Chapter 34

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Chapter 34: Crafting the Sword Box

After parting ways with Pang Fu, Xu Fan made his way into the courtyard.

There, the siblings were tending to the slightly wilted spirit rice, watering it diligently.

Xu Fan couldn’t help but smile as he observed Xu Gang, who was carrying a bucket of water, and Xu Yuexian, who was carefully pouring water with a ladle. They were such a responsible and thoughtful pair of siblings.

“Come over here, both of you. Watering like that won’t do much good.”

“Come closer; I’ll show you a spell.”

Once they gathered around, Xu Fan formed a hand seal and cast a wide-ranging Spirit Rain Technique, covering over ten acres of spirit rice in one go.

He then took out ten spirit stones, crushed them with his magical energy, and scattered the fragments into the clouds created by the Spirit Rain Technique.

“Summoning wind and rain! Master, I want to cultivate faster!” Xu Gang exclaimed, his excitement bubbling over as he imagined the power he might one day wield.

The Little Girl’s eyes also lit up with excitement.

“You’re not ready to cultivate yet. First, you need to learn the basics—reading, writing, and the fundamentals of cultivation—in school.”

“Once you step onto the path of cultivation, you’ll face the trials of immortality. Are you truly prepared for that?” Xu Fan asked seriously, his gaze fixed on the siblings.

“We are ready.”

Kids don’t really understand what they’re agreeing to, Xu Fan thought to himself.

The next day, Xu Fan brought the siblings to the fairy city where the outer disciples resided. This time, he didn’t run into his so-called father-in-law.

Outside a classroom, Xu Fan handed Xu Gang a hundred spirit stones.

“For the next three months, you’ll be studying here. There are people here who will take care of you.”

“Every day at noon, take Yuexian to the school cafeteria for some spirit food.”

“In three months, I’ll come back to pick you up. By then, you’ll be ready to truly begin your cultivation journey.”

“Study hard. If you don’t learn well, you’ll have to stay longer.” Xu Fan advised, feeling a sudden pang of paternal responsibility.

“Master, we’ll study hard.” X2

“Good. Whoever does well will earn a reward!”

After saying this, Xu Fan nodded to the teacher nearby and left, the siblings watching him go with reluctant eyes.

At the Artifact Crafting Peak, within the Earth Core Workshop,

The disciple guarding the entrance greeted Xu Fan with a smile. “Junior Brother Xu, it’s been a while. Manager Wang has been asking about you every day, worried something might have happened.”

“Haha, I’ve been busy lately and haven’t had time for artifact crafting,” Xu Fan replied, feeling a bit like a regular who hadn’t visited his favorite spot in a while, and the owner was genuinely concerned.

“What kind of room will you be using this time, Master Xu? The high-level crafting room again?” asked the disciple handling the fees.

“First-tier Flame Fire Crafting Pool,” Xu Fan replied with a faint smile. Truthfully, with his current skill, he could already craft precious artifacts, but they weren’t necessary for his Qi Training Stage. Besides, he had plenty of spirit stones back then, so he crafted as he pleased.

The outer disciples nearby all turned their attention to Xu Fan.

“Junior Brother Xu, are you confident in crafting a precious artifact?” one of the disciples asked eagerly. Que Tian Gate was in desperate need of artifact masters, and most of the ranked ones had already been recruited for the Floating Sky Ship. The Earth Core Workshop had grown quiet,

as there were no official artifact masters left in the Outer Sect’s Artifact Crafting Peak.

“Haha, not at all. I just need to melt a piece of titanium stone,” Xu Fan replied casually.

It’s impossible to be high-profile; it’s just not in my nature.

“Oh, if Master Xu is interested, you can take on the task of repairing the Floating Sky Ship. The rewards in contribution points and spirit stones are quite generous.”

“The only condition is that you must refine the iron spirit ore to at least fine quality.” Hearing that Xu Fan wasn’t crafting magical artifacts, the disciple collecting fees sounded a bit disappointed.

“Oh, I’ll give it a try some other day.”

Xu Fan handed over 1,000 spirit stones, took the token, and headed to the first-tier area.

During the Qi Training Stage, low-level spirit fire isn’t much use for crafting magical artifacts. You need higher-level spirit fire with specific attributes. Flame Fire, which is derived from the Earth Core Fire, is perfect for crafting ordinary precious artifacts.

Inside the first-tier Flame Fire Crafting Room, Xu Fan stared at the isolated flame pool, wondering if he should try to create his own spirit fire.

“Forget it. Until I reach the Foundation Establishment Stage, storing spirit fire would be too much trouble.”

“Even a basic spirit fire costs over 200,000 spirit stones. I’ll think about it later.” Xu Fan sighed as he glanced at the flame pool.

He did have over 200,000 spirit stones, but if he spent them now, his plans for the puppet army would be ruined.

“The sword box—could it be that the protagonist’s grandfather is a swordsman, and one who produces in bulk?”

Xu Fan shook his head and laid out the materials he had prepared.

“Spatial sand, five-element attribute materials, plus light, dark, thunder, wind, and star attribute materials.”

“The main body will be made of ethereal iron, with a Spirit Gathering Formation as the core. For the sword compartments, I’ll use a diversion formation.”

“The most important material is Geng metal. It’s essential for nurturing the flying sword. I’ll save a small piece for myself.”

“To keep the flying swords entertained, I’ll place a set of jade slips in each compartment.”

Using the Flame Fire, Xu Fan began refining the materials. The ethereal iron merged with the spatial sand, leaving behind only the purest essence of the ten attribute materials.

Gradually, a slightly fan-shaped sword box took shape, with several embedded slots on its surface.

Inside the sword box, small compartments for storing swords began to form one by one.

Once all the compartments were ready, Xu Fan started merging the refined attribute essences into each one.

After a day, the sword box was nearly complete. Xu Fan began the final step: inscribing the formations.

In his past life as a homebody, Xu Fan loved games with a lot of creative freedom, where he could build anything he imagined.

Minecraft was his favorite—with enough imagination, you could create anything. That’s why he enjoyed artifact crafting so much.

He could easily craft things he liked, as long as he had enough runes stored.

It was like programming in his past life—with the right hardware, you could even create a virtual girlfriend.

“The main formation is the Spirit Gathering Formation, linked to the attribute transformation. I’ll also add a spirit stone conversion formation.”

“Since I’ve added spatial sand, I’ll need some runes to stabilize the space. Let’s use the Stabilizing Rune.”

Half a day later, Xu Fan finished inscribing all the formation runes, and the sword box was finally complete.

“Hmm, this is a fine piece among first-tier precious artifacts. It’s worthy of that soul iron.”

Xu Fan packed up the sword box, planning to deliver it to Pang Fu before heading back to rest.

But as soon as he stepped out of the Earth Core Workshop, an Outer Sect Elder from the Artifact Crafting Peak stopped him.

“Kid, you’re not playing fair,” the elder said, his eyes gleaming with excitement. He had been kicked out by the inner sect’s Artifact Crafting Peak leader, who demanded he find a first-tier artifact master skilled in rune carvings or face dismissal.

The moment the elder stepped out, he stumbled upon Xu Fan, who seemed like a hidden gem.

Xu Fan looked at the Nascent Soul Stage elder and felt uneasy. Maybe he should avoid leaving the mountain in the future.