Before the morning fog cleared, the motorcade drove into the gate of Liuyun Sect.
The gatekeeper disciple checked the token and waved to let him go. The horse's hooves stepped on the bluestone road, making a clear sound. Qin Tiexin jumped off the carriage, put Edgeless on his back, and walked towards the mission hall.
Li Yun followed him.
The mission hall is a three-story wooden building on the hillside of Qinwu Peak. There were not many people in the early morning, and a few disciples were queuing up in front of the counter. Qin Tiexin walked to the leftmost window, and there sat a middle-aged deacon, looking through the account books.
"Hand in the task." Qin Tiexin placed the jade token of the Feng family's certificate on the table.
The deacon raised his head, took the jade plaque, and looked at Li Yun behind Qin Tiexin. He took out a bronze mirror and looked at the jade plaque, and the mirror surface shimmered.
"Escort the Feng family's motorcade to and from the Meteoric Pavilion." The deacon checked the records, "The time limit was one month, and you came back ten days early."
He took out two wooden signs and a few pieces of Spirit Stone from the drawer and pushed them to the front of the stage.
"The mission is completed. Each person has two pieces of low-grade Spirit Stone. Spirit Stone is here. This is the wooden sign that represents the completion of the record. You can use it to register for the new disciple competition."
Qin Tiexin and Li Yun put away Spirit Stone and the wooden sign.
The deacon was about to lower his head and continue to look at the account books when Qin Tiexin said, "There is one more thing."
"Say."
"When we went there, we were robbed and killed."
The deacon raised his head.
Qin Tiexin briefly explained the matter: the ambush of the Han family, a team of more than thirty people, led by the seventh level of Qi Refining, including snakes, poisonous miasma, giant bears and the final ambush.
After hearing this, the deacon's face darkened.
He took out another Jade Slip from the drawer, pressed his finger on it, and Jade Slip glowed white.
"The Han family... is the Han family in the south that is involved in the mining business?"
"Yes."
The deacon was silent for a moment, and his fingers traced Jade Slip, leaving traces. After doing this, he put Jade Slip into the bottom of the drawer.
"The sect's rules are strict." The deacon looked at Qin Tiexin, his voice was low but clear, "Affiliated Lineage fights in private and shall be punished according to the law. Robbing and killing the sect's mission team will be punished by one level. The hall will verify this matter. If it is true... they will set rules for them."
Qin Tiexin nodded.
The deacon waved his hand to indicate that it was okay.
The two walked out of the mission hall. The morning fog outside had dispersed somewhat, and the sun shone through the clouds and shone on the bluestone steps.
"Where to go next?" Li Yun asked.
"Go to the Waste Equipment Pavilion." Qin Tiexin said that he needed to report to Master Wu about his return and the information he found about the Lingxi Sect.
"Then when you have finished refining the sword, contact me?" Li Yun shook the communication talisman in her hand.
"Hmm"
Li Yun said no more, turned around and walked towards another road. Her back quickly disappeared into the shadow of the trees.
The Waste Equipment Pavilion is in the valley behind the utility area, and it takes half an hour to walk. Qin Tiexin kept walking and soon reached the valley entrance.
The door of the forge room was open, and there was a firelight inside.
Old Wu stood in front of the anvil, holding a broken breast goggle in his hand. There was a crack in the center of the mirror, extending from the middle to the edge. He was holding a small piece of thin copper with tweezers and trying to fill the crack.
Qin Tiexin stood at the door and did not go in.
Old Wu didn't even raise his head and continued what he was doing. The copper piece was softened by the fire, and he attached it to the crack, and then tapped it gently with a small hammer. The knocking sound was very light, but every time it was hit, it was just right, and the copper piece was slowly embedded into the crack.
In one stick of incense, the cracks were repaired.
Old Wu Dip the goggles into the bucket, and with a hiss, white gas rises. When it cools down, take it out. The mirror surface is smooth, with only a slight color difference that cannot be seen without looking carefully.
"Come in." Old Wu said.
Qin Tiexin walked into the forging room. There were four floor furnaces in the room, but only one was open now. Scraps were piled in the corners, and semi-finished products were placed on the shelves. There was the smell of rust and charcoal fire in the air.
"Sit." Old Wu pointed to the wooden bench next to him.
Qin Tiexin sat down, took out the red core copper ore and black iron sand ore from Storage Bag and placed them on the ground.
Old Wu picked up a piece of red-core copper ore, weighed it, and looked at the light again.
"You picked it up on the road, right? Such a primitive ore contains more than 70% impurities." He said, "When it is melted, about 30% copper can be obtained."
He picked up the black iron sand again, took a handful and rubbed it on his fingertips.
"This sand is not bad, the content is not low."
Old Wu put down the vine and looked at Qin Tiexin: "The mission went well?"
"It went well." Qin Tiexin paused, "Something happened."
"Say."
Qin Tiexin told the story about the Falling Star Pavilion. The auction, the Shenbing Tower, and the Tingfeng Pavilion. When talking about the Tingfeng Pavilion, he mentioned the information about the Tiannan Territory and the clues about the Lingxi Sect - Miemen, Yao Qi, Evil Fire.
Old Wu kept listening, holding a piece of cloth in his hand and slowly wiping the goggles.
When he heard the words "Lingxi Sect", his hand wiping the mirror stopped for a moment.
Just once, and then continued to rub it again.
Qin Tiexin After finishing speaking, the forge room became quiet. The charcoal blocks crackled in the furnace, and there were birds chirping outside the window.
After a long time, Old Wu let out a long sigh.
He put the goggles on the shelf, turned around, and looked at Qin Tiexin.
"I have doubted whether it was Demon Race before, but Demon Race usually lives in the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains. The one who can destroy Lingxi Sect overnight is at least the same as Nascent Soul Realm. I don't know. What can a small sect like our Lingxi Sect be interested in?" He said solemnly to Qin Tiexin, "If you face Demon Race in the future, you must be careful. If the enemy is too powerful, just... forget it."
"I will be careful." Qin Tiexin nodded.
"Okay, let's not talk about it for now. Let me see if your cultivation has improved again?" Old Wu walked up to him and stretched out his hand. Qin Tiexin understood and stretched out his wrist. Old Wu put three fingers on his veins and penetrated his spiritual energy.
After a moment, Old Wu let go of his hand.
"That's right, Qi Refining is at the fourth level, very solid." He said, "Divine Sense was also born."
Qin Tiexin nodded.
"Okay." Old Wu walked to the anvil and picked up a most commonly used forging hammer, "Now that I have Divine Sense, I can teach you some things."
He took an ordinary wrought iron ingot and placed it on the anvil.
"Watch it."
Old Wu raised the forging hammer, but did not drop it immediately. He closed his eyes, as if he was feeling something. Then, the hammer fell.
It wasn't a full blow, nor a gentle knock. The moment the hammer head touched the iron ingot, there was a slight pause, and then the force was completely released.
"Dang--"
The sound was different from usual. It was not a crisp impact, but had a long aftertaste, like the sound of a bell. The iron ingot vibrated accordingly, and fine ripples appeared on the surface.
The ripples lasted for three breaths and then slowly subsided.
"This is resonance forging." Old Wu said, "It's not about brute force, it's about rhythm. Use Divine Sense to feel it."
He hammered again. This time Qin Tiexin concentrated and used Divine Sense to "see".
The moment the hammer falls, the fine structure inside the iron ingot is vibrating. It is not a chaotic vibration, but like a water wave, it spreads from the hammering point and penetrates into every corner. Impurities are "shaken" out during these vibrations, and the crystal lattice of the material itself is arranged more closely.
"Use Divine Sense to observe the inside of the material," Old Wu said, "Find its natural vibration frequency. Then, use a hammer to induce resonance. One hammer blow, and the effect is equivalent to ten ordinary hammers."
He hammered five times in succession. The rhythm of each hammer was different, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes heavy, sometimes light. But after five hammers, the iron ingot changed obviously - the surface was smoother, the color was more uniform, and the volume shrank by a circle.
"Try it." Old Wu handed him the hammer.
Qin Tiexin took the hammer and selected an iron ingot of similar size.
He imitated Old Wu, first closed his eyes and felt it. Divine Sense penetrated into the inside of the iron ingot and "see" the arrangement of the metal lattice and the distribution of impurity particles. Then, he tried to find that "frequency".
It's hard to describe. It's like listening to sounds in the dark, trying to capture the tiniest echo.
He opened his eyes and lowered the hammer.
"Clang!"
The sound was loud, but the aftertaste was short. The iron ingot vibrated once and then stopped.
"Too urgent." Old Wu said, "The hammer is not smashed down, but 'put down'. The force must be fully released at the moment of contact."
Qin Tiexin nodded, took a deep breath, and raised the hammer again.
This time he slowed down his movements. When the hammer fell, his wrist turned slightly, so that the hammer head did not fall vertically, but with a slight rotation.
"Dang--"
The aftertaste is half a minute longer.
"It's so interesting." Old Wu said, "Keep practicing until you can make it ring for more than three breaths with each hammer."
Qin Tiexin practiced more than a dozen hammers. At first it was good and bad, but then I gradually found the feeling. By the twentieth hammer, the iron ingot buzzed for nearly two breaths.
Old Wu stopped looking at him, walked to the wall, and drew pictures on the slate with charcoal.
Qin Tiexin After practicing thirty hammers, he has not yet reached three breaths, but at this time, all the impurities in the iron ingot have been precipitated.
Just as he was about to change another piece and continue practicing, he heard Old Wu calling him,
"Stop, take your time with this. Come over and take a look first."
Qin Tiexin walked to the stone slab. There were several complex patterns painted on the stone slab, which were like spiritual patterns, but denser than ordinary spiritual patterns. Several lines were intertwined, some were parallel, some crossed, and small circles were drawn at the intersection points.
"This is the spirit pattern nesting technique." Old Wu pointed at the intersections with a charcoal pen, "On one Law Artifact, more than one spirit pattern should be carved. Let them share the space without interfering with each other. Once you learn this, you will be able to master another simpler method of engraving double spirit patterns. This is also the basis of the middle-grade Law Artifact spirit pattern array."
He drew an arrow on a line with a pen. "Spiritual power flows in from here, passing through this intersection, and goes in two ways. Go all the way here to activate 'Solidity'; go all the way there to activate 'Light Body'. Two spiritual patterns, one Law Artifact."
He clicked on another pattern. "The difficulty is here. The energy balance at the intersection. If there is too much, the spiritual pattern will overheat and burn; if there is less, the spiritual power will be blocked and the spiritual pattern will fail."
Qin Tiexin stared at those patterns. His Divine Sense automatically began to simulate the flow of spiritual power, Deduction in his mind.
"Use Divine Sense to control." Old Wu said, "When carving, Divine Sense should be divided into several strands, and the flow of spiritual power of several spiritual patterns should be monitored at the same time. Where there is more, just tighten it; where there is less, just add more. It's like walking several tightropes at the same time."
He put down the charcoal. "You Divine Sense has just been born, and you can't do it yet. Practice the simple ones first - two spiritual patterns and an intersection point."
Qin Tiexin nodded.
Old Wu walked to the ores and kicked them. "These red copper and black iron sands are melted. Use them to practice your hands. Start with smelting and practice the resonance forging method; after the embryo is refined, you can practice the nesting technique."
"There is still one month left for the competition." Old Wu looked at Qin Tiexin, "Refining your body during the day and your weapons at night. Your spine hasn't been tempered yet, right?"
"Not yet."
"Get ready when you get back. I gave you the recipe for medicinal bath last time. Buy the medicinal materials yourself. If you don't have enough money, ask me. Tempering the spine is painful, but it must be completed before the competition. Body training is your foundation and cannot be lost."
"Understood."
Old Wu waved his hand. "That's it for today. Continue to practice the Resonance Forging Technique until you have three breaths per hammer before learning the next step. Write down the diagram of the Spirit Pattern Nesting Technique and think about it yourself at night."
Qin Tiexin looked at the pattern on the slate carefully several times and kept it in mind.
He put away the things on the ground, saluted Old Wu, turned and left.
When I walked out of the forging room, the moon had already risen above my head. The valley was very quiet, with the only sound of the wind rustling the leaves.
Qin Tiexin returns to his cabin.
The house had not been occupied for a long time, and there was a thin layer of dust on the table. He filled a basin of water, wiped it, then sat on the bed and drew the pattern of the spirit pattern nesting technique from memory. After tracing it a few times to confirm that he was familiar with it, he took out a Jade Slip from the Storage Bag - the "Basic Divine Sense Method Formula" given by senior sister Nangong Yao.
He picked up Jade Slip and put it on his forehead. Divine Sense poked in, and a lot of information came in: how to warm up Divine Sense, how to expand the range, how to finely control, how to defend against Divine Sense attacks...
There was a lot of content, so he read the first part first: Nurturing and Expanding.
The method is very simple: sit quietly every day, slowly release Divine Sense, and maintain it until you reach the limit until you are exhausted. Repeating this can gradually increase the strength and toughness of Divine Sense.
He put down Jade Slip, sat cross-legged, and started trying.
Divine Sense slowly unfolded: one step, three steps, five steps... ten steps. When he reached the fifteenth step, he felt pressure, but he continued to push. Eighteen steps, twenty steps - when he reached the twenty step, it felt like a block Shitou was pressed on his head.
He maintains this range.
Time passed slowly. After one stick of incense, sweat began to form on my forehead. After two sticks of incense, my temples began to throb. After three sticks of incense, Divine Sense began to shake, as if it was about to collapse.
He took it back.
My mind went blank, and it took me a while to recover. But after Divine Sense was taken back, I felt a vague sense of "fulfillment and fatigue", like muscles after exercise.
He rested for a moment and unfolded it again.
This time it only reached eighteen feet and maintained two sticks of incense.
After practicing for three times, I stopped when my brain felt slightly uncomfortable. Too much is not enough.
Then while relaxing your brain, continue to memorize the spiritual pattern nesting diagram.
He feels that his qualifications are relatively poor, so he has to work harder than others.