Chapter 9

This time, Lian Rufeng led a group of guards to the Qingyang tribe, three thousand miles away, to trade for goods, and brought back some supplies that the villagers urgently needed. According to tradition, these supplies should be distributed to the villagers in the village temple.

Soon, at the call of Xiao Tianren, the villagers flocked to the village temple.

Lin Xun was also warmly invited, but he politely declined. He had only arrived in Fiyun Village yesterday, and such a distribution of supplies was not his responsibility.

...

In the evening, the sunset cast a lingering glow.

Lin Xun sat casually under a green weeping willow in his courtyard, holding a blue-green short blade in his right hand, and was carving a piece of "Stone Pine Silver Wood."

Tap, tap, tap...

The sharp blade moved like a silkworm spinning silk, with a delicate and precise technique, gliding smoothly over the surface of the Stone Pine Silver Wood. Snowflake-like wood chips fell, creating a fine and rhythmic sound.

Lin Xun's fingers were long, broad, and fair, and he held the blue-green short blade casually, making it dance like a butterfly, creating a pleasing and beautiful sight.

For a spirit pattern apprentice, before learning to engrave spirit patterns, they must first train their force application techniques, which naturally involves training their hands and fingers.

Whether the hands and fingers are flexible and steady is the most critical aspect when engraving spirit patterns.

After all, engraving spirit patterns is not just about carving the patterns; it also involves guiding the internal spirit energy to control the density, thickness, brightness, and the degree of fit between the spirit ink and the spirit pattern.

For example, to engrave the most basic "Green Wood Spirit Pattern," one needs to prepare a spirit brush, a dish of "Green Wood Spirit Ink," and a carrier.

The spirit brush is the tool for outlining the spirit pattern, controlled by the spirit pattern master, and the use of the spirit brush tests the flexibility and precision of the hand and fingers.

It's worth noting that spirit brushes vary in quality. A good spirit brush has a higher degree of fit with spirit ink and spirit energy, while a poor one has the opposite effect.

For instance, the spirit brush "Qingqiong Ranjin" that Mr. Lu broke in Lin Xun's memory is an extremely rare and invaluable treasure, with immeasurable value.

The spirit ink is the ink used to outline the spirit pattern, generally made by refining various spirit materials. Different spirit inks have different unique powers.

The Green Wood Spirit Ink, for example, is made by refining sixteen different spirit materials, including "Green Wood Fragrance," "White Spirit Leaf," "Spirit Gnat Blood," "Red Oriole Tears," and so on, in different quantities and proportions, ultimately condensing into a refined power.

Using this spirit ink to engrave the "Green Wood Spirit Pattern" ensures the best fit and the highest chance of success.

The so-called "carrier" is the place where the "Green Wood Spirit Pattern" needs to be engraved. Generally, this carrier must also be a "spirit object."

For example, the spirit pattern can be engraved on a weapon, armor, or other items like a house, teaware, carriage, etc.

Like the "Light Attraction Spirit Pattern" that Lin Xun engraved yesterday, he used his fingertips instead of a spirit brush, and the spirit ink was made from the bone powder of a gold-eating rat. The "carrier" was the spirit field, which contained a trace of spirit energy, making it a "spirit object."

However, the "Light Attraction Spirit Pattern" engraved in the spirit field is too rudimentary and lacks a "spirit energy source," so it can only be used once and cannot be permanently preserved.

A "spirit energy source" is an item that continuously provides power to the "spirit pattern," which can be a spirit stone, a spirit vein, or other treasures rich in spirit energy.

In short, engraving a spirit pattern seems to require only a spirit brush, a dish of spirit ink, and a carrier, but in reality, it involves extremely complex and rigorous steps, far from being as simple as it seems.

To become a qualified spirit pattern master is even more difficult, which is why the status of spirit pattern masters is so revered.

A long time ago, when Lin Xun began learning to engrave spirit patterns under Mr. Lu, he became a spirit pattern apprentice.

Even now, he is still a spirit pattern apprentice. The reason for this is that with his current cultivation and skill, he can only proficiently engrave basic spirit patterns.

Of course, apart from Mr. Lu, Lin Xun has never met any other spirit pattern masters, so he cannot judge the level of his spirit pattern engraving skills.

In the past, Lin Xun had asked Mr. Lu about this more than once, but Mr. Lu's response was always the same: a shake of the head and a sigh.

The shake of the head was a negation.

The sigh was a disappointment.

Negation plus disappointment, it's easy to imagine how many times this has discouraged Lin Xun over the years. Fortunately, Lin Xun has never been discouraged and has gradually become accustomed to Mr. Lu's criticism.

In fact, it is precisely because of this criticism that Lin Xun has been motivated to constantly challenge himself, which has continuously improved his spirit pattern engraving skills.

What does it mean to become stronger through adversity?

This is it.

At this moment, the dusk was deep, and the sunset cast an orange glow, giving the green weeping willow in the courtyard a beautiful luster.

A gentle breeze blew, rustling the willow branches, creating a serene and leisurely atmosphere.

Lin Xun's blue-green short blade danced continuously, quickly carving out a vivid image of an old man. His hair was disheveled, his face was lined with deep wrinkles, his body was as thin as bamboo, and he stood with his hands behind his back, his head slightly tilted back, his eyes filled with defiance.

This was the image of Mr. Lu.

Every inch of the wooden sculpture was intricately and precisely carved with spirit patterns, but no trace of the spirit patterns could be seen, giving it a harmonious and rugged charm.

Staring at the wooden sculpture in his hand, Lin Xun remained silent for a long time, then sighed silently, picked up the blue-green short blade again, and destroyed the sculpture inch by inch.

Then, Lin Xun stood up, his thin figure standing in the sunset, his clear and slightly pale face showing a determined expression.

One cannot live in the past.

To live is to always look forward!

When night fell, the villagers of Fiyun Village all received the supplies they needed and returned from the temple.

Lin Xun keenly noticed that although they had received the supplies, there was little joy on their faces; instead, many of them had furrowed brows.

Even faint arguments could be heard from the direction of the village temple.

Lin Xun could tell that it seemed to be an argument between the village chief Xiao Tianren and the guard leader Lian Rufeng, but the argument soon subsided.

As the night grew deeper, the sound of urgent hooves echoed through the village, gradually disappearing into the dark mountains.

"It seems that Lian Rufeng left again under the cover of night..."

Lin Xun pondered for a moment, then turned and returned to his room, intending to meditate as usual. At this moment, someone suddenly came to visit.

Bang, bang, bang!

The knocking was loud, sounding quite jarring and rude in the tranquil night.