Chapter Nine Forging (1/2)
I got sick of the ling exciting hoe by the end of this chapter. Also, Zuo Mo really doesn’t have a good temper.
Chapter Nine Forging
Xu Yi shixiong had gone to great detail. The Ling Exciting Hoe was the simplest of all talismans. Calling it a talisman was a bit of an overestimation. It couldn’t even enter the first-grade. But for Zuo Mo who had no experience in forging, there were still endless problems.
For example, the copper ingot had to be beaten into a hoe shape. This was a great test of Zuo Mo’s abilities. Thankfully, the copper was soft and after repeated banging for four hours, he managed to form a hoe blade.
After that was carving formations on the copper hoes. The formation for the Ling Exciting Hoe was very simple. The [Thunder] of the eight basic formations. For any xuizhe, it wouldn’t be unfamiliar. He wasn’t unfamiliar with the formation, but there were concerns about how to carve it.
Zuo Mo held a carving knife in his right hand as he cautiously carved out [Thunder]. He had never used a carving knife before and frequently made mistakes. Once a mistake was made, it required erasing everything and starting from the beginning.
After redoing it seven or eight times, Zuo Mo finally managed to finish carving the formation.
Looking at the formations carved on the surface of the copper hoe, Zuo Mo’s heart was filled with a sense of achievement. His cultivation was too low right now so he could only use a carving knife, the most basic tool. If his cultivation was higher, and he could use his heart fire to forge, shaping would occur according to his thoughts. Similarly, due to his low cultivation, the simplest formation filled the entire hoe. If he had higher cultivation, he could manipulate a flying sword and carve layers of jinzhi, destroy the heavens and become omnipotent!
But for Zuo Mo, right now was his limit.
Face full of pain, he took out a second-grade jinshi and inlaid it in the center of the formation.
The copper hoe suddenly lit up, a light like a wave rippling through the body of the hoe. The scarred hoe suddenly became as smooth as in the beginning. By now, Zuo Mo finally took a breath of relieve. This Ling Exciting Hoe was half completed. At this step, it was still successful.
The copper hoe was too soft and easily changed shape, destroying the structure of the formation. So right after would be using fire metal ore to reinforce the structure and increase hardness. Holding the crimson fire metal ore on his hand, he could clearly feel the warmth that spread out from it.
Putting the fire metal ore on the copper hoe, Zuo Mo thought back to the forging methods that Xu Yi shixiong had taught. The crux of this step was to turn the fire metal ore to liquid to dissolve in the copper hoe. If there was heart fire, it would be extremely easy to finish this step, but for Zuo Mo, he had to borrow a few special spells.
The ling energy in Zuo Mo’s body revolved, his hands moving like flowers blooming. The ling energy changed as it followed the path of his fingers, his hands enveloped in a layer of red light.
“Go!”
The two hands flipped and the red light left, hitting the copper hoe and the fire metal ore.
The fire metal ore became entirely red, the crimson liquid metal pouring onto the copper hoe. The copper hoe was like a sponge. When the liquid metal touched it, it was absorbed, not a drop left. The color of the copper hoe quietly changed, a few hints of dark red among the copper hoe.
He took up the hoe blade. The hoe was heavier than before. He reached with a finger to gently tap. The sound was clear. He could clearly feel the quality had moved up a few levels and was exceptionally strong.
Taking the prepared pine wood stick and sticking it into the hoe, this Ling Exciting Hoe was complete.
Joyfully, Zuo Mo immediately rushed into the ling fields in the yard to try out the power of this Ling Exciting Hoe.
After digging down, the hoe shuddered slightly. From the head came a strong feeling of vibration. Zuo Mo bent down to inspect the field, a happy expression on his face.
The Ling Exciting Hoe was definitely an essential talisman for farming!
The ling energy where the hoe had just been was clearly different from the surroundings. The ling energy in the surroundings were unequally distributed, in tangles or blocks. And on the piece of dirt he had just hoed, the ling energy had all been broken up and scattered equally around. Like this kind of free ling energy, the ling grains found it easiest to absorb!
Good thing!
Zuo Mo instantly became motivated and the hoe flew. In one session, he hoed all of the five mu of ling fields in the yard!
He held the Ling Exciting Hoe, breathing like a bull, his face pale. Because he had been too excited, he forgot that the weight of this Ling Exciting Hoe wasn’t light. With his little body, it took a lot of strength.
But even half-dead, he still couldn’t disguise the glee in his heart. To successfully make a talisman on the first try, it was hard to describe the kind of exhilaration.
Five mu of ling fields. He used [Art of Aged Gold] to kill pests, used the fourth level of [Little Art of Cloud and Rain] to water, and used Ling Exciting Hoe to loosen the soil. In this entire sect, no one had taken so much care with the ling grains. He was very curious how much the harvest of these five mu of ling fields would increase this year.
With his cultivation of lianqi eighth level, he was at ease controlling the ling energy. If the production of these five mu increased a lot, he could use this fine and attentive methods to raise the fifty mu of ling fields that he had rented from the sect. Then he would jump to become the wealthiest among all the outer sect disciples!
This made his heart beat. Nothing was more real than ling grains and jingshi!
Successing at forging on his first try, it gave Zuo Mo great encouragement. The unluckiness of the past while seemed to sweep away. He started to familiarize himself with the other three arts, especially [Art of Flora]. The uses of the three arts were completely different. [Art of Crimson Flame] was used to activate seeds, to speed up germination. Other than that, it concentrated the essence of the sun and was most suitable for yang- type[1] ling plants. [Art of Earth Energy] could concentrate the energy of the earth and was especially suitable for the growth of some yin-type[2] ling plants.
And [Art of Flora] and [Little Art of Cloud and Rain] were similar, not yin or yang. But [Art of Flora] was more dominating than [Little Art of Cloud and Rain]. It extracted the essence of plants to nourish the growth of the ling grains. The basic quality of [Art of Flora] was robbery. Robbing the essence of other plants to nourish itself.
He had to be extremely careful when using it. Even though Wu Kong Mountain was covered in trees, but if he wasn’t careful, it was easy for one of the old trees to wither.
Everytime he used [Art of Flora], Zuo Mo was alert and cautious, afraid of ruining the ancient trees in the mountains. It wasn’t easy for ancient trees to grow and live. They all had endured for thousands of years before they could become their present shape. There wasn’t an explicit rule in the sect, but if he caused large sections of ancient trees to die, then waiting for him wasn’t anything good.
The sunlight came into the woods through the trees, forming a scattering of light and shade. The climate of Wu Kong Mountain was beautiful, dry and delightful. Cold winds blew through the trees without any hint of humidity. The surroundings were all quiet. This place was very out of the way. Except for Zuo Mo, no one else would come.
Zuo Mo calmed down and started to revolve his ling energy, his hands moving rapidly. It was the still unfamiliar [Art of Flora].