Immortal Soaring Blade

Everyone, welcome to 2021!  2020 has been an absolutely horrid year for many people on many levels, and I think many (most? all?) of us are glad to leave it behind.  With that said, I wanted to give everyone a preview for some of the things that are coming up in the coming few months for Wuxiaworld.

Front-End Site Redesign - This one has been a long time coming!  Historically, we've focused more on incremental changes and feature build-out rather than overhauling the site itself, but for quite a few months now...

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Zhao Jiuge looked back at the door, where the voice came from. He saw a short and fat middle-aged man step through the door. Although the sloppy young man’s mumble was soft, Zhao Jiuge had heard him. “Master Ou Yezi? Could it be another master refiner?” Even Zhao Jiuge became interested. From those words, it seemed like the two masters didn’t like each other.

The next moment, Ou Yezi finally entered the room and appeared before everyone. Before he got close, Zhao Jiuge could smell the powerful smell of wine. Ou Yezi was short and fat, and the sides of his face were covered in messy sideburns. He was wearing a dirty-looking black vest and there seemed to be nothing special about the vest. The vest was open, revealing his dark chest, which had a thick mess of chest hair. On his waist was a yellow and white gourd. The heavy smell of wine was coming from there. The lid of the gourd had long disappeared. The light the gourd gave off revealed it to be a treasure. Not only was Ou Yezi a drunk, he even used a treasure to hold wine!

Zhao Jiuge was shocked by Ou Yezi’s appearance. He didn’t look like a master refiner at all!

The expression of the young man in black suddenly changed when he heard this, and he clenched his teeth. However, he didn’t know how to refute it and stared gloomily at Ou Yezi.

At this moment, Zhang Chufeng finally spoke. “What wind blew an alcoholic like you here? Refining treasures is my business and how much material I want is my business. Also, it’s natural to charge materials as a fee. Who are you to intervene in my business?” After he finished speaking, he let out a snort. Although he acted like he didn’t care, Ou Yezi’s appearance shocked him a bit. It has to be said that this alcoholic only drank and slept when he wasn’t refining.

Ou Yezi paid no heed to Zhang Chufeng’s words and chuckled, making his sideburns tremble. His right hand reached for the gourd on his waist and he poured the wine into his mouth. His throat moved as the wine flowed into his mouth. He revealed a very pleased expression and a few drops of wine were stuck to his beard. After drinking a few mouthfuls, Ou Yezi looked at Zhang Chufeng with a smile and said, “Then what if I say I’ll only need 50 kilograms of Purple Ji Spirit Stone and won’t charge a fee?”

“You…!” Zhang Chufeng’s face turned red. He didn’t expect this alcoholic to be so bored that he would come here and mess with his business. He really felt like he had picked up a stone and smashed his own foot. If only he hadn’t put on airs earlier and accepted the task right away. After all, things refined from the Purple Ji Spirit Stone wouldn’t be bad. He would get the satisfaction of refining something with them and also obtain some for himself.

Now not only would he not be able to refine the treasure, he had also lost a customer before everyone. Zhang Chufeng angrily stared at Ou Yezi.

“What? You’re still unconvinced? With just your skill, you can pretend before others, but not before me. If you’re still not convinced, then we can compete.” Ou Yezi found Zhang Chufeng’s appearance a bit funny. After he finished speaking, he took another sip of wine.

Zhao Jiuge was dumbfounded at the scene unfolding before him. Earlier, he was bitterly requesting a master to refine an armor treasure for him, and the other party didn’t even agree. Now two masters were rushing to refine the armor for him. Wasn’t Master Zhang supposed to be top three among all the masters in the Sword Casting Hall? How could this man named Ou Yezi act so arrogantly before him?

In truth, what Zhao Jiuge didn’t know was that Ou Yezi was number one among the masters here, a grandmaster-level figure. However, he had a strange temperament and rarely refined treasures for people, not to mention alcohol was like his life. Not many disciples in the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect knew about him. Even the elders of the sect would have to beg him to refine a treasure.

Zhang Chufeng’s face turned red and he let out a loud snort. He quietly walked away with his apprentice. He could not compete in terms of refining, as Ou Yezi was really an outstanding refiner. Even the Head Teacher had to be courteous toward Grandmaster Ou Yezi. Fortunately, there weren’t many people here today. Otherwise, his shameful actions would have quickly spread.

The several people in the hall became silent and watched the previously unstoppable Zhang Chufeng leave with his disciple. The two youths from the Sword Casting Hall respectfully lowered their heads. The sloppy young man stared eagerily at Ou Yezi, hoping that someone like Ou Yezi would accept him as their apprentice. Then his status would change completely. Unfortunately, the world was realistic. Ou Yezi continued to drink the wine from his gourd and glanced at Zhao Jiuge.

Now matter how dumb Zhao Jiuge was, he understood how important Master Ou Yezi’s identity was. He was still in shock and wasn't able to react, and his mouth was slightly open from the shock.

After swallowing the wine in his mouth, Ou Yezi spoke with some displeasure. “What? I’m willing to help you refine a treasure and you seem unwilling?”

Zhao Jiuge revealed a bitter smile. He quickly shook his head and said, “No, no. How could I reject a master like you? I can’t even beg you enough.”

Ou Yezi seemed to have drunk enough wine and put the gourd back on his waist. He muttered, “That’s more like it. If not for the fact there hasn’t been anything to do lately and this happened to involve a material like Purple Ji Spirit Stone, I wouldn’t bother. Otherwise, even if you begged me, I would be too lazy. You know, I don’t act unless there is a good material.”

He looked at Zhao Jiuge a bit and was very satisfied with Zhao Jiuge's attitude. He changed the subject. “First, take out the Purple Ji Spirit Stone and let me have a look.”

Zhao Jiuge immediately took a piece of Purple Ji Spirit Stone from his storage ring and handed it over to Ou Yezi.

Ou Yezi looked at the Purple Ji Spirit Stone. It had a smooth surface that exuded a purple glow. It was cool to the touch and had irregular corners. Holding it in his hand, he could feel the powerful spirit force inside.

The moment Ou Yezi looked at the material, he seemed to become a different person. He was no longer the unruly drunk holding a gourd. Instead, his eyes gave off an intoxicated obsession and were filled with vitality. Even though he was still in the same messy clothes as before, Zhao Jiuge could clearly feel the difference. Now he gave off the aura of a master refiner.

Zhao Jiuge felt like he had gotten very lucky. Before, he was worried that his precious Purple Ji Spirit Stone would be wasted by Ou Yezi. However, now he was certain that the armor Ou Yezi would refine would be to his satisfaction.

Ou Yezi’s eyes were still locked onto the Purple Ji Spirit Stone as he said, “I heard you say you have 150 kilograms of Purple Ji Spirit Stone. Give me 50 kilograms and I’m certain to refine you a spirit treasure-grade armor.”

Zhao Jiuge felt like his heart was going to erupt with joy. A spirit treasure! Forget 50 kilograms, even if he had to use more, he would be willing!

Zhao Jiuge had a big smile on his face and asked, “Then how long will it take? I’ll come back then to pick it up.” 

After he spoke, the mouths of the two young men from the Sword Casting Hall and the sloppy young man twitched.

Ou Yezi blinked. He was stunned by Zhao Jiuge’s words. He let out a snort and shouted, “Do you think refining a treasure is the same as buying a treasure? A treasure like this will take one to two months to refine. The better the quality, the longer it takes to refine. Just melting the Purple Ji Spirit Stone will take several days!”

He loudly reprimanded Zhao Jiuge, and Zhao Jiuge felt rather embarrassed. He really didn’t know anything about refining.

After venting his anger, Ou Yezi continued, “If you have other materials, take them out, let me see.”

“What other materials? Doesn’t it just use ore? There are other materials?” Zhao Jiuge was surprised.

Ou Yezi’s chest puffed up and down and wondered how he had met this kind of person. He endured his impulse to scold Zhao Jiuge. “It’s not impossible to just use Purple Ji Spirit Stone, but that is too wasteful, and I wouldn’t be able to bring out the characteristics of the material. Other auxiliary materials are needed, just like when you refine a flying sword. The sword embryo is made out of ore, but other materials are needed along with the sword embryo. Purple Ji Spirit Stone is used to make the armor embryo.”

The more he spoke, the more his chest heaved up and down. Surprisingly, he didn’t lose his temper.

Zhao Jiuge blinked and nodded in response. When he heard he couldn’t get the armor in a few  days, he felt a bit disappointed, but he was still very excited to hear that he would get a spirit treasure. Originally, he wanted to get the armor before going on the last mission with Bai Qingqing. Then he could show it off to Bai Qingqing. After all, Bai Qingqing’s Wind Flower Sword had made him very envious.

“Let’s do this: leave the Purple Ji Spirit Stone and I’ll smelt it for you. You can bring the rest of the auxiliary materials later. I can guarantee that I can refine a spirit treasure for you. However, I can’t guarantee the grade and quality. It will depend on luck and the characteristics of the auxiliary materials you bring.” Ou Yezi seemed completely defeated by Zhao Jiuge. Perhaps because he hadn’t gotten to refine something in a long time, he was willing to refine the Purple Ji Spirit Stone for Zhao Jiuge even though Zhao Jiuge didn’t have all the materials.

Zhao Jiuge took out 50 kilograms of Purple Ji Spirit Stone to Brother Lu to register. He could not hide the excitement in his eyes. He was finally going to have a spirit treasure of his own!

Ou Yezi took note of Zhao Jiuge’s gaze and his face became serious. “Don’t think that it's good just because it's a spirit treasure? At least for now, it's not good for you.”

“Why?” Zhao Jiuge immediately raised his doubt. Wasn’t a treasure more powerful if the quality was better?

Ou Yezi smiled and corrected Zhao Jiuge. “Only after you reach the Nascent Soul Realm can you use 100% of a spirit treasure’s power. Before then, you can’t display its true power, you can only rely on the raw quality of the spirit treasure. In the long run, it would create a kind of dependence for low level cultivators like you. A battle of life or death is decided in an instant. It would create a negative impact.”

 

Zhao Jiuge’s eyes became thoughtful as if he seemed to understand Ou Yezi’s words. However, he frowned and was still a bit puzzled. “Why can only Nascent Soul Realm cultivators display the full power of a spirit treasure?”

This time, Ou Yezi didn’t immediately answer Zhao Jiuge’s question. He hesitated and wondered if he could answer. After all, Zhao Jiuge’s cultivation level was not very high right now.

After weighing the pros and cons, Ou Yezi answered, “That’s because after reaching the Nascent Soul Realm, you form a nascent soul by breaking your spirit core. At the same time, a Purple Palace Immortal Flame will form in your dantian. The reason spirit treasures are called spirit treasures is because they have their own spirits. You can temper the treasure with your Purple Palace Immortal Flame to make it more attuned to you. That way, you display more of its power.”

After explaining all of this, Ou Yezi’s expression changed a bit and he continued, “Also, the Purple Palace Immortal Flame can be used to refine treasures and pills. Pills created with pill furnaces are not high quality. The real treasures and pills are all refined by the refiner’s own Purple Palace Immortal Flame.”

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