Diligent Forging

Blazing Flame Mountain.

The Golden Void Palace of the Golden Void Lineage lay within Blazing Flame Mountain in the western part of Mount Hua. It was Bai Yujun's first time visiting the Golden Void Palace.

The palaces of the other lineages all stood atop mountains, wreathed in immortal mist, yet Golden Void went against the grain. Its palace was located at the foot of the mountain, a crimson metal structure standing proud, with a volcano that had lain dormant for years behind it. From the heavy sulfur scent in the air, Bai Yujun determined that molten lava must be churning beneath the mountain. And indeed it was. A vast cave behind the palace led directly into the mountain's belly, where a huge cavern contained a pool of rolling lava and flame.

This was nothing like Qingxu Palace, which only had three people and one snake including Yu Rong. Golden Void had countless disciples, with more than a dozen alone guarding the gate.

After seeing the jade pendant at Bai Yujun's waist, the disciples did not stop her. They merely stole glances when no one was looking. They were all hot-blooded young men, and the Golden Void Lineage was practically all male. Naturally, they grew excited at the sight of a beauty. It could not be helped. The Golden Void Lineage focused on forging, spending every day swinging hammers and pounding iron. What girl would come here to forge metal? Besides, Gu Cangyu, the peak master of the Golden Void Lineage, would never accept female disciples. Bai Yujun drew more than her fair share of attention today.

After entering the main hall of the Golden Void Palace, she bowed to the statue within, then found a stewarding disciple to register and explain her purpose.

"You want to... learn forging?"

The stewarding disciple was somewhat surprised. In all these years, he had never seen a girl come to learn forging, much less a snake spirit.

Bai Yujun nodded.

"Fine. You will begin with the basics. First, go to the warehouse and help sort the metal supplies."

The Golden Void Lineage had a particular fondness for metal. Even their identity tokens were forged from some kind of metal, whereas all the other lineages used jade tablets. Bai Yujun accepted the identity token and followed the stewarding disciple toward the Back Mountain.

She had deliberately worn fitted clothes today. A skirt was not suitable for work, and she tied her waist-length hair behind her head so it would not sway about.

She had come to the Golden Void Palace to obtain a good weapon. The treasured sword Chu Zhe had given her truly was excellent, made from top-grade materials with superb forging techniques. The problem was that Bai Yujun was not suited to using a sword, nor did she dare carry that top-grade flying sword everywhere every day. A common man was innocent, but possessing jade made him guilty. Carrying such a fine flying sword was like a child carrying a gold nugget through the streets; if things went wrong, she might die without even knowing how.

She learned forging so she could craft weapons for herself. If she simply asked, they would likely give her one for Yu Rong's sake. But Bai Yujun was thinking long-term. Rather than begging others whenever she needed a new weapon in the future, she might as well learn forging herself. If one day this snake spirit was driven down the mountain, she could at least earn a living and not starve to death.

Before long, there was an extra working girl in the Golden Void Palace. She could pick up and carry away crates that normally took two people to lift.

During the first month, Bai Yujun spent every day ceaselessly sorting and identifying Metal Ore, delivering metals to forging disciples according to their lists.

Using a snake's powerful sensitivity toward objects, Bai Yujun quickly learned to recognize most metals. She memorized the properties of every kind through sheer rote learning, and the speed of her studies left the stewarding disciple clicking his tongue in wonder.

In the second month, she began assisting the forging disciples within the mountain's belly. Whenever they grew tired, she hurriedly handed them spring water. Whenever they needed a new metal, she immediately brought it over, enduring the suppressive force of earthfire upon spirits as she worked hard.

The blazing lava flames in the mountain's belly illuminated the cave. Little sunlight entered through the circular volcanic crater overhead, so everything relied on earthfire for light.

Gu Cangyu, the peak master of the Golden Void Palace, stood high above and nodded as he watched the busy white figure.

Gu Cangyu had the back of a tiger and the waist of a bear. His poetic name was easily misleading. Rumor had it that he was muscles from the neck down, and he always carried a heavy sword as large as a door plank and as thick as a fist on his back. The heavy sword had no edge and resembled more of a rectangular metal block, covered in ancient bronze-colored patterns. Its weight was beyond imagination.

"Not bad. Tomorrow, have her learn forging from me," Gu Cangyu said blandly.

After speaking, he ignored the surprised disciples and picked up his hammer to forge iron on his own. He did not meditate and rarely left the mountain. Every day, he simply hammered away, treating forging as cultivation.

The next day, White Snake came to Gu Cangyu's side to learn forging.

Clang!

The hammer fell, sending sparks flying everywhere. Gu Cangyu's solid, dark muscles brimmed with boundless strength as he casually lifted his hammer and forged a half-finished treasured sword.

The entire mountain belly was filled with burly men stripped bare to show their muscles. Only Bai Yujun was a woman, wrapped tightly in white fitted clothes.

Sizzle—the treasured sword was plunged into water.

"Cultivation has countless methods. The three thousand Great Daos all lead to the same destination in the end. Forging can likewise improve cultivation. Though the Golden Void Lineage hammers iron every day, our combat strength is not low. Remember: whatever you do, do it seriously. Do things earnestly, and you will succeed."

The Golden Void Lineage truly possessed formidable combat strength. Perhaps influenced by their peak master, most disciples used heavy swords, and their tempers were like erupting lava, making others retreat three paces.

Gu Cangyu taught Bai Yujun forging with great seriousness.

He did not care about identity or lineage background. As long as someone possessed strong forging ability and enjoyed hammering iron, they would receive his wholehearted instruction.

He set down his hammer and looked at Bai Yujun.

"Your turn."

Bai Yujun nodded, rolled up her sleeves to reveal slender jade-like arms, then used iron tongs to remove a glowing red chunk of metal from the earthfire and place it on the anvil. One small hand seized the hammer and brought it down with all her strength...

Clang... clang... clang!

Sparks scattered with every strike. The hammer, made from some unknown metal, was exceptionally heavy, and every blow required strength.

People knew that mountain beasts feared fire most of all. White Snake feared fire as well, but she feared death even more. A small snake spirit was diligently striving so that she could forge her own weapons in the future, avoid begging others, and live better. Forging was a specialty of the human race; as a demon, she could not go begging every time.

Before long, she was drenched in sweat. The only advantage of taking human form was that sweating made it easier to cool down.

Beads of sweat slid down her cheeks and along her hair. She casually wiped them away with her sleeve and continued hammering. Her current skill was not enough to forge a treasured sword. What she needed to do was practice forging iron.

Gu Cangyu was both pleased and depressed. He was pleased that a demon beast had come here to learn a craft, but depressed because many disciples had recently accidentally injured their fingers while forging. Those little bastards were absentmindedly staring at the snake-spirit beauty. He decided their daily cultivation assignments had been far too easy.

The days passed...

Snow had already begun falling outside the cave.

Since taking human form, Bai Yujun no longer needed to hibernate during the cold season, but she was still tired and listless. Only when she entered Blazing Flame Mountain and faced the high temperatures did her vitality return.

Her daily routine changed again. At dawn, she practiced Swallowing Clouds and Exhaling Mist, then went to Lingxu Palace to eat Failed Pills and Medicinal Dregs before coming to Blazing Flame Mountain to study forging. Bai Yujun had no talent for forging, so she could only study earnestly and train diligently. During festivals, when many disciples took leave to go out and have fun, Bai Yujun stayed behind, clanging away as she practiced forging small knives. On New Year's Eve, fireworks bloomed brilliantly and everyone was excited, yet Bai Yujun still kept raising her hammer and striking.

Several months of diligent study and hard practice not only gave her a grasp of basic forging techniques, but also greatly improved her cultivation. Gu Cangyu had not lied. Circulating spiritual power while forging was just as effective as meditation.

In the dead of night, that patch of white in Blazing Flame Mountain's belly stubbornly swung her hammer...

Winter passed, and spring arrived.

With a crack of thunder, all things awakened. Inside the mountain's belly, Bai Yujun, drenched in sweat, tirelessly forged a Hengdao.

The Hengdao was ninety centimeters long and two fingers wide, with a straight blade and a standard slanted-point tip. On a sudden whim while forging it, Bai Yujun pulled several Snake Scales from her arm and mixed them in, turning the entire blade white. She successfully forged a light weapon.

Since there was a light weapon, there naturally had to be a heavy weapon. She prepared a large amount of materials and continued forging. The materials were ordinary; no one would give good materials to a snake.