Yan Chihuo gaped in astonishment. He had never imagined that hiring an artifact refiner would cost so much. After a moment's thought, he said, "Then I'll refine artifacts myself. Surely that's possible?"
Ping Qi said, "You may have some talent for artifact refining, but I know nothing about the art. How could I teach you? If you want to learn some artifact-refining techniques, you'll still have to spend Jade Crystals on lessons. You'll also need plenty of materials to practice with. By comparison, that would cost even more Jade Crystals."
Ping Qi sighed and said, "Chihuo, it's not that I'm unwilling to help you. The problem is that raising an artifact refiner costs more than a Qi Gathering Stage cultivator like me can afford. Besides, with the savings I've accumulated over the years, hiring an artifact refiner for you would normally be no problem. Unfortunately, I'm on bad terms with Wu Yunhe, the head of the Artifact Refining Pavilion. If I step in, things will only get worse. And if I let an ordinary artifact refiner work on it, I'm afraid they'll ruin your Soul-Breaking Sword. You should know that the better the quality of a core, the harder it is to engrave Restrictions on it."
Yan Chihuo wondered, Where did the artifact refiners in the Cloud Soaring Sect come from? Surely they couldn't all be ridiculously wealthy, with their skills built up by simply piling Jade Crystals on top of one another?
Ping Qi said, "If Wu Yunhe weren't in charge of the Artifact Refining Pavilion, I could recommend you to the sect as an artifact refiner. Then the sect could provide resources to train you. But with Wu Yunhe there, my recommendation wouldn't get past him."
Yan Chihuo sighed inwardly. It seemed that when it came to power struggles, the cultivation world was no different from the secular world. He said, "Master, please leave this matter to me to handle."
Ping Qi said nothing. He took a Jade Box from his robes and said, "This is the only Talisman Artifact I own. It's called the Rock-Crushing Claw. Take it and use it. It's a rather unusual Talisman Artifact, specially made to complement the immense strength of the Spirit Jade Vajra Art. The Spirit Jade Vajra Art has a technique called the Soul-Snatching Claw. It has limitless potential and can lock down treasures or seize enemies."
Yan Chihuo was secretly delighted and took the Jade Box. Inside lay five long finger sheaths, made of some unknown material and as white as jade from end to end.
Ping Qi then taught him the incantation for summoning and dismissing the Rock-Crushing Claw. Yan Chihuo memorized it carefully and mastered it after circulating his spiritual power just once. He slipped the five sheaths onto the fingers of his right hand and silently recited the incantation. A flash of white light later, the five rings sank beneath the skin of his fingers.
He raked his hand backward, grabbing a boulder. A flash of white light appeared, and the five rings emerged again, gouging five finger-deep holes several inches into the stone.
Yan Chihuo was even more delighted. The Rock-Crushing Claw was far more powerful than he had imagined. Ping Qi said, "Watch closely. This is how you use the Soul-Snatching Claw."
He reached out into the air with his right hand. Five beams of light sprang from his fingertips. He grabbed at empty space, and a bird flying overhead suddenly plummeted down. With a bang, it burst into a cloud of blood mist.
This was the first time Yan Chihuo had seen Ping Qi cast a technique. Watching him pluck a bird from the sky with such ease, he couldn't help feeling both admiration and envy.
Ping Qi taught him the incantation for the Soul-Snatching Claw and explained the intricacies of channeling it. Yan Chihuo committed the formula to memory, planning to practice it diligently when he returned.
Seeing that Ping Qi was in a good mood that day, Yan Chihuo said, "Master, my Soul-Breaking Sword may be a core, but it's still a Talisman Artifact. I just don't have a suitable sword technique. Could you teach me one?"
Ping Qi said, "You want to learn swordsmanship? That may be a little difficult."
Yan Chihuo was taken aback. "Why?"
Ping Qi said, "Those in our sect who excel at swordsmanship all cultivate wind or fire attributes. I do know a sword technique suited to the earth attribute, but I haven't practiced it seriously. After I teach it to you, you'll have to figure out the rest on your own."
"That's fine too. Please teach it to me, Master."
"This sword technique is called the Ape Master Sword Technique. Legend has it that it was passed down by an enlightened old ape, and it has twelve forms." Ping Qi took the Soul-Breaking Sword from Yan Chihuo and performed all twelve forms. Swordlight flashed, like hundreds and thousands of white dragons circling a mass of darkness. At times, they soared above the clouds; at others, they swooped low through rocky valleys, their radiance filling the sky as they darted and transformed. In an instant, wind howled and the grass and trees rustled.
Yan Chihuo had never seen such exquisite swordsmanship. He stared without blinking, and fortunately, his eyesight was keen enough to follow it all.
After a while, Ping Qi put away the sword and said, "I haven't spent much time studying this sword technique. The path of the sword is as deep as the sea. There are sects devoted to studying it, and swordsmanship is divided into Sword Qi, Sword Radiance, Sword Intent, and Sword Control Technique, corresponding to low-, middle-, and high-grade spells and Minor Divine Abilities. Judging by my current skill, I could probably just barely reach the level of Sword Radiance at best. But I haven't passed the hurdle of Sword Momentum, so I'm among the weakest even at that level."
After speaking, he taught the sword formula to Yan Chihuo. Once Yan Chihuo had learned the technique, he said, "Master, I saw a Talisman Artifact called the Primordial Chaos Hammer at the Artifact Refining Pavilion today. Its engraved technique was Imprisoning Earth."
Ping Qi understood what he meant and said, "You want to learn that technique? Very well. I'd planned to teach it to you in a few days, but I'll teach it to you along with the others today."
For the other techniques, he had the Snake Scale to help him. But for Imprisoning Earth, Yan Chihuo could only memorize the incantation and wait until he had a Talisman Artifact before practicing it.
Ping Qi said, "You've learned a lot today, but don't bite off more than you can chew. Make sure to practice when you get back." Yan Chihuo nodded and took his leave.
Instead of returning to his cave dwelling, he went straight to Shu Yuan's place. He was supposed to receive one Jade Crystal each month, but he had been busy cultivating these past few months and hadn't gone to collect them. Now that he knew what Jade Crystals were good for, he naturally wanted to collect them as soon as possible.
After hearing why he had come, Shu Yuan smiled. "I've been waiting for you to come collect your Jade Crystals, Junior Brother. Of all the disciples, you're the only one who cares so little about them."
Yan Chihuo said, "I'm ashamed. It's not that I don't care about Jade Crystals. I was just too busy before."
Shu Yuan said nothing more. He turned and went into the back room, then returned with three white jade pieces, each about as thick as a coin and as large as a palm. "Junior Brother Yan, these are the Jade Crystals you were owed for the past three months."
Yan Chihuo took them. A faint white glow shimmered across the Jade Crystals, and spiritual energy was stored within them. He thanked Shu Yuan, then asked, "Senior Brother Shu, I wanted to ask how I can learn the art of artifact refining."
Shu Yuan said, "The best way to learn artifact refining is to become a disciple of Elder Wu. But you've already been accepted as Elder Ping's disciple, so that path is closed to you. The Artifact Refining Pavilion sends someone every month on the fifteenth to explain the basics of artifact refining, so you can attend those lessons. However, the pavilion charges one Jade Crystal for each class."
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