Half an hour later, Zhou Bai had already arrived at the Artifact Refining Pavilion under Fang Mo’s guidance.
The Artifact Refining Pavilion is located in the northwest part of the Dao School, and the entire architectural complex is shrouded in artificial light 24 hours a day, which means it is perpetually daylight there.
As soon as he stepped into the range of the Artifact Refining Pavilion, Zhou Bai could smell all sorts of strange odors in the air. Fang Mo himself put on a mask and then handed one to Zhou Bai as well.
"Put it on," Fang Mo said, "The Artifact Refining Pavilion at Dao School is responsible not only for refining artifacts for people within the school but also accepts commissions from the military and police. The furnaces operate around the clock, every day, so there can be all sorts of dust and particles in the air. This mask has an Array on it that can help purify the air."
Zhou Bai quickly put on the mask and followed Fang Mo through a labyrinth of pathways. Along the way, he saw a large number of workers coming and going, some helping to transport materials while others were inspecting various Arrays and magical talismans.
’Just like Doctor Zhuang said, humanity here is deliberately diminishing the influence of original technological products, increasingly replacing more and more things with the methods of Immortal cultivation.’
Suddenly, a brightness appeared before the two of them, and they saw a large courtyard where beams of light shot up into the sky, emitting a chilling Sword Intent that struck their faces. On the ground and walls all around were numerous sword marks.
An old man with white hair was sitting on the ground, intently polishing a giant sword.
The giant sword seemed to be over two meters long and about one meter wide, with even the handle resembling a pillar in its thickness.
The sword’s overall color was dark and obscure, giving it a dull and unpredictable look, and it lacked even an edge, conveying an impression of immense heaviness and solidity.
The old man squatted on the ground, holding a purple, peculiar stone in his hand, constantly grinding it against the sword body. With each grind, the sword body became darker and more luminescent, emitting a stark and austere luster.
Seemingly noticing someone approaching, the elder spoke without turning his head, "Wait a moment; it’ll be ready soon."
Fang Mo waited with Zhou Bai to the side, and in a low voice introduced, "This is the Artifact Refining Pavilion’s Master Swordsmith, Wu Jian, who is in the sixth realm of Symbol Drawing. When your sword is ready, he will be the one to refine it."
More than twenty minutes later, as the old man finally finished polishing the entire sword body and turned to look at Fang Mo and Zhou Bai, he said, "Oh, did Ying Hui send you? Zhou Bai, you’re the first-realm student?
You entered the first realm in less than half a year since admission.
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Not bad, not bad at all. The first realm is where one truly steps onto the path of cultivation. Back before the Heavenly Dao became distorted, among all the major sects, only those who stepped into the first realm were considered true disciples and were eligible for the true transmission."
Then he continued, proudly stating, "That old fellow certainly didn’t expect the special version of the Pure Jun sword he asked me to forge is already done." He pointed behind him and said with a smile, "Orders have been light lately, so I went ahead and made that one he mentioned. Look..."
Pointing to the over two-meter-long giant sword, he said, "It’s 2.1 meters long, 0.9 meters wide, and is made entirely of Taibai Gold Stone and Black Cloud Iron, weighing twelve thousand catties. It doesn’t have any Divine Skills; its prominence lies in its sheer hardness. Second realm techniques would hardly damage this sword, it’s even difficult for the third realm to do so, and it would serve exceptionally well as a shield.
I’ve also left rune spaces inside so that it can be easily transformed into a flying sword in the future..."
Wu Jian spoke on and then suddenly stopped, looking at the silently faced Zhou Bai and Fang Mo, puzzled, he asked, "Why aren’t you saying anything?"
Fang Mo: "..."
Zhou Bai: "..."
Eventually, it was Fang Mo who broke the silence, somewhat embarrassingly stating, "Uh... Master Wu... There’s been a small issue... He’s decided not to refine Pure Jun; he’s planning to refine the Chengying Sword."
"What?" Wu Jian said angrily, "Is this something that can be changed on a whim? Do you have any idea how much material and effort went into this Pure Jun? To say change it now is just to change it?"
Fang Mo explained, "There was a bit of a mix-up that Mr. Ying Hui didn’t clarify properly."
Wu Jian swept his hand emphatically and said, "I don’t care, I’ve already reported the materials. If you want a sword, you only get this one, there’s nothing else."
Zhou Bai wore a gloomy expression, and after Fang Mo frowned, he proposed, "Master Wu, what do you think about this? We keep this sword, but could you please lend a hand and modify it into Chengying? How does that sound?"
Wu Jian looked at Fang Mo incredulously and pointed at the two-meter long Pure Jun and said, "You want me to turn this sword into Chengying? Who’s the fool here, you or me?"
Wu Jian angrily said, "Do you even know how Chengying is refined? Chengying is formless, and its forging requires special materials like Outer Heaven Cold Crystal Stone, eternal ice, and soul silver steel. Combined with a divine diagram during cultivation, it can conceal the sword in the invisible, hide its Qi, and mask the Sword Qi. How do you propose we modify it with this?"
Fang Mo smiled, "Master Wu, there’s no need to get so worked up. There is indeed a difference in materials, but for the Chengying Sword, I happen to have a little bit of the required material."
Wu Jian said, "If you have the materials, and out of respect for Ying Hui, I have no issue refining another Chengying for you. But what do you want with this Pure Jun?"
Fang Mo smiled, "What about using it as a scabbard?"
"A scabbard?!" Wu Jian was about to erupt, but then he thought about it and nodded, "It’s not a bad idea. The Pure Jun is known for its toughness and durability, making it suitable as a scabbard, and it could also be used in combat. Plus, Chengying hidden within, striking unexpectedly, does have some appeal."
Zhou Bai turned to Christina and asked, ’I’m not a swordsman. Do you think this is feasible?’
Christina replied, ’It’s not out of the question.’
The first level of the Sword Diagram pathway requires forging one’s own sword and then pairing it with different divine diagram stars for unique effects.
For instance, Pure Jun can be paired with the Pure Jun diagram to accumulate Sword Momentum, enhancing the power of sword moves.
Chengying, on the other hand, is complemented by the Chengying Sword Diagram, which provides the ability to make the sword body invisible, conceal its Qi, and hide its Sword Qi.
Christina said, "If you practice the Chengying diagram, using both Pure Jun and Chengying wouldn’t bring out any of Pure Jun’s exquisite effects, and you’d just be wielding it as a big sword to chop. But having an extra sword is definitely a win."
"Yes," Zhou Bai thought, "Even if I don’t want to use it, selling it would be good. It’s free, so why not take it?"
Wu Jian, getting increasingly excited, turned to Zhou Bai and said, "You should thank your good teacher."
Zhou Bai quickly responded, looking at Fang Mo, "Teacher, thank you."
"No need to thank me; it’s just some extra material I had left over from when I forged Chengying. It’s perfect if it can be used."
Zhou Bai felt a rush of glee inside, "Haha, on the outside it’s a massive sword, but hidden inside is an invisible Chengying, quite sly, I like it."
Tina remarked, "When the time comes, you can use Pure Jun, and I’ll use Chengying, and we can join forces with twin swords."
"Good thinking," Zhou Bai felt even more delighted, "By then, I can pretend to be aggressive with Pure Jun while you secretly strike with Chengying."
The more Zhou Bai thought about it, the better it seemed; unfortunately, even with the materials, Chengying couldn’t be refined right away. Considering he had just over a week until the assessment, Zhou Bai asked, "Master Wu, how soon can you finish forging it? I have an assessment in a bit more than a week."
Wu Jian closed his eyes and calculated, then casually said, "It’s only a first realm sword artifact. Come and get it in three days."