Muju's Smithing Secrets

As the title suggested, the records on the jade slip pertained to the art of smithing. It was penned by a human cultivator named Muju-ja, seemingly containing his accumulated knowledge and insights into the craft. Even a cursory glance at the opening sections revealed its profound depth.

"Not bad." Jekyeong thought he had stumbled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠upon an unexpected treasure, but Muju's Smithing Secrets was only the beginning.

"How about this?"

"Since you fancy human items, Fellow Daoist, I brought this along..."

A stream of human goods followed—jade slips, broken spiritual tools, damaged dharma treasures, and all sorts of miscellaneous human trinkets. Jekyeong, who had been casually accepting them at first, began to find it rather strange.

What is going on here? Jekyeong thought. After Jekyeong irritably turned away Seon-gu, who was trying to push a heavily cracked flying vessel onto him, a long-forgotten fact finally crossed his mind.

Ah, right. These guys participated in the war too. Back when the war was in full swing, Jang Yeong and the local Great Demons had fought against the humans. They had decisively repelled the invading human sects and even launched a counter-offensive deep into human territory.

They must have plundered these back then. Just as Jekyeong knew what these demons liked, they also knew what Jekyeong liked. However, looking at them now, they seemed to have slightly misunderstood. They appeared to believe he was obsessed with absolutely anything of human origin—or perhaps they were just throwing everything they had at him, hoping something would stick.

"What about this?"

This time, U-jam produced a jade slip. A faded jade slip materialized out of thin air and dropped before him. Jekyeong smoothly inspected this one as well. In that instant, his brow twitched imperceptibly.

An elixir recipe compilation. Indeed, it was a collection of alchemical recipes. Right from the beginning, it listed numerous herbs and elixirs he had never even heard of. This jade slip was also sealed, allowing him to examine only the introductory portion, but Jekyeong could tell that these recipes were highly unusual.

This is... A sudden realization flashed through his mind. Keeping his expression neutral, he showed a moderate amount of interest and asked U-jam what he wanted in exchange.

"I'll take this."

What U-jam chose was a jar of corpse poison the size of a wine cask. Jekyeong had brought it specifically to target U-jam, and his calculation had hit the mark perfectly.

"Where did you acquire this jade slip?"

"Took it from some humans a while back. They were stubborn bastards, but they barely had a copper to their names."

Aside from the mild annoyance of having trash repeatedly shoved in his face afterward, the harvest from the exchange meet was quite satisfactory. He had acquired several decent Qi Condensation cultivation methods, and though they were only fragments, he had also secured two Foundation Establishment cultivation methods. Yet, the greatest harvest was undoubtedly Muju's Smithing Secrets. Even though he hadn't read it in its entirety, and despite his lack of expertise in smithing, Jekyeong could tell at a glance that this manual was of an exceptionally high caliber. As for the recipe compilation obtained from U-jam, it was still too early to make a judgment; he would have to examine it thoroughly upon returning to the Black Cult Palace.

It's certain. Almost none of the medicinal herbs used in Yangseo Lake are listed here. Back at his palace, Jekyeong meticulously reviewed the recipe compilation he had obtained from U-jam multiple times.

These are recipes from another region. Most likely... Jimagwon. Weren't there many cultivators from Jimagwon who had fled to Yangseo Lake to escape the demonic disaster? Whether the cultivator U-jam killed was from Jimagwon or not, this recipe compilation had undoubtedly originated from there.

I was being narrow-minded. He had been at a loss as to how to acquire foreign alchemical recipes, but a sudden ray of light seemed to pierce through his thoughts. If I cannot obtain the recipes of Yangseo Lake, I can simply acquire the recipes of Jimagwon.

Or he could obtain them from other regions. However, since Jimagwon was originally human territory and its current state was highly unstable, it would be much easier to exploit opportunities there. Weighing all factors, Jimagwon was indeed the optimal choice.

Jimagwon... Truly, my fate is deeply intertwined with that place. He didn't know what Jimagwon or its human inhabitants would think, but Jekyeong felt a remarkably strong karmic bond with the region.

Although he had resolved to obtain recipes from Jimagwon, he could not make a move immediately. He had to gauge the attitude of the Yojeong and monitor the movements of Gyeongwang Palace, making it difficult for him to act in person.

If he couldn't go himself, he had to employ others. However, he couldn't use his human subordinates, including Han Cheongyu. To humans, the current Jimagwon was practically a forbidden land of death.

If humans won't do, I could use the Beast Race... but I have no one trustworthy. The names of Ha Son-seo and Seon-gu crossed his mind, but they were ill-suited for the task. He couldn't explain his reasons for seeking alchemical recipes, and they were fundamentally unfit for Jimagwon. Though they were Great Demons, they were aquatic beasts at their core. Jimagwon, with its sparse water energy and rampant fire energy, was no place for aquatic demons to operate.

At least I have a direction now. There is no rush. The best course of action was to go to Jimagwon himself once the matters with Gyeongwang Palace and the Yojeong were settled. At that point, he could seek out a suitable human faction and acquire the recipes.

Ah, indeed. While I'm at it, I can gather the corresponding medicinal ingredients as well. Since Jimagwon's recipes would naturally require Jimagwon's local herbs—just like the ones in the compilation from U-jam—it would be ideal to secure both at the same time.

Putting that aside for now... Setting aside his thoughts on the recipes, Jekyeong began to examine Muju's Smithing Secrets.

He had sensed this even when skimming the introduction at the exchange meet, but the cultivator named Muju-ja who wrote this manual was no ordinary man. Or perhaps, it was more accurate to say he was not sane. In Jekyeong's estimation, this Muju-ja possessed the qualities of a master, an eccentric, and a madman all at once.

In the opening sections of the manual, Muju-ja expressed endless frustration and dissatisfaction with the limited materials used in conventional smithing. He lamented that while such limitations were understandable when the art of smithing was first conceived and developed due to poor conditions, it was nothing but the complacency of later generations to merely copy or slightly modify the methods of their predecessors now that the human race had entered an era of great prosperity.

Muju-ja was highly skilled and intelligent, but he was also an incredibly stubborn man. Criticizing the spirit blacksmiths of his time for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠straying into heterodox paths, he obsessed over what he believed to be the true essence of smithing: the enhancement of the spiritual materials themselves. As stated in the introduction, since spiritual energy could dwell in all things, it could also be infused into spiritual materials—this was the core thesis of Muju's Smithing Secrets. Up to this point, one might dismiss it as the delusion of a madman, but Muju-ja had actually turned that delusion into reality.

Muju-ja had achieved a half-success. He had invented a unique forging method that successfully infused spiritual energy into metallic spiritual materials, but he had failed to replicate the results with non-metallic materials. Whether he later succeeded in refining this nameless forging method, and if so, to what extent, remained unknown. The text of Muju's Smithing Secrets abruptly concluded shortly after the brief vow Jekyeong had just read.

A forging method that infuses spiritual energy into metal. Jekyeong had only picked up basic smithing concepts while gathering human heritages, making him practically a layman in the craft. Yet, even to his untrained eyes, Muju-ja's concept was nothing short of genius.

Smithing was the art of assembling various materials to craft tools, and the tools thus created were heavily dependent on the inherent properties of those materials. Consequently, the quality of a smithed item—provided the artisan possessed the baseline competence to forge it properly—was influenced far more by the quality of the raw materials than by the artisan's individual skill. To put it bluntly, once a basic level of proficiency was achieved, the artisan's skill ceased to matter much. This was the fundamental limitation of smithing.

This was why spirit blacksmiths sought progress through what Muju-ja called heterodox paths—engraving divine inscriptions with special powers or incorporating the subtle wonders of formations. But Muju-ja was different. He reasoned that if smithing was bound to depend on the quality of the materials, then he simply needed to advance the art by elevating the quality of those materials. His nameless forging method was the fruit of that philosophy. Though it was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠only a half-success... in Jekyeong's eyes, even this incomplete method seemed highly useful.

Muju-ja believed his forging method was too violent. He thought that because the force of the forging was so intense, no spiritual materials other than metal could withstand it. However, Jekyeong did not agree with Muju-ja's theory. The forging method was too violent for non-metallic materials to endure? Did that mean there were no spiritual materials stronger than metal?

Perhaps... this Muju-ja's cultivation realm wasn't actually that high. Of course, it could have been a figure of speech. Yet, Jekyeong couldn't shake the feeling that Muju-ja's assertion—that only metal could endure the forging—stemmed from a narrow perspective. If his suspicion was correct, Muju-ja might not be the grand master he imagined himself to be. He might have been a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, or perhaps even lower...

Well, I'll know once I test it. In truth, Jekyeong believed the most significant issue with Muju-ja's forging method lay elsewhere.

...Though there is the minor issue of the smith's cultivation and lifespan being damaged, in any case... How on earth was that a "minor issue"? Looking at it again, Muju-ja was definitely a madman. Although Muju-ja repeatedly argued that cultivation could always be rebuilt and that the loss of lifespan was negligible... his words carried absolutely no weight and looked like pure self-rationalization no matter how one sliced it. Jekyeong even harbored a reasonable suspicion that Muju-ja might have died from a depleted lifespan after repeatedly using this forging method.

Well, a test will reveal the truth. He would see just how effective the forging method was, and exactly how "negligible" the damage to one's lifespan and cultivation truly was.

Naturally, Jekyeong had no intention of testing it himself. He was practically a novice at smithing, and he had absolutely no desire to sacrifice even a fraction of his cultivation and lifespan, no matter how minuscule. Besides, he had alternatives—and more than one at that.

"Lord Dragon, this is..." Han Cheongyu's voice trailed off as he received the jade slip containing Muju's Smithing Secrets.

"Copy the contents of the jade slip. Then, distribute it to the humans who practice smithing and have them master it."

"Understood." Han Cheongyu did not question him. As always, he dutifully set out to execute his orders.

"Cheongyu."

"Yes?"

"How old are you this year?"

"I am thirty."

"Thirty, I see."

Late Qi Condensation at thirty. Even compared to sect or clan cultivators, his progress was remarkably swift. Furthermore, Han Cheongyu had not just recently entered the late Qi Condensation stage. His foundation as a late Qi Condensation cultivator was solid, even mature. Though his accumulation was currently insufficient, if he dedicated himself to cultivation with ample resources over the next ten years, he could realistically aim to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm.

Not bad. Jekyeong pondered the possibility of Han Cheongyu becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator ten years from now, or perhaps even further in the future. It might be a premature thought. The Foundation Establishment barrier was the first true obstacle faced by all human cultivators, and only a handful of those who challenged it succeeded. Considering that many who failed at this barrier were far more talented than Han Cheongyu, there was no guarantee he would overcome it, despite his smooth progress thus far.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator... Well, that is fine. Jekyeong trusted his subordinates' capabilities, but never their loyalty. Han Cheongyu appeared loyal now, but who could say how his heart might change in the future? Therefore, Jekyeong preferred to rely on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠absolute strength rather than the fickle nature of loyalty. If his own power was absolute, why should he ever fear betrayal?

With my current strength, I can easily handle one or two early Foundation Establishment cultivators. Jekyeong tossed Han Cheongyu a bottle of cultivation elixirs he had refined for practice, offering a few words of encouragement to focus on his training. After a deeply grateful Han Cheongyu departed with his unexpected gift, Cheongo, who had been silently rolling around in its glittering nest, took flight and landed atop Jekyeong's head.