The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 555 - 317 Artifact Refining in the Rain

Chapter 555: Chapter 317 Artifact Refining in the Rain

The sky had not yet lightened, and Master Lu already led his disciples in their busy tasks.

Refining important magic artifacts required the assistance of favorable timing and location, and naturally, a ritual ceremony was indispensable.

It was not only necessary to offer a ritual to the Ancestor of the blacksmith trade, Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad, but also to Emperor Guan.

Performing a ritual for Lao Zi in a Buddhist temple seemed somewhat inappropriate.

Therefore, the ritual site was moved outside the temple.

On an empty plot behind Fuhu Mountain, not only were altars arranged, but also the divine tablets of Lord Lao Zi and Emperor Guan.

At the forefront was a newly erected furnace, along with a bellows, hammer, anvil, and other tools.

All of these were bound with red cloth.

Master Lu donned a different attire today, dressed in black coarse cloth, with a large leather apron hanging over him, a white cloth wrapped around his head, and a red rope tied around his waist.

Hanging from his waist was also a wooden plaque.

It appeared aged, with the words "Great Guang Ironworks" engraved upon it.

Li Yan and Sha Lifei, as outsiders, stood afar to observe the ceremony.

"What is ’Great Guang Ironworks’?" Li Yan asked softly.

Sha Lifei replied with a smile, "By chance, I just learned about it."

"During the Song Dynasty, iron smelting was exceptionally prosperous. ’Great Guang Ironworks’ was the court’s iron smelting bureau, gathering many renowned craftsmen of the time, and they also collaborated with Shen Kuo in compiling the ’Dream Pool Scattered Thoughts.’"

"Master Lu’s ancestors were the master craftsmen of ’Great Guang Ironworks,’ and this plaque is a magic artifact, a token of his lineage."

"I see."

Li Yan nodded slightly. He did not expect Master Lu to have such a background.

In the distance, the ritual ceremony officially commenced.

Master Lu and his companions lit incense and candles, set out offerings, and performed a series of three bows and nine kowtows to Lord Lao Zi and Emperor Guan.

Then the old man stood up, holding the "Great Guang Ironworks" token, continuously chanting mantras, and murmuring incantations, opening the liquor on the altar and sprinkling it in all directions.

His disciples quickly stepped forward.

They used scissors to cut away all the red cloth on the tools, and then another disciple brought forth a large rooster, bit its comb till it bled, and sprayed its blood over all the devices.

Clatter!

Black, glazed-like coal was poured into the furnace, and the disciples’ hands moved swiftly, soon heating the furnace to a blazing red.

Sha Lifei clicked his tongue, "Master Lu spared no expense this time. These are white coals transported from Zezhou Prefecture, of extremely high quality, completely smokeless with intense heat."

Then, he spoke in a low voice, "I also heard that Jinzhou has discovered a significant amount of top-quality coal spirits, and the court has dispatched people to extract them in large quantities, with shipments sent to the Capital every day by the Captain Bureau."

"Most likely, it is being transported to the Divine Machine Camp in the Capital."

Li Yan was unsurprised, nodding, "This matter concerns the court’s Qi Fortune, the Emperor surely wouldn’t entrust it to others, and presumably, it will eventually be used for new gunpowder controls across the regions."

As they spoke, two disciples had taken off their tops, baring their muscular physiques, allowing the drizzling rain to slide off their bodies.

Both of them produced a Yellow Talisman, stepped the Astral Step, and chanted, "Snow Mountain Master, open the Snow Gate, Snow Mountain Master, bring the snow... I invoke Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad, swiftly in accordance with the edict!"

Snow Mountain Skill?

Li Yan was curious why a ritual needed spells.

But soon, he understood the reason.

With the casting of Snow Mountain Skill, cold air surrounded the two disciples.

They casually donned straw hats and approached the furnace, where one retrieved the pot of rolling hot molten iron, and the other scooped it with an iron ladle.

In the empty field at the back, a double-layer flower stand six meters high had long been erected, covered densely with fresh willow branches and bound with fireworks and firecrackers.

"Hey!"

With a roar, the disciple tossed up the red-hot molten iron.

As the molten iron collided with the flower stand, tens of thousands of iron flowers fell and splashed instantly, colorful and dazzling, illuminating the darkness.

Simultaneously, the fireworks and firecrackers on the stand were ignited.

The continuous crackling sounds echoed in all directions.

So it was Iron Flower Casting!

Li Yan crossed his arms and smiled as he watched this magnificent spectacle.

This "Iron Flower Casting" was originally also a rite to pray for blessings and ward off disasters, to exorcise evil spirits and ward houses. It was also an old ritual for the five guilds of gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin.

Such a lively scene drew not only the guards of the Jinzhou Chamber of Commerce but even got the young monks from Yuquan Temple to come and watch.

When the ceremony ended, the sky was barely light.

The "Sharpener Rain" continued to drizzle unceasingly.

Master Lu and his disciples ate a vegetarian meal, washed their hands with willow branch water, and tied red cloth on all their heads.

They were about to complete the final step of the magic artifacts, with each one undergoing an Enlightenment ceremony, which would last until late at night.

The first to be crafted were six flying blades.

These were the Soul-breaking Flying Blades specially crafted by Li Yan.

He had invited Master Lu to examine his Duan Chen Blade. The technique was so exquisite that Master Lu admitted adding any more would be redundant.

Moreover, the original sleeve blades could be detected by Divine Skills in confrontations with experts, and given the existence of the Soul Hook, it was being used less and less now.

The Secret Technique left by Liu Gang could control the Soul-breaking Flying Blade through the Soul Hook, so Li Yan requested that Master Lu craft six of them.

The frames of the Soul-breaking Flying Blades were completed, with a hollow center made from Meteorite Iron.

These meteorite irons were no ordinary substances, having fallen from the heavens, first refined into iron embryos, then turned into steel through countless refinements, and finally stored in the Treasure Vault of Hua Mountain, absorbing the Innate Geng Metal Qi from the Western Peak.

Simply leaving them there allowed them to shimmer with a cold gleam.

The central hollow part was crafted with the Earth Dragon Bone, with a fine talisman pattern of Kylin embedded with Dian State white copper.

Of course, the two had yet to be combined.

Master Lu suddenly turned and said, "Young one, there are two methods. Which one do you choose?"

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