In the gambling at Jubaozhai, none of the disciples of Lianfeng Sword Sect bought pills to compete, so their victory was entirely expected. However, this did not dampen the spirits of their teachers and disciples, who celebrated wildly that night.
This was the first time in the history of their Lianfeng Sword Sect that they had achieved such a result in the alchemy competition among the Six Sects. Shi Mingxiu was overjoyed and gave all the sect's disciples an extra three months' worth of monthly allowance.
Shi Xuan naturally couldn't let go of this opportunity to please the sect leader, so she quickly went up to ask for a reward. Shi Mingxiu then promised Shi Xuan that he would give her a courtyard behind her cheap shop when they returned.
For a time, everyone in the Lianfeng Sword Sect was overjoyed. No one was unhappy. Wearing the disciple's robes of the Lianfeng Sword Sect, everyone seemed to have a straighter back when walking on the road.
The weapon-forging competition officially began the following day.
The crafting process takes a long time, and each round consists of only one competition. You only need to craft the type of magical artifact you are best at. The rules are the same as for alchemy. You can take your crafted magical artifact home after the evaluation.
Lianfeng Sword Sect is a sword sect, and sword cultivators inevitably have questions about sword cultivation. Therefore, Lianfeng Sword Sect has a special weapon-making peak called Linzheng Peak. In this weapon-making competition, Lianfeng Sword Sect sent quite a few people, but they performed only moderately in the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment groups.
It wasn't that they did poorly, but rather that the Langya Sect was simply too strong. After all, they were a sect specializing in weapon crafting, so such results were to be expected. How could they be like the Divine Cauldron Sect, whose weapon crafting prowess was overshadowed by another sword-cultivation sect?
But this sense of pride faltered for a moment after the Golden Core stage disciples took the stage.
The audience was in an uproar.
"Am I seeing things? Is the person who came on stage Shi Xuan?"
"It's Shi Xuan! What's she doing here refining weapons? I've never heard of Shi Xuan being able to refine weapons!"
"Are alchemy and artifact crafting interchangeable? I don't want to end up failing to refine anything, that would be embarrassing."
"That's not shameful. Even if she messes up, she's still a Dao Seal Pill Cultivator. What's wrong with going up there and having some fun?"
"If my goddess wants to play, let her play! If she messes up, no one is allowed to laugh at her! If anyone is to laugh, it can only be me!"
...
The Langya Sect specializes in weapon crafting, and the materials they have prepared are quite generous, including both common and uncommon ones, to ensure that participating weapon crafters can find materials here if they want to craft ordinary magical artifacts.
Shi Xuan is determined to win this round, given the large amount of spirit stones invested. What kind of magical artifact can win? When the grades are the same, the one with the most impressive skill will definitely score higher.
Shi Xuan thought about all the weapon-forging recipes she had learned in the illusion and selected a fifth-tier weapon.
This weapon, named "Thousand Faces," was something she had harshly criticized when she was learning weapon crafting—flashy but impractical, all show and no substance. Its only advantage was its six transformation forms, allowing it to change shape according to personal preference. In reality, those who use weapons in the cultivation world generally specialize in one area; for example, sword cultivators specialize in swordsmanship, saber cultivators only use sabers, and long-handled weapons are used by specific individuals. She couldn't imagine what kind of person could wield a weapon with six different forms.
However, it is extremely complicated to make. Although the materials are not complicated, it requires extremely high levels of crafting skills, precise control of divine sense, and mastery of spiritual power.
That's it.
Shi Xuan made a decision, and then quickly selected all the materials needed to refine the Thousand Faces and released them separately.
Those watching her work were also astonished. The judges on the stage couldn't help but shake their heads. She didn't look like someone who knew how to forge weapons. The materials she chose were numerous and varied, lacked a system, and were all ordinary.
Some knowledgeable viewers also expressed their feelings.
"Looks like your goddess really doesn't know how to forge weapons. Look what she chose! So many incompatible materials!"
"Yeah, how can you use Cloud Trace Sand and Lapis Lazuli together? They'll just explode if they're mixed up."
"Didn't we agree to let her have fun? Why are you making such high demands on a pill cultivator with such achievements!"
“But no matter how skilled she is in alchemy, she can’t act recklessly like this. It’s one thing for her to waste some materials, but it’s another for the people around her. After all, this is a formal competition, not child’s play.”
"Let's talk about whether she's really having an impact. She hasn't had an impact yet, so don't make trouble out of things that haven't happened."
...
Shi Xuan arranged the six types of weapons to be forged separately, and then put them into the forging furnace in batches for forging. After the general shape was formed, she used her spiritual power to engrave enhanced runes of different attributes onto each weapon.
Subsequently, while maintaining a balance among all parties, the six ingenious weapons were combined and refined repeatedly.
It was just a weapon, but Shi Xuan spent three whole days forging it.
Meanwhile, many of the other disciples who participated finished on the second day, leaving only a few, mostly the weakest members of each sect, as well as Shi Xuan.
The audience was getting bored. The alchemists could produce a batch of pills in one or two hours, while the artifact crafters took too long to forge each artifact.
"She seems to really know how to forge weapons; her furnace hasn't exploded yet..."
"They can do it, but that's all. Look at the others, some of the really good ones have already finished it all, and the rest are just not that great."
"I believe she can forge a good magical artifact, and I have unconditional faith in Shi Xuan!"
"What mindless supporters! Don't they even look at the situation on the field? It's already the third day, and the allotted time is almost up. Have you ever seen her put this much effort into refining pills?"
"Everyone has their own expertise; it's good enough if you can even master it."
...
Amidst the murmurs of the audience, Shi Xuan calmly completed the final step, assembling all the magical artifacts in order and finally creating more complex runes as the control center before finishing the work and closing the furnace.
Amidst everyone's expectant gazes, Shi Xuan took out her finished product from the refining furnace—an ordinary-looking stick.
For a moment, sighs of disappointment rose and fell from the audience.
They thought that after three whole days, Shi Xuan would be able to refine some decent magic weapon. It didn't have to be anything great, just something similar would be enough for them to praise him as a master of both alchemy and artifact crafting!
The remaining people on the field quickly finished as well, but two others failed at the last moment, probably due to nervousness.
The magical artifacts of the group were presented one by one. The Shen brothers of Langya Sect completed theirs the next day. Shen Wuyang presented a dark green spirit sword, which looked very domineering and gleamed with a chilling light, making people feel awe. It looked like it had reached the fifth level.
His brother, Shen Wuji, wore a light armor that looked very portable.
Even the weapon cultivators who went with the Lianfeng Sword Sect were able to forge a majestic, snow-white longsword.
Only Shi Xuan produced a clumsy, unadorned stick. The crowd immediately lost their anticipation.
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