Sword Casting Pool

When the immortals of this world create magical artifacts, they seem to adhere to principles similar to those of the same system civilization. No matter how powerful a magical artifact or flying sword is, it cannot unleash its full potential without a master to wield it. If the artifact's spirit has not yet taken human form, it cannot even escape. Once enveloped by Dao Breath, it can be taken away with a simple Treasure-Drop Incantation.

Li Fan soared left and right like a hawk, using his Heavenly True Qi to transform into dozens of giant hands. He grabbed each of the rendered magical treasures and broke them into pieces, utterly destroying them. With the treasures severely damaged, their spirits would fall into a deep sleep, and even if they were repaired, it would be difficult for them to regain their original spiritual memories.

Although there were still two magical artifacts willing to submit and beg for mercy, Li Fan dared not show mercy at this time. If those old men found out any clues, he would have to flee the world again. Therefore, he had to kill them all to feel at ease.

Once everyone is killed and all the treasures destroyed, we can start taking inventory.

Xuan Tian: "Hurry! We don't have much time! Don't touch the trash on these people! Hengshan Sword will call the police! Leaving it like this will buy us some time! Come with me to get the important stuff first!"

Silver Leaf shot out with a whoosh, leaving a trail of light. Li Fan followed closely behind, and together they navigated the hidden chambers and secret doors of the Sword Casting Manor on Hotong Mountain with familiarity. Li Kun transformed into Li Kun, led Xuan Tian over the magic array restrictions, and then revealed his true form to collect all the items that Xuan Tian had specified.

However, this time it wasn't the God Lord Jade that was retrieved, but rather the jade pendant from Ink Bamboo Mountain. This time, what was retrieved wasn't some conspicuous Heavenly Treasure, nor a flying sword, but rather blueprints.

There were silk scrolls and animal hides; these scrolls were wrapped into a single scroll, stored in stone boxes, and placed one by one on bookshelves, filling several storerooms. Although there was no time to stop and listen to the lectures, with Li Fan's current knowledge, he could tell what these things were.

These are Sword Talismans, which are talismans branded onto flying swords. Individual Sword Talismans are incomplete, but when hundreds or thousands are layered together, they become complex and exquisite sword imprints for flying swords.

Sword forging is an extremely complex and meticulous process. How to combine these Sword Talismans, in what order to combine them, which ones can be combined with which ones cannot, and how to fit the most Sword Talismans into the sword seal—these are the questions that swordsmiths must consider.

Therefore, to avoid mistakes due to the exhaustion of the swordsmith, the Sword Talismans is made into a copy in advance, confirmed to be correct, and then sealed away. When needed, it is taken out and illuminated with divine light, and then it can be engraved into the flying sword in the same way during the sword forging process.

The most treasured artifacts in the Hotong Mountain Sword Casting Manor are undoubtedly the Sword Talismans blueprints in these warehouses. It is no exaggeration to say that these are the culmination of the five arts of the Xuanmen, the crystallization of knowledge in sword forging!

Of course, that's not all!

With Xuan Tian leading the way, Li Fan found a workshop. It was dark and airtight on all sides and resembled a dye house. There were several water tanks in the middle, filled with herbs with a very strong smell. Silk fabrics, probably high-quality immortal satin woven from raw silk, were hung on bamboo poles and soaked in the medicinal liquid, looking just like they were dyeing cloth.

On both sides of the workshop, many prayer wheels were rolling around. These were Magic Treasure made of jade, and the prayer wheels were densely covered with mantras, seemingly driven by mechanisms in other places.

Li Fan followed Xuan Tian through the workshop, stealing prepared herbal medicine packets, spare prayer wheels, and some candelabra-like metal lamp stands from the storeroom. In short, it was a whole bunch of various magical Magic Treasure, mostly useless junk. The only thing that looked relatively valuable was a heavy treasure box covered in talismans and seals. It was clearly a treasure that would trigger a Hengshan realm event upon opening; it was probably filled with precious tools needed for forging a sword.

It's a pity that all this random stuff he picked up filled the Ink Bamboo Mountain Storage Jade, leaving no room for the other precious materials like metals, ores, and gems. Back on Yuntai Peak, Li Fan almost went bankrupt trying to get materials to repair the sword pellets for Yuepo. Now it's all gone, and the Storage Jade is overflowing. What a shame...

Xuan Tian said, "You idiot, those things can be bought with money, what's there to regret! What I told you to take are Hotong Mountain's secret techniques! Didn't you see that Hengshan could have moved them over exactly as they were, and we could have opened a new sword-making workshop right away!"

Unfortunately, the original mold of the talisman cannot be moved lightly. Those things are the most crucial, and there must be restrictions sealing them all around. If they are moved and triggered, it might even attract the attention of a powerful figure at the sect leader level. However, having those prepared Sword Talismans ready for use is enough. You can just copy them yourself when the time comes!

However, the sheer number of Sword Talismans accumulated suggests that Hengshan is definitely engaged in large-scale sword forging... Yes! Let's follow this waterway! Down to the Sword Pool!"

So Li Fan transformed into Li Kun, stuck the silver leaf on his head, jumped into the workshop's waterway, and followed Xuan Tian's commands to dart left and right. He splashed through the waterways, bypassed numerous restrictive formations, and finally Li Kun fell into a large, green pool hidden beneath the manor.

What this azure pool contained was not water, but Daoist Dao Breath, a highly concentrated liquid elixir! The entire pool was octagonal, and the crystal-clear Dao Breath elixir resembled an emerald. One could clearly see that the bottom of the pool was filled with a magic array resembling a compass, densely packed with scriptures and incantations.

Xuan Tian, "Hiss... Holy crap? This is the setup! Trouble... I'll try jumping over it..."

As instructed, Li Kun out of the pool and landed back on the surface. Suddenly, he felt a dizzying sensation as gravity reversed his position, and then he emerged from the other side of the pond!

This is some kind of portal!

Li Kun bulged his eyes and looked Fourth Department. This must be the Sword Casting Pool.

Judging from the cave ceiling covered with golden runes, this sword pool should be located in the center of the mountain range, at the hub of the mountain's spiritual veins.

Surrounding the pool is the Biyu Pool, with its smooth, four-sided walls. The pool is filled with a high concentration of liquid Dao Breath, and the water is crystal clear, just like the underground pool at the Sword Casting Manor.

Around the pool, there are statues of the four sacred gods: Azure Dragon White Tiger, Black Tortoise. Supported by the rich Dao Breath, the illusory images of the four gods float above the Azure Sword Pool, indicating that the entire magic array is in a state of constant activation to protect the sword.

As for the sword, Li Fan saw it the moment it leaped out of the water. He swam in the Sword Casting Pool and could clearly see that at the bottom of the pool, besides the magic array, there were six rows and eight columns of forty-eight sword furnaces!

Then Li Fan realized he was in trouble.

The forty-eight sword furnaces were clearly at the bottom of the sword pool, but when he tried to dive down to open them, the moment his head submerged, the world spun around him, and then he flipped out from one side of the Sword Casting Manor!

Holy crap?

Li Fan understood; this Dao Breath Sword Forging Pool was actually some kind of anti-theft mechanism!

That layer of water connects both the Sword Casting Pool and the Sword Casting Manor! Even Li Kun can't break through it; as soon as he leaps over the water, he automatically emerges from the other side! Xuan Tian, what do we do?

Xuan Tian, "Hiss... You really have some skill... This is unsolvable... It's not that it's unsolvable, it's just that your current skills are not enough to solve it. If you want to forcibly take the sword, you must go out from the sword pool, break through the four divine guardians, absorb all the Dao Breath energy elixir, and then use magic to lift the sword furnace out from the air."

However, doing so would cause too much commotion. Not only would it break the teleportation technique of the Sword Pool, but breaking the seal of the Four Gods would also cause an earthquake, alarming the Shangqing Palace. At that time, Hengshan would definitely activate a great formation to seal you in the cave. Once those old ghosts from Hengshan come to block you, you're finished.

Give up! These swords are not meant for you, you won't take them!

Good grief, you just give up like that... If you're not going to take the swords, could you at least try to destroy them all?

Xuan Tian was puzzled, "Why do something so self-destructive? What did Hengshan do to you? Do you have to be so ruthless?"

Is there even a question? Hengshan is the enemy!

Li Fan showed no mercy when killing people from Hengshan and seizing their assets. After all, he also needed to fight monsters and seize resources. The accumulation of early capital was dirty and bloody; most of the good stuff in the world was already in other people's hands, and he couldn't create something out of nothing. But with the threat of a company being wiped out in one fell swoop looming overhead, and the Darwinist old monsters of the Three Great Sects at their core, they wouldn't give him the chance for slow development, peaceful coexistence, and mutual benefit. So he could only follow the simple and bloody rules of this world and just take it by force.

Moreover, Hengshan is an enemy, and it's not a choice Li Fan can make, because Qingyue is a disciple of Ink Bamboo Mountain.

So even though Hengshan and Qingyue had no personal grudges, since Hengshan was an enemy of Ink Bamboo Mountain, he, Li Fan, was also an enemy.

Yes, Li Fan understood perfectly well.

Now or in the future, Hengshan will never be a friend of Ink Bamboo Mountain. Moreover, it will be a long-term, direct, and mutually beneficial competitor of Ink Bamboo Mountain's Daoist Tradition. This is the fundamental reason why the Abbot was able to bring the Ink Bamboo Mountain lineage into the core circle of the Grand Tutor and Songshan alliance.

This is actually easy to understand. Although it seems that the Divine Sect has retaliated against Hengshan, who doesn't the Divine Sect retaliate against? Hengshan is one of the Nine Great Xuan Sects, after all. If the Divine Sect didn't retaliate, would it be looking down on Hengshan? Wouldn't that raise suspicion? Therefore, there is still no evidence that Hengshan and the Divine Sect have officially fallen out.

On the contrary, based on Li Fan's own experience, he could already confirm that sooner or later, all these forces, including Hengshan, the Divine Sect, the Southern Palace of Li Country, the powerful clans of Xun Kingdom, the Ling King of the South Sea, and the Demon Race of the Ten-thousand-mountains Mountains, would inevitably form a strategic alliance. They would then confront the groups of Songshan, Taifu, and Ink Bamboo Mountain, becoming life-or-death competitors.

If we also include the reclusive Hidden Immortal Sect of Emei and Penglai, who live their own lives on Yuntai Peak, then this is the current landscape of the Three Great Sects in the world.

As for Hengshan's world-saving propaganda slogans, just listen to them and forget about them. Even a cult can claim to be anti-company and anti-immortal Immortal Palace, and Emei can claim to be the preserver of the spark of civilization. They're just slogans; anyone can brag. Li Fan is a transmigrator after all, so of course he can't be fooled by Hengshan's words.

Even if we take a step back and assume that some disciples of Hengshan Mountain truly harbor lofty ambitions to unify the world and save it, as the Grand Master once said, one must not only speak of it but also act on it.

Judging from the fact that these Hengshan disciples can kill each other without mercy for the sake of inheriting status, for the benefit of the sect, and for magical treasures, and can release Non-Thing Devil Embryo to harm the common people without any scruples, and can even use the Gate of Life and Death to refine demonic corpses, it is clear that most of these people are just talking big. In terms of personal character, they are probably not as well-trained as the old Xuanmen sects like Emei and Penglai.

Whether it's Hengshan or the Divine Cult, aside from a few exceptions like Zhang Dali with deep-seated grievances, the vast majority are probably old-school underworld cultivators who act recklessly driven by personal interests, vying for power and profit, seizing cultivation resources, and expanding their family's influence.

Therefore, Li Fan was certain that Hengshan was providing behind-the-scenes support to Ink Bamboo Mountain in this allied attack, even if Hengshan didn't personally intervene. Regardless of whether Ink Bamboo Mountain could withstand the attack, the people of Li Country would certainly not escape unscathed. Ordinary people would inevitably be drawn into this turmoil, and the number of deaths and injuries was uncertain, but widespread suffering was certain.

Even if they win, it will be difficult. After all, if Ink Bamboo Mountain truly shows signs of growing in power, geographically speaking, Hengshan cannot simply let a powerful, hostile force suddenly emerge in the south, threatening its rear.

Therefore, there are forty-eight new swords in that sword pool. If they were all forged, they would probably all end up cutting down the heads of the disciples of Ink Bamboo Mountain, wouldn't they?

Perhaps, and only perhaps, in the distant future, when Li Fan himself has preached, established his own sect, and become a powerful figure with countless disciples, Hengshan might have the value of uniting as an ally in order to deal with the company and win over the local Xuanmen natives. But that will certainly not be the case now.

Now, no one will make a deal with a pawn who has nothing in the game.

Because in this Tai Chi world, those idealistic fools who would abandon everything, fight side by side, and become enemies of the world for the sake of peace have long since died out.

Li Fan would never make the same mistake as those fools.

The Three Great Sects, each with the blood of mortals on their hands.

To completely defeat the Three Great Sects and the company, we must be more cunning, ruthless, and merciless than those scoundrels! This time, we absolutely cannot allow Ink Bamboo Mountain to repeat the mistakes of the Luo Sect!

After all, he still owes Ink Bamboo Mountain many lives to repay...

Xuan Tian, "... Did you just insult me too?"

Don't worry about such a small matter! Quickly think of a way to destroy these swords!

Xuan Tian, "... These sword furnaces are being quenched in Dao Breath Elixir, and there are so many Sword Talismans being prepared outside, which means that this batch of flying swords was just being cast when the materials were put in and the sword blanks were just being molded and cast, and they were just beginning to be plated with Sword Talismans."

Each time a layer of the Sword Talismans is plated, impurities on the blade must be removed and the blade cleaned. Depending on the swordsmanship of each family, rare Heavenly Treasure is reinforced using secret methods before the next layer is plated.

They were kept in this elixir during this period. So these swords probably haven't been forged for very long, and they're still far from being ready for firing. I think they'll need to simmer for at least a hundred years before they're ready to be used. Are you sure you want to waste them now?"

Wow! Now they've given the Divine Cult such a great opportunity to take the blame and ruin the alliance between the two sides. Who knows if Ink Bamboo Mountain will even last another hundred years!

Xuan Tian said, "... Alright, since you're so perceptive, there is a way, but you have to be prepared to use Blood Shadow Godly Movement escape at any time."

... Enough! It's just skinning people alive! It's not the first or second time! Come on!

Xuan Tian said, "Wait, wait, let me finish. I just took out a box sealed with a talisman. You need to remove the talisman later. At any time, a Daoist from Hengshan might come to arrest you. At that time, you have to escape regardless of whether things have succeeded or not, understand? And it's not just about removing the talisman. That's just the first step. Look up at that Qilin."

Qilin? What Qilin?

Li Kun swam to one side of the Sword Casting Manor, looked up, and found that there really was a Qilin, a white Qilin carved from jade. In fact, the waterway he had just fallen into was the Qilin's open mouth.

Xuan Tian, "There are many luminous pearls in that box. After you open the box, throw one up and it will hang on the Qilin horn. Then, activate any Sword Talismans. The light will cast the shadow of the Sword Talismans onto the sword pool and project it onto the sword furnace in another world."

When normally imprinting Sword Talismans, there are many Magic Treasure used to focus the shadow of the Sword Talismans onto a specific sword furnace. The angle, time, and position of the imprint must all be carefully calculated. But if you simply want to destroy the sword, then you can just use any light.

However, once the seal is broken and the pearl is retrieved, it will inevitably alarm Hengshan. If the exposure time is insufficient, it will only delay their work by a few decades, but it can still be repaired."

Oh... so... any kind of luminous pearl will do?

Xuan Tian exclaimed, "How could just any luminous pearl be enough! It has to be big and bright! The light must be pure and clear, and it has to be a rare treasure that hasn't been processed into Magic Treasure! Ahhhhhhh~~ The Suihou Pearl! Holy crap! Where the hell did you get these things from?! Holy crap!!!"

It seems like it was obtained from a side quest? It was a gift from a box I encountered by chance...

Xuan Tian: "You're kidding me!! I searched the Three Realms and still couldn't find it!! And you actually managed to open the Suihou Pearl from a box you stumbled upon by chance!! How come I can't find a box like this?!"

Who knows? Maybe it's just that good people get good rewards...