Chapter 1570 - 171: Sword Furnace of Bie Tian Platform (2)

Chapter 1570: Chapter 171: Sword Furnace of Bie Tian Platform (2)

Don’t be swayed by the outside world’s fog and smoke; within lies the clarity of mountains and waters, willow greens and peach reds, a splendid sight that eases one’s worries.

The sword furnace is not conspicuously placed but hidden deep within the mountain’s belly. Zhang Yan followed the deacon Daoist inward and entered a cave, arriving at the location after roughly a quarter of an hour.

His gaze fell upon the sword furnace, shaped like a gourd ladle, with two pools of varying sizes inside filled with Spiritual Liquid. Two tender green leaves floated on the surface, emitting a pleasant aroma, refreshing the mind.

The deacon Daoist explained, "Two True Masters, the fire mouth outside is at the Extreme Sky, inevitably allowing Gang Ying to enter. Over time, Gang Qi turns fierce, and Yang Poison is bound to nestle within. This fire can be used for refining swords, but the smoke will contaminate the spiritual mechanism, thus requiring these two Snow Fragrance Leaves to neutralize the fire poison during the sword refining."

Xun Huaiying asked, "Are the Spiritual Medicines complete?"

The deacon Daoist replied respectfully, "Last night, the warehouse staff already brought the Spiritual Medicines here. I commanded people to sort them out overnight. Does the Mingcang Envoy need to inspect them? If there’s anything missing, I will have it fetched."

Previously, whether it’s the treasury or the sword furnace site, both have received serious care from the sect, ensuring the delivery of Spiritual Medicines is flawless. Failing this would result in being held accountable for negligence.

Though the Shaoqing Sect doesn’t emphasize rules much, this pertains to True Disciples. For the likes of the deacon, any blunder leads to severe punishments, even involving expelling their families from Dayue Mountain, which is why everyone is diligent, fearing any mishap.

Zhang Yan took a glance, noting that the Spiritual Medicines are stored in jade tubes resembling bamboo joints, suspended by chains from above with descriptive tags, making the content clear at a glance. He smiled and said, "This is unnecessary; however, later, I have some questions for the Daoist."

The deacon Daoist felt somewhat honored and repeatedly said, "I dare not, I dare not."

Xun Huaiying said, "Brother Daoist, I’ll wait outside the sword furnace. If you need my assistance, just call out."

In the Shaoqing Sect, disciples refining and sacrificing swords most fear having others nearby. Though Zhang Yan is not of Shaoqing, he didn’t want to break this rule. After saying so, he clasped his hands and went outside.

After he left, Zhang Yan called the deacon Daoist, first inquiring about the details of the sword furnace, then circled around the furnace mouth, flipping through the Spiritual Medicines.

Because there are more than thirty thousand kinds, he didn’t inspect them one by one, but selected several important spiritual materials for a closer look.

At this moment, his steps halted, eyes landing on a jade tube. With a beckoning hand, he retrieved it, and upon a brief sensing, realized it contained several strands of Junyang Essence inside.

Yet upon further scrutiny, he found the Essence impure, even more mixed than the Primordial Monarch using Primordial Pearl to absorb Essence Qi.

This is not because the Shaoqing Sect was unwilling to provide; Cave Heaven True Masters can go above Heavy Sky to collect Junyang Essence, but only after Extreme Sky Star Stone refining does it become the purest. What was acquired from the swordfight had been bestowed early on.

Zhang Yan smiled knowingly; this was as he had foreseen. Fortunately, since refinding his Dharma Body, he still retained quite a lot of Junyang Essence, perfect for this occasion. He gestured to the deacon Daoist, saying, "Daoist, please leave first."

The deacon Daoist retreated gratefully, bowed, and backed away.

Zhang Yan sat on the cushion before the furnace, not rushing to begin sacrificial refinement but adjusting his Qi Mechanism meticulously. An hour later, he urged his Mana, igniting the furnace fire, and then stimulated the spiritual mechanism to start refining the sword.

This sword refining involves two steps: first, extracting a sword embryo from the more than thirty thousand external medicines, followed by using the mental method imparted by the Shaoqing Sect Leader for cultivation.

The first step does not require profound Dharma techniques; cultivators only need to generally understand artifact refining and control the timing, making it attainable. Therefore, it posed no challenge for Zhang Yan. Once the furnace fire blazed, he adhered to the methods recorded on the Jade Scroll and ritualized systematically.

In the blink of an eye, three months passed. He sensed the furnace reached the appropriate time, ordered a halt to his Mana, and heard a rumbling sound as Spiritual Liquid churned within, emitting diffused mist, faintly showing seven strands of Spirit Light flickering.

Zhang Yan waved his sleeve, dispersing the smoke, looked down, and saw seven clusters lying still at the furnace’s bottom—neither gas nor essence emitting soft light. Among them, one glowed radiantly, far surpassing the others, evidently a convergence of spiritual mechanisms, standing out.

Previously, he considered, with so many Spiritual Medicines for refinement, the sword embryo might produce more than one. But unexpectedly, this furnace yielded seven.

After a brief consideration, he picked the most pristine Elixir Pill, absorbed it into his Dharma Body, and then took three more that appeared decent, putting them aside, intending as a reciprocal gift for Shaoqing after exiting seclusion.

For now, the sword embryo is formed, but without the True Transmission mental method’s ritual refinement, it can’t be deemed successful. If someone unfamiliar with the Dharma techniques acquired it, it would be wasteful. The ensuing part is pivotal, determining success or failure; a wrong step renders all past efforts futile.

His expression turned solemn as he took out three volumes of Daoist Books given by Ying Chunqiu, opened them slowly, and studied them deeply.

He spent ten days, then set the book scrolls down, closed his eyes, unmoving as if savoring the mysteries within.

After a while, he gradually opened his eyes, praising inwardly, "The sages’ Inheritance Books are indeed extraordinary. Viewing them avoids many detours, yet for me, this remains insufficient; I must employ further means."

Not being a Shaoqing Disciple, previously lacking any connection with refining swords or sword cultivation methods, even with the reference from these three Daoist Books, he only gained some insights. To ascend in one step is likely impossible, but fortunately, he possessed the Broken Jade, enabling repetitive practice until mastering the spell, thereafter proceeding with sacrificial refinement.

He flicked his finger, several strands of Spirit Light flew, first creating a field of prohibition around, then straightening his posture, holding the Broken Jade, diving his Heart and Spirit within, starting to deduce earnestly.

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...(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly votes at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)