Object Formation

On Rosy Dawn Peak, beside the [Scenery Sun Great Furnace], Wang Xiwei was working on an artifact, keeping it half-hidden to avoid attracting attention.

Wang Qiyun had successfully reached Qi Refining. He was immensely proud and full of joy, yet could not swallow his pride and properly congratulate his own son.

When he met Qiyun, the burly man merely said, rather coolly:

"Not bad."

The moment the words left his mouth, he knew he had botched it. He wanted to slap that obnoxious mouth of his.

Father and son met like strangers. Whenever they were together, Wang Qiyun was unfailingly respectful and treated him as his master, making the man uncomfortable all over.

How long had it been since the boy had called him Father to his face?

After attaining Qi Refining in his youth, Wang Xiwei had taken charge of Dangxia Peak. Refining artifacts for the sect had occupied almost his entire adult life, and would continue to do so.

His first wife had died in the Demon Calamity. Before her death, she had charged him with looking after their son, and only then had he begun paying attention to the child he had neglected for more than twenty years.

It seemed the boy had grown up in the blink of an eye. Wang Xiwei had thought that, as a cultivator, he had all the time in the world to spend with him. Yet Qiyun had simply grown up, no longer needing him to play the role of a father.

It was his fault.

He deserved to have Qiyun call him only Master, never Father; he deserved to have his own child barely spare him a glance even when getting married.

Yet if the man actually had to admit his mistake and say something heartfelt, he could not get the words out.

In Wang Xiwei's eyes, the sect's importance had already surpassed his own interests and those of his family.

Thus, when Qiyun reached Qi Refining, the man's first thought was actually that the sect had grown stronger and could produce a few more artifacts each year. Only afterward had he felt joy over his own child's breakthrough.

Footsteps suddenly sounded outside the hall. Wang Xiwei hastily put away the artifact he was refining and looked over. Seeing Xu Xuan, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Xu Xuan had come to discuss Rejuvenation Mountain and the spirit fields with Wang Xiwei, but upon entering the hall, he saw his normally iron-tower-like senior brother acting furtively.

His interest was immediately piqued. He approached and asked:

"Senior Brother Xi Wei, what are you refining in the hall?"

Looking embarrassed, Wang Xiwei waved his sleeve, urging Xu Xuan to get on with proper business.

Seeing his senior brother's discomfort, Xu Xuan merely smiled and brought up Shi Yuanyu.

After listening, Wang Xiwei remarked with a sigh:

"It seems Rejuvenation Mountain still intends to place bets on both sides. He's cultivating ties with the Liu family in the Plainlands while sending his own daughter to the Great Red Abbey."

"If he merely wanted to send someone who understood spirit plants, there was no need to send his daughter. He still has several true disciples."

Xu Xuan agreed:

"Shi Mingsong has lived a long time, after all, and his cultivation is high. He escaped the Demon Calamity back then. Naturally, he knows about the upheavals from the Plainlands to Green Peaks. He must have seen the sharpness of my Sword Qi before feeling reassured enough to send Shi Yuanyu over."

The two also discussed Longbright's spirit fields. Neither understood spirit plants, however, and after much consideration, they agreed to leave the matter to Junior Sister Si'an.

"You've come at just the right time, Junior Brother. There's something I wanted to discuss with you."

Wang Xiwei grew serious and continued:

"Our sect's art of Artifact Refining comes from a book called the Ye Father’s Fire-Tempering Manual. It belongs to the craft of object artifacts, which teaches how to draw upon the generation and union of material properties, as well as the origins of Dao lineages, to create artifacts."

"This method is suited to refining powerful weapons for combat, especially Dharma Swords. Once completed, the artifact forms a seamless whole, as though made by nature, and cannot be reforged."

The man sighed as he spoke:

"It's a fine method, but its requirements for both cultivation and Spirit Treasures are rather high. Qiyun and I will probably both stop at Qi Refining, unable to bring out the essence of this Artifact Refining technique."

"So I thought we might seek out some formation-artifact craft with lower requirements."

Xu Xuan understood nothing of these intricacies of Artifact Refining and asked in confusion:

"What makes formation-artifact craft different? You'll have to explain more clearly, Senior Brother. I don't know the first thing about any of this."

Wang Xiwei could only explain further.

Object-artifact craft meant refining artifacts through the connections between material properties and Dao lineages.

The previously refined [Fire Tiger Fang] and [Rainthought] were both examples. They were complete the moment they left the furnace, possessing their own Dao essence and enhancing the power of a cultivator's cultivation methods and divine abilities without letting the guest usurp the host.

Formation-artifact craft, by contrast, involved engraving formations and arranging various formation configurations upon Spirit Treasures to turn them into artifacts.

The Autumn Gourd School's Array Robes, for instance, had different functions because they were inscribed with different formations. They could be activated with spiritual power alone, without cultivating the corresponding secret arts.

Xu Xuan roughly understood, but formation inheritances were truly difficult to find. He could only sigh:

"From Green Peaks to the Plainlands, only the Duan Clan is proficient in formations. Why would they readily teach their true inheritance to outsiders? If we want to find a formation inheritance, I'm afraid we can only try our luck in the Ghost Market."

"Liu Qiuqi is in the Plainlands and on good terms with me. Now that I've reached the sixth level of Qi Refining, I already intended to visit him. I'll ask him to keep an eye out."

At that thought, Xu Xuan pictured Liu Qiuqi in his blue robes, feather fan in hand, every inch the elegant young gentleman.

Wang Xiwei merely agreed, then said wistfully:

"The [Fire-Crossing Long-Qi Formation] stretching from Green Luo to White Stone suffered damage during the Demon Calamity, and some sections are already incomplete. Longbright still uses that Qi Refining-level [Golden Light Formation], which is even less adequate."

"If we had someone in the sect who understood formations, who knows how much trouble it would save us?"

With that, Xu Xuan stopped troubling him. He said he would keep an eye out for formation-artifact methods, though whether he could find any would depend on luck.

Only after Xu Xuan left did Wang Xiwei take out the artifact he had been hammering. It was an unfinished piece shaped much like the Red Jade Mallet at his waist, with a few words engraved upon it:

"Congratulations to my son on attaining Qi Refining."

After leaving Dangxia Peak, Xu Xuan returned to Skyblue. No one was on the peak, leaving it unusually quiet.

He had been run off his feet these past few days, cultivating his techniques and handling miscellaneous affairs. Whenever he had a moment free, he went to Longbright to give Wen Si'an pointers on her Sword Manual.

Xu Xuan had sent Liu Xiaowen out to slay demons. There were some minor demons in the Great Red Three Mountains that occasionally descended to harm people.

With this combination of practical experience and diligent cultivation, Liu Xiaowen would be able to reach late-stage Fetal Breath in another three or four years.

At the thought, he turned his gaze inward to his qi sea and examined the four ancient seal characters that had appeared on the White Jade Ancient Stele: [Sun-Flint Descent of Fire].

For now, these seal characters were merely linked to Liu Xiaowen, raising this disciple's spirit root by two inches.

Xu Xuan's own eight ancient seal characters had raised his spirit root by four inches.

Four characters should raise a spirit root by two inches.

The ancient stele's effects were profoundly mysterious. At least, Xu Xuan had never heard of any Spirit Treasures capable of raising a spirit root.

That spirit roots were ordained by heaven was almost universally accepted, yet the seal characters bestowed by the ancient stele could defy heaven and alter fate.

If this object came to light, the great immortal sects would surely be unable to sit still. Purple Mansion True Persons would slaughter until Red Cloud ran with enough blood to float oars.

At the thought, a shiver ran down Xu Xuan's back, and he looked around suspiciously.

Could some mighty figure be watching me right now?

Precisely because of this suspicion, Xu Xuan had never displayed anything unusual even when alone. The White Jade Ancient Stele remained hidden within his qi sea and had never left his body.

Once a few more years passed and Liu Xiaowen attained Qi Refining, bestowing these seal characters upon him should produce some miraculous effects.

[Sun-Flint Descent of Fire]: the sun-flint drew fire from heaven. At noon on the bingwu day of the fifth month, five stones were refined and cast into an implement, polished until it shone, then raised toward the sun, whereupon fire would descend. This was the way of drawing true fire.

Noon on the bingwu day of the fifth month was precisely when Liu Xiaowen had been born. Thanks to these seal characters, Liu Xiaowen's allotted fortune could fill the gaps in the Heavenly Fire Eternal Radiance Scripture, allowing him to cultivate all the way to Foundation Establishment.

True fire should refer to the two fires, bing and li. Both were deeply connected to the [Greater Yang], while [Li Fire] was also the Dao lineage cultivated by the Great Li Imperial Clan.

Both paths were exceptionally formidable in combat. Once Liu Xiaowen attained Qi Refining, he should be no weaker than the direct descendants of those Foundation Establishment aristocratic clans.

As Xu Xuan considered this, he suddenly saw someone coming up from the foot of the peak. It was Jiang Chiyu.

This eldest disciple of Wang Xiwei rarely came to Green Luo, spending most of his time at White Stone's mines.

Xu Xuan understood his feelings. By his reckoning, Jiang Chiyu had joined the sect even earlier than he had and was considerably older.

Back then, Wang Xiwei had also placed great hopes in Jiang Chiyu. Yet he had remained unable to break through to Qi Refining. Ashamed of failing his master and somewhat disheartened, he had volunteered to watch over White Stone.

He had stayed there for who knew how many years. This somewhat elderly disciple had married a local mortal woman in White Stone and fathered a son and a daughter. Neither had a spirit root, so they could only handle mundane affairs.

"Greetings, Sect Leader."

Xu Xuan acknowledged him and asked:

"Chiyu, what brings you to Green Luo?"

"Reporting to the Sect Leader, I've come regarding Qi Xiuli. Some time has passed now, and surely he has felt the weight of the sect's kindness. Why not let him return to the mines and assign him a position?"

As he spoke, Jiang Chiyu looked at Xu Xuan, choosing his words with great caution. He feared this somewhat ruthless abbey master might cut off Qi Xiuli's hands and feet and keep him confined.

"That precious tree at White Stone is too valuable to leave unguarded. Have his wife and children move to Green Luo.

"At the same time, take him to the Founders' Hall to swear a [Heavenly Oath]. Appeal to his feelings and offer him some benefits, so he understands the sect's difficulties."

A [Heavenly Oath] meant invoking heaven and swearing upon one's true spirit. It was the most solemn form of oath, and breaking it would bring down heavenly lightning.

Jiang Chiyu breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Xu Xuan still respected the sect's rules and bonds, after all, and had not dealt too harshly with Qi Xiuli.

He had seen how Xu Xuan dealt with outside enemies.

This abbey master often churned people clean through with Sword Qi. Whenever he struck, someone was either injured or killed-a completely different approach from Patriarch Chongyang's.

Having received his orders, Jiang Chiyu was about to fetch Qi Xiuli when Xu Xuan continued behind him:

"Your master Xi Wei is practicing Artifact Refining on Rosy Dawn Peak. Go pay your respects to him first."

"There's no need to feel guilty. Having you is a blessing for the sect."

The little old man's eyes immediately reddened. His stooped back straightened a little, and with a word of assent, he headed toward Dangxia Peak.

Xu Xuan had never looked down on Jiang Chiyu. He wished the sect had a few more disciples like him to share his burdens.

Although Jiang Chiyu's cultivation was unremarkable, he was far better than the other disciples at handling people and conducting business.

The old man kept White Stone's outer disciples in impeccable order and also arranged the ore sales each year.

"Ah, what a pity he isn't at Qi Refining."

Xu Xuan sighed. On the path of cultivation, strength was ultimately what counted.

Jiang Chiyu was a capable man, but he had been trapped at Fetal Breath for years. Not only had this left him somewhat insecure, even some outer disciples had their criticisms of the old man.

What truly counts as talent? Only exceptional natural gifts like Liu Xiaowen's?

These questions troubled Xu Xuan briefly, but he soon worked through them. In the end, cultivation still mattered most.

The Great Red Abbey still held its footing in Green Peaks only because he stood guard here. Otherwise, no number of Jiang Chiyus could sustain the sect.

Yet without such capable people within the sect, it would probably struggle to advance as well.

That was the truth of it. Shaking his head, Xu Xuan returned to leafing through his master's notes. The green pines swayed in the wind, scattering sunlight.

(End of chapter)