Chapter 707
Zheng Fa explained, "It's mainly because our Jiu Shan Sect has a unique method for refining weapons, which is particularly suited for producing standardized flying swords."
Shi Nandang listened, increasingly confused, and the certainty in his heart began to wane.
"This Lingxiao Sword excels in flight. A cultivator in the early Foundation Establishment stage can wield it with the speed of someone in the late Foundation Establishment stage. In a life-or-death situation, its speed can even rival that of a slightly weaker Golden Core cultivator for a short time."
Shi Nandang was taken aback. Such flight speed was already at the top tier of flying artifacts.
Then he heard Zheng Fa continue, "In terms of attack power, it falls a bit short. It can only allow early Foundation Establishment cultivators to exert the strength of those in the mid Foundation Establishment stage."
"That's still impressive..." Shi Nandang felt a wave of anxiety wash over him, thinking that this Lingxiao Sword must at least be a superior-grade artifact.
The Golden Core disciples from Haori Mountain would probably only reach this level when refining flying swords.
But then he reassured himself:
Xie Qingxue is still in the Jiu Shan realm.
It’s well-known that the Tianhe Sect's techniques for refining flying swords are slightly superior to those of Haori Mountain.
This Lingxiao Sword is so outstanding; it must have benefited from the Tianhe Sect's secret methods...
...
Even if you beat Shi Nandang to death, he wouldn’t believe that the Tianhe Sect possesses such secret methods for weapon refinement!
Inside the flying sword factory, a row of machines stood ready.
Next to each machine, there was an operation station at intervals.
At each station, a cultivator was present.
Zheng Fa was among them, and when he saw Shi Nandang, a hint of surprise flickered in his eyes.
But Shi Nandang's gaze was fixed on the machines, his heart filled with confusion.
"Master."
Madam Xuanhua was also in the factory. Upon seeing Zheng Fa arrive, she spoke, "The production line for the Lingxiao Sword has been debugged."
Shi Nandang glanced at Madam Xuanhua, knowing she was the head of the Tiangong Pavilion, the most trusted weapon-refining master of Zheng Fa.
However, in his eyes, Madam Xuanhua was merely a self-taught practitioner, likely inferior to several Yuanying cultivators from the Chongxuan Sect, let alone compared to himself.
Shi Nandang turned his attention back to the machines, becoming increasingly focused, thinking that this was his moment to showcase his skills.
Even if he ended up embarrassing Madam Xuanhua, he intended to point out some flaws to demonstrate his own refinement level.
Zheng Fa nodded at Madam Xuanhua.
She understood and waved her hand at the cultivators on the production line.
A Golden Core disciple pressed a button on a container shaped like an iron can, and suddenly, blue spiritual fire erupted from it.
Then, the disciple pressed another button, causing several types of spiritual ore to float up and slowly fall into the iron can.
Shi Nandang furrowed his brow, his expression puzzled.
He could vaguely sense that with each press of the button, there were fluctuations of spiritual energy in the air, as if someone was casting a spell.
What he didn’t understand was... why did it seem like the spell was spontaneously generated by this rather peculiar iron can?
For a moment, Shi Nandang forgot his intention to showcase his skills.
He stared intently at the production line, watching as the ore transformed into molten liquid within the iron can, flowing toward the next cultivator.
Another cultivator pressed a button on their station, and inexplicably, a spell was generated.
In less than two hours, the molten metal solidified into a sword embryo, which then underwent processes like forging and tempering, resulting in a brand-new flying sword artifact appearing at the end of the production line.
Madam Xuanhua extended her hand, taking the Lingxiao Sword into her palm, and handed it to Zheng Fa, saying, "Master."
Zheng Fa examined the Lingxiao Sword closely and asked, "How many cultivators are needed for this production line? What are their cultivation levels?"
"Currently, it's in trial operation, so I've brought in some higher-level cultivators to avoid any mishaps," Madam Xuanhua explained. "For formal production, we only need three Foundation Establishment disciples, along with fourteen Qi Refining disciples."
Upon hearing this, Shi Nandang's gaze shot back to the Lingxiao Sword, then shifted to the production line, and he finally understood—these were all artifacts!
They can be refined this way?
His heart raced as he heard Zheng Fa ask again:
"What’s the output?"
"The previous calculations were roughly accurate," Madam Xuanhua replied. "If the spiritual materials are sufficient and the production line runs continuously, we can produce about fifteen Lingxiao Swords in a day."
Shi Nandang felt his mind whirl in confusion.
He wasn’t boasting; he had some skill in weapon refinement, and even at Haori Mountain, he was considered quite adept.
It was precisely because of this that he could better grasp the significance of Madam Xuanhua's words:
Three Foundation Establishment disciples and a dozen Qi Refining disciples could produce fifteen top-tier flying swords in a single day...
Meanwhile, at Haori Mountain, a Golden Core disciple might only manage to refine one or two swords of the same caliber in a day.
A Foundation Establishment disciple might not even be able to produce one in a month.
He certainly didn’t have that capability when he was at the Foundation Establishment stage...
"Shi Shangren? Shi Shangren?"
Shi Nandang was lost in a storm of thoughts when he suddenly heard someone calling his name.
Snapping back to reality, he saw Zheng Fa looking at him, his expression carrying a hint of inquiry: "Do you have any advice?"
Shi Nandang gazed deeply at Zheng Fa, then turned to Madam Xuanhua.
For the sake of his own life, he racked his brain but had to admit that even if he spent tens of thousands of years at Haori Mountain, mastering all their secret methods and becoming the top weapon refiner there...
At this moment, he couldn’t offer a single piece of guidance.
(End of this chapter)
---
Chapter 489: Zheng Fa's Request, Xiao Qing's Question
In the main hall of Tiangong Island, Shi Nandang sat in a chair, feeling anxious as he pondered what Zheng Fa wanted from him.
However, Zheng Fa seemed busy at the moment, discussing matters with Sister Zhang and Madam Xuanhua, leaving him temporarily unattended.
As Shi Nandang's mind wandered, he listened carefully to Zheng Fa's words:
"From the results, the transformation of the flying sword factory has gone the most smoothly; the other factories still need improvement."
Madam Xuanhua nodded slightly and said, "This is also thanks to Xie Xianzi."
Zheng Fa glanced at Xie Qingxue, feeling a sense of gratitude.
The success of the Lingxiao Sword stemmed from modern technology, but even more so from the contributions of Xie Qingxue and others.
The Tianhe Sect has a deep accumulation in flying sword refinement, and with Xie Qingxue and Yan Wushuang bringing many techniques to the Jiu Shan realm, they achieved results that left Shi Nandang speechless.
Thinking of Shi Nandang, Zheng Fa couldn't help but glance at him, noticing his somewhat tense expression, and he began to contemplate.
He had many reasons for keeping Shi Nandang around:
First, of course, was for intelligence from Haori Mountain; Shi Nandang's identity there was quite significant.
Second, just as Shi Nandang had thought, he valued Haori Mountain's technical accumulation in weapon refinement.
Perhaps Shi Nandang would underestimate himself after seeing the flying sword production line, but Zheng Fa wouldn’t look down on him. Just like Xie Qingxue, he anticipated the advancements that the secret methods of Haori Mountain could bring to the Jiu Shan Sect's weapon refinement industry.
To put it another way, the same modern concepts can yield vastly different results in the hands of a master versus a novice.
Especially now, after signing the trade agreement with the Taishang Dao, the production capacity of artifacts had become increasingly important.
For both the Jiu Shan realm and Zheng Fa.
"The first batch of goods has already been sent out," Sister Zhang seemed to sense his thoughts and handed him a list. "According to the needs of the Jiu Shan Sect disciples, this transaction mainly focuses on various elixirs for enhancing cultivation."
"The Yuye Dan from the Taishang Dao is most suitable for Golden Core stage cultivators, and the Tai Xuan Dan is also an excellent aid for Foundation Establishment cultivators."
"There are several other spiritual pills that are unique to the Taishang Dao."
Zheng Fa listened while lowering his head to examine the list Sister Zhang had handed over.
It was filled with the types and quantities of items for this transaction.
Due to the increasing scarcity of spiritual stones in the Xuanwei realm, the Taishang Dao and the Jiu Shan Sect were mostly bartering, agreeing on exchange ratios based on market prices.
The biggest challenge, of course, was the calculations and coordination. Zheng Fa didn’t know how the Taishang Dao managed, but with Sister Zhang and the Jiu Zhang Calculation Array, it wasn’t too much of a problem for the Jiu Shan Sect.
"These have all been communicated with Li Shangxian and the others," Sister Zhang said. "The prices are fair, and the biggest advantage is that many elixirs we wanted to buy before were simply unavailable. Even if we could buy them, we couldn’t get this many."
This was indeed true; the alchemical capabilities of the Taishang Dao far surpassed Haori Mountain's advantages in weapon refinement.
Especially since many unique spiritual pills were simply not available in other sects.
Since they began their research and development in pharmacology, Zheng Fa had come to understand that alchemy was even more challenging than weapon refinement... For the Jiu Shan Sect to catch up with the Taishang Dao, it seemed a distant dream.
Although in the trade with the Taishang Dao, the Jiu Shan Sect didn’t gain much in terms of price.
Sometimes, being able to buy, and to buy in bulk, was already something the Jiu Shan Sect had never even dreamed of before.
To be honest, given the current alchemical technology of the Bai Xian Alliance, it was indeed more practical to buy than to make...
Shi Nandang felt a mix of shock and curiosity in his heart.
Many of the elixirs from the Taishang Dao were not sold to the outside world, making it difficult for the other four sects to obtain them.
Now, allowing the Jiu Shan Sect to purchase them was indeed a stark contrast to past practices.
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