Chapter 276: Chapter 249: Refusal, Artifact Casting
’Become a disciple?’
The flame behind the mask jumped. Chen Xi seemed extremely shocked, as his ancestor had never mentioned this matter on their way here.
This was indeed Chen Yin’s idea, conceived on the spur of the moment.
Divine Dao Foundation Establishment was not as meticulously divided as that of ordinary cultivators; it only had three minor realms: early, middle, and late. And Chen Che was clearly about to step into the Late-stage Foundation Establishment. If it had been anyone else, Chen Yin would have merely acknowledged them, perhaps offering a word of praise at most.
’But how old is Chen Che?’
"You flatter me, Fellow Daoist Chen."
His raised teacup paused mid-air. He glanced at the silent Chen Xi, noticed the other’s surprise, and slowly shook his head.
"I consider Fellow Daoist Chen Xi a peer. We are like brothers and friends. There is no need for him to become my disciple."
"And why not?"
Chen Yin chuckled softly and began to speak.
"Forgive my impudence, but your talent for the Alchemy Dao might surpass even that of True Master Chixia from a thousand years ago. You tutored him on the Nourishing Spirit Pill for months, and it was only a few days ago that he barely managed to form one."
That was the truth.
Chen Che had been gone from Hunzhou for nearly two months. Before he left, he had guided Chen Xi step-by-step. Given the immense gap in their skills, it would not be an exaggeration for him to become Chen Xi’s master.
Chen Xi was also quite adept at reading the room. The moment his ancestor finished speaking, he lowered his head, bent his knees, and moved to kneel.
"Disciple greets Master!"
However, before his knees could touch the ground, Chen Che made a lifting gesture with his right hand. Chen Xi felt a power buoying him up, making it impossible for him to kneel.
"I can offer him guidance, but to take him as my disciple? That is absolutely out of the question."
Chen Che lifted his gaze, his refusal firm.
"Tributor Chen."
Chen Yin chuckled, then slowly pressed his right hand down. An invisible force immediately pushed Chen Xi to his knees, forcing him into a full kowtow before Chen Che. "Please, do not refuse. Tomorrow, I will send out the invitations, present the initiation gifts on Xi’er’s behalf, and arrange a banquet to formalize it..."
"Please, Master, accept me as your disciple..." Chen Xi interjected, gritting his teeth.
"Fellow Daoist Chen, you are trying to force my hand!"
Chen Che snorted, then suddenly clenched his fist. The teacup in his hand shattered into dust with a sharp CRACK. His voice was ice-cold.
"Show them out!"
’If the man wasn’t the ruler of the Chen Royal Race, I’d have already sent him on to his next life.’
Chen Yin was taken aback, clearly not having expected such a forceful reaction from Chen Che. After all, the prospective disciple wasn’t some random nobody, but a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. Combined with Chen Xi’s status, accepting him could hardly be considered an insult.
And yet, his offer had been unceremoniously rejected.
"Tributor Chen..."
Chen Yin wanted to say more, but Chen Che had already risen to his feet, offering no response. Chen Yin, however, was a man of deep composure. He didn’t get angry, but instead rose and cupped his hands in a salute.
"If a master-disciple relationship is not meant to be, then let us forget it. I was being presumptuous. I only hope this has not damaged the goodwill between us."
With that, he turned to leave.
Watching the two of them leave Jinyun Valley, Chen Che’s eyes narrowed slightly.
There is a principle that skills are not taught lightly. In this world, a master was not like one on Earth Element Star. Here, a disciple was expected to care for their master in old age and see to their funeral arrangements, effectively becoming half a son. It was only because Zhao Changping had formally become Xing Lin’s disciple that the latter held nothing back in his teachings.
Of course, it wasn’t just because of his own Alchemy Skill that Chen Che had refused.
It was because if he took on a disciple, his ties to the Great Chen Royal Family would inevitably become tighter, almost impossible to sever. That was not a situation he wished to see.
...
The Market was as bustling as ever.
Cultivators bustled to and fro; to say it was a sea of people would be no exaggeration.
All sorts of shops lined the streets, which crisscrossed in a complex web.
"Maps! Get your maps here! New maps covering all of Jinyun Valley’s territory! A must-buy for any newly arrived cultivator..."
"Make it cheaper! Seven taels of Spiritual Sand! Yes or no? If you’re not selling, I’m walking."
"This Turtle Shell here... well, it’s a long story. My great-great-grandfather found it in the Black Tortoise Calm Sea..."
...
"Ancestor, that... he’s simply too arrogant! You spoke to him personally, and I even performed the full kowtow..."
The two of them left Jinyun Valley and didn’t stop until they reached the Market. Chen Xi could no longer hold it in. He stopped in his tracks and spoke, his voice laced with indignation.
He was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, after all, and the Supreme Emperor of Hunzhou. He had been willing to swallow his pride and become the disciple of Chen Che, a man he could have treated as a peer. Not only was he rejected, but he was even driven out.
It was like offering someone the highest courtesy only to have them spit on it with disdain.
"Good."
Chen Yin nodded slightly, a look of approval on his face.
"Tributor Chen is very clever."
"Huh?"
Chen Xi finally processed it. ’His ancestor wasn’t angry? He’s actually... pleased?’
"But..."
"Xi’er!"
Chen Yin gave a deep, meaningful look to the most talented junior to come after him.
"The man remains composed whether flattered or insulted; he is no fool. If he had truly taken you as his disciple, it would have meant he was oblivious to the situation our Chen Royal Race is facing. We would have to change our strategy when dealing with someone like that."
"But he refused, which means he has already guessed some of it. So now, he’s wisely protecting himself, unwilling to become too entangled with us, lest he find it difficult to extricate himself later."
Chen Yin spoke leisurely with his hands clasped behind his back, yet the surrounding cultivators seemed completely oblivious to his presence.
Chen Xi nodded vigorously, but his gaze turned sharp. He raised his right hand and drew it across his throat.
"Why keep a fence-sitter like him around?"
Throughout history, in the countless conflicts this world has seen, factions that sat on the fence rarely met a good end.
"Oh, you..."
Chen Yin, his hands behind his back, slowly shook his head.
"Our Chen Royal Race has no Golden Core of our own, and we lack a deep foundation. Our entire power base comes from Thousand Eyes True Master. And for what paltry gain did you want to tie Chen Che to our warship? To make Jinyun Valley directly confront a Golden Core?"
"Chen Che has no conflict with Thousand Eyes; we are the ones in conflict. As long as Thousand Eyes lives, the Chen Royal Race will forever be his slaves, with no hope of ever rising above. We could wait for him to die of old age in fifteen hundred years, but... are you content with that?"
Chen Xi shook his head.
To have no hope, yet be forced to endure for a millennium—that was true despair. Based on the lifespan of a Divine Dao Cultivator, Thousand Eyes was currently in his prime. He was even seeking to achieve Nascent Soul Formation.
’If he actually succeeds...’
...
「The moon set and the sun rose, and in the blink of an eye, a new day dawned.」
Early morning.
As the bells chimed, countless disciples poured out from all corners of the valley and rushed to the main square. Even the Market fell quiet as people looked toward the valley from afar, as if in anticipation. For those who were confused, a simple question was all it took for a neighbor to explain:
"Today, Jinyun Valley is forging a Tier Three Magical Artifact for the Valley Master!"
The questioner’s eyes immediately filled with envy.
A public forging, much like a small celebration for reaching Foundation Establishment, was a way to display one’s power to the outside world while also strengthening the cohesion of the faction.
After all, being able to buy a Magical Artifact and being able to forge one yourself were two entirely different concepts.
Of course, failure would turn them into a laughingstock.
And so, to be on the safe side, Meng Changtu had also brought his cousins to assist.
"Valley Master Chen, we can begin!"
Jia Chaoyuan nodded.
"Alright!"
Chen Che nodded. With a wave of his hand, the Black Dragon Lock Chain flew into the air. As he lifted its restriction, the black bracelet instantly transformed into a four-zhang-long, pitch-black chain.
This was the true form of the Black Dragon Lock Chain.
In addition, dozens of Magical Artifacts and weapons obtained from Cao Xiong, Zhou Jing, and the others also rose up, wrapped in Spiritual Light. These items from the Primordial Sect could never be shown in public, so using them as fodder to upgrade the Black Dragon Lock Chain was the most fitting end for them.
"Melt!"
Jia Chaoyuan’s eyelid twitched as he saw the weapons within the Spiritual Light, but he still gave the order in a deep voice.
WHOOSH~
Chen Che, Meng Changtu, Lu Qinglian, and the seven other Major Cultivators present—ten in total—simultaneously formed Seal Techniques, and their Spiritual Fire merged into a single torrent. At the same time, countless pieces of Spirit Wood flew over to support the inferno, which instantly enveloped the weapons and Magical Artifacts.
The disciples watching from the sidelines let out a collective gasp of amazement.
They had originally thought Artifact Casting was just a matter of swinging a hammer. But now, seeing more than ten Major Cultivators working in concert was beyond anything they could have imagined. The sight was dizzying, dazzling, and utterly captivating. They wished they could be one of them.
"Alchemy is the same. I once heard my master say that refining certain pills also requires the assistance of several Major Cultivators..."
Xing Lin explained in a low voice to Zhao Changping, who was sitting beside him.
Li Changqing, standing in the crowd, also felt his blood boil with excitement. He wondered if creating a High-Tier Talisman one day would feel like this.
If it had been just one person, merely melting these weapons would have taken ten to fifteen days. But with ten people working together, it took only a single hour.
"Purify!"
Jia Chaoyuan shouted.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
The moment he spoke, torrents of True Essence transformed into great hammers that began to pound away. Accompanied by Jia Chaoyuan’s calls, the sound of forging within the valley grew unprecedentedly loud and intense.
Chen Che knew this was the forging process, similar to creating hundred-refined steel.
But this was only the beginning.
Casting a Magical Artifact, especially an uncommon one like this, was far more difficult than forging a sword or spear. It required not only repeated forging and stretching but also the painstaking process of shaping and linking every single ring until the chain was complete.
And even reaching this step was merely the start.
"Good, now it’s starting to look like something!"
Jia Chaoyuan circled the square, offering guidance from time to time. Crafting a chain-type Magical Artifact was an intricate process. The hardness and resilience of each individual link had to meet specific requirements, or it would become a weak point. This step alone lasted for about two full days.
Yu Sihai, Hu Yao, Rong Shisan, and Liang Yuan—the four Major Cultivators who had most recently reached Foundation Establishment—had long since been unable to keep up and had already taken a turn to rest.
By the time they began to inscribe the runes,
only Chen Che, Meng Changtu, and Lu Qinglian remained.
It was then that the benefits of opening one’s meridians became apparent. Chen Che’s True Essence was vast and unparalleled, seemingly inexhaustible. Because he had never stopped opening new meridians, the True Essence within him was dozens of times greater than that of other Major Cultivators at the Same Tier.
The three cultivators channeled their True Essence, which acted like daggers carving into rock, steadily etching one rune after another onto the chain. These runes resembled ancient, primordial characters, imbued with a mysterious power. As they were inscribed, a faint golden light flowed within them.
Even for Chen Che, it would take several hours to fully inscribe a single link.
And the entire Black Dragon Lock Chain had over a hundred links.
「Twelve days later.」
The ten Major Cultivators, working together, had finally finished inscribing the runes. The seven-to-eight-zhang-long chain was now covered in dense, intricate golden patterns that ran its entire length, making it look like a black dragon with a golden thread down its spine. It was a divinely majestic sight!
"Hahhh..."
At that moment, Jia Chaoyuan let out a long breath and looked up at Chen Che.
"Valley Master Chen, all preparations are complete. We can now begin the Spiritual Infusion!"
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