The middle-aged blacksmith was extrely puzzled upon hearing this. Slay wind and evil?
Wind is formless, how can it be slain?
He didn't know how to forge such a sword, but Chu Xun didn't ask him to forge it either.
He just wanted to learn how to forge iron and try it himself.
Although the middle-aged blacksmith felt Chu Xun was acting mysteriously, for the sake of the silver, he still agreed.
He imdiately called his son from the house and said, "You teach him how to start a fire first."
His son was seventeen or eighteen years old, looking about the sa age as Chu Xun.
Learning that this youth wanted to learn blacksmithing, the sturdy young man was instantly amused.
Leading Chu Xun to the furnace, the young man nad Cheng Congyi said, "You're so fair and clean, one look and I can tell you've never done any hard work."
"Starting a fire sounds simple, and in fact, it's not hard. It's just that once there's a fire, when to suppress the flas and when to add fuel, there's a knack to it all."
As he spoke, he grabbed a few handfuls of straw and stuffed them into the furnace, used small branches to overlap and form a layer on top, and then placed fine pieces of charcoal.
He used a fire folder to ignite the straw. Once the branches also started burning, he continuously added larger pieces of firewood and charcoal inside.
By the ti the furnace was fully burning, half an hour had already passed.
Cheng Congyi wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "I heard that the blacksmith shops in the city don't need to put out their fires all year round, saving the ti of starting a fire."
"In the future, I also want to open a big blacksmith shop that doesn't need to put out its fire!"
Chu Xun watched quietly from the side, very earnestly.
Cheng Shan walked over and said, "Just forging these few kitchen knives and hoes, what do you need such a big shop for."
Cheng Congyi chuckled and said, "You forge kitchen knives, but in the future, I will forge divine weapons and sharp blades!"
"Thinking about unrealistic things all day, step aside." Cheng Shan pushed him away, picked up the iron tongs, clamped a piece of raw iron billet, and put it into the furnace.
Cheng Congyi said to Chu Xun, "Quickly pull the bellows, the fire needs to be big!"
Chu Xun grabbed the handle of the bellows in front of him as told, continuously pulling it out and pushing it back.
The Cheng father and son were both very surprised to see him doing it so effortlessly.
Cheng Congyi even ran in front of Chu Xun, reached out, and squeezed his arm, "You kid don't look very sturdy, how do you have so much strength!"
A blacksmith's bellows was not like an ordinary household's stove; it was made very large, and pulling it was heavy and strenuous, so that more air could be sent in.
Even a child like Cheng Congyi, who had hung around the blacksmith shop since childhood, would feel tired pulling it.
But Chu Xun was very relaxed. After pulling for a long ti, he barely broke a sweat.
Associating this with Chu Xun going up the mountain just now, and asking for a sword that could slay wind and evil after coming down, Cheng Shan instantly understood that he must have t so expert.
In the jianghu, it was said that there were four types of people you couldn't offend.
Monks, Daoist priests, won, and children.
A youth... should also be considered a child, right.
Cheng Shan's attitude imdiately beca much more solemn, and he was more attentive when teaching blacksmithing.
He had Cheng Congyi use the iron tongs to fix the red-hot iron block. Cheng Shan swung the sledgehamr, giving pointers while striking.
"Tempering skills cannot rely on brute force; you need to unite your waist and stance. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. Practice the accuracy of your strikes more, and you will naturally comprehend it."
"When striking, the sledgehamr shapes, and the small hamr levels. One hamr after another, find the rhythm while striking."
"Once you find the right rhythm, it saves effort and the quality is high."
Soon, this iron billet was hamred into a flat shape.
Cheng Shan didn't continue, but asked Chu Xun to co over, hold the iron tongs, and put the cooled iron billet back into the furnace to reheat.
"Tending the fire only seems simple, but in reality, heat control is very important. If burned too fiercely, it's too soft; if not burned well, there are too many impurities, wasting ti."
"You must control the size of the fire well, and then observe the color changes of the iron billet. What heat, what ti, and what it can be burned into, you must have a clear idea in your heart."
Chu Xun was very smart and also very patient.
He used to think that blacksmithing was very simple.
Just heat the iron until it's red and hamr it a bunch of tis. He didn't expect there to be so many details and techniques to learn.
Perhaps because he possessed the Fire Starting Spell and the tal Forging Spell, Chu Xun could clearly feel that he had a sharper perception of fire and iron than ordinary people.
When the iron billet was reheated to red, Cheng Shan asked him to take it out and said, "I'll hold the billet for you, you strike a few tis first to get a feel for it."
Chu Xun took the sledgehamr as told. Cheng Congyi watched sowhat nervously and reminded, "Be careful, don't hit my dad, this is no joke!"
Cheng Shan scolded, "Don't distract him!"
Cheng Congyi felt wronged by the scolding and muttered, "You weren't this patient when teaching ."
Chu Xun held the iron hamr, looking at the iron billet burned to a fiery red.
When the hamr was raised, a strange sensation arose in his heart.
Without thinking too much, he smashed the hamr down fiercely.
Bang—
Dazzling sparks burst from the iron billet.
tal Forging Spell 1
Cheng Congyi watched from the side. The first hamr strike actually didn't miss.
Hmm... it wasn't too surprising. This kid had great strength, and his luck might also be very good.
However, as one hamr strike followed another, every strike landed steadily on the iron billet.
Although his mastery of shaping wasn't considered very proficient yet, just this accuracy alone was very astonishing.
Cheng Congyi looked at the iron billet for a while, then at Chu Xun, his mouth gradually opening wide.
Until the iron billet's temperature was insufficient and it was stuffed back into the furnace.
Looking at the youth who had already consciously gone to pull the bellows, paid attention to the fire, added charcoal on his own, and didn't seem flustered in the slightest.
Cheng Shan suddenly rembered his son's long-standing dream, to open a very large blacksmith shop dedicated to forging divine weapons and sharp blades.
Looking at Chu Xun, who worked thodically and whose expression remained calm throughout, Cheng Shan thought, "If it's him... perhaps he really can forge divine weapons and sharp blades."
After working busily like this for a whole day, Chu Xun initially learned how to forge iron.
However, the weight of that iron billet was not enough to forge a long sword; it needed to be larger.
That night, Chu Xun stayed at the Cheng family's house.
The crows randomly found so trees at the foot of the mountain to land on, huddling together.
Cheng Shan's wife had accidentally fallen to her death while gathering firewood on the mountain in her early years.
For so many years, he hadn't remarried.
Fortunately, his son grew up safely, and he had a successor, so he didn't have to worry about matters after his death.
He didn't ask about Chu Xun's background. Cheng Congyi did ask, and Chu Xun still answered that he ca from a farming background.
Cheng Congyi curled his lips upon hearing this, not believing it at all.
After passing the night like this, before dawn, Chu Xun got up and opened the door.
Walking out of the room, he faced west and, as stated in the Pearl Satchel of the Three Caverns, clicked his teeth seven tis.
Calming his mind and concentrating, wisps of Qi of tal Essence gradually appeared before his eyes.
Pure and gentle.
Like light gauze, and like flowing frost.
"Flying mystery and eight convergences, flying mystery and eight convergences..."
With each chant, the Qi of tal Essence converged into a pillar of qi and drilled into Chu Xun's mouth and nose.
Pei Luo said he had tried it and it was useless.
Only because with his mortal body, he couldn't even see the qi of the five elents, so how could it take effect.
At the Foundation Establishnt stage, one could observe qi and also gather qi.
But there was ultimately a limit. Soon Chu Xun felt uncomfortable, knowing that continuing further would easily cause self-harm.
He no longer forced himself to persist, slowly walked to the blacksmith shop, and picked up an appropriately sized iron billet.
The Qi of tal Essence was exhaled from his mouth and nose, turning into a white streak that struck into the iron billet.
In an instant, spiritual light shot out from the iron billet, and white qi wreathed around it.
It faintly emitted a clear and resonant sound, neither like a bell nor a chi, but like a dragon's roar.
It was just that upon closer inspection, one would find so tiny cracks.
The quality of the iron billet was too poor; it could only accommodate one streak of Qi of tal Essence.
Chu Xun wasn't too disappointed. After putting it down, he walked to the furnace.
He didn't use straw to start the fire at the bottom like Cheng Congyi did, but directly put in small branches and charcoal.
With a thought, fire directly sprouted on the branches.
Fire Starting Spell 1
But soon, Chu Xun discovered that even branches weren't needed.
As long as there was enough spiritual energy, the fla could exist continuously, enough to ignite the charcoal.
And this was only the most basic Fire Starting Spell. If he truly reached the perfection of the five elents, perhaps it would be the Six Ding Divine Fire that could burn a hole in the sky.
"One day, casually tossing down a ball of fla, could I really create a Flaming Mountain?"
Chu Xun chuckled and simply added the large pieces of charcoal as well.
Fire Starting Spell 1
Fire Starting Spell 1
...
When Cheng Shan heard the noise and ca out, he saw Chu Xun pulling the bellows with all his might.
Whoosh whoosh—
The bellows let out a heavy howling sound, sending a large amount of air inside, making the fire even more fierce.
The iron billet, which had been burning for a long ti, burned to a cherry-like bright red.
Chu Xun felt sothing in his heart and was just about to take the iron billet out.
Cheng Shan had already arrived in front of him. This middle-aged blacksmith reached out, grabbed the iron tongs, took out the fiery red iron billet, placed it on the anvil, and said solemnly,
"I will hold the billet for you."
Chu Xun didn't say much. He picked up the sledgehamr nearby, waited for Cheng Shan to stand firm, and then smashed it forcefully towards the iron billet.
Bang—
Bang—
The continuous heavy strikes caused the iron billet to deform at an extrely fast speed.
A large amount of impurities were smashed out. Cheng Shan only felt his arms trembling violently, and couldn't help but feel horrified in his heart.
Only then did he understand that yesterday, because this youth was not too familiar with dropping the hamr, he hadn't used his full strength.
Now that he was proficient and added a bit more strength, it actually made him sowhat unable to bear it.
In a mont, the iron billet was returned to the furnace to reheat. Chu Xun pulled the bellows while turning his head to ask, "Still okay?"
Cheng Shan rubbed his sore arms and gritted his teeth, "Still okay!"
Not long after, Cheng Congyi also ca out.
Seeing the two of them, one holding the billet and one swinging the hamr, the iron billet had already been smashed flat.
Looking closely again, the youth swinging the hamr wasn't panting, while his old dad holding the billet was sweating profusely.
Cheng Congyi couldn't help but feel astonished in his heart, hurriedly ran over, and said, "Dad, let hold the billet."
"No, you can't hold it!" Cheng Shan decisively refused.
It wasn't until Chu Xun finished shaping with the sledgehamr and started leveling with the small hamr that Cheng Shan withdrew.
Looking down, both his arms were trembling, and his calves were also weak.
During that bout of hamring just now, he had no mind to think about anything else, only feeling that every hamr strike that fell was as heavy as a thousand jun.
Looking at the youth who was still striking with the small hamr and didn't seem to have much sweat, the look of wonder and admiration in Cheng Shan's eyes grew even stronger.
It took a whole day, and the sword billet already had a rudintary form.
But after that, there were still processes like refining the shape, quenching, and sharpening the edge.
Chu Xun stayed at the Cheng family's house for a few more days, learning other blacksmithing techniques in passing.
Three days later, under Cheng Shan's guidance, Chu Xun finished sharpening the edge.
The sword body was flat, four feet long, and the edge was smooth and sharp.
Testing it on a wooden stake, a casual slash cut through a piece of wood about a foot thick.
Cheng Congyi clicked his tongue as he watched, "So sharp!"
Chu Xun held the sword in one hand, cupped his hands to Cheng Shan, and said, "The sword is forged, I'm going up the mountain."
Cheng Shan seed to understand what he was going to do and said, "The quality of my iron billets is not high. In the future, if you can obtain a piece of divine iron, you can forge a divine weapon, which will be better to use."
Chu Xun's heart stirred upon hearing this, and he nodded, "Thank you for the guidance."
After similarly cupping his hands to Cheng Congyi, Chu Xun carried the sword up the mountain.
Cheng Congyi watched in puzzlent and asked, "Dad, what is he going up the mountain for?"
Cheng Shan hesitated for a mont, only to see that the youth's figure had already disappeared without a trace in the ti it took to say two or three sentences.
The sound of flapping wings ca from the forest, and dozens of crows took flight.
Caw—
Cheng Shan looked up, and only then answered his son's question.
"To eliminate a pest!"
[End of Chapter]
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