19: Chapter 19 Flying Sword Completed

Jiang Yan turned his Divine Sense into a carving knife.

This thing called Divine Sense is mysterious to talk about, and even more mysterious to use.

It is not a hand, not a knife, not any tangible object, but it can carve lines thinner than a human hair onto the gold essence.

Each Restriction line is a channel for spiritual energy; when the Flying Sword is activated, spiritual energy flows along these lines, and the Restriction takes effect accordingly.

The Sharpness Restriction was carved first.

Jiang Yan's Divine Sense touched the surface of the sword blank and began to carve.

The Restriction line started from the end of the sword hilt and extended along the sword spine toward the tip.

The lines were not straight—straight lines could not withstand the continuous scouring of spiritual energy and would break in the middle.

True Restriction lines are wavy, with each crest and trough having a specific arc; this arc determines the speed and stability of the spiritual energy flowing within it.

When he carved to the middle of the sword body, something went wrong.

Jiang Yan's Divine Sense suddenly jolted—on the left side of the sword blank, where a Restriction line was placed, a crack had burst out inside the gold essence.

Extremely thin. The naked eye could not see it at all. But under his Divine Sense, it was as clear as a line drawn with an ink pen on white paper.

After all, this body was performing Artifact Refining seriously for the first time; although he had the experience of his past life, the body had not yet skillfully mastered that experience, leading to a small mistake.

Jiang Yan did not panic.

His Divine Sense steadied, like a pair of experienced hands finding a needle with a broken thread in the dark.

He did not continue carving along the original route. The original route would pass through the center of the crack, which would cause the crack to completely explode when the Restriction was activated.

He made a slight adjustment to the direction of the Restriction line.

It deviated to the left by less than half an inch—just enough to bypass the core area of the crack. At the same time, he added an auxiliary Restriction line on the other side of the crack.

The auxiliary line was thinner and shallower than the main line, like a tributary branching off from the main river, winding around in a small curve, and then merging back below the crack.

With this detour and addition, the crack was completely isolated outside the Restriction circuit.

Not only that. The addition of the auxiliary Restriction line gave the Sharpness Restriction's spiritual energy channel an extra branch.

This meant that when activated, the distribution of spiritual energy on the sword blade would be more even—the cutting power actually increased slightly.

This kind of on-the-spot adaptability is the watershed between a quasi-fourth-rank Artifact Refining Great Master and an ordinary Artifact Refiner.

Ordinary Artifact Refiners only know how to follow the book. How the Restriction lines are carved, what the books say, how their masters teach—that is how they carve.

Once they encounter an accident, they are at a loss; either they bite the bullet and continue, carving the crack larger and larger until the sword blank shatters into pieces,

or they start over, wasting Materials and time in vain.

But a true Artifact Refining Great Master can turn accidents into opportunities. The crack is not a problem; it is the sword blank telling him—a new path is needed here.

Jiang Yan finished carving the Sharpness Restriction.

Next was the Durability Restriction.

The pattern of the Durability Restriction was completely different from the Sharpness Restriction.

The Sharpness Restriction runs along the sword spine and is longitudinal; the Durability Restriction is transverse, like iron hoops encircling the sword body.

Jiang Yan started from the sword hilt and carved a transverse Restriction line every inch.

The depth of each line was three points deeper than the Sharpness Restriction—the Durability Restriction had to withstand the impact force during battle, and if the lines were too shallow, it could not hold up.

When carving the seventh line, his intuition told him—it could be carved deeper here. The density of the gold essence in this section was higher than elsewhere and could withstand deeper lines.

He carved it.

The eighth, the ninth, the tenth.

Ten Durability Restrictions, arranged at equal intervals, bound the entire sword tightly from hilt to tip.

The Lightness Inscription was carved last.

This Restriction was the most special—it was not carved on the surface of the sword body.

Jiang Yan probed his Divine Sense into the interior of the sword blank, searching for gaps between the crystal structures of the gold essence.

Although gold essence is a material with extremely high density, at the microscopic level, there are still gaps between the crystals, just too small to be detected.

He carved the lines of the Lightness Inscription in these gaps.

This was the most difficult of the three Restrictions. It was not difficult because the lines were complex—on the contrary, the lines of the Lightness Inscription were the simplest, just a series of circles connected end-to-end.

The difficulty lay in the location. If carved too deep, it would destroy the crystal structure of the gold essence and affect the strength of the sword body; if carved too shallow, the effect of the Restriction would be weak, and the Flying Sword's speed would not increase.

Jiang Yan carved very slowly.

The position of every circle was repeatedly confirmed. Before carving, he would scan it three times with his Divine Sense to ensure it would not hit the key nodes of the crystals.

The spacing between the circles must also be exactly the same—inconsistent spacing would lead to uneven flow of spiritual energy, causing the Flying Sword to tremble during flight.

One circle.

Two.

Three.

When he carved to the fiftieth circle, Jiang Yan paused.

His Divine Sense touched something.

In the crystal structure inside the sword blank, there was a natural cavity.

Extremely small, smaller than the tip of a needle. But this natural cavity is something Artifact Refiners dream of—it was naturally produced during the formation of the gold essence; it is not a defect, but a gifted structure.

If an extra Restriction were embedded within it, the effect would be much stronger than if it were carved in an ordinary position.

Jiang Yan hesitated for a moment. He wasn't hesitating about whether to carve it—of course he would. He was hesitating about what to carve.

This sword had already been carved with three Restrictions: Sharpness, Durability, and Lightness.

Carving one more would make it four. A Flying Sword with four Restrictions is already a First-Tier Medium Grade.

With a cultivation level of Qi Refining Stage 1 and not even having any Artifact Refining tools, being able to carve three Restrictions was already the limit. To carve a fourth one, neither his spiritual energy nor his Divine Sense might hold up.

But that natural cavity was right there. Empty. Like an empty house with walls built and tiles laid, just waiting for someone to move in.

Jiang Yan gritted his teeth.

He mobilized his last 20% of spiritual energy and concentrated his Divine Sense to the limit.

His temples began to throb; with every throb, a needle-like stinging pain came from the back of his head—that was a sign of excessive consumption of Divine Sense.

He carved the fourth Restriction in this natural cavity.

The Armor Piercing Restriction.

The lines of this Restriction were a spiral. Starting from the center of the cavity, it spiraled and expanded outward, circle by circle, like a vortex, and also like a blood groove on the tip of a spear.

The principle of the Armor Piercing Restriction was different from the other three. The Sharpness Restriction is for cutting, the Durability Restriction is for withstanding, and the Lightness Inscription is for speed.

The Armor Piercing Restriction is for "chiseling"—when activated, the sword tip will generate a high-speed rotating spiritual energy spike, which first drills a hole in the target's defense, and then the sword body pierces in along this hole.

The moment this Restriction was finished, all four Restrictions lit up simultaneously.

It was not activated by Jiang Yan. They lit up on their own.

The wavy lines of the Sharpness Restriction, the transverse hoop lines of the Durability Restriction, the internal circles of the Lightness Inscription, and the spiral lines of the Armor Piercing Restriction—all four Restrictions resonated at the same moment.

New spiritual energy channels were born between the Restriction lines; these channels were not carved by Jiang Yan, but "grew" out between the Restrictions themselves, like tree roots tangling with each other underground.

The entire Restriction circuit came alive.

The sword blank trembled in Jiang Yan's palm. The frequency of the trembling was extremely high, and his palm could feel a dense tingling sensation, like holding a bee flapping its wings.

On the dark gold sword body, the lines of the four Restrictions emerged simultaneously, interweaving into a complex pattern—wavy lines intersected with hoop lines, circles appeared and disappeared beneath the waves, and the spiral lines coiled at the sword tip, like an open eye.

Then, the trembling stopped.

All the light receded back into the sword body. The dark gold sword returned to calm, with no visible changes on the surface.

But Jiang Yan knew that this sword and the piece of sword blank from a quarter of an hour ago were no longer the same thing.

Four Restrictions. First-Tier Medium Grade.

Jiang Yan lowered his head to look at the sword in his palm and remained silent for a long while.

This grade exceeded his expectations. Not just a little, but by a lot.

With a cultivation level of Qi Refining Stage 1, no Artifact Refining furnace, no forging table, no auxiliary tools, relying purely on spiritual energy and Divine Sense to forge a First-Tier Medium Grade Flying Sword—this could be called stunning even in his past life.

Although he was a quasi-fourth-rank Artifact Refining Great Master in his past life, that was during his prime.

Now, his spiritual energy is only at Qi Refining Stage 1, and his Divine Sense strength is less than one ten-thousandth of his past life.

It was like an unparalleled swordsman trapped in the body of a sickly youth—the sword skills were still there, but the strength could not keep up.

Being able to forge a First-Tier Medium Grade Flying Sword under these conditions did not rely on brute force, but on the meticulous calculation of three hundred years of experience in every detail.

Jiang Yan held the sword up before his eyes and examined it carefully. The sword was two feet and seven inches long, two fingers wide, and dark gold throughout.

The lines of the four Restrictions on the sword body were intertwined, like a delicate fine-brush painting—the arcs of the wavy lines were beautiful and smooth, the hoop lines were straight and rigid, the circles were layered, and the spiral lines converged at the sword tip into a nearly perfect circle.

He bit his fingertip and dripped a complete drop of blood onto the sword body.

The blood drop landed on the dark gold sword body; it did not roll off, nor was it repelled.

It was absorbed into the sword body like a water droplet falling into parched soil.

The point of absorption was precisely the intersection of the four Restriction circuits.

A red light flashed across the dark gold sword body. Extremely fast, so fast that an ordinary person would miss it in the blink of an eye.

The red light surged from the hilt to the tip, then back from the tip to the hilt, repeating three times before extinguishing.

The sword body returned to its original state. Dark gold, with the four Restriction lines faintly visible.

But Jiang Yan could feel it—a connection had grown between him and this sword.

It was not the kind of "knowing" from Divine Sense exploration, but a more vague, more instinctive feeling.

Like being able to feel where your hand is even with your eyes closed—not seeing it, not touching it, just knowing it.

This feeling is called a mental connection.

The mental connection between a Magical Artifact and its owner is the fundamental mark that distinguishes a "Mortal Weapon" from a "Magical Artifact".

Anyone can use a Mortal Weapon, but a Magical Artifact recognizes its master. Once a Magical Artifact has recognized its master, others cannot activate its Restrictions even if they seize it—unless they first erase the original owner's mental imprint.

Jiang Yan let go.

The Flying Sword did not fall.

It hovered three inches above his palm, the sword tip trembling slightly, like a fledgling bird that had just opened its eyes and hadn't learned to fly yet, trying to flap its wings.

The sword body emitted a very light and thin humming sound. That sound was not the crisp clashing of metal, but a continuous, soft trembling sound, like wind blowing over a taut silk string.

Jiang Yan stared at it for a while.

Then, his intent flickered slightly.

The Flying Sword shot out silently.

The moment it disappeared from his palm, the air in the cave was split open—not cut by the sword blade, but torn open by the airflow brought by the sword body.

A straight pale gold trail remained in the air, extending from Jiang Yan's palm to the cave wall three zhang away.

The trail lasted less than half a breath before dissipating, but before it dissipated, the Flying Sword had already completed its round trip.

It didn't fly over. It "shot" over.

The effect of the Lightness Inscription was immediate—the two-foot-seven-inch sword body flew through the air with almost no sound.

It was not intentionally silenced; the Lightness Inscription reduced the friction between the sword body and the air. The faster the Flying Sword, the more obvious this anti-friction effect.

The sword tip pierced into the rock wall.

The Armor Piercing Restriction activated.

The spiral lines at the sword tip lit up, and a high-speed rotating spiritual energy spike was the first to chisel into the rock.

The structure of the rock was destroyed by the impact of the spiritual energy spike, creating a tiny hole—not smashed open, but "drilled" open.

The rock around the hole was shaken into powder, and the powder was rolled out by the rotating spiritual energy, forming a small cluster of gray-white stone dust at the opening.

Then the sword body pierced in along this hole.

Like a hot knife cutting into butter.

The two-foot-seven-inch sword body was completely submerged into the rock wall, leaving only a narrow sword hole.

The rock at the edge of the sword hole was not cut—the cross-section of a cut should be smooth. The edges of this sword hole were rough, fragmented, and covered with fine cracks.

Jiang Yan hooked his finger.

The Flying Sword withdrew from the rock wall, flew back before him, and hovered above his palm.

Jiang Yan looked at the sword for a long time.

The wind outside the cave passed through the crevices, emitting a low wailing sound. Pine branches rubbed against the cave entrance, the rustling sound dense and continuous.

He reached out and grasped the hilt.

With this sword in hand, one can even fight against Xiantian Perfection.

If he could also learn a Sword Control Technique—using the Flying Sword as the main focus, with Divine Sense as the guide, controlling the sword from a distance—then killing someone at Xiantian Perfection would not be a difficult task.