Chapter 32: Chapter 23 Red Gold Sword i
Translator: 549690339
After the Spring Festival, everyone’s life returned to normal.
The ice and snow melted, and the weather gradually warmed up.
On the eaves, a row of transparent icicles kept dripping.
The originally frozen ground began to melt away with the snow, becoming muddy and unbearable.
One day, Xu Mu brought his pills, left his home, and intended to sell them at the marketplace and pick up his custom-made magic sword along the way.
Unexpectedly, upon stepping out of his house, he ran into Jia An and Ma Rui, who were traveling together, as well as some neighbors from the alley.
“Friend Xu, are you also heading to enlist in the patrol team?” Ma Rui asked with a lewd smile.
“No!”
Xu Mu shook his head and said, “I’m going to sell the alchemies I’ve prepared!”
He had heard about the recruitment of the patrol team members from Su Qing a while ago.
But…
He looked at a few people and wondered, “I’ve heard that the recruitment demands are high. Are you all confident?”
To his knowledge, only those cultivators who were at least in the tier three of Qi cultivation and were proficient in fighting were recruited.
The neighbors in front of him had reached this level of cultivation, but their combat abilities were a bit lacking.
Although Jia An and the others often entered Baihe Forest, they mostly adopted the role of worker bees, with few opportunities for real fighting.
Only those cultivators who specialized in killing monster beasts could be considered proficient in combat.
“Don’t worry about that, Friend Xu. Big Bro Jia has smoothed things out. We just need to go there, sign up, and go through the motions!” Ma Rui said with excitement.
“Big Bro Jia?’
H
Xu Mu looked at Jia An, plump and chin up high, wondering if he had heard wrong.
“Friend Xu, why don’t you join us? With me there, I assure you that you’ll get in the patrol team. By then, no one will dare to bully us!”
Jia An spoke boldly, full of confidence.
For a moment, Xu Mu thought he was hallucinating.
He recalled when he first arrived, Jia An was humble and cautious, eagerly treating him warmly due to a mere Qi Gathering Pill.
He suddenly remembered that when he left the Chi Family, Jia An had invited him to the marketplace for a drink.
At that time, Jia An had revealed a hint of ambition, but Xu Mu wasn’t impressed.
Later, Jia An invited him over several times, which Xu Mu tactfully refused using alchemy as the excuse, and Jia An stopped seeking him out thereafter.
Even Jia An’s wife, Li Moqing, hadn’t met Xu Mu for a long time, and he wasn’t sure what she was busy with.
Initially, he didn’t expect Jia An to stir up any storm, but surprisingly, he did make some headway.
One could tell from Ma Rui and the others’ expressions that they looked up to Jia An unreservedly.
However, even if they formed a small group, it would be hard for them to accomplish something major.
It’s not that Xu Mu was jealous; it was mainly that Jia An’s cultivation was too low.
At the tier three of Qi cultivation!
No matter how hard he tried, it would be useless!
He would be better off practicing diligently!
Of course, everyone had their own choices, and Xu Mu wouldn’t get presumptuous and decide for them.
He simply smiled, shook his head, and declined their invitation.
Upon Xu Mu’s refusal, Jia An’s face showed a slight hint of displeasure.
In the past, Jia An was just an ordinary loose cultivator, and Xu Mu was an alchemist, so Jia An had to win over him.
However, after all the operations over this period, he felt that he would soon rise to prominence. This led to him looking down on Xu Mu, the old cultivator.
He had long held a grudge against Xu Mu for repeatedly rejecting his good intentions.
Especially when Xu Mu ignored his achievements, it made him extremely upset.
Xu Mu might not have noticed, but inadvertently, he had indeed underestimated Jia An. In fact, there were hardly a few people from the whole shanty town who could win his regard.
It wasn’t that he was overly arrogant, but the facts spoke for themselves.
The cultivators in the shanty town, despite their hard work, may not be able to earn ten lower-grade Spirit Stones in a month.
As for him, if he wished, he could easily earn thousands of lower-grade Spirit Stones.
That’s a hundred times more than what ordinary loose cultivators earn!
Under such circumstances, even if he tried to be modest, he couldn’t help but exude some superiority.
Although Jia An was upset with Xu Mu, he didn’t show it completely. Instead, he laughed and said, “In that case, never mind. However, as we all live in the same alley, that’s destiny. If you have any trouble in the future, Xu, feel free to come and see me!”
“Thank you!”
Xu Mu politely thanked him with a bow of his hand.
The two groups parted ways at the entrance of the marketplace.
“Old Ma, follow him. See where he goes. Remember to stay far away and don’t let him notice you!”
Not long after leaving Xu Mu, Jia An suddenly stopped, his face grim as he said to Ma Rui.
“Big Bro Jia, what are you…”
“Don’t ask too many questions! Just go!”
“But, what about my enlistment for the patrol team…”
“Don’t worry, as long as I’m here, it won’t matter if we go a little later!”
“Alright then!”
Ma Rui nodded and pursued in the direction which Xu Mu had left from.
Meanwhile, Jia An continued to walk towards the recruitment station with his group.
“Ten Jade Marrow Pills! And some of them are even middle-grade! Friend Xu, your alchemy skill has improved again! Congratulations!”
In the Song Family Pharmacy, upon seeing the pills Xu Mu had brought out, Su Qing’s eyebrows rose, the corners of her thin and transparent lips lifted slightly, and her eyes were filled with surprise.
“My handiwork has been pretty good for the past month, and my Fire-controlling Skill has improved, which enabled me to successfully concoct the pills,” Xu Mu said modestly, a smile on his face.
If it wasn’t for the recent deficiency of spirit stones, he would never have sold so many Jade Marrow Pills.
Because it would attract too much attention!
Fortunately, the Song Family Pharmacy had strong backing, so even though Su Qing was extremely delighted, she didn’t question him excessively.
The Pill Master who came to authenticate the pills simply praised them once and asked if Xu Mu wanted to join the Song Family as a Guest Elder.
After Xu Mu declined, he was paid in spirit stones without any fuss.
There were no unnecessary complications, or cliched situations like robbery or murder.
This was not a small sum for Xu Mu, but for the Song Family Pharmacy, it was just a small transaction, not worth tarnishing their reputation.
When he eventually left the pharmacy, he had received a total of eight medium-grade spirit stones, and materials sufficient for thirty Jade Marrow Pills.
And Su Qing’s zealous farewell.
The price of medium-grade Jade Marrow Pills is significantly higher than that of lower-grade ones, and since the cost of raw materials had dropped recently, he could acquire this much.
After leaving the pharmacy, he went straight to the Treasure Shop, presented his credentials, and claimed his custom-made magic sword.
“The sword is three feet and seven inches long. The main body is made from Geng Metal. According to your request, we have mixed in some Red Essence Iron to increase the power of the fire-attribute spiritual power. It was tempered with earth fire fluid to make it easier to gather fire elements,” explained the tall and sturdy shopkeeper, holding a white longsword.
That longsword, gleaming icy-cold light all over, was a magnificent white-gold color. The blade was razor-sharp, seeming like it could slice through sight.
“And you’re very lucky—the Array Master found that the Geng Metal and the Sharp Gold Formation blend incredibly well, so he added an extra Sharp Gold Formation for you!”
With a face full of envy, the shopkeeper handed the sword to Xu Mu, continuing, “Fifteen Sharp Gold Formations, two solidifying formations, a total of seventeen formations. If it weren’t so singular in function, it would be a top-tier item amongst tier-three magic artifacts!”
“Not bad!”
Holding the longsword in his hand and making a few small flourishes, Xu Mu’s face beamed with satisfaction.
This sword was tailor-made for him. It spared many unnecessary formations. If all its power were to be unleashed, its attack power could even surpass a tier-three magic artifact.
After ail, an average tier-three magic artifact could only be inscribed with eighteen formations.
Nobody would be foolish enough to inscribe fifteen of them as attack formations.
However, for the shopkeeper to say that this sword is equivalent to a tier-three top-tier magic artifact is complete nonsense.
The material used in crafting the sword was out in the open, and without the simplicity in its formation, one cannot inscribe seventeen formations on it.
If sold, it might not even catch the price of a tier-two magic artifact.
However, in Xu Mu’s hands, its value is comparable to a tier-three magic artifact.
Xu Mu attempted to infuse his spiritual power into it. The originally white-gold sword immediately developed thin red veins all over it. The entire sword suddenly became hot, causing the air around it to distort.
This obviously was due to Red Essence Iron!
Seeing this, Xu Mu’s satisfaction grew even more intense.
The five medium-grade spirit stones were well-spent!
Regrettably, no one jumped out to let him test his sword on them.
“Shopkeeper, does this sword have a name?”
Accepting the white iron scabbard presented by the shop, Xu Mu sheathed his longsword and asked.
“The Artifact Refiner who made it called it the Red Gold Sword! However, as this was custom-made for you, the name is naturally for you to decide!”
“Red Gold Sword, huh! Not bad, I won’t change it!”
Xu Mu couldn’t be bothered to rack his brain over a name.
After paying the balance, he left the Treasure Shop.
After replenishing his living supplies in the market, he returned home, hugged and played with Little Ling’er for a while, and went into the storeroom to retrieve the jade slip containing the tier-three Fire-controlling Skill, absorbing the information and insights stored within.
The tier-three Fire-controlling Skill contained much more information compared to the tier-two version. Besides condensing and controlling flames, it also involved mastery over a True Flame.
The True Flame is a spiritual flame that one can only condense within their body upon reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage. It’s far superior to ordinary flames, be it for Alchemy or Artifact refining.
“Maybe, if I practice to a high enough level, I can condense the spiritual flame ahead of time!”
Seeing this part, Xu Mu was very excited.
However, the power increase from the tier-three Fire-controlling Skill also meant a drastic rise in its cultivation difficulty.
After completely absorbing the information in the jade slip, the icon for the tier-three Fire-controlling Skill appeared on his system dashboard.
[Fire-controlling Skill, tier three, beginner level; 157/400]!
The cultivation difficulty of a tier-three skill skyrocketed. Even at the beginner stage, it required four hundred proficiency. Thankfully, Xu Mu was mentally prepared for this.
However, looking at the situation, it would not be possible to amalgamate it with the tier-two Fire-controlling Skill in a short period of time unless Xu Mu was willing to use his Luck Value for an upgrade.
Of course, that’s not possible!
Now, he had to consider very carefully when it came to spending his Luck Value, always trying to save where he could.
In the following days, Xu Mu continued to stay at home and cultivate diligently.
His increasing power did not bring any significant changes to his lifestyle.
When he wasn’t refining pills, he was cultivating his skills, and occasionally squeezing in some time to spend with his wife and child.
Meanwhile, Jia An, Ma Rui, and the others in the alley had successfully joined the Patrol Team. Every day, they swaggered around the vicinity, dressed in the uniform provided by the marketplace.
As expected, Jia An had some tricks up his sleeve, and he had actually obtained the position of a team leader.
Every day, when his patrol route passed through their alley, he would proudly patrol the area.
However, his chubby physique somewhat undermined his effort, making him look somewhat comical.
While the new patrol team was set up, the expansion work of the marketplace had not yet begun. Even the construction work that the large families were conducting seemed to have suddenly halted.
As for this sudden change, due to Xu Mu’s intense cultivation, he didn’t notice until Lan Shijin mentioned it.
Time flies when you are busy. In the blink of an eye, another month had passed.
It was now spring, a time when everything comes to life.
On this day, while Xu Mu was cultivating in his Spirit Gathering Array, he felt a stir in the spiritual power within his body.
“It’s time for a breakthrough!”