Chapter 29: Crimson Sky

## Chapter 29: Chixiao

“Refine Artifact Jue.” Ye Chen stroked his chin, his gaze fixed on the ancient scroll.

Soon, a look of pleasant surprise flickered across Ye Chen's face.

This ancient scroll, as it turned out, recorded the method of weapon refinement. It detailed the high-grade materials required for crafting, the intricate process of forging, and the tempering techniques for a truly formidable weapon.

“This is a treasure indeed,” Ye Chen exclaimed inwardly.

After a cursory read of the Refine Artifact Jue, Ye Chen pondered for a moment. A thought solidified in his mind: he would forge a weapon himself. While his Heaven Que Sword was powerful, its sheer weight significantly hampered his speed. In battle, discarding Heaven Que Sword would dramatically increase his agility. If he possessed a sharp weapon at that moment, it would be akin to adding wings to a tiger.

With this thought, Ye Chen picked up the Refine Artifact Jue again, immersing himself in its secrets.

He remained in this state for an entire night.

In the morning, after a quick meal, he sequestered himself back in his room.

It was only by late morning that he finally set down the Refine Artifact Jue.

“Refining artifacts requires fire. This is truly tailor-made for me.” A smile played on Ye Chen's lips. He inwardly scoffed at Wang Hengkong, who guarded such immense wealth related to artifact refinement but could only watch helplessly, for he lacked the crucial element – fire.

He tapped his storage bag, and with a clang, several gleaming spirit weapons flew out: spirit swords, broadswords, long spears, and even a massive hammer. These were all spoils of his previous encounters with the disciples of Di Yang Peak.

Now, he intended to melt these spirit weapons together and refine out their most essential components.

Thinking was one thing, doing was another.

With a thought, Ye Chen summoned his true fire.

Under his mental command, the true fire shifted shape, condensing into a fiery furnace.

Next, a radiant spirit sword was cast into the furnace. He carefully controlled the flames, slowly purging the impurities from the spirit sword and then refining the most essential core.

Soon, the spirit sword melted under the true fire's intense heat, refined by Ye Chen into a fist-sized pool of liquid.

This liquid was a riot of mottled colors. The spirit sword wasn't of particularly high quality, nor were the refining materials exceptional. As a result, it was riddled with impurities, all of which became apparent under the true fire's tempering.

The flames intensified, and Ye Chen, neither anxious nor rushed, slowly painstakingly removed the impurities from the liquid.

Half an hour later, the liquid, which had originally been fist-sized, was tempered down to the size of a fingernail. Though minuscule, this was the absolute essence.

With a flick of his wrist, Ye Chen sent the fingernail-sized liquid flying out.

Upon leaving the furnace, the tiny liquid, due to the sudden drop in temperature, solidified once more. Ye Chen caught it in his hand; it was like a crystal, shimmering brightly and incredibly hard.

With a good start, Ye Chen was filled with renewed energy.

The furnace flames burned fiercely. An iron hammer was cast in, and the refining process, mirroring that of the spirit sword, was repeated.

Time slipped by, and night quickly descended.

During this time, Ye Chen experienced numerous failures. His inability to precisely control the true fire led to instances where even the essential components within the spirit weapons were reduced to ash.

However, his efforts were not without reward.

Around him lay scattered fragments of small and large crystals, all the refined essence of the spirit weapons.

It wasn't until late into the night that Ye Chen finally finished refining all the spirit energy essences.

“Hmph!”

“The first step is complete.”

He exhaled a long, turbid breath, fatigue etched on his face. In just a day and a night, stubble had appeared on his chin, and his eyes were bloodshot.

By refining the essence of numerous spirit weapons, he had completed the first step. The next was to meld these essences together, and then subject them to the thousand hammer blows and hundred refinements of the true fire. Only then would the process be complete.

He poured a bottle of Jade Spirit Liquid into his mouth, replenishing his consumed energy, and then began the second step: melding.

Using the fiery furnace once more, Ye Chen threw in the multitude of refined spirit weapon essences.

Soon, under the true fire's embrace, the solid spirit weapon essences again turned into liquid. Ye Chen meticulously controlled the process, continuously merging them together. This step wasn't overly difficult; in less than an hour, he had successfully melded them.

In his hand, he now held a piece of reddish iron, about the size of a brick. This was the form the multiple spirit weapon essences took after being melded.

The reddish iron was extraordinary. Having combined so many essences, it emitted a reddish glow and was incredibly hard, incredibly refined. It was absolutely excellent material for forging a weapon, and if forged into a weapon, it would naturally be formidable.

Putting away the reddish iron, Ye Chen flashed out of his room and leaped out of the small spirit garden. The upcoming thousand hammer and hundred refinements would undoubtedly create noise, and he didn't want to disturb Zhang Fengnian and Tiger Kid's rest.

Finding a secluded spot, Ye Chen once again condensed the true fire into the shape of a furnace.

He then cast the reddish iron into it.

Taking a deep breath, Ye Chen cautiously controlled the flames, continuously tempering the reddish iron, shaping it into the form of a sword.

This was an incredibly time-consuming process. Ye Chen spent a full six hours just to reluctantly temper out a crude sword blank. The sword body was still pitted and incomparably rough.

“No matter what, it has the form of a sword,” Ye Chen murmured, wiping away sweat. Unhurriedly, he continued to temper, the clang of metal on metal echoing constantly.

This process was protracted.

Ye Chen toiled from night to morning, and then from morning to night, experiencing the cycle of three days and nights without rest.

During this time, the crude sword blank was tempered inch by inch. The pitting on the sword body was smoothed out point by point. He was like a sculptor, refusing to tolerate any flaw in his sword.

*Zheng!*

He didn't know when, but when the first clang of the sword rang out, a satisfied smile finally appeared on Ye Chen's weary face.

His sword, after four days and nights of relentless effort, was finally forged.

He patted the furnace, and the reddish long sword was ejected, which Ye Chen caught in his hand.

Then, he cut open his palm, and fresh blood flowed out, tracing the hilt and covering the entire sword body.

This was blood sacrifice, the final step in forging a weapon.

Soon, his fresh blood, with visible speed, seeped into the reddish sword.

*Zheng!*

Subsequently, the reddish sword trembled slightly, and a resounding clang echoed. A reddish light bloomed, full of vitality. Under the moonlight and starlight, the sword light flickered, seeming to possess an indestructible sharpness.

Holding the long sword, Ye Chen unleashed a single strike.

*Bang!*

A large stone not far away was split open as if it were tofu. The reddish sword was indeed incredibly sharp.

“From now on, you shall be named Chixiao.” Ye Chen gently stroked the reddish sword, reluctant to let go. This was the culmination of his blood and sweat over several days, and more importantly, his first artifact refinement. It held immense commemorative meaning.

Clutching both Heaven Que and Chixiao Sword, Ye Chen lay comfortably on a stone.

“Tomorrow, I'll continue knocking them out.” A smile played on his lips. Ye Chen still didn't forget to cast a glance at the majestic and towering Di Yang Peak on Hengyue Spirit Mountain.

“Plotting against me comes with a price,” Ye Chen said with a cold laugh.

After his recent spree of knocking out disciples in the back mountains of Hengyue, nearly five days had passed. Ye Chen was certain that Ge Hong had relaxed his vigilance, which meant it was time for him to make his move.

(End of Chapter)