On the second day, Qin Tiexin woke up before it was even bright.
The morning fog in the mountains had not dispersed, and the air was moist with dew. He walked along the familiar mountain road to the Discarded Artifact Pavilion, his steps steady and fast. Yesterday at the Merit Hall, he specifically asked about the rules of the Discarded Artifact Pavilion. Moment - Handyman disciples need to complete four hours of work every day, and the wages are ten grains of Spirit Crystal, plus a little Merit Points. If the complete Spirit Rune parts can be disassembled, there will be additional rewards.
Four hours, from Mao Shi to Shen Shi.
Qin Tiexin has calculated that if he can start and finish earlier, he can have time to practice and attend classes. What he lacks most now is time.
By the time Discarded Artifact Pavilion arrived, the valley was still quiet. Only a few early-rising tits were chirping on the branches. Qin Tiexin walked to the pile of junk that had been sorted yesterday - the left was the mortal utensils, the middle was the Spirit Rune damaged Semi-Law Artifact, and the right was the Semi-Law Artifact that was still worth dismantling.
His mission today is to smelt mortal weapons and those completely scrapped Semi-Law Artifact.
There are several furnaces on the east side of the valley floor. The largest one is completely black, with complex patterns carved on the furnace body, and a faint red light shines through the furnace mouth - it is an underground fire furnace, which needs to be activated by Law Power. The temperature is extremely high and can smelt most spiritual materials. However, Qin Tiexin cannot be used.
All he could use were the ordinary stoves nearby.
The furnace was built with blue bricks, and black coal was piled in the furnace. Beside it were bellows, iron tongs, crucibles, and several molds of different sizes.
Qin Tiexin found his workbench and checked the tools first. The jaws of the iron pliers were a little worn, but they were still usable; there were slight cracks on the bottom of the crucible, but they did not affect the smelting of ordinary iron; the bellows was a bit stiff to pull, so he dropped a few drops of the tung oil he brought with him on the rotating shaft.
Then start making a fire.
He picked out a few pieces of black pebbles from the charcoal pile, lit the fire-kindling grass with a fire stick, and carefully put it into the furnace. When the charcoal fire ignited, he pulled the bellows. Amidst the whistling wind, the fire grew stronger, and an orange-red light came out of the furnace.
The first step is to deal with the mortal objects.
Qin Tiexin picked up a broken sword from the pile of mortal objects. It was a standard long sword. The sword body was severely rusted, but the material was standard fine iron. He first removed the sword handle - the wooden handle was rotten and fell off as soon as it was broken. The guard was made of brass, so he used pliers to unscrew it.
Then, throw the sword into the crucible.
The melting point of refined iron is not high, and it gradually turns red and soft when heated by charcoal fire. Qin Tiexin stared at the heat and turned it over with iron tongs from time to time. When the entire sword body was completely softened into a paste, he used the tongs to pick up the crucible and poured the molten iron into the square ingot mold aside.
Tsk--
When the molten iron is poured into the mold, a puff of white smoke rises.
After cooling for a while, Qin Tiexin opened the mold and took out a palm-sized iron ingot. The surface was rough but the texture was uniform, making it a qualified fine iron ingot.
He weighed it and put it aside.
Then deal with the second piece - a shield fragment, also made of fine iron. The third piece is a half-piece of a gun head, the material is a bit miscellaneous, with some copper mixed in, and it needs to be separated more carefully...
The work was boring, but Qin Tiexin did it meticulously. His hand movements were steady and his eyes were focused. Every artifact seemed alive in his hands - it should be dismantled, melted, and separated. Sweat seeped out from his forehead, dripped down his chin, and shone in the light of the fire.
At the beginning of the morning, other people came one after another.
The round-faced young man yawned and walked into the valley. When he saw Qin Tiexin already working, he was stunned for a moment. "Hey, so early?"
Qin Tiexin nodded and kept moving.
"What about ordinary iron?" The round-faced young man came over and took a look, "Brother, ordinary iron has no oil or water. Look at me -" He pointed to a few rusty utensils on his workbench, "These are good things. Brass and bronze can be replaced with more Spirit Crystal when melted."
Qin Tiexin did not answer the call and continued to deal with the broken knife in his hand.
The round-faced young man was bored, curled his lips and left. After a while, a clanking sound was heard in the valley - other handyman disciples also started to work, but most of them were dealing with the utensils containing copper, silver, and even some spiritual materials. Ordinary iron? It was heavy, cheap, and thankless.
Qin Tiexin doesn't care.
He is aware of his situation. Without Law Power, he cannot activate the earth-fire furnace and cannot process spiritual materials. Although the value of iron is low, it is abundant in quantity, and he happens to be good at it.
The knowledge about iron forging in Illustrated Catalog of Ten Thousand Artifacts, the day and night practice in the Illusory Realm Hall, and the skills gained in the blacksmith shop are all used now. The separation and purification that others find cumbersome are in his hands in an orderly manner; the low returns that others despise are accumulated in his hands.
The most important thing is that he must complete the four hours of work as soon as possible.
The fire was blazing and the steam was steaming. Qin Tiexin took off his coat and wore only a single shirt, revealing his strong arms. His muscles tensed and relaxed under the firelight, and his clothes were soaked with sweat and stuck to his body.
He looked at the sun from time to time.
At this time, he finished melting the first basket of mortal utensils and obtained twelve fine iron ingots.
At noon, the second basket was finished melting, and another fifteen pieces were obtained.
His stomach growled with hunger, but he didn't stop. He took out the half piece of cake left in the morning from his arms, heated it on the fire, ate a few bites, drank a few mouthfuls of cold water from the bamboo tube, and continued working.
The evening meal can be eaten at once, and the lunch meal can be saved.
Soon, he began to deal with those Spirit Rune damaged Semi-Law Artifact.
These are more troublesome than ordinary artifacts. Although Spirit Rune has been destroyed, the materials are often mixed - fine iron is mixed with red copper, bronze is mixed with tin, and some still have residual spirituality. You need to be more careful when smelting.
Qin Tiexin Slow down and deal with it one by one.
***
At the beginning of Shenshi, the sun was heading west.
Qin Tiexin Knock open the last mold and take out a copper ingot. It was melted from a damaged copper mirror and is of good quality.
He counted today's results: thirty-eight refined iron ingots, nine copper ingots, and five miscellaneous copper ingots.
According to the rules, ten standard fine iron ingots can be exchanged for one Spirit Crystal, and the value of the copper ingot is slightly higher. He moved the finished product to the door of the warehouse, where a handyman disciple who was keeping accounts sat there.
The disciple took one look and was a little surprised. "You did it all by yourself?"
"Yes."
"Okay." The disciple took out the book and registered, "Thirty-eight fine iron ingots, combined with three spiritual crystals, the remaining eight; nine copper ingots, according to the fineness... count you two spiritual crystals; five miscellaneous copper, one spiritual crystal. A total of six spiritual crystals, plus today's wages, ten, and some good deeds."
He wrote a voucher and stamped it, "Go to the Merit Hall to get it."
Qin Tiexin took the voucher and said thank you.
When Discarded Artifact Pavilion walked out, he looked back. Old Wu stood at the door of his stone house at some point and was looking this way. Their eyes met, and Old Wu said nothing and turned around and entered the house.
Qin Tiexin strode down the mountain.
***
There are not many people in the Merit Hall, and most of the handyman disciples have not finished their work at this time.
Qin Tiexin handed the voucher to the deacon behind the counter. The deacon checked it and counted sixteen grains of Spirit Crystal - six grains were obtained from smelting and ten grains were wages. He also carved a sum on a wooden sign and handed it to him. "Merit Points is recorded on the sign. What do you want to redeem now, or should you save it?"
"Convert "Qi Drawing Instruction" and "Basic Body Tempering Instruction"."
The deacon glanced at him. "Two Cultivation Method, thirteen Merit Points, thirty-nine Spirit Crystal."
Qin Tiexin took out twenty-three pills Spirit Crystal, collected thirty-nine pills, and gave them to the deacon.
The deacon accepted the Spirit Crystal and took out two Jade Slip from under the counter: ""Qi Drawing Instruction" is five points Merit Points, "Basic Body Tempering Instruction" is eight points Merit Points. Jade Slip can only be read three times, remember it and practice again."
"Thank you, deacon."
Qin Tiexin took Jade Slip and carefully put it into his arms. When he walked out of the Merit Hall, he touched his waist - there were only sixteen Spirit Crystal left.
Tomorrow's meal is five pills, the day after tomorrow five pills, the day after tomorrow...
You have to work hard to earn Spirit Crystal.
***
When we returned to the cabin, Sun Daniu hadn't come back yet. Qin Tiexin closed the door, sat by the bed, and first took out "Qi Drawing Instruction" Jade Slip.
Jade Slip is warm and slightly cool to the touch. He placed it between his eyebrows according to the method he learned yesterday and concentrated.
Information flows into my mind.
"Qi Drawing Instruction" mainly talks about how to sense Spiritual Qi, guide it into the body, and form a cyclone in Dantian. It also includes detailed breathing methods and several Spiritual Qi operation route maps.
Qin Tiexin Recite carefully.
After reading it over and over, he opened his eyes, and the Jade Slip light dimmed a little.
He did not rush to practice, but first went through the method several times in his mind to make sure that every detail was remembered. Then he sat cross-legged, closed his eyes and meditated.
Breathe according to the method, inhale and exhale slowly and deeply.
At first, it was the same as when I tried to listen to the class yesterday - I could vaguely sense the flow of Spiritual Qi around me, but it was very weak, and the five attributes were mixed together, metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, interfering with each other.
He tried to guide.
A trace of extremely light metallic Spiritual Qi was affected and slowly seeped into the palm. But then, the woody Spiritual Qi also followed in. The two met in the meridians, canceling each other out and dissipating.
There is not one out of ten.
Qin Tiexin understands in his heart. This is the dilemma of Five Spirit Roots - after Spiritual Qi enters the body, due to the mixed attributes and interference with each other, there is only one in a hundred that can finally stay in Dantian.
He was not impatient and kept trying.
Another wisp of fire attribute Spiritual Qi was introduced, this time a little more. But water attribute Spiritual Qi also came in, and water and fire collided, and escaped again.
Time passed little by little.
Qin Tiexin sweated on his forehead. He felt a faint stinging sensation coming from his meridians - this was caused by Spiritual Qi's flushing. Beginners should not continue it for too long.
He stopped and opened his eyes.
It was almost dusk outside the window. He estimated the time and found that he had been practicing for about half an hour just now. However, the Spiritual Qi introduced into the body remained... very little.
At this rate, it would probably take a month to reach Qi Refining First Layer. But for Four Spirit Root like Ma Chi, it takes ten to fifteen days; Single Spirit Root is said to be able to successfully introduce Qi into the body in half an hour.
The gap is like a chasm.
Qin Tiexin had no expression on his face. He put away "Qi Drawing Instruction" Jade Slip and took out "Basic Body Tempering Instruction".
But after thinking about it, I didn't rush to practice.
My meridians already have a tingling sensation, so it's not appropriate to practice any more today. Moreover, it's almost time for the Dharma Lecture Hall class to begin.
He stood up, straightened his clothes, opened the door and went out.
***
Dharma Lecture Hall is talking about "Detailed Explanation of Sect Rules and Precepts" today.
There were fewer people coming to listen than the previous few days - some handyman disciples felt that the rules were boring and not as practical as practicing. But Qin Tiexin sat upright and listened carefully.
Senior Brother Li explained in detail, "Sect Rules and Precepts has three hundred rules, the core of which is just eight characters: respect the teacher, respect the Tao, and practice diligently. But the details need to be kept in mind. Those who violate the rules can be fined Merit Points in the lightest way, expelled from the sect in the worst case, or even..."
He paused. "Abolish your cultivation."
There was silence under the stage.
Qin Tiexin silently wrote down which places are not allowed to enter without permission, which behaviors are considered violations of the sect's rules, how to accept tasks, how to exchange resources... everything is the foundation of survival in this sect.
After the class, a disciple asked, "Brother, I heard that new disciples have the opportunity to attend classes for free for a month. Is it true?"
"It's true." Senior Brother Li nodded, "In the first month of entry, the Dharma Lecture Hall basic course is free. After one month, you need to exchange Merit Points or Spirit Crystal for the qualification to attend the class."
There were low murmurs in the crowd.
"It's only been a month..."
"We have to hurry up."
Qin Tiexin knew it in his heart. He had to learn as much as possible in one month.
When we walked out of the Dharma Lecture Hall, it was already dark. Scattered lanterns were lit on both sides of the mountain road, and the light was dim. Qin Tiexin saw Sun Daniu coming from another road, with a tired look on his face, but his eyes were bright.
"Brother Qin!" Sun Daniu saw him and walked a few steps quickly, "I today... I sensed Spiritual Qi today! Although it is still very weak, it did induce a trace of it into my body!"
Qin Tiexin nodded. "Congratulations."
"What about you?" Sun Daniu asked.
"It's not even close." Qin Tiexin said truthfully.
Sun Daniu patted his shoulder. "Don't rush, take your time. By the way, how about you go to the Discarded Artifact Pavilion today? I heard that place..."
"Very good." Qin Tiexin said.
Sun Daniu Seeing that his expression was calm and not pretending, he stopped asking any more questions. The two of them walked back to the wooden house side by side.
At night, Qin Tiexin was lying on the bed, looking at the roof with his eyes open.
Two Jade Slip pills were placed close to the body and were slightly warm. Sixteen Spirit Crystal pills were put in a cloth bag and placed beside the pillow. There was the sound of wind passing by outside the window, and the faint ringing of bells came from the distance - it was the bell for the outer disciples' evening classes.
He thought of the temperature of the furnace fire when smelting ordinary iron today, the sound of molten iron pouring into the mold, and the heavy feel of the ingot when it was taken out.
I also remembered that when I was practicing "Qi Drawing Instruction", I felt an overwhelming feeling of powerlessness after Spiritual Qi entered my body.
One road is difficult, and the other road... doesn't seem to be easy either.
But he closed his eyes and his breathing gradually became even.
I have to get up early tomorrow.
First go to the Discarded Artifact Pavilion and melt the remaining mortal tools today. Then go to the Merit Hall, hand in the task, and receive Spirit Crystal. If you have time in the afternoon, try to practice "Basic Body Tempering Instruction". In the evening, continue listening to the class.
Come step by step.
There will always be a way.