I Have An Infinite Cultivation Resource
Chapter 104: Meteor Hammer
"You really chose me, Fellow Daoist?!"
The cultivator from the weapon-crafting family's eyes lit up as he hurried over to Lu You, afraid that Lu You might change his mind.
"My name is Tang Long. Since childhood, I've trained under my elders forging ordinary iron weapons. I absolutely won't waste your materials. We can sign a spirit contract—if I fail to forge a treasured artifact, I'll compensate you with a treasured artifact equal in value to the materials."
The other disciples of the Weapon Crafting Hall were initially unwilling to give up, but the moment they heard Tang Long mention signing a spirit contract, they all fell silent.
Their boasts had sounded impressive, but in reality, none of them could guarantee success with absolute certainty. Once the matter involved a binding written contract, their confidence quickly evaporated.
"My name is Lu You, and this is my Senior Sister, Zeng Yan. Where do we sign the contract?"
Lu You had no objection to signing.
Materials capable of producing treasured artifacts were exceedingly rare. As an outer disciple, being cautious only made his actions more consistent with his status.
"Fellow Daoist Lu, Fellow Daoist Zeng, please follow me."
Tang Long led the two of them deeper into the volcano.
Entering through the crater, Lu You discovered that the enormous volcano had been transformed into something resembling a giant beehive.
Countless tunnels had been carved into the volcanic rock walls.
Along one side of every tunnel were neatly arranged forging chambers.
At the entrance sat a Golden Core elder.
Tang Long stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
"Elder Jin, this disciple wishes to forge a weapon and would like to apply for a spirit contract."
Elder Jin glanced at Lu You and Zeng Yan before speaking:
"The spirit contract is supervised by Verdant Cloud Sect. Once established, any violation of its terms will be enforced by the sect itself. If the offending party refuses to fulfill their obligations, Verdant Cloud Sect will carry out punishment on their behalf. In serious cases, one's cultivation may even be crippled."
"When signing, make sure you carefully review every clause and avoid being deceived. Once a spirit contract is completed, it cannot be altered."
"Thank you, Elder."
Lu You and Zeng Yan hurriedly expressed their gratitude.
Tang Long worked in the Weapon Crafting Hall every day and naturally understood how spirit contracts functioned. Elder Jin's explanation was clearly intended for Lu You and Zeng Yan, ensuring they wouldn't be taken advantage of.
After confirming that they understood, Elder Jin produced a contract scroll and handed it to Tang Long.
Taking the contract, Tang Long bit his finger and mixed spiritual energy into his blood before writing out the terms.
Afterward, he passed the contract to Lu You.
"Fellow Daoist Lu, if everything looks correct, simply sign your name."
In his previous life, Lu You had signed countless contracts.
Compared to those, a contract like Verdant Cloud Sect's was extremely easy to review.
Tang Long had been entirely honest.
The agreement stipulated that he would use Lu You's materials to forge one treasured artifact for Lu You and one for Zeng Yan.
If the forging failed and the materials were wasted, Tang Long would compensate Lu You with two treasured artifacts.
After reading it, Lu You did not sign immediately.
Instead, he handed the contract to Zeng Yan.
When two people were together, even if one was highly confident, it was unwise to make decisions entirely alone. Otherwise, the other person might feel excluded.
Clearly, this small gesture earned Lu You some goodwill.
Zeng Yan even silently tolerated the fact that Lu You took the opportunity to brush against her hand.
Then she reviewed the contract even more carefully than he had, afraid he might have overlooked something and been tricked.
"It can begin now."
Lu You and Zeng Yan each signed their names.
The spirit contract immediately dissolved into streams of spiritual light, transforming into glowing characters that were imprinted upon Verdant Cloud Sect's Contract Platform.
Until the agreement was fulfilled, its contents could be reviewed there at any time.
Seeing the contract completed, Tang Long was visibly excited.
Every weapon craftsman dreamed of forging a legendary weapon.
But cultivation materials were precious.
For an ordinary disciple, not only was forging a divine weapon impossible, many would spend their entire lives without ever touching materials suitable for a treasured artifact.
This time, the materials Lu You had brought were enough to forge two weapons.
If Tang Long succeeded, he would gain actual experience forging treasured artifacts, and his status as an ordinary disciple would immediately change.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoists."
Tang Long sighed with emotion.
"Thank you for placing your trust in me. I will absolutely not fail your expectations."
"Please rest assured. Back in my family, I participated in the forging of treasured artifacts many times. I won't disappoint either of you."
He paused before smiling bitterly.
"The problem is that within Verdant Cloud Sect, nobody is willing to entrust treasured artifact materials to an ordinary disciple."
"And without experience forging treasured artifacts, an ordinary disciple can never advance."
"It's truly a frustrating deadlock."
As he spoke, Tang Long led Lu You and Zeng Yan into a forging chamber.
The moment they stepped inside, a wave of scorching heat slammed into them.
The forging rooms of Verdant Cloud Sect were directly connected to the magma within the volcano itself. Without spiritual energy protecting the body, an ordinary person entering the chamber would be cooked alive by the heat.
Tang Long, however, was already accustomed to the temperature.
He stripped off his outer robe, revealing a powerfully muscular physique, then took the black stone materials from Lu You.
Channeling spiritual energy into the magma, he drew out a mass of Earth-Core Flame.
The Earth-Core Flame required both magma and spiritual energy as fuel. Not daring to be careless, Tang Long swallowed a Qi-Nourishing Pill and began purifying Lu You's materials.
Under the blazing heat of the Earth-Core Flame, the black stones quickly melted into liquid.
"What kind of weapons would the two of you like forged?"
Unlike ordinary mortal blacksmithing, treasured artifacts could not be cast using molds.
The temperatures generated by Earth-Core Flame were so extreme that even molds would melt.
Everything depended upon the craftsman's spiritual energy, shaping and refining the material through countless precise manipulations.
"I only need a sword," Zeng Yan replied simply, "As long as it can kill people, that's enough."
Lu You, however, answered seriously:
"I want a meteor hammer."
"And the hammer head must be hollow."
"A hollow meteor hammer?"
Tang Long froze for a moment before offering some advice.
"Junior Brother, treasure-grade materials are difficult to obtain. You shouldn't experiment recklessly."
"Meteor hammers are already uncommon weapons. If you make it hollow as well and later find it difficult to use, it will be extremely hard to sell or trade."
Unlike Tang Long, Zeng Yan's eyes immediately brightened.
She seemed to understand Lu You's intentions.
She lowered her voice and asked, "Junior Brother, has your attainment in the Dao of Talismans improved again?"
Having witnessed Lu You's grade-less talismans and having used his talismans during both the expedition to the inheritance tomb and the assassination of Huang Wen, Zeng Yan had long suspected that he personally crafted them.
However, because it touched upon his private affairs, she had never asked.
Now, seeing his request for a hollow meteor hammer, she instantly understood his plan.
"Senior Sister figured it out again," Lu You whispered back near her ear.
"The truth is, my talent in the Dao of Talismans has already been discovered by some of the elders. Most of the outer disciples of Deep Literary Pavilion know as well. It simply hasn't been publicly announced yet."
"In the coming days, I'll also be making some talismans for self-defense during the tournament."
"When the time comes, Senior Sister mustn't refuse them."
"You two..."
Tang Long sighed.
He had sincerely intended to warn Lu You against casually designing strange weapons.
Instead, he found himself force-fed a mouthful of affection between the two.
Seeing that both Lu You and Zeng Yan were completely in agreement about the hollow meteor hammer, Tang Long stopped trying to persuade them.
He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and focused entirely on forging.
Only then did Lu You discover Tang Long's true skill.
Despite being only at the Foundation Establishment realm, Tang Long was actually capable of performing object-manipulation techniques.
The molten metal rose into the air in two separate masses.
Moments later, his spiritual energy transformed into countless invisible arms that precisely sculpted and refined the liquid material.
"Evil Eye, your turn."
A thought flashed through Lu You's mind.
He secretly instructed Evil Eye to use the Blood Shadow Technique and record Tang Long's forging methods.
Having previously fought Golden Core elders, Lu You could immediately tell that Tang Long's object-control techniques were far more precise than most Golden Core sword-control techniques.
Even the methods he used to manipulate the spiritual-energy arms were incredibly subtle.
Compared to Tang Long's craftsmanship, Lu You's own control over the Hell Avatar lacked countless refinements.
If he could learn Tang Long's techniques, both his talisman deployment and control of the Hell Avatar would become significantly more powerful.
While Tang Long remained fully absorbed in forging the treasured artifacts, Lu You quietly approached the Earth-Core Flame.
His fingers twitched slightly.
Wrapping a tiny strand of flame with spiritual energy, he lifted it up as though merely examining it out of curiosity.
"Hiss— so hot."
The moment the flame reached his fingertip, Lu You quickly recoiled in apparent alarm and extinguished it with spiritual energy.
Seeing this, Tang Long merely smiled bitterly and shook his head.
He paid no further attention.
What Tang Long didn't know was that Lu You was actually quite satisfied.
After being transformed by the Bone of Hell, Lu You's body had already become tougher than most treasured artifacts.
That tiny flame could not harm him in the slightest.
The entire performance had simply been a cover.
Without attracting suspicion, he had successfully transferred a strand of Earth-Core Flame into his small cauldron.
"Fellow Daoist Lu, Fellow Daoist Zeng, the weapon molds have been completed. You can come back in three days to collect them."
Seeing the anticipation on Lu You's and Zeng Yan's faces, Tang Long quickly explained, "Treasured artifacts are not so easily forged. They still need to be compressed and refined little by little using the Earth-Core Flame. My spiritual energy isn't sufficient to complete everything in a single session."
"The reason I took a Qi-Nourishing Pill earlier was because the initial shaping process couldn't be interrupted. Now that the prototypes are complete, the remaining work can be done gradually."
"Senior Sister, then I'll come pick them up in three days."
Lu You naturally reached out and took Zeng Yan's hand.
With Tang Long present, Zeng Yan didn't resist.
After they left the forging chamber, she seemed to have forgotten about it entirely.
The two walked hand in hand all the way back toward Lu You's courtyard.
When they reached the entrance, Zeng Yan finally withdrew her hand.
"Alright. The weapons have been commissioned, you've gotten to hold my hand, and now you should focus on your cultivation."
"I can't afford to waste any more time either."
"Senior Sister, my courtyard isn't small. Why not cultivate here?"
Zeng Yan laughed.
"If I'm here, do you really think you'll be able to focus on cultivation?"
She gave him a meaningful look.
"If you keep getting distracted, be careful. I might stop coming to see you altogether."
Lu You considered it and reluctantly admitted she was right.
He was already distracted now, before they had even started cultivating.
If they spent time together every day, he probably wouldn't be able to keep his mind calm.
Looking at Zeng Yan, he pulled out several high-grade Purifying Heart Talismans and handed them to her.
"Senior Sister, don't be stingy with talismans."
"Your Junior Brother isn't an ordinary talisman master anymore."
"And don't forget to refine the serpent eggs."
"The grand competition is coming soon. The stronger you become, the greater the rewards you'll receive. This isn't the time to hold back and save resources."
"The higher your ranking, the more rewards you'll obtain."
"And naturally, some of those rewards can benefit your Junior Brother as well."
"When you have resources that can be converted directly into strength, you should do so immediately."
On the walk back, Lu You had secretly probed Zeng Yan's cultivation level with his spiritual energy.
Given her talent, refining the serpent eggs would dramatically increase both her life force and cultivation.
The fact that her cultivation had not improved significantly made it obvious that she had been unwilling to use the serpent eggs he had given her.
"I understand."
A complicated look flashed through Zeng Yan's eyes before she finally nodded.
Inside her storage ring were ten serpent eggs.
Her current plan was to refine one herself to ensure she could achieve a strong ranking in the competition.
The remaining eggs she intended to save for her father.
After all, her father had once been a Nascent Soul cultivator.
If his injuries could be healed, the benefits would far exceed whatever gains a Foundation Establishment cultivator like her could obtain.
After watching Zeng Yan leave, Lu You reluctantly returned to his room.
Without hesitation, he activated over a thousand Purifying Heart Talismans in succession.
His thoughts instantly became crystal clear.
In fact, he suddenly felt that romance between men and women was really nothing special.
Looking back, his behavior earlier seemed almost childish.
The post-Mind-Cleansing-Talisman version of Lu You felt exceptionally confident.
After setting up Hard Metal Talismans and Soundproof Talismans throughout the room, he summoned the small cauldron from his consciousness and placed it in the center of the room.
The next moment, flames burst to life within it.
It was none other than the strand of Earth-Core Flame he had secretly obtained from the forging chamber.
"Evil Eye, your turn."
Hell Avatar!
Lu You restrained most of his spiritual energy, manifesting only six arms.
At the same time, his pupils turned blood-red.
The six arms of the Hell Avatar reached into the small cauldron and retrieved pieces of black stone.
Then, to Lu You's satisfaction, they began perfectly replicating Tang Long's forging techniques.
After the growth of Lu You's spiritual root, physical body, and cultivation realm, Evil Eye's abilities had improved dramatically as well.
For repetitive processes such as weapon forging, Lu You no longer needed to learn every movement himself.
Using the recordings obtained through the Blood Shadow Technique, Evil Eye could directly control the Hell Avatar and automatically reproduce the entire forging process.
Lu You first began forging Zeng Yan's sword.
This time, he experimented by adding the demon core of the serpent monster into the material.
Using his inexhaustible supply of Earth-Core Flame, he continuously refined the demon core.
Most of the demon core's spiritual energy was consumed during the process, and eventually it melted into the metal.
Even so, the remaining essence was enough to elevate the energy contained within the black stone material to an entirely new level.
Compared to Tang Long, who needed to consume pills to continue forging, Evil Eye consumed cultivation origin blood, something Lu You could provide in unlimited quantities.
With six arms working simultaneously, the Hell Avatar was equivalent to three Tang Longs forging at once.
Not only did it match Tang Long's precision and coordination, but its efficiency was more than three times greater.
As the sword gradually took shape, Lu You fetched a large water vat and filled it completely with spirit liquid.
He then submerged the newly forged sword into the spirit liquid to cool it.
Sizzle!
Lu You's room had already transformed into a miniature blessed land.
The spiritual energy was so dense that visible mist had begun forming in the air.
After the cooling process was complete, Lu You picked up the treasure sword he had forged and compared it to the sword that Lu Xiao'e had previously given him.
With a sharp metallic screech, the two blades collided.
A notch immediately appeared in Lu Xiao'e's sword.
The sword forged by Lu You, however, remained completely undamaged.
"Not bad."
Lu You nodded with satisfaction.
"In three days, I'll collect the weapons from Tang Long, destroy the one he forged, and give this one to Senior Sister instead."
He was extremely pleased with his work.
Afterward, he instructed Evil Eye to begin forging the hollow meteor hammer.
The process was largely the same.
The six arms of the Hell Avatar worked frantically.
The demon core was once again fused into the material.
Once the weapon's rough form was complete, it too was submerged in spirit liquid for cooling.
This time, Lu You did not bother conserving materials.
The hammer head was forged to be enormous—roughly the size of a millstone.
The chain, also crafted from the black stone material, stretched nearly two hundred meters in length.
To most people, the weapon looked absolutely terrifying.
Yet for Lu You's current physique, it wasn't particularly heavy at all.
"Oops."
"Even though it's hollow, I forgot to leave an opening."
After thinking for a moment, Lu You retrieved the Bone of Hell from the small cauldron.
He drove it forcefully into the hammer head.
Crunch!
A hole was instantly punched through the meteor hammer.
"If only I could forge weapons directly from the Bone of Hell."
Lu You sighed.
He had already tried.
The Earth-Core Flame was completely incapable of melting the Bone of Hell.
Until he found a flame of a much higher grade, the Bone of Hell's only practical use remained being ground into bone powder.
Looking at the enormous hammer head, Lu You nodded in satisfaction.
He then began taking items out of the small cauldron:
Mount Tai Talismans
Divine Speed Talismans
Light Rock Talismans
Light Talismans
Without hesitation, he stuffed them all into the hollow interior of the meteor hammer.
The massive weapon was rapidly becoming far more than a simple treasured artifact—it was turning into a mobile arsenal packed with hidden talismans, perfectly suited to Lu You's unique fighting style.