True Artifact Refining
In the blink of an eye, another half year passed. During that time, Shen Ge had developed a solid grasp of the fundamentals of artifact refining, and could even spare time to study formations and talismans.
That day, Shen Ge entered an artifact refining chamber. A furnace stood in the very center of the room. He did not know what material it was made of, but it showed no change whatsoever in the intense heat.
After glancing at the flames rising from the center, Shen Ge slowly took several deep breaths and calmed himself.
Then, without rushing, he took out a piece of iron essence, used the Golden Light Sword to divide it in two, and tossed one half into the furnace.
Under the flames, the iron essence soon melted into molten iron. Shen Ge heated it a while longer to remove the impurities completely, then began adding auxiliary materials such as gold and silver sand.
Once all the materials had thoroughly fused, Shen Ge used Spiritual Qi to take out the mass of molten iron.
His Divine Sense and spiritual power were now far beyond what they had once been, so he no longer needed a mold or anything of the sort. Using his spiritual power as a blade, he began shaping it directly.
After a period of carving, the molten iron became a saber, somewhat resembling a Tang saber in shape.
After he washed it with Spiritual Qi, a low-grade Law Artifact saber was complete.
Of course, this was only the prototype of a Law Artifact. A formation still had to be engraved on it afterward, but Shen Ge had no intention of doing something so time-consuming and laborious now, so he put the saber away.
He then tossed all the remaining iron essence into the furnace. Once it had melted, he took out some comparatively precious artifact refining materials and tossed them in as well.
After a wait that was not too long, Shen Ge took out the molten iron. Following some careful carving and polishing, it had become a longsword.
The longsword was hollow in the middle and could be separated into two swords, one large and one small.
Shen Ge looked at the longsword before him and nodded in satisfaction. He raised a hand and began nurturing it with his own Metal Spiritual Qi. Unlike his earlier wash of Spiritual Qi, this time he worked with greater care.
He nurtured it for an entire night, stopping only when the longsword began to give off a faint spiritual glow.
"A mid-grade sword blank that can rival a high-grade Law Artifact. If the formation engraved on it is strong enough, it might really become a high-grade Law Artifact."
Nodding in satisfaction, Shen Ge put away the longsword, took out Spirit Stones, and sat cross-legged to regulate his breathing. Once he had returned to peak condition, he took out the piece of Tide Crab shell.
After some hesitation, Shen Ge tossed the shell into the furnace. This time, however, he did not dare heat it for long. He took it out less than a minute after putting it in.
After all, his aim was to remove the impurities from the shell, not melt it.
The Tide Crab's shell was already the equivalent of a mid-grade defensive Law Artifact. It only needed a little work; there was no need to damage its original structure.
After putting these things away, Shen Ge patted himself down, got up, and left the artifact refining chamber. Whenever he encountered fellow disciples on the way and heard them call him senior brother, he nodded and smiled in response.
Just as Shen Ge walked out of the Artifact Refining Hall, he saw Mu Wan approaching with a frown, seemingly lost in thought. He went up to greet her. "Junior Sister Mu Wan, why the long face? Have you run into some trouble?"
Mu Wan looked up and saw Shen Ge, and a strange look flashed in her eyes. She hurried over, pulled him aside, and said quietly, "Shen Ge, something happened by the South Sea recently. I don't know why, but I keep feeling that something's strange about it. Help me think it through."
Seeing Mu Wan acting somewhat mysterious, Shen Ge asked in confusion, "Is it the sand copper mine we went to last time? What happened? Did another Demon Beast show up? That can't be right. Those Demon Beasts from the sea rarely come into shallow waters. Why have they been appearing so often lately?"
Faced with this string of questions, Mu Wan rolled her eyes and answered none of them. She went on, "Some time ago, another Demon Beast appeared there, at the First Tier Peak. Since it was a Giant-Mouthed Fish and had nothing much of value on it, I didn't pay it any mind and let someone else go."
"But three days ago, word came back that the two disciples who went to help had both died. Supposedly, they and the Demon Beast killed each other."
"That can't be right. Although I didn't handle the matter, anyone sent to help would have been at least in the Foundation Establishment Realm, and there were two of them. How could they have been killed by a single First Tier Peak Giant-Mouthed Fish? It doesn't make sense!"
Shen Ge frowned. "Then what do you think?"
Mu Wan shook her head. "I can't think of what's wrong for now. Although the Giant-Mouthed Fish is skilled at launching water swords and concealing itself, isn't it a little impossible for it to have killed two Foundation Establishment cultivators this time?"
"Could another Demon Beast have shown up afterward and reaped the fisherman's profit?" Shen Ge asked, analyzing the matter seriously.
"That's possible, but this is shallow water. How could so many Demon Beasts appear there? How do you explain that?" Mu Wan frowned as she considered a relatively plausible explanation.
Shen Ge thought for a moment, then changed tack. "Hasn't anyone gone to investigate? The sect can't have failed to notice something so unreasonable, right?"
"They've already set out. The Law Enforcement Hall sent an enforcement squad of five Foundation Establishment cultivators, one of whom is at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage. I'm sure we'll have an answer soon."
"Since someone's already gone to check, why are you still guessing here? Can't you just wait for word from them?" Shen Ge said, somewhat at a loss for words. He felt she was eating salty radishes while worrying about someone else's thirst.
Mu Wan rolled her eyes at him and said, somewhat displeased, "Hey, Shen Ge, you could at least show a little sympathy. They were our fellow disciples, after all."
Shen Ge's expression turned serious. "Once they set foot on the road to immortality, they should have considered this outcome. My sympathy won't bring them back to life. Besides, people are closer to some than others, and I didn't know them. Though hearing the news made me feel it was a shame for them, regretful, and even a little sad, that's all."
"If it were convenient, I actually wouldn't mind avenging them, whether it was a person or a Demon Beast. We were fellow disciples, after all, so there's at least that much fellowship between us."
Glancing at Mu Wan, Shen Ge said, "The enforcement squad has already set out. I'm sure there'll be an answer before long, so don't make wild guesses. As for exactly how the two of them died, they'll find out."
"All right." Mu Wan hung her head dejectedly, but soon looked up again. "I spoke a little harshly just now. Don't take it to heart. You're right, actually. People are closer to some than others. Although we're all fellow disciples, the Spirit Moon Sect has more than a thousand people. I've never met or even known most of them, so naturally I don't have any feelings for them."
Shen Ge waved a hand. "There's no need to apologize. Actually, you're right too. Although we don't have much feeling for them, they were fellow disciples, and we should remember them. But whether we show it or not is up to each of us. As long as we feel it in our hearts, that's enough."