Chapter 95 — The Sword in Hand
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 3
Shen Mu's hair finally stopped growing, falling to his waist. He took a band and tied it back, his expression grave, and stepped forward to the furnace.
Granny Zhu frowned: "Silent Craftsman, you can smelt Cold Iron Essence at the Spirit Embryo realm?
" The Silent Craftsman nodded.
Granny Zhu spat angrily: "Freak!
" The Alchemist, Deaf Elder, and others also nodded in deep agreement, saying, "Freak! Silent Craftsman, you're a real freak!
" The Silent Craftsman was smug, grinning from ear to ear.
Cold Iron Essence was far superior to Profound Iron Frost Crystal; it was the essence refined from Profound Iron Frost Crystal. While Profound Iron Frost Crystal could be melted in furnace fire to forge weapons, the chill of Cold Iron Essence could extinguish the furnace fire directly, making it extremely difficult to work! The Silent Craftsman threw two pieces of Cold Iron Essence to Shen Mu, indicating he should melt them down and forge them into one, then make a weapon!
If Shen Mu could do this, he would pass this trial. Shen Mu circulated his vital energy, transforming it into Vermilion Bird energy.
Flames ignited in his palm, and he put one hand into the furnace while the other worked the bellows, trying to fan the flame and ignite the coal.
But as his palm entered the furnace, he felt an icy chill so fierce that the flame on his hand nearly went out; even the Vermilion Bird energy seemed about to freeze! The Silent Craftsman was smug, gesturing repeatedly to Deaf Elder, who said, "You mean lighting the furnace is itself a trial requiring skill? This touches the mysteries of forging; relying on brute force alone won't start the fire?
" The Silent Craftsman was beaming, when suddenly — poof — the flame burst forth in the furnace. The coal had been forcibly ignited by Shen Mu's savage Vermilion Bird energy, suppressing the chill of the Cold Iron Essence.
Deaf Elder looked at the Silent Craftsman sympathetically. "Silent Craftsman, if brute force can't light the fire, it only means your cultivation in the Spirit Embryo realm isn't up to par. He simply has enough brute force to light it, and needs no skill.
" The Silent Craftsman gestured gloomily, and Deaf Elder chuckled, "Sly. You were holding back the trick that furnace fire of coal can't melt Cold Iron Essence. " Shen Mu had lit the furnace, then surged his vital energy to drive the fire to its extreme, yet the Cold Iron Essence remained unmelted, couldn't even be heated to red.
Shen Mu frowned. Suddenly he thrust both hands into the furnace, grabbed the two pieces of cold iron, and spurred the Profound Body Three Dan Technique. His Spirit Embryo went wild, the vital energy around it like a vast furnace, driving the Vermilion Bird energy to the extreme!
The Cold Iron Essence in his hands gradually turned red-hot, and before long, droplets of molten iron began to fall. Shen Mu directed the molten iron drops into the runner channel.
The two pieces melted faster and faster, and soon all the cold iron dissolved, the molten iron merging together. Deaf Elder looked at the dumbfounded Silent Craftsman and asked, "What exactly were you testing him on?
" The Silent Craftsman was dejected. His intention had been to test Shen Mu's forging skill. To smelt Cold Iron Essence, one first had to light the furnace, but the fire's temperature couldn't melt the essence.
However, with deep cultivation, one could use Vermilion Bird energy to soften it. In his plan, Shen Mu would soften the two pieces, then hammer them together repeatedly, forging them into one, then refine a weapon.
He never expected Shen Mu's vital energy cultivation to be so absurdly deep that he directly melted both pieces with his vital energy! His goal was to test skill, but Shen Mu had used brute force to override skill, still achieving the result, and even more simply—leaving the Silent Craftsman nothing to say.
Clang, clang—the sound of forging came.
Shen Mu swung a great iron hammer, sending sparks flying.