Star Iron! Forging Spirit Weapons!

Back to the town.

Along the way, Taishu Yun and Taishu Jing each dragged a pile of Fierce Beast corpses with one hand, looking utterly effortless. They drew crowds of onlookers.

"Aren't those the two young masters of the Taishu Family? They're so young, yet they already dare hunt Fierce Beasts. Incredible!"

"How strong do they have to be? Are they Beast King cubs or something?"

"..."

The chatter never stopped. Being stared at like monkeys made Taishu Jing want to swing the Fierce Beast corpses behind him and smash someone with them.

Forget it. This young master wouldn't stoop to their level!

Dragging that pile of Fierce Beasts, Taishu Jing strode like the wind and soon broke into a run. The corpses behind him bounced over the ground like broken toys, rolling along like balls.

If those Fierce Beasts had still been alive, they would probably have been angered to death.

The sight left many people dumbfounded.

Could these Fierce Beasts be hollow?

Taishu Qingyang did not understand why he was running so fast, but Taishu Yun alone knew the reason.

Very soon, Taishu Yun started running after him as well. In the blink of an eye, all that could be seen was the Fierce Beasts bouncing along the ground behind them.

Bang!

"I'm back!"

Taishu Jing flung the Fierce Beast corpses onto the open ground, arranging them one by one, then plopped down on top of one of them.

Soon afterward, Taishu Yun arrived as well.

After setting down the Fierce Beast corpses, he did not sit on them like Taishu Jing. Instead, he stood to one side and waited for Taishu Qingyang and the others.

At that moment, Taishu Yong arrived with the little ones. Looking at the dead Fierce Beasts, he said, "Good heavens, there are even Kui Oxen and Suan Ni. You two must have killed them, right?"

"Of course," Taishu Jing said as he jumped down.

"Yun'er, Jing'er." Taishu Feng and Jingyun arrived, along with the three elders. More and more Clan Members gathered around as well.

"Father, Mother, Elders," Taishu Yun greeted them politely.

"Good, good. As expected of the prodigies of my Taishu Family."

Looking at the prey before them, the three elders smiled from ear to ear. This hunt had brought in more than any before it. These two boys truly knew how to surprise people.

After a while, Taishu Qingyang and the others returned as well, setting down the Fierce Beast corpses one after another.

"You've worked hard," Taishu Feng said to them.

Taishu Qingyang shook his head. "It was all Xiaoyun and Jing's doing. We hardly contributed anything."

Taishu Feng said no more and turned to the three elders. "This time, our harvest is so great that we should send some to the other three families."

"Yes. Have Qingyang and the others deliver it," the three elders said with nods.

After giving Taishu Qingyang a few instructions, they selected six Fierce Beasts. Taishu Qingyang and the others took the six corpses and headed for the other three families.

Looking at the ten Fierce Beasts that remained, the three elders personally took up their blades, cutting open the beasts' flesh and carefully removing their hearts.

The most precious thing on a Fierce Beast was its Heart Blood. From Heart Blood, one might perhaps comprehend certain Killing Arts. There was even a chance of obtaining an Innate Divine Technique, though the odds were pitifully small.

They continued cutting open the hearts and squeezed out the Heart Blood within, letting it drip into jars. It was crystal-clear and not cloudy in the slightest, releasing a wonderfully fragrant scent.

After extracting all the Heart Blood from the Fierce Beasts, they carefully stored it away.

Fierce Beast Heart Blood was an excellent thing for helping the little ones with Foundation Establishment.

They had harvested so much Heart Blood this time that it would be enough for the little ones to cultivate for a long while. Once they had absorbed it all, their strength would rise greatly.

Next came the Precious Blood from the Fierce Beasts' entire bodies. Though it could not compare with the most precious Heart Blood, it still contained an immense amount of essence and came in ample quantities, allowing the family's cultivators to absorb more Precious Blood for cultivation.

They remained busy until nightfall.

Whenever they returned from the mountains with a great harvest, the Clan Members would gather for a bonfire feast, roasting Fierce Beast Meat and drinking Fierce Beast Treasure Blood until deep into the night.

The two brothers, Taishu Yun and Taishu Jing, changed into fresh clothes and sat beside their father and mother. They began eating pieces of Fierce Beast Meat larger than human heads, while the stone bowls beside them were filled to the brim with Precious Blood.

"Yun'er, Jing'er, eat more," Taishu Feng and Jingyun said, looking warmly at their two sons.

"Mm."

Taishu Jing ate incredibly fast. Even after finishing such a huge piece of Fierce Beast Meat, he did not feel full at all.

People in this world were probably all enormous eaters!

But it made sense. When one first began cultivating, one needed tremendous amounts of energy to replenish the body, so eating a great deal was perfectly normal. Once cultivation reached profound levels, one could directly absorb the spiritual energy of the sun and moon, as well as Heaven and Earth Essence, to replenish oneself. Even eating little, one could still shatter mountains, split peaks, overturn rivers, and suppress seas.

That night, everyone was delighted. Even the three elders, who usually kept their emotions hidden, joined the younger crowd to drink Precious Blood to their hearts' content, their faces glowing red.

"Yun'er, Jing'er, the elders have agreed to the matter of the Star Iron. Have you decided what weapons you want to forge?" Taishu Feng asked.

"Mm, I'll forge a longbow," Taishu Jing said. He had already made up his mind.

Taishu Yun pondered for a moment. "I haven't decided yet."

"No rush. Tell your father once you've made up your mind," Taishu Feng said with a smile.

"Brother, what kind of weapon do you want?" Taishu Jing asked curiously.

Taishu Yun thought about it. "I want a weapon that can both attack and defend, one that combines offense and defense. Neither sabers, spears, swords, halberds, nor longbows can satisfy that requirement."

"One Art Breaks All Techniques?"

Hearing what Taishu Yun meant, Taishu Jing thought of those words.

Taishu Yun's eyes lit up when he heard them. "That's right, that's exactly what I mean."

Truly the protagonist's way of thinking!

The corner of Taishu Jing's mouth twitched. In his view, any weapon could attack and defend; it was only a matter of whether its offensive and defensive capabilities were balanced.

"Isn't that simple? Things like cauldrons, bells, and towers would fit the bill."

Smack!

Taishu Yun slapped his thigh. "That's right! Jing, you're right. How didn't I think of that?"

It wasn't that you hadn't thought of it. You just hadn't thought of it that quickly.

"Brother, which one do you think is best?"

"A bell," Taishu Yun said. He felt that he preferred bells.

"Since the two of you have decided, your father will take you to the storeroom tomorrow to retrieve the Star Iron," Taishu Feng said happily.

Jingyun looked at her husband and two sons, feeling deeply content.

The next day.

Taishu Feng brought the two brothers to the family storeroom. Many stone jars were stored inside, all containing Fierce Beast Treasure Blood and Heart Blood.

Apart from those jars, there were many Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. Most were precious herbs, along with some Spirit Ore and many things Taishu Jing did not recognize.

The three of them walked to a corner, where a massive chunk of ironstone sat. It was half as tall as Taishu Jing, its surface flickering with fluorescent light and speckled with starlight. It looked both like stone and metal.

"This is Star Iron."

Taishu Feng pointed at the ironstone. "This is the last of the Star Iron in the family. Take it."

"Alright."

Taishu Jing lifted the piece of Star Iron and found it had some weight to it, at least sixty thousand jin. He had not expected such a chunk of Star Iron to be so heavy.

"Don't let its size fool you. This Star Iron is quite heavy," Taishu Feng said to Taishu Yun with a smile.

Taishu Yun nodded.

"Heavy is good. If it were too light, I'd find it unwieldy," Taishu Jing said with a grin, carrying the Star Iron outside.

Back in his own courtyard.

Bang!

Taishu Jing set the Star Iron on the ground and recalled what his father had just told them.

Every person's Spirit Weapon could only be forged by their own hands. The method of forging a Spirit Weapon was to use one's own vital energy and blood to smelt it: condense a Vital Energy Furnace, kindle a Vital Energy Flame, place the materials within, and forge them into the weapon one desired.

Cultivators generally only forged Spirit Weapons after reaching the Spirit Vein Realm, because at the Spirit Vein Realm, they could absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to speed up the smelting process. This meant they would not need to consume too much vital energy and blood.

Moreover, ordinary cultivators did not possess such vast reserves of vital energy and blood.

But Taishu Jing and Taishu Yun possessed sufficiently immense reserves of vital energy and blood. They could directly condense a Vital Energy Furnace, smelt the Star Iron, and forge the weapons they desired.

"Jing, let's work together to melt it," Taishu Yun said.

"Alright."

Their eyes shone as immense vital energy and blood surged forth. Platinum vital energy and blood intertwined with golden vital energy and blood, gradually condensing into a Three-Legged Furnace over three meters tall. It floated in midair as a Vital Energy Flame rose within it, sacred and majestic.

"Rise!"

Together, they cast the Star Iron into the Vital Energy Furnace. At once, the Vital Energy Flame flared up fiercely like real fire, slowly melting the Star Iron.

Sizzle, sizzle!

The massive piece of Star Iron began to melt into liquid. Some impurities were expelled, burned into gray smoke that drifted away.

Half an hour later.

The Star Iron in the Vital Energy Furnace had completely turned into molten iron, bubbling and boiling. All impurities had evaporated, leaving behind only two-thirds of the original essence. Thick as mercury and pale blue in color, it shone like genuine starlight in bloom, containing dense power of the stars.