Jing Qian had learned the exact locations of the Twenty-Four Main Stores from A Bao, as well as the business sectors monopolized by each one.
He strolled to the entrance of Gongye Main Store and sauntered inside.
Gongye Main Store specialized in metal smelting, controlling more than eighty percent of the trade in metal materials throughout Hunzhou.
Behind it stood two great Dragon-Elephant cultivators, each serving as a mid-level manager in the Civil Affairs Office and the Craftsmen Directorate.
Thus, the Gongye Clan was a far larger store than the Jing Clan.
After entering, Jing Qian casually beckoned over a young attendant and asked, "I wish to borrow your ninth-grade forge. How much would it cost? Could you do me this favor?"
The attendant bowed and said, "Guest, our store only has two ninth-grade forges. You must purchase metal treasures from our store to qualify for their use."
"For one day's use, the discounted price is three Yuan Gold Ingots!"
When Jing Qian heard the price, he gritted his teeth.
The price was truly outrageous!
After coming to this sea market, he had already gained a thorough understanding of the purchasing power of this world's currency.
A single copper knife coin was enough to cover an ordinary family's living expenses for two or three months. Its value was remarkably solid.
Yet a piece of White Fang-grade material was only worth about ten Yuan Gold Ingots.
A refined weapon or magical artifact, having consumed more labor, cost at least twenty Yuan Gold Ingots.
But he was only borrowing the Gongye Clan's ninth-grade forge, and it would cost him three Gold Ingots. This was completely beyond his expectations.
Even ten days of furnace time would not be enough to refine a ninth-grade magical artifact. This meant that the cost of borrowing a forge to refine one was far higher than the artifact's selling price, clearly squeezing the survival space of Rogue Cultivators.
However, he had no choice but to borrow the forge, so he asked, "Do you purchase finished weapons here?"
The attendant hurriedly replied, "Naturally. Guest, please follow me."
Jing Qian was then led into a secret chamber, where items were appraised.
From the Void Realm, he took out every finished weapon except the copper hammer and tossed them onto the ground.
He then engaged in a thorough round of haggling with the Gongye Clan's representative.
In the end, he exchanged four ninth-grade weapons and three ninth-grade Sea Demon materials for ten ninth-grade White Fang-grade Sea Fang Irons, along with three days of free use of a ninth-grade forge.
Once the transaction was complete, it was not long before he was led into another secret chamber, where he stood before a bronze furnace taller than a person.
He lined up the ten ninth-grade Sea Fang Irons before him.
Then he pushed his Magic Power into action, activating the ninth-grade smelting furnace. He took out his copper-hammer magical artifact and began refining the ten pieces of Sea Fang Iron one by one.
He focused intently on controlling the flow of his Magic Power. Under his manipulation, flames roared within the ninth-grade furnace, illuminating its chamber a brilliant red.
The copper hammer in his hand struck the workbench beside him, producing deep, forceful clangs. Interwoven with the sound of the Sea Fang Iron melting inside the furnace, they formed a unique song of artifact forging.
Jing Qian had acquired extensive knowledge of casting and forging from his memories. After it had been organized by Worldly Understanding, he possessed thoroughly mature basic smelting skills.
Processing these Sea Fang Irons was nothing difficult.
In just half a day, he had forged all ten Sea Fang Irons into the shape of sword blanks.
The sword blanks had a seamless color and a smooth, rounded body, with no edges honed.
Within each sword blank, he had engraved a complicated sword-shaped talisman with his Magic Power.
These sword blanks were the essential materials for refining the Sword Fang destiny.
Under the guidance of Worldly Understanding's power, he had already mastered the method of refining this destiny completely.
He forged it with ease!
As Jing Qian waited for the sword blanks to cool slowly, his thoughts gradually wandered.
The reason he had chosen the Sword Fang destiny was not only that he had always been deeply fond of swordsmanship and utterly obsessed with it.
The ability to use the power of the Sumeru destiny to make up for the Sword Fang's shortcomings was also an important reason.
In essence, the Sea Fang Iron he was using now was also produced from Sea Demons.
It was the tooth of a finished sea beast, which had formed a unique alloy after being calcined.
If he refined the Crocodile Dragon Tooth in a furnace, it could likewise be transformed into seventh-grade Sea Fang Iron.
For him, Sea Demon teeth were easy to find, but a cheap and useful furnace was not.
He was already considering whether to apply for a transfer from the Maritime Affairs Office to the Craftsmen Directorate.
After waiting a little longer, when the metal sword blanks had cooled somewhat, he picked one up and raised it toward his mouth.
He poured his life-origin Magic Power into his teeth, activated the Sword Fang secret art, and bit down hard.
This sword blank forged from ninth-grade metal was swallowed in three bites reduced to two!
Then a strange stream of Magic Power traveled upward along his teeth and went straight into his sea of consciousness. A small sword-shaped destiny, resembling a tiger fang, suddenly took shape.
The Sword Fang destiny was instantly formed!
For a moment, he felt as if a little sword had appeared inside his body.
The sword merged into his Magic Power and circulated throughout his body along with it.
A cool, razor-sharp sword intent was born as well, like a sheet of biting ice slicing across his meridians and magical channels.
How comfortable!
Jing Qian felt the countless memories of practicing the sword within his recollections fluttering about like falling snow.
Those memories leaped and pulsed, resonating with that little sword.
Once the Sword Fang was refined, Jing Qian shifted his divine sense and descended into the Destiny Stele Space.
Outside the Safe Zone, there were still only the Crocodile Dragon and Snow Woman, his two provisions.
Before today, those two souls had been far stronger than Jing Qian. He had not even been able to break through their defenses.
But now, he was no longer empty-handed.
A little tiger-fang sword carved from white jade coiled around his fingers.
He could clearly sense an incomparably sharp sword intent contained within it!
Compared with fighting barehanded, his combat strength had suddenly risen by a substantial margin!
Jing Qian immediately flashed and slipped into the dimensional space, creeping toward Snow Woman.
Snow Woman's soul was shrouded in a dharma form, and her defensive power was no different from when she had been alive.
After Jing Qian had moved her into the Destiny Stele Space, it was not as if he had never tried attacking her soul.
But after losing the weapon in his hand, the power of his attacks had plummeted, leaving him completely unable to break through her defense.
All of that changed completely after the Sword Fang destiny appeared.
He walked through the void, reached Snow Woman's back, and entered the present world directly from the dimensional space.
Like a wisp of shadow, he clung to the back of Snow Woman's neck and lightly extended his right hand.
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