In the Sword Casting Valley over the past two years, Shi Feng has been well-known for the name of Master Gan Chu.
This person is the elder of Fentian Peak, who is naturally fond of weapon refining. Taiji Sect originally did not have a separate weapon refining hall. Weapon refining was just a branch office under the Deacon Hall, which processed the mineral materials sent from all over the sect.
Taoist Gan Chu was criticized by the leader of Fentian Peak and the higher-ups of the sect because he devoted all day to studying the art of refining weapons. Suddenly one day, this Taoist actually refined a magic weapon, which shocked the entire sect.
You should know that magical instruments are divided into nine grades. Only those of grade four and above can be called magical treasures, while those of grades one through three are considered spiritual instruments. While a grade four magical instrument is only one grade away from a grade three spiritual instrument, the difference is worlds apart. Magical instruments can be recognized by a drop of blood, can be transformed at will, and can be large or small. Their power and versatility far surpass even a grade three spiritual instrument.
At that time, the sect's top leaders discussed the matter overnight and finally decided to set up a special weapon refining hall, with Gan Chu as the head master. Gan Chu was directly promoted to the sect's elders' council to participate in the sect's major affairs.
The middle-aged man asked in surprise, "The master summoned us? What happened?" Manager Luo said, "Don't ask, just follow me." He stood up and led the four people to the back valley of Sword Casting Valley.
The Sword Forging Valley was built based on natural underground fire. The further they went, the closer they got to the center of the underground fire, and the higher the air temperature became. The four people didn't know what was going on, and they secretly recalled the recent period, wondering if something had gone wrong and the master wanted to punish them personally.
The four of them were nervous and sweating profusely.
Shi Feng had never been to the Back Valley before, and he didn't dare look around. He just kept his head down and followed Luo San. They reached a huge stone hall in the Back Valley. Steward Luo stopped and announced loudly, "Disciple Luo San, I'm here to see the Master." A resounding voice from inside said, "Come in."
The hall door swung open, and Shi Feng followed the others into the stone hall. He saw an old man sitting in the middle. He was short and fat, with a round face and a shiny, oily head. He had no hair at all, but a very lush beard, black and stubbled like a hedgehog. He wore a wrinkled Taoist robe. Everyone knelt hurriedly, "Greetings to the Master."
Master Ganchu waved his hand and said, "Everyone, stand up and talk. No need to be polite." His tone was quite casual. Shi Feng stood up and noticed that there were two other people in the hall. They were sitting next to Master Ganchu. One was an old man with a face as white as jade and a Confucian robe, and the other was a burly man in his thirties or forties, with a strong appearance and a back as straight as an arrow.
Master Gan Chu glanced at everyone and said, "Luo San, are these the four people?" Luo San replied, "Yes, they are the four with the best skills in the weapon refining hall." Gan Chu laughed and said, "How could you forget yourself? Are your skills inferior to theirs?"
Luo San was about to reply with an explanation when Gan Chu Zhenren waved his hand and said, "Forget it, I was just kidding. You're busy with too many things and can't spare the time. So it's just the four of them."
Shi Feng and the other three were still confused, but since it sounded like they were not going to be punished, they felt relieved.
Gan Chu said, "I called you here today because I have an important task for you. Of course, no one of you is allowed to tell anyone about this. Otherwise, even if I don't cause trouble to you, there will naturally be people more powerful than me who will cause trouble to you." Everyone couldn't help but feel a little worried again.
Gan Chu continued, "Don't worry, you will be working under me for the next month. This isn't a big deal. Last month, our sect's Huiyan Peak elder, Fairy Feng, encountered a powerful enemy. During the fight, her Cold Dew Sword broke into two pieces, and she begged me to help repair it. The Cold Dew Sword has thirty restrictions, and I can't guarantee it can be restored, so I can only do my best. Because the materials needed to repair the magic weapon are so huge, I'm going to ask Luo San to find a few disciples with outstanding skills to help me. Do you understand?"
The four of them breathed a sigh of relief and said in unison, "We'll follow the Master's orders." Gan Chu said, "You four just need to refine the various materials needed according to my instructions, and you two will help me create and engrave the restrictions." The latter sentence was directed to the two old men in Confucian robes, who bowed in response.
Gan Chu was a little displeased. "Don't be so displeased. Although I have delayed your cultivation time a little, I will give you 5,000 spirit stones each after the task is completed. That will make up for it." The two old men in Confucian robes said hurriedly, "How dare we? We will obey Master's orders."
Gan Chu said, "Alright, all of you may withdraw. Come to me tomorrow at noon to report. I need to study this Cold Dew Sword in detail tonight."
Starting from the next day, Shi Feng and his three companions arrived at the inner valley of the Sword Casting Valley on time to help Gan Chu refine various materials needed to repair the magic weapon. Although the Cold Dew Sword was mainly made of water-based materials, the materials and various auxiliary items required for the thirty-level restrictions amounted to more than a hundred pieces, which made Shi Feng secretly amazed.
Shi Feng had read quite a few texts on weapon refining over the past two years and knew that the art of weapon refining was actually quite profound. Refining materials was just the basics; the more crucial part was the creation of the prohibitions.
The creation of a restriction also begins with the materials, which vary depending on the type of restriction. The first step is to draw various runes, the second step is to engrave the rune patterns onto the materials, and finally, through various methods, the runes are activated and integrated into the spiritual weapon, thus forming a restriction.
The beautiful and dazzling spiritual patterns on the spiritual weapon are actually various restrictions.
There are thousands of materials and combination patterns of restrictions, and their functions are also varied. Some restrictions increase the weight of the spiritual weapon itself, making the spiritual weapon have the power of a mountain when it strikes; some restrictions reduce the weight of the spiritual weapon, making it as light as a butterfly; some increase the flying speed of the spiritual weapon, and some allow the spiritual weapon to have the power of lightning, the power of fire, and so on.
Shi Feng stayed in the back valley every day, going in and out with everyone. In the meantime, he also observed Gan Chu and his two disciples making various prohibitions. It was an eye-opener and he learned a lot. He was very satisfied with the mission.
He was very satisfied, but Gan Chu was very dissatisfied with him. When Gan Chu first met him, he noticed that although Shi Feng's physique was normal, he was only fifteen or sixteen years old. At such a young age, with only three or four years of experience in refining materials, how could he be capable of such a heavy task?
Two days later, as expected, the other three completed the refining tasks he assigned, but Shi Feng did not hand in any materials.
Gan Chu endured for two days without losing his temper. On the third day, just as he was about to scold Shi Feng, Shi Feng suddenly submitted all the materials on the list. The purity of these materials had all reached the top grade level. Gan Chu was overjoyed. You know, for the same magic weapon, the strength and power of the magic weapon would be greatly increased by using top grade materials or non-top grade materials.
Next, what surprised Gan Chu even more was that although Shi Feng was not fast in submitting materials, all the refined materials were of top grade or the best grade, and Shi Feng was so meticulous in his work that Gan Chu could not find any fault. For example, the list stated "5 pieces of water mirror platinum stone, about four inches square and above grade six", and the water mirror platinum stone submitted by Shi Feng were not only of grade nine, but also cut into exactly four inches in size.
The reason Gan Chu Zhenren wrote "approximately four inches square" was because he considered that it was very difficult for outer disciples to refine the materials. To achieve a perfect four inches would take a very long time, so it was better to refine it to a rough degree. Gan Chu Zhenren would personally measure it with a magic instrument and purify it again. However, the materials submitted by Shi Feng skipped this step. The magic instrument measured it left and right, and it was exactly four inches, without any error.
For example, Gan Chu's list included "ten pairs of fireflies over a hundred years old, with four stingers." The fireflies submitted by the other three inevitably included one or two less than a hundred years old, perhaps only ninety or so. However, Shi Feng's fireflies were not only all over a hundred years old, but Shi Feng also observed and tested the stingers to confirm their accuracy. The fireflies submitted by the others all appeared to have four stingers, but some were completely blocked, and some hadn't yet fully grown. Fireflies feed on fire, and their stingers are the most precious refining material; substandard stingers are completely useless.
Therefore, after more than ten days, Master Gan Chu had already started to look at Shi Feng with new respect.
The restoration of the Cold Dew Sword proceeded day by day. While repairing a magical weapon wasn't as time-consuming as refining it, it was sometimes more difficult than refining a new one. The Cold Dew Sword had been broken into two pieces, but the material properties of both halves remained. Master Gan Chu first had to analyze the magical weapon's material properties in detail, then identify and seal the original restrictions on the Cold Dew Sword. He then used the materials to repair the blade, and naturally, the four or five restrictions involved in the break had to be re-engraved one by one.
However, repairing a magical weapon is not as simple as connecting the materials and re-engraving a few damaged restrictions.
For a magic weapon, each restriction is interrelated. Although there are only 4 or 5 restrictions in the discontinuous parts, if there is any deviation in the orientation and order of these 4 or 5 restrictions, the other 20 or so restrictions may all lose their effectiveness, and the magic weapon will be unable to exert its magical powers.
It is said that this Cold Dew Sword was forged by an alien race from the North Cold Continent. It was purchased by Fairy Feng at a huge price at an auction. There are two restrictions in it that even a master weapon refiner like Gan Chu has never seen before. He had spent several days comprehending it and only called people to start work when he thought it was ready. However, problems arose along the way. The engraved restrictions often had no effect or could not activate other restrictions, so they had to be erased and re-engraved. The materials were naturally spent at a high price, and Shi Feng was secretly heartbroken.
Shi Feng saw Gan Chu pacing back and forth in the square room most of the time, thinking hard, scratching his head. Shi Feng thought to himself: No wonder this ancestor has a bald head, it turns out he scratched out all his hair himself.
It was not until the thirty-third day that Gan Chu and his two disciples deliberated over and over again and finally engraved all the restrictions correctly. On that day, Shi Feng and others stood by with their hands hanging down. Gan Chu sat cross-legged in the middle with a small purple tripod in front of him. Nothing could be seen from the outside, and Shi Feng and others could not feel any heat from the air in the room.
Gan Chu looked calm as he cast one spell after another on the small tripod. Two hours later, the small tripod began to shake slowly, and finally trembled violently up and down. Gan Chu also stood up, stepped on the eight trigrams with a solemn expression.
Another hour passed, and Gan Chu's bald forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat. The small purple tripod kept spinning. A hint of joy flashed across Gan Chu's eyes. Suddenly, he let out a long roar, and a spell hit the small tripod. The tripod lid flew up, and a small white sword sprang out from it.
The moment Shi Feng opened the lid of the cauldron, he felt the air suddenly become hot, and a red tongue of fire emerged from the cauldron. Shi Feng hurriedly used the Flame Sun Art, and only then did he feel the heat greatly reduced.
The small white sword stood still in mid-air. Suddenly, with a clear chime, it transformed into a four-foot-long precious sword, intact and radiant. The flames from the small purple cauldron seemed to be drawn to the sword, absorbing it. As the sword absorbed the flames, it emitted bursts of cold air. The room, previously unbearably hot, now felt cool and refreshing, with a hint of chill.
Gan Chu laughed loudly, "Mission accomplished, mission accomplished!" With a point of his finger, the Hanlu sword became smaller again and flew into his sleeve and disappeared.
The disciples were also delighted and came forward to congratulate him. Master Ganchu was clearly in a very good mood. He waved his hand and said, "You have all made great efforts this time. I will reward you with 500 crystals each. In addition, you can choose any material from the refining room in the front valley as a reward." The disciples naturally bowed in gratitude.
Master Ganchu collected the small purple cauldron, dismantled the auxiliary magic circle, and gulped down several large gulps of tea. He then instructed the old man in Confucian robes to go meet Fairy Feng and invite her to inspect the magic weapon. After giving his instructions, he said to Shi Feng and the other three, "Have you selected your materials? Report them right away."
Shi Feng and the other three had already made up their minds. The other three had chosen the three most valuable materials. When it was Shi Feng's turn, he kowtowed and said, "Disciple does not want any treasures. I hope that the Grandmaster will reward me with one or two ounces of ash from the cauldron that has been in the past month." Gan Chu's smile suddenly froze. "What? What did you say?"
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