Chapter 413: Diligent Cultivation

Early that morning, the Sword Pavilion’s main gate remained firmly closed.

Qin Sang was in his cave dwelling at the rear courtyard. The warding barrier guarding the dwelling had been lifted, and he was utterly focused as he gazed intently at a spiritual array before him.

This spiritual array was a family heirloom of Shopkeeper Wu, specifically used for artifact refinement.

The array could gather spiritual qi into fire, and its setup was not overly complicated. The most valuable material required was a peculiar spiritual ingredient known as Flameheart Stone..

Using Flameheart Stone as a catalyst, the array generated spiritual fire, which Shopkeeper Wu called "Stone Fire."

This Stone Fire had nothing whatsoever in common with the legendary True Samadhi Fire—its power belonged to a completely different realm.

Yet the Stone Fire born of the array had one advantage: it was exceedingly gentle and easy to control, making it especially suitable for novices.

Moreover, its potency depended on the quantity of Flameheart Stone; if enough were provided, it could even be used, albeit barely, to refine high-grade artifacts.

With this spiritual array at his disposal, Qin Sang temporarily did not need to rent earth fire for artifact refinement, saving him a considerable sum—even though the price of Flameheart Stone was steep, ensuring that he would incur losses for a long time to come.

Once the array was set up, Qin Sang sat cross-legged at its center. Before him, a pale flame no larger than a thumb appeared out of thin air. The flame burned quietly, showing no sign of flickering. At first glance, it resembled a static object.

However, its temperature was remarkably high, and successive layers of heat waves rushed toward him, distorting the air around it.

Wrapping the flame with his spiritual consciousness, Qin Sang confirmed Shopkeeper Wu’s claim: the flame was mild by nature and, once familiar, could be effortlessly controlled. This meant that during artifact refinement, he need not fear that mishandling the flame would result in a catastrophic failure.

Yet, such a small flame was clearly insufficient to sustain the refinement process.

With a flip of his hand, Qin Sang retrieved several white Flameheart Stones from his Mustard Seed Pouch and snapped them out, letting them scatter across the spiritual array. In response, the flame suddenly flared up, expanding several times its original size, and the temperature inside the cave dwelling soared.

Satisfied, Qin Sang maintained control over the newly bolstered flame. Then, with a graceful gesture over his Mustard Seed Pouch, he released several items that floated by his side.

Among them were a few strands of white spider silk and some jade-green jade stones that shone more brilliantly than the most precious gems in the mortal world.

These materials—the silk produced by the demonic beast Cold Spider and the Qinglan Stone—were common spiritual materials in the immortal cultivation realm. Their spiritual essence was rather disordered and, at best, could only be used to refine low-grade artifacts.

Determined to build a solid foundation, Qin Sang planned to begin with low-grade artifacts and gradually improve his skills.

He selected these two spiritual materials with the intention of refining a spiritual sword imbued with water-elemental power—a weapon that would be highly advantageous for low-level immortal cultivators.

Every step had been carefully planned; the entire process of artifact refinement was a meticulously crafted scheme that he had established during long, all-night discussions with Shopkeeper Wu.

Thanks to Shopkeeper Wu’s wholehearted guidance, Qin Sang had gained the confidence to proceed.

He then picked up a palm-sized piece of Qinglan Stone and, applying slight pressure with his fingertips, caused it to shatter with a crisp

crack

. With remarkable skill, he methodically removed the most chaotic parts of the stone—neither more nor less than what was required.

Afterward, he raised his hand and tossed the fragments into the Stone Fire.

The flame danced as the impurities in the Qinglan Stone were gradually burned away, leaving behind only the purest portion brimming with abundant water-elemental power.

However, the water-elemental power was extremely volatile, making it difficult to coalesce into a solid form.

Without delay, Qin Sang plucked a strand of spider silk and introduced it into the mixture. The silk melted—its viscosity reminiscent of cold marrow—as it dripped onto the Qinglan Stone, gradually tempering the violent energy.

Repeating this process, the two materials intermingled until they ultimately merged into one, then transformed into the shape of a sword.

Finally, Qin Sang reached into the flame and extracted a three-chi-long Qingfeng Sword[1].

The sword’s blade was slender and elongated, entirely a vibrant shade of green with a striking white streak running down its center.

His first artifact refinement was deemed successful, an outcome hardly surprising given that his middle-stage Foundation Building cultivation endowed him with a far superior command over spiritual consciousness and spiritual power compared to Shopkeeper Wu. A failure in refining a low-grade artifact would have been unthinkable.

After admiring the spiritual sword for a moment and reflecting on the process, Qin Sang casually tossed it aside and resumed his work.

One low-grade spiritual sword after another emerged. As he grew increasingly proficient, he simultaneously recalled the teachings of the jade slip, feeling that his insights had reached a new level.

Although he encountered a few unexpected failures when trying out new methods along the way, they proved to be of little consequence.

One month later, Qin Sang finally emerged from his cave dwelling and walked into his shop. He glanced around, and with a tap of his finger, an empty space miraculously produced a shelf, upon which spiritual swords were neatly arranged.

Not only did the shelf display low-grade spiritual swords, but it also featured several middle-grade spiritual swords.

At last, the little shop exuded a hint of the refined ambience befitting a Sword Pavilion.

This achievement marked the culmination of a month’s effort by Qin Sang. He had diligently practiced for a month—experimenting with every idea and even beginning to attempt the refinement of middle-grade artifacts—with the aim of fully integrating that segment of the jade slip’s teachings.

His gains were considerable, though some aspects still required more time for true comprehension. Nevertheless, he saw no need to remain confined in his cave dwelling; during this period, he could easily venture to the Endless Valley.

There, he would both undergo trials and consolidate his insights, all while gathering the spiritual materials required for artifact refinement.

Upon returning from these journeys, he planned to further study both artifact refinement and cultivation.

In the years to come, he would lead the life of an ascetic, wasting not a single minute—his motivation being the substantial rewards he could foresee in the future.

He pushed open the main door.

The midday sun streamed in, enveloping him in a warm glow.

Pedestrians on the street, startled by the sudden activity, turned their heads in surprise, murmuring in confusion about which shop owner was so lazy as to only start business at this hour.

"I must find an assistant," Qin Sang said to himself.

That very day, Qin Sang went to the mortal's broker house[2], and after making the rounds, he returned with two people.

One was a slender, lanky youth named Ning Youwei—a budding immortal cultivator, though his cultivation was only at the second stage of the Qi Refining Realm.

The other was Ning Youwei’s mother, who had only recently recovered from a severe illness and was still very frail.

Ning Youwei and his mother were natives of Qingyang Market. In her youth, Ning Youwei’s mother had married an immortal cultivator—Ning Youwei’s father.

Although his father was notably lacking in talent and his cultivation level was modest, his status as an immortal master and the blessings of his ancestors had allowed him to own a cave dwelling in Qingyang Market, ensuring a relatively comfortable life.

Fate, however, had other plans. While his father was away on a cultivation expedition outside the market, he encountered a tragic accident and was never heard from again. Left to fend for themselves, mother and son clung to each other, only to later face the mother’s grave illness.

Filial and determined, the young man sold all of his father’s remaining possessions and ultimately sold their cave dwelling to an immortal cultivator, managing to acquire spiritual medicine that saved his mother’s life.

Yet, this left them utterly destitute, with not even a place to call home.

Ning Youwei’s innate talent was even inferior to his father’s, and his cultivation was scarcely superior to that of ordinary mortals. Struggling to turn his fortunes around, he was willing to compete fiercely with mortals for a living.

After verifying that Ning Youwei’s story was genuine, Qin Sang brought them back to his shop.

He believed that any help was welcome—such people could be trusted.

After all, he wasn’t expecting his business to thrive immensely; he only needed someone to watch over the shop.

1. Qingfeng Sword is a Chinese sword used by Liu Bei during the Three Kingdoms Era. ☜

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

2. This refers to the intermediary business in ancient China for hiring. ☜