Immortality begins with upgrading buildings

Chapter 296 [Sword Hut: lv1] (Seeking monthly votes)

Ji Yuan looked at the first high-grade spiritual weapon he had crafted himself and felt a sense of joy.

He casually flicked his sword and tossed it away.

Driven by spiritual energy, the longsword transformed into white light, weaving through the courtyard before finally flying back into his hand.

"The sword light is as white as snow, so let us name you 'White Gap'."

Ji Yuan naturally intended to keep the first high-grade spiritual weapon he had crafted himself, especially since it was a sword-type spiritual weapon, as a memento.

As for upgrading the [Sword Hut], the panel only requires a sword-type spirit weapon.

A low-grade spiritual weapon is still a spiritual weapon, and a mid-grade spiritual weapon is also acceptable; there is no need to use a high-grade spiritual weapon.

That's too extravagant.

After putting away the precious sword, Ji Yuan silently expressed his gratitude to the Fire Python Immortal for the gift.

If it weren't for the top-grade spiritual artifact-level weapon-refining equipment he left behind, along with those books recording weapon-refining experience...

Even if Ji Yuan wanted to break through to become a second-tier high-grade weapon refiner, it wouldn't be that easy.

Ji Yuan could no longer bother to continue forging and upgrading the sword [Sword Hut].

Having finally improved his weapon-refining experience, he naturally had to try to refine the Heavenly Thunder Seed.

As for the materials for refining the Heavenly Thunder Seed, Ji Yuan had already begun preparing them when he was in the early stages of Foundation Establishment.

Now that he's at the peak of Foundation Establishment, he estimates he could refine four or five hundred of them if he were to finish them all.

The ingredients include sulfur from a fierce fire, saltpeter from a hundred-millet rock, charcoal made from millennia-old Erythrina wood, and second-tier Thunderfire Stone.

These numerous materials, after being professionally proportioned and meticulously refined by a second-tier high-grade weapon refiner, can be used to create the incredibly powerful Heavenly Thunder Stone.

Ji Yuan is currently at the peak of Foundation Establishment. If he has the help of this Heavenly Thunder Child, he will surely be invincible in future battles!

You have to be extremely careful when refining this Heavenly Thunder Seed.

The reason why Heavenly Thunder Stones are so rare is that there are very few weapon refiners who know this skill.

On the other hand, it's because... many weapon refiners who knew this skill were also killed in the explosion.

Ji Yuan, on the other hand, is fearless.

Besides his magical power being at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, his physical cultivation was also at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage.

If you were to be hit by this lightning bolt at close range, you would only suffer minor injuries at most.

With one improved Qi and Blood Pill, any injury can be fully restored.

So in the days that followed, Ji Yuan carefully began to try to refine the Heavenly Thunder Seed.

At first, lacking experience, he didn't dare to mass-produce them.

If a series of explosions were to occur and he were to blow himself up, he would truly become the biggest joke in the world.

Fortunately, Ji Yuan was quite careful, especially in terms of his spiritual sense, which was comparable to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm. Therefore, there were no major problems with the proportions and the hand-crafting of the Heavenly Thunder.

Thus, the first Heavenly Thunder Stone he had ever personally crafted was completed!

Once you've succeeded with the first one, the rest will be quick.

They succeeded one after another.

But when someone succeeds too many times, they become arrogant, and Ji Yuan was no exception.

When he was forging the fifth one, he became careless and...

"boom--"

With a loud bang that could shake the entire alchemy workshop, the Ice and Fire Elder arrived at the entrance of his small courtyard almost instantly, and without saying a word, he tore open the formation and barged in.

"Hey kid, where the hell are you?!"

Dust billowed throughout the courtyard, and a huge crater several meters deep appeared on the ground.

The walls were broken and the houses collapsed.

The entire courtyard was destroyed.

This situation arose only after Ji Yuan used his formation to suppress the explosion's effects. If he hadn't suppressed it, the entire northwest corner of the alchemy workshop would probably have collapsed, and at least the surrounding streets would have been destroyed.

"Here, here."

Ji Yuan immediately turned off all building effects before climbing out of the deep pit.

At this moment, his clothes were torn, his body was covered in blood, and he was even bleeding from all seven orifices because he was too close to the blast.

After crawling out, to make his injuries seem more realistic, he lay down on the ground and gasped for breath.

The Ice and Fire Elder came to his side, and before he could speak, more beams of light rose from all around the city and approached.

"Go back, all of you. I'll stay here."

With a wave of his sleeve, the old man of ice and fire dismissed the other Golden Core cultivators.

However, there are exceptions.

Hunter Owl didn't leave; in fact, he went straight into Ji Yuan's courtyard.

"Ji Yuan, what are you doing here?"

When Master Hunter entered, he didn't even seem to believe the look in his eyes when he looked at Old Man Ice and Fire.

Since they are from the same school, they should naturally trust each other.

"It's nothing, it's nothing."

Upon seeing the gaze of Master Hunter, Ji Yuan quickly sat up, waved his hand to dispel the dust-laden mist before him, and then said weakly:

"I was thinking of taking apart a thunderbolt and seeing if I could find out its material ratio so that I could make my own thunderbolts."

As Ji Yuan spoke, he quickly covered his mouth and coughed violently for a while until he coughed up a piece of blood from his throat, at which point he felt much better.

"But I didn't expect to make a mistake. I accidentally detonated this Thunderbolt while disassembling it. Luckily, I reacted quickly and used an array to suppress it, otherwise I would really be gone today."

After listening to his story, the old man of ice and fire couldn't hold back any longer and slapped him on the head.

"You son of a bitch, you're going to give me back!"

"I've never seen anyone as reckless as you! Taking apart a thunderbolt to research its formula? If it were that easy, thunderbolts would be commonplace by now!"

The old man of ice and fire glared at him fiercely.

Hunter Owl Master originally thought something shady had happened, which is why Ice and Fire Elder came over immediately to keep order.

Looking back now, it really was something that couldn't be brought to light.

If this news gets out, the Water Dragon Sect will be laughed to death.

"It's a good thing you weren't blown up, otherwise every future weapon refiner would have to put up a warning sign with your name engraved on it."

The Hunter is a man of few words, but when he does speak, his words are often hurtful.

Ji Yuan knew he was in the wrong, so all he could do was laugh foolishly.

"Alright, if you're not dead, get up and fix this room. If I find you researching Heavenly Thunder Seeds in this alchemy workshop again, I'll slap you to death!"

The old man of ice and fire uttered a harsh threat before transforming into a beam of light and departing.

"You, you... if you ever do this again..."

Before Master Hunter could finish speaking, Ji Yuan hurriedly replied:

"Don't worry, when I'm out and about, I'll definitely say I'm from Medicine King Valley."

To achieve a similar imitation, Ji Yuan even adopted a slight accent from Medicine King Valley when speaking.

Hunter Owl Real Person: "..."

"Just don't say you're a disciple of my Water Dragon Sect."

The Hunter Lord was too ashamed to stay there, so he had no choice but to transform into a beam of light and leave.

Having seen the two seniors off, Ji Yuan activated the formation again, enveloping the house.

He then took a Qi and Blood Pill.

In less than half an hour, his injuries were healed. After restoring the damaged house with magic, he continued to refine the Heavenly Thunder Seeds.

Having just experienced that deadly threat, Ji Yuan is now on high alert and dares not be careless in the slightest.

Therefore, Ji Yuan did not encounter any further problems during the subsequent refining of the Heavenly Thunder Seed.

Moreover, the more you refine it, the more familiar you become with it, and the less likely you are to make a mistake.

Until half a month later.

Ji Yuan successfully refined three Heavenly Thunder Seeds at the same time. Just as he was about to rest for a while, he received a message from the Ice and Fire Elder.

"Kid, how's your injury healing? We're short-handed. Once you've recovered, go guard the east side."

Ji Yuan exited the state of refining the Heavenly Thunder Seed and casually waved his hand, collecting all the refining equipment in the courtyard.

Then the [Cave] effect was activated, restoring the dusty house to its original state.

After confirming that nothing had been overlooked, he took out the communication talisman from the Ice and Fire Elder and replied:

"Alright, I'll go right away."

After replying to the message, Ji Yuan didn't linger. He took out the Wind Locust Flying Boat he had previously left and headed straight for the east city wall.

Having not left the city for several months, Ji Yuan paid extra attention to it when passing through the city.

The city itself is fine; nothing has changed.

Even the alchemists coming and going were now in a hurry, no longer as casual as before.

But when he arrived at the east city wall, he found that it was not like that.

Outside the city wall formation, there were craters and marks everywhere from the magical bombardment.

Even the city walls themselves are covered in scars.

The once brand-new psionic cannon now showed signs of use.

Judging from the cracks on the plane closest to the city gate, it could only be driven in first gear at most.

You can't even use it more than a few times in the first gear.

The only good thing is that the formation was not damaged and remains intact.

If this formation malfunctions... Ji Yuan should prepare to flee.

"As expected of an array formation from the Li and Huang families, two Nascent Soul stage clans; their foundation is truly impressive."

For the past few months, Ji Yuan stayed at home, isolated by a protective array, and didn't hear any noise from outside.

"Greetings, Lord of Worry-Free Island."

Not long after Ji Yuan landed, a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Yu Ling Sect landed beside him.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Huang Ming."

Ji Yuan looked at him, thought for a moment, and then remembered his name.

"Now that Fellow Daoist Wuyou has arrived, I will go back to rest first. I have been guarding for a month without any rest."

"Thank you for your hard work, Brother Huang Ming."

There wasn't much handover; we just greeted each other and knew the other had arrived.

After seeing Huang Ming off, Ji Yuan met with the other Foundation Establishment cultivators who were stationed with him, and learned that someone had come to relieve them.

Moreover, he only stayed here for a day before Li Changhe somehow got wind of it and came over for a chat.

"Brother, you've finally decided to leave the seclusion."

Li Changhe spoke those words aloud, but the next sentence was transmitted telepathically: "I heard you were dismantling a thunderbolt at home and almost lost half your life?"

"No, how did you know?"

Ji Yuan felt that neither Hunter Owl nor Ice and Fire Elder were the type to gossip, and they shouldn't spread this matter.

"How did I know? Now the entire alchemy workshop knows."

Li Changhe rolled his eyes. "They say that Zhou Sanbao of the Yuling Sect happened to pass by nearby, learned about it, and then spread the word."

"Sanbao..."

Ji Yuan had previously learned about all the Foundation Establishment cultivators stationed at this alchemy workshop from Master Lie Xiao, so when Li Changhe spoke, he immediately matched the person with the name.

And coincidentally, he discovered that Zhou Sanbao happened to be a member of the demon hunter team this week.

He was the same Foundation Establishment Peak cultivator who spoke up in the main hall to remove Ji Yuan from the sect.

"Yes, according to my inside information, he has spoken ill of you to others more than once, saying that your cultivation is mediocre and that you still want to join the demon-hunting team."

"He also said it's good that you were smart enough to quit on your own, otherwise, with your cleverness in dismantling the Thunder God yourself, even if you joined the Demon Hunter team, you would still be a useless teammate."

After Li Changhe finished speaking, he narrowed his eyes slightly, "I've already taught the others who spoke ill of you a lesson, but this bastard is also from a Nascent Soul family, so I can't easily take action against him."

"Of course, if you can't swallow this, I can help you teach him a lesson. He's just a Foundation Establishment Peak cultivator after all."

Ji Yuan frowned slightly, trying to recall where he had offended Zhou Sanbao this week.

But after thinking it over and over, I couldn't recall ever having any interaction with him.

"Forget it, people have mouths, let them say whatever they want, let them do what they want."

Ji Yuan wouldn't take these verbal disputes to heart; he would only... eliminate the problem completely.

If the opportunity arises, he wouldn't mind removing Zhou Sanbao from this week's list as well.

After all, even the Frost Dragon, which had finally advanced to the peak of the second-tier demon beast, needed to go through a bloody battle to grow stronger.

"Alright, you really don't like fighting."

As Li Changhe spoke, he glanced into the city and said, "Let me introduce you to a new friend, also from our Water Dragon Sect, a junior member, quite interesting."

"Okay."

If Li Changhe considers someone a friend, that person must have a good personality; it wouldn't hurt to get to know them.

Li Changhe clearly heard a few words from the communication talisman, and soon, a handsome young man flew into the city.

Li Changhe acted as the middleman, introducing the two sides.

Ji Yuan wasn't aloof, so he quickly became acquainted with Liu Qingshan, who was known as "Lord of Qingshan Island".

Liu Qingshan addressed him as "Brother Ji" repeatedly.

"It's only because you have a good temper, Brother Ji. If it were me..."

"How would you feel if it were you?"

Li Changhe joked.

"If it were me, I would have gone to their door long ago."

Liu Qingshan, who had only recently reached the Foundation Establishment stage, was making boastful remarks, which made him feel somewhat embarrassed.

Ji Yuan smiled and didn't take it to heart.

He's just a young man who's only recently reached the Foundation Establishment stage; it's normal for him to be a bit impetuous.

"Look, their demon hunter team is back."

Liu Qingshan sat opposite Ji Yuan and suddenly pointed behind Ji Yuan.

"Oh?"

Ji Yuan turned around and indeed saw several streaks of light flying towards the alchemy workshop.

Judging from its direction, it really is going to enter through the east gate.

Ji Yuan shook his sleeves, stood up, and stood in front of the three people.

Soon, the group returned from outside. They looked like they had just killed a demonic cultivator, and their aura had not yet been fully concealed, putting some pressure on Liu Qingshan.

Li Changhe stepped forward without making a sound and shielded his new friend behind him.

Ji Yuan looked at the group of people, and they all looked at him in return.

"It seems Fellow Daoist Wuyou's injuries have finally healed? That's truly fortunate. How about this, I'll host a banquet in the city in a few days to celebrate your recovery?"

One of them broke away from the demon-hunting team and eventually hovered in front of Ji Yuan on a flying sword.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, you are very kind."

Ji Yuan gave the man a half-smile, then suddenly remembered something and said:

"By the way, my senior sister said that if you hadn't been so ugly back then, she might have agreed to date you."

"you!"

Zhou Sanbao, who was not tall to begin with, was furious upon hearing this. His spiritual energy surged, and he immediately stepped forward a foot.

Before Ji Yuan could even make a move, Li Changhe was already standing in front of him.

"Oh, sword tip pointing inwards, huh? How about I exchange a few blows with you?"

The other members of the demon-hunting team quickly pulled back Zhou Sanbao, who was about to make a move.

The final farce has come to an end.

After watching the demon hunter team leave, Li Changhe turned around.

"Is it related to the Lord of Fire Phoenix Island?"

That's most likely the case.

Ji Yuan recalled that when Feng Zhitao was chatting with him before, she had mentioned that there were cultivators from the Yuling Sect who were pursuing her.

Although she didn't mention the person's name, she described his appearance and personality.

Looking back now, Ji Yuan realizes that it perfectly matches what happened on Wednesday this week.

Today's test confirmed it was indeed him.

"He's a petty person, I can't be bothered with him."

Li Changhe waved his hand dismissively.

So for the next month, Ji Yuan didn't go anywhere. He stayed on the east side of the city wall, either cultivating to improve his spiritual energy or studying the "Sword Canon" to improve his cultivation.

The demon hunter team rested at the alchemy workshop for more than half a month before heading out again.

A month later, Ji Yuan, who had been reassigned, returned to the alchemy workshop.

He took a break during that month and returned to his cave to continue refining weapons.

Swords!

My cultivation has been delayed for a long time, and now it's time to upgrade this [Sword Hut].

Ji Yuan had already prepared 50 sword-type magical artifacts when he practiced before, and he also traded with several weapon refiners in this alchemy workshop.

They were all gathered together very quickly.

These five sword-type spiritual weapons had to be crafted by myself, which took a little longer than expected.

It took two rounds of job rotation to successfully build it.

The moment the sword was forged, Ji Yuan immediately chose to upgrade it.

He placed the swords in an empty room inside the house, and the room, which was not originally allowed to be "labeled," was instantly "labeled" on its own.

[Sword Lodge: lv0]

Ji Yuan glanced at the panel and took out 10000 mid-grade spirit stones, piling them on the ground.

Then, in a moment, he chose to upgrade.

As the thought settled, numerous swords vanished, leaving behind a surge of sharp, piercing sword energy within the room.

Its sharp edge is captivating and mesmerizing.

At the very moment that [Sword Lodge] was successfully upgraded, Ji Yuan clearly felt that his understanding of the sword system had deepened considerably.

To put it dramatically, he even felt that there was a lot more sword energy in the spiritual energy within his body.

The connection with the nine Azure Wave Swords seemed to have become even closer.

Even though it hasn't been crafted into a magic weapon yet, let alone its natal magic weapon, it already feels like it can be used as an extension of one's own limb.

"Is this the amazing effect of a +10% sword specialization bonus?"

Just as Ji Yuan was thinking of calling up the panel to check the effect of the level 2 [Sword Hut], three communication talismans lit up in his storage bag one after another.

"Something happened?"

That was his subconscious thought.

He didn't even bother checking the panel anymore and quickly took out the three communication talismans.

His divine sense swept over it.

It turned out that the communication tokens from Li Changhe and Liu Qingshan were both saying the same thing.

"The Demon Hunter team has run into trouble. They were ambushed by the demonic forces. There were six members in total, and three of them died, including Zhou Sanbao."

The remaining lit communication talisman belonged to the Red Flower Island Master, who was also a Foundation Establishment cultivator stationed here by the Water Dragon Sect, and was in charge of matters related to flying sword communication.

"Senior Brother Wuyou, I received two messages from your flying swords, both from the sect."

(End of this chapter)