Immortality begins with becoming a master weapon refiner

Chapter 98 Zhu Rong Flame Armor, Experience of the Fiend Cave

With the matter settled, Gu Qing shook his head as he looked at the old man's hunched back. The Bai Clan of Cangshan... how many clans and sects are there in the world?
Internal strife has always been a major theme.

With so many resources invested this time, even if Bai Feng gets out, his status in the Bai family will plummet.

What else can we do to fight for it?

How tragic it is that someone so young causes trouble everywhere, only to have their elderly elders clean up the mess and smile in vain!
"But then again, what does it have to do with me?"

"Two thousand contribution points are enough for me to cultivate for a long time. I'll go and take a look at the Nine Netherworld Cave now."

"As for the blueprints for this magical artifact..."

After careful observation, Gu Qing put it into his treasure pouch.

This magical artifact blueprint is more valuable than 2000 contribution points because it is a very rare method for forging magical armor, which provides a comprehensive improvement for cultivators.

It can attack, defend, and even save its life.

Perhaps they had inquired beforehand and knew that Gu Qing practiced fire-based techniques.

The blueprint for this magical armor is called the [Zhu Rong Flame Armor].

It looks perfect for him, and it comes from Flame Mountain, one of the Twelve Immortal Sects, so its quality is guaranteed.

The special forging techniques described above, as well as the metal refining methods for [Zhurong Gold], are extremely valuable.

The difficulty in crafting magical artifacts.

First, true essence; second, the treasure's restriction; and third, the weapon-refining techniques.

Gu Qing believed that the first and third points were no problem; the difficulty lay in the treasure restriction, which was composed of artifact patterns and had a "1+1 greater than 2" effect.

Gu Qing is stuck here because he has been unable to crack the mystery of the treasure's restriction, which may be largely due to the fact that he has not devoted all his energy to the art of weapon crafting.

"Now that my cultivation has broken through to the upper eighth rank, the advantages I can gain from magic weapons are becoming less and less. Refining spiritual weapons is the way to consolidate this advantage."

"Once we've digested this batch of resources, we'll also find an opportunity to upgrade our Divine Machine Refinement to the next level."

The upper limit of Divine Refinement is magical artifacts.

It has already been resolved, and it would be appropriate to deduce its conclusions after some time has passed.

Having made up his mind, Gu Qing headed towards the [Earthly Fiend Abyss]. Things were different now; he had nearly 2500 contribution points in his pocket, enough for him to stay in the Earthly Fiend Abyss for more than half a year.

He had already calculated it before.

By cultivating with the power of abundant true energy and using the double-breakthrough method, he can open two apertures in seven days and 21 apertures in two and a half months (75 days).

In the same amount of time, he only earned nearly 500 contribution points in weapon crafting. According to the effect of the Flying Spirit Pill, he could only open 12 acupoints, which seemed like a big difference. However, half of that was converted into weapon crafting points by Gu Qing.

It's not a matter of who lost and who gained.

What Gu Qing wanted was efficiency!
The Nine Netherworld Cave in the Earthly Fiend Abyss was the second attempt.

"Senior Taikang, Gu Qing, the steward of the Weapon Refining Hall, requests permission to enter the Earthly Fiend Abyss for cultivation."

The guard I encountered last time was named Tai Kangxuan.

He was an elder of the Hall of Punishments. He looked to be only middle-aged, but his strength had reached the peak of the seventh rank. He could not be regarded as a simple guard.

"You're here again. Have you prepared your contribution points?"

"Yes."

"Elder Yao said that the Nine Nether Wind in the Nine Nether Cave can accelerate the opening of the mind, so I would like to give it a try."

"Oh?"

Tai Kangxuan's expression was inscrutable. After pondering for a moment, he spoke.

"Go in, but remember not to enter the evil cave. Once you are corrupted by the evil energy, even a god cannot save you."

"Gu Qing will keep this in mind."

How long will you stay?

"Let's start with... thirty days."

"can."

With 300 contribution points deducted from his deacon's token, Gu Qing was able to enter smoothly.

Tai Kangxuan watched his retreating figure, shaking his head and muttering to himself.

"Elder Yao is still so unreliable. I hope you can hold on."

The Abyss of Earthly Fiends has seventy-two caves. Each cave is the source of a certain kind of evil energy, and the Nine Netherworld Cave is considered to be one of the higher-ranking evil energies among the seventy-two Earthly Fiends.

If a cultivator below the seventh rank comes into contact with it, their flesh and blood will dissolve instantly, and they will die from a dreamlike state of confusion.

The Nine Nether Winds derived from the Nine Nether Evil are much milder.

Although it was still like a fierce wind, as if swords were at your side, there was now room for relief.

Having received multiple warnings, Gu Qing moved with extreme caution.

After he found the Nine Netherworld Cave, his pace slowed down even more, almost shuffling forward, as he probed the limits of the Nine Netherworld Wind that blew out from the cave.

It also allows for retreat at any time.

One step, two steps, three steps...

Suddenly, Gu Qing was startled. Several tears appeared on his training clothes, the rips looking exactly like those from sword blades.

A white mark also appeared on the skin.

It hurts.

It's still that kind of pain that comes suddenly after the senses have been amplified many times over.

It's outrageous!
Gu Qing left the Nine Nether Wind's range and finally understood why there were so few people here. Elder Yao must have told him about the effects of the Nine Nether Wind more than just him.

It seems unlikely that many people will be able to persevere.

"That old man tricked me again."

In Gu Qing's understanding, cultivation doesn't necessarily require self-torture to achieve anything. He acknowledges that pain can temper one's will, but there are ways to avoid pain, so why be so stubborn?

"Three hundred contribution points..."

Gu Qing hesitated, wanting to leave, but then all the contribution points would be wasted.

He is not yet qualified to be so extravagant.

"Damn it, so what if it hurts?"

With eyes closed, he gathered his true energy to protect his body.

As soon as he sat down on the edge, he discovered that the Nine Nether Wind was like water that could seep into every crevice, while his true essence was like a sieve, able to block strong winds but unable to block small gusts of wind.

"hiss---"

The wind blew into his meridians through his pores, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it was like being torn to pieces. During this process, Gu Qing's true essence became more and more refined, instinctively trying to resist the Netherworld Wind that was harming his body.

If blown on for a long time, it can actually have the effect of strengthening the foundation.

This discovery finally eased some of Gu Qing's dissatisfaction.

He endured it with unwavering willpower.

"The main effect of the Nine Nether Wind is to assist in opening the mind. Let's try it now."

It must be said that practicing martial arts in a place with such severe external interference is also a test and a form of training.

If one can persevere, even in the most critical situations, one will be able to seize the opportunity to circulate one's cultivation techniques to restore one's true energy, which will greatly benefit one's mastery of the cultivation techniques.

"Get it!"

Divine sense positioning and true essence impact are still the dual-impact method!

Gu Qing discovered that although the Nine Nether Wind was rampaging through his body, tearing his muscles and meridians and causing endless pain, those wounds would heal as his true essence circulated.

During this process, the body is constantly injured, recovers, is injured again, and recovers again... and its strength is strengthened without the wear and tear.

The closed acupoints within the body also become thinner and thinner under the effect of the Nine Nether Wind.

This made Gu Qing's eyes light up.

The effect here was even more powerful than expected, because it was blowing on Gu Qing's physical body. With the all-pervasive nature of the Nine Nether Wind, all 720 acupoints on his body were being cleansed.

In other words, it simultaneously weakens the barriers of all the acupoints on Gu Qing's body.

If you can persist long enough.

720 acupoints can be opened instantly!

Upon this discovery, Gu Qing disregarded the pain; it was all worthwhile. In her memory, Elder Yao's face also became kind and approachable.

(End of this chapter)