Unlimited priesthood

Chapter 158 Weapon Refining
Several months later, on Fish Dragon Island, in the weapon-refining room.

Before the earthen stove, Shen He, whose hair was streaked with gray but whose youthful appearance had returned, sat calmly. His vital energy had also been restored.

Whether it's the Primordial Spirit Sacrifice Sword or the Karmic Fire Three Calamities Blade, both are combat weapons and require a weapon to rely on.

This is also why Shen He previously used the Myriad Roots Great Method to comprehend cultivation techniques such as alchemy, talismans, artifacts, and arrays.

He wanted to forge this demonic sword and blade himself.

This is the main weapon of war, and also the weapon of one's destiny. Forging it by hand can deepen the connection between the weapon owner and the weapon, making it more effective and significantly enhancing its power against the enemy.

Such weapons, if we can forge them ourselves, there is no reason to entrust them to others.

Shen He sat in front of the earth fire furnace, first filling the array with spirit stones, and then igniting the earth vein spirit fire.

Several months ago, he achieved the Great Dao Golden Core, which caused a heavenly tribulation lightning to pierce through the earth vein spiritual array. Although it was repaired later, the Fish-Dragon Earth Vein inevitably dropped to the third level.

With only a third-tier earth vein, it would be somewhat beyond its capabilities to forge a demonic sword, even in its initial form.

Helpless, Shen He had no choice but to add another layer of formation, filling it with thousands of mid-grade spirit stones and a large number of low-grade spirit stones as fuel to ensure that the earth vein spirit fire could be sustained.

The formation was activated, the earth's veins were ignited, and the Eight Trigrams Furnace quickly turned red-hot.

Shen He took out the materials, put them into the vessel, and began his first weapon-refining attempt to break through his cultivation level and improve his skills.

And so it went, for an unknown period of time, until finally a furnace was produced.

That's right, a furnace or cauldron.

Shen He did not directly forge the Demon Blade and Dao Sword.

This is a matter of course.

Although the Myriad Roots Great Method had extraordinary uses, helping him to improve his skills in alchemy, talisman making, weapon crafting, and array formation to the fifth level, it was only a theoretical improvement and did not involve practical application.

Theory on paper is never enough; true understanding comes from practice!
Therefore, Shen He did not directly forge the Demon Blade and Dao Sword, but instead forged other artifacts to accumulate practical experience, while also preparing for the forging of the Demon Blade and Dao Sword.

For example, the Bagua Furnace with five levels.

The Eight Trigrams Furnace he used before was a fourth-tier furnace. Although it was effective, it was not as good as a fifth-tier furnace, and it was time to upgrade it.

With a wave of his palm-leaf fan, Shen He saw the furnace open, and the newly refined Bagua Furnace flew out and landed in his hand.

Looking at the furnace in his hand, Shen He nodded in satisfaction, then put away the old furnace and replaced it with a new one.

Compared to the fourth-tier Bagua Furnace, this fifth-tier Bagua Furnace not only has stronger firepower, but also offers more flexible and adaptable effects, allowing for more precise control over the heat and even control according to the refiner's wishes.

This is extremely important.

Items of the fourth rank and below are considered basic items of the low to mid-level rank. They can be produced in a standardized and streamlined manner, and everything can be quantified.

This method of refining artifacts is devoid of any soul. As long as one's cultivation level is sufficient and one can activate magical power, one can refine the artifact step by step. It does not require a high level of skill.

However, this only applies to basic artifacts of the fourth rank and below. Mid-to-high-rank artifacts of the fourth rank and above cannot be crafted in this way. Some exotic items cannot be produced in fixed quantities, or rather, the human empire does not want to produce them in fixed quantities.

Because quantitative quotas can fix the lower limit, but also fix the upper limit, compared to ordinary technicians on the assembly line, the human empire needs master craftsmen who can step into the high level, or even ascend to the realm of immortals and demons.

Therefore, after the fifth rank, the standards for crafting techniques such as alchemy, talismans, artifacts, and arrays became blurred again, and the path of "ancient cultivation" was reverted.

After going around in circles, we're back to square one.

But Shen He thought it was very good. Standardized and streamlined courses served as the basic curriculum, while unleashing creativity served as the advanced path. This way of cultivating skilled talents, which stabilized the lower limit and opened up the upper limit, was something he could learn from.

In fact, he has already learned it; this is how Fish Dragon Island trains its disciples.

After finishing the Eight Trigrams Furnace, Shen He put in more materials and began to refine the second spiritual artifact.

The fourth to sixth tiers are all spiritual artifacts, with upper, middle, and lower grades corresponding to Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, and Nascent Soul.

The second spiritual artifact that Shen He refined was called the Five Fires Seven Feathers Fan. It was part of a set with the Tai Chi Eight Trigrams Furnace and was of great help in refining artifacts and pills.

Five Fires and Seven Feathers, as the name suggests, refers to five kinds of flames and seven kinds of feathers. The five fires are the fires of the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, and the seven feathers are the feathers of the seven birds: phoenix, luan, peng, sparrow, crane, swan, and owl.

With the highest possible configuration, this fan can gather the innate five elements of fire and the feathers of divine birds with true blood, such as the phoenix and the roc, to refine into a superior spiritual treasure of the twelfth grade, a quasi-immortal artifact.

Given Shen He's current circumstances, he certainly doesn't qualify for the top-tier version. He can only use the most ordinary Five Elements Spiritual Fire, along with feathers plucked from the Golden-Winged Roc and other contracted spirit birds, to forge a fifth-tier, spirit weapon-level Five Fire Seven Feather Fan.

"Hoohoo!"

The five flames stirred, the Bagua turned red, and the spiritual artifact in the furnace gradually took shape, but at the last moment it cracked with a crisp sound and turned into ashes along with the turbulent flow of the five flames.

The weapon forging failed, and all the materials were destroyed!
Seeing this, Shen He remained calm, readjusted the fire, and added materials again.

Victory and defeat are common occurrences in warfare, and the same principle applies to weapon crafting. All weapon crafters have learned from their failures.

Therefore, failure is not terrible; rather, it is a kind of preparation and accumulation. As long as you can step on it to move forward, you will be able to achieve success. Shen He now has the capital to step on it to move forward. Although three years of life-preserving cultivation has consumed a lot of his resources, most of them are pills and spiritual items that can increase cultivation and restore lifespan. Other talisman materials that cannot be consumed are still piled up in his storage bag.

This is capital, this is wealth!
After an unknown period of time, something finally took shape in the Eight Trigrams Furnace.

It was a divine bird, resembling a blue phoenix, a fire phoenix, a roc, a peacock, a white crane, and a swan. Its feathers were burning with the fire of the five elements. With a flap of its wings, it flew out of the Eight Trigrams Furnace and landed in Shen He's hands.

As soon as he got his hands on it, he saw the five flames recede and the seven birds disperse, leaving only a five-colored feather fan.

It was indeed the Five Fires and Seven Feathers Fan.

"Wonderful!"

Looking at the completed magical artifact, Shen He was very satisfied. He praised it and then fanned the Eight Trigrams Furnace. Immediately, the Five Elements Spiritual Fire flowed out, and there were also phantom images of divine birds such as phoenixes and roc birds that cried and flew around the Eight Trigrams Furnace.

"Even a simple fan from such a feather fan would be difficult for a Core Formation cultivator to withstand without fire control techniques or protective treasures. They would be reduced to ashes in no time!"

“I cultivate the Five Elements True Spirit Technique. If I use the Great Dao Golden Core and the power of the Five Elements to fan this fan, even a Core Formation cultivator with protective treasures will not be able to hold out for long. It may even pose a threat to a Nascent Soul.”

"This is the power of artifacts. Not only do they give you a great advantage in battle and protection, but they also provide divine assistance in alchemy and artifact crafting. When combined with the Tai Chi Bagua Furnace, they can increase the success rate of artifact crafting and the quality of the artifacts by at least 30%."

"Wonderful, wonderful!"

Seeing the effect of the Five Fires and Seven Feathers Fan, Shen He's smile deepened, and he struck while the iron was hot, starting to refine the third artifact.

Since it was all practical training anyway, and the Great Dao Golden Core cultivator had abundant magical power, he simply refined all the materials he had accumulated into artifacts. He would use the ones he could use himself, and put the ones he couldn't use into the Fish-Dragon Island Treasury to inspire people and earn merit.

Although it sounds like he's destined to be a workaholic, Shen He has to admit that some jobs can really be done in parallel with hobbies, and can even be addictive.

And so, several months passed.

Most of the accumulated materials were exhausted, replaced by more than ten brand-new fifth-order and fourth-order spiritual artifacts, as well as many third-order magic artifacts, all of which were the results of Shen He's practical training.

"almost!"

Having accumulated enough, Shen He closed his eyes and began to recover his magical power.

Several days later, his Golden Core power returned to its peak.

With spirit stones added and the formation stabilized, Shen He sat before the Taiji Bagua Furnace, holding the Five Fires Seven Feathers Fan, and began to forge his own natal combat weapon.

The three calamities of karmic fire, sacrifice to the Tao to slay demons!
First, he forged the Demon Blade. Shen He took out several pieces of spirit iron, all of which were fifth-order spirit items that he had previously seized from Xin Chenzi and other Core Formation cultivators overseas, as well as treasures from the market of the Netherworld Yellow Springs Sect.

Because it is an item of demonic cultivation, its properties are mostly similar to those of the demonic path, making it perfectly suitable for refining the Three Calamities of Karmic Fire.

Shen He threw the spirit iron into the Eight Trigrams Furnace, and then used the Seven Feather Fan to fan the fire of the Five Elements. The astonishing firepower quickly melted the spirit iron.

Shen He immediately stood up, put away his feather fan, and formed a hand seal. Streams of true essence and magical power were poured into the furnace, like heavy hammer blows, refining the liquefied spirit iron, removing its dross and keeping its essence.

The three calamities of karmic fire and the art of demonic warfare—the fourth rank is merely the foundation, the fifth rank is the entry level.

The first stage of this journey is the Tribulation of Weapons and Fire, which, as the name suggests, requires forging sharp weapons with unparalleled demonic fire to achieve.

Shen He has ample firepower and can ensure that the weapons he forges are sharp enough, but the word "demon" is a bit difficult to achieve.

According to conventional wisdom, at this point, one would need to bring in thousands or even tens of thousands of people, or even cultivators, to sacrifice themselves for the Dao and become demons with their lives.

But that was clearly not Shen He's style, and he had no intention of actually forging a demonic sword with that kind of attribute for himself.

and so……

"drink!!!"

Shen He raised his hand, made a stroke with two fingers, and blood splattered out, which was then thrown into the furnace fire.

Blood sacrifice?
Of course, how can it be called a demonic sword without a blood sacrifice?

But who says that blood sacrifices can only use other people's blood and not one's own?

As an immortal, he can not only dedicate his life to comprehending the Dao, but also dedicate his life to forging weapons!
How could the flesh and blood of ordinary mortals compare to his cultivation as a master of immortal martial arts and spiritual control, a cultivator who had broken through the limits of Dao Dan?
Although such blood-forging only produces blood without demons, lacking the soul and hatred of the one who consecrated the blade, it doesn't matter. Once the blade is forged, it will naturally engage in slaughter and become a demon by drinking blood.

In fact, the Three Calamities of Karmic Fire also warned that it is best not to mix too much flesh and soul into the demonic blade at the beginning of its forging, but to use the cultivator's own essence and blood as the main component. This can lay a good foundation for the demonic blade and prevent it from going out of control and devouring its master when it is fully formed.

That's right, it devoured its master!
This is the drawback of several demonic military tactics, because the method of refining is too extreme, and if not handled properly, it will be unable to be suppressed, causing the demonic soldiers to devour their master.

Therefore, at the beginning of the forging of the demon weapon, it is necessary to add the demon lord's own essence and even his primordial spirit in order to enhance his control over the demon weapon.

In simpler terms, it's like company shares. If you want to have a firm grip on the company, you need to ensure that you own more than 51% of the shares.

The way to acquire shares is through investment in flesh and blood essence, and even spiritual consciousness.

(End of this chapter)