Chapter 202: The Dao Industry
Master Chen and a group of artifact forgers gathered together, poring over the Refining Manual as they discussed how to forge the artifact furnace.
The artifact furnace was a first-grade spiritual artifact, and a rather large one at that. For these artifact forgers, it was both a challenge and an opportunity.
Most of them were rogue cultivators who had practiced artifact forging for many years, accumulating rich experience. However, without a first-grade artifact furnace, they had never been able to forge a first-grade spiritual artifact.
Thus, they could not become first-grade artifact forgers.
If they could successfully forge this first-grade artifact furnace and take the chance to hone their craft, perhaps their forging skills could break through to a new level, allowing them to attain the rank of first-grade artifact forger.
Some among them already had gray hair and half a foot in the grave. They had spent their entire lives forging artifacts and had long accepted their fate.
Now, this sudden opportunity rekindled their long-extinguished ambition. These old forgers' eyes gleamed with vigor, their spirits rejuvenated.
The passion once worn away by the hardships of life now burned anew.
Mo Hua was also there, craning his small head curiously over the crowd.
The forgers discussed materials, techniques, quenching methods, and shaping processes.
He could not fully understand their jargon, but he could roughly infer the general idea.
He paid attention so that when he encountered such matters in the future, he would not be completely confused, or worse, deceived.
The forgers debated enthusiastically for two days before formulating a basic forging plan.
Since most of them were not yet first-grade forgers, directly attempting to forge a first-grade artifact furnace would be far too ambitious.
Therefore, their first step was to practice by forging some ordinary first-grade spiritual artifacts.
After familiarizing themselves with the process, they would select the most skilled among them to attempt the actual forging of the first-grade furnace.
Mo Hua did not spend much time observing the specific forging process.
He knew he would never personally forge artifacts in this lifetime. Understanding the theory and forming a general impression of the techniques was sufficient; there was no need to study it deeply.
Besides, most of forging consisted of repetitive hammering, quenching, hammering again, quenching again, and more hammering.
If one were doing the hammering, it might feel rewarding, but merely watching it was tedious. The endless clanging even made his ears ache.
Most of Mo Hua's time was still spent studying formation arts.
He was currently learning another first-grade Molten Fire Auxiliary Formation with a different function.
When he grew tired from drawing formation diagrams, he would visit the forge to check on Master Chen's progress.
Half a month passed in this manner. Eventually, Master Chen, with the combined effort of all the forgers, managed to forge a first-grade artifact furnace, though with considerable struggle.
After its completion, Master Chen asked Dazhu to invite Mo Hua over.
"See if you can draw formations on it," Master Chen said with a trace of anticipation.
Mo Hua examined the furnace.
It was noticeably smaller, made of inferior materials, its surface dull and dark. The furnace walls left little space for inscription, and there were few reserved spots for formations.
From its design, it was clearly meant to be a small furnace, suitable only for simple formation patterns, not for complex ones like composite formations.
It seemed that not every artifact furnace could bear a first-grade Molten Fire Spiritual Control Composite Formation.
Mo Hua felt a twinge of regret.
An artifact furnace could be regarded as a formation medium, a vessel to contain and channel formations.
Formations required suitable media, and media likewise required suitable formations.
In other words, to inscribe a sophisticated, profound formation, one also needed a finely forged, high-grade spiritual artifact. Only then could both complement each other perfectly.
The furnace before him was clearly unfit to serve as the medium for a First-Grade Molten Fire Composite Formation.
Mo Hua sighed, "It can only bear a first-grade Molten Fire Formation, not a composite one."
The forgers all showed disappointment upon hearing this.
Master Chen sighed as well, but then suddenly froze.
What was there to be disappointed about?
This was a genuine first-grade artifact furnace! Combined with a true first-grade formation, it was something he had once only dreamed of.
He looked toward the large furnace standing in the middle of the courtyard and could not help thinking, "Once one has seen the vast ocean, no other waters suffice."
That child Mo Hua had raised all their standards.
Now that the furnace was done, Mo Hua could begin inscribing the formation.
It was merely a First-Grade Molten Fire Formation, nothing particularly difficult.
Mo Hua finished it swiftly.
After that, Master Chen and the others forged two more first-grade furnaces.
The first attempt had been rough, but with practice, they improved.
With the experience from the first, the next two furnaces turned out better in both materials and craftsmanship.
Even so, they could still only bear the first-grade Molten Fire Formation, as their structure dictated.
When all three furnaces were complete, Elder Yu stopped further forging. They had exhausted most of their fine iron and materials.
He had to reserve some resources for actual spiritual artifacts; otherwise, having furnaces but no materials would be like having pots without rice, sure to starve.
Mo Hua then inscribed two more first-grade Molten Fire Formations.
When everything was ready, the Artifact Forging Workshop possessed four furnaces in total: three ordinary first-grade Molten Fire Furnaces, and one large furnace bearing the First-Grade Molten Fire Spiritual Control Composite Formation.
Elder Yu finally let out a long breath of relief.
Everything was in place, only the final momentum was missing.
He had labored for one or two centuries, striving to win a better life for the rogue cultivators of Tōngxiān City's lower quarters, yet without success. Now, in such a short span, they had taken a tremendous step forward.
The next step would determine how far they could go.
With the Artifact Refining Workshop completed, the furnaces ready, and the forgers assembled, Elder Yu chose an auspicious day to begin official operations.
The Workshop was named straightforwardly: "Southern City Forge."
In Tōngxiān City, the wealthy lived in the north, and the poor in the south.
Thus, naming it Southern City Forge signified that this forge belonged not to any one person, but to all demon hunters, and to all the rogue cultivators of the southern quarter.
When the forge opened, every demon hunter and all the cultivators who had helped in its construction gathered to feast and celebrate through the night.
Thanks to Elder Yu and Master Chen's thorough planning, the forgers thereafter worked methodically and efficiently.
The first spiritual artifacts produced were three kinds: vine armor, broad sabers, and Tranquil Heart Hairpins.
The vine armor and sabers were common equipment for demon hunters.
The Tranquil Heart Hairpin was a versatile spiritual artifact that calmed the mind and aided cultivation. It could dispel miasma and serve as an ornament, unremarkable in any one aspect, but broadly useful in all.
When operations began, Mo Hua went to see the forge.
The vast workshop, the many forgers and apprentices, the neatly arranged materials, the specialized forging techniques, the orderly workflow, and the roaring furnace flames...
One by one, the finely crafted, uniformly sized spiritual artifacts emerged, quenched, hammered, cooled in water or ash, then laid out in neat rows...
The sight left Mo Hua deeply awed.
For the first time, he gained a clear understanding of what a cultivation industry truly was.
(End of Chapter)