Chapter 38: Azure Dragon Blazing Sun Sword

"Ah, it turns out to be Elder Huang! What a wonderful coincidence!" Tang Yi saluted the old man in the yellow robe with cupped hands.

"Immortal Friend Tang, it's been a few years, and you've already broken through to the early stage of the Great Luo Golden Immortal! Congratulations, truly congratulations!" The old man in the yellow robe was none other than Huang Yonghong, the artifact-refining grading master from the Blacksmiths' Alliance branch in Samur City in the Outer Regions whom Tang Yi had met back then. Although Elder Huang was an immortal at the mid-stage of the Ancient Spirit Immortal realm, he could be considered a middle-tier member within the Blacksmiths' Alliance. Unfortunately, he had still become a sacrificial pawn in the power struggles among the higher-ups, and a century ago, he was exiled to that remote Samur City on Mupu Star. As to why a branch was established in such a desolate location, many in the Immortal Realm had been guessing, but no one could be certain, and the Alliance's higher-ups remained tight-lipped about the matter.

Tang Yi could be said to have contributed immensely to Huang Yonghong's transfer back to the Chiyang Star System this time. It was precisely because of the sword Tang Yi had forged when undergoing his artifact-refining grade assessment back then. After Huang Yonghong sent that sword back to the Alliance headquarters, the interlocking array formations on the sword had completely stunned everyone there. For countless years, the Immortal Realm had not produced any similar immortal artifacts—well, excluding those originating from the Godly Weapon Star, and what surprised them even more was that this interlocking array formation was remarkably similar to the outputs of the Godly Weapon Star. Although it was not quite as refined as the immortal artifacts produced by the Godly Weapon Star, it proved that someone was already capable of replicating immortal artifacts from that legendary place. Major artifact-refining sects, families, and the Blacksmiths' Alliance throughout the Immortal Realm had always been trying to crack and replicate the immortal artifacts coming from the Godly Weapon Star, yet no one had ever succeeded until now. Naturally, seeing something so similar now filled them with shock and delight, so they decisively transferred Huang Yonghong back to Chiyang Star while frantically searching everywhere for Tang Yi's whereabouts, though unfortunately with no success.

Now, seeing that Tang Yi had delivered himself right to their doorstep, Huang Yonghong was overjoyed.

"Come, come, come, Immortal Friend Tang! You sure gave us a hard time looking for you!" Elder Huang invited Tang Yi up to the second floor of the branch and immediately sent someone to notify the person in charge here—the branch head, Wei Changkong.

"Elder Huang, how could I have given you a hard time looking for me? This junior is merely here once again to have his artifact-refining rank assessed!" Tang Yi said with a smile after taking a seat.

"Immortal Friend Tang, you have no idea. The array formations on that sword of yours truly gave us old fellows a massive shock. To think that Immortal Friend Tang could replicate the artifact arrays of immortal artifacts produced on the Godly Weapon Star—even if it is only less than thirty percent of their caliber—is enough to prove just how extraordinary your innate talent is." In Huang Yonghong's eyes, this Tang Yi must be some genius from a major artifact-refining sect or family out on a training journey, and his visit to the Outer Regions back then must have been to gather some special materials.

"This must be Immortal Friend Tang Yi, right? Truly young and promising!" An old man walked in from outside. Dressed in a purple-red robe, he was none other than the head of this branch, Wei Changkong.

"Immortal Friend Tang, let me make an introduction. This is Elder Wei, the head of the Chiyang Star branch," Huang Yonghong introduced him to Tang Yi.

"This old man is Wei Changkong. Greetings, Immortal Friend Tang. I hope you might have some time to stay here on Chiyang Star for a few more days so that this old man may fulfill the duties of a host, and by the way, seek your guidance on a few matters," Wei Changkong said with a smile.

"You probably just want me to teach you the interlocking array techniques for artifact refining, and playing the gracious host is merely an afterthought. Still, seeing you lower your stance this much, I suppose I'll let it slide," Tang Yi thought to himself.

"Hehe, since Elder Wei extends such a gracious invitation, this junior shall respectfully comply. Well, I must now ask Elder Wei to make the arrangements, as this junior needs to proceed with the artifact-refining rank assessment," Tang Yi said to the two of them.

Upon arriving at the expansive artifact-refining hall, Wei Changkong asked, "What grade does Immortal Friend Tang wish to be assessed for this time? Although this place cannot compare to the headquarters, we can still grade up to a Tier-6 Artifact Refiner."

"Tier 6? Then let's go with a Tier 6 assessment. I've brought my own materials this time; that shouldn't be a problem, right?" Tang Yi had already figured out all the rules and procedures here. Are you kidding? Forging an immortal-grade artifact was not something he was going to let others handle for free! An immortal-grade artifact, no matter how inferior, could easily sell for at least a million superior immortal stones!

"That is naturally not a problem at all. Please begin!" Elder Wei nodded and said.

An immortal-grade artifact was the highest grade Tang Yi could forge after breaking through to the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm. Before coming here, he had already forged a pair of gloves for himself at the immortal-grade level. This time, taking advantage of the assessment, he also wanted to forge an immortal-grade weapon for his own use.

In the artifact-refining circles of the Immortal Realm, theoretically, to forge an immortal-grade artifact, at least sixty percent of the materials used must be of Tier 6 or higher for there to be any chance of success.

However, less than thirty percent of the materials Tang Yi produced this time were of Tier 6. The materials he brought out were actually quite simple: Blazing Sun Heavy Iron and Azure Dragon Wood. These two were the Tier-6 materials. As for Dark Gold Water, Golden Ruler Powder, Meteorite Titanium, Profound Ice Stone, and Wonder Silk, these were all Tier-5 materials.

Seeing Tang Yi take out these materials, the two men nearby were completely baffled. What kind of formula was this? If the Dark Gold Water were used at the very end for quenching and forming, it might make some sense, but what was the Wonder Silk supposed to be used for? That kind of material was barely suitable for making defensive armor; what on earth was the point of using it to forge a weapon?

Huang Yonghong, however, managed to notice one thing: all of these materials were specialties of the Far Eastern Outer Regions.

Tang Yi paid no heed to their bewildered expressions, nor was he afraid of them stealing his formula. Even with the exact same formula, the items crafted still varied depending on the person.

Tang Yi first shaped the Blazing Sun Heavy Iron into a sword body and hilt, and refined the Azure Dragon Wood to craft a scabbard. Seeing this, the two men were even more speechless. Who in the entire Immortal Realm still used a scabbard nowadays? Having to draw your sword from its sheath in the heat of battle—wasn't that just asking to be killed?

After shaping the sword body, he fused Meteorite Titanium and Profound Ice Stone into it, carved two grooves along both sides of the blade, and injected the Dark Gold Water into them. What kind of development was this? It turned out the dark gold wasn't used for quenching after all—why on earth was it being applied here?

Next, he used the Golden Ruler Powder as an outer layer. Finally, what left Huang Yonghong and Wei Changkong utterly speechless was that he simply refined the Wonder Silk slightly and tied it to the scabbard. Good grief, are you planning to carry your sword on your back when you go out? The two of them cried out inwardly in their minds.

For the final step of quenching and forming, Tang Yi produced a ball of Myriad-Year Chilling Light Water and struck it against the sword body and scabbard. Surprisingly, there was no massive reaction; the sword merely emitted a single, crisp hum.

"Very well, this Azure Dragon Blazing Sun Sword has been successfully forged. I kindly ask Elder Wei to conduct the assessment," Tang Yi said as he handed the sword to Wei Changkong.

Although it sounded simple, this forging process had still taken nearly twenty days. Of course, such a trivial amount of time meant nothing to the three of them.

Wei Changkong brought Tang Yi into the appraisal room, where the equipment was vastly superior to the one in Samur City. Placing the sword onto the jade platform, Wei Changkong operated the mechanism, and shortly after, the results were displayed: Immortal Artifact Grade: Second-Grade Immortal Tier.

As expected, this Tang Yi's artifact-refining talent could only be described as peerless, jumping from a Tier-3 Artifact Refiner to a Tier-6 one in just a few short years. Tang Yi's immortal age definitely did not exceed ten thousand years. This was something Wei Changkong could easily discern with his cultivation at the late stage of the Ancient Spirit Immortal realm.

Walking out through the front gates of the Alliance branch, Tang Yi had already replaced his badge with a new artifact-refining emblem. Following the assessment, Wei Changkong and his companion became increasingly warm and enthusiastic. Unable to refuse their glowing hospitality, Tang Yi had no choice but to accept Wei Changkong's invitation to attend an exchange meeting hosted by the Blacksmiths' Alliance. By doing so, Tang Yi was now officially affiliated with the Blacksmiths' Alliance, becoming part of Wei Changkong's faction.

Of course, being affiliated with the Alliance came with both obligations and benefits. The obligation was to forge immortal artifacts for the Alliance; all materials were uniformly provided by the Alliance, and as long as he delivered a batch of refined immortal artifacts to the nearest branch every century, it was fine—plus, it was a paid commission. The Blacksmiths' Alliance supplied immortal artifacts and pills to various major sects year-round, relying on this to maintain its operations.

The benefit was that through the Alliance, he could quickly locate all kinds of rare materials he needed, and internal members even enjoyed discounts. The Alliance possessed its own material-gathering teams and also acquired various resources through branch offices stationed across every corner of the Immortal Realm.

This was an important reason why Tang Yi agreed to join, and with this identity, his business at the shop in Guming City would undoubtedly become much easier to manage.

After staying on Chiyang Star for another half a month or so, Tang Yi finally returned to New Moon Valley. The moment he stepped into the control room of the Godly Ship, he received a message transmitted via the jade pendant belonging to True Immortal Tianji. Tang Yi connected the jade pendant directly into the system of the Godly Ship.

"Immortal Friend Tang, I hope you have been well lately! I've looked for you a few times recently, but you were never around," a mechanical synthetic voice belonging to the Godly Ship played back. "I had no choice but to leave a message for Immortal Friend Tang. If you have some free time, do come over to the Tianji Sect for a chat—some fine tea is waiting for you!" With those words, the projection of True Immortal Tianji vanished.