Learning Artifact Forging Art

Zhou Yang really didn't have much to say.

The more his cultivation increased, and the wider the gap between his cultivation and that of his peers grew, the more he felt the importance of innate talent for low-level cultivators.

Among mortals, only one or two out of ten thousand might be born with a Spiritual Root. While the offspring of cultivators had a higher chance of possessing a Spiritual Root, it was still only a probability of one in several tens.

Of those who possessed Spiritual Roots, the vast majority had Low-grade Spiritual Roots. On average, only one out of ten people might have a Mid-grade Spiritual Root cultivator, and as for High-grade Spiritual Roots, they were even rarer, with fewer than one in a hundred cultivators possessing them.

The Zhou Family at Jade Spring Lake Oasis had over a hundred thousand members, but the total number of Qi Refining Stage cultivators in the Zhou Family was less than a hundred, and this included seven or eight external cultivators who had married into the Zhou Family.

Among the few dozen cultivators currently existing in the Zhou Family, not a single one had a High-grade Spiritual Root. Even the elder patriarch, Zhou Minghan, who was at the late Foundation Establishment Stage, only had a Mid-grade Spiritual Root.

How much did the quality of a Spiritual Root influence a cultivator?

With the same cultivation at the first level of Qi Refining, practicing the same cultivation technique, and meditating in the same location, a cultivator with a Low-grade Spiritual Root would only achieve the cultivation effect equivalent to a Mid-grade Spiritual Root cultivator meditating for one day, after meditating for ten days.

Furthermore, the cultivation effect achieved by a Mid-grade Spiritual Root cultivator meditating for over ten days might not even match that of a High-grade Spiritual Root cultivator meditating for a single day.

Not only did High-grade Spiritual Root cultivators cultivate faster, but when facing the first major hurdle in cultivation, the "Foundation Establishment" stage, their breakthrough probability was also much higher than that of Mid- or Low-grade Spiritual Root cultivators. Even without consuming rare spiritual pills like the Foundation Establishment Pill, which could greatly increase the success rate of Foundation Establishment, they still had a thirty percent chance of breaking through.

It was said that above High-grade Spiritual Roots, there were also Spirit Body Cultivators and Dao Body Cultivators.

Any Spirit Body Cultivator, as long as they did not die prematurely, was bound to become a Golden Core Stage ancestor without encountering any bottlenecks in between.

As for Dao Body Cultivators, they were even more legendary. Since the existence of cultivators in this world, there had been fewer than five Dao Body Cultivators, each of whom had been a super-strong individual who dominated an era.

Besides Spirit Bodies and Dao Bodies, there was also a special physique in the cultivation world called the "Treasure Body."

A "Treasure Body" was an extremely special physique, and any cultivator with a Spiritual Root could potentially possess it. If a cultivator with a Treasure Body could practice a cultivation technique that matched their Treasure Body, their cultivation speed would be much faster than that of cultivators with the same quality Spiritual Root, and as their cultivation increased in the future, they would also gain unique Treasure Body divine abilities.

For example, Zhou Yang might possess a Treasure Body with a strong Yang attribute. Therefore, despite having only Mid-grade Spiritual Root aptitude, after practicing the Yang-dominant and overbearing cultivation technique "Blazing Sun Fiery Art," his cultivation speed was comparable to that of a High-grade Spiritual Root cultivator.

If nothing unexpected happened, Zhou Yang would definitely be able to raise his cultivation to the ninth level of Qi Refining before the age of forty.

Ordinary Mid-grade Spiritual Root cultivators like Zhou Xuanjin would likely only reach the ninth level of Qi Refining around the age of sixty or seventy.

As for ordinary Low-grade Spiritual Root cultivators, even if they lived to the maximum lifespan of a Qi Refining Stage cultivator, they might not be able to cultivate to the ninth level of Qi Refining!

And a cruel reality was that the older a Qi Refining Stage cultivator was, the more difficult Foundation Establishment would be. The success rate of Foundation Establishment for Qi Refining Stage cultivators at the ninth level who were over sixty years old was less than half that of cultivators under sixty. For Qi Refining Stage cultivators over eighty, the chance of Foundation Establishment would decrease further. As for Qi Refining Stage cultivators over one hundred years old, Zhou Yang had never heard of such a remarkable person appearing.

Given Zhou Yang's age and cultivation speed, his success rate for Foundation Establishment was indeed much higher than that of ordinary people. This was also why the elder patriarch, Zhou Minghan, valued him so highly.

Unfortunately, Treasure Bodies did not provide any bonus to a cultivator's Foundation Establishment success rate. Otherwise, after Zhou Yang cultivated to the ninth level of Qi Refining, he could attempt Foundation Establishment.

Both of them understood these circumstances, so upon seeing Zhou Yang's silence, Zhou Xuanjin quickly adjusted his mindset and began handing over his work to him.

"The main responsibilities for guarding Qingping Mountain are threefold. First, upon receiving an alert from the family's assigned steward at the mine, you must descend into the mine to help the miners eliminate any occasional invading First-tier or Second-tier Demonic Beasts. Second, you must safeguard the mining camp outside, promptly collect the refined materials smelted in the camp, store them in the mountain's warehouse, and await the family's personnel to collect them. Lastly, you must take care of the dozen or so acres of Spirit Fields on the mountain, as this is directly related to whether you can feed yourself."

"Furthermore, if you encounter powerful Demonic Beasts or human cultivators that you cannot handle, do not leave the array's range lightly. The best course of action is to hold your ground within the array and then use your vital blood to activate this Third-tier communication talisman, awaiting family rescue."

"Finally, this is the control flag for the Qingping Mountain array and its operating method. I can only leave after you refine the array flag and familiarize yourself with the array's usage."

As Zhou Xuanjin spoke, he handed over all the necessary items for a guarding cultivator to Zhou Yang, teaching him how to use them hands-on.

Another four or five days passed, and it was only after Zhou Yang had completely mastered the Second-tier array, the "Cloud Sea Light Splitting Array," that Zhou Xuanjin returned to the family with the output from the Qingping Mountain mine for the past year.

After Zhou Xuanjin left, Zhou Yang became the highest-ranking Zhou family member on Qingping Mountain.

He first summoned the several stewards responsible for managing the mining and smelting operations of the Zhou Family, gaining a preliminary understanding of their operational processes. He then handed them several communication talismans imprinted with his aura, so that they could notify him promptly if anything arose.

These individuals, capable of serving as Zhou Family stewards, were all Martial Cultivators at the Xiantian Realm. However, none of them possessed Spiritual Roots, making it impossible for them to cultivate Mana and become Qi Refining Stage cultivators. They would remain at the Xiantian Realm for their entire lives.

Of course, for mortals, the strength possessed by Xiantian Realm cultivators was enough for them to look up to.

Once mortals became Xiantian Realm cultivators and extracted Xiantian True Qi from their bodies, they could move as fast as a galloping horse, possess the strength to lift a tripod, easily fight a hundred people, and had great resistance to various illnesses.

It was a pity that mortals were just mortals. Without Spiritual Roots, even if they cultivated Xiantian True Qi, they could not cast even the lowest-level First-tier spells.

True cultivators with Spiritual Roots did not acknowledge these mortals as cultivators at all and disdained any interaction with them.

Zhou Yang did not discriminate against these mortal cultivators. However, these individuals, having long suffered discrimination from true cultivators, had deeply ingrained notions of hierarchy. Even when he actively sought them out for conversation, none dared to truly treat him as an equal clansman and chat freely. Consequently, he eventually dismissed them with a sense of boredom.

In the following days, Zhou Yang's life became simple.

Every morning, he would first meditate and practice breathing techniques facing the rising sun for three hours. Then, he would practice the five spells he learned from the Scripture Pavilion for another three hours. By the time evening arrived, he would spend half an hour weeding and pest control in the lush Spirit Fields on the mountain.

The Spirit Vein of Qingping Mountain was only a Second-tier Low-grade and an artificial one. After supplying the daily cultivation needs of a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, only twenty to thirty percent of the spiritual energy remained.

Therefore, only about fifteen acres of Spirit Fields were developed, and the Spirit Grain planted there was specifically for the consumption of the guarding cultivators, and it did not need to be handed over to the clan.

The Spirit Grain planted in these Spirit Fields was called [Golden Pearl Rice]. Its appearance resembled the Cotton Trees from Zhou Yang's previous life. It matured once a year, with each plant producing dozens of fruits. After the fruits ripened and were peeled, one could harvest golden pearl-like grains. Because the grains resembled pearls, they were named [Golden Pearl Rice].

This [Golden Pearl Rice], growing in Spirit Fields and requiring the absorption of spiritual energy to survive and mature, contained trace amounts of spiritual energy in addition to being highly nutritious and having an excellent taste. This spiritual energy was very beneficial for cultivators to absorb.

Qi Refining Stage cultivators who consumed [Golden Pearl Rice] regularly found that just a small bowl could satisfy their body's nutritional needs for two to three days and could even slightly increase their cultivation.

Even Foundation Establishment and Purple Mansion Stage cultivators often had their meals made from this [Golden Pearl Rice].

When Zhou Yang began cultivating at the age of four, he completed the cultivation of the ninth level of the Xiantian Realm in just three years. Besides his own good aptitude, it was also greatly related to his parents often giving him special attention, allowing him to consume this [Golden Pearl Rice] and the meat of low-grade Demonic Beasts daily.

Since he was not a Spirit Planter, Zhou Yang did not know the essential spells that Spirit Planters must learn to increase the yield of Spirit Fields. He could only water the [Golden Pearl Rice] planted in the Spirit Fields like an ordinary farmer, weeding and catching insects, ensuring they wouldn't die.

As long as they weren't killed, the yield from these dozen or so acres of Spirit Fields was more than enough for his personal daily consumption, and there would even be a surplus.

Zhou Yang knew that this surplus was the guarding benefit provided by the family to the guarding cultivators. After all, descending the mountain to complete family tasks was the obligation of every adult clan member, and they would not receive any additional rewards from the family for it.

After spending half an hour each day tending to the Spirit Fields on the mountain, Zhou Yang dedicated the rest of the evening to studying the Artifact Forging Art.

He did not immediately start forging artifacts. Instead, he carefully studied the artifact forging classics and the artifact forging notes given by the elder patriarch, while also practicing with the ore mined from the Fine Iron Ore, learning the most basic material tempering for artifact forging.

Three years passed in such a simple yet fulfilling manner.

After three years, Zhou Yang, having thoroughly absorbed the knowledge from the artifact forging texts and fully mastered the art of material tempering, finally took out the materials given to him by the old patriarch and began the formal process of artifact forging.

To conserve materials, he chose to forge the simplest first-tier sword artifact: the Azure Edge Sword.

The main material for the first-tier artifact, the Azure Edge Sword, was Fine Iron. The hilt could be crafted from Spirit Wood such as Hundred-Year Ironwood. A Xiantian Realm cultivator, wielding the artifact and infusing it with Xiantian True Qi, could unleash sword light ranging from three inches to one foot to injure enemies, depending on the user's cultivation.

Forging this artifact was relatively straightforward. First, the Fine Iron would be tempered with Spirit Fire and cast into a sword embryo. Then, while maintaining the flame's temperature to keep the embryo in a high-heat state, the cultivator's Mana and Divine Sense would be used to implant a "Sharpness" restriction within the embryo.

The moment the restriction was completed would be the time to quench the sword. If the sword body emitted the unique Spirit Light of an artifact after quenching, it would signify a successful forging. Otherwise, the result would merely be a sharp Mortal Weapon.

While all this sounded simple, putting it into practice was anything but. Even though Zhou Yang had envisioned the forging process countless times in his mind and practiced the implantation of the "Sharpness" restriction numerous times beforehand, his very first attempt at forging ended in failure.

With a "bang" from the cauldron, his first forging attempt concluded, not even reaching the quenching stage.

Signed... requesting recommendation tickets.