Reforging the Treasure Gourd wasn't a sudden whim for Song Changsheng; he had been planning it for some time.
There was a saying in the Cultivation Realm about the hundred arts, a thousand techniques, and ten thousand types of artifacts. The sheer variety of magical artifacts was dazzling, each with its own unique focus.
The Treasure Gourd was primarily an auxiliary magical artifact. It contained an independent space, and the Bone-Eroding Array was inscribed on its base. In battle, it could suck an enemy inside and refine them into a pool of blood.
It was considered a top-tier magical artifact, but compared to slaying artifacts like blades, spears, and swords, it ultimately lacked a certain killing edge.
Song Changsheng's comprehension was astounding, so he'd chosen the path of a Magic Cultivator, learning many types of magic for self-protection. Now that he had also mastered the Water and Fire Manipulation Technique, the power of his water and fire magic had increased dramatically, far surpassing cultivators of the same tier.
In contrast, his magical artifacts had become his weak point. Inspired by his experience refining protective talismans, he decided to imbue the Treasure Gourd with the power of "water and fire," turning it into a Slaying Treasure!
Refining a magical artifact was certainly not as simple as making a protective talisman. Song Changsheng set out for the family's Hundred Arts Hall, a place dedicated to training clan members in various cultivation techniques and managing the family's enterprises.
A small segment of an Earth Fire Spirit Vein was buried beneath the main hall, providing a continuous source of Earth Fire for alchemy, artifact refining, and other purposes.
Although Song Changsheng possessed a Fire Spirit Root, the flame created by his spiritual power was no match for natural Earth Fire. He was a perfectionist; since he was going to reforge his magical artifact, he would naturally strive for the best possible result.
Due to the time of day, the Hundred Arts Hall was somewhat deserted. Song Changsheng walked directly to a corner of the main hall, clasped his hands respectfully, and said, "Nephew greets Fifth Uncle."
In the corner was a lounge chair, upon which a portly, middle-aged man was lying lazily with his eyes closed, leisurely fanning himself with a cattail fan. Hearing the voice, he spoke without even opening his eyes, "Didn't I tell you to go rest? There's no extra work for you here today."
"Fifth Uncle, I've come to borrow an Artifact Refining Chamber. I recently had a small breakthrough in my Artifact Refining Technique, and I intend to reforge my magical artifact."
Upon hearing this, the stout man's eyes snapped open. He sat up and looked at Song Changsheng. "You've advanced to a Tier One High-Grade Refiner?"
Song Changsheng nodded with a smile.
"Sigh. I told you back then that you should have studied alchemy, but you insisted on learning that troublesome array artifact stuff. With your talent, you would have surely become a great master of the Alchemy Dao one day," the stout man said, sounding rather vexed.
This stout man's status was far from simple. His name was Song Luzhou. He was ranked fifth in his generation and currently served as the family's Second Elder, overseeing the Hundred Arts Hall.
Not only was he a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, but he was also the family's only Tier Two High-Grade alchemist.
Song Changsheng heard this and chuckled. "It's fine for you to say that to me, but if Grandfather were to find out, your ears would be in for another round of suffering."
Song Luzhou subconsciously shrank his neck, but in the next moment, he laughed and pointed at Song Changsheng. "You little brat, you dare to joke with your Fifth Uncle now? Alright, the C-Character Artifact Refining Chamber is empty. Go on."
Waving a hand to dismiss Song Changsheng, he flopped back onto the lounge chair and began to nap again.
Song Changsheng followed the stairs down to the area beneath the main hall. Due to the Fire Vein, the air here was filled with a terrifyingly high heat, and flames even danced in some of the cracks in the stone.
In the center of the Artifact Refining Chamber stood a tall bronze cauldron, its surface engraved with myriad birds, fish, and insects, like a vivid scroll painting.
This was a Tier One Top Grade bronze cauldron, a world apart from Song Changsheng's own Bronze Cauldron.
Song Changsheng sat down cross-legged, took the Treasure Gourd from his waist, and muttered, 'This wine can't go to waste.'
With that, he began to chug it down. GLUG, GLUG, GLUG. Only after his tongue had lapped up the very last drop did he let out a satisfied, wine-scented burp.
He flipped a special switch, and the fire vent beneath the bronze cauldron immediately spewed out orange-red flames, which began to heat the cauldron.
When the temperature was about right, he tossed several Water and Fire Attribute ores he had exchanged for into the cauldron and began to smelt them with the Earth Fire.
As the impurities were stripped away from the ores, they gradually turned into a liquid state.
Unhurriedly, Song Changsheng placed the Treasure Gourd inside, added some powdered ore, then closed the lid and began the refining process.
Under his control, all the materials fused perfectly with the gourd. This process continued for three days and three nights. Just as sweat began to bead on the tip of Song Changsheng's nose, the Treasure Gourd's refinement was finally complete, and it advanced to a Tier One High-Grade artifact.
But it wasn't over yet. After a brief meditation to regulate his breathing, Song Changsheng immediately began to inscribe the arrays. He muttered to himself, 'I can keep the Bone-Eroding Array and add a Water and Fire Yin Yang Formation on top of it. That's the only way to maximize my strength.'
With that, he focused his Spiritual Power and began to inscribe the Array Patterns inside the Treasure Gourd. It took him nearly two days and two nights to inscribe a single Tier One High-Grade Array.
If he were just setting up a normal Array, it would only take him a few moments. However, the difficulty of inscribing one inside a magical artifact was exponentially higher and extremely draining on his Spiritual Power.
If not for his superior Spiritual Power, it would have been impossible for him to finish in such a short time.
Once the Array was inscribed, the reforging of the Treasure Gourd was complete. It had transformed from a bright yellow gourd into a red and blue one with a metallic luster. It felt heavy in his palm.
"Since I've given you Water and Fire Attributes, I'll call you the Water and Fire Treasure Gourd from now on," Song Changsheng said, looking at the gourd in his hand with great satisfaction.
He tried to activate it. The Treasure Gourd immediately shot into the air, its mouth tilting downward. A faint red glow pulsed within its dark opening.
"Go!"
Song Changsheng formed a magic technique with his hands, and the gourd's mouth instantly spewed forth a torrent of scorching flames. In an instant, the entire Artifact Refining Chamber was engulfed in a sea of fire, the intense heat seemingly warping space itself.
Fortunately, he hadn't forgotten where he was and quickly retracted the flames. Even so, the entire Artifact Refining Chamber was scorched beyond recognition.
'The power is truly impressive. If the fire array is this strong, the water array must be just as good. I guess I finally have a proper slaying artifact now,' Song Changsheng thought, gazing at the gourd with unconcealable joy in his eyes.
After another brief meditation, he deactivated the restriction and prepared to leave. He never expected that the moment he opened the door, he would be met with Song Luzhou's large, round face, which was as black as the bottom of a wok.
"Er... Fifth Uncle," Song Changsheng said, suddenly feeling a pang of guilt.
Song Luzhou's face remained dark as he said nothing, instead pushing his nephew aside to look inside. The sight nearly made him explode on the spot. He practically roared, "You little bastard, what have you done!"
'This is bad,' Song Changsheng thought. His Fifth Uncle was notoriously stingy. Having wrecked the Artifact Refining Chamber like this, he knew there would be hell to pay. His eyes darted around, and he immediately planned to make a run for it.
But how could he possibly escape from a Foundation Establishment Cultivator? Song Luzhou restrained him with ease and said through gritted teeth, "You brat, tell me how you're going to fix this!"
Knowing he was in the wrong, Song Changsheng gave an embarrassed laugh. "Fifth Uncle, it's just superficial damage. Please, just let me off this one time."
"Hmph. I can let you off the hook, but on one condition. Aren't you going to preside over the Immortal Ascension Conference? Bring me back a jug of Tier Two Spirit Wine, and I'll drop the matter." A cunning glint flashed in Song Luzhou's eyes as he made his exorbitant demand.
"Tier Two? You're too greedy! My mother only has a few jars of Tier Two Spirit Wine, and I've never even had a taste," Song Changsheng protested loudly.
"Heh, that's your problem. Now get lost, and remember to bring back the spirit wine." Song Luzhou chuckled and casually "threw" Song Changsheng out.
...