"That's right, this is the second thing I want to tell you." Luo Ling cleared her throat and drew Qin Tiexin's attention back.
"Tiexin, if I remember correctly, you were born as a blacksmith. You have been blacksmithing since elementary school, and your major is weapons, right?"
"Yes."
"In the Outer Sect Competition, you won the Weapon Refining Competition, and you forged an epee; now you are reforging Edgeless, using the same process as sword forging." Lorington paused, "But Tiexin, you have to understand - the Weapon Refiner is not an upgraded version of the blacksmith. In the mortal world, it is enough to make swords, shields and armor. But in the world of cultivation, it is far from enough."
She walked back to the stone bench and sat down. She raised her finger and pointed at Chen Xi: "It just so happened that your senior brother Chen Xi came back and asked you to meet him and get to know him. By the way, choose a minor course."
"Minor?" Qin Tiexin asked.
"Yes." Luo Ling picked up the teapot on the table and poured himself a glass of water. "In the field of weapon refining, Law Artifact has many types, far more than just swords and shields. You have also seen that the gadgets your senior brother gave - stand-in puppets, soul-protecting jade, and moving talismans - none of them are serious weapons."
This senior brother had changed back to his face that was too ordinary to remember at some point, and whispered from the side, "It's all about saving lives..."
Luo Ling glared at him and continued to say to Qin Tiexin, "I divided Law Artifact into fourteen categories according to materials and uses. Listen, take a rough sketch."
She held up a finger.
"The first category, weapons of war. The most common and familiar ones. Swords, spears, swords, halberds, axes, and axes, mainly made of metal spiritual materials, with exposed murderous intent and unrivaled sharpness. The characteristic is that the attack power is maximized. This type has the highest requirements for 'quenching' and 'forging' techniques. The impurities in the spiritual materials must be forged out, so that the spiritual pattern and the blade pattern can be integrated. This is what you are practicing."
Qin Tiexin nodded.
"The second category is protective equipment. Armor and shields, which are as strong as mountains. They are made of various materials, such as metal, animal skin, and carapace. They are characterized by building a spiritual barrier, or directly relying on hardness to resist. This type has high requirements on 'structural layout' and 'spiritual channeling'. The spiritual patterns must form a cycle to disperse the attacks and avoid blockage. If you have forged a shield, you are considered relevant."
Luo Ling took a sip of water and continued.
"The third category is jade artifacts. Spiritual jade and Spirit Stone are made of materials such as jade pendants, jade talismans, and jade seals. Jade has high spirituality and is a natural container of spiritual power, but it is brittle and afraid of falling. This type of Law Artifact is not used for fighting, but is mainly for storage. Law Technique, trigger shield, increase Divine Sense, or serve as a battle token. The weapon refiner must use Divine Sense as a carving knife to carve 'three-dimensional spiritual patterns' within square inches. If you are not careful, the jade fragments will be destroyed."
She raised her chin and pointed at Chen Xi: "Your senior brother majors in this."
Chen Xi added from the side, "Jade is good, light and concealable. If you hang a piece of soul-protecting jade around your neck, no one can tell it is Law Artifact. It can save lives at critical moments."
Luo Ling ignored him and continued.
"The fourth category, silken weapons. Silk and linen fabrics, silk armor, ice damask, fairy-binding ropes, etc. It has the characteristics of flexibility, can be strong or soft, can attack and defend, and can also be used as a restraint and flying instrument. This type requires delicate techniques of 'spiritual silk weaving' and 'planar micro-carving', and the spiritual patterns must be woven into the silk threads with the force of warp and weft. It must also ensure that the spiritual patterns are continuous and the spiritual power is not dispersed after folding."
"Yao'er majors in this." Lorington paused, "She minors in the fifth category, accessories."
"Accessories, such as rings, bracelets, necklaces, hairpins, etc. are characterized by functionality greater than offense and defense, and are mainly used for storage, concealment, gathering spirits, detoxification, communication, or sealing strange beasts. The refiner must be proficient in 'space folding spirit pattern' or 'sealing spirit array' to build precise circuits in a very small volume, which requires top-notch micro-carving techniques. Representative works are 'Naxu Ring' and 'Suppressing Spirit Hairpin'."
Qin Tiexin Listen, I went through it in my mind. There are already five categories: combat, protection, jade, silk, and accessories.
Luo Ling didn't stop.
"The sixth category, wood and Spirit Plant weapons. Lightning peach wood, ten thousand year spirit wood, spirit vines, etc. Wooden swords, puppets, staffs, spirit boats, seal boxes. Wooden Law Artifact is naturally full of vitality and is often used to seal evil spirits, assist in alchemy, and perform Wood Element Law Technique. The difficulty lies in 'preserving its properties' - during the refining process, the innate spirituality of Spirit Plant must be preserved and not let it wither. The refiner must master the warming method of 'containing fire with water'."
"Category 7, bone and horn implements. Demon Beast Bones, fangs, claws, horns. Bone swords, bone beads, horns, masks. Such materials themselves contain Demon Beast's talents during his lifetime Divine Ability And the evil spirit, when refining the weapon, you need to 'wash away the evil and leave the power' - erase the evil nature and resentment to prevent backlash, but retain the talent Divine Ability. The requirements for 'Divine Sense Guidance' and 'Sha Qi Balance' are high."
"The eighth category, boats and cave abode weapons. Large Law Artifact, mixed and refined with various spiritual woods, metals, Spirit Stone. Flying boats, building ships, mobile cave abode, and array towers. It is characterized by its large size and integrated functions, often integrating flight, defense, attack, life, alchemy and weapon refining. This type cannot be practiced by one person. It usually requires the cooperation of the entire weapon refining sect, which tests the ability to coordinate the 'overall formation structure' and 'multi-system spiritual power coordination'."
"The ninth category is musical instruments. Qins, flutes, bells, chimes, and bells. Attack and defense do not rely on sharp edges, but rely on sound waves to vibrate spiritual power, confuse people's minds, or arouse the resonance of the vitality of heaven and earth. The weapon refiner must not only be able to refine instruments, but also understand the carving of 'melody spiritual patterns', so that each musical scale can accurately mobilize spiritual power."
"Category 10, puppets and mechanisms. Metal, spiritual wood, and jade are used as skeletons, with Spirit Stone embedded as power inside, and engraved with 'driving spiritual array' and 'command spiritual patterns'. From wooden cows and flowing horses to combat puppets and mountain guardian beasts. Characteristics are that they can act autonomously or semi-autonomously without the need for the owner to continuously pour spiritual power. This type has the highest requirements for the attainments of 'organism' and 'array science', and an independent spiritual power cycle and logical judgment system must be built in the puppet's body."
Chen Xi interjected at this time. "I have also dabbled in the puppet class. The stand-in puppet is a variant of this type, but it is more of a rare object."
Luo Ling nodded and continued.
"The eleventh category, utensils. Specifically refers to Pill Furnace, medicine tripods, medicine bottles, and spiritual tea sets. The core function is not to attack and defend, but to carry high temperature, high pressure, medicinal properties, and the transformation of Spiritual Qi. The materials are mostly heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant black gold, purple sand, and spiritual pottery. The shape of the utensils is based on Mainly cauldrons, furnaces, jars, and bottles. The requirements are stringent - the inner wall spiritual patterns must be 'evenly distributed' and cannot leak, and the fire power must be accurately transmitted. At the same time, the medicine must not be contaminated and easy to clean. A top-grade Pill Furnace is even more rare than the same-level battle Law Artifact."
"The twelfth category, array tools. Array disk, array flag, array base, array eye stone. The extension of the array master can solidify the large array on the artifact to realize rapid formation and mobile array. The main materials are jade, spiritual wood, and special metals, and the shape of the array is plate-shaped, flag-shaped, and column-shaped. The characteristics are flexible The pattern is extremely complex, and multiple sets of 'nested spiritual arrays' are often integrated into one Law Artifact, and the spiritual frequency of each array must be consistent. The weapon refiner must understand the formation, otherwise the spiritual energy of the array will conflict, which may cause it to be ineffective or collapse."
"Category 13, strange objects. Special Law Artifact that are difficult to classify, often with unique or rare functions. Stand-in puppets, soul-fixing beads, reincarnation mirrors, boundary-breaking cones, soul-swallowing pots, etc. The materials are all kinds of strange, including the inner elixir of strange beasts, ancient transformation Stones, extraterrestrial iron, and soul fragments are all possible. The requirements for the weapon refiner are to be 'eclectic, bold and careful', and they have to break the rules and use specific secret techniques or taboo techniques to refine them. The success rate is extremely low. Each rare item can be called the weapon refiner's 'masterpiece' or 'posthumous work'."
She looked at Chen Xi: "He is also good at this kind of thing - as long as it is related to saving one's life and escaping, he is familiar with it."
Chen Xi smiled shyly.
"The last category, the fourteenth category, is miscellaneous utensils. It is all-encompassing. Anything that cannot be classified into the above thirteen categories is considered miscellaneous. Illumination is like spiritual lamps and night pearls; transportation is like cloud carts and shuttles; daily life is like automatic cooking pots and self-cleaning whisks; torture instruments are like spiritual chains and animal cages; and study is like magic pens, inkstones, and paperweights. Miscellaneous Law Artifact may look inconspicuous, but it has the largest circulation in Shijingfang City and is used daily by ordinary Rogue Cultivator and mortal Lineage. Refining this type of most tests the 'practical heart' - whether it can truly solve practical problems in monks' lives."
After Luo Ling finished speaking, he picked up the teacup and took a sip.
The hall became quiet.
Qin Tiexin stood there, thinking through the fourteen categories: combat, protection, jade, silk, accessories, wood, bone, boats, music, puppets, utensils, formations, rare objects, and miscellaneous items. Each category has its own characteristics, and each category has requirements.
For the first time, he had a complete understanding of the word "alchemist" - it was not an upgraded version of blacksmithing, but a profession that covered a wide range of areas and had very fine branches.
Luo Ling put down the teacup and looked at him. "Some people specialize in one or two categories; some people focus on many, and are good at everything. Chen Xi is good at jade, miscellaneous items, and some puppets and rare objects. Nangong Yao is good at silk and accessories. As a teacher, you basically dabble in it, but that is after the golden elixir stage - one method, one hundred methods. Before the golden elixir stage, you have to choose one or two minors."
Qin Tiexin was silent for a moment and asked, "Can I not choose?"
"Why?"
"There is not enough time." Qin Tiexin told the truth, "Refining Qi, refining body, forging, and practicing martial arts have already taken up a full day. Adding minor training..."
"No." Luo Ling interrupted him, "You must choose at least one."
She paused and explained, "Depending on your progress, you may have to participate in the 'Young Weapon Master Competition' in the future. The rules of the competition change every year. This year you may be tested on combat weapons, next year you may be tested on jade tools, and the year after that you may be asked to design a strange object on the spot. If you don't understand other categories, you will be at a disadvantage."
Qin Tiexin said nothing.
"But there's no need to rush." Luo Ling's tone softened, "You can choose after the Foundation Establishment Realm. Before Foundation Establishment, you need to lay the foundation first, practice your combat weapons, and practice your spiritual power control."
She took out a Jade Slip from her arms and threw it to Qin Tiexin.
"It contains detailed descriptions of the fourteen categories, as well as the basic refining techniques and precautions for each category. Take a look at it first, and you will have an idea. You can wait until Foundation Establishment, and then decide what to minor in."
Qin Tiexin took over Jade Slip and started using Wenrun.