Chapter 23 Zimu Bagua Knife
Judging from the voice, it was Gu Mingsi. In recent years, Shi Feng had gone to the inner valley to help Master Gan Chu, and no longer had time to help Gu Mingsi with his work. Therefore, Shi Feng had not seen him for a while.
Shi Feng stood up and opened the door, and saw two people standing at the door. In addition to Gu Mingsi, there was another young man who was half a head taller than Gu Mingsi. His face was somewhat similar to Gu Mingsi, but he was thin and had a smile on his lips. He was more elegant and refined than Gu Mingsi. This man was wearing a green robe and looked like an inner disciple.
Shi Feng hurriedly ushered them in and poured two cups of tea. Gu Mingsi and Shi Feng were already very familiar with each other, so he sat down and said, "Shi Feng, let me introduce you. This is my cousin, Gu Mingcheng. He's only a month older than me and we started practicing together. But now he's much more successful than me. He's a senior disciple of Diecui Peak and has reached the eighth level of Qi Refining Stage in the past four years."
Gu Mingcheng was very disappointed when he saw that Shi Feng was tall, but only seventeen or eighteen years old, with rough hands and feet, and unkempt hair and face. However, he did not show anything on his face. He smiled and said, "Brother Shi, don't listen to his nonsense. I am not a senior disciple. There are countless people in the sect who are stronger than me." Shi Feng smiled innocently, not knowing what to say.
Gu Mingsi said, "Hey, don't just be a customer, let's get down to business. Shi Feng, I'm introducing my cousin to you today. He has a spiritual weapon and wants you to help repair it." Shi Feng was stunned. He originally thought that the other party wanted him to refine some materials, but he didn't expect that he wanted to repair a spiritual weapon. He asked curiously, "Repair a spiritual weapon? Why didn't Senior Brother Gu ask the elders in the inner hall?"
The inner hall of the weapon refining hall is inhabited by Gan Chu Zhenren and his disciples. These people all have spiritual roots and can use internal true energy. They are true weapon refining disciples, while the outer hall is inhabited by outer disciples (of course Shi Feng is an exception). These people are only responsible for refining materials.
Gu Mingsi laughed and said, "Those people in the inner hall are very busy. You have to ask for connections to contact them, and the crystal stones they charge... are really expensive." Gu Mingcheng sighed and said, "To be honest, I have been rewarded by my benefactor over the years, and I have also been diligent in completing sect missions. I originally had a savings of four or five thousand spirit stones. But with the day approaching, I wanted to take a gamble, so I bought a few bottles of cultivation-enhancing elixirs, and my savings were quickly depleted. But three days ago, when I went hunting colorful poisonous butterflies with some fellow disciples, the monster damaged my spirit weapon. I asked a real weapon refining disciple, and the price of repairing it was a whopping two thousand spirit stones. I really have no choice but to trouble Brother Shi."
When he mentioned "real weapon-refining disciples," he felt that he had offended the other party a little. He was about to make amends in a tactful way, but Shi Feng didn't care at all. He said, "I see. I wonder if I could take a look at your spiritual weapon first. I can't say I'm 100% sure."
Gu Mingcheng said, "Of course I wouldn't force it." With a flick of his hand, he pulled something out of his storage bag and placed it on the table. Shi Feng looked closely. A foot-circumference eight trigrams silver plate, each with a two-inch-long golden flying knife attached to it, corresponded to the eight trigrams of Qiankun. Shi Feng blurted out, "This is the mother-and-child eight trigrams knife."
Gu Mingcheng's confidence soared when he heard the other party name the magical weapon. He said, "That's it." Shi Feng picked up the silver plate and examined it carefully. Although the Mother and Child Bagua Knife was a low-grade spiritual weapon, it was quite famous. It had seven restrictions. When casting a spell, one only needed to hold the mother plate and use magic power to trigger the eight child knives to fly out and injure. After flying, the child knives could fly back to the mother plate on their own. Even more powerful, because the eight child knives were located in different hexagram positions, their flight paths were completely different, making it difficult to guard against.
Shi Feng carefully traced the runes on the Bagua, carefully identifying them. Finally, he nodded and said, "There's nothing wrong with the eight blades, but there's something wrong with the mother plate." Gu Mingcheng perked up and said, "That's right. I was hiding behind a tree, controlling the flying knives, when a poisonous butterfly suddenly flew out from behind and pounced on me. I was helpless at the time and could only block it with the mother plate in my hand, but the poisonous butterfly sprayed poison gas on the mother plate."
Shi Feng said, "The other six of the seven restrictions are fine, but one of them, the 'Spirit Gathering' restriction, has been corroded by the poison gas. Once this restriction is broken, the sword can still fly out, but it can't fly back. Its trajectory has also been lost, and it can only fly in a straight line."
Gu Mingcheng said happily, "Brother Shi is absolutely right. It seems that what Mingsi said is indeed correct. Although Brother Shi is young, his skills are already very advanced."
Gu Mingsi said, "When have I ever lied to you? Don't just say nice things. Shi Feng's work can't be in vain." Gu Mingcheng smiled and said, "Of course." He took out a small bag from his arms and said, "Here are 500 spirit stones, which is the last of my belongings. If it's not enough, I can write an IOU and pay it back next time."
Shi Feng said, "Brother Gu, you don't have to be polite. The crystal stone is easy to deal with. Let me take a closer look. Haha, it is still a bit troublesome to repair such a treasure." Gu Mingcheng said, "It's okay. Brother Shi, just give it a try. I wonder if a month will be enough?" He was not worried about the magic weapon being destroyed. If it really couldn't be used, the worst case scenario was that he would ask the weapon refiner in the inner hall to refine it again later. However, the cost of spirit stones would be even greater.
Shi Feng was so engrossed in observing the talismans on the eight-diagram silver plate that he didn't hear Gu Mingcheng's words for a moment. Gu Mingcheng felt a little embarrassed, thinking to himself: Indeed, asking an outer disciple to repair such a treasure in a month is a bit embarrassing. He smiled and said, "One month is a bit hasty. I wonder if three months is feasible?" He had already decided that if Shi Feng said three months was not enough, he would find an excuse not to repair it. After all, if he missed that date, repairing the spiritual weapon would no longer be a priority.
Shi Feng still said nothing. Gu Mingcheng was disappointed, but he did not urge him again.
After a long moment, Shi Feng finally exhaled, put down the silver plate, and said with a smile, "Brother Gu, I was a little distracted. I should be able to repair this silver plate for you. It won't cost 500 spirit stones. I estimate that the materials will cost 200 spirit stones. You can put 200 spirit stones here first. If you have more, you can return it. As for the time, come back in three days to pick it up."
"Ah, what? Three days later, then, then I have to thank Brother Shi very much!!"
Three days later, Shi Feng pushed the eight-diagram silver plate on the table to Gu Mingcheng, who was sitting across from him, and said, "Thank goodness, I have fulfilled my mission. The spiritual weapon has been repaired." He then took out a small bag from his pocket and said, "Thank goodness, everything went smoothly. The materials only cost 150 spirit stones. Here are the remaining 50 spirit stones. Keep them, brother."
Gu Mingcheng was overjoyed. He took the silver plate and, with a flick of his magic power, his eight blades flew up and down, as if they were his own arms and fingers. Surprisingly, they were completely repaired. Gu Mingsi also said happily, "Haha, how's it going? I told you, Brother Shi Feng's craftsmanship is one of the best in our weapon refining hall." Gu Mingcheng thanked him profusely and pulled a bag of spirit stones from his pocket. "Brother Shi, here are three hundred spirit stones, plus the fifty spirit stones. They are a small gift from me. Please accept them."
Shi Feng waved his hand and said, "It's just a piece of cake. There's no need to spend money on it, senior brother." Gu Mingcheng insisted and finally let Shi Feng accept the two hundred spirit stones.
Gu Mingcheng said happily, "Brother Shi, you have good skills and are a good friend. If you have any problems in the future, just come to me."
After this incident, Gu Mingsi introduced several disciples to Shi Feng to repair spiritual weapons, which made Shi Feng make a small fortune.
That day, Shi Feng was busy when a message arrived from Yuxiu Mountain, demanding he return to meet his master, Liu Yunzi. Shi Feng didn't dare delay and hurried back to Yuxiu Mountain. After refining his body, he felt as light as a swallow, and he crossed the mountains effortlessly. Along the way, he saw people flying across the sky above the mountaintops amidst the rising clouds.
Shi Feng already knew that ordinary Qi Refining disciples couldn't fly with flying tools; only cultivators who had successfully established their foundation could do so. Although Shi Feng had seen Foundation Establishment cultivators flying with flying tools before, it was never as common as today. He wondered what had happened.
This time, Liu Yunzi met with his disciples not in his house, but on an open-air stone platform on the south side of Yuxiu Mountain. The platform was named "Tingxiang". There was a steep peak next to it, and a mountain spring in a stone depression at the foot of the peak. The spring water was gurgling and sweet and delicious. It was known as the second spring of Taijimen and was most suitable for making tea.
At this moment, Liu Yunzi was making tea himself, and the disciples were sitting in a circle around him.
Shi Feng was no longer the last disciple. A year ago, when Taiji Sect began accepting disciples, Liu Yunzi accepted a female disciple, ranking eighth. Shi Feng was promoted to Senior Brother. However, Shi Feng had never met this junior sister. He only knew that upon entering the sect, Liu Yunzi asked her to practice in seclusion.
Shi Feng had assumed the other person was a staid, stoic cultivator like his second senior brother, Zhang Yuanqing. But when they met today, he discovered she was just a pretty little girl of fifteen or sixteen. She greeted him sweetly, "Hello, Seventh Senior Brother. My name is Xiangjun." As she spoke, her dark eyes darted around, making her appear quite lively.
This was Shi Feng's second time meeting Liu Yunzi in three years. Knowing he wasn't liked by his master, he sat aside, silent. Liu Yunzi offered each disciple a cup of tea and said, "You all should know why I summoned you today." The disciples all nodded in agreement. Shi Feng thought, "What is it? I don't know." Of course, he didn't dare ask, so he just sat there quietly.
Liu Yunzi took a sip of tea and said, "The sect competition held every six years is coming soon. Except for Xiangjun who has only been a sect member for a year, the others have all participated in the last sect competition. I won't explain the rules." Xiangjun said anxiously, "What rules? I don't know." Liu Yunzi asked curiously, "Didn't your senior brother tell you?" Xiangjun said, "Senior brother was talking incoherently and I didn't understand." Everyone chuckled and Changqing was very embarrassed.
Liu Yunzi said, "The sect competition is held every six years. It's the most grand event in our Taiji Sect. The inner disciples of the five sects gather together to compete in magic. The sect master and the elders will personally comment and evaluate. Hehe, the rewards for this sect competition are extremely generous. Pills and spiritual tools are of course a given, and even advanced skills are often given as rewards. Anyone who passes two rounds will also have the opportunity to participate in the trial. This trial site is full of rare treasures." He raised a finger and said, "We cultivators go against the will of heaven. Talent and hard work are of course indispensable, but even more important is opportunity. When the opportunity arises, and we obtain an incredible spiritual object, it is not impossible for our cultivation to directly advance to a higher level."
Xiang Jun said happily, "With so many benefits, the sect competition must be very difficult, right?" Liu Yunzi nodded and said, "Of course. A competition is not like a contest between us within the same sect. We all give our all, and sometimes we make mistakes and get seriously injured, or even die. These days, disciples from all sects are working hard to improve their strength. My family is not well-off, so I don't have much to offer you, but I've called you together today. If you have any questions or requests, I will naturally do my best to help you."
The disciples rarely saw Liu Yunzi, and the techniques were usually taught by the senior brother. They were naturally overjoyed to have their master personally teach them today. So, they chatted with each other, some with questions about the techniques, some with questions about the use of magical instruments, and some even asked for spiritual instruments directly...
Liu Yunzi was quite patient and gave detailed instructions one by one, and even rewarded him with two spiritual weapons.
After talking for two hours, Liu Yunzi said, "Okay, let's stop here today. I also need to go back to cultivate a spiritual weapon so that I can use it in the competition." Xiangjun asked curiously, "What? Master, you want to participate in the competition too?" Liu Yunzi said, "Of course, the sect's competition also requires those cultivators in the Foundation Establishment stage to participate. Haven't you seen that all the cultivators in the Foundation Establishment stage who went out these days have rushed back to the mountain gate?" Xiangjun suddenly realized and said, "No wonder there are people flying overhead these days, making me dizzy." Everyone laughed.
Liu Yunzi said, "You girl, you have good talent and are smart, but you just don't have a stable mind. Look at your seventh senior brother, how stable he is." Xiang Jun glanced at Shi Feng, who was sitting still like a wooden log, and burst out laughing again. Liu Yunzi said helplessly, "Alright, let's all go back and work hard."
The disciples saluted and stood up to leave. Liu Yunzi took a few steps and suddenly said, "Changqing." Changqing hurriedly turned and followed. Liu Yunzi said, "Your junior brothers and sisters are still at a low level of cultivation. I can't count on them in this competition. You are now at the ninth level of Qi Refining. How about it? Are you confident in this competition?" Changqing smiled bitterly and said, "Master, you said that. I am a little panicked. If I make a mistake, I will lose face for you." Liu Yunzi said, "Huh, in terms of magic power, there are not many Qi Refining disciples who are better than you. It's just that your family background is better. In terms of magic weapon, Iron Sword Peak, I am not as good as you." Changqing said, "I dare not think about the top ten disciples, and I am afraid that the top twenty will also depend on luck."
Liu Yunzi sighed, "It's good enough to be in the top 20, Master..."
As he was speaking, he suddenly heard a clear sound like a dragon's roar in the sky, shaking the entire valley.
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