Chapter 515: Chapter 315: The Curtain Falls

The twin swords emerged from the furnace, agile as dragons, accompanied by thunder and fire soaring rebelliously into the sky, pressing into the layers of tribulation clouds.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

The defiant demeanor provoked the wrath of the heavens; layer upon layer of tribulation clouds collided, unleashing bolt after bolt of lightning, turning the sky into a prison of thunder, filled with terrifying flashes of lightning as far as the eye could see.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Strike after strike, wave after wave, the lightning was relentless, like a torrential downpour, hammering down on the twin swords. Half exploded and dispersed, while the other half vanished without a trace, speck by speck infused into the sword artifacts, allowing the twin swords to traverse the thunderstorm unscathed, their edges even more pronounced.

Xu Yang sat above the clouds. Although not undergoing tribulation himself, he was connected to the twin swords, weathering the sky full of thunder and using the Heaven Asking Tribulation technique to sense the mechanism of the heavenly thunder, finding flaws in the sword artifacts, and rectifying them amidst the tribulation, making them truly perfect.

“This is…”

“Heaven Tribulation Refining Technique!”

Although Li Cangwu forced himself a thousand miles away, an Integration Great Power truly lived up to his name, seeing the critical details as if they were in plain sight.

“Using the Fire Essence Ley Lines as a furnace, and the power of Earthfire to forge these sword artifacts, they already showcase the work of a grandmaster, but human effort has limits, at most reaching the fifth rank. To ascend to the sixth rank and join the ranks of medium-grade Immortal Spirits, one must seize the fortunes of heaven and earth…”

“The Heaven Tribulation Refining Technique indeed has such effects, but such artifact refining techniques are too dangerous, too extreme; one wrong step could lead to the destruction of both the artifact and the refiner, obliterated by the tribulation lightning. Even among the ten sacred places of the Northern Domain, where the Great Sun Immortal Sect excels in refining, very few can harness this technique—I hadn’t expected this individual…”

“Using heaven as a furnace, thunder as fire, tribulation as the craftsman, reforging a thousand times, creating a mystery of nature; if these sword artifacts are complete, not to say they’d be unrivaled under the heavens, but they will certainly be more than enough to surpass all in the Southern Sea. And now with Li Cangwu here to protect the Dao, could these swords have been refined for him?”

“If that’s really the case, the situation in the Southern Sea…”

Gazing at the twin swords enduring the tribulation within the thunder prison, everyone’s thoughts varied, bringing about a sense of intrigue and uncertainty.

And so, after an indeterminate period, the tribulation of the Immortal Sword Artifacts finally reached its end.

“Boom!!!”

The final strike, a column of lightning carrying a profound heavenly will, struck into the twin swords, causing them to merge into one, turning into a brilliant orb of light that shot into the sprawling tribulation clouds, hiding within the vast dark canopy.

In the end…

“Bang!!!

The twin swords charged out, shredding the tribulation clouds, tearing through the canopy, their chilling light shining resolutely, freezing over the vast ocean, causing the wind and clouds to lose color, and the sun and moon to lose their brilliance.

“What a Flying Sword!”

“Heavenly Thunder Earthly Fire, a complete transformation!”

“Sixth rank Sword Artifact, a medium-grade Immortal Spirit, and a pair of twin treasured swords!”

“He actually succeeded in refining them!”

“What a Li Xuanyuan, what a Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion!”

“These sixth rank Flying Swords, even among medium-grade Immortal Artifacts, stand at the absolute pinnacle. With Li Cangwu possessing this magnificent treasure, even without advancing to the Mahayana Realm, he has enough power to change the situation of the South Sea Sect and Mysterious Yin Island.”

“…”

Watching the chilling light that spanned for thousands of miles, surrounding the Heavenly Thunder Double Swords with oppressive might, several Integration cultivators secretly gnashed their teeth in frustration, yet they were powerless and could only retreat unwillingly, while the rest of the crowd scattered like birds and beasts, coming quickly but leaving even faster.

Li Cangwu saw this and returned on his sword, back to Lingbao Island.

“Fellow Daoist, your craftsmanship is truly stunning and extraordinary,” said Li Cangqu with a big laugh as he came forward, full of praise, “After today, no one in the Southern Sea Cultivation Realm will be unaware of your name!”

“Haha!”

Xu Yang laughed, noncommittal, gracefully gesturing with his hand. The twin swords immediately flew back, landing in front of the two men: “Fellow Daoist, please take the swords.”

“…”

Li Cangwu turned his gaze to the perfectly matched pair of sword artifacts, his eyes filled with conflict and struggle, but he quickly made a decisive call and turned to Xu Yang, “As promised before, if the twin swords were completed, I would use one of them as compensation for your refining service. With that said, I shall take the Thunderflame Sword.”

Xu Yang heard this but shook his head in response, “Sky Strike Thunder Flame, heaven-made and earth-set, a perfect match—how could they be separated, creating a flaw by such division?”

Li Cangwu frowned, “What do you mean by that…?”

Xu Yang smiled calmly, “These sword artifacts, let them all belong to you. Embrace their destined fate.”

“This… That is impossible, absolutely impossible!” exclaimed Li Cangwu, his face changing suddenly as he immediately shook his head, “I only sought one medium-grade Immortal Sword. Having either Heavenly Mechanism or Thunder Flame would have been enough to fulfill my lifelong wish. How could I be so greedy as to claim both swords for myself?”

His speech was continuous, seeming sincere and indeed it was sincere.

In this artifact refining session, although he had contributed Star Sovereign Iron, a high-tier Spirit Material, Xu Yang had also made significant sacrifices. He not only put the affairs of Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion on hold for three months but also utilized the Fire Essence Ley Lines and the Nine Palaces Bagua Furnace.

After three months of forging, at least thirty percent of the Fire Essence Ley Lines were expended, and coupled with the consumption of the Nine Palaces Bagua array, converting it into Spirit Stones would cost hundreds of millions at least. Especially with the Fire Essence Ley Lines, without one hundred and eighty years of time, there would be no hope of restoration, let alone reactivating the Nine Palaces Bagua for refining Immortal Spirit Flying Swords.

Taking all of this into account, the losses of Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion were likely to exceed the ten billion mark.

And that was just the investment, not to mention the labor costs for Xu Yang, a sixth rank Refinement Grandmaster taking a risk by employing the Heaven Tribulation Refining Technique.

As it was said before, the further one goes in the Hundred Arts of Cultivation, the more difficult it becomes, which is why the prices and fees rise correspondingly.

A common fifth rank Grandmaster, when crafting a batch of pills or making an artifact, would charge at least fifty percent of the finished product as a fee for their service, without bearing any risk for materials loss or the prospect of failure.

Now, not only did Xu Yang make a material investment such as the Fire Essence Ley Lines, but he also bore the risk of labor with the Heaven Tribulation Refining Technique. Adding material costs and labor fees together, charging seventy percent of the finished product as remuneration would be entirely justified, and no one could fault it in the slightest.