A Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Starting as a Sword-Forging Servant and Ascending to Immorta

Boom!

A pillar of black and red fire shot into the sky, swallowing the forging table whole.

The heatwave crashed down on all around like a tidal wave.

Old Qin reacted extremely quickly, waving his hand to instantly create a pale golden spiritual energy barrier, pulling and dragging Xue Yi behind him to protect her.

"Brother Zhou!"

Old Qin roared at the top of his lungs.

This is a ley line outburst!

Let alone a Body Tempering cultivator, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would be reduced to ashes if struck by such a blow.

Xue Yi turned pale with fright, clutching Qin Lao's sleeve tightly, her mind filled with only one thought: It's over, someone's going to die.

At the center of the fire, Zhou Lingxuan did not retreat.

Instead of retreating, he took a big step forward.

The fire came at just the right time.

Just now he complained that the temperature of the underground fire in the abandoned hall was not high enough to allow the red copper and cold iron to fuse perfectly.

This current surge of raging earth fire is like a godsend.

"Well done!"

Zhou Lingxuan shouted loudly, gripped the ordinary iron hammer tightly with both hands, and the purple jade hammer in his sea of ​​consciousness suddenly trembled.

"Melting" divine power, activate!

An extremely powerful suction force erupted from Zhou Lingxuan's arms.

The black and red earth fire, which was originally raging wildly, was as if it had been tightly gripped by the neck by an invisible hand and was forcibly pulled toward the alchemy furnace embryo on the anvil.

"Get in!"

Zhou Lingxuan swung the sledgehammer and brought it down hard.

clang!

This hammer blow, imbued with pure sword intent, struck directly at the most violent point of the pillar of fire.

Sparks mixed with black and red flames flew everywhere, but they were all suppressed by the sword intent and kept within a three-foot radius of the anvil.

Old Qin's jaw nearly dropped when he saw it from behind the protective shield.

Has this old guy gone mad? Using his physical body to withstand the rampaging earth veins? No, he's using sword intent to tame the earth fire!

clang!clang!clang!

The sound of hammering was so dense it was like a torrential downpour.

With each strike of Zhou Lingxuan's hammer, a large burst of black and red earth fire was forcibly smashed into the interior of the alchemy furnace embryo.

The raging fire elemental energy surged and surged within the furnace, attempting to break free of the restraints.

Zhou Lingxuan didn't give it a chance at all.

The sword intent transformed into an invisible carving knife, which, following the force of the hammer blows, roamed wildly at the bottom of the furnace.

Chop, flick, intercept, stab.

The chaotic fire elemental energy was forcefully organized, cut, and suppressed by the sword intent, finally pinning it firmly to the texture of the furnace bottom.

After half a cup of tea.

The lingering power of the earth's veins finally dissipated, and the firelight in the courtyard gradually dimmed.

"Buzz—"

A crisp, clear sound of the furnace echoed throughout the abandoned hall.

Zhou Lingxuan put down the hammer and exhaled a long breath.

On the anvil, a dark red three-legged alchemy furnace stood quietly.

On the surface of the furnace, the flowing cloud patterns seem to come alive, with faint black and red flames flowing within the patterns.

A surge of spiritual energy, far exceeding that of ordinary magical artifacts, was continuously spreading outwards.

Top-grade magical artifact!

Xue Yi pushed aside Old Qin's protective shield and scrambled to the anvil.

She didn't even care that the stove was still hot to the touch, and put her head right up to the stove opening to look inside.

smooth.

It is a seamless whole.

There wasn't a single flaw to be found at the junction of the furnace bottom and the inner wall.

Even more outrageous, the black and red fire that had been forcibly hammered into the center of the furnace bottom actually formed a natural array pattern.

"Fire Gathering Formation..."

Xue Yi's voice was trembling, and tears streamed down her face.

"A top-grade Fire Gathering Array Pattern! How is this possible? You didn't even inscribe the array, how did it grow?"

Zhou Lingxuan shook his aching arm and casually replied, "The fire was too big, so I just smashed it in. It'll have to do."

Just something to make do with?

Xue Yi almost choked.

A flawless alchemy furnace with its own top-grade fire-gathering array patterns—you absolutely can't find another one like it in the entire outer sect of the Heavenly Sword Pavilion! Is this what you call "makeshift"?

Without saying a word, she directly tore off the storage bag at her waist and stuffed the Foundation Establishment Pill from the jade bottle into Zhou Lingxuan's hand.

"It's yours now! From now on, you're my grandfather!"

"Bang!"

The dilapidated gate of the abandoned hall was kicked open.

Deacon Sun's greasy face appeared at the door, followed by an old man in a gray robe with an arrogant expression.

"Xue Yi! You misappropriated spiritual materials and colluded with outer sect servants to damage the earth's veins, causing a wildfire! Let's see what you have to say now!"

Deacon Sun shouted at the top of his lungs, his heart already bursting with joy.

He heard that loud bang clearly. The earth's veins went berserk; that old thing must have been reduced to ashes. Xue Yi's materials were also absolutely destroyed.

He specifically invited Elder Chen from the Weapon Hall to completely pin the blame on Xue Yi.

"Elder Chen, look at what this abandoned hall has been blown up! That old handyman must be..."

Before Deacon Sun could finish speaking, his voice abruptly stopped, like a rooster being choked.

He stared wide-eyed at the center of the courtyard.

Zhou Lingxuan stood there perfectly fine, holding a jade bottle in his hand.

Xue Yi was holding a dark red alchemy furnace, crying and laughing at the same time.

There was no sign of an explosion.

"This...this is impossible!"

Deacon Sun pointed at the alchemy furnace on the anvil, his fat face trembling violently.

"The earth's veins have clearly gone berserk, how could they possibly be turned into a pill furnace!"

Elder Chen had originally stood with his hands behind his back, looking like he was about to interrogate someone.

But when his gaze swept over the dark red alchemy furnace, he froze.

As a senior elder of the Artifact Hall, he has seen at least eight or ten thousand magical artifacts in his life.

The spiritual energy flowing over the alchemy furnace, the naturally formed cloud patterns...

Elder Chen shoved aside Deacon Sun who was blocking his way and rushed to the anvil in three quick steps.

"Get out of the way!"

He shoved Xue Yi aside without hesitation and reached for the stove with trembling hands.

"A top-grade magic artifact...it really is a top-grade magic artifact!"

Elder Chen's breathing became increasingly rapid. He extended his divine sense and swept it into the furnace, only to be struck as if by lightning.

"A flawless inner wall! Natural fire-gathering array patterns!"

He suddenly turned his head and stared intently at Deacon Sun, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

"Fatty Sun! You call this damaging the earth's veins? You call this misappropriating spiritual materials?"

Deacon Sun was so frightened that his legs went weak and he knelt on the ground with a thud.

"Elder... this must be fake! That old geezer is just a garbage-burning janitor, how could he possibly forge a top-grade magic weapon! This alchemy furnace must have been stolen by Xue Yi from somewhere else!"

"Bullshit!"

Elder Chen slapped Deacon Sun across the face, sending him flying three zhang away.

"The flames on the furnace haven't dissipated yet, even the rampaging black and red earth fire is trapped inside! Do you think I'm blind?!"

After scolding Deacon Sun, Elder Chen turned around and looked at Zhou Lingxuan.

His once arrogant old face instantly became covered with a fawning smile; the speed at which he changed his expression was so fast that even Old Qin was impressed.

"This...master!"

Elder Chen rubbed his hands together, his back almost bent to the ground.

"I apologize for my earlier rudeness. I am Chen Baichuan from the Qishi Hall. May I ask, Master, did you truly craft this alchemy furnace yourself?"

Zhou Lingxuan tucked the jade bottle containing the Foundation Establishment Pill into his robes and replied indifferently, "I'm the only blacksmith in this abandoned hall. If I didn't forge it, then who did?"

Elder Chen was not angry at all; on the contrary, he was so excited that he slapped his thigh repeatedly.

"Excellent! Fantastic! It would be a waste to leave such a master's skill in this abandoned hall!"

He grabbed Zhou Lingxuan's sleeve, his tone urgent.

"Master, come to our Weaponry Hall! Just nod your head, and a steward's position will be available for you immediately! Your spirit stones will be increased tenfold every month, no, twentyfold! And you can choose any top-grade weapon-refining materials you like!"

Elder Chen became more and more excited as he spoke, and even started making grand promises.

"With your skills, with just a little guidance, our Weaponry Hall will definitely surpass the Pill Hall! Then, you'll be the Vice Hall Master of the Weaponry Hall!"

Upon hearing this, Deacon Sun, who was lying in the distance, rolled his eyes and fainted from anger.

Xue Yi was also stunned.

The deputy head of the Weaponry Hall? This old man went from a garbage-burning janitor to a high-ranking member of the inner sect overnight?

Old Qin sat in the corner, took out another handful of melon seeds, and looked at Zhou Lingxuan with great interest, wanting to see how he would choose.

Zhou Lingxuan pulled back his sleeve and patted off the dust.

"I'm not going."

Elder Chen was stunned: "W-why? You're not satisfied with the conditions? We can discuss it further..."

"The rules of the Weapon Hall are too many. I'm used to being carefree and can't stand being restricted."

Zhou Lingxuan pointed to the pile of waste on the ground.

"Besides, I'm quite happy burning trash here; it's quiet."

Elder Chen was so anxious that he kept stamping his feet.

Why does this precious little thing like burning trash?

Just as he was about to continue persuading, his gaze suddenly fell on a piece of scrap iron next to the anvil.

That was a piece of residue that Zhou Lingxuan had shaken off from the furnace body during the forging process.

Elder Chen bent down to pick up the piece of iron filings and gently wiped them with his fingertips.

The next second, his expression changed drastically, and he abruptly raised his head, staring intently at Zhou Lingxuan.

"Master... were you using sword intent when you were forging just now?!"