159: seal carving

Three years passed in a flash, and Chen Cuo, the Little Beggar who had Transmigrated, had grown into an adult, his skilled hands renowned across many countries, his fame no less than Lu Bo's.

During these three years, Chen Cuo practiced day and night, wearing out countless hammers and chisels.

His Physical Body's hands developed thick calluses, and he also cultivated astonishing perseverance and focus.

This was all while he was simultaneously studying and practicing martial arts to strengthen his Physical Body.

Because of his carving, his gaze was focused and determined, as if there was only him and the stone in his hands in the world.

After two years of effort, he had long since thoroughly mastered the Chisel Stone Method, and Yao Mugen had also imparted all his skills to him.

Chen Cuo's mastery of stone carving and artifact restoration had reached the Transcendent realm; his heart also held a divine Concept.

His works were not only similar in form but also in spirit, every cut and every chisel stroke seemed to carry the power of life.

The artifacts he restored, whether a damaged Buddha statue or a broken stele, could be restored as new, astonishing people endlessly.

Yao Mugen watched Chen Cuo's growth, his heart filled with comfort, knowing that at least someone could inherit his Legacy.

At the end of the three years, Yao Mugen had already stated his decision to give Chen Cuo a final lesson, transmitting the secret technique of the Yao Family Workshop, the "Soul Thread Mending Art."

This was the fundamental method for repairing that chess board.

Upon hearing this news, Chen Cuo's heart stirred, and he decided to give it a try.

Chen Cuo arrived at Yao Mugen's artifact restoration room and saw the artifact that needed to be repaired.

Yao Mugen had already prepared everything; he said, "Let's begin, this is the final lesson!"

After speaking, he pointed with his hand.

It was an ancient stone stele, but both the top and bottom of the stele were damaged and needed to be repaired.

Chen Cuo carefully observed all the features of the stele, then picked up his hammer and chisel and began the restoration work.

His movements were gentle and skilled, as if he were handling a precious work of art.

He gently tapped the chisel with the hammer, repairing the features of the stele little by little, and adding a stone base to complete the artifact.

After several days of effort, Chen Cuo finally completed the restoration work.

He looked at the restored stele, his heart filled with doubt and confusion, always feeling that something was off; this stele lacked a certain Qi, or rather, its spirit was not right.

This meant that Chen Cuo had not successfully repaired it at all.

Chen Cuo carefully examined the carved stone stele that Yao Mugen had him observe; it was a gigantic, extremely heavy round stone, emanating an ancient Aura.

"Completely wrong, this is not a stele at all!"

Chen Cuo noticed the clue, picked up his hammer and chisel, and began to break away the outer layer of the stone stele.

Chen Cuo peeled away its mysterious outer layer little by little, identifying its Material.

"This is a stone drum? Its top is round and its base is solid, the Material looks like flowered marble, very exquisite, it seems like an ancient creation."

Chen Cuo, having studied with Yao Mugen and Lu Bo, was already able to identify types of stone and learn about the Legacy culture of stone carving.

The calligraphy of the Stone Drum Inscriptions mostly adopted a rectangular shape, with a dignified and solemn posture, a steady and firm brushwork, and the stone, form, poetry, and characters were integrated into one, full of ancient and majestic beauty.

Stone drum carving was an extremely arduous task for a stone carving Master.

Firstly, the Materials were hard to find; to carve a complete stone drum, a whole, intact large stone was needed, which would then be ground down little by little.

To create such a thing was no simpler than refining a Puppet.

"Indeed, the stone drum already represents progress in stone carving techniques. You have learned my sect's secret technique, the Chisel Stone Method. Now, like your Senior Brother, you can prepare to graduate."

"Look carefully, in fact, this method is not difficult; its most important aspect is the technique of applying force, but that is also the most crucial part. For those who know it, it's not hard, but you must remember to involve your hips in the force."

At this point, this seemingly old and frail stone carver truly revealed his prowess. He opened the mechanism on the left table in his practice room, and the entire floor-to-ceiling window instantly retracted, revealing a stone platform.

It was filled with various tools: planes, hammers, mallets, each glinting with a cold light, exuding a chilly Aura.

There was also a dust blower, a ink marker, and many other miscellaneous small tools; this was his workbench.

Yao Mugen's speed was very fast. He picked up a small hammer chisel and a round stone beside him, about the size of an ostrich egg. Although the size was different, Chen Cuo could tell the Material was the same as the stone drum outside.

His movements were swift, every pause of the carving knife filled with rhythm. In a blink of an eye, stone powder fell rustling. Yao Mugen swept away the gray stone powder with a bamboo brush, then switched to a small grinding stone, grinding the entire stone into a semi-oval shape.

It was like a miniature version of the stone drum outside.

The carvings on the stone, after being washed with water, turned into clearly arranged characters. The text on it was Stone Drum Inscriptions, a type of seal script. The engraving of characters is the simplest step in stone carving; what remains is the drawing.

Yao Mugen displayed his mastery. With a small carving knife, turning it little by little, a miniature Phoenix bird appeared on it, lifelike, as if about to spread its wings and fly.

Chen Cuo saw clearly that this was the technique required to repair that chess board, but it seemed something was still missing. The technique he was learning now was for making stone carving Artifacts, not for repairing them.

It seemed this was only the first step!

Yao Mugen's technique was extremely refined. Along the textual traces of the miniature stone drum, he brushed in a brownish liquid.

The entire stone carving became clearly visible, presenting a layered feel, giving one the impression of being filled with an epic sense of time, exactly like the state of that giant stone drum.

This did not seem like the art of seal carving; it seemed like the art of forgery, which was far beyond Chen Cuo's expectation.

"To truly carve a stone artifact with vitality, the first thing to do is to imitate, including repairing damaged artifacts, which follows the same steps. You must understand the feelings of the artifact's owner when he created that artifact and cater to him."

"Otherwise, the carved stone will ultimately be a dead thing, Little Beggar, I hope you understand this point."

After a long while, a miniature stone drum, full of ancient charm and fragrance, black in color, with intricate patterns of flowers, birds, fish, and insects, lay quietly in Yao Mugen's hand.

Carefully observing the charm of this object, it was entirely modeled after the stance of the large stone drum, identical both inside and out.

In terms of its essence, it was the Soul Thread Mending Art, where the Concept matched; in terms of its form, it was the Chisel Stone Method, carving out its form and spirit. With these two techniques as a foundation, whether it was repairing ancient Magical Artifacts or Artifact Refining and treasure refining, it would be effortless.

Chen Cuo had been in this realm for three years. Relying on his innate talent for dexterity, he finally entered Yao Mugen's Dharma Eye and received the transmission of two true methods, which was indeed not in vain.

Just as Chen Cuo comprehended the two methods, the entire space shattered like a bubble. Before Chen Cuo's eyes, countless figures from the past three years seemed to appear. The entire scene was like a paused image; everyone had no expression, only Yao Mugen had a faint smile on his face, staring at Chen Cuo.