Chapter 66

Qin Lie settled down in the Star Cloud Pavilion. During the day, he would go to Yao Tai's forging hall to learn how to identify various low-grade spiritual materials and observe the steps Yao Tai took in melting these materials. At night, he would read the two books on forging, "Identification of Low-Grade Spiritual Materials" and "Introduction to Forging," to gain a deeper understanding of forging knowledge. He continued to try to form a qi vortex, hoping to break through to the Ninth Level of Body Tempering. During this period, he occasionally returned to Li Jì's shop and found that Li Mu had closed the shop and was not around. Li Mu had left a note, telling him that he had gone out and would return in two months. "Qin Lie, how well do you remember the spiritual materials in my forging hall?" One day, Yao Tai, with his hair in a bird's nest and a scruffy beard, asked, "It's been a month. I asked you to remember the grades of the spiritual materials here and to sort and classify them. How do you think you did?" For a month, Yao Tai had been busy with his own affairs, frowning and pondering most of the time. He mostly focused on drawing spirit array diagrams and rarely paid attention to Qin Lie. He had only given Qin Lie several thick stacks of paper, each filled with tiny, densely packed characters, all detailed explanations of various spiritual materials. "Dragon Bone Jade, a third-grade ordinary spiritual material, shaped like a dragon bone, hard in texture, can be refined and integrated into artifacts to enhance their toughness and prevent them from breaking easily..." "Earth Crystal, a fourth-grade ordinary spiritual material, yellowish-brown in color, can connect with earth qi, suitable for forging earth-attribute spiritual artifacts, but must be used with special spirit array diagrams to function." "Golden Rhinoceros Horn, a third-grade ordinary spiritual material, the single horn of a rhinoceros, golden in color, extremely sharp and hard, can be used as the main material for weapons! When paired with sharp golden materials, its power will be extremely formidable!" "..." The thick stacks of paper clearly detailed the special uses of different spiritual materials. From the messy handwriting, it was evident that Yao Tai had written them himself. Over the years, Yao Tai had spent a great deal of effort identifying the characteristics of various spiritual materials and recording them one by one. In the field of forging, his attitude was very serious. The detailed explanations of the characteristics of spiritual materials were recorded in those thick stacks of paper, which were the result of over twenty years of experience. The "Identification of Low-Grade Spiritual Materials" that Qin Lie borrowed from the scripture library only provided simple depictions of the appearance of spiritual materials, allowing one to recognize materials like Dragon Bone Jade, Earth Crystal, and Golden Rhinoceros Horn, but did not provide detailed explanations or the true usefulness of these materials to a forger. Therefore, compared to the thick stacks of paper provided by Yao Tai, "Identification of Low-Grade Spiritual Materials" had almost no value. "I remember them quite well. I should be able to identify the spiritual materials in the hall and understand the general characteristics of each type." Qin Lie put down the last stack of paper, a sincere smile on his face. "Thank you, Master, for allowing me to gain a true and deep understanding of these spiritual materials." He was very clear that those thick stacks of paper were a summary of Yao Tai's over twenty years of forging experience, extremely precious to him. Without those papers, he would have to learn forging on his own, trying repeatedly to determine the characteristics of each spiritual material. In other words, he would have to retrace the steps Yao Tai had taken over the years. "It's nothing to mention." Yao Tai waved his hand, seemingly unconcerned. "Even if I didn't tell you, as long as you tried slowly, you could figure out the characteristics of the spiritual materials, it would just take a few years. But the drawing of spirit array diagrams, without someone to teach you, it would be almost impossible to master just by understanding and trying..." "Spirit array diagrams are the essence and true core of artifacts. Without them, they can only be called 'artifacts' and not 'spiritual artifacts.' You need to understand this. To become a true forger, melting and forming artifacts is just the foundation; spirit array diagrams are the key." "I'm not in a hurry." Qin Lie chuckled. He came to Yao Tai not for the spirit array diagrams but to learn the steps of melting and forming artifacts, not the process of turning "artifacts" into "spiritual artifacts." "Today, you should continue to memorize the characteristics of the various spiritual materials. Tomorrow, I will be forging, and when I need a specific material, you must bring it to me immediately, and the amount must be precise, with no mistakes!" Yao Tai's slightly plump face showed a serious and focused expression. "No problem." Qin Lie nodded in agreement, secretly looking forward to the process of Yao Tai forging. After saying this, Yao Tai frowned and pondered, seemingly thinking about the details of tomorrow's forging. Qin Lie wandered around the hall, pausing by the cabinets where the spiritual materials were stored, memorizing their locations to prepare for Yao Tai's forging the next day. "Fatso Yao, take a look at the 'Thousand Illusion Mirror' again. After you fixed it last time, it's broken again. Did you even fix it properly last time?" In the afternoon, Qin Lie and Yao Tai were busy with their own tasks in the forging hall when they suddenly heard a sharp voice. Yao Tai was still calculating the precise amount of spiritual materials needed for the next day. Upon hearing the voice, his fat face turned sour, and he muttered, "What a troublesome girl..." Recently, some Star Cloud Pavilion warriors had come to Yao Tai to have their spiritual artifacts repaired after they were damaged. Each time someone came, they were very respectful and cautious in their words, afraid of offending Yao Tai and worrying that he might damage their spiritual artifacts. It was the first time someone had spoken so rudely and called him "Fatso Yao." Qin Lie was also surprised, wondering who the person was that even made Yao Tai feel troubled. Soon, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old willful girl in orange and yellow attire arrived. She had a ponytail, a conical face, and a well-proportioned figure. She held a silver mirror, her face full of accusation, and shouted, "Can you even do it? If you can't, I'd rather spend spirit stones to have the Artifact Hall's forgers fix it. It keeps breaking, it's really troublesome." "Lady Liu Ting, please spare me. When your Thousand Illusion Mirror was forged, some of the materials were inherently conflicting, so it's normal for it to have problems." Yao Tai's face was grim. "If you want to have the Artifact Hall fix it, go ahead. Even if I fix it again, it will still be easy to damage in the future, and you'll blame me again." Liu Ting? Qin Lie's expression changed, and he carefully observed the girl, thinking to himself, "So she's Liu Ting..." Recently, he had interacted more with Kang Zhi and Han Feng. From their mouths, he had heard the name "Liu Ting" more than once. He knew that Liu Ting was the daughter of Deputy Pavilion Master Liu Yuntao, with extraordinary talent, already at the Ninth Level of Body Tempering, and seemed to have already touched the threshold of breaking through to the Kai Yuan Realm. Kang Zhi's father, Kang Hui, often compared Liu Ting to Kang Zhi. Each time he mentioned it, he spoke with a tone of disappointment, saying that Kang Zhi was not even as good as a girl. Whenever Liu Ting's realm advanced, Kang Hui would scold Kang Zhi, saying that he disgraced him and often forced Kang Zhi to close himself in meditation, saying that he didn't expect him to surpass Liu Ting but at least to catch up with her. Because of this, whenever Kang Zhi mentioned Liu Ting, he had nothing good to say, often calling her "little bitch" and "little slut." "If the materials conflict, why can't you fix it? Can't you fix it so that they don't conflict?" Liu Ting raised her eyebrows, pressing her accusations. "It's all because of your lack of skill. If you were skilled, you could solve the conflict! You make it sound easy, but having the Artifact Hall fix it also costs spirit stones. The Star Cloud Pavilion has supported you for so many years, provided you with so many spiritual materials to waste, but when it comes to the crucial moment, you shirk your responsibilities. I don't know what use you are..." The girl's expression was willful, and her tone was quite harsh, making Yao Tai's face turn red and white, almost unable to hold back his anger. Qin Lie frowned in the corner. "And you? Qin Lie, right? From some vassal force, Ling Family Town, you even injured Dou Yang recently. I'm curious, are all the people from vassal forces so ungrateful?" Liu Ting glared, suddenly shifting her attack to Qin Lie, her tone equally sharp. "One Gao Yu, one you, the two of you who have just joined are all the same, not knowing your place! The rules within the pavilion are becoming less and less effective. People who haven't reached the Kai Yuan Realm are allowed to enter, I don't know what they're thinking! If my father were in charge, you two wouldn't be able to easily enter!" "If you have the ability, make Yan Dewu of the Ice Shattering Manor unable to recover, and the pavilion will allow him to enter directly." Zhuo Qian's teasing voice suddenly sounded, and she walked over, her figure fiery, followed by Kang Zhi, Han Feng, and others, all looking at Liu Ting with ridicule. "Make Yan Dewu unable to recover? With him? I don't believe it!" Liu Ting sneered, but seeing Zhuo Qian, she seemed less bold. "Whether it was him or not, because of him, Yan Dewu hasn't been able to leave the Ice Shattering Manor's recovery residence. The credit was reported by Liu Yan, a subordinate of Ye Yangqiu, it must be correct. If you don't believe it, you can go to Ye Yangqiu and see if the Punishment Hall will listen to you." Then Zhuo Qian smiled at Qin Lie and said apologetically, "I've been busy stabilizing my realm, so I came to see you late. Don't be upset with me, okay?" Qin Lie chuckled, "Congratulations, Sister Qian, on breaking through to the Kai Yuan Realm." "You're late. I thought you would come to the Star Cloud Pavilion a year ago, but it took you so long." Zhuo Qian walked up, completely disregarding the propriety between men and women, and gave Qin Lie a tight hug, her ample chest pressing against his. She didn't seem to care. After letting go, she looked deeply at Qin Lie and said, "I've heard about your situation. Your fiancée being able to join Grandma Jiu's sect is also a stroke of luck for her. You don't need to be disheartened. The Seven Sins Valley is just a force on par with the Sen Luo Hall. With your talent and effort, as long as you live well, one day you will surely be able to reunite with her in glory and embrace her again!" Qin Lie felt warmth in his heart and smiled, nodding. "Hmph, entering the Star Cloud Pavilion is all about connections, and you even dream of entering the Sen Luo Hall? Dream on!" Liu Ting's face was full of ridicule, and she sneered. Then she placed the Thousand Illusion Mirror on a table, rolled her eyes at Yao Tai, and said, "I'll come back in seven days to pick it up. If there's a problem again, I'll have my father fire you!" She turned and left the hall. ... PS: Please remember to bookmark and support with your votes. I am deeply grateful!