To comprehend all laws and attain immortality

Inside a quiet room deep within Shenji Peak.

Since Gu Fan wasn't trying to earn merit, he could only use the Earth Flame by renting a quiet room.

The price isn't expensive; a little good deed is enough to last for seven days.

After receiving the list, Tang Yuan quickly gathered all the necessary spiritual materials. A pile of colorful spiritual materials was stacked in Gu Fan's storage bag, costing fifteen merit points, which made Gu Fan quite heartbroken.

According to the rules of the Lingxiao Sect, there are three ways for outer disciples to obtain spiritual materials when refining weapons.

The first type is those that come with their own supplies; the sect doesn't ask about their origin.

The second method is exchanging merit points, which is equivalent to purchasing from the sect.

The third scenario involves accepting a sect's weapon-refining task. The necessary spiritual materials are naturally provided by the sect, and the refined magical artifact belongs to the sect. Disciples can earn merit points in return.

The materials provided by the sect for refining weapons are often more than enough, since there is always some loss during the refining process.

If a disciple is exceptionally skilled, they can not only earn merit points but also save on these losses, thus making a small profit.

However, if the craftsmanship is crude and the crafted magical artifacts cannot meet the sect's needs, then compensation must be paid accordingly.

Compensation can be in the form of merit points or spirit stones, but the price of the raw materials must be paid according to the market price.

If the debt cannot be repaid, it will be deducted from the sect's salary, and the person will be forcibly sent to Shenji Peak to forge spiritual materials to settle the debt.

Taking on a sect's weapon-refining task is different from drawing talismans, because although there aren't many unlucky people who go bankrupt while refining weapons, it's not unheard of.

Almost all disciples choose to exchange merit points for spiritual materials when they first start learning weapon crafting. Only disciples from aristocratic families choose to bring their own spiritual materials in order to save merit points.

After entering the quiet room, Gu Fan closed the stone door.

He did not start refining the weapon immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes and pondered, recalling the process and techniques for refining the magical weapon in his mind. Only after confirming that everything was in order did he open his eyes.

With a pat in his storage bag, a fist-sized iron ingot fell into his palm; it was the spirit iron that Gu Fan had once forged.

Spirit iron is arguably the most widely used refining material in the cultivation world, and its price is also very low. Gu Fan exchanged ten pieces at once for practice.

After casting a hand seal, the dragon head stone sculpture immediately spewed out surging earth flames, which, under Gu Fan's control, transformed into hundreds of strands that enveloped the spirit iron.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the spirit iron melted into a ball of molten iron.

Gu Fan used his divine sense to stretch the molten iron until it formed a sword-shaped blank.

Having previous experience in forging spirit iron, Gu Fan operated with ease, and the process went very smoothly. However, he still dared not relax, because the next part, inscribing the restrictions, was the key to refining the weapon.

Restrictions are also composed of runes, with a complexity between talismans and array patterns. Compared to talismans and arrays, the unique feature of restrictions is that they can be combined to take effect.

Talismans can only cast fixed spells, but by inscribing multiple restrictions, they can be imbued with various magical properties.

Gu Fan was completely focused, manipulating the earth flames to ensure that the artifact embryo would not cool and solidify, while simultaneously using his divine sense to inscribe runes into the artifact embryo, forming a restriction rune diagram.

Once the restriction was inscribed, a sharp sensation immediately emanated from the artifact.

But Gu Fan did not stop. Instead, he began to inscribe the second layer using the same restriction.

Compared to inscribing the first layer of restrictions, inscribing the second layer of restrictions is much more difficult.

The second layer of restrictions must be built on top of the first layer, and the two must form a coordinated whole. Once a conflict occurs, the entire artifact will be scrapped.

The number of layers of restrictions determines the quality of a magical artifact, which is the biggest challenge in crafting high-level magical artifacts.

Gu Fan carefully inscribed the second restriction. When the magical energy circuit formed by the two restrictions was running smoothly, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After extinguishing the earth flames, Gu Fan took out a jade bottle from his storage bag, opened it, and emitted a chilling aura.

The jade bottle contained the second type of spiritual material that Gu Fan had exchanged, called Cold Spirit Water.

The Cold Spirit Water originates from a cold pool rich in spiritual energy. It is a superior quenching liquid. The coldness in it, combined with the residual earth fire power in the artifact embryo, can enhance the hardness of the artifact.

Under Gu Fan's control, the Cold Spirit Water flew out of the jade bottle and enveloped the blade of the artifact.

Upon contact, the Cold Spirit Water rapidly evaporated into water vapor, emitting a piercing, sharp sound. Only after the flying sword cooled down was the forging of this magical artifact completed.

The fact that he succeeded in crafting a magical artifact on his first attempt is astonishing.

Gu Fan reached out and the flying sword landed in his palm, still warm to the touch.

With a thought, another small gray sword flew out from his sleeve; it was the flying sword magic weapon that Gu Fan had received on the day he entered the sect.

Gu Fan manipulated the two flying swords to fly and circle in the quiet room for a while, and then they flew towards each other and collided with a bang.

Each collision sparked a few sparks, and in an instant, the sound of metal clashing echoed in the quiet room.

After several collisions, the original gray sword finally gave way and broke in two with a crisp sound.

Gu Fan reached out and recalled the newly forged flying sword. He examined it and saw that its blade was intact and undamaged, which made him smile slightly.

The same material, just because of the addition of a restriction, resulted in such a big difference, which also gave Gu Fan a deeper understanding of the art of weapon forging.

Of course, the difference between the two is so obvious not only because of the number of restriction layers, but also because of the choice of restriction on the two flying swords.

Experienced weapon refiners often choose restrictions based on the characteristics of the spiritual materials they inscribe, in order to maximize the properties of the materials rather than going against their nature.

Choosing the wrong restriction can result in either wasting spiritual materials or failing to refine the weapon.

After Gu Fan's examination, he discovered that the engraved restrictions on the flying swords issued by the sect were designed to increase the speed of the swords, while the restrictions on the flying swords forged by Gu Fan were designed to increase the sharpness of the blade. This was the direct cause of the former breaking.

There are various types of restrictions, and there is no fixed pattern.

The jade slip titled "Plum Blossom Restriction" that Gu Fan exchanged contained records of several restrictions, which were named after the plum blossom shape after being engraved.

Even before coming here to refine weapons, Gu Fan had already used his Myriad Manifestations Eye to comprehend the restrictions within. With a foundation in array formations, comprehending restrictions was a piece of cake for him.

After playing with the new flying sword for a while, Gu Fan put it into his storage bag, then took out another piece of spirit iron, preparing to try different combinations of restrictions.

Two low-grade magic artifacts with restrictions could fetch over a dozen low-grade spirit stones if thrown into the market down the mountain, so he wasn't going to waste them.

As for adding more layers of restrictions to upgrade the flying sword to a mid-grade level, it wasn't that Gu Fan didn't want to, but rather that the material limited his options.

As a cheap material for refining weapons, spirit iron can only withstand two layers of restrictions.

Among the weapon-refining methods Gu Fan learned at Shenji Peak was a technique for fusing various spiritual materials to enhance their quality.

How to make spiritual materials withstand more restrictions is a subject that countless weapon refiners have explored throughout their lives.

Compared to Gu Fan's memories from his previous life, the art of weapon crafting is more like a skill that combines materials science and engineering.

As the dragon-head stone sculpture spewed out earth flames once more, Gu Fan devoted himself entirely to the next weapon forging session.