Artifact Refining

Ever since Zhou Yuan had grasped the essence of material transformation from the Myriad Transformations Secret Technique and realized he could use it as a foundation to learn artifact refining, he had begun collecting methods and knowledge of artifact refining throughout the universe.

Although the Virtual Universe contained a vast ocean of information, the human race was indeed not particularly skilled in artifact refining. High-level refining methods were monopolized by major factions, and even the low-level methods that could be bought were far beyond what Zhou Yuan could currently afford.

However, Zhou Yuan possessed the supreme treasure, the Hunyuan Dao Seed. While he did not have enough origin power to deduce high-level refining methods, his remaining one thousand cubic meters of Universe Crystals were enough to support the deduction of methods for refining first-order force weapons.

Previously, Zhou Yuan had spent 800 cubic meters of Universe Crystals to use the Hunyuan Dao Seed to deduce a set of force weapon refining methods. However, this method was rather crude and did not even include complete force weapon secret patterns.

Fortunately, Zhou Yuan had the Myriad Transformations Secret Technique, which allowed him to obtain their secret-pattern structures by transforming into force weapons. For this reason, he had specifically purchased first- and second-order force weapons and force armor as templates, carefully studying the law secret patterns within them.

Fortunately, the Virtual Universe existed, allowing Zhou Yuan to simulate the refining process endlessly within it. The fees were also within what he could afford.

From stumbling through his first attempt, Zhou Yuan had now become proficient enough to refine third-order force weapons and armor in the Virtual Universe.

Zhou Yuan's force had now reached universe level nine, and his comprehension of laws had also gained the recognition of the Earth Origin Law.

However, he did not intend to continue breaking through in force cultivation. He knew that the higher his level, the more resources he would need to cultivate the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Technique later. With his current assets, he simply could not sustain it. Moreover, he still had to participate in the Universe Powerhouse Battle.

Therefore, Zhou Yuan planned to make money first before continuing his cultivation, and artifact refining was undoubtedly an excellent way to accumulate wealth quickly.

After all, the cost of force weapons was actually very low. The A-grade metal consumed by a first-order force weapon was worth less than one Purple Zenith Currency, yet it could sell for over a thousand Purple Zenith Currency. The profit margin was enormous, and the profits from second- and third-order weapons were even higher.

Furthermore, as his artifact refining skills improved, he would be able to forge higher-level force weapons and earn even greater profits.

The refining method Zhou Yuan had deduced through the Hunyuan Dao Seed mainly involved smelting materials and inscribing law secret patterns within them, thereby creating force weapons.

This method had no superior force-tempering technique or special secret-pattern inscription method. It relied entirely on Zhou Yuan's comprehension of laws and could only produce ordinary force weapons and armor, not high-level ones. However, it was simple, easy to understand, and easy to learn.

The most important part was the law secret patterns, which was also why the deduction required so little origin power. The difficulty of law secret patterns was that one had to first comprehend any given pattern before using it. Zhou Yuan was currently most familiar with the Earth Origin Law, so the patterns he could inscribe were primarily Earth Origin Law secret patterns.

Zhou Yuan decided to start practicing with first-order force weapons. He chose A8-grade Black Iron as the primary material. This metal was hard and highly stable, making it a standard material for forging first-order force weapons.

At the same time, he prepared the rare A9-grade Rock Tungsten. This material contained dense earth-element energy, which could increase a weapon's affinity with earth-element laws and strengthen the inscribed law secret patterns.

Zhou Yuan had already purchased these materials in advance. He took out a smelting furnace that he had bought along with the raw materials from his space ring and placed it in the castle's refining room. Then he had Beibei control the metal smelting and temperature adjustment while he was responsible for inscribing the law secret patterns.

Zhou Yuan first placed ten tons of Black Iron into the smelting furnace and activated the smelting process. As the temperature inside the furnace rose, the Black Iron gradually melted into bright-red molten metal.

After the Black Iron had fully melted, he took out one ton of Rock Tungsten and placed it into the furnace, having Beibei control its fusion into the Black Iron. The process of integrating Rock Tungsten into Black Iron was not easy. It required precise control over the temperature and stirring speed, or the two metals would not fuse perfectly.

Once the two metals had fully fused and formed a dark-golden molten metal, Zhou Yuan began mobilizing the force within his body to envelop the fused metal liquid. At the same time, his spiritual power merged into it as well.

He continuously tempered the molten metal with force, removing impurities and making it increasingly pure. While tempering it, he also used force to inscribe law secret patterns within the molten metal.

Inscribing secret patterns was not a rigid matter of copying what one saw. It required constant adjustments based on the material's properties and degree of tempering. As time passed, the molten metal gradually became more refined and pure, while its luster grew brighter.

The inscription of the law secret patterns was also nearing completion. Earth-yellow secret patterns intertwined within the molten metal to form complex designs, radiating a faint aura of laws.

As the materials in the smelting furnace neared the completion of their tempering, the molten metal had automatically formed the rough shape of a long blade. Zhou Yuan took a deep breath, focused all his attention, and inscribed the final secret pattern.

At the instant the last secret pattern was completed, the tempering of the materials also finished. A dense earth-element aura spread from the smelting furnace.

Zhou Yuan shut down the smelting furnace and opened its door. A long blade floated within the furnace. Its blade was red, with faint earth-yellow secret patterns flowing across its surface, radiating a sharp aura. It was a first-order force weapon—the Rock Tungsten Blade.

Zhou Yuan reached out and gripped the Rock Tungsten Blade, sensing the earth-element energy and law secret patterns within it. He gave it a light swing and activated the law secret patterns inside. The long blade sliced through the air with a piercing whistle. A first-order high-grade force weapon had been successfully forged.

"Not bad. It succeeded on the first try, and the quality is quite good too." Zhou Yuan nodded in satisfaction, a smile appearing on his face. However, he was not content with this. First-order weapons had limited profits, so he prepared to challenge second-order force weapons next.

Forging second-order force weapons imposed higher demands on both materials and craftsmanship. Zhou Yuan chose B83-grade Dark Iron Essence as the main material. It was an advanced metal derived from Black Iron, and only one ton of Dark Iron Essence might accompany ten thousand tons of Black Iron.

The supplementary material was replaced with B9-grade Rock Crystal, a crystal mined from deep within a planet's rocky strata. It contained pure earth essence and could enhance a weapon's affinity with laws.

Zhou Yuan placed fifteen tons of Dark Iron Essence into the furnace. Compared to first-order weapons, second-order weapons required more materials to support their complex secret-pattern structures.

The melting point of Dark Iron Essence was far higher than that of Black Iron. The bright-red glow within the furnace gradually turned into a dazzling white light. Once the Dark Iron Essence had fully melted, Zhou Yuan took out a block of Rock Crystal and placed it into the furnace piece by piece.

The instant the Rock Crystal touched the high-temperature molten metal, it vaporized, turning into countless earth-yellow motes that merged into it. The originally deep-red molten metal slowly took on a faint earth-yellow hue.

"Begin tempering!" Zhou Yuan shouted softly as the force within his body poured continuously into the smelting furnace. Compared to a first-order weapon, a second-order weapon required much longer tempering. At the same time, he used his spiritual power to manipulate force and inscribe law secret patterns within it.

Three hours later, the molten metal had become as pure as a mirror, and Zhou Yuan's spiritual power had fully merged with it. The secret patterns of a second-order force weapon were ten times more complex than those of a first-order weapon, but Zhou Yuan had forged them many times in the Virtual Universe and was thoroughly familiar with them.

"Now!" Zhou Yuan's gaze sharpened as the final secret pattern was precisely inscribed at the core of the molten metal. A dense earth-element aura spread from the smelting furnace.

A long blade, dark red throughout and gleaming with flowing earth-yellow light, floated in the furnace. The secret patterns on its blade slowly moved like living creatures. It was a second-order force weapon—the Rock Crystal Blade.

"Next comes the third order." Zhou Yuan flourished the second-order Rock Crystal Blade in his hand and took a deep breath. Third-order force weapons were currently the highest-level force weapons Zhou Yuan could forge.

Forging one was countless times more difficult than forging a second-order weapon. Although Zhou Yuan had forged them in the Virtual Universe as well, he decided to restore himself to peak condition before attempting one in reality.

After resting for a day, Zhou Yuan took out the C8-grade Black Iron Essence he had prepared long ago. It was an advanced metal above Dark Iron Essence, and only a Black Iron mine of over a hundred million tons might produce one ton of Black Iron Essence. The supplementary material was the exceedingly rare C9-grade Earthcore Marrow, which could only form in a planet's core. Every piece was priceless.

Zhou Yuan placed dozens of tons of Black Iron Essence into the smelting furnace. Smelting Black Iron Essence required an extremely high temperature, so Beibei turned the furnace's power to maximum. The temperature inside instantly soared, and the glaring white light made the entire refining room bright as day.

After the Black Iron Essence melted into liquid, Zhou Yuan tossed around one ton of Earth Marrow Crystals into the furnace. This time, the Earthcore Marrow did not vaporize immediately. Instead, it slowly dissolved under the high temperature, turning into a viscous earth-yellow liquid that intermingled with the blood-red Black Iron Essence liquid. In the end, they formed a strange molten metal, blood-red and dotted with yellow points of light.

The tempering process for a third-order weapon was even longer and had to be integrated with the inscription of secret patterns. Zhou Yuan did not rest for two days and two nights, his eyes fixed tightly on the smelting furnace and his spiritual power concentrated to the utmost, overlooking no detail.

A third-order force weapon required more secret patterns, and the links between them were tighter. The position and angle of every secret pattern could not be off by the slightest amount. Zhou Yuan transformed his spiritual power into countless tiny tendrils and inscribed different secret patterns within the molten metal simultaneously.

Time passed bit by bit. At the instant the final secret pattern was completed, a dense earth-law aura emanated from the blade. The secret patterns on its surface lit up at once, and a heavy pressure far surpassing that of a second-order weapon spread outward.

"It's done!" Zhou Yuan looked at the third-order Earth Profound Blade in his hand, a tired yet excited smile appearing on his face. The blade was blood-red, with an earth-yellow pattern along its spine like a sleeping earth dragon. Once activated, it could invoke the power of earth laws to empower its wielder.

After resting for a day, Zhou Yuan began mass-producing third-order force weapons. With the experience from his previous attempts, his forging speed became faster and faster. He could forge one in three days.

He prepared five thousand tons of Black Iron Essence and several hundred tons of Earth Marrow Crystals at once, intending to forge over a hundred third-order Earth Profound Blades.

As Zhou Yuan became increasingly familiar with the refining process, his speed grew faster and faster. In less than a year, Zhou Yuan had forged 105 Earth Profound Blades, failing only eleven times for a success rate of over 90%. The Earth Profound Blades were third-order top-grade weapons. Aside from keeping the first one as a memento, Zhou Yuan planned to sell them all.

"These weapons should sell for tens of millions of universe coins. Next, it will be time to prepare to forge fourth-order force weapons. Fourth-order weapons will make even more money." Zhou Yuan looked at the hundred-odd third-order Earth Profound Blades before him, his heart filled with anticipation.