474: Chapter 474 Harmony

Zhou Qingwei's disdain vanished as he closely examined the fused thousand star flying sword before Liu Xuan.

"Quite interesting!" He nodded in praise. "With such exquisite Artifact Refining techniques, you kid always manage to come up with something different."

Tier 2 composite Spiritual Artifacts, though rare, were something Zhou Qingwei had seen plenty of; such Artifact Refining techniques were common in defensive Magical Artifacts to deal with complex attack methods.

Flying Swords emphasized pure unity—the more transparent and singular, the better. This kind of combination seemed to slightly increase power, but in reality, it was prone to sluggishness when used by a Sword Cultivator, actually reducing its power.

"Little friend Liu, your talent for Artifact Refining is the greatest I've seen in my life. As long as you're willing to focus your mind on the Righteous Path, in the future..."

Halfway through his persuasion, Zhou Qingwei's eyes suddenly widened as if he had seen something incomprehensible.

What did he see?!!

Liu Xuan took out eight more identical thousand star flying swords, and then all these Flying Swords converged together, transforming into a single Flying Sword with an even brighter spiritual light.

The number of Flying Swords wasn't the point; the point was that the grade of the Flying Sword had actually advanced, from tier 2 medium grade to tier 2 High Grade!

This wasn't as simple as a composite Magical Artifact; it was an extremely superb Artifact Refining technique.

With a flash of his figure, Zhou Qingwei appeared before Liu Xuan, picked up the fused thousand star flying sword, and sent his Divine Sense into it for a careful inspection.

One look and he was stunned. If he was just somewhat shocked and curious before, he was now completely bewildered!

"This... how is this possible?!!"

He had originally thought this Flying Sword was an exquisitely designed tier 2 High Grade Flying Sword, with the ten Medium Grade Flying Swords as its components—appearing identical on the outside, but each actually being different.

But the truth was, he found this Flying Sword to be a seamless whole, without the slightest hint of being a composite Flying Sword.

The Flying Sword's Materials were simple to the extreme, consisting only of fluorescent spirit iron, which was completely different from what he had guessed.

The refining technique was even stranger; the interior was densely packed with runes. At a rough glance, it was incredibly complex, but upon closer inspection, it seemed to be entirely composed of nested basic runes—an ultimate simplicity within ultimate complexity, full of contradiction.

"Where did you get this Flying Sword?" Zhou Qingwei looked at Liu Xuan and asked urgently.

"What's wrong? Does Senior Zhou think there's a problem with it?"

"More than just a problem!" Zhou Qingwei's breathing quickened as he stroked the blade like he was caressing a lover's face. "The Artifact Refining technique of this sword is not only exquisite, but it's also different from every technique I've ever seen. If I could study it thoroughly, it might be of immense help to my understanding of the Dao of Artifact Refining."

"Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration? I feel it's quite ordinary, just a tier 2 High Grade Flying Sword!"

Liu Xuan raised his hand to recall the Flying Sword, only to find the old fellow holding onto it tightly, refusing to let go.

Before Liu Xuan could speak, Zhou Qingwei took out a High Grade spirit jade and tossed it to him. "This sword is of great use to me. Sell it to me!"

"A tier 2 High Grade Flying Sword is worth at most two hundred thousand Spirit Stones. A single High Grade spirit jade is worth two million. Selling it to me at ten times the price, this old man isn't taking advantage of you!"

Seeing Liu Xuan's stunned expression, he gritted his teeth and tossed over another High Grade spirit jade.

"This should be enough, right? Once I've finished studying the Artifact Refining technique inside, I'll return it to you."

Seeing Liu Xuan still looking stunned, Zhou Qingwei's face darkened. "Kid, don't be too greedy! No one in the entire Southern Border can offer a higher price than me."

"Senior misinterprets! I, Liu Xuan, am not a greedy person." Liu Xuan first put away the two spirit jades, then waved his hand. With a flash of silvery-white light, another tier 2 High Grade thousand star flying sword appeared. "I'll give you half price—one High Grade spirit jade per sword. Do you want more?"

"You have more!!"

Zhou Qingwei was so angry his beard curled up. "You kid are deliberately pitting me!"

"How could you say that, Senior!" Liu Xuan controlled the Flying Sword to split into ten tier 2 medium grade thousand star flying swords, forming a simple sword array, and said casually, "This sword is called the thousand star flying sword, and it's far more miraculous than what you've seen!"

"I didn't come to find you this time to sell Flying Swords, Junior!"

Zhou Qingwei sensed a faint connection between the Flying Sword in his hand and the ones Liu Xuan was controlling.

His anger vanished instantly. He hadn't heard a word Liu Xuan said, asking excitedly, "This sword can still be fused?"

"Of course!" Liu Xuan smiled slightly. A swath of silvery-white sword light surged from him as another eighty Flying Swords flew out, hovering before him like stars.

"This sword is composed of a total of one hundred tier 2 medium grade thousand star flying swords, which can be fused into a tier 3 Low Grade Magic Treasure Flying Sword."

Liu Xuan retrieved the Flying Sword from Zhou Qingwei's hand and then fused all the Flying Swords together, transforming them into a single tier 3 Low Grade Magic Treasure thousand star flying sword.

"This sword can be directly integrated into one's sword Dao as a Sword Cultivator's natal flying sword, or fused with an existing natal flying sword. When split apart, it can also form a sword array. Its value is extremely high!"

"While its value is high, its refining Materials are extremely simple and the cost is very low. I came to you, Senior, because I want your help in replicating and refining this sword. We can make money together!"

The Azure Profound Sect had many Sword Cultivators, and the thousand star flying sword had a vast market. Now that the war of attrition on the front lines was stable, more and more adventuring Cultivators were appearing, and the prices of Flying Sword Magical Artifacts continued to rise.

Making money was secondary; the Liu Family could also use this to cultivate a group of loyal subordinates. Controlling a natal flying sword was equivalent to controlling a Sword Cultivator's lifeblood—it would be hard for them not to be loyal.

"With such exquisite and unique Artifact Refining methods, you're only thinking about making money. That's simply putting the cart before the horse!!"

Zhou Qingwei shook his head and looked at Liu Xuan with disappointment. "Give me a year. Once I've mastered the refining method, I will surely teach you."

Liu Xuan also shook his head, mimicking Zhou Qingwei's manner. "No need for such trouble. I have already mastered the refining method. We can start refining immediately."

"Impossible!"

Zhou Qingwei was deep into studying the sword's interior with his Divine Sense and instinctively denied it upon hearing those words.

"Based on my years of experience, although this precious sword is only tier 3 Low Grade, it contains profound principles of artifact creation. Unless one has reached the fourth tier and touched upon the Law of the Dao of Artifacts, it's impossible to master the refining method."

Liu Xuan didn't waste any words. He immediately retrieved a portion of refined tier 2 fluorescent spirit iron from the Artifact Refining Workshop's storage warehouse and began refining on the spot.

Borrowing a corner of the refining pool, Liu Xuan used his Golden Core magic power to drive the Great Sun True Fire, rapidly melting the sword embryo, and then began to engrave the complex array patterns.

The most critical part of the thousand star flying sword was its complex array patterns. Liu Xuan explained as he engraved, "These array patterns look complex, but in reality, most are repetitive. Once you understand the key points, it's not that difficult."

"I plan to dismantle and split its array pattern engraving into simple repetitive parts and high-difficulty critical parts. When the time comes, we can have low-level Artifact Refiners engrave the basic sword embryos, and then you and I can complete the final difficult sections."

The refining method for the thousand star flying sword already had hints of industrialized Artifact Refining. Liu Xuan found that his ideas were perfectly compatible with its overall design.