Chapter Twenty-Two: Forging the Dragon-Serpent Sword

“Is there any doubt about it? Naturally, I have come here to enter the Earthfire Vein to refine medicine—do you think I’m here to play around?”

“But…”

“Since you are so determined, Junior Yang, we see no reason not to let you in. Just be careful, that’s all. Don’t blame us for not warning you.” One of the guards took Yang Xiao’s spirit stone, examining it with satisfaction as he spoke.

“Thank you for your concern. I will, of course, take care.”

“Good. Here is a token—it serves as the key to the Earthfire Vein’s entrance. Keep it safe,” the guard said as he handed Yang Xiao a waist token inscribed with the character for ‘Nine’. Clearly, this indicated the entrance to the ninth Earthfire Vein.

The Earthfire Vein atop Giant Spirit Mountain had been painstakingly divided by the ancestors of the Giant Spirit Sect into nine entrances, each leading to a stone chamber. These nine chambers were used by ordinary disciples for refining medicine.

It was rumored there existed a tenth chamber, situated within the residence of Master Lingfeng himself. The Earthfire there was said to be the finest, but only Master Lingfeng could use it. Ordinary disciples had to make do with the other, somewhat inferior nine chambers.

Yang Xiao proceeded into the entrance of the Earthfire Vein.

The two guards at the entrance began discussing as he left.

“Senior, do you think there’s something odd about Yang Xiao? He’s actually come to the Earthfire Vein to refine medicine; most low-ranked disciples wouldn’t dare come here.”

“I tried to probe Yang Xiao’s cultivation with my spiritual sense just now, and found it strangely inscrutable. It’s very peculiar. Judging by his aura, his cultivation should at least match ours. If that’s the case, it makes sense for him to come here to refine medicine.”

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“Match ours? Impossible. I remember seeing him a few months ago—he was still at the second stage of spiritual sense. For him to advance so quickly is incredible.”

“Who cares? We took his spirit stone and warned him. That’s our duty done. Whether he listens or not is his own concern. If anything happens, it’s his own problem. The sect doesn’t bother with low-ranked disciples like him.”

“You’re right, Senior. Yang Xiao isn’t a fool. Why should we worry?”

Yang Xiao, of course, was unaware of their conversation. He arrived before the ninth entrance of the Earthfire Vein, placed the token upon the doorway, and the portal opened automatically. He slipped inside, and it closed behind him.

It was a sealed stone chamber. At its center stood a medicine cauldron over three feet tall, its base connected directly to the Earthfire, which burned beneath it—though the fire was controlled by an array, its intensity was not great, only a pale blue flame. Nevertheless, the chamber’s heat far exceeded that outside.

Feeling the temperature, it was indeed scorching; a first or second stage disciple would struggle to remain here long. Fortunately, Yang Xiao was able to shield himself with spiritual power and adapt, avoiding injury from the heat.

The token in his hand served not only to open the chamber, but also to control the Earthfire’s intensity—this was achieved through the array beneath the cauldron.

Yang Xiao was no stranger to artifact forging and pill refining, possessing even the experience of a previous life. Compared to ordinary practitioners, his skills were far superior. According to the rankings, above artifact and pill refiners are the masters of those arts, and Yang Xiao certainly belonged among their ranks—thanks to over six thousand years of tempering in his past life, and experience gained through endless practice. His expertise surpassed even most masters.

Truthfully, if anyone else were given six thousand years to study artifact forging and pill refining, they too might reach the level of grandmaster. But in reality, few practitioners enjoy such longevity. Yang Xiao had not spent his previous life solely focused on these arts, yet he was already far ahead of the average.

Yang Xiao’s first task was to refine the Dragon-Serpent Sword. He removed the cauldron from the Earthfire, placed the sword upon it, and began using the token to control the fire’s strength.

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He tempered the sword for several hours, constantly adjusting the Earthfire’s intensity—a task requiring extreme precision, for the slightest error could mean failure. Luckily, Yang Xiao’s skill as an artifact master allowed him to execute the process flawlessly.

He watched as the essence within the Dragon-Serpent Sword was gradually refined and fused together. This was the final step: shaping. The shaping phase was the true test, for only by enduring it could the forging succeed. If he failed, not only would the sword’s power fail to increase, it might actually diminish.

Fortunately, Yang Xiao possessed special techniques for this crucial moment. He channeled his spiritual power around the Dragon-Serpent Sword, enveloping it to greatly reduce the loss of its own energy. However, this exposed him to even greater trials from the searing Earthfire.

In the end, Yang Xiao completed everything successfully. The Dragon-Serpent Sword underwent a transformation, advancing from a mid-grade spirit artifact to a high-grade one.

Yang Xiao, being at the level of artifact master, could generally forge spirit treasures, which were a tier above spirit artifacts. The materials required for spirit treasures were thousands of times harder to find than those for spirit artifacts, making them exceptionally rare—and not suitable for ordinary cultivators. For Yang Xiao, such things still lay out of reach.

Though artifact masters can forge spirit treasures, the success rate is extremely low; forging spirit artifacts, however, is much easier, which explains Yang Xiao’s flawless completion.

Just as Yang Xiao finished refining the Dragon-Serpent Sword, something in his storage pouch suddenly trembled, as if it had sensed something.

It was a piece of unknown jade.

“What’s happening?” Yang Xiao wondered. “Could this jade have some special connection to the Dragon-Serpent Sword?”

He took out the jade piece and examined it carefully in his hand.