Born with immortal seed

Chapter 314 The Method of Water Refining (Supplement 8.9)

After spending more than ten days in the courtyard of Tianlei Cliff, Han Qing rushed over with the body-refining elixir as soon as he successfully refined the pill.

Bai Zichen accepted the large medicine with a grim expression. Han Qing thought that his slow efficiency had displeased the ancestor, so he quickly explained that it was the first time he had refined this kind of pill, and he had to be careful and cautious. He had made ample preparations before opening the furnace.

The body-refining elixir was bright red, like blood, with fine blood-like patterns covering its body, like a heart beating continuously, with its meridians and blood vessels stretching powerfully.

Bai Zichen accepted the medicine and praised Han Qing, telling him not to feel pressured.

Back in the weapon-forging room, there were scrap materials scattered all over the floor. Of the twelve sword-forging materials, only one Sound Bamboo Sword was forged.

"Even if I had the skill to forge a third-tier flying sword, I couldn't afford the cost of forging it with such a low success rate... The famous swordsmiths of the Tianhe Sword Sect can achieve a success rate of over 60% in forging third-tier flying swords."

Bai Zichen sighed helplessly and put away the only intact bamboo sword.

If his goal wasn't limited to forging a few third-tier flying swords, the cost of hiring someone to forge swords would be much lower than learning and mastering them himself.

The swordsmiths of the Tianhe Sword Sect spend decades preparing for each sword forging process, breaking down and explaining each step of the process in detail, and preparing solutions for every possible problem in order to ensure a high success rate.

He certainly couldn't possibly expend that much time and effort for a third-tier flying sword, but he should at least have a success rate of three to one.

Otherwise, even if the bamboo forest on Thunder Cliff were to recover to the mutation efficiency of the spirit bamboo on Chilong Island, there still wouldn't be enough Thunder Sound Bamboo for him to create.

"The task is arduous and the road ahead is long. Fortunately, there are various spiritual materials in the storage bag, and there are quite a few magic treasures that can be reforged... I will try with a low-grade magic treasure first, or I can try a different refining method."

In the Qingfeng Sect, besides the fourth-order weapon-refining inheritance obtained from the inheritance stone tablet, there are two other systematic third-order weapon-refining inheritances.

One document contains the work of our own weapon-refining hall over the past thousand years, filled in by the weapon refiners who have made up for any omissions and additions.

The other one came from the Liu family of Monkey Mountain, a family-level third-tier weapon-refining secret that they had voluntarily offered to the sect.

Recently, another case has emerged: the Huang family of Qingxi has been found to have colluded with the Tianli Sect and sold intelligence about the Black Mountain.

Two elders of the Huang clan were executed, and the clan's land, Qingxi Lingquan, was reclaimed.

The Qingxi Spiritual Spring is a second-tier top-grade spiritual vein, and the Huang family has also set up a third-tier low-grade array with the help of the Spirit Gathering Array, making it unique among all the cultivation families in Black Mountain.

The original explanation was that the items were gifts received by the ancestor of the Huang clan of Qingxi after his master, a Daoist who had attained the state of alchemy, passed away.

It now appears that the ancestors of the Qingxi Huang clan were actually disciples of the Tianli Sect, and the third-order grand formation must have been brought out from the sect back then.

The Qingfeng Sect did not threaten to kill the ordinary members of the Huang clan, and since they were certain that no one except a few Foundation Establishment elders knew about the matter, they let it go.

The foundation of the Qingxi Huang family, the inheritance of water-based weapon crafting, was thus placed in the treasury of the weapon crafting hall.

Unlike mainstream weapon crafting techniques, water-based weapon crafting does not use earth fire; instead, it uses spiritual spring water to wash materials and employs special methods to craft weapons.

The advantage is that the success rate of refining weapons is high, and even if it fails, there is a chance to save some of the spiritual materials, so as not to lose everything.

The drawback is also obvious: the refining efficiency is too slow.

It's normal for a spiritual artifact to take a year or two to refine, and the Huang family, who occupy the Qingxi Spiritual Spring, can refine up to two spiritual artifacts at the same time.

Such efficiency is only suitable for small-scale, private weapon refiners.

Large merchant houses or sect weapon refiners would find it difficult to use due to the significant limitations.

Furthermore, the water refining method requires high-quality spiritual springs. For example, although the Huang family of Qingxi has a third-tier weapon refining heritage, the quality of their spiritual springs is only at the second-tier top grade.

It is extremely difficult to refine magical artifacts using the clear stream and spiritual spring.

After considering his own situation, Bai Zichen found that the water refining method was quite suitable for him.

First of all, the spiritual spring eye in Wanxianjian is a top-grade third-tier spiritual land that he enjoys all by himself, so no one would dare to compete with Old Ancestor Bai for it.

Its high success rate in refining and its ability to conserve spiritual materials perfectly suit his current situation.

As for the slow efficiency of water refining, he can overcome that since he doesn't need to mass-produce third-tier flying swords anyway.

Most importantly, the water refining method emphasizes a subtle and gradual process, transforming and altering spiritual materials at an extremely slow pace.

Unlike refining artifacts with earth fire, it doesn't require a high degree of concentration or constant monitoring.

If you lose focus even for a moment, the spiritual material will melt and deform, losing its function.

The water refining method is known for being safe and reliable. If you sit quietly for a month and then open your eyes, the spiritual material may still be completely unmoved, not even having completed the first step of washing away the surface impurities.

Only cultivators with exceptional patience and the ability to endure loneliness can embark on this path of weapon crafting.

Bai Zichen could use water-based weapon crafting techniques while simultaneously cultivating the Glazed Fire God Body, making perfect use of his time.

He sent over the third-order water-based weapon-refining secrets of the Qingxi Huang Clan, as well as a jade slip recording their family's insights and experiences over hundreds of years. Without lingering, he flew back to Wanxianjian on his sword.

Judging from the current situation, it seems that the Tianli Sect has taken root in the former territory of the Wenxiang Sect, and has even erected a sect archway.

Reorganizing internal affairs and calming down disciples who have been moved from thousands of miles away to an unfamiliar place are not simple tasks for a Nascent Soul sect.

Furthermore, if the Heavenly Principle Sect cannot return to the Central Region in a short period of time, it will definitely open up new avenues of income in the Liang Kingdom.

We can't just sit around and live off the wealth we took with us when we left.

When Bai Zichen was talking with Ge Cang Zhenren, he also mentioned that if the Tianli Sect, which has a Nascent Soul True Monarch in charge, really chose the Liang Kingdom's cultivation world, which is considered a remote and impoverished place by cultivators in the Central Region, it must be because it is after the fourth-order spiritual vein.

Besides the Qishan Mountains, the only other place in Liang Kingdom that is most likely to have a fourth-order spiritual vein is the Black Mountain Mountains.

What Ge Cang Zhenren couldn't understand was why the Tianli Sect would go to such lengths to choose the Black Mountain Range. Even the Qingfeng Sect itself only learned of the existence of the sleeping fourth-order Azure Phoenix in the center of the mountain range after Bai Zichen obtained the ancestral beast skin of the Fire Phoenix Mo Clan, thus confirming the existence of the fourth-order spiritual vein.

Bai Zichen could guess a thing or two. From the Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror at the bottom of Feiyue Lake and Meng Zhaode, who died in the Black Mountain while carrying out a secret mission of the sect, it could be seen that the Heavenly Principle Sect's attention to the Black Mountain Range definitely did not begin recently.

The two shared the view that the Heavenly Principle Sect would not be satisfied with the status quo and would eventually take action against the Green Maple Sect or the Holy Lotus Sect.

As for when to take action, it depends on when Shi Zhenjun, the head of the Tianli Sect who was rumored to have been seriously injured during the withdrawal from the Central Region, will recover from his injuries.

As for which target to take action against, it will depend on whether the Nine Lotus True Monarch of the Holy Lotus Sect is still alive, or whether Ge Cang True Man of the Green Maple Sect has made a breakthrough.

The same applies to the Holy Lotus Sect. True Monarch Nine Lotus is definitely planning to sit back and watch the two fight it out, and will not take action himself unless absolutely necessary.

Now, in addition to the formidable enemy, the Valley of Ten Thousand Poisons, there is also the potential threat of the Heavenly Principle Sect.

If True Monarch Nine Lotus were to ruthlessly eliminate the Green Maple Sect, his lifespan would be nearly exhausted, and he would pass away in a short time.

Would the Heavenly Principle Sect really keep its promise and only take Black Mountain, ignoring the Qishan Mountains, which have a rich history of ten thousand years and abundant resources, and even the entire Central Plains?

Therefore, a fragile balance has been formed among the three.

The current hidden dangers in Hejian County actually come from the local cultivation families that were originally biased towards the Ghost Spirit Sect and were suppressed after the Qingfeng Sect entered, as well as the sects in the surrounding counties.

These cultivation families and Core Formation level sects, driven by their own interests and instigated by the secret promises of the Holy Lotus Sect, would occasionally engage in underhanded tactics.

With Bai Zichen in charge, things are a bit better; his reputation as a killer of Core Formation cultivators has spread throughout the Liang Kingdom.

Those forces that want to cause trouble should think twice about whether they can withstand a sword to the head.

But if these people knew that Master Bai was not in Hejian County, it was hard to guarantee that some audacious individuals would not harbor such thoughts.

When Bai Zichen returned to Wanxianjian, the elders who knew he had left finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The safety of the entire prefecture rested on the shoulders of these few Foundation Establishment cultivators, making them extremely anxious and unable to eat or sleep properly.

In particular, the third-tier Grand Array of Ten Thousand Immortals Valley, the Ten Thousand Ghosts and Fierce Souls Array, is completely empty shell. Not only can it not summon even a Core Formation stage ghost king, but because of the change in terrain and the dissipation of yin energy, this array is only slightly stronger than a second-tier top-grade array.

However, the sect has recently been discussing dismantling the Qingxi Huang Clan's third-tier low-grade Heavenly One Profound Ice Array and relocating it to the Ten Thousand Immortals Valley.

The location of Qingxi Spirit Spring is now considered a remote area, and there are no key objects that need protection, so setting up a third-order array would be a complete waste.

The specifics will have to wait for the people from the Array Hall to come and survey the terrain and spiritual veins on both sides. Only after submitting a feasibility plan and discussing it with the elders can it be officially approved.

If the Heavenly Ice Formation is not suitable for the formation conditions of the Myriad Immortals Valley, then the Flag Formation Plate needs to be adjusted.

The workload would be enormous, and it's normal for it to take several years.

……

"Is the creator of water-based weapon refining definitely not someone who came up with this method out of laziness? It feels like he's just a hands-off manager..."

After thoroughly reading the Water Refining Inheritance, Bai Zichen also read through dozens of jade slips containing Huang Clan's refining experience and insights.

This method, except for its inability to refine fire-type magical artifacts, is not much different from traditional artifact refining techniques in terms of the effect of refining other treasures.

Once you've selected a suitable spiritual spring and set the appropriate spiritual materials, and used a refining technique to fix them at different water levels, the rest is largely up to the refiner.

Then, depending on the type of treasure being refined, the location of the spiritual materials and the speed of the spiritual spring are adjusted every so often.

Only when it is finally refined into its final form is the refiner's skill, eyesight, and subtle control of divine sense truly tested.

This kind of crafting method, where you just need to gather the external conditions and leave the success or failure to fate, was quite admired by Bai Zichen, who had little talent for crafting.

He immediately took out a sacred bamboo and other auxiliary materials, calculated the direction of the spiritual spring eye, and began the first water-based weapon crafting.

Watching the various spiritual materials float back and forth in the spiritual spring, the water rippled and tiny specks of spiritual light shimmered.

A subtle connection gradually formed between the sacred bamboo and several auxiliary materials.

Bai Zichen closed his eyes, no longer paying attention, and focused his mind on the Glazed Fire Jade, continuing to strive for the Glazed Fire God Body.

(End of this chapter)