132: Chapter 132 Practice Makes Perfect: Simulated Sword Forging

Inside an Immortal Cave in Black Rock City labeled "Heaven-Grade."

The Spiritual Qi was so dense it was almost condensing into water droplets, and every stone embedded in the walls emitted a warm, gentle luster.

Tang Xun, or rather Wang Debiao, was sitting cross-legged on a cold jade prayer mat.

He smacked his lips in distress.

One thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones a day; this price was practically robbery.

He took out the jade box from his Storage Pouch.

He opened it.

A small, reddish-gold sun lay quietly inside, illuminating the entire stone chamber as brightly as day.

The might of this essence of earth core li fire still made one's heart tremble.

"Half is indeed enough."

Tang Xun muttered.

In the previous simulation, he had already become familiar with the refining process of his four natal Flying Swords: Metal, Wood, Water, and Earth.

The material ratios, heat control, and Spiritual Qi engravings for each one were all deeply ingrained in his mind.

Only this "li fire sword" had been delayed because he lacked the main Materials.

Now, it was time to complete this final piece of the puzzle.

He took a deep breath and cleared all the chaotic thoughts from his mind.

He formed hand seals, and streaks of spiritual light flew from his fingertips, setting up a simple isolation formation in front of him.

Then, he opened his mouth and spat.

A simple, ancient little bronze cauldron grew in the wind and landed with a boom.

This was also a top-tier Artifact Refining furnace he had "borrowed" from some unlucky soul in the simulation.

Various auxiliary Materials were methodically tossed into the cauldron by him.

Millennial Fire Copper, Red Refined Essence Gold, Earth Fire Stone Marrow...

Any one of these, if taken out alone, would make Core Formation Cultivator fight tooth and nail for it.

But in front of the essence of earth core li fire, they were all just supporting roles.

Tang Xun channeled his Spiritual Qi, and a raging fire instantly ignited beneath the cauldron.

Those hard Materials quickly turned into colorful liquids in the cauldron, slowly merging together.

His expression was focused, his eyes calm.

There was not a hint of awkwardness.

He was more proficient at these steps than he was at eating or drinking water.

An hour later.

The Impurities inside the cauldron had been completely refined away, leaving only a fist-sized lump of liquid metal shimmering with various colors.

The prototype of the sword embryo was already formed.

What followed was the main event.

Tang Xun's gaze fell upon that half portion of the essence of earth core li fire.

He did not use his hands to take it.

Instead, he extended a wisp of his Divine Sense, carefully probing forward as if testing a sleeping beast.

His Divine Sense had just touched that reddish-gold liquid.

"Hum!"

An extremely violent force of fire-type Origin surged back along his Divine Sense.

Tang Xun let out a muffled groan, feeling as if his head had been fiercely stabbed by a red-hot iron skewer.

His entire Sea of Consciousness was churning violently under the impact of this power.

"Good fellow, you have quite a temper."

Not only did he not retreat, but a competitive spirit ignited in his eyes.

This was exactly the kind of energy he needed.

If it were as docile as a kitten, what kind of power would the resulting Flying Sword have?

He steadied his mind; his Divine Sense was no longer probing, but instead transformed into a large net, forcefully wrapping around that half portion of the essence of earth core li fire.

Then, he yanked it out of the jade box and slammed it hard into the Artifact Refining furnace.

"Sizzle!"

A piercing explosion rang out.

It was as if a drop of cold water had fallen into a boiling pot of oil.

The entire Artifact Refining furnace trembled violently, and countless mysterious runes appeared on the cauldron's body, flickering on and off.

The liquid metal inside the furnace boiled completely the moment the essence of earth core li fire entered.

A destructive aura erupted from the mouth of the cauldron; if not for the isolation formation, it might have melted through the entire Immortal Cave.

Tang Xun's expression also became grave.

He could feel a savage and unreasonable will frantically crashing inside the furnace, trying to break free from its restraints.

That was the innate spirituality of the essence of earth core li fire.

Or rather, its wildness.

It did not want to be lumped in with those "ordinary irons," nor did it want to be controlled by a tiny human Cultivator.

"Want to run?"

Tang Xun sneered.

"Once you've entered my pot, you still want to run?"

His Divine Sense was no longer a net, but transformed into an invisible heavy hammer, smashing fiercely again and again against that resisting will.

Simple, brutal, and unreasonable.

At the same time, the Savage God Dragon Transformation Art within his body began to run frantically.

His Qi and blood surged like a great river, and a savage, domineering aura poured into the Artifact Refining furnace along with his Divine Sense.

"Want to compare wildness?"

"I am wilder than you!"

"Want to compare arrogance?"

"I am more arrogant than you!"

This was a pure contest of wills.

Whoever couldn't hold on first would lose.

Time ticked away second by second.

The temperature inside the stone chamber had reached a terrifying level, and the air even showed distorted ripples.

Fine beads of sweat oozed from Tang Xun's forehead.

Not from the heat, but from exhaustion.

This kind of wrestling on the level of Divine Sense was more mentally exhausting than fighting someone for three hundred rounds.

Inside the furnace, the resistance of the essence of earth core li fire gradually weakened.

It seemed to have finally realized that the will of the human before it was harder and more domineering than ten-thousand-year volcanic rock.

Finally.

After Tang Xun's Divine Sense hammer fell once more, that resisting will completely collapsed.

The reddish-gold liquid docilely merged into the sword embryo.

"Done!"

A gleam of light flashed in Tang Xun's eyes, and his hand seals moved at the ultimate speed, branding runes into the furnace one after another.

Shaping, quenching, sharpening...

Everything was done in one go.

Half an hour later.

"Hum—"

A clear, resonant sword chime echoed throughout the entire Immortal Cave.

The lid of the Artifact Refining furnace shot into the air.

A crimson stream of light flew out from the cauldron, circling and dancing around Tang Xun, as happy as a child who had found its master.

Tang Xun reached out his hand.

The stream of light docilely landed in his palm, transforming into a three-foot-long sword.

The sword body was long and narrow, presenting a dull crimson color throughout, as if forged from cooled magma.

Looking closely, there were countless fine, natural patterns on the sword body, like Dragon scales.

As Tang Xun injected his Spiritual Qi, those patterns lit up one by one, eventually converging into a lifelike fire Dragon pattern that slowly swam across the sword body.

A scorching and sharp aura rushed towards him.

li fire sword.

Done.

Tang Xun gripped the hilt, clearly feeling the immense power emanating from the sword body, as well as a sense of intimacy that communicated with his own mind.

He swung it casually.

There was no Sword Qi, only a crimson flash of sword light that flickered and vanished in the air.

On the indestructible stone wall opposite, a half-foot-deep scratch appeared silently, the cut as smooth as a mirror, with traces of high-temperature melting remaining on the edges.

"Not bad."

Tang Xun nodded with satisfaction.

This power had already exceeded his expectations.

More importantly, all the details and experience from the entire refining process had been deeply engraved in his mind.

When he returned to the real world, he was one hundred percent certain he could refine a li fire sword of equal or higher quality.

This deal was not a loss.

He played with the freshly minted Flying Sword for a while before taking it into his body.

Tang Xun stood up, stretched, and his joints cracked audibly.

"What should I do next..."