All things in the world are within the Five Elements.
Thus, theoretically speaking, blood, water, bones, and flesh can all be used for artifact forging.
Even, in the view of the Ghost Axe, a person’s Primordial Spirit is also a type of forging material.
It’s just that there is no particularly good refining method for now.
Living human refining is something unheard of since ancient times.
The Ghost Axe had not yet acted against Wang Sandong, not only because the “pig wasn’t fat enough,” but also because he hadn’t thought of a feasible refining method.
Wang Sandong watched the silver needles on Zheng Yu’s arm tremble from the surge of qi and blood, absentmindedly thinking about living human refining.
Vaguely, he felt something was off, trying hard to grasp it, but had no clue.
Unconsciously, he frowned and slowly shook his head.
Zheng Xiao and Zheng Yu saw this and both became tense.
Both were experts; even though they let Wang Sandong insert the needles, they never dared to be careless.
Especially Zheng Xiao, who kept her spiritual power circulating, ready to act at any moment.
If Zheng Yu had any problems, she would instantly transfer her spiritual power to protect his heart meridian.
“Ahem, brother-in-law, is something wrong?”
Zheng Yu asked cautiously.
“Ah? Ah. No, I was distracted,” Wang Sandong said.
Zheng Yu’s mouth twitched; he wanted to curse.
At a time like this, you can still get distracted?
Really…
“I’m going out for some air. I’ll do the needles on your legs later.”
With that, Wang Sandong walked out.
Getting air was an excuse.
He wanted to calm down and think carefully about where the problem lay.
In the living room, only the Zheng siblings remained.
Zheng Yu looked at the silver needles on his arm that kept trembling from the qi and blood surge, frowned, and asked Zheng Xiao, “Sister, why do you trust him so much?”
Zheng Xiao shook her head and said, “It’s not trust.”
Zheng Yu looked puzzled.
Zheng Xiao smiled and continued, “It’s just that I don’t want the Zheng family to miss a great opportunity.”
She paused, looked at Wang Sandong’s profile sitting alone not far away, and said, “A heaven-sent prodigy must have extraordinary encounters. Surviving a great disaster brings good fortune. When misfortune reaches its extreme, fortune comes. Your brother-in-law was born without a spiritual root yet did not die, absorbed demonic qi without injury, his vitality seems broken yet not broken, his aura barely there…”
As she spoke, she looked at Zheng Yu’s arm.
“Though his technique is a bit unfamiliar, every needle is extremely precise.”
Zheng Yu nodded silently.
Zheng Xiao smiled and said, “So what if we trust him once? With your sister watching over you, even if there’s an accident, nothing will happen.”
Zheng Yu exhaled, relieved, and said, “Sister is absolutely right. If my injury, which was almost impossible to completely cure, can heal… wouldn’t that be a great opportunity for the Zheng family?”
“It’s more than that.”
Zheng Xiao recalled Wang Sandong’s words and said, “He said he stole a book called ‘Ghost Axe Art’ that describes forging insights from the Ghost Axe.”
Zheng Yu’s expression tightened.
After asking for details and understanding the situation, he frowned and said, “The Ghost Axe’s forging methods are naturally secret. Unfortunately, Ghost Axe Yin Refinement produces magical treasures that are not suitable for our family’s ‘Noble Spirit Art.’”
Before Zheng Xiao could speak, he added self-deprecatingly, “Your younger brother is too greedy.”
Zheng Xiao smiled without speaking.
Zheng Yu sighed, “Fortunately, it’s you, sister. If it were my personality, I would likely scoff at brother-in-law’s words and never believe them. A greenhorn, frail, ignorant of cultivation, unlearned… such a person speaks great claims of being able to heal what others cannot heal and forge what others cannot forge… Who would believe it?”
It was originally a rhetorical question.
But Zheng Xiao thought seriously and said, “The Human Sovereign would believe it. The Zither Emperor would believe it. The Sword Emperor and Emperor Wen are a bit arrogant, but even if they didn’t believe, they wouldn’t humiliate someone because of it.”
Zheng Yu was stunned for a moment, then sighed, “Your younger brother has received instruction.”
Outside the hall.
Wang Sandong sat casually on the corridor railing, eyes closed, quietly thinking.
Chaotic memories and mixed knowledge constantly buffeted his thoughts.
Living human refining…
Demonic cultivator corpse driving…
Medicine, alchemy, acupuncture…
The majesty of the Zheng family’s righteousness, the law of the Wang family, the sword intent of the Cui family, the blade radiance of the Liu family…
It seemed all these things had a strange connection.
What exactly?
How to connect them all?
Suddenly, a delicate flower appeared in his mind.
Wang Sandong’s eyes snapped open.
He finally caught that glimmer of inspiration.
Soon, he returned to the living room, looked at the silver needles on Zheng Yu’s arm, and started removing them.
“Later I’ll write a prescription. Boil it into bathwater and soak.”
Zheng Yu noticed that Wang Sandong had a smile on his lips when he spoke.
Could this little brother-in-law be not only physically weak but also mentally deficient?
Just sitting outside for a while, he looked as if he had encountered some great fortune, unable to suppress the smile on his lips.
After removing the needles from his arms, Wang Sandong instructed, “Take off your pants.”
“Ah? Right here?”
“Yes. I need to insert the needles while you’re seated.”
By the time Zheng Yu’s legs were full of needles, Wang Sandong’s forehead was covered in sweat.
Too many needles on the legs—it exhausted him.
“Done. Finished.”
Wang Sandong let out a long breath.
Zheng Xiao and her brother also breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.
Good.
The needles were inserted without any accident.
If there really is a miraculous effect, even better.
Zheng Xiao sat on a chair to rest—even though she was one of the Nine Surnamed Kings, maintaining mental tension and spiritual power circulation for a long time was also tiring.
After a short rest, when Wang Sandong removed the silver needles from Zheng Yu, Zheng Xiao looked at the sky and smiled, “It might take some time to buy all the materials. It’s just mealtime now. Let’s eat first?”
As she spoke, she looked at Wang Sandong and asked, “What do you want to eat?”
“Anything is fine,” Wang Sandong said with a smile.
“Just light and easy to digest.”
Naturally, it couldn’t be noodles or plain congee.
Since the brother-in-law rarely ate at home, Zheng Yu certainly wouldn’t treat him so poorly.
Knowing that the brother-in-law had a weak constitution and couldn’t eat strong flavors or greasy food, he gave orders and prepared a table of various light delicacies.
Wang Sandong had a small appetite; after a few bites and half a bowl of ginseng soup, he was full.
In the afternoon, the materials needed for forging were all bought.
Wang Sandong followed Zheng Xiao and her brother to Zheng Xiao’s forging room and directed the two of them in forging.
With two experts handling the work and the forging insights from the Ghost Axe, the forging went relatively smoothly.
But since it was the first attempt to forge this kind of spatial artifact, several experiments were inevitable, thus destroying quite a bit of material and wasting some time.
Moreover, Wang Sandong had to conceive the design while forging, requiring frequent adjustments on the fly.
Fortunately, he had already planned the general strategy, so it didn’t end in failure.
At midnight, the item was finally forged.
Zheng Yu looked at the object in Zheng Xiao’s hand, his face full of shock.
“This item…”
Zheng Yu’s breathing became heavy as he organized his words.
“Such a storage artifact…”
He really didn’t know how to express his shock.
Several times he wanted to reach out and examine the artifact, but pulled back his hand, as if afraid of accidentally damaging it.
Zheng Xiao held the soft, strip-shaped object, sensing the spatial formation within, slowly exhaled and said gently, “Truly extremely profound.”
“It’s just so-so.”
Wang Sandong took it, looked it over, and tried the feel.
It wasn’t made of ordinary fabric; it was easy to clean.
It was very suitable for use as a sanitary belt.
“Actually, it hasn’t reached the ideal state yet,” Wang Sandong said. “The space is too small, and the storage formation has issues; only liquid can be stored inside. Even a grain of rice can’t be squeezed in.”
Zheng Xiao frowned and said, “Since the space is compressed, naturally it can only store liquid, right? Apart from liquid or gas, even if solids could be forced in, they would probably be damaged by the spatial pressure.”
“Hmm… we’ll talk about it later.”
Wang Sandong smiled and added, “Continue. With these materials, we should be able to make five more.”
Zheng Xiao agreed and continued forging.
Zheng Yu was a bit curious and couldn’t help asking, “Brother-in-law, why is this item made so portable?”
Zheng Xiao heard this, pursed her lips and smiled, but didn’t answer.
Wang Sandong also smiled and said, “Virtuous brother is right; it’s precisely for portability.”
After thinking, he added, “This item is extraordinary. Virtuous brother must not speak of it to outsiders.”
Zheng Yu quickly said, “Yes.” Then he seriously assisted Zheng Xiao in forging.
The two had cultivation bases of the Eighth Rank and Sixth Rank respectively, both with strong comprehension and learning ability.
Having succeeded once, the second time naturally didn’t need Wang Sandong’s guidance.
The frail Wang Sandong couldn’t hold on anymore and sank into a soft chair, falling asleep.
Zheng Yu glanced at the sleeping Wang Sandong and said softly to Zheng Xiao, “Sister, do you know where the little brother-in-law hid that ‘Ghost Axe Art’?”
Zheng Xiao glanced at him.
Zheng Yu quickly said, “Sister is joking. How could I do such a despicable act? I just feel that when the little brother-in-law guided us in forging just now, he didn’t seem like he was reading from a book.”
The siblings were both smart; some things didn’t need to be said too clearly.
Zheng Xiao naturally understood Zheng Yu’s meaning, smiled and said, “Three mistakes in material refining, four temporary changes to minor strategies, and a few material substitutions… If the ‘Ghost Axe Art’ already recorded the forging method, why would it be like this?”
Zheng Yu glanced again at the sweetly sleeping Wang Sandong, thought about his miraculous survival without a spiritual root, and how he had demonstrated needle insertion and forging abilities today, couldn’t help murmuring, “Little brother-in-law… is truly an extraordinary person.”
Zheng Xiao also looked at Wang Sandong, recalling how he got winded after just a few steps, and whispered, “Heaven is jealous of genius.”
Before her words had fully fallen, she suddenly stiffened and sharply turned to look at the door.
Someone was trying to approach!
In the darkness outside the forging room.
Yuan Di stopped in time and didn’t dare approach further.
She even took a step back.
Her brows were furrowed, a hint of anger in her expression.
What a “Righteous Butcher”!
Even at such a distance, she was still detected. Staring at the figure inside the forging room, Yuan Di held her breath and focused.
This place was also the Old Capital, with many spiritual cultivator experts.
Even if she wasn’t afraid of Zheng Xiao, it wasn’t appropriate to start a big fight.
So…
Suddenly, the figure moved.
Yuan Di also moved.
One person burst through the door, the other stepped into the night and fled.
In a flash, two figures disappeared into the darkness one after the other.
Inside the forging room.
Wang Sandong, who was sleeping soundly, was startled awake by the sound of the door breaking.
He jerked and sat upright.
Looking at the broken door, Wang Sandong was stunned, mouth agape.
“Brother-in-law, don’t panic!”