Chapter 172: Refining Weapons with Blazing Fire

Ever since the Zhang family achieved their first counterattack and successfully turned the tide of battle, the opposing Dongfang family had entered a period of relative calm. This unexpected lull conveniently provided the battle-weary Zhang family of Qingmu Town with a much-needed window to rest and regroup.

While recovering his vitality, Xu Xuan also took the opportunity to sort through his spoils of war.

The two Immortal Cultivators at the Spirit Condensation realm he had slain previously possessed cultivation bases at the third and fourth layers respectively, yielding a bountiful harvest.

Aside from over ten thousand low-grade spirit stones, there were also several spirit tools. Ordinary spirit tools, jade slips containing cultivation techniques, and the like held little utility for Xu Xuan, given that he was a body cultivator.

Fan Jiugu was a female immortal cultivator, and Xu Xuan decided to set aside her few spirit tools, considering them as potential gifts for Huilan and Yu Qin.

The only items universally useful to him were spiritual elixirs and crafting materials, which Xu Xuan stored away without a moment's hesitation.

However, inside the storage pouch of the withered demonic cultivator, he discovered a black silk mesh blanket—a flying magical artifact of spirit-tool grade.

Channeling his natal flame, Xu Xuan obliterated the spiritual imprint within it and drove it with his primordial energy. Soon, a layer of crimson texture surfaced on the surface of the flying blanket, and a dark, eerie wind began to churn around its perimeter. Sitting upon it was quite comfortable; more importantly, it was four to fifth-tenths faster than Xu Xuan's original flying artifact. Being a flying spirit tool, its value was easily tenfold greater than that of a mere flying artifact.

After refining this black silk blanket, Xu Xuan was pleasantly surprised to discover that not only could it be used for flight, but it could also transform into a web-like mesh to bind enemies.

Swish!

With a thought of his spiritual perception, the black silk blanket flapped noisily in mid-air, expanding rapidly as it caught the wind. It suddenly stretched and unfolded, flashing a layer of dark red silk mesh that descended from the sky like a giant spiderweb. The silk net also possessed a sticky property, making it extremely difficult for any trapped object to escape.

Xu Xuan even experimented by infusing a small amount of his flame into it, causing eerie dark-red fire tendrils to ooze across the black silk blanket. The aura it emitted was astonishing, making it an excellent method for trapping and destroying enemies.

"The marvelous uses of magical treasures are indeed extraordinary. However, I am a body cultivator; my physical body is the ultimate foundation, and I must not rely too heavily on external treasures. Besides, the treasures truly suitable for me are mostly auxiliary or divine-ability types, or those legendary heavy-duty treasures."

Xu Xuan had a very clear direction for himself. Up to this point, he had never utilized any pure attack- or defense-oriented magical treasures.

At a certain moment, deep within the withered demonic cultivator's storage pouch, Xu Xuan found two black beads wreathed in chilling yin qi.

The moment he took these black beads into his hands, Xu Xuan immediately felt a piercingly cold chill that left his entire body ill at ease.

Upon recognizing the origin of these beads, cold sweat broke out across his forehead.

As it turned out, these beads belonged to a particularly vicious and sinister grade of magic treasures known as "Yin Thunder Beads." Their destructive power was unimaginably immense, but the conditions required to forge them were extremely harsh. Crafting such a bead required gathering yin demon qi and the rare yimo qi—though the latter could occasionally be found in special locations—while the essential yin thunder itself was even scarcer, appearing perhaps once in a century.

Yin Thunder Beads were classified into various grades depending on their materials and forging techniques. Legend had it that certain high-grade Yin Thunder Beads, if used properly, could even annihilate powerhouses at the "Three Realms of Dan Dao."

Of course, the Yin Thunder Beads possessed by the withered demonic cultivator were of a more ordinary variety, constructed from lower-grade materials.

Even so, when Xu Xuan had his past-life remnant soul evaluate them, he arrived at an astonishing conclusion: Yin Thunder Beads of this caliber were fully capable of obliterating cultivators below the seventh layer of the Spirit Condensation realm. In other words, if utilized correctly, dispatching cultivators at the fifth or sixth layer of the Spirit Condensation realm would be as effortless as lifting a finger.

Upon learning of their terrifying might, a lingering sense of fear gripped Xu Xuan's heart. This item must have been the withered demonic cultivator's ultimate trump card for survival, but the man had been killed by Xu Xuan so swiftly that he never even had the chance to deploy it. These Yin Thunder Beads possessed the absolute power to inflict severe trauma upon Xu Xuan himself; if both were detonated simultaneously, the danger would be manifold.

"Now this is a true treasure."

Xu Xuan felt a surge of secret delight. He carefully stored away the two Yin Thunder Beads, designating them as trump cards for self-preservation.

Sorting through the bountiful spoils took Xu Xuan half a day before everything was properly categorized. He briefly glanced through some of the demonic cultivation techniques included, but found himself entirely uninterested.

The most useful items remained the commonly used spiritual elixirs, such as those used for healing injuries, recovering primordial energy, or accelerating cultivation speed.

The combined application of these various resources could steadily enhance a cultivator's realm.

Xu Xuan could not help but sigh with emotion. No wonder experts were able to temper their cultivation through the wars of the cultivation world and rapidly elevate their strength. No doubt individuals like Nie Han and Zhang Feng operated in the same manner, allowing their cultivation bases to leap forward by bounds.

Roughly seven or eight days later, the peaceful Qingmu Town once again plunged into the chaos of war.

As it turned out, the Dongfang family had received a fresh batch of reinforcements, filling the vacancies left by their previous losses. They launched wave after wave of relentless, harassing attacks against Qingmu Town, proving far more troublesome than before.

Xu Xuan, however, was overjoyed and eagerly volunteered for battle.

Zhang Tianlun, the head of the Zhang family, also assigned Xu Xuan a specific mission. This time, alongside Zhang Feng and others, he was to garrison the rear of Zhang Tie Ridge and launch counterattacks as the situation demanded, though he was strictly forbidden from venturing more than five miles beyond Zhang Tie Ridge.

"Guest Elder Xu, I have faith in your strength, but you must not let a thirst for victory blind you. The Dongfang family boasts an Immortal Tactician who commands troops like a divine being; relying merely on matched forces, they have managed to steadily suppress our side for so long."

Zhang Tianlun said earnestly.

"Family Head, rest assured. My goal is to annihilate the enemy, not to obsess over winning."

Xu Xuan replied with a calm and steady expression.

Slaying enemies and seizing their spoils of war was his greatest motivation for stepping onto the battlefield—it was a thousand times more efficient than relying on conventional means to acquire spirit stones and resources.

He looked forward to this campaign with immense anticipation, once again fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with Zhang Feng.

History, however, proved that no one could sail smoothly forever upon the wind.

Upon arriving at the back mountain of Zhang Tie Ridge and garrisoning the area for a brief moment, Xu Xuan and Zhang Feng's group launched another sortie.

This time, both the enemy and friendly forces each had three Spirit Condensation cultivators, including one cultivator at the fourth layer on each side.

Judging purely by cultivation levels, the two sides appeared evenly matched.

Then, a bizarre situation unfolded!

"Fall back, all of you!"

The dark-faced martial cultivator of the Dongfang family caught sight of Xu Xuan, his expression shifted drastically, and he immediately ordered his men to flee. Such a reaction left everyone dumbfounded.

"Leader, why aren't we fighting?!" a Dongfang family clansman demanded, unable to contain his frustration.

"Fight what?! That Xu Xuan possesses the strength to slaughter fourth-layer Spirit Condensation cultivators. If we fight him head-on, we are marching to our deaths."

The dark-faced martial cultivator snorted coldly and retreated without the slightest hesitation.

The Zhang family cultivators dared not pursue too far either. The Dongfang family possessed an Immortal Tactician pulling the strings, whose movements were elusive and unpredictable; earlier pursuers driven by a competitive zeal had been ambushed and slaughtered.

Xu Xuan initially thought this was just a fluke, but over the next few days, the exact same scenario repeated itself time and time again.

The Dongfang family no longer treated Xu Xuan as a mere first-layer Spirit Condensation cultivator; they greatly overestimated his strength and refused to engage unless they held an overwhelming advantage.

On the other hand, other sectors of Qingmu Town were subjected to wave after wave of harassing attacks by the Dongfang family, plunging the defenders into endless misery.

It was not that Xu Xuan had no opportunities to strike at all. On the sole occasion he did engage, he found himself facing two Dongfang family cultivators above the fourth layer of Spirit Condensation simultaneously, and neither side managed to gain the slightest upper hand.

Although Xu Xuan's flame was terrifyingly lethal and capable of killing a fourth-layer cultivator at close range, the Dongfang family members fighting him were exceptionally cautious, widening the distance the moment anything felt amiss.

Speed was indeed not Xu Xuan's forte; if Spirit Condensation cultivators several notches higher than him were determined to escape, there was little he could do to stop them.

"Brother Xu, it's as if the Dongfang family is terrified of you. Every time we engage, they break off the fight immediately."

Zhang Feng said with a peculiar expression.

"You could say they fear me, but it's more about them accurately assessing my strength. The Dongfang family's Immortal Tactician is truly extraordinary to come up with a strategy like this."

Xu Xuan felt somewhat depressed.

When he first arrived in Qingmu Town and consecutively cut down immortal cultivators, it was built on the premise that the enemy was willing to fight and tended to underestimate his first-layer Spirit Condensation cultivation.

Now, ordinary Spirit Condensation cultivators of the Zhang family would pull away the moment they saw Xu Xuan, or else multiple fourth-layer cultivators would gang up on him with extreme caution.

Under such circumstances, how difficult was it to kill an enemy?

Six or seven consecutive days passed, and aside from slaying a few low-level lackeys, Xu Xuan had achieved nothing of note.

Throughout the ongoing campaign, the Dongfang family's tactics remained elusive and ghostly, often striking directly at vital points with an endless array of strategies. The Zhang family side could never fathom their true intentions.

Gradually, the Zhang faction in Qingmu Town fell into a disadvantageous position, harassed to the point of having not a moment of peace, exhausted and entirely passive.

Amidst numerous troop deployments and various missions, Xu Xuan grew somewhat bored.

Seeing this, Xu Xuan simply reduced his battle frequency and carved out a portion of his time for cultivation.

At this juncture, tempered by the fires of war, Xu Xuan was no longer far from the second layer of Spirit Condensation.

Furthermore, the "Silver Steel Body" stage of his body-refinement process was about to reach completion.

Xu Xuan estimated that once he successfully forged the Silver Steel Body, he would be able to disregard ordinary waves of immortal spell attacks, allowing him to charge single-handedly into a million-strong army and casually take an enemy general's head. By then, the Dongfang family's current strategy against him would be heavily undermined.

After all, back when he was at the Bronze Body stage, Xu Xuan still dared not plunge alone into a sea of enemy cultivators, where he would face countless spells, magical treasures, and binding restrictions. Once trapped, escaping was difficult.

However, once the Silver Steel Body was attained, not only would his physical resilience skyrocket, but his flesh would also generate an automatic shockwave barrier against external attacks, drastically increasing his immunity to magical power and rendering him immune to the attacks of ordinary Spirit Condensation cultivators.

At that time, if Xu Xuan wanted to kill a specific target, he could basically ignore the surrounding attacks and obstructions from multiple opponents. As long as his strength vastly exceeded his target's, he could kill at will, and no one would be able to stop him.

"At my current cultivation speed, within a month I have a chance to forge the 'Silver Steel Body' and even break through to the second layer of Spirit Condensation."

Xu Xuan made up his mind to shift his focus primarily toward cultivation, only occasionally charging onto the battlefield to throw the Dongfang family's immortal cultivators into a flurry of chaotic panic.

The only uncertainty was whether Qingmu Town could hold out for a full month.

The cultivators fighting on both sides were at least at the fourth layer of Qi Condensation, numbering four to five hundred in total!

During this period, the heads of the two great clans also made occasional moves. Knowing his personal strength could not reverse the grand situation overnight, Xu Xuan focused solely on eagerly awaiting the day he completed his Silver Steel Body.

On this particular day, Family Head Zhang Tianlun sought out Xu Xuan to entrust him with a secret mission.

"This matter must not be leaked to a single soul."

Zhang Tianlun paused, his expression solemn. "You can see for yourself that in this clan war, our side lacks an Immortal Tactician, leaving us constrained at every turn. My Zhang family has already made contact with the genius Immortal Tactician Chu Dong, but he is being tightly monitored by the Dongfang family."

"You mean to send me to rendezvous with Immortal Tactician Chu Dong?"

An image of a profound and calm youth immediately surfaced in Xu Xuan's mind.

"Correct. Go to Huanglong City to meet Immortal Tactician Chu Dong. Most of the Dongfang family's immortal cultivators here in Qingmu Town are terrified of you and far too familiar with your appearance, but the people over in Huanglong City many don't know you, nor do they fully understand the situation..."

As Zhang Tianlun spoke this far, a hint of sly cunning inevitably leaked across his face.