Chapter 253 - 178: Searching, Refining a Middle Grade Magical Artifact

Chapter 253: Chapter 178: Searching, Refining a Middle Grade Magical Artifact

It spun endlessly, like a miniature sun.

"So hot," Zhao Zuo murmured. The air around his palm seemed to warp slightly, and waves of heat pulsed out, impossible to block completely even with his thick Mana barrier.

He then carried the crimson ball of fire over to the refining pot. Zhao Zuo injected Mana into it, drawing out the molten Ink Pattern Steel liquid from within. Its natural color was black, but now that it was melted, it resembled ink boiling and churning at high temperatures.

Of course, Zhao Zuo would never dare to touch the molten metal—heated to several thousand degrees—with his bare hands. He used his Mana to levitate it about a meter in front of him. Even from that distance, he could still feel the searing waves of heat washing over him.

The next step was the most critical part of the Melt Casting Technique: perfectly fusing the properties of the Fire Cloud Stone into the Ink Pattern Steel, ensuring the characteristics of both were preserved. With the addition of the inscribed Heavy Mountain Spirit Patterns, the refining of the Middle Grade Magical Artifact would be a success.

Zhao Zuo took a deep breath to ease his nerves, maintaining his state of Constant Calm. He inverted his right hand, first pressing down, then raising it to push the scorching ball of Fire Series energy forward.

Guided by the same Mana, the two spheres began to slowly draw together and merge. More than a dozen fine, crimson threads of Mana extended from Zhao Zuo’s fingertips, which he used to make minute adjustments to both masses, hoping to increase the chance of a successful fusion. Before his eyes, a sphere ten centimeters in diameter began to form.

The two spheres collided in mid-air. It should have been a volatile mix, but under the intervention of Zhao Zuo’s Mana, signs of fusion began to appear.

He held his breath and focused his spirit, not daring to miss the slightest change. Any carelessness could cause the fusion to fail. If that happened, both materials would be ruined, resulting in a loss of several hundred Spirit Stones.

Hooo...

Zhao Zuo breathed softly, his mind more focused than ever before. The black and crimson energies were slowly fusing. A fine, crimson trace appeared on the surface of the Ink Pattern Steel. It looked like a crack, but it was actually proof that the Fire Series energy had successfully fused with the metal.

As the fusion deepened, the two components began to repel each other. The once-stable state gradually descended into chaos. The flow of the Ink Pattern Steel accelerated as it started to cool, no longer maintaining its previous scorching temperature.

Zhao Zuo’s fingers danced in a continuous, rhythmic motion. The threads of Mana did their best to soothe and mend the relationship between the two elements. Gradually, the sphere of Fire Series energy began to shrink, and more crimson patterns appeared on the surface of the Ink Pattern Steel. At the same time, its falling temperature started to rise again.

Seeing this, Zhao Zuo felt a surge of joy and poured even more Mana in with both hands. Only when the two elements had intimately and completely fused did he begin to guide the molten metal downward, letting it flow like a thin black line into a prepared mold.

Without hesitation, Zhao Zuo maintained the stability of the fusion with his left hand while his right hand picked up the Spirit Pen. After dipping it in Spirit Ink, his hand moved like a blur, inscribing the pattern with swift, masterful strokes. He finished in just a few moments. The surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power began to converge, and the Spirit Pattern itself emitted a silver glow.

Zhao Zuo split his focus, gathering Mana in the palm of his right hand and condensing it into a Mana Ball.

"Hah!"

A shockwave erupted, stamping the Heavy Mountain Spirit Pattern into the still-molten metal. Seeing the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power begin to converge on the mold, Zhao Zuo finally breathed a sigh of relief.

More than twenty attempts, each ending in a splitting headache. Countless focused, repeated simulations.

After countless repetitions and lessons learned, he had finally succeeded in refining his first Middle Grade Magical Artifact.

This was a huge step up!

A genuine smile bloomed on Zhao Zuo’s face and stayed there for a long time. There was no one else here, after all. He had no need to hide his joy, and his expression was full of delight.

After a few minutes, Zhao Zuo pried open the mold with an iron pick. What lay inside was a magical artifact about seventy centimeters long, shaped like a short saber. It was mostly black, but its surface was covered with dozens of fine, meandering red patterns, like the surface of solidified lava with Earth Fire still flowing within.

The short saber faintly radiated intense heat.

’Since I used a Fire Cloud Stone as the main additive, I’ll call it the Fire Cloud Saber.’ Zhao Zuo reached out, picked up the Fire Cloud Saber, and held it before his eyes, observing it carefully.

[Level: Middle Grade Magical Artifact · Fire Cloud Saber]

[Experience: 0/2000]

[Status: Not Upgradeable]

Zhao Zuo fondly caressed the red patterns on the Fire Cloud Saber’s surface, unable to put it down. Internally, he was already calculating the cost of refining this Middle Grade Magical Artifact.

’One fist-sized piece of Fire Cloud Stone: four hundred Spirit Stones.’

’Five jin of Ink Pattern Steel: five hundred Spirit Stones.’

’This Magical Artifact should sell for around four thousand Spirit Stones, which means... a profit of three thousand Spirit Stones. That means if I can just refine ten Middle Grade Magical Artifacts a month... I can make thirty thousand Spirit Stones!’

Zhao Zuo honed the Fire Cloud Saber’s edge, then polished and adjusted it. Afterward, he used thin strips of Demon Beast leather to carefully wrap the grip. This was to increase friction and prevent the Magical Artifact from slipping out of its wielder’s hand during use, which could prove fatal.

The grip felt perfect in his hand. Zhao Zuo took out another ingot of Ink Pattern Steel. Before beginning the formal refining, he closed his eyes and began to restore his Mana. Only when he was back in perfect condition did he start the second attempt. This time, he would again use Fire Cloud Stone as the energy-providing material.

The first step, extraction, was a success.

But during the second step, fusion, something went wrong. The two small spheres became extremely unstable, barely able to maintain their shape. The threads of Mana were all destroyed. Finally, the sphere representing the Fire Series energy ruptured first, causing an explosion.

BOOM.

Zhao Zuo continuously poured Mana from both hands to reinforce his defenses. It was like clutching a fissioning miniature sun. Tongues of high-temperature flame licked and scorched his Mana-formed shield, but all he could do was keep injecting more Mana, letting it and the heat-based energy cancel each other out.

After about ten seconds, the Mana in Zhao Zuo’s hands dissipated. All that remained before him was a pitted, blackened lump of metal. The surface of the Ink Pattern Steel no longer held any trace of spirituality; it was now even worse than the Spirit Iron used for refining Lower Grade Magical Artifacts.

Zhao Zuo casually tossed the scrap metal into a nearby iron bucket. He began to pack up his materials for drawing Spirit Patterns, sorting them before placing them in his Storage Bag.

The two refining attempts had left him mentally exhausted. ’In this state... trying to refine again would inevitably end in failure. To save materials... I’m not going to be that bull-headed.’

After a quick cleanup, Zhao Zuo took out the piece of scrap metal. He melted it down and forged it into a black long saber. Having lost its spirituality, it could no longer be considered a Magical Artifact, but it still possessed a hardness comparable to one. In the Mortal Realm’s martial arts world, it would absolutely be considered a Divine Weapon.

’Recycling complete.’

The two attempts to refine Middle Grade Magical Artifacts had taken about five hours in total, which was all the time Zhao Zuo could spare. After all, he still needed the rest of his time to grind experience or practice his Cultivation and raise his level.

Zhao Zuo opened the heavy, soundproof iron door and suddenly found himself missing Liu Heng, who was away in the Yunlan Mountain Range. If he had his help, the efficiency of refining Middle Grade Magical Artifacts would surely increase. After all, the step of removing impurities alone took about half an hour.

The sun was setting, and the world grew dim. He gazed at the sky and fell into thought.

’But should he really tell Liu Heng about this?’

’In the past, he definitely would have. But things were different now.’

’After discovering that Liu Heng had used an overt scheme against him, Zhao Zuo had become warier of the man. He could no longer trust him as implicitly as before. And if he was fated to eventually grant him his freedom anyway...’

’Perhaps it would be better not to tell Liu Heng about this.’

’That was right. Some time ago, Zhao Zuo had already decided to grant Liu Heng his freedom, but only after Liu Heng worked for him for another ten years.’

’Zhao Zuo had to admit, Liu Heng’s plan had been very effective.’

’At the very least, he had started to consider Liu Heng a friend.’

...