Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit
chapter-43

When it came to the most famous mystic instrument forger on Di Kun Island, that would naturally be Old Man Chen’s Smith Shop.

Back when he was still just a young man, Old Man Chen was fortunate enough to acquire a Mystic-class low-grade spirit fire—Pebbly Jade Fire. With the help of the spirit fire, Old Man Chen’s smithery skills improved greatly and he gradually made his fame. However, when word of his spirit fire leaked out, he started gaining unwanted attention.

Just when the younger Old Man Chen was at a loss and didn’t know what to do, a cultivator whose damaged life-weapon he helped repair then stood out. After his recovery, the cultivator had advanced into the Core Forging Realm and became an Enlightened Master as well as a core disciple in Zhen Ling Sect. The cultivator was grateful for Old Man Chen’s help and announced that the forger was under his protection, which saved Old Man Chen from being targeted.

After that, the aforementioned Enlightened Master was then assigned to Di Kun Island and Old Man Chen also opened his smith shop here. With the help of Pebbly Jade Fire, coupled with his exquisite craftsmanship, his business bloomed.

As Old Man Chen grew increasingly famous, his original name was forgotten and everyone just started calling him Old Man Chen.

Lu Ping arrived at Old Man Chen’s smith shop and spotted a young man inside. The young man looked to be in his twenties and was clad in a Zhen Ling Sect uniform. Lu Ping sensed the flow of arcane energy in the young man’s body and realized that he was a Blood Condensation Realm cultivator. And so, he quickly greeted him. “Side hall Grade 3 disciple, Lu Ping, greets the master immortal!”

The young man smiled gently. “Spare the formalities. I’ve just advanced not long ago myself. I’m your senior in the side hall, perhaps just a batch earlier than you. Are you here to craft a mystic instrument?”

Even when the young man was humble, Lu Ping still didn’t dare to address him as his senior martial brother. He replied politely, “That’s right, this junior is here to ask Mister Chen to help me craft an armored vest and to also upgrade a mystic instrument.”

The young man looked at Lu Ping who still spoke formally and smiled. “I am Chen Lian, son of the Old Man Chen you seek. Please call me Senior Martial Brother Chen, I’m still not used to being addressed as a master immortal yet. My father is in the middle of forging a mystic instrument in the smithy. You’ll have to wait until he’s done.”

Seeing that the young man wasn’t someone who took such customs seriously, Lu Ping felt that he would be overdoing it if he kept refusing. Hence, he said, “Thank you, Senior Martial Brother Chen. Then, I’ll wait here.”

After that, the duo sat down and talked about interesting stories that happened in the side hall. Some time later, an old man with white hair and a red face walked out from the smithy behind the shop. Spotting them, he said to Chen Lian, “You’re back?”

Chen Lian chuckled. “Well, isn’t the auction about to happen? I estimate that you’ll have a lot of orders coming in soon so I came back to help you out. Look, a junior martial brother of mine is here just in time for you.”

Old Man Chen didn’t answer Chen Lian and asked Lu Ping directly, “What mystic instrument are you looking to craft? What spirit materials have you prepared?”

Lu Ping took out the sea snake’s skin. Chen Lian’s eyes brightened up as soon as he saw it. “Hoho, a mid-stage Blood Condensation Realm sea snake’s skin, such a big piece. What a shame, some of its parts are damaged, it can only be made into two mid-grade armored vests.”

Old Man Chen looked at the sea snake’s skin and said, “It’s enough for two armored vests. But the mid-stage Blood Condensation Realm monster’s skins are not entirely equal to mid-grade mystic instruments. I still have to add in some other spirit materials to make that happen. I can use my own spirit materials, but you’ll have to trade the remaining sea snake’s skin to me afterward. What do you say?”

Lu Ping nodded in agreement. Then, he took out Landslide and a piece of Dark Iron.

Chen Lian chuckled again. “Haha, what a magnificent Landslide. All three of its Arcane Inscriptions are purely offensive in attribute. It’d be a waste not to upgrade it to a high-grade mystic instrument. Too bad you only have one piece of Dark Iron.”

Old Man Chen didn’t express any dissatisfaction with Chen Lian’s interruptions, but he didn’t agree with his son’s opinion either. He only asked, “What request do you have for this mystic instrument?”

Lu Ping liked Landslide a lot and he said, “This junior wants to increase its grade while retaining its unique characteristics.”

Old Man Chen mulled it over. “In that case, it is indeed a little difficult to upgrade. Bah, fine, it’s rare to come across such a purely offensive-oriented mystic instrument. It’s really a waste of Dark Iron if it’s not upgraded to high-grade. Old Man Chen will do his best.”

Lu Ping was overjoyed. “Thank you, Senior, for your trouble.”

“Don’t rush to thank me yet. You have the main material to upgrade this mystic instrument to high-grade, but a purely offensive-oriented mystic instrument like this is extremely restrictive to work on. You still need a few more spirit materials to help maintain its integrity so it doesn’t shatter when the fourth Arcane Inscription is added to it. So, I have two requests.”

Lu Ping quickly answered, “Senior, please tell me.”

“The other spirit materials, I can provide them for you. But you’ll have to pay me spirit stones for them. In addition to the craftsmanship, that’ll be 470 spirit stones. The two armored vests will be another 160 spirit stones. That’s 630 in total, but I’ll charge you 600 spirit stones instead.”

Lu Ping nodded and handed over 600 spirit stones. At the same time, he couldn’t help thinking that working a smithery was another profitable profession. However, Lu Ping was in no position to negotiate now.

After that, Old Man Chen pointed to Chen Lian and said, “Other than that, I’ll need him to participate in the crafting and upgrading work of these few mystic instruments.”

While Lu Ping looked hesitant, Chen Lian was extremely eager. Fortunately, Old Man Chen swiftly explained, “My son has studied the essence of my smithery skills, and he is already learning in Zhen Ling Sect’s Pavilion of Smithery. All he lacks is experience.”

Before Lu Ping could speak, Old Man Chen continued, “Furthermore, I can see that you’re very fond of this Landslide. It’s hard to say if you’ll continue to upgrade it in the future. By then, I might have already passed the smith shop to him, so you’ll need him for any future upgrading work. After all, only those who have participated in refining it are the best candidates to upgrade it.”

Lu Ping was finally convinced by Old Man Chen’s reasoning and he nodded in agreement. Chen Lian was overjoyed. “If you plan to upgrade it to top-grade in the future, the best material will be Deep Sea Frosty Iron. But obviously, Golden Crow Iron, Windblown Dusty Iron and the like can also be used.”

Lu Ping nodded to show that he’d remember. “Senior, when can I collect all three mystic instruments?”

Old Man Chen looked at the dates. “I have two other orders queued up. Come back one month from now. It shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Then, this junior will come back during the auction. That way I don’t have to make an extra trip.”

That evening, Lu Ping returned to Huang Li Island. In the days following after, the situation between Zhen Ling Sect and Xuan Ling Sect turned turbulent again. The reason was nothing else but island battle that caused the death of five Xuan Ling Sect disciples.

The incident was initially caused by the five Xuan Ling Sect disciples who ambushed the Zhen Ling Sect disciples. However, because a Blood Condensation Realm monster suddenly intervened, the Xuan Ling Sect disciples were killed instead and the Zhen Ling Sect disciples made it out alive to tell the truth.

Once again, Xuan Ling Sect’s disciples were proven to be weaker than Zhen Ling Sect’s disciples. Xuan Ling Sect was further incensed when it was discovered that one of the deceased disciples was a promising talent from a strong clan in the sect. One who had been internally decided by the sect to be an inner disciple.

Xuan Ling Sect could only feel ashamed. Hence, the sect deliberately elevated the incident into an even messier situation. It denied Zhen Ling Sect’s statement and accused their sect of luring its disciples into a trap to kill them.

Xuan Ling Sect also accused Zhen Ling Sect for colluding with the monster race in order to push all responsibility to the monsters and hide the sect’s malicious intentions.

Naturally, Zhen Ling Sect wouldn’t permit such behavior and both sides fell into dispute once again. Fortunately, both sides managed to restrain their anger—there was no outbreak of another battle.