Chapter 41: Superior-Grade Spell Technique
Chapter 41: Superior-Grade Spell Technique
Superior-grade magic?
It sounded really great.
Lu Hangzhi was stunned for a moment when he heard that. The next second, he saw his Master show a pleased expression and then whisk him away from the Earth Courtyard back to the Golden Jade Hall.
Chen Ji was in a good mood and laughed loudly:
“Hangzhi, your cultivation is at Mid Fourth Grade now, but your strength is still stuck at Third Rank Peak. With a set of spiritual artifacts gifted by Senior Brother Xiong Qi, defense is no problem. So for this time, when I secured you a superior-grade spell, I decided to pick a good attack technique for you.”
“Whatever you say, Master.”
Lu Hangzhi said.
“Good.”
Chen Ji nodded and took out a Memory Crystal: “This spell is very complicated, and controlling it is too, but its power is extraordinary. As your cultivation improves, its strength will also grow. Once mastered, it lasts a lifetime. I thought that with your insight, learning it shouldn’t be hard.”
“Thank you, Master.”
“This trip to Violet Cloud Town is full of changes and very dangerous. I might not be able to protect you, so you don’t have to go.”
“This…”
Lu Hangzhi didn’t push it and said, “This disciple has a request. When you return to the sect, could you bring two people from Sister Fuqin’s residence?” After naming Lü’e and Cong Fang, Chen Ji had a strange look but finally agreed with a nod.
After his Master left, Lu Hangzhi knew his task was finished. He returned to his residence right away and started focusing on understanding the superior-grade spell his Master gave him.
This Violet Cloud Town trip not only left a deep impression, it also made him deeply aware of his strength and reminded him of the cruel dangers of the Primordial Wildlands again.
If not for the defensive spiritual artifacts from Senior Brother Xiong Qi, the Mirror Spirit Cat, or the Qiankun Pouch for survival gifted by his Master, he would’ve died countless times at the hands of Ghost Weeping…
He had to get strong fast.
He took out the Memory Crystal and skimmed it. Lu Hangzhi couldn’t help but gasp in shock:
Seven-Seven Sword Formation.
It was actually a sword formation technique.
Its complexity was almost like an integral tutorial.
Lu Hangzhi felt a pang of pain.
To master the Seven-Seven Sword Formation, he first needed a solid foundation, mastering the Sword Control Art, the Sword Formation Art, and the Five Elements Formations, while also knowing the Fire Control Art, Water Control Art, Metal Control Art, Earth Control Art, and Wood Control Art. Only after blending these techniques perfectly could someone start trying to grasp the “Seven-Seven Sword Formation.” Otherwise, cultivation efforts would be half as effective.
The Seven-Seven Sword Formation had seven levels, each level having a multiple of seven swords: controlling seven, fourteen, twenty-one, twenty-eight, thirty-five, forty-two, or forty-nine flying swords, with power from weak to strong.
Even the first level, once learned, with seven swords flying together, had power equal to a full-power Sword Control Art blow by a cultivator… times seven!
Coming to his senses, Lu Hangzhi showed a bitter smile. He suddenly understood his Master’s intention.
Even though a superior-grade spell was beneficial, the learning time was long.
He hadn’t studied six of the required arts yet. After analyzing and learning them one by one, mastering the “Seven-Seven Sword Formation” would probably take a month or even months. Reaching accomplishment would surely be half a year later.
His Master clearly wanted him to settle down and focus on cultivation, not get distracted by outside events.
With that thought, Lu Hangzhi stopped overthinking. He used his five spell choices from the Outer Sect Competition to exchange for the six arts needed for the Seven-Seven Sword Formation (he could freely draw on four basic spells). After telling Ruan Qing a few things, he started sealed training.
A few days later, Ruan Qing came to report that his Master led the group back to the sect, bringing Lü’e and Cong Fang safely and sending them over.
Lu Hangzhi quickly asked Sister Zhu Fuqin, who returned to the sect, about the trip…
Squads of attacking ghost cultivators underlings were found easily and captured or killed by Chen Ji and the True Disciples, destroying countless ghost cultivators—including three Fifth Grade ghost cultivators, over thirty Fourth Grade ones, hundreds of Third Grade, and mobs galore. This force was big enough to crush a small nearby sect.
After cutting down the Yellow Spring Demon’s wings, Zhu Fuqin easily took over Violet Cloud Town’s three great families, rebuilt it, and got thousands of Low-Grade Spirit Stones each month. In time, she would surely reach Fifth Grade, achieving her goal.
The True Disciples also gained much on this trip, each getting several Soul Pearls and trading for lots of sect points.
Leng Wuya even took down two Fifth Grade ghost cultivators in one battle, making a name for himself and solidly proving he had the strength of a True Disciple.
The only pity was…
The Yellow Spring Demon seemed to hear the wind and disappeared suddenly.
But.
Lu Hangzhi knew the higher-ups would have plans for that, far beyond him. After arranging things for Lü’e and Cong Fang, he threw himself back into studying the “Five Elements Formations.”
Lü’e and Cong Fang were heavy-hearted from the upheaval at Zhu Residence, but after arriving at Xuanxin Sect, those gloomy feelings vanished.
At the residence, the two girls saw over twenty Spirit Fruit Trees with five-hundred-year harvests and elegant Purple Bamboo Spirit Shoots in the backyard…
They could snack on Essence Spirit Fruit anytime, cultivate, and their only chore was helping Ruan Qing learn about Spirit Tree care. When Xiao Mu and Xiao Ying dropped by to pick fruit, they played with the two little food lovers. Life was really easy.
Over months, bathed in Essence Spirit Fruit and Spirit Bamboo Shoots, Lü’e and Cong Fang breezed to Second Grade Peak, growing prettier and livelier.
Lu Hangzhi hit a roadblock in learning the Seven-Seven Sword Formation.
Not his skill, but hardware…
“My Master must have done it on purpose.”
“Learning the Seven-Seven Sword Formation actually requires matching numbers of flying swords? Where do I find that many spiritual artifact flying swords?”
“That’s too much!”
After months of hard cultivation, Lu Hangzhi’s Magic Power Pool reached Fourth Grade Peak level, just a step from Fifth Grade. But at this key moment, he found his ‘Seven-Seven Sword Formation’ stalled. When he told his Master, the reply was a casual dismissal: “A Golden Jade Hall disciple worrying about spiritual artifact flying swords? Refine them yourself.”
Himself!
With no help, Lu Hangzhi remembered that manual he’d almost forgotten about in his Qiankun Pouch and felt guilty.
“Do it myself, then.”
Luckily, warm-hearted Senior Brother Xiong Qi was available. Lu Hangzhi went to him, and Xiong Qi generously tossed over a huge pile of refining materials:
“Go find a spot to practice first.”
Lu Hangzhi took a quick look and was very satisfied:
Rich!
Truly rich!
Buying these materials with sect points would cost a fortune…
Having a rich senior brother sure felt good.
Heh.
With materials sorted, next was the location…
“Xiao Mu! Xiao Ying!”
“Senior Brother Hangzhi.”
Hearing Senior Brother Hangzhi wanted to refine artifacts, they thumped their chests hard. They led him straight to an Earth Fire Artifact Refining Room their Master rarely used, skipped their Golden Jade Hall duties, and stayed behind wholeheartedly to assist and guide.
“Senior Brother Hangzhi! What will you make? Flying swords? That’s easy… Let’s see your stuff… nice, nice.”
“Xiao Ying, you forge, I’ll manage the heat. You watch first, Senior Brother.”
“Got it.”
The two little foodies had snacked on plenty of Essence Spirit Fruit for a while and felt guilty. Now on their turf, they worked extra hard. They picked materials and setup tools busily and enthusiastically, but put the actual maker aside.
Calling it:
A demo.
Lu Hangzhi just folded his arms and watched.
To be honest, he’d never tried artifact refining and had no clue about it.
But hey.
These foodies had big appetites but also handled spiritual artifacts smoothly, like old pros.
“Senior Brother, three key things for flying swords!”
“Okay, yes, I’ll remember.”
“First, the quality of the sword blank. Then heat control. Last, the completion of the magic formation.”
“The better the blank material, the better the sword. Plus, you have to purge all impurities, make it flawless…”
“Heat is hardest, but Xuanxin Sect’s Earth Fire Training Room is easy to handle. Just leave it to Xiao Ying.”
Xiao Mu and Xiao Ying explained while they worked.
Lu Hangzhi listened humbly beside them.
Soon, artifact refining began in earnest:
Tink! Tink!
Clang! Clang!
Xiao Mu was small but swung a heavy hammer like nothing. He hammered fast—bam, bam, bam!—hitting loud and steady, face not flushed, breath even, his pace and rhythm kept amazingly consistent.
After a while, Lu Hangzhi began to see the trick.
Each of Xiao Mu’s hammer strikes landed precisely on the same spot, purging impurities insanely fast…
He shaped the blank smoothly in a short time, folded it, and kept pounding. His little face flushed red, more fired up, like he had endless energy.
“Master says using the Spirit Forging Technique one hundred and eight times removes a tiny impurity flaw. A flying sword blank needs forty-nine rounds.”
…
Forty-nine rounds!
Over five thousand hits…
Lu Hangzhi stared at Xiao Mu’s ordinary-looking arms and sighed inside:
That’s some godly strength right there.
After one round, Lu Hangzhi asked for a hammer. He channeled spiritual energy into his arm, moved his qi as per the Spirit Forging Technique rules, and started mimicking it.
Before long…
His arm felt weak and numb, drained of power.
Why did his magic power run out so fast?
Lu Hangzhi flushed unnoticed and popped a fruit in his mouth, then tossed down a Spiritual Energy Vortex, recovering slowly. He gritted his teeth and kept going:
Couldn’t let a kid outperform him.
After all, he was a senior brother.
He didn’t realize Xiao Mu and Xiao Ying were watching in awe. First-timers usually wasted spiritual energy, running dry in dozens of hits. Senior Brother lasted way longer…
Impressive!