Chapter 2028: Forging Weapons with Thunder

Chapter 2028: Forging with Thunder and Lightning

The night, washed by rain, was exceptionally refreshing.

In the small garden, Ye Chen and Lao Yang squatted on the ground, both craning their necks to stare eagerly at the sky, hoping for another heavy rain accompanied by thunder and lightning to melt the Hei Xuan Tie.

However, the heavens did not oblige, and the two waited all night without hearing even a single thunderclap.

As the night faded, the morning light began to spread.

Yang Ge Lao, with dark circles under his eyes, left with a sense of regret.

“This is quite a character,” Ye Chen sighed, imagining Lao Yang holding the Hei Xuan Tie and getting struck by lightning—a scene that would be overwhelmingly impressive.

After Yang Ge Lao left, Ye Chen didn’t idle around. He picked up his fortune-telling tools and headed to the bustling street.

Once again at the entrance of the tavern, Ye Chen spotted the group that had previously explored the tomb. They were disguised and preparing to leave Zhu Xian Town.

That tomb expedition had nearly wiped them out, leaving only three or five survivors. They no longer dared to provoke the ancient grave and were focused on returning to report or finding more experts and masters.

“Patron, your forehead is darkened with bad omens!”

“Damn fortune-teller, you’re asking for trouble.” One of the martial arts experts among the three or five flared up instantly. They had been humiliated in the ancient tomb and were already frustrated, eager to vent on someone.

“Don’t cause trouble.” Another martial arts expert held him back, narrowing his eyes as he glanced at Ye Chen with a strange expression. It was because, in just a few days, Ye Chen’s aura had become profoundly obscure—or rather, enriched with deep Nei Gong. From their perspective, they couldn’t see through it at all, which was unsettling.

“Let’s go.” The man averted his gaze from Ye Chen and turned away immediately.

The remaining four snorted coldly and followed, still seething with anger.

“They never listen to the words of the elderly and end up dying horribly.” Ye Chen sighed, able to foresee that these three or five individuals were doomed to be wiped out.

Indeed, their foreheads were truly darkened, blackened to such an extent that death was inevitable.

Sure enough, as soon as they left Zhu Xian Town and entered a mountain forest, they were ambushed. They never even saw who attacked them before a shower of arrows turned them into sieves. It wasn’t bandits who eliminated them, but rival forces who had been lying in wait in that mountain forest for a long time.

“Amitabha, how merciful.” In Zhu Xian Town, Ye Chen recited a sutra silently, offering a moment of silence for the three or five. He had warned them about their darkened foreheads, but they didn’t believe it. Now, they had been wiped out!

In the following days, Zhu Xian Town was quite unsettled.

The unrest referred to the influx of outsiders.

Ever since the first wave of martial arts experts and masters left, more people kept arriving, belonging to various factions. They all had warlords backing them, and it seemed they were all interested in that ancient tomb, convinced it held vast amounts of gold, silver, and treasures. That’s why they sent people one after another.

These forces were fighting like paupers, desperately needing funds.

And those funds were in that ancient tomb. In their eyes, the grave was tied to victory and defeat, even to their future thrones. The allure of power was irresistible.

However, their wishes were beautiful, but reality was cruel. Many came, each one a top expert, full of confidence and well-prepared plans. Yet, after a few days, one batch went in and died, and another batch went in and died. Even the skeptics started believing, and those who didn’t believe ended up dead. That grave had become a burial ground.

“How many waves is this now?”

“The Yin Yue Imperial Consort is no joke.”

At the entrance of the tavern, by the fortune-telling table, Ye Chen and Yang Ge Lao sat side by side with their hands in their sleeves, sighing as they looked into the distance.

At one end of the street, another group of tomb explorers returned, more dejected than a defeated army. There was no worst, only worse. A little blood was nothing; the seriously injured were covered in wounds.

Ye Chen was used to it by now.

But Yang Ge Lao perked up every time he saw people return, taking immense satisfaction in watching them fail miserably.

Boom! Rumbling thunder!

As the two were watching, thunder suddenly echoed from the sky.

Dark clouds rolled in, turning the originally clear daylight dim and overcast.

That’s right, it was about to rain.

“Hurry, hurry!” Yang Ge Lao jumped up quickly, grabbing Ye Chen and heading off. He had been waiting for thunder and lightning for days to melt the Hei Xuan Tie.

“This thunder has some real power.” Ye Chen glanced at the sky and let Yang Ge Lao pull him to the tavern’s backyard.

In the backyard, an iron pillar had already been set up, with an iron chain hanging from it. Yang Ge Lao had brought the Hei Xuan Tie and hung it on the chain, then turned to Ye Chen. “Will this work?”

“It’ll work.” Ye Chen replied casually, sitting on the fence with a wine flask in hand, legs crossed.

As soon as he spoke, thunder boomed in the sky, and a bolt of lightning struck down, hitting the Hei Xuan Tie.

Yang Ge Lao watched with his heart pounding, afraid the Hei Xuan Tie would be shattered into scrap.

As more lightning descended, sparks flew from the Hei Xuan Tie.

Seeing this, Ye Chen tossed aside his wine flask, stepped forward, and arrived at the base of the iron pillar.

“Are you crazy?” Yang Ge Lao exclaimed in shock.

“Stay back.” Ye Chen said calmly, using his thunder-attribute Nei Gong to draw in the lightning from the sky. With a supreme secret technique, he gathered the lightning into his hand, transforming it into a thunder hammer.

Gulp!

Yang Ge Lao swallowed hard, his eyes wide with astonishment. What kind of prodigy was this? He could ignore lightning and even change its form. Such heaven-defying skills were beyond anything he could achieve, and even the top martial arts masters in the land couldn’t do it. This exceeded human limits.

He had no idea about Ye Chen’s divine abilities, each one miraculous. Even without magical powers, using Nei Gong to activate them worked just as well.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Amid the thunder, the crisp sound of metal clashing rang out.

It was Ye Chen, gripping the thunder hammer and striking the Hei Xuan Tie repeatedly, like a blacksmith forging. This was the refining technique—fire could refine weapons, and so could thunder, but even more dominantly. Weapons forged this way would inherently possess thunder power, making them incredibly fierce.

“Forging weapons with lightning?” Yang Ge Lao murmured in disbelief. He’d never heard of such a method.

“What kind of weapon—saber, spear, sword, or halberd?” Ye Chen asked leisurely.

“A sword.” Yang Ge Lao answered without hesitation.

Ye Chen didn’t reply. In the rain, under the thunder, he swung his hand repeatedly, striking the Hei Xuan Tie time and again, removing its impurities. The irregular Hei Xuan Tie gradually took shape under his blows, forming a crude sword blank that was being crafted into a supreme divine weapon.

Yang Ge Lao fell silent, watching with heart-pounding awe, not daring to breathe. He was shocked by Ye Chen’s boldness and terrified by his skills, but above all, grateful that Ye Chen was forging a weapon for him—an incredible honor.

After some time, the rain stopped, and the thunder in the sky faded away.

The world returned to peace.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

In the backyard, the sword’s humming echoed endlessly, coming from Ye Chen’s hand—or more precisely, from the long sword in his hand. It was pitch black all over, exuding sword energy, with occasional lightning tearing through it. Because it was forged with thunder, the sword bore a lightning mark.

“It’s a failure.” Ye Chen sighed and shook his head, casually tossing the long sword behind him.

With his powers sealed, his refining techniques were limited, so this weapon fell far short of his standards. He wouldn’t even want to claim it as his work. After all, an immortal’s expectations were too high.

However, what Ye Chen considered a subpar sword was an absolute treasure in Yang Ge Lao’s hands. With one swing, the iron pillar standing in the yard was sliced through like tofu.

“A divine weapon, a true divine weapon!” Yang Ge Lao was overjoyed, holding the long sword and dropping to his knees with a thud. “This will be a martial arts treasure, even more dominant than the legendary Wen Tian Sword.”

“If only I could bring out my great cauldron.” Ye Chen said meaningfully. Even a flawed sword like this excited Yang Ge Lao so much; if the Da Luo Shen Ding were here, who knows if the old man would bow nine times and kowtow, or even cry out in worship.

“Thank you for your generous gift, my friend.” Yang Ge Lao approached, cradling the long sword, as excited as a child, with tears welling in his eyes. “This divine weapon deserves a name from you.”

“Forged from Hei Xuan Tie and empowered by thunder—let’s call it Xuan Lei Jian.”

“That’s bold enough.” Yang Ge Lao laughed heartily, stepping out into the yard and brandishing the long sword. His sword techniques were quite refined, and without even using Nei Gong, sword energy shot out everywhere, accompanied by thunder. The flowers, plants, and trees in the yard were sliced clean through at the waist.

“My friend, how about a few sparring rounds?”

“As you wish.”

“Take this!” Yang Ge Lao shouted, thrusting his sword like a rainbow straight at Ye Chen. This was his strongest strike, piercing the air and sparking flames.

Ye Chen stood still, unmoving, showing no emotion toward the incoming sword.

Only when the tip was five inches from him did he casually raise his hand, extending two fingers to clamp the sword perfectly, with effortless ease. No matter how Yang Ge Lao channeled his Nei Gong, the sword couldn’t advance an inch.

“This...” Yang Ge Lao was stunned, his eyes bulging in shock and horror, filled with disbelief. That was his most powerful attack, enhanced by the Xuan Lei Jian, enough to instantly defeat a martial arts expert—yet Ye Chen blocked it so casually. How strong was he?

“Time to call it a night and rest!” Ye Chen flicked his fingers lightly, sending Yang Ge Lao stumbling back.

By the time Yang Ge Lao steadied himself, Ye Chen had already vanished from the backyard.

The yard fell into silence again, a dead quiet. Yang Ge Lao stood there in a daze, his mind blank, as if his soul had left him. He felt that his decades of Nei Gong cultivation had been in vain. Defeated in just one move—it was a devastating blow.

“Is he a god?” Yang Ge Lao muttered to himself. Perhaps even he didn’t realize that as he spoke, the Xuan Lei Jian slipped unnoticed from his hand.

At that moment, that slender figure seemed like an eight-thousand-foot mountain, making him want to look up in awe. Between them lay an insurmountable chasm, one that he could never cross in his lifetime.