Artifact Forging

"Could he do it?" Watching Su Bai charge at Zhao Bu with an angry face, Xun Hu still had some doubts. "Don't let him get exposed when the time comes!"

"How could he get exposed? We're just diverting disaster eastward. We don't need him to pass along any messages!" Yang Ning said calmly.

How were spies generally discovered? Obviously, they were caught while doing something.

He had Su Bai go over to play the part of a loyal underling. He would not contact Xun Hu at all, so how could he possibly be exposed?

"It'd better be so!" Xun Hu acknowledged Yang Ning's skill and literary talent, but Yang Ning had yet to prove himself in strategy. Xun Hu still half-believed and half-doubted him.

"Of course, we can't place all our hopes on him. We still need to work hard ourselves!" Yang Ning said. "The opportunity to cultivate in Taiheng Heaven is rare. You should hurry and study the Divine Forms."

"Alright!" Xun Hu nodded. Taiheng Heaven contained a kind of Primordial Chaos Qi that could be absorbed into the body while cultivating the Breathing Technique and Divine Forms. It was said to bring unexpected benefits when breaking through the Body Refinement Realm.

In the present world, very few factions had the ability to let their disciples cultivate at such heights. Being able to come here as a disciple of Taiheng Sect's Ascension Academy was indeed a rare opportunity, a platform only great sects could provide for their disciples. Naturally, they had to cherish every moment and make the most of these thirty days.

"Are you still going to forge artifacts?" Ning Rong asked as she watched Xun Hu leave.

"Yeah, I'm just missing the final touch!" Yang Ning nodded.

"Alright!" Ning Rong nodded. "I need to hurry up and cultivate. I still haven't even gotten started."

"Then you really need to hurry," Yang Ning said. "But Xun Hu has already gotten started, so he won't need to attend the morning lessons anymore. You can take his seat. That should let you get started faster!"

"Mm!" Ning Rong nodded. She had long known about Yang Ning's talent, and now Xun Hu had also gotten started. If she still could not get started after all this time, she would not even be qualified to stand beside them!

Only those born into great families truly understood the principle of matching doors and households.

And in the Cultivation World, matching doors and households meant strength!

After seeing Ning Rong off, Yang Ning left the cultivation room and headed to the artifact forging room.

The ship only taught the Foundation Establishment Method and nothing else. However, servants, bookboys, and maids like Yang Ning were also given a set of books on pill refining, artifact forging, and runes. Though they were very basic, with no one to instruct them, they could only teach themselves.

There was also a Pill Refining Room and an Artifact Forging Room aboard the ship, but practically no one came here. Everyone was busy cultivating the Breathing Technique.

Yang Ning had never used the Pill Refining Room, but he frequently used the Artifact Forging Room. The conditions here were not bad. Artifact forging had separate rooms, each with a Fire Vein that reached a temperature of 2600°C.

There was also a set of spirit artifact equipment. A drop of blood granted two hours of use, and it could be controlled with one's thoughts. One of its hammers could strike with a force of up to four tons, comparable to a small forging press.

It was just a pity that the equipment here was all so primitive. There were no lathes, milling machines, or Swiss-type machines. Forging knives and swords was fine, but if he wanted precision parts, he would have to cast them first and then grind them by hand.

The only advantage was that the files here were all spirit artifacts. Grinding Mortal Materials was absurdly easy; he even had to control his strength to keep from ruining them by filing too hard.

The materials here were also quite complete, but unfortunately, they were all Mortal Materials. There were no Spirit Materials, so he could not forge spirit artifacts. He could not even forge magic artifacts.

Yang Ning did not mind, though. Who said a mortal weapon could not slaughter immortals?

After gathering the materials, Yang Ning got to work. Four hours later, he left the dining hall carrying a round, chubby rod.

"Over here!" The moment he entered the dining hall, Ning Rong began waving from afar. Beside her sat Xun Hu, his gaze vacant, as though someone had played him to the point of breaking.

"What happened?" Yang Ning pointed at Xun Hu.

"Isn't it all because of Elder Wei? He gave him a Jade Slip. Who knew the Divine Forms were learned like this!" Ning Rong said. "His head is full of the Twelve Divine Forms right now. He's still digesting them!"

"A Jade Slip?" Yang Ning's eyes lit up. "Where is it?"

"Here, take it!" Ning Rong pulled the Jade Slip from her pocket and handed it to Yang Ning.

"Why do you have it?" Yang Ning asked curiously.

"The bookboy isn't here, so of course it's with me!" Ning Rong said. "But I wouldn't dare learn from it. Apparently, if you haven't gotten started with the Breathing Technique, the information inside will smash you into an idiot. This Jade Slip can be used four times. Give it back to me after you're done!"

"Alright!" Yang Ning nodded, accepted the Jade Slip, and examined it carefully.

This sort of thing was never rare in cultivation novels. Here, it was a jade cube resembling a paperweight, etched with cloud-and-thunder patterns and images of ten animals. The drawing skill and composition were both terrible—back in his previous life, this was the kind of work that could not even land someone a job drawing profile pictures—yet it somehow possessed an intensely immortal air.

Like an airplane diagram drawn by primitive people.

Having only just gotten started with the Breathing Technique, one was not much different from an ordinary person. Neither the body nor the mind would improve by much.

So Yang Ning felt it was not the Breathing Technique protecting the brain. Rather, this Jade Slip probably possessed some kind of confidentiality method that could detect whether the learner bore signs of cultivation.

He had Deep Blue scan it first, then closed his eyes.

"The material is ordinary Qing Stone!" Deep Blue said. "No abnormalities detected."

"Again with this!" Yang Ning was speechless. It had been the same when he scanned the spirit artifacts in the Artifact Forging Room. The scan identified them as ordinary metal, even though they were clearly anything but ordinary.

All he could say was that lacking a means to observe spiritual qi had greatly diminished the effectiveness of this Golden Finger.

Hopefully, this situation would improve once he reached the Qi Refining Stage.

He placed the Jade Slip against his brow. In the next instant, Yang Ning felt a flood of information rush into his mind and become firmly imprinted within it.

These were twelve cultivation methods. Every one contained practice methods, stance training, breathing, footwork, weapons, and advanced techniques.

From the Body Refinement First Level to the Body Refinement Eighth Level, it explained clearly and distinctly how each level was to be cultivated, as though he had already cultivated them tens of millions of times.

These were twelve complete cultivation inheritances, the kind that even included first-person cultivation memories!

This was an inheritance that had been pried apart, crushed into pieces, and spoon-fed straight into one's mouth!

Yang Ning was somewhat stunned. As expected of a cultivation sect! With a transmission method like this, anyone who was not mentally disabled should be able to learn it, right?

No wonder Taiheng Sect neither tested applicants nor checked their intelligence when recruiting disciples, instead allowing the kingdoms below to recommend people freely. So cultivation in the Body Refinement Realm really was a foolproof operation?

"No!" Only when Yang Ning saw the later parts did he realize that it did not entirely require no brains. At the Body Refinement Ninth Level, cultivation of the mind began to be involved. At this stage, one not only needed a powerful will but could not lack comprehension either.

But this was not a problem for Taiheng Sect. The Twelve Divine Forms did not need to all be cultivated. One could choose one or two based on one's own temperament. If one practiced a cultivation method long enough, insights would naturally arise.

Moreover, even the most foolish people were not beyond saving. As they cultivated and their minds steadily grew stronger, their comprehension would gradually improve as well.

"So, if cultivation methods can be practiced by anyone, then naturally they should be given to people loyal to one's own sect. And under heaven, there are no people more loyal to Taiheng Sect than princes of kingdoms and members of great families. What's more, cultivation consumes enormous resources, and only kingdoms and great families can afford them."

After going through the Twelve Divine Forms, Yang Ning understood the logic behind Taiheng Sect's disciple recruitment. He immediately felt somewhat fortunate. Good thing he had displayed his talent in time. Otherwise, if he had kept hiding himself, or built high walls, stored abundant grain, and delayed claiming the throne, how would he ever have had the chance to enter an immortal sect?

The only problem was that when he had been Minister of Works, he had never embezzled funds, so he had not brought much money when leaving home. He would have to figure out his own way to obtain cultivation resources in the future, such as Blood Essence Pills.

He had Deep Blue, so no matter how much information he received, his mind would not become muddled. Instead, he sorted through the cultivation methods with exceptional clarity. As for which one to choose—

These were general-purpose sect cultivation methods, so they definitely could not compare to something tailored specifically for him. But he had Deep Blue. Using these twelve cultivation methods as a foundation, he might be able to create a set of Divine Forms best suited to himself.