had no objection: "If Brother Lei wants it, Lin Mou will go fetch it right now!"

"Then many thanks to Captain Lin!"

Lei Lei Jingchuan's eyes lit up; he immediately clasped his hands to express gratitude!

Jing Jing Shuhu's mouth twitched; he said nothing. However, Lin Tingfeng read his expression, smiled, and said: "There is plenty of it anyway; if Brother Jing is interested, you might as well try your hand too."

"Then many thanks to Captain Lin!"

Jing Jing Shuhu also stood up to express gratitude!

"Having watched for nearly a month, he is indeed feeling a bit itchy to use his hands!"

"Then let us go together and first select the iron materials."

Lin Tingfeng's invitation to the two was perfectly acceptable; immediately, they all went far away together!

"Senior Brother Xin... where is Uncle Nie?"

Watching the several people depart, Li Yuan turned around. Xin Xin Wenhua held the Pure Yang Sword blueprint, his brows tightly furrowed; he had stubbornly learned some weapon-forging techniques!

"You are looking for me?"

Li Yuan's tone was not low.

Before Xin Xin Wenhua could open his mouth, Nie Xianshan, who was sitting in meditation atop the waterfall, already opened his eyes and looked over!

"Uncle!"

Li Yuan clasped his hands to pay respect, while inwardly pondering how to begin. Borrowing money was nothing new to him, but borrowing blood was a first!

"If you have something to say, just say it."

Nie Xianshan disliked dawdling the most. His voice still drifted, but his person had already reached the riverside; looking at the blazing furnaces, he frowned slightly!

To forge the Pure Yang Sword, he had prepared for seventy years, spending heavily to invite the four Divine Artisans. Now, as the forging progressed, he could not help but feel nervous!

"This..."

Li Yuan thought for a moment and decided to come straight to the point!

"Uncle, this disciple has newly learned"

"a strange and unique weapon-forging technique that can elevate one's weapon-forging attainment, but..."

"Strange and unique weapon-forging technique?"

Nie Xianshan's eyes flashed: "Borrow what?"

"Blood!"

"Blood?"

Nie Xianshan frowned slightly: "All the blood is in the pool; if you want a certain kind, just pick it yourself. Is this small matter worth asking the old man..."

"... Hmm, what blood do you wish to borrow?"

As Nie Xianshan spoke, he himself sensed something was wrong; this young man was never one to know how to be polite!

"Your blood!"

"What?"

Xin Xin Wenhua was startled; his voice was too high. The several Divine Artisans immersed in hammering also frowned and looked over!

"The old man's blood?"

Nie Xianshan was not shocked or angry, only somewhat curious: "The old man does know that there is a saying about 'quenching with blood to recognize the master' when hammering divine weapons. How... are you preparing to give your Dragon Scale Armor to the old man?"

The old Daoist's voice was unusually gentle; this young man remembering him showed filial piety!

Thinking this, he glared at Xin Xin Wenhua. The latter felt a chill run through his body and also felt surprised. Daoist Li, who was so generous? Li Yuan was immediately speechless. Could he be such a generous person? "The iron materials, refined gold, and spiritual wood charcoal used for this Dragon Scale Armor were all provided by you!!!"

"Enough!"

Glancing at Li Yuan, who was clearly saying one thing but meaning another, Nie Xianshan cut him off. Although it was polite talk, it still felt good to hear in his heart!

All this old man seeks is a single sword!

Keep your armor for yourself!

Nie Xianshan stood with his hands behind his back, "How much do you want?"

"Huh?!!!"

Li Yuan thought for a moment about the size of his Dragon Scale Armor, then ventured, "One bucket"

Nie Xianshan's beard flew up; he almost thought he'd misheard.

"How, how much?"

"Crack!"

Li Yuan seemed to hear the earth beneath his feet splitting, and felt a bit creeped out: "O-one… uh, half a bucket, half a bucket will do, or just give whatever you think is right"

"One bucket—you really dare to ask."

Old Daoist Nie blew his beard and glared; this kid took him for what, a Blood Vajra? If this disciple's treasure-forging art were mastered, it might also aid in forging the Pure Yang Sword…

Li Yuan was a bit sheepish; he didn't truly want that much, but this Unorthodox Treasure-Forging Art required exactly this much!

"There isn't any!"

Nie Xianshan gave him an annoyed glare—if this were Xin Xin Wenhua, he'd have slapped him into the wall!

"Making you cough up a whole bucket…"

"Then forget it!"

Li Yuan was already mulling over which senior brother to approach to scrounge up blood!

Yet in his heart he also felt some regret—the blood of a top-tier grandmaster was far better than that of a martial artist who'd achieved Great Success in Blood Exchange!

"Bring a bucket."

"Ah"

Looking at the expressionless Old Daoist Nie, Li Yuan's heart jolted; he felt how much this old Daoist valued the Pure Yang Sword…

"Here!"

Xin Xin Wenhua reacted this time, casually lifting the iron bucket at his feet and bringing it over!

Nie Xianshan glared at him, then turned to Li Yuan: "Hope it truly aids in forging the weapon!"

Having said that, without waiting for Li Yuan's reply, he stretched out his hand; without any visible movement, a drop of blood emerged from his fingertip, falling into the bucket with a 'ding-dang'!

"This blood—"

Li Yuan leaned over and found that Old Daoist Nie's blood was crystalline and translucent, without a single impurity, spinning round and round in the bucket, somehow holding together without dispersing!

Ding-dang, ding-dang!

After the first drop, blood emerged from Nie Xianshan's finger like a fine thread, and soon the bottom of the bucket was covered!

"That's all of it."

Nie Xianshan withdrew his hand: "Is it enough?"

"Should be enough."

Li Yuan knew when to quit; he reached out and took the iron bucket. It was slightly heavy in his hands—this old Daoist's blood was far more condensed than those spirit beast king bloods; not only did it not disperse, it didn't coagulate either!

Not only was there no smell of blood, there was even a faint scent of grass and wood!

"Mm!"

Nie Xianshan pinched his finger; since the blood had already been given, he naturally wanted to see what this so-called Unorthodox Treasure-Forging Art of the kid's was all about!

"Begin!"

"Got it!"

Li Yuan, carrying the bucket, walked toward the forging platform!

Xin Xin Wenhua followed, stoked the furnace for him, and fed in spirit-rice charcoal; he too was somewhat curious!

"This kid…"

Wan Chuan struck with neither too light nor too heavy force; out of the corner of his eye he glanced once, then immersed himself in the hammering!

After several months of deliberation and argument, the four finally decided each would try on their own, first forging once with slightly inferior iron, and then the four would discuss again at the end!

"Hoo—"

Li Yuan set down the heavy hammer, took out an inner-armor prototype from beneath the forging platform, gave it a gentle shake, and the inner armor came apart, transforming into palm-sized pieces of iron!

This Dragon Scale Inner Armor was one he had chosen from several inner-armor blueprints passed to him by Jing Jing Shuhu; all the various heaven-sent materials and earthly treasures required came from Nie Xianshan!

Before, he had only the final step left—quenching!

Now that he wanted to try the Treasure-Forging Art, he naturally had to reforge it, then quench afterward!

Li Yuan calmed his mind; as his thoughts stirred, the thunder-dragon-shaped Long Kun within the Place of Spirit Light that had been chasing Wan Wan Leishi trembled along with it, transforming into a vast stream of flowing light!

The Treasure-Forging Art also has a corresponding visualization method!

But it is neither visualizing a person, nor visualizing an object—it is visualizing fire!

Normally speaking, this ball of fire should be based on a spirit form, but alas he had no spirit form, so he could only make do with a visualization; after all, the Unorthodox Treasure-Forging Art required blood!

"This little bit of blood, to soak the Dragon Scale Armor in it… needs to be diluted with water!"

On the way here, Li Yuan had mulled it over many times in his heart; at this moment he was fully confident!

Muttering to himself, he took out the various quenching waters and, following a certain ratio, poured them into the iron bucket!

Steam immediately rose from the iron bucket, as if cold water had been poured into hot oil!

Li Yuan focused his attention and observed that this old Daoist's blood was terrifyingly condensed—no matter how he stirred, the water remained water and the blood remained blood!

"This density!"

Li Yuan was somewhat tongue-tied in his heart, but this situation was also recorded in the Unorthodox Treasure-Forging Art; immediately, he set the iron bucket on the forging platform!

"Th-this is forging?"

Watching Li Yuan place the iron bucket over the fire, adding water while stirring, not only Nie Xianshan and his master and disciple, but even the four great divine craftsmen watching from the corner of their eyes were somewhat astonished!

"This looks just like he's brewing medicine no matter how you look at it."

"So fragrant."

"What kind of blood is this, how can it smell so good?"

"Doesn't look like blood, it's a spiritual pill, right?"

Brother Qiao Tianhe set down his forging hammer and couldn't help taking a deep breath. The other blacksmiths also stopped one after another, as a thick grassy fragrance spread across the entire riverbank!

Everyone who smelled it felt refreshed and clear-headed, as if they had swallowed a great pill that invigorated the spirit and awakened the mind!

"This blood smells so good…"

Xin Xin Wenhua was somewhat surprised — this wasn't his ignorance, it was truly that he had never seen anyone brew a Grandmaster's blood!

"What are you doing?"

Nie Xianshan's face had gone black!

"Don't be hasty, old sir!"

The fragrance was too thick, Li Yuan subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and only when he saw old Daoist Nie raise his palm did he hurriedly begin the next step!

He threw the several kinds of iron materials prepared in advance, one after another, into the iron bucket!

The steam rose up high, and the fragrance like that of a spiritual pill grew ever thicker!

At this, a group of blacksmiths all set down their forging hammers and crowded over one after another — this kind of weapon-forging method, they truly had never seen!

"Hoo!"

Li Yuan took a deep breath and switched to internal breathing, so as not to be disturbed by the fragrance!

His hands pressed against the red-hot iron bucket, a ball of flame conjured in his mind, Shan Xuan Jing true Qi surged into the bucket like a tide, and wisp after wisp of lightning flickered!

The Qi of Shan Xuan Jing was utterly useless for forging weapons; he was urging his true Qi to use it as a medium to sense what was contained within the heavenly materials and earthly treasures—

—the so-called "divine patterns!"

Li Yuan half-closed his eyes, and a scene appeared in his mind!

In the iron bucket, he had only put in three kinds of rare iron materials, and their properties were incompatible with each other, even conflicting!

"The Treasure-Refining Art, plucking divine patterns to combine them, turning the rotten into the miraculous… can disregard the inherent affinity of the iron materials themselves, light and heavy, ice and fire can coexist!"

A thought flashing through his mind, Li Yuan switched his learning-riding, and relying on a number of items that bolstered the spirit, the scene reflected in his mind grew ever clearer!

First, there was the blood!

Old Daoist Nie's blood, in his perception, was like sharp divine swords, interweaving like a formation, constantly grinding and killing the iron materials soaked within!

He could sense that these several kinds of iron materials were being peeled apart at a very fast speed!

"Good lord, this is even more powerful than high-strength sulfuric acid!"

Li Yuan was somewhat tongue-tied inwardly, his mental force highly concentrated, and soon, as the blood soaked in deeply, he saw a very faint glimmer of light!

This light seemed both illusory and real, existing at the deepest part of the iron materials!

"Is this the divine pattern?"

Li Yuan was very interested in this, but even with his spirit highly concentrated, he only saw that light flash and vanish, then Yu Yu Xuanji — two more streaks flashed by, peeled out from the iron materials!

They sank into the blood!

"So that's how the plucking works!"

Li Yuan suddenly understood in his heart, grasping the mystery of this unorthodox Treasure-Refining Art — this blood was nothing but a substitute for the spiritual phase, a means used to pluck the divine patterns!

"Whoosh."

Li Yuan opened his eyes, and his forging platform was almost surrounded by people!

He seemed not to notice, only carefully sieving out the impurities from within the iron bucket, then, pieces of iron like dragon scales, heated red-hot in the flames, were tossed in!

The steam, accompanied by thick smoke, suddenly rose up high!

Li Yuan's hands were still pressed against the red-hot iron bucket, his true Qi covering his perception, and the blood suddenly lost its previous intense corrosive aggressiveness… wrapping the scales within, as if intending by this method to imprint the divine patterns onto the iron pieces!

"What is he doing?"

Li Yuan was immersed within it, but the surrounding divine craftsmen and disciples felt quite puzzled and suspicious — this was completely not the weapon-forging art as they understood it!

Only Wan Chuan, Jiang Xie and the other four vaguely sensed something, and stood closest!

"Buzz."

At a certain instant, Li Yuan suddenly opened his eyes and stepped back, and losing the coverage of his true Qi, that iron bucket immediately melted into molten iron!

"Mm?"