The primeval forest.
As he formed the hand seals.
The fireball in midair began to roil violently.
Black Cold Iron and Red Copper Essence, which were originally incompatible, slowly began to fuse under some strange rhythm.
One cold, one hot—the two entirely opposite auras collided.
"Chh-chh!"
White smoke billowed up, carrying a pungent smell of sulfur.
Ye Xuan didn't even furrow his brow. His small hands formed another set of seals.
This time, his movements were faster.
So fast that only a string of afterimages could be seen.
"Fuse!"
Ye Xuan gave a low shout.
The liquefied metal seemed to understand the command. It quickly collapsed inward, shrinking toward the center.
The metal, originally about the size of a human head, was forcibly compressed to the size of a fist, then expanded again.
This repeated nine times.
This was the Nine-Forging method from the Low-tier Artifact Forging Technique.
Each compression removed impurities and increased the material's density and resilience.
By the time it expanded for the ninth time, the metal had become crystal clear. As it flowed, it seemed to shimmer like water.
But that wasn't all.
Ye Xuan flipped his wrist and picked up the beast bones and scales on the ground.
They had all come from unlucky beasts he'd casually killed during this time.
They weren't prehistoric mutations or anything, but they were better than nothing.
"Go!"
The bones and scales entered the fire, instantly turning into wisps of gray-white energy that burrowed into the molten metal like maggots into a wound.
This was how one imbued a magic treasure with a spirit.
Even the lowest level of spiritual awareness could make a magic treasure much easier to use, instead of making it feel like a dead object.
Next.
The most critical step had arrived.
Inscribing the arrays.
One slight mistake, and the materials would be ruined, all his previous work wasted.
The powerful soul force bestowed by his Innate Dao Body was on full display at this moment.
Streaks of golden light, imperceptible to the naked eye, shot out from between Ye Xuan's brows and entered the fireball taking shape.
The Reinforcement Array.
The Spirit Gathering Array.
The Gravity Array.
The Sumeru Array.
The four basic arrays interlocked, taking shape in an instant.
A fine sheen of sweat appeared on Ye Xuan's forehead.
His technique was practiced, but his body was only ten years old. His reserves of spiritual power were a serious weakness.
"Condense!"
He gave one last low shout.
The true fire in the air abruptly drew inward, all of it burrowing into the object taking shape.
"Vmmm—"
A deep, muffled tremor rang out.
Centered on Ye Xuan, it spread through the primeval forest in every direction.
The ancient trees trembled from the sound waves, and dead leaves fell in sheets like rain.
Several beasts that had been watching from the shadows yelped with their tails between their legs and fled without a trace.
The light faded.
A palm-sized Bronze Small Cauldron hovered quietly in midair.
It was a dark green all over, its surface covered in rugged, ancient patterns.
They were the natural markings formed by the fusion of Black Cold Iron and Red Copper Essence. They looked like the totem of some unknown ferocious beast.
Three legs and two handles; it was thick and solid.
It looked small, but the weighty pressure it gave off was impossible to conceal.
Ye Xuan beckoned with one hand.
The little cauldron drifted lightly into his palm.
It felt cool to the touch, not at all as hot as he'd expected.
"Looks decent."
Ye Xuan weighed it in his hand.
It was substantial.
It might be only palm-sized now, but that was because he'd inscribed a Sumeru Array on it.
If he threw it, it would expand with the wind and weigh at least a thousand jin.
How was this a cauldron?
It was a brick with legs!
And a jumbo-sized one, at that.
"From now on, I'll call you the Myriad Ancient Cauldron."
Ye Xuan gave it a name on a whim.
The materials might be a little trashy, but the name had to be imposing.
Evergreen through the ages, suppressing all beneath heaven.
Listen to that. What a grand name.
As for whether the cauldron deserved it...
That was a problem for later.
Besides, as long as he was strong enough,
even if he held nothing but a Firewood Stick, it would be a Chaos God-Demon Staff.
"But."
"It's actually a High-grade Magic Tool?"
Ye Xuan ran his fingers over the cauldron's rough patterns, beginning to calculate in his mind.
According to the Low-tier Artifact Forging Technique's classification,
there were magic tools, spirit tools, magic treasures, and Spirit Treasures.
Each grade was further divided into low, medium, high, and peak quality.
He hadn't expected the Myriad Ancient Cauldron he'd casually forged to be a High-grade Magic Tool.
What?
Magic tools were only the lowest grade?
Hah!
This was the Zhu Xian World.
The classifications for magic treasures in the Zhu Xian World might sound fancy, but in reality, they were greatly exaggerated.
Low-grade magic treasures, medium-grade magic treasures, high-grade magic treasures...
But Ye Xuan had already worked it out.
The so-called low-, medium-, high-, and even peak-grade magic treasures were, at best, within the realm of magic tools.
Even the Nine Heavens Divine Weapons, which were spoken of as though they were miraculous—
weapons like the Heavenly Xie Divine Sword and the Dragon-Slaying Sword couldn't be more than spirit tools at most.
As for the Zhu Xian Sword, the world's supreme treasure?
It could barely count as a magic treasure.
And a defective magic treasure at that, badly damaged, with its artifact spirit asleep.
As for a genuine Spirit Treasure?
This world probably couldn't bear the existence of something at that level.
If a Spirit Treasure truly descended,
even a single wisp of aura escaping from it could probably crush the Qingyun Mountain Range.
In other words,
the Myriad Ancient Cauldron Ye Xuan had forged already counted as a pretty good item.
In the Zhu Xian World, it was absolutely a "High-grade Magic Treasure"!
It was even a little stronger than ordinary High-grade Magic Treasures.
After all, it had been refined through the Nine-Forging method and had arrays inscribed with spiritual sense.
It was definitely hard enough.
Even against a Nine Heavens Divine Weapon like the Dragon Slayer, it could hold its own.
At worst, it would get a chip in it.
Anyway, this cauldron's main selling point was that it was sturdy and tough.
"Grrr..."
Suddenly,
Ye Xuan's stomach growled at an inopportune moment.
Forging artifacts took not only concentration but also physical strength.
It was true that cultivators could abstain from food once they reached a high enough realm, but he was still growing.
On top of that, his Innate Dao Body was like a bottomless pit, its need for energy simply outrageous.
"I need to find something to eat."
Ye Xuan put away the Myriad Ancient Cauldron and hung it at his waist.
Its small, delicate appearance made it look like an ordinary bronze ornament.
Who would have guessed this thing could kill someone?
After that,
Ye Xuan brushed the dust off his clothes.
With his short legs carrying him forward, he walked out of the cave and headed deeper into the forest.
PS
The Zhu Xian World's power levels really aren't that high.
Even someone like the Beast God was still a long way from Becoming an Immortal.
Pills.
Low-tier pills were useful to those in the Yuqing Realm.
Mid-tier pills were useful to those in the Shangqing Realm.
High-tier pills were useful to those in the Taiqing Realm.
Top-tier pills were useful even to those above the Taiqing Realm.
As for low, medium, high, and peak quality?
Those distinctions only concerned pill toxicity; they didn't affect a pill's efficacy.
Magic treasures.
Magic tools = ordinary magic treasures.
(For example, Qi Hao's Ice Sword and Song Daren's Ten Tigers, among others.)
Spirit tools = Nine Heavens Divine Weapons.
(Lu Xueqi's Tianya, Lin Jingyu's Dragon Slayer.)
Magic treasures = Divine Artifacts in the Zhu Xian World.
(For example, the Zhu Xian Ancient Sword.)
The Zhu Xian World has no Spirit Treasures.
Before you continue