Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

Several minutes later,

a beam of light, invisible even to the scanning of Divine Sense, shone down.

The substantial Taiqing Spirit Iron that was several meters tall and wide wavered and then vanished without a sound, passing through the window and the rooftop.

”One month...”

Jiang Ding muttered to himself, suppressing his impatience, and sat down on the bed to cultivate with his eyes closed.

This matter related to the Sword of Dao Foundation, so he had made a second-hand preparation.

If his Taiqing Spirit Iron did not return,

he would believe that the Xianmen Sect, established through the countless sacrifices of previous sages, had already decayed and was no longer the guardian it used to be. Even the Central Array Spirit Computer, the last line of defense, had fallen and become a tool for influential families and high-level cultivators, rather than a sect for the citizens any longer.

...

”We start refining the magic tool today,”

Wu Chengzhong said, summoning a green flying sword from not far away: ”This is an export flying sword from the Xianmen Sect, a middle-grade magic tool, the Qingyun Sword, made from Magic Arts-Breaking Steel as the base material, mixed with Spirit Iron from first-order spirit mines, and inscribed with dozens of types of Spiritual Gold array patterns. The special effects are speed and sharpness.”

That’s right, middle-grade magic tools still do not consist entirely of spiritual materials. The only difference is that the liquid gold in the crucible has become pure Spirit Gold, no longer like a half-magic tool where a large amount of gold liquid contains only a small portion of Spirit Gold mixed in.

”Exclusively using the technology of the Xianmen Sect, we can keep the material cost to one-fifth of the cost in the outer realms of the Cultivation World,”

”The selling price is nine times the cost of production for the Xianmen Sect, and even then, it is still cheaper than the cost of materials plus the Refining Masters’ fees in the outer realms,”

”If free trade were possible, it would completely destroy the refining industry of mid- to low-level cultivators in the outer realms,”

Wu Chengzhong’s face showed a tinge of regret.

”Regrettably, aside from the initial period, many sects in the outer realms have imposed high tariffs on export magic tools from our Xianmen Sect. Currently, only in some areas of the Five Elements Heavenly Sect and the Small World of Xianmen can we trade freely.”

Following that, he demonstrated on the control panel.

The liquid Spiritual Gold in the crucible turned into threads, and under his manipulation, they wove through the partially solidified sword made of Magic Arts-Breaking Steel, as if weaving and dancing, gradually forming complex and efficient array patterns.

More than an hour later, a flying sword shimmering with blue light finished being inscribed, cooled down, solidified completely from its semi-solid state, revealing its gleaming blue blade, and fell off the assembly line, passing inspection.

”It’s as simple as that,”

Wu Chengzhong stood up and said with an easy demeanor, ”All you have to do is skillfully use the knowledge I’ve imparted to you. I don’t expect success on the first attempt. Just going through the process to gain some understanding will serve as a basis for choosing a future profession.”

In these two weeks, he had taught everything that he could, the rest was up to their personal understanding.

”Let’s start.”

”Yes, Teacher Wu.”

Jiang Ding, Hua Bing, and a third person responded in unison.

Jiang Ding was assigned to a room where he sat down, closed his eyes to rest for a while, and adjusted his Inner Energy to its most lively state.

The first-order Qingyun Sword had four formations: First-order Spirit Gathering Array, First Order Levitation Array, First-Order Gale Formation, and First-order Sharp Gold Array – all quite basic, standard formations. However, because they were inscribed with Spiritual Gold and were three-dimensional formations, their power and strength exceeded that of Talisman Swords from the start.

They were nowhere near as complex as the First-Order Great Sun Spirit Gathering Array and the First-order Special Sharp Gold Array.

Having cultivated the ”Great Sun Sword Cultivation Method” for a long time, Jiang Ding was more than familiar with these four formations, and he had some confidence.

He infused Inner Energy, shifting his perspective to the microscopic.

This time, the Qingyun Sword in his field of vision wasn’t towering like a heavy machine gun barrel reaching for the skies but looked more like a lake in the shape of a long river. Its waters were hazy with blue light that occasionally churned.

Jiang Ding took a deep breath, manipulated a thread of Spiritual Gold to plunge from the sky into the metallic blue lake, starting from the center of the lake to inscribe the formation patterns layer by layer, from the outside in.

”This is difficult...”

As soon as he started, Jiang Ding felt tremendous resistance. The toughness of the half-solidified sword body made every step through the semi-solid Magic Arts-Breaking Steel liquid consume a substantial amount of Divine Soul Power, and he felt tired after just a few steps.

Only Divine Sense could precisely guide the Spiritual Gold wire as it weaved through the liquid Magic Arts-Breaking Steel.

Beyond that, at a microscopic level, the liquid Magic Arts-Breaking Steel was not still but constantly undulating like ocean waves, making it difficult to accurately carve the Array diagram.

This was also the reason why even within the Xianmen Sect, very few mortals became First-order Refining Masters.

”It can be predicted.”

Jiang Ding did not give up. He carefully observed the movement trajectory of the Magic Arts-Breaking Steel liquid, maneuvered the Spiritual Gold wire to follow its motion, and suddenly guided it to solidify when it moved to the location where the Array Pattern was to be engraved.

In this manner, he slowly expanded the trajectory of the three-dimensional Array Pattern. With his spirits highly focused, he became more and more tired; often, he could only guess the position of the Spiritual Gold wire.

The Array Patterns gradually formed a network, permeating the internals of the Magic Arts-Breaking Steel.

Midway through the engraving, Jiang Ding’s microscopic view had blurred, and he could only make rough estimations based on a faint instinct.

Time passed unknowingly.

After the final stroke of the Spiritual Gold wire Array Pattern was completed, everything before him turned dark. It took several minutes to recover, and he gasped for air deeply.

Ding!

The Qingyun Sword solidified and fell into the assembly line; out of the three green lights, one lit up, while the remaining two were red.

”It barely reached the level of a Lower-grade Magic Tool.”

Wu Chengzhong clicked his tongue in wonder, ”I didn’t expect your fellow students at the middle and later stages of Qi cultivation failed to make Magic Tools, but you did. It seems you have a great talent for the Refining vocation.”

Such defective products could not be put on the market and had to be destroyed.

”Jiang Ding, not bad at all.”

Hua Bing and Wu Tianli congratulated him.

”It’s nothing, just luck.”

Jiang Ding shook his head.

That was the truth. His spirit was often blurred, and he could only guess at the positions of the Array Patterns; indeed, he had guessed wrong in many places, resulting in large areas being defective.

’However, if I were to use my long-refined Flying Sword as ink, I would surely succeed!’ he thought with a strong confidence emerging in his heart.

”No wonder you’re the tough guy who casually beat my son in the practical exams. Both your cultivation talent and Refining talent are strong.”

Wu Chengzhong looked at Jiang Ding with a pitying glance, causing the latter to touch his head somewhat startled, ”Alright, your winter work placement ends today. I wish you all the best in entering your desired university’s Cultivation Department at the college entrance exam.”

”Thank you, Teacher Wu!”

Jiang Ding and the others also stood up to express their thanks.

In the past half-month, Wu Chengzhong’s lectures were humorous and easy to understand, allowing them to gain a lot more insight into the Refining Master profession.

After practicing at school for several more hours, Jiang Ding returned home with two express delivery boxes in hand.

Upon opening the larger of the two boxes in his room, he found a grey stone box with Array Patterns faintly visible on its surface.

[First-order Spirit Sealing Box]

[Function: Seals and isolates Spiritual Power, can be used for storage, or to isolate dangerous items, Divine Soul peeping, etc. As long as it’s not violently damaged, it can effectively block the Divine Sense of foundation building and Golden Pill Monks.]

This was the box he had ordered three days ago to store the two Storage Bags, preventing any traps left by the man in the black robe.

He opened the second, smaller square box.

Inside was a palm-sized mechanical arm that could be mounted on a drone, which was also very affordable, costing only a thousand Mortal coins.

After confirming the two items, Jiang Ding’s figure disappeared from sight.