Tang Jian retrieved over ten palm-sized pieces of black charcoal from a black iron box beside the fireplace and then turned to take a fire-red square box from a wooden shelf.
Carefully, he opened the box and grabbed a handful of crimson dust, gently shaking it to let the dust clinging to his fingertips fall before withdrawing his hand and sprinkling it into the fireplace.
With a muffled "boom," a crimson flame shot up within the fireplace, wrapping around like a fire dragon and engulfing the entire gray stone cup.
Soon, the entire stone cup became translucent, resembling a red-hot iron block.
After about fifteen minutes, a "puffing" sound emerged from within the stone cup as the iron essence contained inside had melted into a crimson liquid.
Seeing this, Tang Jian began to retrieve various materials from the boxes on the wooden shelf and add them into the stone cup.
These materials included solid crystal cores, liquid black substances, and silvery-white dust, each with a different form.
Every time a material was added, a plume of smoke rose from the crimson liquid in the stone cup, accompanied by an undescribable pungent odor.
This series of actions, known as "smelting," was the first step in the entire sword-making process and a crucial step distinguishing it from ordinary blacksmithing.
Ordinary ironwork merely involved melting iron ore and removing some impurities, while the smelting process in sword-making involved adding various auxiliary materials to enhance the sword's quality and lay a solid foundation for subsequent processing.
It was like building a tower; a strong foundation was necessary before stacking up layers.
After about an hour, once all the auxiliary materials and iron essence were completely fused, Tang Jian took a black iron clamp from the side, lifted the entire glowing stone cup, and slowly poured the liquid into a rectangular mold about a foot square.
After cooling for a while, the liquid in the mold gradually solidified, forming a long, black iron billet.
Tang Jian picked up the iron billet, examined it for a moment, and noticed a layer of bluish-purple glow covering it. A hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes, and he nodded approvingly before placing it on the fireplace, allowing the fierce flames to burn it.
Only when the iron billet gradually turned from black to red and became translucent did he remove it and place it on the nearby forge.
He stood with a stable horse stance and reached for a black iron hammer beside the forge.
This hammer looked no different from the ordinary forge hammers used by blacksmiths, but it was actually several hundred pounds heavy. Ordinary people would find it difficult to even lift, let alone wield it.
Tang Jian's palm glowed with a crimson light as he tightly gripped the hammer's handle with his fingers curled inward. With a light shout, he exerted force from his waist, driving his arm to twist and grab the forge hammer, slamming it down onto the heated iron billet.
"Clang..."
A metallic clang sounded, and a red light arc erupted from the forge, radiating outward. The heated iron billet instantly flattened, transforming into an iron disk of uniform thickness with his palm.
Tang Jian's arm muscles tensed as he lifted the iron disk vertically and, with another "clang," hammered it back into a block.
After repeating this process three times, he picked it up again and returned it to the fireplace for further heating...
Outside the sword smithy, the moon had risen above the treetops, and the night was deepening.
The sound of "clang, clang, clang" continued, echoing through the entire courtyard.
The continuous hammering persisted until the late hours of the night before finally stopping.
Tang Jian wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and brought the three-foot-long sword blade that had taken shape close to his eyes, examining it carefully.
The sword's surface was smooth as a mirror, with layers of natural patterns forged through countless hammerings evenly distributed, reflecting a faint glow.
At this point, the sword was merely an ordinary sword billet. To truly become a magical sword used by cultivators, it still needed to undergo two more processes: "quenching" and "soul awakening."
After adding more black charcoal to the fireplace, Tang Jian grabbed some crimson dust and sprinkled it in.
When the flames in the fireplace rose like tongues of fire again, Tang Jian used an iron clamp to place the forged sword billet inside, continuing to heat it.
Only when the entire sword body turned red, emitting a brighter glow than the flames, did he remove it and immerse it in a large bucket prepared nearby.
The bucket contained a special green liquid used for quenching, which was semi-transparent and emitted a fragrance resembling pine resin.
With a "sizzling" sound,
The emerald green liquid in the bucket churned, producing round white bubbles and emitting a pungent smoke that quickly filled the entire room.
Only when all the unusual sounds in the bucket ceased did Tang Jian wave his hand to disperse the smoke before him and reach in to retrieve the sword billet.
At this moment, the surface of the sword billet had acquired an additional layer of emerald green, and the sword's glow was restrained, making it appear less sharp than before.
However, when Tang Jian's hand gripping the sword lit up with a red glow and infused it with magical power, the sword body suddenly shone brightly with green light.
He lifted his hand and lightly swung it, creating an arc in the air as the sword's edge sliced against a corner of the forge.
With just a barely perceptible slight sound, the extremely thick forge promptly broke, with a piece being sliced off.
The quenching liquid used during sword quenching also differed, exerting varying effects on the sword billet.
For instance, if the materials used to forge the sword billet were relatively ordinary, one would need to choose a quenching liquid that could enhance the billet's toughness to increase the success rate of the subsequent crucial step of "soul awakening."
The material of the sword billet in Tang Jian's hand was of superior quality, so he had chosen a quenching liquid that could enhance the sharpness of the billet.
After a brief examination, Tang Jian held the sword billet in his hands and sat down on a low wooden stool by the wall of the room. He placed the sword horizontally on his knees, reached into his chest clothing, and pulled out a cowhide pouch no larger than his palm. From it, he retrieved a bronze short blade with a red crystal embedded at the end.
This item was called the "Soul Awakening Carving Knife," an essential tool for carving symbols and awakening the soul of a sword billet.
Tang Jian held the bronze short blade in one hand and supported the long sword on his knees with the other. He took a deep breath, silently mobilized the magical power within his body, and used the tip of the short blade to press against the body of the long sword.
Just as he was about to start carving, his brow suddenly furrowed, and he stopped.
Just now, he had unexpectedly detected a commotion of chaotic noises outside the sword smithy.
As he was about to rise and go outside to investigate, he suddenly heard the sound of a rooftop tile breaking above him.
Immediately afterward, there was a "boom."
The entire roof was torn open, revealing a large hole, and a black figure fell straight down into the room.
Visible on its chest was a bloody area, with a special short-feathered crossbow bolt from the governor's office lodged in its heart. It was painfully rolling on the ground.
Tang Jian's brow lifted, and a sense of foreboding flashed through his mind.
Although the governor's office had recently lost nearly half of its personal guards, it had never relaxed its defenses against external threats. The sword smithy where he was located was even more heavily guarded within the office. Yet, it had now been invaded to this extent, indicating that there must have been a significant incident within the office.
He immediately put away the Soul Awakening Carving Knife, gripped the long sword that had not yet been awakened, stepped forward without hesitation, and swiftly struck the person with one sword, killing him instantly. Then, he opened the door of the room and rushed out directly.
The originally pitch-black night sky had turned crimson, with the thick clouds below reflecting the towering flames.
From a distance, the entire front yard of the Tang residence had turned into a sea of fire. Waves of chilling screams and shouts of killing continuously emanated from there, interspersed with the tremendous booming sounds of explosions.
Wherever Tang Jian looked, thick columns of smoke rose up, resembling sturdy black demon pythons twisting their bodies and rushing into the high sky.
He had been fully immersed in sword refinement earlier and had not noticed any of it.
"Father..."
Tang Jian's heart tightened. A red glow illuminated around him, and he stomped his foot hard. His entire body leaped into the air, rushing out of the small sword smithy courtyard and heading straight towards the courtyard where Tang Shu resided.
However, he had just left the sword smithy and hadn't gone far when three black-cloaked figures, each holding a sword, flashed out of the night and pounced towards him.
One of them leaped into the air, wielding a broadsword that emitted an earthy yellow glow, slashing down towards Tang Jian's head.
The other two slid past from the left and right, respectively, swinging their swords to sweep horizontally towards his lower body.
Tang Jian's brows furrowed as he realized that the swords held by those three were actually magical swords, albeit only the lowest-grade ones. But it was sufficient to indicate that they were not ordinary people.
These people were also cultivators!
Upon this realization, Tang Jian leaped into the air, dodging the treacherous horizontal sweeps of the swords from both sides, and lifted his sword to meet the broadsword that was smashing down on him.
With a "clang," Tang Jian felt a sudden ache in his arms as if he had collided with a small mountain. His body was immediately knocked backward by a tremendous force.
After landing, he used one hand to brace himself, performed a backward flip, creating distance from the three, and regained his footing.
"Don't kill him, we need him alive." the leader with the broadsword said in a low voice.
The other two nodded silently and once again approached from the left and right, swinging their swords towards Tang Jian.
The one on the left had a sword with a deep blue blade, and spiritual patterns lit up on it, resembling a spirit snake baring its fangs, stabbing straight towards him.
Tang Jian only felt a cold, eerie chill rushing towards him. He quickly lifted his sword to deflect it.
However, before the chill dissipated, a wave of scorching heat rushed towards him from the right as the other person simultaneously approached.
Tang Jian changed the pace of his footsteps. Instead of dodging, he leaned his body and rushed to the right. He bent down, his back narrowly grazing the crimson sword edge of the person on the right as they passed each other, and simultaneously made a swift gesture in the air with one hand.
"Hoo, hoo," two light sounds echoed.
Two fireballs, about the size of fists, emerged and immediately shot towards that person.
Due to the close proximity, the person seemed to have not anticipated Tang Jian's move. Off guard, he barely dodged one of the fireballs but was hit in the chest by the second one, causing him to fall with a "bang."
His chest immediately ignited, and a painful howl escaped his mouth.
Almost simultaneously, a "hoo, hoo" sound of wind rose behind Tang Jian, and a broadsword emitting an earthy yellow glow slammed down towards his back.
He had no time to turn around and could only twist his wrist, gripping his sword in reverse and holding it vertically behind him.
With a "clang," a tremendous force shook Tang Jian, causing his internal organs to tremble. He spat out a mouthful of blood and was slammed to the ground with a "bang."
His body rolled on the ground until it hit a sturdy pillar, finally stopping.
He struggled and just as he stood up from the ground, the broadsword man was already hot on his heels.
Meanwhile, the person holding the deep blue sword stood beside the one hit by the fireball, shook his sword, and sliced horizontally across the other's chest.
A deep blue glow lit up on the sword, emitting a chilly aura that extinguished the flames in a single swipe.
At this moment, the person holding the crimson magical sword had fallen unconscious due to severe injuries.