From the Metal and Stone Pavilion, Qin Tiexin did not directly return to Yuelai Inn.
He walked around the street and bought ten large meat buns with the piece of silver given by Cultivator Wang. He ate six of them while standing by the stall, and wrapped the remaining four in oil paper and carried them in his pocket. He also went to the grocery store and bought a set of clean coarse cloth clothes, which cost him thirty cash.
Back at the inn, the three people in the main room were not there, so they probably went to work. Qin Tiexin packed his things - not much in fact, just a few changes of clothes, a water bag, a bag of dry food, and the Edgeless wrapped in coarse cloth.
He went to the counter to check out. When the shopkeeper saw him carrying his luggage, he was surprised. "The guest is leaving now? Didn't he say he was looking for a job?"
"Found it." Qin Tiexin said.
The shopkeeper blinked and thought of something, "Could it... go to the Metal and Stone Pavilion? I heard someone say this morning that a blacksmith with excellent skills came to the Metal and Stone Pavilion and repaired Immortal Master Wang's Breezy Wind Sword, only taking five Spirit Crystal."
The news spread really fast. Qin Tiexin didn't deny it and nodded.
The shopkeeper's face immediately filled with a smile, "Oh, Master Qin is hiding something so secretly! Please forgive me for being so negligent last night! In this way, I will refund you half of your room payment for these two nights!"
Qin Tiexin waved his hand. "No need."
"I want it!" The shopkeeper counted out twenty copper coins from the money box and forced it over, "Come and stay here often!"
Qin Tiexin Confiscated, put your bags on your back and go out.
***
Back to the Metal and Stone Pavilion, it was already afternoon.
There was an extra customer in the shop. He was an old man in his fifties, wearing a dark brown short coat, with calluses on his hands Heaviness. He was holding a short knife broken in two and talking to the fat shopkeeper. Seeing Qin Tiexin come in, the fat shopkeeper's eyes lit up. "Master Qin is back!"
The old man turned to look at him, his eyes scrutinizing.
"This is Master Liu, the master in our shop who specializes in the sale of mortal objects." The fat shopkeeper introduced, "Master Liu, this is the Qin Tiexin Master Qin I just mentioned, the one who repaired Immortal Master Wang Breezy Wind Sword."
Master Liu looked Qin Tiexin up and down, his eyes lingered on his calloused hands for a moment, and nodded. "I heard that you repaired Breezy Wind Sword without using your spiritual power?"
"Yeah." Qin Tiexin said.
"How to fix it?"
"Azure-Veined Iron lattice is broken, just reattach it."
Master Liu narrowed his eyes slightly. "That's easy to say. Azure-Veined Iron is brittle and will break if not connected properly. What method did you use?"
Qin Tiexin thought for a while, stretched out his hand and gestured. "Gently shake with a small hammer, and click to harden the shape."
Master Liu was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed, a hoarse laugh, "It's interesting. Come, take a look at this knife." He handed over the short knife that was broken into two pieces.
Qin Tiexin took it. The knife was an ordinary fine iron knife. It had not been broken for a long time and the fracture was still new. He looked at it carefully and saw that the crystal lattice at the fracture was uneven and there were a few hidden wounds.
"Can it be repaired?" Master Liu asked.
"Yes." Qin Tiexin said, "But if it needs to be reforged, the original length will be one inch shorter."
Master Liu nodded. "Okay. Shopkeeper, this job will be given to Master Qin. The salary will be as per our shop's rules, one hundred cents."
The fat shopkeeper smiled and said, "Master Qin, this is your first official job in our shop. The wage is one hundred cents, and the materials shop will provide it. From now on, you and Master Liu will discuss taking over the work of Repair. For Semi-Law Artifact... it depends on the situation and you can take it if you are confident."
Qin Tiexin responds.
The fat shopkeeper added, "There is one more thing. Master Qin If you want, you can live in the back of the shop. There is an empty room in the wing. Although it is smaller, it is better than the common shop in the inn. The shop will take care of the two meals a day. The wages will be calculated separately. Repair will pay you according to the piece of utensils. Semi-Law Artifact Repair The shop will take 30%, and the rest will be yours."
This condition is considered kind. Qin Tiexin said without hesitation, "Okay."
"Refreshing!" The fat shopkeeper called the apprentice who came to clean the sword, "Little Zhao, take Master Qin to the east wing of the backyard to settle down. There are new ones in the bedding cabinet, go get them yourself."
Little Zhao is the apprentice yesterday. Now he looks at Qin Tiexin with a completely different look. He is very respectful. "Master Qin, please come this way."
***
The backyard is not big, with three wing rooms surrounding a small patio. The east wing room is the smallest, but very clean, with a bed, a table, a chair, and an old wardrobe. The windows face the patio, and the light is good.
Qin Tiexin put down the luggage and Edgeless leaned against the bedside. Little Zhao brought the quilt and brought a pot of hot water. "Master Qin, tell me what you need. Dinner is at the beginning of Youshi, and we will eat it in the small dining hall at the back of the front hall."
"Thank you."
After Little Zhao left, Qin Tiexin closed the door and sat down on the bed. He took out the six Spirit Crystal pills from his arms and put them in the palm of his hand to look at them.
The milky white stones were warm and shimmering, and the mist inside was slowly flowing. He tried to "inject" something into the Spirit Crystal like Cultivator Wang had done - but there was no reaction. It seemed that the Spirit Crystal could only be activated by monks using spiritual power, or used as a trading currency.
He carefully put Spirit Crystal into his personal purse and separated it from the remaining broken silver and copper coins. Then he stood up, took the broken knife to the table, and prepared to work.
The afternoon passed with the sound of tinkling iron.
Qin Tiexin set up a small stove in the small patio in the backyard and lit a fire to forge the knife. It was not difficult to forge the broken knife, but the difficulty was to maintain the original toughness of the blade. He first heated the two broken knives red, knocked out the impurities, and then stacked them together and forged them together. After forging until they were almost the same, they were stretched, quenched, and tempered.
The whole process took two hours. The final dagger was an inch shorter than the original, but the blade was even and the blade was straight. He cut the edge with a whetstone and tried the feel, and found that he was quite satisfied.
He took it to the front hall and showed it to Master Liu. Master Liu took the knife, flicked the blade with his fingers, listened to the sound, bent it again to test its toughness, and nodded. "The craftsmanship is solid. When the guests come to pick it up tomorrow, this hundred coins will be yours."
"Thank you."
"Why are you thanking me? You rely on your craftsmanship to eat." Master Liu put the knife back on the counter and turned to look at him, "Master Qin, what did you do at Great Xuan before?"
"Craftsmen's Camp."
Master Liu suddenly said, "No wonder. Craftsmen's Camp came out with a strong foundation. But..." He paused, "Have you ever come into contact with 'Law Artifact' in Great Xuan?"
Qin Tiexin shook his head. The sword he had come into contact with Lin Feng was also Semi-Law Artifact.
Master Liu took out several things from under the counter and placed them on the table one by one. A long sword, a short dagger, and a small buckler.
"These are the most commonly sold Law Artifact and Semi-Law Artifact in our shop." Master Liu pointed to the long sword, "This 'Azure Edge Sword', similar to the Breezy Wind Sword you repaired this morning, it is forged from Azure-Veined Iron, with Basic Sharpness Spirit Rune engraved inside. The price is fifty pieces of Spirit Crystal."
He pointed to the dagger again. "This 'Armor-Piercing Dagger' is mixed with less than half of 'Black Iron Sand', which is considered to be a little bit of spiritual material. Armor-Piercing Spirit Rune is engraved in it, which has a miraculous effect on leather and scale armor. The price is seventy-five tablets of Spirit Crystal."
Finally, there is the small buckler. "'Stone Defense Shield', mixed with half of 'Brass Essence', which has more spiritual material and is engraved with Sturdiness Spirit Rune. It can block ordinary flying stones and arrows, and it is also effective against low-level Law Technique. The price is one piece of Lower-Grade Spirit Stone."
Qin Tiexin looked carefully. In [Appraisal]'s field of vision, the internal structures of the three weapons were clearly displayed. Azure Edge Sword There are six light blue light filaments inside, two less than Breezy Wind Sword; the internal light filaments of Armor-Piercing Dagger are dark red and the trend is more complicated; the light filaments of Stone Defense Shield are earthy yellow and coiled into a mesh.
"Both of these two are 'Lower-Grade Law Artifact'?" he asked, pointing to Armor-Piercing Dagger and Stone Defense Shield.
Master Liu laughed, "How can we count Law Artifact. These are all 'Semi-Law Artifact', Armor-Piercing Dagger and Stone Defense Shield are better Semi-Law Artifact--Using ordinary iron as the main material, engraved with dots as the base Spirit Rune, it can be activated by spiritual power, but the effect is limited. Spirit Rune will wear out after being used for a long time, and the material cannot withstand too strong spiritual power."
He put away three things and lowered his voice. "The real 'Law Artifact' must be mixed with at least 10% of the 'spiritual material'. In small places like ours Green Cliff Town, most of the products circulating are Semi-Law Artifact and the last Lower-Grade Law Artifact. Middle-Grade Law Artifact... I have worked here for twelve years and have only seen three of them, all of which were carried by high-ranking monks passing by."
Qin Tiexin Listen carefully.
Seeing that he was interested, Master Liu simply told more, "The artifacts in the world of cultivation are divided into materials and grades. The materials are ordinary iron - refined iron, Azure-Veined Iron, Bailiangang, etc. are all considered ordinary iron. Even better are 'spiritual materials', such as Black Iron Sand, Scarlet Fire Copper, Cold Iron Essence, these are born with Spiritual Qi, which are the main ingredients for refining Law Artifact. There are also 'treasure ingredients' above, which are not visible to us. I heard that only the ancestors of Golden Core can use them."
"As for the level of artifacts, the lowest is ordinary weapons - ordinary swords, without Spirit Rune. Then there are Semi-Law Artifact, ordinary iron plus Spirit Rune, which is cheaper than Qi Refining. The first three levels Rogue Cultivator is my favorite. Next up is Law Artifact, which is divided into four grades: low, medium, high and top grade. Lower-Grade Law Artifact is mixed with 10% to 30% of spiritual materials, medium grade is 40 to 60%, top grade is 70 to 90%, and top grade is 100% pure spiritual material."
"Qi Refinement Realm monks mostly use low-grade, Middle-Grade Law Artifact. Foundation Establishment Realm's overhaul, so they can afford top-grade and top-grade ones. As for the legendary 'Spirit Artifact'... I heard that Law Artifact is a psychic, can recognize his master, and has consciousness. Only the ancestor Golden Core has it. No one has seen Green Cliff Town like us."
Qin Tiexin kept these in mind and asked again, "Is it difficult to practice Law Artifact?"
"It's as difficult as climbing to the sky." Master Liu sighed, "First of all, you have to understand the characteristics of various spiritual materials, know how to refine them, and how to match them. Secondly, you have to understand 'Spirit Rune Studies'--Spirit Rune is Law Artifact For the soul of, different texture combinations can produce different effects: Sharpness, Sturdiness, Lightness and Agility, wind control, fire making, water gathering... it's complicated."
"Finally, and the most difficult thing, you must have spiritual power to support you. When carving Spirit Rune, you need to continuously inject spiritual power. You can't break a stroke, and you can't make a single mistake. You must at least be Middle Stage of Qi Refining, and the spiritual power is long enough. Therefore, there are few weapon refiners, and most of them come from large sects with inheritance and resources to train."
"You repaired Breezy Wind Sword last time. You were lucky. Once Spirit Rune breaks, only a few Master Chen refiners can repair the entire Green Cliff Town."
Qin Tiexin is silent. He has no spiritual power, and this road seems to be broken.
Master Liu saw his thoughts and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't be discouraged. Although you have no spiritual power, you have good eyesight and excellent craftsmanship. With Repair, you can gain a foothold in the world of cultivation without refining. Many weapon refiners have a bad temper, so practice If Semi-Law Artifact opens, it will cost twenty or thirty Spirit Crystal. If Spirit Rune breaks, it will cost fifty Spirit Crystal to start. Rogue Cultivators can't afford it at all. If you can repair it well and ask for an affordable price, you won't have to worry about running out of work."
Just as he was talking, the fat shopkeeper came out from the inner room, heard the second part of the sentence, and answered, "Master Liu is right. Master Qin, your Repair skills are the first time I have seen them in Green Cliff Town. From now on, we will cooperate. You concentrate on repairing things, and I will help you take over the work, negotiate the price, and keep it better than you doing it alone."
Qin Tiexin nodded. "Thank you, shopkeeper."
"You're welcome." The fat shopkeeper said with a smile, "Let's go, it's time for dinner."
***
Dinner was in the small canteen. Sitting around a square table were the fat shopkeeper, Master Liu, two apprentices Little Zhao and Little Li, plus Qin Tiexin, a total of five people.
The meal was simple but substantial: a large bowl of brown rice, a bowl of cabbage stewed with tofu, a plate of pickles, and a small bowl of scrambled eggs. The fat shopkeeper specially ordered to add a plate of soy sauce meat, which was a welcome addition to Qin Tiexin.
Qin Tiexin filled a bowl full of rice, poured vegetable soup over it, and ate with his head. He ate quickly but without making a sound. After finishing one bowl, he filled another bowl. After eating three bowls in a row, most of the food on the table was gone.
Little Zhao and Little Li looked dumbfounded. Master Liu actually smiled, "You are young and strong, so you should eat more. We blacksmiths work hard, so what can we do if we don't eat enough."
The fat shopkeeper also laughed, "Master Qin Just eat, you have enough food."
Qin Tiexin was a little embarrassed, but he still took the fourth bowl. He really has a larger appetite than ordinary people. In the past, at Craftsmen's Camp, he could eat five or six steamed buns in one meal.
After the meal, Little Zhao Little Li was clearing away the dishes. Qin Tiexin wanted to help, but Master Liu stopped him. "Let them do it. Come on, I'll take you to the warehouse to identify the things."
Metal and Stone Pavilion's warehouse is on the underground floor of the backyard. It is not big, but it is full of piles. Various materials are placed on the wooden shelves against the wall: in the iron area, there are refined iron ingots, Azure-Veined Iron blocks, and hundred-smelted steel bars; in the spiritual materials area, there are only a few scattered items, packed in small wooden boxes with labels on the boxes.
Master Liu opened a wooden box, and inside was a metal block the size of a fingernail, glowing red. "This is 'Scarlet Fire Copper', a first-level spiritual material. A piece as small as a fingernail is worth twenty Spirit Crystal."
Opened another one and found several light blue flakes. "'Cold Iron flakes', this flake is worth ten Spirit Crystal."
Qin Tiexin looked at it intently. [Appraisal] In his field of vision, there were fine red light spots flowing inside Scarlet Fire Copper, while the Cold Iron piece was filled with light blue light and mist. He reached out and touched it lightly - it felt warm and moist, completely different from ordinary iron.
"There aren't many stocks of these spiritual materials in the shop." Master Liu closed the wooden box, "The really good spiritual materials have all been sent to auctions in big cities and will not stay in small-town shops like ours. If you want to get more exposure, you can either go to the Myriad Treasures Pavilion at the east end of the town - they occasionally have spiritual materials for sale there, but they are expensive. Or... wait for the mining team to come back from the mountains, and sometimes they can bring back some scattered spiritual minerals."
Qin Tiexin noted it down.
When we came out of the warehouse, it was completely dark. Green Cliff Town There was no curfew, but there were few pedestrians on the street, and only a few pubs still had lights on. Returning to the east wing, Qin Tiexin lit the oil lamp and sat by the bed.
Edgeless was leaning against the bedside, feeling the familiar feeling of "hungry" coming from under the coarse cloth. It was clearer than during the day, like a voice urging: Eat... Eat...
He untied the cloth and exposed the blade. The dark blade glowed matte under the oil lamp, and the dark red lines on the blade seemed more obvious than before. He ran his fingers over the blade and could feel a subtle tremor coming from inside the blade.
Spiritual materials. Edgeless needs spiritual materials.
But the spiritual material is too expensive. Scarlet Fire Copper is worth twenty pills of Spirit Crystal the size of a fingernail. He owns six pills of Spirit Crystal, and he can't even afford half of them, so he has to keep some for daily expenses.
Gotta make more Spirit Crystal.
Qin Tiexin Put the knife into the cloth, blow out the oil lamp, and lie on the bed. Close your eyes and sink into the sea of consciousness.
In the gray mist palace, Illustrated Catalog of Ten Thousand Artifacts was floating quietly. With a thought in his mind, the catalog unfolded.
[Main mission: All Laws Return to Artifacts]
[Phase goal one: First Glimpse of Spiritual Runes]
Contains ten different basic Spirit Rune structures.
Progress: Basic Sharpness Spirit Rune(1/10)--from [Law Artifact·Breezy Wind Sword].
He stared at this line of words. His mind moved slightly, and detailed explanations were unfolded below the characters:
[Basic Sharpness Spirit Rune]
Structure: Linear compound pattern, six main patterns, twelve auxiliary patterns, and twenty-four nodes.
Efficacy: Slightly improve the weapon Sharpness speed and Armor Piercing ability, with low spiritual power consumption.
Common carriers: Azure-Veined Iron, refined iron.
Best matching spiritual materials: Mysterious Iron Sand, Sharp Metal Stone.
Weaknesses: Nodes 3, 7, and 15 are prone to spiritual energy blockage and require regular Nourishment.
At the same time, a flow of information poured into my mind. It was the complete structural diagram of Basic Sharpness Spirit Rune. The direction, thickness, and depth of each line, as well as the position and function of each node, were clearly imprinted in my consciousness.
Illusory Realm Hall vibrates slightly, and there is a translucent Spirit Rune shadow in the corner, which is the enlarged model of Basic Sharpness Spirit Rune. A prompt appears next to it: [You can practice engraving here].
Qin Tiexin tried to use his consciousness to "paint" that Spirit Rune. His finger made an empty stroke, and a pale golden light trace appeared in the air, but as soon as he drew the first stroke, the light trace trembled and collapsed.
[Insufficient spiritual power, physical imitation cannot be carried out. Only structural memory exercises can be carried out.]
He understood. Spirit Rune needs to be driven by spiritual power. He has no spiritual power, so he can only learn the structure and cannot truly depict it. But this is enough - if you can understand the structure of Spirit Rune, you can find the key to Repair.
Continue to look at the tasks.
[Phase goal two: Hundred Appraisals of Spiritual Materials]
Identify and collect thirty different basic weapon refining materials.
Progress: (0/30)
[Phase goal three: First Law Artifact Completed]
Refining a low-level Law Artifact by yourself (the spiritual material content is 10% to 30%, containing at least one complete Spirit Rune).
Progress: Not completed
Finally, there is the reward prompt after the mission is completed: [After all the main mission "All Laws Return to Artifacts" is completed, the exclusive ability "Spiritual Material Sensing" will be unlocked]
Qin Tiexin exited the sea of consciousness and opened his eyes.
The moonlight outside the window was cold, shining on the ground through the window paper. He was lying on the bed, thinking over and over in his mind what he had learned today: the level of artifacts, the classification of spiritual materials, the structure of Spirit Rune...
The road is still long.
But he has a direction.
Repair earns Spirit Crystal and buys spiritual materials to support Edgeless. At the same time, use [Appraisal] to collect more Spirit Rune and spiritual materials to complete Illustrated Catalog of Ten Thousand Artifacts's mission. When he saves enough money, he may be able to buy some lowest-level spiritual materials and try to refine a real Law Artifact--although he does not have the spiritual power to carve Spirit Rune, he can ask a monk to help carve it and be responsible for the forging part himself.
This requires a lot of Spirit Crystal. A lot. A lot.
Qin Tiexin turned over and closed his eyes.
Starting tomorrow, I will take on more work.