Artifact Refining

The next morning, Yan Chihuo went to Wu Yunhe's cave abode and called out, "Elder Wu, your disciple Yan Chihuo has come to study the Dao." A moment later, the cave door opened, and Wu Yunhe's calm voice came from within. "Come in."

Yan Chihuo straightened his clothes and entered the cave abode. Inside stood an incense table, and Wu Yunhe was dressed in feathered robes and a starry crown—the sort of attire reserved for the most important occasions. When he saw Yan Chihuo, his expression was solemn. "This River-Dividing Land-Creating Technique must not be casually passed on. Though you are not a direct disciple of my lineage, you must first pay respects to the Patriarch."

With that, he lit the incense and candles, then respectfully kowtowed before the portrait. He turned to Yan Chihuo and said, "You should kowtow a few times too." Yan Chihuo stepped forward and kowtowed three times, properly and respectfully.

Wu Yunhe said, "Come with me." Yan Chihuo followed him to the back of the cave abode, where he found a small pond. A white crane stood on the water, and the scenery was rather elegant.

Wu Yunhe swept his hand through the air. In an instant, the surface of the water seemed to be split apart by an invisible long blade. Waves roiled violently to either side, exposing a broad stretch of mud at the bottom of the pond. A moment later, the entire pond had been divided in two, with a passage more than half a foot wide between them.

Yan Chihuo was astonished. He had never imagined Wu Yunhe could be so formidable. Wu Yunhe withdrew the spell and said, "I just demonstrated the River-to-Land Art. Take away whatever you managed to grasp." Without waiting for Yan Chihuo to reply, he recited a passage.

Yan Chihuo knew this had to be the incantation for the River-to-Land Art. He did not dare be careless and hurriedly committed every word to memory. Fortunately, the incantation was short, and he had a good memory, so he soon had it fixed in his mind.

Wu Yunhe said, "I've passed the River-Dividing Land-Creating Technique on to you. The rest is for you to comprehend on your own."

Yan Chihuo knew Wu Yunhe was unwilling to teach him this art, which was why he had gone about it this way. When Ping Qi had raised the request yesterday, Wu Yunhe had been extremely reluctant. It was easy to imagine how unwilling he truly was.

In truth, if he had been offered an ordinary Dharma Tool in exchange for this secret art, Wu Yunhe would never have agreed. But Ping Qi had offered his Hidden Dragon Staff. Anyone who saw it would know that Wu Yunhe's disciple Wen Chong had died at the hands of the Heavenly Evil Blood Demon, only for the demon to be slain by Ping Qi's disciple. That left Wu Yunhe utterly humiliated, so he had no choice but to agree. Ping Qi had made that demand precisely because he knew Wu Yunhe could not refuse.

Wu Yunhe paid no mind to whether Yan Chihuo had memorized the incantation for the River-Dividing Land-Creating Technique. "You also wanted to learn artifact refining, didn't you? I'll first teach you fire control. It's the foundation of artifact refining."

Yan Chihuo grumbled inwardly, but said aloud, "Your disciple has heard some of the artifact refiners in the sect talk about fire control."

Wu Yunhe sneered. "Those artifact refiners who taught you fire control were mediocre to begin with. Besides, they guard their knowledge jealously. They wouldn't teach you anything false, but they would certainly leave out the crucial parts. If you learn artifact refining from them, even with a natural talent for it, you'd be lucky to bring out half of your potential."

Yan Chihuo replied, "I beg Elder Wu to instruct me."

Wu Yunhe began teaching him fire control. When he had taught Yan Chihuo the River-to-Land Art, he had been as brief as possible. But now he explained fire control in exhaustive detail, constantly asking questions to make sure Yan Chihuo would remember.

Yan Chihuo knew this was partly because Wu Yunhe had made a promise to Ping Qi the day before, but perhaps he also wanted to leave him no time to reflect on the River-Dividing Land-Creating Technique—ideally, he would forget it altogether.

Still, the fire-control techniques Wu Yunhe taught were far beyond what the artifact refiners had said before. He did not wait to see whether Yan Chihuo had memorized them thoroughly before moving on to spell restrictions. Yan Chihuo could only steel himself and commit them all to memory.

More than three hours passed before Wu Yunhe finally said, "That's enough for today. Tomorrow, I'll take you to the Artifact Refining Pavilion and let you experience fire control and spell restrictions firsthand."

Yan Chihuo stood, saluted Wu Yunhe, then took his leave. After he had disappeared from sight, a complicated look crossed Wu Yunhe's face. He murmured to himself, "I never thought that boy would have such talent for artifact refining. To have reached this level just from what those people at the Artifact Refining Pavilion taught him—it's truly rare. What a pity, what a pity."

After leaving Wu Yunhe's cave abode, Yan Chihuo went straight to Ping Qi. When Ping Qi saw him, he asked, "That old man Wu Yunhe taught you the River-to-Land Art. Did you memorize it?"

"Master, you really are amazing. You saw right through Wu Yunhe's intentions. Fortunately, I was prepared and memorized the incantation thoroughly."

"What's so hard to guess? Back then, he relied on the River-to-Land Art to gain the deepest understanding of earth-attributed techniques. How else could he have risen to a position in the Cloud Soaring Sect where he was second to one and above ten thousand?"

"Master, there are still parts of this secret art I don't understand. Please enlighten me."

Ping Qi smiled. "You owe me this one. Otherwise, I wouldn't know anything about the River-to-Land Art either." He was greatly gratified. Yan Chihuo had certainly hoped Ping Qi would explain the art, but he had also genuinely wanted to pass it on to him.

Although Ping Qi did not understand the River-to-Land Art either, he was, after all, a Qi Gathering Stage cultivator. His experience in cultivation far surpassed Yan Chihuo's.

A year and a half later, in a secret chamber at the Artifact Refining Pavilion, Wu Yunhe looked at the two Talisman Artifacts placed before him. One was Yan Chihuo's Soul-Breaking Sword; the other was a great axe.

Wu Yunhe picked up the two Talisman Artifacts and examined them closely. He sighed softly. "Zhan Qing, you're still too impatient. Your engraved restrictions aren't even as good as Yan Chihuo's."

The young man named Zhan Qing was taken aback. "Master, I engraved fourteen restrictions."

Wu Yunhe shook his head. "You've studied artifact refining under me for more than twenty years, while Yan Chihuo has only studied it for a year and a half. Shouldn't you be better at engraving restrictions than he is? Though you engraved more restrictions on this Soul-Breaking Sword, the cloud patterns in each of Yan Chihuo's restrictions are far more intricate than yours. That means this Talisman Artifact will consume less magical power when used to cast spells, and it has a much greater chance of being upgraded further."

Zhan Qing lowered his head. "Yes."

"Don't say yes while secretly feeling resentful. Both your Talisman Artifacts can advance to Dharma Tools, but judging by your skill at artifact refining, when you reach the Qi Gathering Stage, you'll be able to engrave at most forty restrictions on yours. Yan Chihuo's Soul-Breaking Sword, on the other hand, can advance all the way to a Spirit Tool. That's the difference between you. If Yan Chihuo's artifact-refining skills improve further, it wouldn't be impossible for it to advance to a Magic Treasure."

Zhan Qing lowered his head and said nothing.

Wu Yunhe waved a hand. "You may leave."