Chapter Thirty-One: The First Form of the Azure Peak

Xiao Cheng went to the Dark Dungeon intending to purchase meteorite iron for forging weapons. Unexpectedly, he acquired a palm-sized piece of premium forging material, Golden Star Brocade Steel, while the meteorite iron turned out to be a bonus. This was a complete stroke of luck.

However, at present, Xiao Cheng could not use a flying sword, nor did he have the ability to forge one. If he forced the process now, it would only waste materials. Thus, the Golden Star Brocade Steel would have to be kept for later, to be forged using innate true fire when he reached the innate stage.

He weighed the meteorite iron, estimating it to be at least forty pounds—a large enough piece to craft a three-foot-long Azure Edge Sword.

Forging a weapon was an extremely troublesome task. Not to mention the difficulty of controlling the heat; a slight mistake could ruin the process. Xiao Cheng first meditated, restoring his true energy to its fullest, before heading to the rooftop.

Cultivators’ weapon forging differed from ordinary blacksmithing. True energy was essential, and the process demanded extraordinary skill in manipulating it. For Xiao Cheng, this was not difficult; he had once reached the peak of the innate stage and mastered true energy to a high degree.

He concentrated his true energy in both palms and lifted the block of meteorite iron. As he infused it with true energy, the black iron slowly began to change. At first, some fragments fell off; then its color turned red, and pungent smoke wafted out.

The first step in forging was to remove impurities from the material. Only when the material was pure could it be properly forged. Xiao Cheng was only at the fifth stage of Foundation Establishment, his true energy thin; had it not been for his skill, he would never have completed the purification process.

As time passed, the meteorite iron gradually shrank, reduced to half its original size, glowing red-hot, and melted by Xiao Cheng’s true energy into a ball of molten iron, occasionally bubbling.

Only when the iron ceased shrinking and emitting smoke did Xiao Cheng breathe a sigh of relief—the first step, purification, was complete.

Supporting the red orb of molten iron in his right hand, he wiped his sweat and, without resting, began the next step.

The second step was forging—a process of altering the material’s structure to make it denser.

Xiao Cheng raised his hands, one holding the ball of molten iron, the other placed atop it, channeling true energy. True energy circulated between his hands, causing the molten iron to slowly flow. He increased the flow, and the speed of the iron accelerated accordingly.

The molten iron spun rapidly between his hands. Suddenly, Xiao Cheng pressed down hard with his left hand, compressing the molten iron with great force and true energy, then shifted directions, repeating the process. The iron changed shape under his manipulation.

This lasted about fifteen minutes. The molten iron in his hands became a smaller ball, its volume reduced by a third compared to before.

Xiao Cheng nodded, satisfied with the result—the forging step was largely complete.

Suddenly, his gaze fell upon the Golden Star Brocade Steel nearby. After a brief hesitation, he broke off a piece the size of a fingernail and tossed it into the molten iron.

With such a fine material, it made no sense not to use it. Since Golden Star Brocade Steel could elevate a low-grade flying sword to mid-grade, it should have a similar effect on ordinary Dao weapons.

The fingernail-sized piece of Golden Star Brocade Steel dissolved instantly into silvery powder, dispersing evenly in the molten iron. The iron began to boil, bubbling furiously, the temperature soaring to an alarming level.

Startled, Xiao Cheng quickly suppressed it with true energy. If not for his timely intervention, it might have exploded. Gradually, the molten iron stabilized. Now, it was completely different—a sphere blazing white, enveloped by a shimmering blue aura.

Xiao Cheng knew this was entirely due to the addition of Golden Star Brocade Steel; ordinary meteorite iron could never produce such phenomena.

The forging was basically done. Xiao Cheng used his spiritual sense to examine the molten iron and found its density exceeded his expectations.

The next step was the most crucial—shaping. Creating a Dao weapon was unlike ordinary forging; shaping could not be done with a hammer, but only with true energy before the iron cooled.

Recalling various swords from the past, Xiao Cheng finally chose the three-foot Azure Edge Sword, best suited for practicing the Fivefold Sword Technique.

The Fivefold Sword Technique was his specialty. He had assumed the Three Lives Jade Slip would contain superior sword techniques, but to his disappointment, it only offered a unique sword formula—usable only with a flying sword, which he couldn’t yet forge.

But thinking further, it made sense. Sword techniques were only needed below the innate stage; once innate was attained, flying swords could be used. The creator of the Three Lives Jade Slip would naturally disdain such inferior skills.

Molding the molten iron with true energy, Xiao Cheng gradually elongated and shaped it into the form of a three-foot Azure Edge Sword.

After more than half an hour, drenched in sweat, Xiao Cheng finally completed the sword.

It was an exceedingly slender and mysterious blade, its body thin and emitting a continuous azure glow, clearly no ordinary weapon.

Looking at the Azure Edge Sword, Xiao Cheng smiled in satisfaction and flicked the blade with his finger, producing an unending hum.

Holding the sword, Xiao Cheng swung it, the sharp blade cutting through the air with a whistling sound. With the sword in hand, he felt different; the emptiness within him vanished, replaced by an overwhelming confidence, as if all under heaven belonged to him.

With this sword, his strength would soar. He could defeat any Foundation Establishment cultivator, and, considering his peak innate spiritual sense, he would not even fear an early-stage Condensation expert.

"Incorporating Golden Star Brocade Steel was indeed the right choice!"

Feeling the cold emanating from the blade, Xiao Cheng smiled. Though this sword could not be called a divine weapon that cuts iron like mud, it was not far off. An ordinary meteorite iron Dao weapon could never reach this level—this was entirely thanks to the Golden Star Brocade Steel. The two million spent had been worth every coin.

If cultivators of the world knew Xiao Cheng had fused such a precious forging material into a mere meteorite iron sword, they would surely curse him as a spendthrift, perhaps even want to kill him for it.

There had been wastrels before, but never one so extravagant. This material was used for crafting top-grade flying swords—there were only a handful in the entire cultivation world. To fuse it into a mere sword and take pride in it!

But Xiao Cheng cared little for others’ opinions. He still had enough Golden Star Brocade Steel to refine two flying swords with ease; after all, materials were meant to be used.

With some leftover scraps from forging the Azure Edge Sword, he couldn’t bear to let them go to waste. Since they contained Golden Star Brocade Steel, they deserved better. After much thought, Xiao Cheng decided to craft flying daggers from the remaining material. With his peak innate spiritual sense, able to cover a hundred-meter radius, using flying daggers would guarantee precision within that range.

He reforged the leftover iron, shaping all the molten metal into willow-leaf flying daggers. Due to their small size, he managed to forge fourteen of them. Yet, gazing at the daggers, he felt something was missing, so, on a whim, he engraved a line of tiny characters on each.

Suddenly, Xiao Cheng remembered that Zhuo Qinglian's favorite weapon was the flying dagger; she would surely like these. When the opportunity arose, he planned to gift her nine, keeping five for his own protection.

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First update—early risers, if you have tickets, won’t you spare one?
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