Chapter 926: Refining Tools

The figure who called himself Wang Yang was clearly not alive, more like a spirit or an obsession. It appeared faint and translucent, as if it could dissipate at any moment.

But his mastery of sword arts was incredibly impressive.

Lu Ye watched from a distance, observing flying swords darting back and forth at the foot of Sword Mountain, their light flashing wildly as Nian Yuexian was locked in battle with the figure. The techniques Wang Yang displayed were surprisingly those only a Grand Cultivator of the Divine Sea Realm could perform!

Did all the flying swords on Sword Mountain possess such divine power? Lu Ye was utterly astonished. Moreover, this was only the first flying sword at the foot of the mountain; higher up, no one knew what challenges awaited.

A moment later, the battle subsided. Wang Yang's figure vanished, and only a flying sword fell before Nian Yuexian.

Nian Yuexian pondered thoughtfully, picked up the flying sword, and continued forward. Soon, another figure appeared, intercepting her path.

Lu Ye observed for a while and generally understood the mystery of Sword Mountain. Each flying sword was almost certainly a personal sword left behind by a Grand Cultivator of the Divine Sea Realm. A trace of the sword master's obsession or divine sense from their lifetime must have remained within it, and whenever someone ascended Sword Mountain, the sword's power would be triggered.

This was also a test—a test from the Sword Artifact Sect regarding sword arts. Lu Ye suddenly understood.

The three of them had fallen into this secret realm. Nian Yuexian had been sent flying by Kongkong for her disrespectful words, but now it seemed it wasn't merely a punishment. Kongkong had intentionally guided her to inherit the sword art legacy of the Sword Artifact Sect! With Kongkong's discerning eye, he must have recognized Nian Yuexian's identity as a sword cultivator. For her, a Grand Cultivator of the Divine Sea Realm, to ascend Sword Mountain and inherit the mantle of the Sword Artifact Sect's sword arts, was naturally better than choosing two cultivators of the True Lake Realm.

As for Lu Ye and Ying Wuji, what they needed to do was cultivate the artifact refinement path of the Sword Artifact Sect!

Lu Ye couldn't help Nian Yuexian with her ascent of Sword Mountain, so after watching for a while, he turned and returned to his wooden house to rest and gather strength, preparing to learn the artifact refinement path the next day.

The next day, Lu Ye and Ying Wuji arrived together in front of the thatched hut.

Kongkong first transmitted a spirit pattern to Ying Wuji. Then, under Ying Wuji's resentful gaze, he led Lu Ye in a certain direction.

A moment later, they arrived before a stone wall. The stone wall was smooth and flat, clearly bearing traces of artificial carving. With a wave of Kongkong's hand, the stone wall slid open to the side, revealing a downward passage.

An astonishing wave of heat rushed out from the passage. "This place is our sect's artifact refinement workshop," Kongkong explained. "Maintained by numerous intricate grand formations, it is the most important foundation of our sect. Many of our sect's flying swords originated from here. In the past, ordinary disciples were not permitted to enter."

Kongkong sighed softly, recalling the sect's past glory. "Let's go," he beckoned to Lu Ye, leading the way. As they went further down, the surrounding temperature grew higher. If an ordinary True Lake Realm cultivator came here, they would certainly need to strongly activate their spiritual energy to resist. But for Lu Ye, whose spiritual energy was fire-attributed, such an environment was not only not harsh but comfortable and pleasant. However, as they went even deeper, even he had to slightly activate his spiritual energy to resist the scorching sensation.

After descending an unknown number of fathoms underground, a gigantic cavern suddenly came into view. Inside the cavern, the environment was extreme; waves of heat swept through, and the very air seemed to warp.

Artifact refinement platforms of various sizes were scattered throughout the cavern, and all kinds of artifact refinement tools were neatly arranged. Even though no one had been here for a long time, the place was still well-organized.

Kongkong led Lu Ye to one of the smallest artifact refinement platforms. "Underground here, there is Earth Lung Fire," he said. "When refining artifacts, you can draw upon the Earth Lung Fire to temper materials, saving both time and effort..." As he spoke, he raised his hand and tapped a spot on the refinement platform, activating a restriction within it. Instantly, fierce flames erupted from a dragon-shaped spout at one corner of the platform.

"There are many intricacies regarding the tools used in artifact refinement," Kongkong continued, as he began to briefly introduce the functions of the various tools on the platform to Lu Ye. Lu Ye listened quietly, but his gaze was fixed on the flame-spitting dragon spout.

This was the Earth Lung Fire. Since it was fire, his Talent Tree should be able to absorb and devour it. Although it was hidden underground, for the current Lu Ye, devouring it shouldn't be difficult. The roots of the Talent Tree could extend... After the tree's transformation, its demand for fuel had greatly increased, a matter Lu Ye took very seriously. When devouring and absorbing external energy for cultivation, the consumption of fuel was significant. Storing a bit of this Earth Lung Fire to serve as fuel for the Talent Tree... should be no problem.

Kongkong was still speaking to Lu Ye, completely unaware that Lu Ye had such thoughts. As he explained, he also let Lu Ye try out the artifact refinement tools, and Lu Ye naturally complied.

"Talking is useless," Kongkong said. "It's better to try it yourself. I will now refine a sword; watch carefully and learn diligently. How much you learn will depend on your ability and comprehension."

"Yes," Lu Ye respectfully replied.

The next moment, Kongkong flipped his palm and produced a head-sized piece of mineral from seemingly nowhere. He placed it on the refinement platform. While activating the Earth Lung Fire to burn and melt it, he said, "To refine a good flying sword, you must choose good materials. The path of artifact refinement begins with selecting and forging materials. Just like human cultivation, a solid foundation leads to better subsequent progress."

The next half day was spent with Kongkong refining and explaining. His movements were not fast, clearly to allow Lu Ye to observe and learn easily. The demonstration finally concluded when a long sword was freshly produced.

Although Lu Ye desperately wanted to leave this place quickly, witnessing a master-level artifact refiner refine a flying sword in such a short amount of time still left him utterly awestruck. Moreover, this long sword contained seventy-two restrictions, making it a Dharma Artifact-level flying sword. Such a flying sword, if placed in the Heavenly Secret Treasury, could fetch tens of thousands of merit points.

While tens of thousands of merit points were indeed not much for Lu Ye, for most cultivators, it was not a small amount to ignore. "How much did you understand?" Kongkong asked.

Lu Ye frowned. "Thirty percent?"

Kongkong nodded. "Understanding thirty percent is already quite good. However, understanding is one thing, but actually doing it, you might not even be able to manage half a percent."

"May this disciple try?" Lu Ye volunteered.

Kongkong was pleased. "You may."

The artifact refinement materials were provided by Kongkong and were not of high quality. After all, they were for Lu Ye to practice with, so there was no need for anything too good. Low quality also meant low difficulty in refining. But even so, Lu Ye's progress was clumsy. Fortunately, artifact refinement had an advantage: if the refinement failed, the materials could be melted down and recast. Unlike alchemy, where once refinement failed, everything was ruined. Therefore, artifact refinement was much more economical in terms of raw materials than alchemy. While Lu Ye was refining artifacts, Kongkong occasionally offered guidance from the side with extreme patience. Lu Ye also learned diligently and progressed rapidly.

For three consecutive days, both of them spent their time this way. The entire artifact refinement workshop echoed only with the clanging sounds of hammering.

Three days later, Lu Ye held a long sword in his hand, his expression listless. In three days, he had refined his first long sword. Although its appearance was crude, its quality was not commendable. It contained merely five restrictions, making it only a low-grade spirit artifact. Kongkong, however, was quite pleased. "Not bad, not bad," he praised. "Your talent in spirit patterns is indeed very high. With this, you will achieve twice the result with half the effort in artifact refinement."

Artifact refinement is not simply about shaping a spirit artifact. If that were the case, an ordinary mortal blacksmith could accomplish it, and Lu Ye wouldn't need the aid of an artifact refinement platform. With his current cultivation and abilities, he could, even in mid-air, shape low-quality raw materials into any form he desired. But the artifact refinement of cultivators is about simultaneously shaping the spirit artifact and fusing restrictions into it. This is the crucial part, as a spirit artifact without restrictions is virtually useless.

Lu Ye had previously refined many formation flags, but compared to true artifact refinement, refining formation flags was simply incomparable. "How long did the Sect Master take to reach this level?" Lu Ye asked.

Kongkong showed a nostalgic expression and said, "I took eight days, and the quality I produced wasn't as good as yours, containing only three restrictions. If you can maintain this progress, you should be able to refine a satisfactory flying sword within three years."

Three years... still a long time. "Go and rest for a bit," Kongkong continued, "but don't forget to reflect on what you gained and lost this time. From now on, come to the thatched hut every morning, and I will teach you the intricacies of artifact refinement. In the afternoons, come here and practice artifact refinement. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me anytime."

"Yes!"

Returning to his wooden house from the artifact refinement workshop, Lu Ye glanced in the direction of Sword Mountain. Nian Yuexian was still ascending it, contending with the obsessions or divine senses within each flying sword. Her progress, however, was not slow; she had already ascended a hundred zhang up Sword Mountain.

Amber, who had stayed behind, came forward to greet him, looking at Lu Ye with concern.

"I'm a bit exhausted, but I'll be fine after some rest," Lu Ye said. This was naturally for Yiyi to hear, as she had not dared to show herself since arriving in this secret realm, after all, Kongkong's displayed cultivation was too frightening.

Back in the wooden house, instead of meditating to rest, he collapsed and fell asleep. When he awoke from his sleep, he felt refreshed and invigorated.

Following Kongkong's previous instructions, he first went to the thatched hut to find him and listened to him explain the essentials of artifact refinement. In the afternoon, under Ying Wuji's resentful gaze, he proceeded to the artifact refinement workshop by himself. This time, Kongkong did not accompany him.

Lu Ye, however, dared not be careless and continued refining artifacts. Heaven knew if Kongkong had any means to monitor the situation inside the artifact refinement workshop, so the artifact refinement had to proceed. Moreover, if he truly wanted to leave this place soon, he had to pass Kongkong's test as quickly as possible. Three years was too long. Lu Ye set a maximum of half a year for himself; he definitely had to leave this secret realm within half a year. If he lingered here for too long, Heaven knew how worried his second senior sister and the others would become.