Chapter 684: Refining Weapons (Part 1)

Twelve hours have passed, and even after taking healing pills, she’s still not better. This is a bit too slow.

Luo Qiqi stopped cultivating and looked up, saying, "The injury is quite severe... Even with medicine, it will likely take three days to recover, and complete recovery will take at least half a month!"

"The longer we stay, the greater the danger!" Zhang Xuan frowned upon hearing it would take so long.

Although the formation concealed them and the puppet couldn't find them, no one could guarantee that something wouldn't change. They had to speed things up.

After a moment of hesitation, he asked, "Do you have any Qi Recovery Pills on you?"

"Qi Recovery Pills?" Luo Qiqi was startled, then replied, "Yes!"

Qi Recovery Pills are one of the most common medicines used by cultivators, used to restore true qi. Their grade varies according to the cultivator's cultivation level.

Similar to the Spirit Gathering Array in formations, every level of medicine includes this type of pill, but their effectiveness varies greatly.

The Qi Recovery Pills she had were of the five-star primary level. Even if her true qi was completely depleted, taking one would restore about fifty percent in a short time, which would be enough to handle some dangers and problems.

With a flick of her wrist, she took one out.

"Mm!"

Zhang Xuan took the pill and held it in his hand. A moment later, he handed it back, saying, "Eat it!"

"Understood!" Though bewildered, Luo Qiqi still opened her mouth and swallowed the pill.

Qi Recovery Pills were only for restoring true qi. She had plenty of true qi now, so what was the use of taking this?

As she wondered, she felt the Qi Recovery Pill she had swallowed slowly dissolve. Immediately, a warm current flowed through her entire body.

Wherever the current went, both internal and external injuries healed visibly. After a few breaths, she felt as if she had been completely transformed, reborn from the ashes.

"This..."

Her eyes wide, Luo Qiqi stood up, unable to believe it.

An injury that would take at least half a month to fully recover from was completely healed after taking a single Qi Recovery Pill!

"Teacher, this Qi Recovery Pill..."

Even a fool would understand that her teacher must have done something to the Qi Recovery Pill, transforming it into a miraculous healing medicine.

He only held it for a moment, didn't even touch a pill cauldron, and added no medicinal ingredients. Yet, he made a pill change its properties and effects... How did he do it?

"Prepare to forge!"

Without explaining, Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

Relying on her own healing methods, it would be years before she could forge. To heal quickly, he could only rely on Heaven's Path true qi.

However, this true qi was too special. Since she was a five-star master teacher, if he directly infused it, she might easily discover something. He could only use a medium.

Qi Recovery Pills contained potent spiritual qi, making them the best medium to carry the true qi. Once inside the body, it would merge with her true qi, and even if she suspected something and tried to investigate later, she wouldn't find anything.

The so-called "healing holy water" from before worked on the same principle.

The wine was pungent, but by infusing Heaven's Path true qi into it, even the most formidable individuals wouldn't discover it.

"Understood!"

Seeing that her teacher didn't explain, Luo Qiqi wisely didn't ask further questions. She walked a few steps to the Crimson Flame Cauldron.

Around the cauldron, there were coal and various minerals in abundance, enough for her to start forging.

"Begin!"

Taking a deep breath, Luo Qiqi flicked her wrist, placed the coal into the cauldron, and ignited it using a special method. Propelled by true qi, it wasn't long before astonishing heat emanated from it.

The temperature required for forging was even higher than for alchemy. Flames surged in the cauldron, and the surrounding area was unbearably hot. It seemed as if a longsword thrown in would melt instantly.

"What is the highest-grade weapon you have ever forged?"

Seeing her prepare the charcoal fire with graceful, fluid movements that showed innate skill, Zhang Xuan knew her foundation was solid. He nodded and asked.

"Reporting to teacher," Luo Qiqi said, her pretty face flushing, "I have successfully forged weapons up to the peak of low-tier Spirit-grade... but I have never succeeded with mid-tier Spirit-grade."

The entry standard for a five-star artifact forger is the peak of low-tier Spirit-grade. It seemed she had barely entered this level.

"A five-star primary artifact forger... it is indeed difficult to forge a high-tier Spirit-grade artifact!"

Zhang Xuan frowned.

Forging is different from alchemy.

For the latter, as long as the ingredient purification steps are perfectly executed, there is a high chance of successfully forming a pill.

For the former, if one's cultivation is insufficient, the charcoal fire cannot reach its maximum heat, making it difficult to even melt the ores. Thus, it becomes impossible to forge a proper weapon.

Luo Qiqi hadn't even succeeded in forging a mid-tier Spirit-grade weapon, indicating a significant flaw in her control over the charcoal fire. With such skill, if she couldn't even melt the ores, how could she succeed?

His face turned grim, and he lowered his head to look at the items left by Wu Yangzi.

"Crimson Essence Ore, Violetflow Iron Essence, Cold Azure Stone..."

His expression grew uglier with each ore he examined.

These ores were all extremely difficult to refine. Even the easiest to melt, Cold Azure Stone, required the true qi of a Leaving Aperture Realm seven-fold expert to reach its melting point. As for Crimson Essence Ore and Violetflow Iron Essence... these could not be refined without the power of a Leaving Aperture Realm eight- or even nine-fold expert!

In other words... forget about forging; it would be difficult to even melt these ores before them!

Zhang Xuan hesitated for a long time before saying, "If it's purely forging, with your current strength, forging a high-tier Spirit-grade artifact is almost impossible... However, improving a weapon's quality will be much simpler!"

If she couldn't melt the ores, she couldn't forge the weapon's embryo, and naturally, she couldn't forge a weapon.

However, improving a weapon's quality would be much simpler.

Because with a finished product, it wouldn't be necessary to completely melt the ores to complete the process.

Anyway, the other party had said that anyone who could forge or upgrade a weapon to high-tier Spirit-grade would receive the legacy. Upgrading a weapon's quality also met the requirements.

"Upgrade?"

Luo Qiqi looked a bit embarrassed. "Improving quality is indeed simpler than forging from scratch, but... I only have one mid-tier Spirit-grade weapon, and I lost it during the previous fight... Furthermore, none of my weapons can be upgraded further in grade!"

Improving a weapon's quality was indeed much easier than forging from scratch. However, she first needed a suitable weapon.

She only had one mid-tier Spirit-grade longsword, but it had been knocked away during the previous fight in the small stone room, embedding itself in the wall, and she hadn't retrieved it yet.

Most importantly, these weapons were all finished products. If they were further tempered and refined, they wouldn't upgrade; instead, their quality would drop.

Only legendary upgradable weapons could be further refined.

However, such weapons were incredibly rare. Even she had only seen a few, and finding one here wouldn't be easy.

"Use mine then!"

With a flick of his wrist, Zhang Xuan took out his Ice Rain Sword.

This longsword was obtained at the Pavilion of Wonders. It was an upgradable weapon and had already reached the peak of mid-tier Spirit-grade, ready to be upgraded further at any time.

"This... alright!"

Seeing her teacher take out his own weapon for forging, unafraid that she might mess it up and cause its quality to drop, Luo Qiqi felt a warmth in her heart and nodded.

"Don't be nervous," Zhang Xuan comforted her. "Just follow my instructions strictly. It won't be difficult to upgrade the Ice Rain Sword to high-tier Spirit-grade!"

Seeing her lack confidence, Zhang Xuan offered a word of comfort.

After mastering the six volumes of Heaven's Path Forging, his understanding of artifact forging had long surpassed what even Grandmaster Wu Yangzi could achieve.

Although restricted by his cultivation, preventing him from melting many ores, it wasn't too difficult to upgrade the Ice Rain Sword, which had already reached its critical point, to high-tier Spirit-grade.

"However..." Zhang Xuan raised an eyebrow, "Our current goal isn't just to reach high-tier Spirit-grade, but... peerless-grade!"

"Peerless-grade?" Luo Qiqi was stunned.

Reaching high-tier would meet Wu Yangzi's requirements and allow them to obtain the legacy. Why aim for peerless-grade?

Peerless-grade Spirit artifacts were difficult for even six-star artifact forgers to achieve. Even if Grandmaster Wu Yangzi were to be resurrected, it would be hard to say if he could successfully forge one.

For her to forge one... even if it was just an upgrade, it would be impossible!

"Indeed!"

Zhang Xuan nodded. "The puppet outside was forged from who knows how many special ores. Ordinary weapons can't even scratch it! To destroy it, we can only use a weapon of this caliber..."

"Even if we successfully obtain Wu Yangzi's legacy and find the exit," he continued, "if we can't deal with that fellow, we'll certainly be in danger. Instead of facing trouble later, it's better to succeed once and for all, forge a peerless-grade Spirit weapon, and then kill it!"

His eyes gleamed, and Zhang Xuan clenched his fist.

During his previous fight with the puppet, he knew that ordinary weapons couldn't harm it at all. To kill it, the weapon had to reach peerless-grade Spirit-tier.

Since they were upgrading a weapon this time, they should take this opportunity to succeed and eliminate future troubles.

"This..."

Luo Qiqi's face contorted.

She wasn't even confident about successfully forging a high-tier Spirit-grade artifact. Peerless-grade? How could that be possible?

"Teacher, with my current strength," she finally couldn't help but say, "I can only soften this Cold Azure Stone and temper it. I can't even completely melt it. It might be... very difficult to forge a peerless-grade weapon!"

"That's enough!" Knowing her concerns, Zhang Xuan smiled faintly.

"Enough?"

Luo Qiqi blinked.

Cold Azure Stone was indeed a rare and valuable ore, but it was clearly a significant step below Crimson Essence Ore and Violetflow Iron Essence.

Integrating it into the Ice Rain Sword would be good if it just prevented the sword from dropping in quality. Peerless-grade?

How could that be possible?

"In forging, what is the most crucial step to make a weapon sharper and higher grade?" Zhang Xuan looked at her.

"It's... quenching!"

Luo Qiqi nodded.

Quenching causes a weapon to change in an instant, allowing all its materials to merge better.

With the same materials and forging steps, the more perfectly the quenching process integrates them, the higher the grade.

Just like alchemy, the better the medicinal properties are neutralized, the higher the quality of the finished pill.

It could be said that quenching is of paramount importance.

It is something countless artifact forgers wish to master but cannot fully achieve.

"Correct, it's quenching!" Zhang Xuan said. "Generally, the greater the temperature difference, the better the effect. Since you are limited by your cultivation and cannot increase the weapon's heat, then... we can completely lower the quenching temperature!"