Viewing Recordings

"An Echo Disc?"

Surprise appeared on the faces of Wang Mingmei and the other three.

An Echo Disc was a special item that could record and replay images.

The contents of Echo Discs encompassed everything under the sun: explanations of Dao techniques, spell battles, alchemy, artifact refining, and talisman making. Before some High-Level Cultivators passed away, they would use Echo Discs to record an image and explain their inheritances to Fated Persons. Some Alchemists, in order to prevent their inheritances from being lost, would record the alchemy process on Echo Discs for later generations to consult while learning Alchemy. Some cultivators recorded their battles against Demon Beasts for later generations to study. In Addition, Echo Discs had even broader uses, such as recording a Demon Beast's lair and selling it to High-Level Cultivators at a high price, or documenting the rise and fall of a sect.

Echo Discs were exceedingly complicated to make. An Echo Disc at the Spirit Tool level was worth three thousand Spirit Stones, comparable to a set of First Grade Middle Rank array-forming tools.

A Spirit Tool-level Echo Disc could play recorded images for anywhere from a quarter-hour to half an hour. An Echo Disc at the Dharma Artifact level could play images lasting over half an hour, while a Magic Treasure-level Echo Disc was said to be able to document the rise and fall of a sect, beginning with its founding patriarch. Before the Elders of Immortal Cultivation Sects passed away, they would leave behind everything they had learned through books and Echo Discs for later generations to reference. Immortal Cultivation Sects with long histories stored vast numbers of Echo Discs, recording their predecessors' cultivation insights and all manner of divine abilities and Secret Arts. That was foundation.

With only written records, later generations faced certain difficulties in cultivation. Written records were not especially clear, nowhere near as vivid and lifelike as recordings. Inheritances could not rely solely on words; images were equally important. It was said that Immortal Cultivation Sects with deep foundations not only possessed cultivation techniques capable of reaching high levels, but also Echo Discs recording the cultivation insights of successive patriarchs.

With cultivation techniques and Echo Discs alone, disciples of great sects left Rogue Cultivators and descendants of Immortal Cultivation Families far behind.

Disciples of great sects cultivated in Spirit Vein lands rich in spiritual qi, with excellent cultivation techniques and other cultivation resources, as well as the cultivation insights of those who came before them. Every layer of their cultivation techniques came with detailed explanations. They almost never suffered qi deviation, and encountered relatively few Bottlenecks. In such an environment, the starting point of great sect disciples was far higher than that of Rogue Cultivators or descendants of small families. Even if they failed to distinguish themselves, they would not be worse off than Rogue Cultivators or descendants of small families.

Without a deep background, without fortunate encounters, with merely average aptitude and average cultivation techniques, it was truly exceedingly difficult for Rogue Cultivators or descendants of small families to catch up with the pace of great sect disciples.

Wang Yaoxi nodded and said somewhat proudly, "That's right, it's an Echo Disc. This was left behind by an ancestor of our Wang Family. It records the refining method for the Low-grade Spirit Tool Azure Moon Saber, and it is one of the most important inheritances of our Wang Family."

"Watch carefully. See how our ancestor refined artifacts, memorize every step, and only then begin refining yourselves."

Upon hearing this, Wang Changsheng and the other four held their breaths and focused their attention, their eyes fixed on the elderly man in green robes.

"This old man is Wang Yuangang. Today, I intend to refine a Low-grade Spirit Tool, the Azure Moon Saber. The Azure Moon Saber is a Spirit Tool that Artifact Refiners must learn upon Entry Level. There are two materials: Mystic Iron and Iron Sand. The first step is lighting the fire. Azure Lotus Mountain has no Earth Fire, so Qi Refining Stage cultivators who wish to refine artifacts can use Spirit Charcoal or Spirit Wood. I am using thirty-year-old Silver Needle Wood. This type of Spirit Wood burns extremely well; a small piece can burn for a quarter-hour."

As Wang Yuangang spoke, he took out a square piece of silver wood.

He placed the square wood beneath the Azure Copper Furnace and raised one finger.

With a soft "pfft," a cluster of Crimson Flame appeared at his fingertip. With a flick of his finger, the flame shot out and landed on the square wood, igniting it. The square wood burned fiercely, and before long, a large mass of Crimson Flame enveloped the bottom of the Azure Copper Furnace.

"After lighting the Spirit Wood, once it has been preheated enough, you may add the Mystic Iron. Cultivators new to artifact refining may not know the proper degree of preheating. If you fail to control the heat properly, it can easily lead to refining failure and waste Spirit Stones for nothing. There is a convenient but clumsy method: after igniting the Spirit Wood, stick a lump of dough onto the surface of the Artificing Furnace. Once the dough turns into a baked flatbread, the preheating is about right, and you may begin adding the Mystic Iron. The Mystic Iron must weigh one jin and two liang. Thirty breaths later, you may toss a box of Iron Sand weighing three liang into the Artificing Furnace..."

Wang Yuangang refined the artifact as he explained, describing every step in great detail.

Wang Changsheng and the other four watched intently. Written records could not clearly explain certain matters, such as preheating. Beginners simply had no idea how much preheating was enough. Wang Yuangang had taken this into account and stuck a lump of dough onto the Artificing Furnace. Once the dough turned yellow, the preheating was sufficient. Otherwise, beginners would not know how many times they would fail over preheating alone. There were other details as well. Written records were comparatively vague, but images allowed them to see everything clearly. That was the benefit of recordings.

After watching Wang Yuangang's artifact-refining process, thoughtful expressions appeared on the faces of Wang Changsheng and the other four.

Wang Mingmei slightly furrowed her brows and requested, "Seventh Uncle, play it again! Our ancestor moved too quickly when engraving the Spirit Patterns. I couldn't see it clearly."

Wang Yaoxi nodded. "No problem. You'll be watching this recording for several days. You won't begin artifact refining so soon. One set of materials for refining an Azure Moon Saber costs fifteen Spirit Stones. Back then, I was too eager to start refining and wasted many sets of materials for nothing. Let that be a lesson from the cart before the horse—you must watch it several more times. It is normal for cultivators new to artifact refining to fail dozens of times. Failing over a hundred times is nothing strange either. Those with poor luck may even fail over a thousand times."

After hesitating slightly, Wang Changhuan cautiously asked, "Seventh Granduncle, how many times did you fail when refining Azure Moon Sabers back then?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Mingmei and the other three all looked at Wang Yaoxi with curiosity.

Wang Yaoxi's old face reddened. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Forty-eight times. Each of you has fifty chances. If you still cannot refine a Spirit Tool after fifty sets of materials, you will be eliminated immediately. First watch our ancestor's artifact refining carefully. If there is anything you do not understand, ask boldly. Though I was unable to become a Tier 1 Artifact Refiner, I can still refine Azure Moon Sabers."

"Seventh Granduncle, what is the standard for being evaluated as a Tier 1 Artifact Refiner?"

Wang Changsheng asked curiously.

Although he had memorized a great deal of artifact-refining knowledge, he was still unclear about the classification of Artifact Refiners.

"Artifact Refiners are divided from Tier 1 to Tier 9, corresponding to the nine realms of cultivation. Each tier is further divided into low, middle, and high ranks. Generally speaking, one can only be called an Artifact Refiner with a refining success rate above half. An Artifact Refiner capable of refining Spirit Tools is a Tier 1 Artifact Refiner. An Artifact Refiner capable of refining Dharma Artifacts is a Tier 2 Artifact Refiner. A Tier 3 Artifact Refiner can refine Magic Treasures, and so on. It seems the standards for Alchemists and Talisman Masters are roughly the same as those for Artifact Refiners."

Wang Mingcan asked, "Seventh Uncle, why were you unable to become a Tier 1 Artifact Refiner back then? What was your artifact-refining success rate?"

At those words, Wang Yaoxi's expression darkened somewhat.

This matter was an eternal pain in his heart. Back then, in order to support his artifact refining, the Lineage had purchased large quantities of Refining Materials and expended several thousand Spirit Stones. Yet his artifact-refining success rate had been less than forty percent. Even so, none of his clansmen had ever blamed him. Instead, they had comforted him in turn.

The more his clansmen comforted Wang Yaoxi, the more guilty he felt. He always believed that he had failed to live up to expectations and squandered enormous amounts of the Lineage's resources, causing the Lineage's days to grow ever more difficult and forcing younger clansmen to begin working early.

For this reason, he had not collected a single Spirit Stone in all these years, leaving the cultivation resources he saved for the younger clansmen to use. Only then did his heart feel somewhat better.

Wang Yaoxi took a deep breath and said seriously, "Back then, I used over a hundred sets of materials. Although I refined Azure Moon Sabers, my success rate was less than forty percent. The Lineage's finances were strained, so we could only stop there. Do not burden yourselves mentally. Just study diligently. It is nothing if you fail; you can still continue serving the Lineage."

The moment the words left his mouth, a trace of self-mockery rose in Wang Yaoxi's heart.

Hadn't his elders consoled him in exactly the same way back then? Yet the more they said such things, the greater his pressure became. The Lineage had placed its hopes on him, and his clansmen had pinched pennies and tightened their belts to support his artifact refining. How could he possibly have felt no mental burden?

"Enough, no more of this irrelevant talk. Continue watching our ancestor refine artifacts!"

Wang Yaoxi cast a hand seal onto the Echo Disc. A streak of Silver Light shot forth and transformed into a silver Mirror, within which Wang Yuangang's figure appeared.

"This old man is Wang Yuangang. Today, I intend to refine a Low-grade Spirit Tool, the Azure Moon Saber. The Azure Moon Saber is..."

For certain special reasons, updates will be reduced to one chapter a day for a period of time. Once things settle down, I will make up the chapters I owe, including today's. At present, I owe five updates.