Chapter 198: Hiding
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Discover the technique, will it cost ten thousand two silver taels to simplify the Sword Essence Technique?”
“Simplifying the Sword Essence Technique… Simplification successful… Sword Essence Technique -> Forging Iron!”
The result of panel simplification was somewhat unexpected for Chen Fei. The Sword Essence Technique was meant to temper the sword blade, not create one from scratch. This simplification result was a bit skewed.
However, unexpected outcomes were common with panel simplification, and Chen Fei had grown somewhat accustomed to it.
Moreover, if the process of forging iron was fast enough, Chen Fei might be able to fully level up the proficiency of the Sword Essence Technique in a day’s time.
Chen Fei instructed a servant to buy a hammer made of refined iron and grabbed a piece of raw iron to start hammering.
Chen Fei wasn’t skilled in blade forging, but it didn’t stop him from hammering the raw iron piece one strike at a time. It wasn’t about shaping the iron into anything specific; it was more about the sound it produced.
As the sound of hammering echoed, various insights related to the Sword Essence Technique began to emerge in Chen Fei’s mind. He absorbed these insights while increasing the frequency of his hammering.
The courtyard where Chen Fei was located soon resounded with the dense sound of hammering, and as time went on, the rhythm and melody of the hammering even became apparent.
A servant stood at the entrance, listening to the sounds coming from the courtyard, looking rather bewildered.
When Chen Fei asked him to buy a hammer, the servant found it strange. Now, listening to Chen Fei vigorously hammering, the servant began to question life itself.
The incident where Chen Fei fought nine opponents single-handedly a few days ago was something the servant already knew and greatly admired Chen Fei for. But this affinity for hammering iron—what was that all about?
From noon to sunset, from sunset to midnight, the hammering sound hardly stopped, continuing until the sun rose the next day.
“Using strength to mold the sword, with a divine tempering, the Sword Essence Technique takes a different path.”
After a day and night of effort, Chen Fei finally raised the proficiency of the Sword Essence Technique to Great Completion. He also came to understand the subtleties of this technique.
For Chen Fei at this point, staying awake all night was not a significant issue.
After packaging the acquired spiritual materials and those stored in the spatial grid, Chen Fei left the courtyard and headed to the Treasure Depository.
The Treasure Depository of the Primordial Sword Sect was not only a place to exchange contributions for various treasures but also a place to employ skilled craftsmen with contributions to forge sword blades.
Chen Fei needed to shape the spiritual materials he had into a preliminary longsword before dealing with the Sword Essence Technique.
The Sword Essence Technique was responsible for tempering the blade, of course. If Chen Fei’s current cultivation had reached the Aperture Tempering realm, he could directly meld the spiritual materials together using Vital Energy, saving time and effort.
The atmosphere inside the Treasure Depository was lively, and it was Chen Fei’s first time here.
Using his identity as a true disciple, Chen Fei met the renowned craftsman within the Treasure Depository, Ouyang Jie.
Ouyang Jie was a highly esteemed craftsman in the Treasure Depository, and it was he who initially forged the crude form of the Green Ridge Sword that belonged to Feng Xiupu. Afterward, Feng Xiupu refined it himself, turning it into a spiritual sword.
With such a highly skilled blacksmith, Chen Fei naturally sought his assistance directly.
“The Sword Essence Technique?”
Ouyang Jie, with a face full of whiskers, examined the spiritual materials that Chen Fei handed over and looked up at him.
“Yes, please, Master Ouyang, help me forge these spiritual materials into a blade.”
Chen Fei nodded, showing respect. He always maintained a humble attitude toward those with genuine expertise, a sign of respect for both the individuals and the craft.
“There’s quite a bit here, but crafting a high-grade blank sword shouldn’t be a problem. However, something is missing, and the contribution points will be deducted directly from you. Is that acceptable?” Ouyang Jie nodded in agreement.
“Of course! I’m wondering, though, how long will it take to forge the blank sword?”
Chen Fei nodded, understanding Ouyang Jie’s concern, but he was more interested in the time required for the forging process.
It’s just a blank sword, and you’ve prepared plenty of spiritual materials. Come back tomorrow, and it should be ready.” Ouyang Jie estimated and provided a timeframe.
A blank sword wasn’t a spiritual weapon, not even a semi-spiritual one—it was simply a preparation for melding various spiritual materials, a step before tempering.
Therefore, to put it complicated, it’s naturally extremely intricate, and those not part of the inner circle won’t understand.
But to put it simply, it’s actually quite simple. For a master swordsmith like Ouyang Jie, as long as it’s not creating a spiritual weapon, everything else is straightforward.
“Alright!”
Chen Fei nodded and left.
Simply hiring Ouyang Jie’s services required five thousand contribution points. This was still with the status of a true disciple, granting him some discounts and privileges.
Otherwise, if anyone else wanted Ouyang Jie’s services, not only would it be more expensive, but there might not even be availability.
Chen Fei returned to the main courtyard of the True Transmission Peak and sat cross-legged in the yard.
Tomorrow, the tempering of the blank sword would begin. According to the Sword Essence Technique, even if he was working with a high-grade blank sword, it would take a hundred days to start tempering it into a semi-spiritual weapon.
If he wanted to shorten the time, he had two options. One was to use other spiritual materials, like the Frozen Spring Water, to frequently soak the blank sword. The other was to cultivate the Sword Essence Technique to a deeper level, which would allow him to better manipulate his internal energy and mental power to infuse the blank sword.
Chen Fei intended to employ both methods, which might allow him to possess his first semi-spiritual sword in a little over a month.
Crafting his own spiritual sword was a patient process akin to grinding a stone. As Chen Fei sat in meditation, he was more preoccupied with the matter of the Wu Family’s Elemental Spirit Pool.
After acquiring one day’s use of the Elemental Spirit Pool from Qian Guangji, Chen Fei naturally wanted to maximize its effects.
Although the Elemental Spirit Pool of the Wu Family didn’t contain liquefied Vital Energy, it was still very easily absorbed by martial artists and transformed into inner energy cultivation.
When an ordinary Visceral Tempering realm cultivator entered, their progress in Visceral Tempering realm cultivation would increase by around one or two percent. For someone like Chen Fei, who was just beginning to cultivate in the Visceral Tempering realm, spending a day in there could completely stabilize his early-stage Visceral Tempering realm cultivation.
This effect was more exaggerated than the effects of the Zhuhong fruit he had obtained initially.
However, according to the information Chen Fei had gathered, the Elemental Spirit Pool would usually be open for only one or two days before being closed for several months to allow the energy within it to recover.
Because of this, the Wu Family’s Elemental Spirit Pool was rarely open to outsiders, reserved mainly for the Wu Family’s own disciples to cultivate.
Possessing an Elemental Spirit Pool like this might not make the Wu Family the number one clan of the Primordial Sword Sect, but it would undoubtedly secure them a place among the top five. Experts in the Aperture Tempering realm had been consistently emerging without any breaks.
“In the Elemental Spirit Pool, the Vital Energy must be modified to be more easily absorbed. However, its effectiveness is also far less than pure Vital Energy. I’ve heard that one can enter the Elemental Spirit Pool at most once a year.”
Chen Fei’s gaze was pensive. The energy of the Elemental Spirit Pool probably placed a significant burden on the body. True Vital Energy didn’t come with such drawbacks—Chen Fei had absorbed Vital Energy with the Receival Bead many times without any adverse effects.
“My mental power can already touch Vital Energy, although it’s challenging to move it. The energy within the Elemental Spirit Pool can be directly absorbed by martial artists. Perhaps my mental power can directly gather it!”
Chen Fei perceived the tree-like mental power within his spiritual sea and smiled faintly. He could attempt this when the time came.
If successful, Chen Fei wouldn’t say he could drain the Elemental Spirit Pool of the Wu Family, but he could at least absorb a substantial amount of energy, rapidly enhancing his internal energy cultivation.
A day passed quickly, and Chen Fei appeared in the Treasure Depository, where he met Ouyang Jie.
“Here already? The blank sword is here. Come over.”
Ouyang Jie wasn’t surprised to see Chen Fei. All disciples who came to him for blank sword forging appeared at the agreed time. They wanted to see what their future semi-spiritual or even spiritual swords would look like.
Chen Fei respectfully bowed and followed behind Ouyang Jie, entering a swordsmithing room.
The temperature here was noticeably higher than outside. Chen Fei glanced around. Rarely seen spiritual materials were scattered everywhere in the room.
Although these were all scraps, when gathered, they amounted to a staggering wealth. However, at this moment, they were strewn haphazardly in various corners, covered in dust.
“Take a look. Are you satisfied? If you have any requests, you can raise them now; there’s still time for modifications.”
Guiding Chen Fei to the center of the room, a longsword lay quietly in a pool of clear water. The ripples were vibrating slightly, as if a force was lurking beneath the surface.
Chen Fei reached out. In the next instant, the longsword leaped up from the water and landed in his palm.
An aura of sharpness instantly spread, aimed directly at Chen Fei.
“Buzz!”
Chen Fei’s mental power surged, according to the principles of the Sword Essence Technique, enveloping the longsword completely. In just a blink of an eye, the sharpness that had swept around moments ago was now entirely contained.
Ouyang Jie looked at Chen Fei with some astonishment. This Sword Essence Technique was exceptionally refined.
In that brief moment, even though he couldn’t see it clearly, Chen Fei’s mastery of the Sword Essence Technique was surely among the top Ouyang Jie had encountered, if not higher.
“I quite like this sword. Thank you, Master Ouyang!” Chen Fei stored the longsword away and expressed his gratitude with a hand gesture.
“You contribute points, and I forge. It’s only natural,” Ouyang Jie waved his hand, not seeking recognition.
The two chatted for a while, and Chen Fei bid farewell before leaving.
Holding the blank sword, Chen Fei returned to the main courtyard of the True Transmission Peak, where he began to carefully examine the blade in his hand.
It was called a blank sword, but it was already usable for combat. Whether in terms of sharpness or resilience, it far surpassed ordinary refined iron swords.
However, using it in actual combat would be troublesome if it sustained damage. Repairing it was complex, and it would be detrimental to the subsequent tempering process, which might lead to tempering failure and hinder advancement to a half-spiritual weapon.
“From now on, I’ll call you the Qianyuan Sword!”
Chen Fei’s left hand brushed over the blade, causing the sword to tremble slightly. A smile appeared on Chen Fei’s face.
With the Sword Essence Technique in motion, Chen Fei’s internal energy and mental power enveloped the Qianyuan Sword in a unique way. Taking out a specially crafted scabbard, he sheathed the Qianyuan Sword and then immersed it in the Frozen Spring Water.
From now on, as long as he practiced the Sword Essence Technique daily, it would be sufficient for the Qianyuan Sword’s growth.
In the days that followed, Chen Fei didn’t go anywhere else. He stayed in the courtyard, refining elixirs, practicing cultivation, and tempering the Qianyuan Sword.
Time flew by, and while the sword blade had yet to ascend to the level of a half-spiritual weapon, after thirty-seven days, Chen Fei’s cultivation method, the Zhongyuan Sword, had actually undergone a breakthrough..