Chapter 202: The Cultivation Industry (Five Parts)
Chapter 202: The Cultivation Industry (Five Parts)
Master Chen and a group of artisans gathered around, poring over the artifact blueprints and discussing how to craft the artifact furnace.
The artifact furnace was a first-rate spiritual artifact and a sizable one at that; it was both a challenge and an opportunity for these artisans.
These artisans, who had honed their craft independently, had ample experience in artifact refining. However, due to the lack of a first-rate artifact furnace, they were unable to create first-rate spiritual artifacts, and consequently, they couldn't attain the status of first-rate artisans.
If they could successfully craft this furnace, it would provide them with a chance to practice and possibly break through their crafting skills, elevating them to the rank of first-rate artisans.
Some of these artisans had hair as white as snow and were already halfway to the grave, having spent their entire lives refining artifacts. They had long ago resigned themselves to their fate.
But now, with this opportunity, they saw a glimmer of hope for advancement to the first-rate level, and their eyes sparkled with renewed vigor. The passion that life had eroded was rekindled within them.
Mo Hua, too, was there, eagerly listening to the discussions with his curious little head poking in.
The artisans debated the choice of materials, techniques, tempering methods, forging processes, and shaping procedures.
Although Mo Hua didn't understand everything, he could grasp the general idea, ensuring he wouldn't be taken advantage of in the future due to his ignorance.
The artisans passionately discussed for two days before formulating a basic plan for the refining process.
Since most of them weren't first-rate artisans, it would be too ambitious to attempt a first-rate artifact furnace right off the bat.
Thus, their first step was to refine some ordinary first-rate spiritual artifacts to familiarize themselves with the crafting techniques of this tier.
After gaining experience with first-rate artifacts, they would select the artisans with the best refining skills to attempt the formal crafting of the first-rate artifact furnace.
Mo Hua didn't spend too much time observing the specifics of the refining process.
After all, he wouldn't be personally crafting artifacts in this lifetime, so a basic understanding of the theory and a general impression of the techniques were sufficient; there was no need to invest too much mental effort.
Moreover, a large portion of the refining process consisted of repetitive hammering, tempering, and more hammering. It would be one thing if he were doing the hammering himself, but watching from the sidelines could get rather dull, and the constant clangor tended to hurt his ears after a while.
Most of Mo Hua's time was still devoted to studying formations.
He had another first-rate Melting Fire Control Spirit Formation to learn, which had different effects from the previous one.
Only when he grew weary from drawing formations would he visit the artifact refinery to check on Master Chen and the others' progress.
Half a month passed in this manner, and finally, with the collective efforts of all the artisans, a first-rate artifact furnace was clumsily crafted.
Upon its completion, Master Chen asked Da Zhu to invite Mo Hua over.
"Let's see if we can draw formations on it," Master Chen said to Mo Hua with a hint of anticipation.
Mo Hua examined the artifact furnace.
It was noticeably smaller, made from mediocre materials, and had a dull luster. The walls of the furnace, which served as the canvas for formations, were limited, and there weren't many other areas designated for formations either.
Apparently, this artifact furnace was designed to be a small-scale one, meant for inscribing minor formations, and didn't allocate space for complex formations like composite formations.
It seemed that not every artifact furnace was suitable for drawing the first-rate Melting Fire Control Spirit Formation, and Mo Hua felt a twinge of disappointment.
The artifact furnace could be considered a medium for formations, providing a vessel to embody them.
Formations required compatible mediums, and conversely, the mediums required compatible formations.
In other words, to inscribe intricate and profound formations, one must also forge exquisite and high-quality artifacts; only then could they complement each other harmoniously.
The group of refiners present couldn't help but feel a touch of regret at his words.
Master Chen sighed, but then his eyes widened as a sudden thought occurred to him.
Why should he feel regret? This was a proper First-Rate refining furnace, and with a genuine First-Rate formation, it was something he had only dreamed of possessing.
Master Chen glanced at the large refining furnace in the center of the courtyard and couldn't help but sigh again, feeling that "the water has returned to its natural level".
Mo Hua had raised their expectations too high.
Now that the refining furnace was complete, Mo Hua could draw the formation on it.
It was just a simple First-Rate Melting Fire Formation, and wouldn't take much effort.
Mo Hua quickly finished drawing the formation.
After that, Master Chen and the others refined two more First-Rate refining furnaces.
Practice makes perfect.
With the experience from the first furnace, the second and third ones were better in terms of both materials used and craftsmanship.
However, no matter how well they were refined, they could still only accommodate the First-Rate Melting Fire Formation.
This was dictated by the design of the refining furnaces.
Once the three refining furnaces were complete, Elder Yu stopped Master Chen and the others from continuing, as they had run out of fine iron and other materials.
He had to leave some for refining spirit artifacts; otherwise, it would be like having a pot but no rice, and they would starve.
Mo Hua drew two more First-Rate Melting Fire Formations.
Once everything was in place, the refining shop had four refining furnaces: three ordinary First-Rate Melting Fire refining furnaces and one large refining furnace inscribed with the First-Rate Melting Fire Control Spirit Composite Formation.
Elder Yu breathed a sigh of relief.
Everything was ready, and the final piece of the puzzle was in place.
He had been running around tirelessly for a hundred or two hundred years, yet he hadn't been able to improve the lot of the loose cultivators in Tongxian City. But now, in a short span of time, they had taken a giant step forward.
From now on, it would be up to them to determine how far they could go.
With the completion of the refining shop and the refining furnaces, the refiners had gathered.
Elder Yu chose an auspicious day to officially commence operations.
The refining shop's name was simple and direct: located in the south of the city, it was called "South City Refining Shop".
In Tongxian City, the wealthy lived in the north, while the poor lived in the south.
Thus, the name "South City" implied that this refining shop belonged not to any individual, but to all beast hunters and loose cultivators in the south of the city.
On the day the refining shop opened, all the beast hunters and loose cultivators who had participated in its construction gathered together to eat meat, drink wine, and celebrate.
Thanks to Elder Yu and Master Chen's planning and coordination, the refiners in the refining shop were able to refine spirit artifacts in an orderly and efficient manner.
The first spirit artifacts refined were of three types: vine armor, plain knives, and clear heart hairpins.
Vine armor and plain knives were commonly used spirit artifacts for beast hunters.
Clear heart hairpins were general-purpose spirit artifacts that could be used for calming the mind and cultivating, dispelling miasma, or even as decorative ornaments. Their functions weren't particularly outstanding, but they were the most versatile.
After the refining shop opened, Mo Hua also came by to take a look.
The immense refining shop, the numerous refiners and refining apprentices, the various categories of refining materials, the unique refining techniques, the orderly forging processes, and the surging flames of the refining furnaces...
As well as the exquisitely crafted, uniformly sized, and standardized spirit artifacts that were tempered in the refining furnaces, shaped by the refiners, and then cooled in water or ash, before being arranged in a row...
All of this left Mo Hua deeply shaken.
For the first time, Mo Hua gained a clear understanding of the cultivation industry.
(End of Chapter)
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