Archfiend

Chapter 257: The Ketu-Rahu Sword (2)

The round-faced cultivator was suddenly dazed. Xu Yangyi… hadn’t come to find Grandmaster Gao Muya to build something for his lost arm? Why… did Grandmaster Gao recognize Xu Yangyi as his junior? Had he also come out for Xu Yangyi?

Wasn’t that wrong? Xu Yangyi’s present fame was great, but it still wasn’t his turn for a grand artificer to personally come out to welcome him, right?

The round-faced cultivator didn’t know that at the pill auction Xu Yangyi had refuted Gao Muya’s esteem. However, Gao Muya’s darling disciple Quan Ningyue was still under Xu Yangyi’s command, sent off with good tidings!

Chinacultivation.com hadn’t published everyone else’s background information. They stated nothing more than Quan Ningyue’s name!

Like the unpredictable emergence of gods and vanishing of devils, Third Senior Sister appeared behind Gao Muya, holding a cup of tea. He drank it, absent of the slightest bit of a grand master’s style and furthermore without the airs of one. She helped massage his shoulders and whispered continuously at his ear side. Several seconds later, Gao Muya’s eyes saucered, and he suddenly downed the cup of tea. Coughing aloud, he spat on the ground. 

“Increased ability, eh… A one and a two…” His eyes were trained on the round-faced cultivator, like a hawk, and he said eerily, “You’re at the door of I, Gao Muya, yet you still dare bully and humiliate my junior… You’re the Loneheart Hall’s Second Steward, right?”

As he finished speaking, Third Senior Sister moved a chair over. Gao Muya sat down with a great whoosh, waving his hand.

Everyone elected to leave the fat cultivator’s surroundings by a meter.

Old Man Gao’s artificing skill was fearsome, but his speaking skills were even more terrible. That was his temperament. He was fiercely protective of his own!

If he said “junior”, it was true, regardless of whether or not they were. No one was able to pay the debt of offending him! 

When Ancestor Floatingcloud had just entered Core Formation, how infinite was his prestige? He dispatched his disciple to request Gao Muya to craft a magik treasure. But because this disciple waited too long, he berated one of Gao Muya’s disciples! On just this and nothing more, this disciple obtained Gao Muya’s words.

“From henceforth, I will not work for Daomaster Floatingcloud’s only son.”

Otherwise, how rare were Foundation Establishment cultivators in number? Seven had appeared all at once and in this little courtyard? Did they really have so much idle time to wait here?

The round-faced cultivator’s expression had already changed somewhat. If Ancestor Floatingcloud couldn’t curse Gao Muya, then there was no way he could!

“Grandmaster Gao.” The round-faced fatso gritted his teeth and laughed, “I really didn’t know that he was your disciple.”

Gao Muya simply didn’t care for him. Several seconds later, he blinked. “Why the hell are you still here?”

“Huh?”

“LEAVE!” Gao Muya waved his hand ill-temperedly, and Third Senior Sister immediately took out a pipe and lit it. Amidst twisting smoke, he snorted coldly, “Do you not understand my words? Did you not get my hand gesture? I won’t be welcoming your Loneheart Hall’s only son for ten years.”

“HUH?! Grandmaster Gao! We’ve been in line…”

“Fifteen years.” Gao Muya took a deep drag and smiled as he looked at Third Senior Sister. “This shredded tobacco isn’t bad. Where’s it from?”

“Branchmaster Xu gave it.” Third Senior Sister smushed and gently hammered the tobacco. Her laughter was rather love-smitten. She didn’t forget to wink towards Xu Yangyi as she did so. Xu Yangyi nodded, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

A body pillow… just a body pillow, right… Men and women, I admit it too… Mao Ba’er isn’t one, but he’s slept with me… I just hadn’t heard about it before… 

Yeah? Integrity? What was that?

“...I understand…” The round-faced cultivator took a deep breath yet gritted his teeth and cupped his hands, bowing. “This time, the Loneheart Hall was rash. After we return, our meager gift will be readied.”

Xu Yangyi’s gaze softly flickered. Today, he had become educated in a grand artificer’s style, his horizons broadened. He hadn’t entered the crafts for long, only several years. He was still ignorant concerning what degree the crafts could influence the cultivation world. However, one could completely miss the greater picture of today’s matter.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator, promptly summoned and promptly dismissed. The round-faced cultivator hadn’t even dared to break the slightest wind. Just because Gao Muya said that he, Xu Yangyi, was his junior.

“Young fellow.” Gao Muya set down the pipe and raised his chin towards Xu Yangyi. “Come in with this old man.”

This time, everyone chose to be reasonably silent. 

Cutting in line? What’s that? I don’t know, was there ever another person here?

Xu Yangyi followed Gao Muya and walked in. The furnishings within were simple. One knew how old the courtyard house was by the ancient furniture. Mild fragrance floated in the air. Gao Muya’s dwellings were like a majority of courtyard houses in the Capital. There was a bed, a television, and even a computer. However, after Gao Muya paid respects to a portrait of Lu Ban in the living room, his surroundings grew hazy in an instant. [1]

What a brilliant Transference Formation… in addition to the spiritual-sense identification channel…” The demon slayer shut his eyes. This kind of setting was too familiar. If he hadn’t closed his eyes as he was transported, it would’ve led to subsequent dizziness. No… there’s even offensive measures and sealing measures… This portrait of Lu Ban isn’t the same.

As he opened his eyes, even he couldn’t prevent his pupils from shrinking. He took a heavy breath in shock.

This place… was underground. However, the space was extremely vast! One could actually see that it was several kilometers in reach! The overhead was about a hundred meters tall. The rough and crude stone ceiling was without the slightest decoration. No… perhaps it should be rather said that the collective style here was exceptionally coarse, and that was excluding the ground’s levelness. However, it was only level and nothing more.

The room simply didn’t appear to be spacious and empty. Instead, waves of heat flooded the air. 

In the center, there was a giant furnace with the appearance of a nine-headed pheasant. It was unknown what it was crafting, but it was no less than 300 to 400 meters in size! It stood in a lava pool that was several hundred meters long. Each bird head was twenty to thirty meters in size, their outer shells seemingly copper yet seemingly transparent. From its feet, geothermal flames were guided and spread to the nine heads. Following the passage of each heat burst, the entire bird radiated white light.

This was because these lights appeared to be incredibly shining here. They didn’t possess the slightest feeling of underground dusk. As for the nine heads, in the wake of cultivators before it forming seals, a several-meter-thick flame column suddenly welled up! The forged item ahead was sure to erupt with a hiss.

Below the bird heads, there was a work station of nine kinds of corresponding mythical beasts that were engraved. Likewise, they were over ten meters in size. In another location, there were almost a hundred casting stations there were lined up with extreme order! In front of each casting station, there was a cultivator brandishing a hammer of glimmering treasure light and slamming down with full strength. In the surroundings, there were about five or six crude workstations revolving around this casting station. Each person heard the command of the casting station’s master. From time to time, they grinded some component or added some heavenly treasures.

“My wares are expensive, but reasonably so.” At this time, Xu Yangyi was pulled out of his thoughts by Gao Muya’s words. “Wealth, scripture, companions, and land. Wealth is number one. I’m not just supporting myself, I’m moreover supporting them.”

“Here in my place, all those with the qualifications to stand on a casting station are at least Foundation Establishment cultivators.” Gao Muya proudly pointed at the giant nine-headed pheasant smelting furnace. “Those who stand there are all at the Great Circle of Foundation Establishment. My assistant is furthermore half-step Core Formation.”

Xu Yangyi sucked in deeply and looked at this underground furnace somewhat incredulously. In other words, there were tens of Foundation Establishment cultivators here! Almost up to 2,000 Qi Condensation cultivators! An additional nine Great Circle Foundation Establishment! A half-step Core Formation!

This… was practically a strong power that wouldn’t lose out to an apex power!

“Do you think with me here, this is a sect?” As if he saw through Xu Yangyi’s thoughts, Gao Muya brought Xu Yangyi to stand where they originally were and laughed. “That’s because it is a sect.”

“Any grand craftsmaster who cultivates to the grandmaster stage is bound to form such a sect.” He turned his head and stared intently at Xu Yangyi. “Do you understand?”

Xu Yangyi was dazed but came to a sudden realization! Rather than saying these words for him to hear, Gao Muya was speaking to the imaginary “pill master” behind him.

The crafts were a single body of great skill. If one didn’t have this power, what would they do?

Presently, everyone clasped hands to grand masters of great fame. This was because each grand master held twisting and complicated deals with other companies, clans, and powers. The firmest net in the world was the net of benefit. This was also another layer of meaning to the first edict among cultivators’ four directives of “wealth, scripture, companions, and land”. And yet… what about the time they rose to meteoric fame?

If they didn’t have such power, their time of fame would become the time that they were kept like animals by the Core Formation ancestors and isolated from the world.

“Junior understands.” Xu Yangyi faced Gao Muya and heavily formed a fist in respects. “Thank you for mentioning this point, Senior. I will pass it on as is.”

“I’m not worried about him. I’m worried about you,” Gao Muya laughed. “If the worst outcome takes places, you’ll be linked as well. The Pill Dao… The reason why there’s been no explosion is because one, its production is too low. It can’t deal a fatal blow to those pill elixir clans and powers. Two, if that pill master can’t refine Foundation Establishment pills one day, he won’t truly step into the cultivation world’s high society.”

Xu Yangyi said lowly, “On the other hand, once he steps in, then I, as the person in front of him, his agent, will be linked?”

“This is certain.” With some ruefulness, Gao Muya looked at the surroundings. “My third senior brother and fifth junior sister… How absolutely splendid their talents were… If they were still in this world, they would definitely be much stronger than I… It’s a pity that the heavens envy heroes… They didn’t have good protection like me… The day they came to eminence was the moment that they lost their lives… Young fellow, the crafts’ influence on the cultivation world is far more serious than you can imagine. Furthermore, that’s saying nothing about the centuries-lost Pill Dao.

Silence. After a couple seconds passed, Gao Muya gestured with his hand. “Well, that’s it. Follow me.”

The duo walked to another Transference Formation. This time, Gao Muya’s activation was much more cautious than before, even dripping a drop of blood on it. The Transference Formation then emitted rays of white light.

A few seconds later as Xu Yangyi opened his eyes, he had already entered a somewhat messy room. The room wasn’t large, approximately twenty meters wide. In the center, there was a table that was about three or four meters long. A desk at the side was piled up with countless books, scrolls, and loose and scattered writing brushes.

Yet what caused Xu Yangyi’s gaze to stare was the room’s overhead!

It appeared as if there was no roof, but it was almost transparent, a mystery as to what materials were used to craft it. At this moment, on the roof, a null thread of qi, as if someone was writing, was drawing a picture!

It was an arm.

A left arm.

1. Lu Ban is known as a legendary master craftsman. The father of Chinese carpentry (507-444 BCE). He is revered as the Chinese god of builders and contractors.