Xu Zhiye, an artifact refiner in the Immortal Cultivation world, was skilled at forging swords. Some were good at forging knives, some at refining spatial magical artifacts, some at making flying props, in short, every master had his own expertise.
Xu Zhiye was skilled at forging swords. His swords were very famous. Not to mention the entire Lingnan Region, even in the surrounding countries, if he said his swords were just average, hardly anyone would dare say their swords were very good.
From the fact that he lived on a volcano but still had many people coming to seek swords from him every year, one could see just how good his sword forging skills were.
And recently there was an anomaly deep within the Hengduan Mountains range. The cultivators nearby sensed an impending storm, so even more people came to Xu Zhiye for swords, even filling up Joyous Guest Inn.
When Qin Ran arrived at Xu Zhiye's residence to pay his respects, Xu Zhiye was receiving another person who had come to seek a sword.
Xu Zhiye's daoist attendant, a burly man wearing only pants, received Qin Ran and his apprentice Li Shiyin. This so-called attendant was at least two meters tall. When Qin Ran looked up at his face, he had to crane his neck back.
"Master has no time. May I ask if you two have any tokens?" The attendant asked from inside the door.
Of course one couldn't be a cat or a dog to come looking for Xu Zhiye to forge swords. One had to have a token, have an identity.
So Qin Ran took out a sword-shaped token from his Cosmic Bag and handed it to the attendant. The attendant took it and checked it, nodding his head. He pulled open the wicker gate and motioned for Qin Ran and apprentice to enter the side yard to wait.
The token was left by Qin Ran's master, Wang Yuanyi. Wang Yuanyi was a Gold Core stage alchemist, a formitable figure whose status was no less than Xu Zhiye's.
Wang Yuanyi had once concocted pills for Xu Zhiye. To show his gratitude, Xu Zhiye gifted him this sword-shaped token, saying that as long as one brought this token to seek him, he would never decline.
The side yard was an extremely ordinary small courtyard. The courtyard wall was made of wicker fence. The house walls were plastered with mud and the roof was thatched grass, with only three or four rooms, extremely simple. It was like an extreme ascetic's residence.
Qin Ran sat down with Li Shiyin on a stone bench in the side yard. The attendant came over and poured tea, but Qin Ran held it without drinking it, despite his unbearable thirst.
He smiled and asked the attendant, "May I ask who is inside?"
The attendant glanced at him but did not reply.
How could client information be revealed so casually... In such a broken-down yard, with high level cultivators inside, everything outside could be heard clear as day. Who would dare speak carelessly?
"Master, it's so hot!" Li Shiyin drank the tea and fanned herself with her hand, complaining of discomfort.
Despite wearing a Fire Repelling Pearl, this was still a volcano. Further up would be a proper volcanic crater, although it was sealed by Xu Zhiye.
Li Shiyin's mouth and nose were full of the smell of sulfur. Her body and cheeks felt like flames were constantly scorching them.
However, although Li Shiyin felt uncomfortable, she did not know Qin Ran felt even more so. As he had a water spirit root, he was constantly being suppressed by the environment. This was not just about the heat.
Under such an environment, every second was torment. But master and apprentice waited quite a while before the room door finally opened.
Two women and one man walked out from inside. The two women were in front, one matronly, the other maidenly. The matron was charming and alluring while the maiden was nobly elegant. Both had unsightly complexions. Behind them was a man with a wide open, short-sleeved shirt, of rough appearance and irritable temperament, with a head of flaming red, short and stiff hair.
As the matron and maiden walked out, the matron hesitated and turned back to speak to the man, "Master Xu, why not reconsider a little? We can negotiate the compensation again."
"Go, go, go..." That red-haired rough man was obviously Xu Zhiye. Hearing the matron's words, he was extremely impatient, waving his hand to drive them away.
Clearly, the matron and maiden had failed to get him to forge swords for them.
"Alas..." The matron gave a helpless sigh.
Yet the maiden consoled her, "Let's go find someone else then..."
"Someone else?" The matron shook her head. It was not easy to find an artifact refiner who specialized in forging swords.
"Who's that over there?" Xu Zhiye paid them no more heed. He stood at the doorway and shouted towards where Qin Ran and apprentice were.
So Qin Ran brought Li Shiyin over and gave his greetings, "Junior Qin Ran of the Daoyuan Sword Sect, my master Wang Yuanyi, apprentice Li Shiyin, pays respect to Master Xu."
"Li Shiyin?" It was the maiden seeking swords earlier. Upon hearing this name, she had stopped and turned back to size up Li Shiyin carefully.
"Wang Yuanyi, was it?" Xu Zhiye nodded, also appraising Li Shiyin. Smiling, he seemed quite amiable as he praised, "Not bad foundation. Is this sword for her?"
"Yes." Qin Ran nodded. "I ask that Master help us out."
"I refuse!" Xu Zhiye's smiling expression instantly vanished as he turned irritable again, bluntly rejecting them.
"?" Li Shiyin was shocked. This old man's change of expression was so fast!
"Master..." Qin Ran had anticipated this temperamental and eccentric artifact refiner's rejection. He quickly took out his master's sword token and showed it to Xu Zhiye, saying, "My master said that with this token, one may seek one matter from Master that you will surely not decline."
"Token?" Xu Zhiye gave a cold laugh. "I hand out hundreds of those every year. If everyone came seeking favors, wouldn't I be worked to death?"
"Furthermore..." He disdained, "Wang Yuanyi died a few years ago. This token is useless now! Scram... Get the hell out of here!"
Qin Ran took back the token, his expression fluctuating but quickly suppressed by him.
In fact, this situation was still within Qin Ran's expectations. He had not controlled his change in expression well, one because Xu Zhiye's attitude change was too irritable, two because he was a shut-in who was not good at interacting with others.
Qin Ran silently adjusted his state of mind, appraising Xu Zhiye. Then he smiled and said, "In that case, we shall not disturb the Master's rest."
As he spoke, he took out a porcelain bottle from his Cosmic Bag and handed it to Xu Zhiye, "Having met Master Xu is junior's honor already. A small token, inadequate as a sign of respect, but I believe Master Xu will have need of it."
"Whoa... Master's change of expression is so fast too!" Li Shiyin exclaimed in admiration.
Seeing the bottle in Qin Ran's hand, Xu Zhiye suddenly recalled that Qin Ran had mentioned his master was an alchemist Wang Yuanyi. Since Wang Yuanyi was an alchemist, then... He looked at Qin Ran again. Could this solidly cultivated junior also be an alchemist?
Suppressing the fiery energy churning inside him, he glared at Qin Ran as he took over the pill medicine. Opening the jade seal, a burst of cold air floated out. Peering inside, it was a top grade Ice Condensation Pill!
"What cultivation method?" Xu Zhiye poured out an Ice Condensation Pill and directly swallowed it. Then he asked Qin Ran.
Xu Zhiye's attitude changed again, but Qin Ran was no longer surprised. He calmly took out a stack of design drawings from his Cosmic Bag and handed them to Xu Zhiye, saying, "Starry Sky Sword, Palm Sword, body technique."
Casually glancing at the design drawings in Qin Ran's hands, Xu Zhiye's gaze suddenly condensed. A look of astonishment appeared in his eyes. He looked at Qin Ran, then took the drawings for closer examination.
The first drawing was an illustration of the sword's attributes, with data on the sword's dimensions, appearance. The sword was 3.4 chi long, 3 fingers wide, black base with purple starry glow on the blade. Flipping down, the second drawing showed the internal structure of the sword. Further down were arrays...
Xu Zhiye quickly skimmed through the drawings and looked up at Qin Ran, eyes now holding some earnestness. He asked, "You designed this yourself?"
"Mm." Qin Ran nodded.
"The arrays too?"
"Yes."
"Interesting..." Xu Zhiye's interest was piqued. He flipped through the drawings again, especially the arrays. The conceptualization and construction were very interesting. He suddenly asked Qin Ran, "Have any interest in becoming my disciple?"
"I have a water spirit root." Qin Ran tactfully declined.
"What a pity." Xu Zhiye sighed.
"However, I can concoct pills..." Qin Ran said. "I see that master has been afflicted by fire poison from long years of sword forging. Perhaps I may be of help."
Hearing this, Xu Zhiye's eyes instantly lit up. He grabbed Qin Ran's scrawny shoulder and barked, "Are your words genuine?!"
Qin Ran remained composed as he took out another sheet of paper from his Cosmic Bag and handed it to Xu Zhiye, saying, "This is the pill formula I envisioned. Please take a look, Sir."
Xu Zhiye snatched over the pill formula and scrutinized it closely. The more he read, the more delighted he became. By the end, he laughed wildly.
"Good, good lad! I'll forge this sword!"
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