Chapter 96: Disciple Conference (Part 8)

The furnace wall near the top first turned red, then orange, and finally displayed a thin layer of sky blue.
Ye Ling’s expression shifted through a similar range of emotions.
Logically, since Yu Chu had started the furnace at the same time as her, they should be opening it around the same time. If Yu Chu was crafting a substandard or inferior item, it would take less time.

But with the sudden infusion of the “God-Smiting Whip,” the previously waning fire in her furnace had unexpectedly surged back to life.
Yu Chu had been refining her artifact for five days and four nights, far longer than usual. Either she’d failed, or… she was crafting something above grade A.

Ye Ling’s mind was instantly thrown into disarray, but she noticed the furnace wall trembling, almost becoming translucent, and quickly seized the opportunity to shout, “Improper fire control! The furnace is going to explode! Quickly, take it out!”
If the fire was too intense and the artifact wasn’t removed in time, the furnace wall could become overly thin and risk exploding.

If the furnace exploded, they’d not only lose the artifact but also damage the furnace.
Yu Chu lacked experience in this regard.
The surrounding disciples grew alarmed at the warning.
Xu Qianyu was also startled and looked over at Yu Chu. Sweating profusely, Yu Chu listened intently to the sounds within the furnace, weakly saying, “It’s… it’s not time yet.”

Xu Qianyu said, “She says it’s not time yet.”
“You know nothing about refining! Stop making trouble!” Ye Ling waved her hand, ordering others to form a barrier, and shouted, “Move aside before the furnace explodes and injures everyone!”

Xu Qianyu looked at the furnace, now expanded several times its original size and on the verge of collapse. She didn’t dare stay too close but quietly asked Yu Chu, “How much longer do you need?”

Yu Chu was close to tears. “A… a quarter of an hour.”
Xu Qianyu replied, “Alright, I’ll hold them off for a quarter of an hour.”
“Anyone who dares approach…” Xu Qianyu declared as she leaped off the furnace, swinging her sword charged with arcs of purple lightning. No one could get near Yu Chu.

Ye Ling scowled. “You might not fear for yourself, but what about the other disciples? Sword cultivators, pull her away, extinguish the flames, and have everyone else retreat behind the barrier!”
With that, another round of sword attacks commenced. Amid the flashes of light, a single sword arc deflected all others.

Xu Qianyu glanced back to find a tall, high-bunned female cultivator standing beside her. She wore a branch as a hairpin and wielded the Qingshuang Sword with a poised, radiant expression.
“Sister Jian Yao?”
Xu Qianyu had fought her several times before on the high-tier dueling platform. Jian Yao ranked second on the Diligence Board and was known for her endurance. After the inner-sect tournament, Jian Yao had suddenly given up her sword and transitioned to artifact crafting, a decision Xu Qianyu had struggled to understand.

But here she was, witnessing Jian Yao wield her sword once more.
With a playful smile, Jian Yao said, “Yes, yes, I’m here to support my juniors.”
Xu Qianyu asked, “Shall we force them back inside the barrier?”
Jian Yao replied, “Absolutely.”
With synchronized movements, the two unleashed a blend of white and purple sword energy, pushing the advancing disciples back several feet.

“Sister Jian Yao,” Xu Qianyu asked, unable to suppress her curiosity, “why did you give up the sword?”
“Must I really explain?” Jian Yao sighed. “In the Flower Realm, I turned into a turtle.”
Xu Qianyu couldn’t help but glance at her. That was unbelievably unlucky.

“It took me half a day to crawl from the bed to the yard, and another half-day to explore and observe,” Jian Yao shook her head. “I was quite distressed, but as I waited in the courtyard, a flower fell on my head, filling the air with fragrance.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it,” Jian Yao replied. “Ever since joining the sect, I had been training day and night, even sleeping with my sword by my side to ensure I wouldn’t fall behind. I can’t remember the last time I properly observed the skies or the changing seasons.”

“When I finally returned to my human form and earned points for demon-slaying, I felt like something was missing, that I’d never again experience the simple pleasure of a flower falling on me.”

“So, you became an artifact craftsman?”
“Yes,” Jian Yao said. “I thought, if I weren’t cultivating, what would I want to do? I realized I didn’t truly love swordsmanship that much. I hoped to have time to fully appreciate the mountains, rivers, and seasons, making artifact crafting an ideal path.”

Xu Qianyu felt a pang of melancholy after hearing this.
She wondered what she would want if she weren’t cultivating. Originally, she wanted to be a wealthy merchant, living lavishly, but now, that no longer seemed enough.

She couldn’t bear to part with the freedom of riding the wind, the misty scenery of Penglai, or her time with Yu Chu, nor could she part with her senior, who woke her, helped with her hair, and urged her to rest each night.
If life could continue this way forever, she would be content.

Xu Qianyu then resolved that if peace came to the world one day and demon-slaying became unnecessary, she’d happily remain her senior’s junior sister forever.

…
Back in the formation, Ye Ling watched Xu Qianyu and Jian Yao idly chatting in front of the furnace and grew furious. “You sword cultivators are truly pathetic! Is there no one who can hold them back?”
The thinnest part of the furnace wall had become as thin as a cicada’s wing, yet it still hadn’t exploded.

Ye Ling formed a gesture to summon the Golden Crow, which screeched, calling forth the adjudicator.
A delicate pink figure descended and shouted, “Xu Qianyu!”

Xu Qianyu was startled. “Sister-in-law?”
Fu Shuangshuang’s face was serious; her brows furrowed. “With my alchemy experience, this furnace is definitely about to explode. Quickly put out the fire and take her away from it; the flames are spilling out; don’t you feel the heat?”
The furnace fire grew louder and louder, like popping chestnuts. Xu Qianyu looked down and saw a glimpse of Yu Chu’s thin spine.

Yu Chu knelt before the furnace; the fan in her hand scorched hot, with its edges already catching fire. Her hands were shaking from the heat. Although she fanned slowly, she kept on stubbornly, her expression extremely focused.

Xu Qianyu threw her a water-accumulation talisman and said, “No, we haven’t reached a full quarter-hour yet!”
“A quarter-hour, half-hour, who cares?” Fu Shuangshuang was annoyed. She extended her hand, and twelve iron fans appeared. With a wave, a fierce wind blew, threatening to extinguish the phoenix flames in the furnace by force.

A sword suddenly blocked the edge of the fan.
Xu Qianyu, afraid that Jian Yao would be troubled, braced herself and said, “I’ll hold her back; you hurry and protect the furnace!”
“What did you say? Are you rebelling? How dare you snatch the judge’s fan… Xu Qianyu, you stop right there!”

…
To Yu Chu, refining a weapon was like baking bread; if it’s not done, it’s just not done.
If the dough isn’t cooked through, it won’t rise, and if it doesn’t rise, it won’t have that delicate, crispy texture. If the flavor isn’t perfect, Qianyu won’t be satisfied.

The noise around her faded into a distant murmur, leaving only the subtle sounds of the divine artifact within the furnace.
Surrounded by spiritual energy, she changed her mind and decided not to refine a flying candle lamp it was too ordinary. How could she waste a Divine Whip on that?
Qianyu wielded her whip with a sharp, imposing style. She seemed very fond of it and carried it everywhere.

Yu Chu attempted to recall the Divine Whip, now dissolved into spiritual energy, and carefully separated it from the nearly-formed divine artifact bit by bit.
Ideally, she’d be able to return the whip to Xu Qianyu.
Amidst the rising flames, she extracted the final portion with precision.
The divine artifact transformed instantly into a pool of golden liquid, which was absorbed entirely by the Divine Whip. Yu Chu’s face relaxed, but then there was a thunderous boom.
The entire arena fell silent.

The disciples turned back in shock, only to see that the furnace hadn’t shattered to pieces; only its lid had blown off.
Then, red clouds shot straight into the sky, lingering for a long time.
Ye Ling stared in disbelief at the rolling, colorful clouds above the furnace. The clouds stretched across the sky for miles a rare omen if seen in the mortal realm.
A golden crow flitted through the clouds, calling out in brilliant spectacle.

The furnace remained glowing red and hot, but it gradually returned to its original state, undamaged.
Triggering a celestial phenomenon upon opening the furnace… That was the mark of a top-tier divine artifact.
Using a divine artifact as the base, Yu Chu crafted an upper-tier divine artifact!
Xu Qianyu, who had been fleeing from Fu Shuangshuang, suddenly saw a whip flying toward her from within the furnace.

It looked a lot like the Divine Whip she had thrown in, only slightly longer, thicker, and now a beautiful coral red, like it had soaked in blood.
She reached out and caught it suspiciously, and the whip instantly wrapped around her wrist like a small snake before springing up, coiling in her palm, and transforming into a bottle of glazed crystal.

Xu Qianyu held it up, inspecting it closely. “Why does this look a bit… like the Ten Thousand Ravens Jar?”
Sure enough, several golden-red phoenix fire shadows slowly emerged from the bottle’s mouth before dissipating into the air. “Is this phoenix fire?”
Yu Chu patted away the remaining flames on her clothes and leaped onto the furnace top. “Mm-hmm, aren’t you always envious of fire spiritual roots? So, I added a seed of my phoenix fire into it.”

It could be wielded as a whip and, with a lift of the hand, transformed into a fire jar.
Although Xu Qianyu didn’t possess a fire spiritual root, she could now use the Divine Whip to control phoenix fire by harnessing the power it absorbed.
After testing it a few times, Xu Qianyu grew increasingly fond of it, her beautiful eyes widening as she fixed her gaze on Yu Chu.
Yu Chu was truly a genius.

An elder arrived, rushing over with a red face, his robe fluttering. “Phoenix Fire Divine Whip, an upper-tier divine artifact. My disciple, you’ve truly surpassed yourself! Come down quickly and be careful not to fall.”
Another elder, Elder Yi, followed, his face gloomy with irritation.

Yu Chu pouted and replied weakly, “Master, I still have something to say.”
“Then speak.”
Yu Chu turned around, her skirts fluttering in the air.

“Senior Sister Ye,” she took a deep breath and said, “I didn’t copy you; we just happened to use similar materials.”
In the boundary, Ye Ling’s face looked extremely displeased.
After all, if she could create an upper-tier divine artifact, why would she need to imitate a mid-tier one?
“I’m sorry, Junior Sister Yu, I…” Under the pressure, Ye Ling forced out a phrase, but unable to bear the shame, she made a hand gesture and vanished.

“Hmph poor sport.” The disciples nearby sighed.
They had thought Ye Ling was mature and composed; who would have guessed she was so petty?
Yu Chu’s spectacular success had changed the landscape of weapon refinement disciples from now on.

*
After sending Yu Chu back, Xu Qianyu found Fu Shuangshuang waiting at the door, holding her sword, her face frosty. “Come with me.”
Xu Qianyu covered the scorched hem of her skirt and pinched the ash out of her singed braid, looking displeased as she followed her inside.

Fu Shuangshuang also had a fire spiritual root, and when she panicked earlier, her iron fan had whipped up spiritual flames, which rushed at Xu Qianyu, who barely escaped, her hair tips scorched.
Xu Qianyu hated having her appearance spoiled; if she hadn’t received the Phoenix Fire Divine Whip and was in a good mood, she would definitely be holding a grudge against Fu Shuangshuang.

“Why didn’t you fight back?” Fu Shuangshuang closed the door and coughed lightly.
Xu Qianyu snorted.
Unexpectedly, her response made Fu Shuangshuang laugh so hard she bent over, gloating, “I heard you’re quite spoiled in the sect. What’s wrong? Are you being meek around me too?”
“When it comes to being spoiled, no one can compare to a sister-in-law.”

Xu Qianyu was indeed more tolerant of women than men.
For instance, right now, although she was sarcastic, she didn’t really hold a grudge against Fu Shuangshuang.

Fu Shuangshuang said, “This is my first time making a ruling this year; how could you embarrass me in public?”
Xu Qianyu played with the prayer flags, “But didn’t you burn me, too?”
Fu Shuangshuang’s room still retained unique decorations from Tianshan, with colorful prayer flags hanging inside, embroidered with runes similar to the patterns on her shoes.
She pulled out a box of high-grade spiritual elixir (pills) that enhance cultivation from the prayer flags and stuffed it into Xu Qianyu’s hand. “Take this. Don’t tell your senior brother I burned you in a fit of haste.”

Xu Qianyu accepted it without fuss. She had consumed a lot of energy today, so she swallowed the spiritual pill immediately.
She had never eaten such a large pill before.
“Sister-in-law, why do I feel that a fire spiritual root is much more useful than a lightning one?”
“Why would you say that?”
Xu Qianyu patted the ashes off her sleeves, frustrated. “The fire root can burn me like this, but a lightning root only gives me a bit more strength when wielding a sword, and it’s not enough to damage a sword imbued with sword intent.”
Why couldn’t she have been born with water and fire roots?

Fu Shuangshuang replied proudly, “You just don’t understand. A lightning root has its unique uses, the greatest being its connection to celestial phenomena. For us cultivators, all opportunities are related to the Way of Heaven, and celestial phenomena are closely linked to one’s cultivation.”

“I know of two abilities that only cultivator (monk) Lei Linggen can have. One is called ‘Heavenly Divine Thunder,’ which allows a cultivator to summon heavenly thunder to destroy their enemies. The other is ‘Celestial Thunder Enshrinement,’ which, I hear, can momentarily boost one’s cultivation to nearly the deity realm by summoning celestial thunder.”

Noticing Xu Qianyu clutching her stomach, Fu Shuangshuang asked quickly, “What’s wrong?”
Xu Qianyu frowned. “Sister-in-law, my stomach hurts.”
“What?” Fu Shuangshuang grew cautious. “Could it be that high-grade pill made you sick?”
Seeing sweat forming on Xu Qianyu’s forehead, Fu Shuangshuang panicked and produced another high-grade pill, even larger than the first. “Here, take another one. Fight poison with poison—no, maybe they’ll cancel each other out?”
Xu Qianyu felt as if a fire was burning inside her belly, painful and relentless.

She took the pill and swallowed it, but after a moment, she squatted down in pain. “Ah, it’s even worse…”
After a while, Xu Baopu was called back. He appeared in the room, looking travel-worn, concerned at the sight of Xu Qianyu in pain. He wanted to help but hesitated to touch her, giving Fu Shuangshuang a reproachful glance. “How could you give our junior sister random elixir (pills)?”
“I thought they were beneficial!” Fu Shuangshuang bit her lip. “What’s the point of scolding me? Just think of a solution already.”

“I don’t know much about healing arts either,” Xu Baopu sighed, releasing a signal butterfly. “Help her sit down; I’m calling Suwei.”
Before long, Shen Suwei was brought back from the competition arena.

When Xu Qianyu left earlier, she had been lively and full of energy, but now she sat on the chair, her face flushed as she clutched her stomach, beads of sweat covering her forehead. Shen Suwei glanced back, seeing Xu Baopu and Fu Shuangshuang standing side by side, both looking a bit uneasy.

“What happened?”
Xu Baopu took a step forward. “It’s my fault. I saw our junior sister was exhausted from competing, so I gave her two high-grade spiritual elixir (pills) from Tianshan.”
Fu Shuangshuang shot him a glance.
“Two?” Shen Suwei’s tone was mild, but both of them looked nervous.
Understanding the situation from their exchanged glances, Shen Suwei didn’t expose them. He kneeled beside Xu Qianyu, gently touching her wrist with his fingertips.

Amidst the burning pain, Xu Qianyu felt a soothing, cooling energy flow into her body through his touch, so she grabbed his hand.
Shen Suwei paused, but he didn’t pull away, continuing to hold her hand as he guided her through a few cycles of breathing to help her calm down.

“Two high-grade elixir (pills) were too much,” Shen Suwei said, looking at Xu Baopu with a sigh. “She’s about to reach a breakthrough.”