Chapter 1225: Chu Xiang Forging Artifacts

"Alright, prepare your tools, let's begin!" Zhang Xuan frowned as he ignited the earth fire, seeing Chu Xiang startled and a little dazed.

"Yes!"

To have reached Saint 3-dan at such a young age, and to be a 7-star artifact forger, Chu Xiang, though appearing profligate on the surface, was actually far from simple. He took a deep breath and quickly composed himself.

"Young man, don't worry. I'm not boasting, but if you strictly follow the master's instructions, I, Old Ding, will be perfectly fine and might even increase significantly in rank..." Seeing Chu Xiang's hesitation, the Golden Origin Cauldron burst into laughter.

Upon hearing this, Master Lin Jie and President Qin exchanged worried glances. Was this cauldron overconfident, or was there something wrong with its mind? Forging it this way, a drop in rank would be a minor issue; more importantly, its spiritual consciousness might be destroyed. Was it truly not worried at all?

"Yes!" Chu Xiang replied, then turned to look at Zhang Xuan. "Master Zhang, what mineral am I to fuse?"

"Here!" With a flick of his finger, a stone flew over.

"What...?" Chu Xiang's pupils contracted, and he swayed again. "A Golden Crystal Profound Stone?"

The Golden Crystal Profound Stone was incredibly precious; even a small amount fused into a weapon could significantly increase its power. Even in titled empires, it was a rare and unusual mineral. He never dreamed that the other party would casually produce one.

"This thing must be very difficult to melt, right...?" President Qin frowned.

Although the Golden Crystal Profound Stone was rare, as the President of the Blacksmith Guild, he had connections to acquire some. However, this substance was extremely difficult to melt. Even the earth fire in this hall would require immense effort to liquefy it. If it couldn't be melted, how could it be fused into a weapon to enhance its quality?

"With the earth fire of the Qianchong Empire, melting it shouldn't be difficult, but here..." Master Lin Jie shook his head.

Although the earth fire in this forging hall was the hottest available, it was still somewhat inferior compared to that of the Qianchong Empire. It likely wouldn't be easy to refine the Golden Crystal Profound Stone here.

As they wondered how the other party would melt it, they heard the young man give a command. Immediately after, the lid of the Golden Origin Cauldron opened, and it directly swallowed the mineral.

"This..." Everyone blinked. Master Lin Jie slapped his thigh, his eyes shining. "How could I not have thought of it? This cauldron, which is to be forged, is itself an artifact cauldron! Although the earth fire's temperature is limited, by harnessing the power of this mid-grade Saint artifact, it will become much hotter. It would be difficult to melt it alone, but inside the cauldron, it will be easy. However..."

"However, what?"

"The issue is, while this method can melt the Golden Crystal Profound Stone, it has a flaw: one's spiritual consciousness cannot enter to ascertain precisely when it has completely melted. If it melts too early or too late, it will significantly impact the forging of the weapon..." Master Lin Jie explained.

With the earth fire's heat combined with the cauldron's enhancement, the temperature inside the cauldron was hot enough to melt even the Golden Crystal Profound Stone. If spiritual consciousness were to enter, it would surely be scorched! Without being able to enter, it would be impossible to determine its state.

For high-quality minerals like the Golden Crystal Profound Stone, the duration of fire application during weapon forging had a significant impact. Sometimes, a difference of merely one or two breaths could lead to failure.

"Indeed... Moreover, with this cauldron constantly being heated by the earth fire, if the timing is off, not only will the mineral be wasted, but the cauldron might also lose its optimal previous structure, leading to a significant drop in rank..." President Qin also realized the gravity of the situation.

This cauldron, itself, was forged from the fusion of numerous minerals and metals and had achieved a unique balance, allowing it to remain stable as a mid-grade Saint artifact. Now, continuously heated by the earth fire, this balance could easily be disrupted. Furthermore, with the uncertain melting time of the Golden Crystal Profound Stone, this forging method, while addressing the issue of insufficient earth fire temperature, increased the difficulty by several times.

As the two worried, they heard the young man's calm voice resume from ahead.

"Take two steps forward, infuse your True Qi towards the northeast, and with a flick of your fingers, use the Three-Leaf Forging Method to open the cauldron lid!" The voice carried the special rhythmic fluctuations of a Master Teacher's impartation. It was concise and powerful, like a military command, devoid of hesitation or doubt.

Upon hearing the instructions, Chu Xiang strictly complied. He moved two steps and sharply flicked his finger. With a whoosh, the cauldron lid instantly opened, and a mass of golden-yellow liquid immediately flew out, hovering in mid-air.

"It melted? And it just melted, with an error of no more than a tenth of a breath! This..." President Qin's pupils contracted, his face filled with disbelief.

He had just said that the timing would be hard to grasp, yet the other party had pinpointed it precisely, without the slightest error. How was it done?

"It's a combination of the earth fire array and Chu Xiang's movements. By advancing, he altered the array's structure, and infusing True Qi into the northeast direction instantly raised the flame's temperature. Then, he used the Three-Leaf Forging Method... you should know this technique: each flick is faster than the last, and its power is ferocious. More importantly, it can compress the flames into a single point, making the temperature more concentrated and intense... Combined with the array's alteration just now, this melted the Golden Crystal Profound Stone in an instant... This forging method, this calculation... it's too precise, too terrifying!" Master Lin Jie, who was the first to understand, clenched his fists.

Although it was just a short command earlier, it involved many aspects: mastery of array formations, earth fire temperature, mineral melting points, True Qi properties, and even forging techniques! Only with precise calculations for all these factors could such pinpoint accuracy be achieved.

Not to mention a 6-star artifact forger, even he, a quasi 8-star, would be unable to accomplish this. The sheer volume of calculations in that instant was simply terrifying!

"Move three inches to the left, raise your forging hammer, strike the cauldron mouth using the Willow Leaf Drop technique, forge one hundred forty-eight times, one hammer strike every three breaths, no more, no less, maintain a steady pace, then..." The young man's voice continued.

Immediately afterward, the clanging sound of hammering began.

"Marvelous... simply marvelous!" After watching for a moment, Master Lin Jie suddenly exclaimed.

"Master...?" President Qin was somewhat puzzled.

"You're not powerful enough, so you don't see the problem... The Willow Leaf Drop technique is the most common forging method. It sounds unremarkable, like a willow leaf falling—slow and even. However, its application here is incredibly ingenious. This cauldron, having just been heated by the earth fire, also showed a tendency to melt. Using a technique that is too fast or too forceful at this moment would create internal cracks. These cracks might not be large, but they would reduce its quality. However, by using this technique, such problems won't occur; it can even make its texture more refined and further increase its power..." Lin Jie's eyes glowed with excitement.

Clang, clang, clang! After Chu Xiang completed one hundred forty-eight strikes, precisely finishing the forging of the Golden Origin Cauldron's mouth, following Zhang Xuan's instructions, the hammer spun in the air and struck the cauldron's feet.

"Why not strike the cauldron body directly? What's the point of striking the feet?" President Qin was still puzzled.

Under normal circumstances, forging a weapon required striking it in sequence to ensure stability. But to finish the mouth and then immediately go to the feet... wasn't the leap too great?

"This..." Master Lin Jie also frowned, unable to comprehend.

Hum, hum, hum! As they wondered, they heard the cauldron before them suddenly emit a deep, resonant hum, like surging waves.

"This is... I understand!" Upon hearing this, Master Lin Jie suddenly understood.

President Qin hastily looked over.

"This is the Tidal Forging Method... It's said to be a forging technique created by an 8-star artifact forger who was inspired by the sound of tides. After striking the cauldron mouth, then the feet—the farthest points apart—the strikes create a special resonance, like the ebb and flow of tides. This way, the Golden Crystal Profound Stone on the cauldron body can be completely integrated even without further hammering, without damaging its previous structure, making it even better. Most critically, through this tide-like vibration, its inherent spiritual essence will be refined and become even more powerful... It's too incredible, too incredible! How did he come up with this?"

The more he spoke, the more amazed he became. Master Lin Jie felt as though his mind couldn't keep up.

The Tidal Forging Method was extremely obscure. Even he had rarely used it. He never dreamed it would be employed here.

There were many forging techniques, but when used appropriately, they could not only better fuse various metals but also greatly benefit the artifact's spiritual essence.

Many people used good minerals to enhance weapon quality. The weapons would become sturdier and more resilient, but their spiritual essence wouldn't significantly increase, much like a calf pulling a large cart. This wasn't necessarily a good thing for the weapon's overall power.

The person before them had used the Tidal Forging Method at a crucial moment, perfectly solving this problem.

Not only did the weapon's quality greatly improve, but its spiritual essence also increased, killing two birds with one stone!

"To guide someone in forging and still consider this aspect... What level of mastery in forging does one need to achieve this?"

Previously, he had thought it would be extremely difficult for the other party to succeed by guiding someone else to forge. Now, it seemed success was almost guaranteed!

The other party's understanding of forging was simply far more profound than his own!

They weren't even on the same level.

He watched for a while longer, growing more astonished with each passing moment.

Master Zhang's guidance, every single step, was as precise and meticulous as a divine artifact, without the slightest flaw or error. Even though he wasn't personally performing the forging, he had still factored in the other party's strength and True Qi properties.

At first, he could still understand the other party's forging methods. But as time went on, there were many aspects he simply couldn't comprehend.

He could understand them with careful thought, but by then, the other party had already employed countless more techniques, making it dazzling and overwhelming to follow.

After an unknown period of time, with a violent roar, Chu Xiang retreated a few steps under Master Zhang's instruction.

Rumble! Immediately afterward, everyone in the forging hall felt a brilliant aura surge upwards, and the sky instantly turned gloomy.

"It's an Aperture Exiting Tribulation..." Their bodies tensed, and everyone's expression changed.