Immortal Refiner

The difficulty of forging Ink Gold was something Li Qing had deeply experienced back when he hadn’t yet stepped into the realm of Outer Strength. Now, Qian Hong wanted to craft an entire sword using pure Ink Gold, which was an even more exaggerated challenge. Even Li Qing, with his current profound Internal Strength, felt somewhat strained by the task.

”The design of the sword should be similar to my current Qing Hong Sword, and the length shouldn’t deviate too much,” Qian Hong said as she drew the sword hanging from her waist and handed it to Li Qing.

Taking the Qing Hong Sword, Li Qing examined it briefly and quickly gained a sense of its quality. The craftsmanship of the sword was already quite impressive—the blade was sharp, and the hilt was comfortable to grip. It was undoubtedly a fine sword. However, compared to the Peerless Divine Weapons in the martial world, it still fell short.

”I understand. Because of the special nature of the ore, the forging process might take some time,” Li Qing said honestly.

”No problem. I’ll leave the Qing Hong Sword with you during this period!” Qian Hong replied decisively. Without a hint of hesitation, she clasped her fists in farewell and left.

Li Qing didn’t even have time to bid her goodbye before her figure disappeared from the blacksmith’s shop.

”To obtain so much Ink Gold, Commander Qian’s backing must be quite formidable,” Li Qing remarked as he picked up a heavy piece of Ink Gold.

But then again, it wasn’t surprising. As a woman, Qian Hong had risen to the position of Chiliarch in the Wu Li Army, and when the Maple Guard was established, she quickly became its commander. Such a rapid transformation not only required her own formidable strength but also the considerable influence of her backing.

Having someone like her owe him a favor was undoubtedly a beneficial situation with no downsides.

Thinking this, Li Qing nodded in satisfaction, feeling his passion for forging reignited.

”Light the furnace, and let’s forge the sword!”

For Li Qing, crafting a weapon made entirely of Ink Gold was a significant challenge. He had already experienced the difficulty of working with Ink Gold when forging the Peerless Hammer. It was incredibly stubborn, requiring both immense pressure and high temperatures to achieve even the slightest deformation. Melting it into liquid was out of the question.

This material was unlike ordinary iron. The flames of a regular forge couldn’t melt it, and Li Qing suspected that truly refining such a peculiar metal might require some mystical techniques, like the legendary Samadhi True Fire or the Heavenly Thunder and Earthly Fire.

Soon, he shook his head, dismissing these distracting thoughts.

Boom!

The furnace roared to life, and the temperature inside the blacksmith’s shop quickly rose. The crimson glow of the flames illuminated Li Qing’s face.

At this moment, his expression became intensely focused, his entire being immersed in the searing heat of the furnace.

Having successfully forged the Peerless Hammer, Li Qing already had some experience in handling Ink Gold. One by one, he placed the angular, ink-black metal pieces into the furnace.

The high heat began to scorch them. He picked up a pair of tongs and, like stirring sweet potatoes in a fire, began to manipulate the Ink Gold inside.

After a long while, Li Qing finally retrieved a piece of Ink Gold that had been heated for a considerable time and began to forge it with the Peerless Hammer.

The most basic stance of the Ancient Mystic Hammer Art, Li Qing drew strength from the earth with his feet, simultaneously unleashing his Outer Strength and Inner Strength, and fiercely slammed the heavy hammer down onto the Ink Gold.

Bang!

A deafening explosion seemed to erupt within the forge, and the ground trembled as if shaken three times, a testament to the immense force behind Li Qing’s strike.

Repeating this heavy hammering over and over, Li Qing, slightly out of breath, returned the piece he had been forging for half a day back into the furnace.

Then, he took out another piece of Ink Gold and continued the same process of hammering.

Hammer, return to the furnace, hammer, return to the furnace.

He kept repeating this process, almost becoming a tireless machine.

It wasn’t until late at night that Li Qing, feeling somewhat numb all over, finally stopped his work.

After such a long time, he had only managed to hammer through half of the Ink Gold in the furnace.

He didn’t plan to forge through the night; after all, the human body is still the human body, and even an External Strength Martial Artist needs rest.

Forging a pure Ink Gold sword was destined to take a long time.

He needed to rest and recover his strength, or else his body would collapse.

So, Li Qing added enough fuel to the furnace to keep it burning until dawn, then returned to his room and fell asleep immediately.

The next morning, the dull, heavy sounds once again echoed through the forge.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The noise was simply too loud; never before had forging other weapons produced such a commotion.

After nearly a full day of work, Li Qing finally completed the first round of high-temperature forging and hammering for all the Ink Gold.

During this time, he drank water when thirsty and ate large chunks of meat when hungry. Fortunately, the forge’s food supplies were more than sufficient, and he never skimped on silver in this regard.

After such hammering, the Ink Gold had undergone some changes, its texture beginning to soften.

But this wasn’t enough. Li Qing was all too familiar with Ink Gold; this process needed to be repeated at least two or three more times before the Ink Gold would become relatively malleable.

In the blink of an eye, another five days passed.

During these days, the sounds from Li Qing’s forge never ceased, with constant dull thuds echoing out.

Boss Fang of Chiming Street naturally knew that Li Qing was forging a Divine Weapon for Commander Qian Hong of the Maple Guard.

”Five whole days of continuous work, this Master Li is truly remarkable. Not only is his forging skill astonishing, but his Martial Path strength must also be formidable,” Boss Fang remarked with admiration.

And with the work still unfinished after five days, Boss Fang couldn’t even imagine what kind of Divine Weapon would emerge in the end!

It might truly rival the Demon Blade of the Nine Lotus Sect and that Black Tortoise Spear!

Indeed, after five days of hammering, Li Qing had finally rendered all the Ink Gold malleable.

Combined with the continuous high-temperature heating, the Ink Gold could now be initially forged into a single piece.

Of course, the Peerless Hammer played a significant role in this. Its hammerhead, also forged from Ink Gold, saved Li Qing a great deal of effort.

Otherwise, forging so much Ink Gold would have required several hammers to be replaced.

Only a Divine Weapon like the Peerless Hammer could barely withstand such intense hammering.

”An unexpected bonus, there’s still about two fist-sized pieces of Ink Gold left!”

Li Qing, who had just forged the rudimentary shape of the sword, was pleasantly surprised to discover that there were still two extra pieces of Ink Gold material left.

Naturally, he chose to keep these two additional pieces for himself.

On the forging platform, the rudimentary shape of the sword, crafted entirely from Ink Gold, was now fully revealed. The uneven, hammer-marked Ink Gold strip still gleamed with an inky luster.

(End of the Chapter)

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