Chapter 348 - Old Juans Equipment Shop (1/2)

”Brother Tianzi wants to purchase a furnace?” Young Master Xuan Hao felt the corner of his lips twitch.

”That's right,” Lu Tianzi could obviously feel the disbelief in Young Master Xuan Hao's tone, but he chose to ignore it.

”I really admire Brother Tianzi's passion for learning, but a good furnace is not cheap...” Young Master Xuan Hao sighed. ”And even if you do manage to procure a furnace, where are you thinking of doing the forging? Your room in Fortune Queen Inn is definitely not an option. Not to mention the fact that the rooms probably can't handle the harsh forging conditions, if anything went wrong during the forging process, you might end up having to pay for the entire Fortune Queen Inn!”

Even though Young Master Xuan Hao was not an artificer himself, it was common knowledge that the forging of an equipment was no simple process.

Because of the unique properties of treasure equipments, there was always the possibility of energy undulations leaking out during the process, which could result in an explosion if not handled properly.

And if they ended up destroying the famous Fortune Queen Inn, even Young Master Xuan Hao would not be able to afford to pay for the damages!

”That's true...” Lu Tianzi rubbed his chin in contemplation.

Young Master Xuan Hao's words made sense too.

In his eagerness to start practising the forging process, Lu Tianzi had neglected the fact that he would need to consider more than just the furnace itself.

But if this was not feasible, then how was he supposed to test out his knowledge on the art of artificing?

”Why don't you just approach an existing artificer and borrow their furnace?” Nanlan Qianxue asked from the side.

”Is that possible?” Lu Tianzi asked in return, only to see Nanlan Qianxue redirect the question by turning her head towards Young Master Xuan Hao.

”I guess that is a possible alternative...” Young Master Xuan Hao said reluctantly. ”Normal artificers might not be willing to help out, but if Brother Tianzi really wants to do this, I can try asking around to see if you can borrow a furnace. However, I cannot guarantee that any results.”

”I understand. Thanks for the help once again,” Lu Tianzi clasped his fists towards Young Master Xuan Hao in gratitude.

Seeing how eager Lu Tianzi was, Young Master Xuan Hao sighed in his heart.

In his eyes, Lu Tianzi was simply wasting his time on an endeavour that would never bear fruit, but Young Master Xuan Hao naturally did not voice it out loud.

After meeting Young Master Xuan Hao, Lu Tianzi retired to his room once more.

He was not intending to waste his time while waiting for news from Young Master Xuan Hao. After all, there were far too many things that he had to do right now.

Apart from studying the art of artificing, Lu Tianzi also had to contemplate over how he could best utilise the element of water in combat.

And then he had to practise the Eternal Wraith Sword, Limitless Mirror Eye, and the Palm of Thousand Venoms.

Furthermore, he had to familiarise himself with the Law of Swords, as well as think of ways to refine his Undulated Currents Breathing Technique so as to advance further on the Spiritual Essence cultivation system.

On top of all that, Lu Tianzi still had to consolidate his cultivation.

Since his foundation was extremely stable, Lu Tianzi had already fully consolidated his cultivation in his Spiritual Essence cultivation system.

However, his earlier breakthrough in the Slaughter Essence cultivation system had been forced through a sacrificial ritual, which ultimately was not a source of energy that had been attained through his own merits.

This resulted in him needing more time to fully consolidate his cultivation, and the same applied to Nanlan Qianxue.

Of course, it was not without its merits either.

Because the sacrificial ritual was originally meant for the Dongran couple to advance from the Fifth Origin Cycle to the Sixth Origin Cycle, it ended up not only helping Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue to break through, but it also brought their cultivation closer to the next boundary.

Once they successfully consolidated their culitvation, they would already be close to the upper limits of their respective cultivation levels!

This would save them quite a bit of time on the arduous path of cultivation.

The next time Lu Tianzi left the room, it was again to meet up with Young Master Xuan Hao and company.

After some asking around, Ruan Ling had managed to get in touch with one of her acquaintances, who happened to be an artificer in Sacred Cliff City.

He was known as Old Juan, and was actually a friend of Ruan Ling's father.

Old Juan was not a Grandmaster Artificer like Grandmaster Tiequan, but he at least had a small shop with a few apprentices.

After receiving a request from Ruan Ling, he agreed to let Lu Tianzi rent one of the furnaces in his shop, as long as Lu Tianzi did not damage it.

”Here it is,” Ruan Ling said after leading the group to the front of an equipment shop. ”Please try not to damage anything while you are here.”

”I will be careful,” Lu Tianzi assured. ”Thank you for the help.”

”This is nothing compared to how you saved our lives back then,” Ruan Ling answered with a smile.

”There is something I need to tell you, Brother Tianzi,” Young Master Xuan Hao interrupted from the side. ”Remember when I said that there is one other thing that I have to do here at Sacred Cliff City?”

”Yeah, you mentioned that you needed to make some preparations first, didn't you?” Lu Tianzi recalled. ”Do you need any help with your preparations?”

”No, not at all. On the contrary, everything went rather smoothly so my preparations are almost complete,” Young Master Xuan Hao said. ”Therefore, Ruan Ling and I will be heading to Mount Asui in a month's time. If you want to come along, you should start preparing yourselves after you are done dabbling with artificing.”

Dabbling with artificing...?

From Young Master Xuan Hao's choice of words, it was obvious that Young Master Xuan Hao did not think too highly of Lu Tianzi's attempt at learning the art of artificing. But Lu Tianzi chose to ignore it and focus on the more important stuff.

”What is at Mount Asui?” Lu Tianzi asked. ”What do we have to prepare?”

”There can only be one reason to head to Mount Asui, and is for the War Intent Cliff!” Young Master Xuan Hao's eyes lit up in excitement just from mentioning the place. ”It is known to be a sacred cultivation area, perfect for raising one's comprehensions in combat! It is rumoured that many people have gained an epiphany when cultivating there, allowing their combat strength to surge. Some even managed to break through to the next cultivation level!”

”There is such a good place?” Lu Tianzi was surprised to hear that.

In fact, he was more surprised that such a good place had yet to be monopolised by any powerful influence.

Perhaps it was because of the presence of the Burning Titan Overlord?

”Amazing, isn't it?” Young Master Xuan Hao laughed. ”So if Brother Tianzi has time to spare, you should be spending it on consolidating your cultivation and practising your techniques harder as well. If your foundation is strong enough, perhaps you will also be able to gain an epiphany there!”