Chapter 271
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Chapter 271: The Smelting Tower
After saying goodbye to his good brother Ning Dao, Xu Fan took the Sea King Giant Fork to the underground space.
The first clone, who was busy crafting a precious artifact, suddenly felt a wave of boredom when he saw the giant fork.
"Master, please take me back. Life feels kind of pointless now," the first clone said.
Xu Fan looked at the clone’s expression and felt a twinge of regret for not making the clone completely rational from the start. Emotions were definitely a big hurdle in getting work done, but Xu Fan had a plan.
"Clone One, I’ll teach you a special technique soon. Practice it, and when you’re crafting artifacts, just activate it."
"The technique ‘No Self’ will keep you completely rational while crafting treasures. When you’re done, you can turn it off and return to your true self."
"Then you can read novels or binge-watch shows. Sounds good, right?"
As Xu Fan spoke, he handed a jade slip to the first clone.
"Really?" the first clone asked, still a bit skeptical.
"Absolutely," Xu Fan confirmed.
Seeing the first clone agree, Xu Fan felt a bit relieved. While making a new clone was easy, losing all the experience and feedback from the original clone’s artifact crafting would be a waste.
As the first clone kept crafting and receiving feedback, it started to change noticeably.
Xu Fan could sense that the first clone was becoming more self-aware, but everything was still under his control.
This was also why Xu Fan didn’t want to get rid of the first clone.
"Alright, the spirit ore we ordered has arrived. I’ll handle it. Once this artifact is done, you can start practicing this technique," Xu Fan said.
"Go ahead, you heartless capitalist," the first clone muttered.
At the base of Artifact Crafting Peak, Sha Diao was waiting in a square.
Xu Fan found Sha Diao after delivering the spirit ore brought by the association’s disciples.
"Grand Elder, I’ve made a lot of basic parts for the Sea Ship. Now I’m just waiting for your precious artifact alloy for smelting," Sha Diao said with a smile.
"Haha, thanks for waiting, Brother Sha. I’ll start the crafting now," Xu Fan chuckled.
The delay was because the rare spirit ores needed for the smelting tower were hard to find.
"Do you need any help, Grand Elder?" Sha Diao asked.
"No need. The smelting tower is just a fifth-grade precious artifact; it’s not that complicated," Xu Fan said, waving his hand.
He laid out all the materials: Sun Iron, Soul Iron, Crimson Fire Copper, Earth Element Crystal, Five Elements Spirit Fire…
By now, Sha Diao was in full learning mode, looking eager to soak up knowledge.
As five spirit fires appeared in Xu Fan’s hands, he began his unique crafting process.
It looked simple and unremarkable, making Sha Diao feel like he could do it too.
But Sha Diao knew this was exactly what made Xu Fan’s artifact crafting so impressive.
Five days later, an 88-meter-tall, 20-meter-wide dark black giant tower stood tall, with feed ports for the precious artifact alloy materials and a discharge port at the tower door.
With a flash of spiritual light, the smelting tower was complete.
Sha Diao circled the Smelting Tower several times, clicking his tongue and saying, "The Grand Elder’s seemingly ordinary artifact crafting methods must hide some peerless secret techniques."
"Grand Elder, am I right?" Sha Diao leaned in close to Xu Fan.
"Brother Sha, with our relationship, if I had such secret techniques, wouldn’t I have shared them with you already? You’re overthinking it," Xu Fan chuckled.
He did have artifact crafting secret techniques, but he found them too cumbersome to use regularly. These techniques were only suitable for certain types of treasures, not all, which is why Xu Fan rarely used them.
Sha Diao gave Xu Fan a look that clearly said, "You’re just trying to fool me," which made Xu Fan feel a bit helpless.
"Brother Sha, the Smelting Tower has specific feed ports. Just drop the spirit ore in, and it will smelt into artifact alloy," Xu Fan explained.
With a wave of his hand, Xu Fan tossed in the necessary materials. Then, under his control, he activated the Spirit Gathering Formation to power up the Smelting Tower.
Soon, golden alloy liquid began to flow from the discharge port, filling specially cooled molds to take shape.
"At this rate, it will only take 10 years to smelt all the artifact alloy needed for the Sea Ship," Xu Fan said.
"10 years? By then, I might just be finishing the frame," Sha Diao replied.
"No rush. The smelted artifact alloy won’t go to waste," Xu Fan reassured him.
"Right! Within a hundred years, I will definitely craft the Sea Ship," Sha Diao declared with determination, feeling his dream was within reach.
"Thank you, Grand Elder."
"No need to thank me. The Sea Ship you craft will still serve the sect," Xu Fan said, handing Sha Diao a jade slip.
"Before tackling the big project, I think you should practice by crafting a few small Sea Ships," Xu Fan suggested.
Sha Diao took the jade slip and found designs for three small Sea Ships that could only withstand attacks from Core Formation stage beasts.
"Grand Elder, are you underestimating me? I can craft one of these small Sea Ships in just two years," Sha Diao said confidently.
"Good. I want three of one kind," Xu Fan stated.
"Are these small Sea Ships really useful to you, Grand Elder? They can only handle coastal waters," Sha Diao asked.
"They are useful," Xu Fan replied.
Xu Fan then explained the situation with the Nine Phoenix Pavilion, adapting the details for clarity.
"Ah, I see. Since this is related to the sect’s future plans, I’ll take on this task," Sha Diao said, examining the designs in the jade slip.
"Thank you, Brother Sha," Xu Fan nodded.
After gaining some aura of fortune, Xu Fan began to focus more on the Nine Phoenix Pavilion, even planning to set up a teleportation formation to connect with it.
While Xu Fan and Sha Diao were talking, Ning Dao approached.
"Grand Elder, your precious disciple has been captured by someone from Rantian’s master. They’re demanding a ransom."
Xu Fan was shocked. How had he not heard about this?
Just then, Xu Fan received a message from Li Xingci.
"Master, I’m safe. The one captured is my reincarnation clone. No need to worry."
"That’s good. Elder Su captured your clone. Thank you for letting me know, Brother Ning," Xu Fan said gratefully.
"A clone?"
"Impressive! I didn’t expect your disciple’s abilities could deceive a Great Ascension Master," Ning Dao said, surprised.
"Perhaps the elder intentionally let Xingci go," Xu Fan replied before bidding farewell and returning to his courtyard to confirm something.
Back in his courtyard, Xu Fan used the communication artifact to contact Li Xingci.
"Master, I’m currently in Fairy City of the Mirage Sea," Li Xingci’s voice came through.
"I didn’t ask about that. What’s going on with your reincarnation clone? Why does it appear every time you reach the Void Refinement stage?" Xu Fan asked seriously.
