Refining Artifacts (Part 2)

Yan Chihuo grimaced inwardly; the Artifact Refining Pavilion's asking price was truly steep. However, today was the twelfth, and in three days, the pavilion would begin its lectures. Fortunately, he had obtained three Jade Crystals, or he wouldn't even be able to afford this fee. Yet, looking at it this way, the cost of refining was simply too high. The Jade Crystals issued by the sect were only enough for him to attend classes; if he wanted to practice, he would have to find another way.

After learning the location of the lectures from Shu Yuan, he returned to his cave dwelling and, following Ping Qi's instructions, began practicing the Ape Lord Sword Art and the Soul-Snatching Claw. Three days passed in the blink of an eye. He arrived early at the lecture hall that day, only to find over a dozen people already seated. He grumbled to himself that this refiner could earn over a dozen Jade Crystals just by giving a lecture—it was practically robbery.

He handed one Jade Crystal to the attendant outside the hall door and sat inside to wait for the refiner. Before long, an old man of about fifty appeared, his cultivation also at the Body Tempering Middle Stage.

He sat in a chair, cleared his throat, and said, "I am Lu Fan. Today, I will speak on how to refine spiritual materials..."

Hearing this, Yan Chihuo felt a bit discouraged. His main purpose in coming here was to learn how to carve restrictions, but upon second thought, learning some knowledge in this area wouldn't be bad either; later, when he refined Talisman Artifacts, he would also need to refine spiritual materials.

That Lu Fan's level of artifact refining was unknown, but his foundation was extremely solid. He explained things in a simple and easy-to-understand way, which benefited Yan Chihuo greatly. He spoke for a full hour before stopping and saying, "Does anyone have any questions? You may ask them now."

Immediately, people began asking questions one after another, which Lu Fan answered one by one. Several doubts in Yan Chihuo's mind were also cleared up.

Seeing that Lu Fan seemed to be preparing to leave, Yan Chihuo said, "This Humble One has a question I would like to ask."

Lu Fan replied, "Please, speak."

Yan Chihuo asked, "May I ask, is it possible to carve restrictions onto ordinary materials, such as copper, iron, wood, or stone?"

Lu Fan sneered, "Not only are you aiming too high, but you are also indulging in fantasy. How could such mundane materials support the carving of restrictions? Before you could even finish, the material would be unable to withstand the restriction and would collapse. If you could carve restrictions on such mundane materials, wouldn't that mean you could have as many Talisman Artifacts as you wanted?"

Yan Chihuo was about to ask more, but Lu Fan continued, "I know what you mean. You want to become an artifact refiner, you need a large amount of materials to practice with, and you don't have enough Jade Crystals to buy spiritual materials, so you hit upon this idea. Let me tell you, carving restrictions is not as simple as you imagine. You can only make out a rough idea of the various spiritual patterns within a restriction, and then you must carve them based on the flow of your own mana while casting. Therefore, when first learning to carve, if you succeed once in ten tries, that is considered good talent."

Lu Fan then sneered, "Because it is impossible for anyone to see a restriction clearly, the carved restriction will always differ from the true one. The smaller the difference, the greater the power of the Talisman Artifact. Only when your cultivation reaches the Dao Foundation Stage can you see the restriction patterns completely; thus, the Talisman Artifacts refined by Dao Foundation Stage cultivators are far superior to those of Body Tempering and Qi Gathering Stage cultivators. But even at the level of Dharma Tools, Dao Foundation Stage cultivators cannot see the true patterns."

Yan Chihuo asked again, "If one must carve based on the flow of mana while casting, does that mean everyone can only carve restrictions for the cultivation techniques they practice?"

Lu Fan said, "At the Body Tempering Stage, that is naturally the case. But once you reach the Qi Gathering Stage and have gained considerable experience and more refined mana, although you may not know the flow of other elemental techniques, the principles are interconnected. You can then refine Talisman Artifacts or Dharma Tools of other elements. By the time you reach the Dao Foundation Stage, if your experience is sufficient, it is not impossible to carve restrictions on mundane materials. However, firstly, the success rate is low; secondly, the restrictions carved are few; and thirdly, once successful, the Talisman Artifact cannot be used many times before it is destroyed by the erosion of mana. Therefore, no Dao Foundation Stage refiner is willing to do so."

He continued, "Carving restrictions is truly too early for you. The restrictions you have encountered are all seen on Talisman Artifacts, where the subtle details are impossible to see clearly, let alone how to carve them. Alright, that is all for today."

After leaving, Yan Chihuo realized he needed to take on some sect missions to earn Jade Crystals; otherwise, one Jade Crystal per month was only enough for lectures, and if the future lectures covered advanced refining methods, one Jade Crystal would likely not be enough.

However, before taking on sect missions, he needed to master the Ape Lord Sword Art and the Soul-Snatching Claw to ensure he had some self-preservation ability. Afterward, he practiced the Spirit Jade Vajra Art on one hand, and the Ape Lord Sword Art and Soul-Snatching Claw on the other. In his spare time, he picked up stones to practice carving restrictions.

Although he didn't have a complete restriction to use as a reference, the cloud patterns on the Snake Scale would ultimately provide him with some help. Furthermore, he had played a trick while in the Artifact Refining Pavilion that day: he had observed all the restrictions on the Primordial Chaos Hammer and carefully memorized them.

The restriction on the Primordial Chaos Hammer was Imprisoning Earth, and it consisted of fourteen layers. Although these fourteen layers were all of the same type, each was more complex and intricate than the last. For Yan Chihuo, it was truly an excellent example for studying the development of restrictions. After returning to his cave dwelling that day, fearing he would forget these fourteen layers, he had already drawn them all out on paper with a brush.

Although Lu Fan said that without sufficient skill and a cultivation below the Dao Foundation Stage, one could not carve restrictions on mundane materials, Yan Chihuo was different. The cloud patterns of the restrictions were complex, to the point that even Dao Foundation Stage cultivators could not see them clearly, but for Yan Chihuo, this problem did not exist. That was why he wanted to try; after all, he could not afford to experiment with large amounts of spiritual materials.

Sure enough, just as Lu Fan had said, it was impossible to carve restrictions on mundane materials no matter what. He tried hundreds of times without a single success; only occasionally would a few cloud patterns be carved before the material immediately collapsed.

A month passed in the blink of an eye, and Yan Chihuo spent another Jade Crystal to go and learn the art of artifact refining. This time, it was Lu Fan lecturing again, still on the subject of purifying materials.

After half a year, Yan Chihuo finally stopped attending the lectures, as the cost for subsequent teachings increased to two Jade Crystals. However, during these six months, Yan Chihuo had finally learned the basic methods of carving restrictions. Although he had not yet succeeded in carving them on mundane materials, he was already able to carve one-third of the first layer of the Imprisoning Earth restriction onto a stone.

Whenever he channeled his mana, the stone would shatter into pieces, far less useful than the Snake Scale, but Yan Chihuo was quite satisfied. Over the past six months, his Ape Lord Sword Art and Soul-Snatching Claw had also become proficient. The cloud patterns on that piece of Snake Scale had increased, and although they could not yet form a complete restriction, they had already provided him with much help in casting his spells.