After chatting with Hong Lang for half a day, Nie Shiyun returned to the courtyard at noon, just as he had the day before, to continue recording the unfinished list of commissions. By the end of the day, he felt the number of requests had mostly stabilized; any future commissions would likely be sporadic additions.
In the evening, He Yin returned with his wife, and the two came over to greet Nie Shiyun. From He Yin’s earlier description, Nie Shiyun knew his wife was extroverted, and seeing her in person confirmed it—she was boisterous, perhaps even to a fault. Upon hearing that Nie Shiyun had agreed to let He Yin observe his smithing, she excitedly slapped Nie Shiyun on the shoulder, telling her husband to make sure he learned a thing or two.
The following day, members of the Tiger Clan began delivering materials one after another.
Because Nie Shiyun had mentioned that they could bring any materials they deemed suitable for him to inspect, he was presented with a fair amount of new curiosities he had never seen before. One had to understand that the body of knowledge a refiner in the cultivation world was expected to master was already vast. Even with the support of the Yunqing Pavilion, it had taken Nie Shiyun many years to master it all. The sudden emergence of so many new materials sparked a long-dormant interest in learning within him.
This was merely the tip of the iceberg of the Upper Realm’s lower tier. Thinking about how many new things the entire Upper Realm might hold, and how these discoveries could create new possibilities for artifact refining and array carving, Nie Shiyun could not help but look forward to it.
He Yin’s wife went to the clan early in the morning to take inventory of their spoils. He Yin, just like on the first day, pulled up a chair and sat beside Nie Shiyun to watch. Although he was poor at the practical application, he had studied a fair amount of theory and was capable of introducing the materials.
Observing Nie Shiyun’s cheerful mood, He Yin couldn't help but remark, "As expected, you really do love artifact refining."
Nie Shiyun did not deny it. "Refining is an interesting pursuit in itself, and it earns money. Naturally, I like it."
"I suppose..." He Yin agreed hesitantly.
Nie Shiyun saw his hesitation and understood perfectly why he was so troubled.
"It just so happens that the previous fellow brought materials for a Treasure Tool. There’s no time like the present; let’s head to the refining room and try it out now."
"Ah? Right now?" He Yin asked in surprise. "Don't you need to get a feel for the place first? After all, it's a refining room you've never used, and the earth fire hasn't been lit in quite a while."
"But you are familiar with this place, so I’ll have to trouble you to check if the earth fire and everything else is functioning normally."
For Nie Shiyun, he might need a brief warm-up for Spiritual Tools, but refining low-level magic treasures was as easy as breathing or drinking water; he wouldn't be affected by the environment at all.
He Yin nodded and went to open the door to the refining room for Nie Shiyun, getting things ready.
Because it hadn't been used in a long time, the refining room still carried a desolate air, even though Hong Lang had sent clansmen to clean it a couple of days prior.
After He Yin finished his inspection, he closed the door and retreated to the side, remaining silent. With a casual wave of his hand, Nie Shiyun raised a restrictive barrier around the refining room, isolating the sound and preventing outsiders from entering.
"You certainly know where to stand," Nie Shiyun remarked, somewhat surprised to see that He Yin didn't need to be reminded to stand in a spot where he wouldn't interfere but could still see clearly.
He Yin scratched his ear. "The senior I mentioned before taught me for a few months before he left. I learned it then."
Nie Shiyun nodded and said no more. He laid out the materials to be used on the table, categorizing them, and then focused all his attention on the cauldron before him.
Since this was a demonstration rather than a display of prowess, Nie Shiyun did not intend to bring out his usual Phoenix-Patterned Cauldron. Sensing that its master was about to refine, the strange fire, Xiao Que, who had been slumbering within Nie Shiyun’s body, grew restless out of habit. However, sensing that Nie Shiyun had lit the earth fire after many years and had no intention of using its assistance, it went back to sleep obediently, albeit quite confused.
He Yin stared at Nie Shiyun’s hands without blinking. From the moment the flames rose, Nie Shiyun’s movements were as smooth as flowing water. He watched as Nie Shiyun picked up an ordinary iron hammer to smelt the ore and shape the billet—He Yin knew that wasn't Nie Shiyun’s usual tool, but something he had simply picked up from the refining room. This was all to provide He Yin with a better reference.
Smelting involved using fire to scorch the materials. Sometimes it required completely melting the metal ore before pouring it into a mold; other times, as was the case now, it involved controlling the flame's temperature to soften the metal, then repeatedly striking the treasure's billet with a hard tool at the precise moment to extend it into the desired shape.
It was easier said than done. While the quality of the materials played a significant role, a good refiner could maximize the performance and spiritual energy of those materials. Every strike that fell was infused with spiritual power; a powerful refiner could grasp the strength contained within every inch of the material.
The art of refining was ever-changing, and this was where talent and perception came in. Rote memorization of ancient texts might allow one to produce a barely usable magic treasure by following a template, but it was difficult to glimpse the essence within. He Yin felt that every time he swung his hammer, his heart was filled with hesitation because he couldn't see through the process, and thus couldn't grasp the timing.
By the time he snapped out of it, Nie Shiyun’s first step was already finished. The blade of a long saber had begun to take shape on the workbench.
"Now is the time to add the first array."
He Yin froze for a moment, finding Nie Shiyun’s terminology quite novel. "An array? Do you mean an inscription?"
"Is it called an inscription here?" Nie Shiyun asked curiously as he condensed his spiritual energy to carve an "array" that would increase the toughness of the saber billet.
He Yin didn't know if he should speak up and answer—Nie Shiyun was actually chatting with him while working!
"Yes. Arrays and inscriptions are actually somewhat similar in the early stages, but they become increasingly different once you move past the Mortal Grade. Arrays are much harder than inscriptions."
"I see. My apologies, I really don't know much about it. I come from a very remote, small place. I only learned refining from my family before and haven't had much contact with the outside world," Nie Shiyun said calmly.
He Yin didn't doubt him and waved his hands hurriedly. "It's all much the same, the principles are similar..."
He came back to his senses only to find that in the time it took to exchange those few sentences, the pattern Nie Shiyun was carving was already more than half-finished.
"So fast," He Yin muttered to himself.
The senior who had been promoted by the main family and moved to the middle tier had never possessed such ease when refining. Although his hands were steady, he had been focused and breathless. The Nie Shiyun before him seemed to be at a much higher level than that senior! He Yin thought to himself that it was no wonder Nie Shiyun said he wanted to go to the middle tier. Yesterday, his wife had half-jokingly said that if Nie Shiyun were willing to stay and become the Tiger Clan’s long-term refiner, it would be wonderful. That way, He Yin wouldn't have to bear the pressure of the entire clan, and they would have a friendly neighbor in this courtyard. What a perfect arrangement.
But at this moment, He Yin felt that with talent like Nie Shiyun’s, he rightfully belonged in the middle tier. How could a small mountain manor like the Tiger Clan’s keep him?
In less than an hour, a high-grade Treasure Tool was completed.
Nie Shiyun hadn't put in too much effort, but for He Yin, it was shocking enough. Nie Shiyun performed every step with great clarity, but it was precisely because of this that He Yin could feel the gap between them.
Nie Shiyun weighed the long saber in his hand and handed it to He Yin for appraisal. "Would you like to try as well? I’ll watch from the side and see if anything critical goes wrong."
"Is that alright? There are so many names of clansmen on the list; Senior Nie shouldn't waste time on me," He Yin said nervously.
"I know what I'm doing, don't worry," Nie Shiyun said mysteriously. "I have a secret technique that isn't shared with outsiders; I refine much faster than others. What you saw just now was already a very slowed-down pace."
"Then... I shall obey your command."
As He Yin spoke, he carefully set down the long saber and walked to the workbench to take out some cheap materials for practice. To someone who didn't know better, his expression made it look as if he were heading to the executioner's block.
His speed was incomparable to Nie Shiyun’s. He spent several hours smelting and shaping the billet. In the end, his first attempt failed because he was too nervous with Nie Shiyun watching silently; he failed to control the temperature, letting the metal cool, and when he struck it, it snapped right in half. He had to start over from the beginning.
He struggled until the middle of the night before a low-grade Magic Tool finally emerged, barely passable.
Nie Shiyun frowned slightly; the result was indeed quite disappointing.
"Tomorrow, I'll shorten the hilt of this blade and give it to the clan's children to practice with," He Yin said helplessly, knowing himself that the result was nothing to show off.
"Mm..." For a moment, Nie Shiyun didn't know what to say. In the past, when he gave pointers to juniors, those refiners could quickly integrate the knowledge and apply it. However, the disciples who could enter the Yunqing Pavilion and receive guidance from the sect elders were all carefully selected. While they couldn't compare to the "chosen ones," their talent was still remarkable.
Nie Shiyun had only ever taught one person without talent: Xuan Yang.
But because Xuan Yang’s talent was abysmal—despite possessing a natural treasure like the Phoenix True Fire, he blew up everything he tried to burn—his path as a refiner ended before it even began, and he gave up very early on.
He Yin, however, wasn't that bad; he simply had "no talent." Through his own hard work, he could refine Magic Tools, but he truly lacked an understanding of the essence of refining, which was why he could no longer progress.
"Let's see over the next few days. I'm not busy anyway." This was the first time Nie Shiyun had faced such a "student." He was momentarily hesitant: should he encourage He Yin to continue, or tell him to stop struggling?
He Yin agreed with a bitter smile.
Undoing the restriction on the refining room, they stepped outside to find He Yin’s wife pacing by the door, waiting for him. Nie Shiyun bid them goodnight and returned to his own room.
Over the next few days, Nie Shiyun set aside a few hours each day to receive materials from the Tiger Clan, and another few hours to study refining with He Yin. Unfortunately, despite Nie Shiyun’s diligent guidance, He Yin’s refining skills showed no improvement. Eventually, He Yin felt too guilty to continue and asked Nie Shiyun to stop worrying about him and not waste any more time.
Seeing that He Yin had completely lost his fighting spirit, Nie Shiyun had no choice. He had always felt that he could teach anyone except Xuan Yang; now it seemed it was only because his previous students had such good foundations...
Setting aside the matter of teaching He Yin, Nie Shiyun began spending most of his day locked in the refining room. Without outsiders, he could openly use the Phoenix-Patterned Cauldron and the strange fire within his jade pendant. His efficiency and quality skyrocketed. He even had several hours each day to cultivate, meditate, and refine his arrays.
Though he felt he was living quite leisurely, Hong Lang was still deeply shocked by the speed at which Nie Shiyun completed his orders.
"So, those human refiners who always make us wait for a year or half a year are all just tricking us!"
Looking at the magic treasures Nie Shiyun had piled up on the ground in just a few days, Hong Lang quickly realized he had misspoken and corrected himself. "Ah, I didn't mean it like that. I meant most human refiners... most of them..."
Nie Shiyun laughed twice. "I'm just in a hurry to save up money. Normally, I wouldn't work this fast."
Hong Lang shook his head. "Incredible! I was worried you had agreed to too much at once, but now it seems our demand is actually too low! When I have time, I'll go talk to the clansmen again. Opportunities for custom-made items are rare; I'll tell them to save up more..."
Nie Shiyun didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "That would be fine. But I'll always have ways to make money; you all should act within your means."
Ever since Hong Lang had reported to the Clan Leader about Nie Shiyun, the leader had exempted Hong Lang from his hunting shifts, ordering him to stand guard at the entrance of the refining courtyard around the clock. Although Nie Shiyun felt it wasn't necessary, Hong Lang did prove helpful at key moments. For instance, Nie Shiyun was too lazy to notify the clansmen when their treasures were ready, so he delegated the task of "payment upon delivery" to Hong Lang. He had done the same back at the Yunqing Pavilion, handling only the technical work while leaving external communications to his cousins.
In just a few short days, Nie Shiyun’s shriveled wallet swelled rapidly, with tens of thousands of stones flowing in.
The Tiger Clan members were honest folk. Even if they had been a bit skeptical of Nie Shiyun at first, once they held their magic treasures, every one of them became so friendly they practically wanted to call him brother. Many, when paying, would slip Nie Shiyun some home-grown spiritual plants or hunted demon beast meat as a bonus, which Nie Shiyun was happy to accept.
Even the smallest mosquito is still meat, after all.
With a large group of tiger demons receiving new magic treasures, even the hunting schedules in the manor were thrown into disarray, as everyone was eager to go out and test their new gear. The Clan Leader had a bit of a headache, but he was also quite gratified; the clan hadn't been this vibrant or motivated in a long time.
For a time, Nie Shiyun—an outsider who hadn't been fully trusted by the Tiger Clan—enjoyed unprecedented prestige.
Nie Shiyun, who persisted in cultivating within his jade pendant every day, felt the time was right. He cleared a batch of orders and proposed to Hong Lang that he visit the Clan Leader to discuss finding a piece of land in the back mountains for his advancement. Nie Shiyun would prepare the great array for the breakthrough and the treasures to resist the lightning tribulation himself; he only needed to borrow a piece of open ground where he could be guaranteed no disturbances.
The Clan Leader now found Nie Shiyun agreeable in every way. Moreover, he could see at a glance that Nie Shiyun’s spiritual energy was already extremely dense; advancing to the Void Refinement stage should be as easy as turning over a hand. He wasn't worried about any accidents preventing Nie Shiyun from continuing to refine for the clan, so he readily agreed.
***
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
铭文 | Inscription | Decorative or functional carvings on items, often simpler than arrays.
炼虚 | Void Refinement | A high-level stage of cultivation (usually above Soul Transformation).
凡级 | Mortal Grade | The basic or lowest grade of items/techniques.
雷劫 | Lightning Tribulation | Heavenly lightning that strikes a cultivator during a major breakthrough.
地火 | Earth Fire | Natural subterranean fire used for refining and alchemy.
异火 | Strange Fire | Rare, powerful, and unique flames found in nature or possessed by individuals.
小雀 | Xiao Que | Literally "Little Sparrow," the name of Nie Shiyun's sentient strange fire.
凤纹鼎 | Phoenix-Patterned Cauldron | Nie Shiyun's signature refining tool.
宝器 | Treasure Tool | A grade of magical equipment, higher than a Magic Tool (法器).
法器 | Magic Tool | The most basic grade of magical equipment.
灵器 | Spiritual Tool | A grade of magical equipment, usually between Magic Tools and Treasure Tools.
法宝 | Magic Treasure | A general term for magical equipment/artifacts.
