Comparing Artifact Refining Techniques

Compared to Lu Yang, Li Haoran was always grateful that he had a more reliable master. Although he was thrown into the lava, it was to help him better understand the mysteries of the Fire Spirit Root.

He never expected that his good master would have enemies in the Five Elements Sect.

It's still a single, continuous fire vein.

Bai Ming patted Li Haoran on the shoulder. "Relax, this is an exception. I heard that Elder Zhou Xin has good connections and influence in the weapon refining world."

That's the truth. Elder Zhou Xin's weapon-refining skills are unparalleled in the cultivation world, and he has an excellent reputation.

Master craftsmen often judge each other by the number of patents they have registered, and Elder Zhou Xin has the most patents.

These patents also brought him enormous wealth; even the Seventh Elder, a master alchemist, didn't have as many Spirit Stone as the Fifth Elder.

Of course, Elder Zhou Xin's wealth was still less than that of the Silent Daoist.

It's not that the Silent Daoist is particularly wealthy now, but rather that his wanted posters on the black market are quite valuable.

What are those people doing?

Lu Yang saw several senior brothers who were almost naked, disregarding the scorching earth, lying on the ground, closing their eyes and concentrating, as if they had been coated with a liquid that reflected the sunlight.

There was a tree branch stuck in the ground next to them.

The last time I saw this look was in my past life, while sunbathing.

"You mean them? Is it hard to understand? They are trying to comprehend the meaning of the sun. After the Fire Vein Elder's research, he discovered that the larger the area in contact with sunlight, the greater the chance of gaining insight."

"That branch was brought back by my master from the desolate state. It's said to be a trophy obtained after defeating an ancient cultivator. It's a branch of the Fusang tree, and it's said to be very helpful in comprehending the meaning of the sun."

"They were covered in a special ointment."

"Is it an ointment that can enhance one's perception of the sun's essence?"

It's sunscreen.

Lu Yang silently withdrew his gaze; the Five Elements Sect's cultivation method was indeed unique.

"Come, I'll take you to see the cultivation grounds of the water veins."

Before the group could even set off, they saw several cultivators with flames between their brows approaching. They were imposing and strode towards the six of them.

Which one is Li Haoran?

"What are you trying to do?" Meng Jingzhou frowned slightly and stood in front.

"You're Li Haoran?" The cultivators with flames between their brows looked at Meng Jingzhou.

Bai Ming stood between the two sides, his tone somewhat displeased. "Senior Brother Yuan Gang, and the other senior brothers, what are you trying to do?"

These people are the senior disciples of the Fire Clan.

"Nothing much, I just heard that Elder Zhou Xin's good disciple is here, so I wanted to see what he looks like."

"They are guests."

Yuan Gang said lazily, "I know, I don't plan to make a move."

"I am Li Haoran." Having escalated the situation to this point, Li Haoran decided to step forward himself, no longer allowing others to intervene.

"So you are Li Haoran, the Fire Spirit Root. Appearances can be deceiving. I heard you received Elder Zhou Xin's True Disciple and are an extraordinary weapon refiner. Is that true?"

"What does it matter if it's real or fake?"

A glint flashed in Yuan Gang's eyes. "It doesn't matter. My cultivation is a small realm higher than yours, so there's no point in beating you. How about this, we'll have a contest of weapon crafting techniques? What do you say?"

"Senior Brother Yuan Gang, Li Haoran is a guest," Bai Ming reminded Yuan Gang again.

Yuan Gang chuckled and said, "Why not exchange weapon-refining techniques and let him learn the weapon-refining methods of my Five Elements Sect?"

"A weapon-forging contest? Sure." When it comes to weapon-forging skills, Li Haoran has never been afraid of anyone.

"Look, even Li Haoran said it's okay."

When will the competition be held?

"There's no time like the present; let's do it now and have everyone as witnesses."

As the two groups clashed, more and more disciples of the Five Elements Sect were drawn over, even those who had been sunbathing came over.

"What should I say? What happened?"

"I reckon it's Yuan Gang stepping in to get revenge for Elder Huo Maiden by challenging him to a weapon-refining contest."

Did the other party agree?

"I agreed."

"That's something to see! Senior Brother Yuan Gang's weapon-refining skills are praised by even the elders, who say he's a future master weapon refiner!"

"That's right."

Yuan Gang smiled and looked around, his gaze landing on Li Haoran: "So, how about we compete now, or should I give you some time to prepare?"

"No need for preparation, let's just compete now. Tell me, what do you want to compete in?"

Yuan Gang thought for a moment and said seriously, "The art of weapon crafting is ultimately for cultivators, and power is what cultivators value most. So how about we compare who can craft the most powerful Law Treasure?"

What are the standards for "great power"?

Yuan Gang pointed to several red boulders standing in the distance. "Those are lava essence stones, formed from magma during volcanic eruptions condensed by Law Power Divine Ability. They are extremely hard. The winner will be determined by who can inflict more damage on the lava essence stones. The maximum time for accumulating power cannot exceed one hundred breaths."

The longer Law Treasure takes to charge up, the greater its power. If there were no limit to the charging time, it would become a contest of whose Law Treasure can charge up the longest.

It's a deal.

"Um, can the two of us participate too?"

A soft laugh rang out, and Yuan Gang saw Lu Yang raising his hand with a smile, with Meng Jingzhou standing next to him.

"You two also know weapon crafting?" Yuan Gang looked at the two suspiciously. Of course he knew Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, but the problem was that he had never heard of them being good at weapon crafting.

"Not bad, beating you shouldn't be a problem," Meng Jingzhou said with a smile.

Yuan Gang laughed in anger, "What audacity! This is the first time I've heard someone claim to be able to beat me in weapon crafting! Then let's see what you're made of in the competition!"

Bai Ming was somewhat puzzled and secretly sent a telepathic message to Man Gu and Tao Yaoye: "Do those two really know how to forge weapons?"

Man Gu shook his head blankly, while Tao Yaoye remained silent, recalling the sect entrance test two years ago.

The two men's attitudes only made Bai Ming more confused.

Yuan Gang gave his follower a wink, and the follower pulled out a large amount of refining materials from his identity jade token: fine steel, ironwood, agate, pure yin water...

"These are raw materials for weapon forging. You can use them freely during the competition. There are no restrictions on common forging materials, but the quantity of rare materials is insufficient. During the competition, it will be a race to see who can grab them first."

Lu Yang joked, "I've never seen such a fair competition. You were the one who proposed the competition, you were the one who set the rules, and now you're saying there aren't enough refining materials and we have to fight over them. Well, you don't mind if I use a little Law Technique, do you?"

Yuan Gang seemed not to hear Lu Yang's sarcasm and calmly asked, "Sure, are you still going to compete?"

Lu Yang's smile remained unchanged, "A competition? Of course we'll compete. How can you know how powerful our weapon-refining techniques are if we don't compete? Since it's a competition, what's the prize? It can't be face, can it?"

"I've lost. You may choose any one of the true flames from this Fire Vein Cultivation Ground."

"You've lost. During your time at the Five Elements Sect, you are not allowed to cultivate in my Fire Vein territory!"