Heaven-relying Sword And Dragon-slaying Sabre

Wu Jingcao had lost his right arm, only his left arm was left. He arranged a dozen or so swords and sabers by his side. His eyes were fixed on the fire. Each time the fire changed color, he put a blade inside the furnace to test the strength of the fire. When the fire turned from blue to white, his left hand quickly grabbed a pair of steel pliers and pinching the other half section of the Tulong Saber, he joined it with the top section, and held it in the fire. He was bare-chested; sparks landed on his body, but he seemed oblivious, his attention was focused completely on the task at hand.

Zhang Wuji thought, "Although being a swordsmith is a humble occupation, it actually requires great knowledge and great ability. An ordinary blacksmith would not be able to endure even this blistering hot furnace."

Suddenly, 'bonk, bonk', the two Lie Huo Flag men who were pumping the bellows fainted and fell on the floor. Xin Ran and the Lie Huo Flag's Vice Flag Leader quickly stepped in. They pulled their two fainted men and then took their place in pumping the bellows. These two men's internal energy cultivation was not bad; as they exerted their strength, blast of air made the fire inside the stove blazing high, reaching about a 'zhang' above the smokestack, creating quite a spectacle.

About half the time to burn an incense-stick later, Wu Jingcao suddenly cried out, "Aiyo!" and jumped backwards with disappointment on his face. Everybody was stunned; when they looked at his hand, they saw the steel pliers in his hand had melted and deformed beyond recognition, while the Tulong Saber did not show the slightest bit of melting.

Wu Jingcao shook his head and said, "Subordinate is incompetent; this treasured Tulong Saber's reputation is truly justified."

Xin Ran and his second in command stopped pumping and stepped aside. Their clothes were soaking wet with perspiration, as if they had just swam in the water fully clothed.

"Wuji Gege," Zhao Min suddenly said, "Wasn't even the Tulong Saber not able to chop the Sheng Huo Ling tablets?"

"Ah, that's right!" Zhang Wuji said.

Out of six Sheng Huo Ling tablets, one was taken by Shuo Bude going down the mountain to call for reinforcement; there were still five tablets left. Zhang Wuji took these five tablets and handed them over to Wu Jingcao, while saying, "If the Saber and the Sword cannot be fixed, that's all right. Sheng Huo Ling is our Cult's most precious object. We simply must not damage it."

"Yes!" Wu Jingcao replied, while bowing down to receive the tablets. He looked at the five tablets and noticed that the tablets were made neither of steel nor iron; they were hard like nothing he had seen. He estimated the weigh to be about more or less a catty [approx. 1 lb or 0.5kg]. Lowering his head, he pondered deeply.

"If you are unsure, you don't have to take a risk," Zhang Wuji said.

Wu Jingcao did not reply. After a while, he awoke from his deep thought and said, "Subordinate did not promptly reply, begging Jiaozhu's pardon. This Sheng Huo Ling was cast using 'bai jin, xuan tie' [lit. white gold – platinum, black/mysterious iron (same material as Yang Guo's heavy sword)], blended with 'jin gang sha' [lit. very hard steel (or diamond) powder/granule] and other materials; ordinary blaze would not smelt it. Subordinate was pondering deeply how it was made in the past. It was truly unthinkable; thereupon I was lost in thought for a while."

Zhao Min cast a sidelong glance toward Zhang Wuji. Pursing her mouth, she laughed and said, "When Jiaozhu needs to go to Persia to meet with a certain important character in the future, you can go with him to consult their master artisan."

Zhang Wuji was bashful. "Why would I want to go to Persia?" he asked.

Zhao Min smiled and said, "Do I have to spell it out in front of everybody?" To Wu Jingcao she said, "Have you looked? There are engravings of characters on the Sheng Huo Ling. If sharp weapons like Tulong Saber and Yitian Sword cannot damage it the least bit, what kind of tool did they engrave the characters with?"

"Actually, to engrave the characters is not difficult," Wu Jingcao replied, "You can apply a layer of white wax [here's from the dictionary: white wax from Chinese white wax bug] to the Sheng Huo Ling; and then engrave the characters on the wax. Next, apply a strong acid. Within several months, the acid will corrode the tablets. When the white wax is scraped, the characters stay on the tablets. What Xiao Ren [humble one, lowly one – referring to self] do not understand is how the metal was cast."

"Hey," Xin Ran called out, "Are we going to do it or not?"

"Jiaozhu, set your mind at ease," Wu Jingcao said to Zhang Wuji, "Although Xie Xiongdi's raging fire is fierce, it will not damage the Sheng Huo Ling the least bit."

Xin Ran, however, was apprehensive, "I will make every effort to fan the fire, but if it burns our Cult's most precious object, I may take the blame."

Wu Jingcao smiled and said, "I don't think you have the ability to do so. But even if you do, I will take the blame." Thereupon he used two Sheng Huo Ling tablets to clamp the half section of the Tulong Saber, and then took a new pair of pliers to grip the Sheng Huo Ling tablets and returned the treasured Saber into the furnace.

The fire was blazing hotter and higher. After burning continuously for more than an hour, Wu Jingcao, Xin Ran and the Lie Huo Flag's Vice Flag Leader seemed to be beaten down by the heat; their faces showed signs of weariness, it looked like they would not be able to hold much longer. Priest Tie Guan signaled Zhou Dian with his eyes, while his left hand made a circle in the air. The two of them rushed forward to take Xin Ran and Lie Huo Flag's Vice Flag Leader's place in pumping the bellows. These two men's internal energy was much higher than those two they were replacing; inside the furnace, a white flame rose straight up.

Suddenly Wu Jingcao shouted, "Gu Xiongdi [brother Gu], do it!"

The Rui Jin Flag's Vice Flag Leader rushed toward the furnace with a naked blade in his hand. A white ray flashed, the blade stabbed Wu Jingcao in the chest. The multitude faces of heroes watching from the side changed, they all cried out in shock. Blood spurted out from Wu Jingcao's naked chest toward the Tulong Saber. As the blood met the fire, blue smoke rose gracefully.

"It's finished!" Wu Jingcao shouted. He retreated several steps and fell sitting down on the ground. There was a deep black big saber in his right hand. The two broken pieces of the Tulong Saber had been fused together into one piece.

Now everybody understood. Turned out when a swordsmith failed to forge a saber or a sword, they would drip blood on the blade. There was an old legend about a certain husband and wife, Gan Jiang and Mo Xie, who had to jump into the furnace before an extremely sharp weapon could be forged. With his action, Wu Jingcao might have followed a master artisanship custom handed down from the ancient times.

Zhang Wuji rushed toward Wu Jingcao; he looked carefully at the wound, and saw that the saber only entered the flesh shallowly, the injury was not life threatening. Immediately he applied cut wound medicine and wrapped up the wound, while saying, "Wu Xiong, why did you do this? It's not important whether this Saber can be fixed or not. Why did Wu Xiong have to suffer such pain?"

"What's the big deal about this superficial wound that it has caused Jiaozhu anxiety?" Wu Jingcao replied. He stood up and raised the Tulong Saber to take a closer look. Upon seeing that the broken part was mended flawlessly with only a faint trace of blood on it, he could not help but feel very proud.