Volume 2 Chapter 41

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Volume 2 Chapter 41: Refine

"Did you just say you came to the market to exchange for some magical artifacts?" Just as Xu Qingfan was about to leave, the Watchman behind him suddenly asked.

Upon hearing the Watchman’s words, Xu Qingfan turned around in surprise, unsure why Watchman was asking this, but he nodded and said, "That’s right. I haven’t had any good artifacts that suit me, so I want to exchange or buy some in this market. Do you have any suggestions, sir?"

The Watchman, upon hearing Xu Qingfan’s question, didn’t answer directly but instead smiled and asked, "Since you have a young Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast and the inner core of an adult Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast, I assume you’ve hunted an adult one before?"

"Indeed," After hearing the Watchman’s question, Xu Qingfan replied with some confusion but still nodded. "That Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast had enmity with my family."

The Watchman then asked, "So I suppose you’ve collected many of the valuable materials from the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast?"

Hearing this, Xu Qingfan hesitated slightly. The Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast’s materials are precious even in the Immortal Realm, and the principle of not revealing your wealth applies everywhere. But eventually, Xu Qingfan nodded in acknowledgment since the Watchman had already guessed.

Seeing Xu Qingfan nod, the Watchman smiled and asked, "How do you plan to use these materials then?"

"Why? Are you interested in these materials too, sir? But I intend to use them to exchange for some fitting artifacts, and I already have enough spirit pills, so I’m afraid I can’t trade them with you," Xu Qingfan said calmly.

Upon hearing Xu Qingfan’s words, Watchman first waved his hand, then smiled and said, "You misunderstood, my young friend. Except for the blood and eyes of the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast, none of the other materials are suitable for making medicine. What would I trade them for? Besides, I don’t have many pills with me, so even if I wanted to trade, I wouldn’t have enough. However, I have an old friend who is very skilled in the art of crafting tools. Would you be willing to let him help you forge these materials into your magical tool? After all, the materials from the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast are exceptionally rare, and it’s much wiser to forge them into a tool than to exchange them for one."

Hearing Watchman’s words, Xu Qingfan felt a slight stir in his heart. As Watchman suggested, given the value of these materials from the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast, the power of the tool forged would surely be immense, making it much more worthwhile to forge them rather than trade them for one. But Xu Qingfan hesitated and asked, "I wonder where this senior currently trains and what price he charges for crafting?"

Xu Qingfan knew that apart from the materials from the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast and the Millennium Lingzhi from Xu Family Village, he had nothing of significant value on him. Though he had accumulated over a hundred spirit stones from his sect’s gifts over the years, they were too few, and people might not value these lower-grade spirit stones.

Noticing Xu Qingfan’s concern, Watchman smiled mysteriously and said, "He is right here in this market, with a stall dedicated to crafting tools for free, as long as you have the materials to be forged. You needn’t worry about that."

"Offering his crafting services for free?" Xu Qingfan asked incredulously, unable to believe that there could be such a kind and leisurely cultivator in this world.

Seeing Xu Qingfan’s incredulous expression, Watchman explained with a smile, "This old friend of mine is the last disciple of the ‘Crafting Sect’ and is intensely passionate about crafting tools, but lacks materials. So, he stays in this market all year round, crafting tools for free to explore his path in tool crafting. But even though he crafts for free, he has three rules."

"Oh? What kind of rules?" Xu Qingfan asked curiously.

"My old friend has high-level crafting skills and a discerning eye, so unless your materials are particularly unique and precious, he will not assist you in crafting. That’s the first rule. Also, he crafts tools without interference from the client. What kind of tool to make is entirely up to him, which is the second rule. But these two are not the most critical. The most critical is that my old friend doesn’t truly craft for others. He uses this opportunity to explore his crafting path, so he often incorporates many of his unique ideas and immature techniques. Because of this, he frequently fails, and those who seek his help may end up with their precious materials wasted, not achieving any success at all, and they cannot complain. This is the third rule. However, should his crafting succeed, the power of the tool often surpasses others by threefold," Watchman explained slowly, then paused, waiting for Xu Qingfan to make his decision.

After listening to Watchman’s words, Xu Qingfan fell into deep thought. He wasn’t worried about the first rule; after all, the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast was very rare in the cultivation world. Watchman’s friend would surely be willing to craft for him upon seeing such materials. As for the second rule, Xu Qingfan didn’t mind, since crafting wasn’t his expertise, and he couldn’t offer any opinions. However, he was cautious about the third rule. The materials from the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast were extremely precious, and it would be a shame if they were wasted due to someone experimenting with new techniques and ideas. Moreover, Xu Qingfan’s plan to trade for a magical tool at the market might also fall through.

But as Xu Qingfan thought further, he realized that if he traded these materials for magic tools in the market, he could only get four to five high-grade Human Level tools at most. Xu Qingfan had plenty of materials for crafting. The sharp horn and two fangs of the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast were excellent for making offensive tools, and the plentiful green scales could produce at least three defensive tools. Additionally, the beast’s four white hooves and two eyes could also be used in crafting. Even if half were wasted, he could still make three or four high-grade Human Level tools. Moreover, according to the Watchman, if his old friend succeeded in crafting, the power of the tool would often surpass ordinary ones by thirty percent.

Thinking of this, Xu Qingfan smiled and said, "In that case, I’m willing to give it a try."

Seeing the calm expression on Xu Qingfan’s face, appreciation flickered in the Watchman’s eyes. He said, "You have great spirit, my young friend. Let’s go find him then."

Saying this, the Watchman led the way to a remote corner of the market while Xu Qingfan, using the "Sound Conducting Technique," informed Ting’er in the distance and followed the Watchman to the far corner.

"Senior Watchman, may I ask how to address the senior skilled in crafting?" Xu Qingfan asked as they walked.

"You can just call him Old Beggar," the Watchman said nonchalantly.

"Old Beggar?" Xu Qingfan asked in confusion.

"Before he cultivated, that fellow was a beggar, and even after cultivation, he still dresses like one. So everyone who knows him calls him Old Beggar," the Watchman explained with a chuckle.

While they talked, they arrived at an inconspicuous stall in the corner of the market. Xu Qingfan followed suit and stopped when Watchman halted. He then focused on the stall, noticing how it differed from any he had seen before. A patch of tattered grey cloth was spread on the ground, yet there was nothing placed on it except for two large, bold words—"Crafting Tools."

Behind the stall sat an old man. Despite his tall stature, he looked gaunt and his face was sallow. His hair was unkempt, clothes tattered, and eyes cloudy. If Xu Qingfan hadn’t sensed his powerful aura, equal to at least the late stage of the Lingji Stage, he might have mistaken this old man for a mere old beggar.

As the Watchman approached the old man, he chuckled and said, "Old Beggar, I’ve brought a guest for you."

But upon seeing the Watchman, the Old Beggar showed no reaction, merely rolling his eyes and saying nonchalantly, "What kind of guest could you bring me? Not another fool who wants me to forge a magical weapon for just three pounds of black iron and two ounces of refined gold like last time?"

The Old Beggar’s voice went up and down unpredictably, without any regard for Xu Qingfan who stood nearby.

Despite the Old Beggar’s words, the Watchman wasn’t annoyed. He continued to smile and said, "This guest is quite different from before. I just traded with this young friend for a Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast’s inner core."

Hearing this, the Old Beggar’s squinted eyes widened, a sharp gleam flashing through them. He stopped looking at the Watchman and fixed his gaze on Xu Qingfan, asking, "Did you also collect other materials from the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast?"

Xu Qingfan nodded slightly, smiling softly as he said, "I collected a few."

"What materials do you have?" The Old Beggar’s face showed a hint of excitement, like a child discovering a new game of interest.

"One sharp horn, two fangs, two eyes, four white hooves, and over three thousand green scales," Xu Qingfan slowly listed.

"Hand it over!" Old Beggar, after listening, immediately reached out to Xu Qingfan without a second word.

Seeing Old Beggar in this manner, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but find it amusing. However, he knew that Old Beggar was deeply passionate about the art of forging and couldn’t resist when encountering good materials. So he didn’t mind and laid out all the materials he had collected from the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast in front of Old Beggar.

As all these precious materials suddenly appeared before him, Old Beggar’s breathing quickened, and his eyes gleamed with excitement, as he seemed to be filled with many innovative ideas about forging. Without a word, Old Beggar used a "Sleeve Space" to gather up the materials and then turned to briskly walk away.

Just as Xu Qingfan thought Old Beggar was seizing his materials, Old Beggar seemed to remember something, turned back to Xu Qingfan, and asked, "By the way, lad, you know my forging rules, right? Don’t blame me if it gets ruined."

"I understand, Sir Watchman has already told me. No matter what happens this time, I won’t complain at all."

Hearing Xu Qingfan’s words, Old Beggar nodded slightly and said, "Come back to find me in a month." Then, Old Beggar turned to Watchman and asked, "Don’t you want me to forge the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast’s core into a ‘spiritual bead’ for you?"

Watchman was slightly taken aback by Old Beggar’s words, but quickly smiled and replied, "No, thank you. I only have one of the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast’s cores. What if you ruin it for me? I’ll find someone else to help me out."

Hearing Watchman’s reply, Old Beggar snorted but didn’t say more. He simply turned and left, never asking for Xu Qingfan’s name, the person who hired him.

Seeing Old Beggar’s behavior, Watchman awkwardly said to Xu Qingfan, "Don’t mind him, my young friend. Old Beggar is always like this before he forges."

Xu Qingfan watched Old Beggar’s departing figure with a gentle smile and said, "This elder is obsessed with the art of crafting and is truly a remarkable person. Naturally, I won’t mind in the slightest."