Becoming a Saint From the Iron Armor Skill

Chapter 474: Chapter 236: Thousand-Jin Iron Armor

Chen Cheng inwardly reflected on the scene of the deadly battle between Ghostly Wound and Xia Lingfeng.

Witnessing the clash between the Second Layer Realms of Organ Refining Realm Martial Artists gave Chen Cheng a deeper appreciation for their power.

In the First Layer Realm of Cultivation, one could see the Power of Heaven and Earth Origin and use their own Qi Blood Power to mobilize it.

In the Second Layer Realm, however, one could *touch* the Power of Heaven and Earth Origin. Mobilizing it consumed a minimal amount of Qi Blood Power.

But this was only a general concept.

Ultimately, the application of a Realm depended on the degree to which the Power of Heaven and Earth Origin was condensed.

While the First Layer Realm allowed one to mobilize the Power of Heaven and Earth Origin, the amount was limited and lacked condensation, thus restricting its might.

The Second Layer Realm, on the other hand, could mobilize a far greater amount of the Power of Heaven and Earth Origin, and it also focused more on condensing that power.

Disregarding the elemental advantages and disadvantages between different Realms, the more condensed the Power of Heaven and Earth Origin, the greater its might.

Even among those who had mastered the Second Layer Realm, the power they exhibited could vary greatly from person to person.

Someone at Ghostly Wound’s level had likely already cultivated his Second Layer Blood Evil Realm to the absolute peak.

’But a Realm isn’t everything; one’s Martial Arts Realm is just as important!’

’Having cultivated to the Organ Refining Realm, even without mastering a Second Layer Realm, one would be extremely formidable with just Primordial Gang True Force alone!’

’In Martial Arts Cultivation, you have to master both aspects with equal dedication!’

...

「Three days later.」

Linji City, Inner City.

Luo’s Blacksmith Shop.

Inside the Blacksmith Workshop.

Elder Luo Tiezhu took the Ink Crystal Stone from Chen Cheng and weighed it lightly in his hand.

His large eyes suddenly widened like copper bells, his breath grew short, and his voice trembled slightly as he spoke:

"This... Is this Ink Crystal Stone?"

Chen Cheng had been uncertain himself and had come to ask, but he hadn’t expected Master Luo to be the one asking first!

"So, is it Ink Crystal Stone or not?"

Chen Cheng asked in return.

The two stared at each other, wide-eyed, both stunned for a moment.

Luo Tiezhu was the first to recover, and he laughed heartily. "Of course this is Ink Crystal Stone! Although I only saw it once at an auction house in Su State City when I was young, I still recognize it."

"Oh, that’s good. I thought I might have been wrong," Chen Cheng said, relieved.

Luo Tiezhu examined the Ink Crystal Stone closely, then his eyes widened again. "Ah Cheng, a treasure like this is incredibly rare. How did you come by it?"

Chen Cheng replied very casually, "I was out of the city on a Demon Slayer mission when I happened upon a tremor in the earth’s ley lines. I just picked it up."

"Just picked it up??" Luo Tiezhu clicked his tongue in amazement, finding it utterly unbelievable!

Chen Cheng asked, puzzled, "Elder Luo, is there a problem?"

Luo Tiezhu shook his head like a pellet drum. "No problem, of course there’s no problem.

It’s just that Ink Crystal Stone is only found in the deepest parts of a mineral vein. Even with a tremor in the ley lines, it’s rare for it to surface.

Ah Cheng, to be able to just casually pick up such a treasure... your luck is simply defying the heavens!"

"It’s decent, I suppose." Chen Cheng nodded slightly, then asked, "Elder Luo, is this Ink Crystal Stone useful to me?"

"Of course it’s useful!" Luo Tiezhu rolled his eyes. "Ink Crystal Stone is a material for the Artifact Refining of Spiritual Artifacts! It’s incredibly useful.

Let alone anything else, just by integrating a tiny speck of this Ink Crystal Stone into a Weapon, its quality will be vastly improved.

Take your Profound Gold Long Saber, for example. It’s just an ordinary Treasure Saber. Against Divine Weapons and Sharp Blades, it could still be broken.

But if you were to fuse a bit of Ink Crystal Stone into it, it would be completely different. This Profound Gold Long Saber would become a Treasure Artifact on the level of a Divine Blade Level Weapon.

As long as it doesn’t go up against a Spiritual Artifact-level Weapon, it will be impossible to break."

"It’s that incredible!" Chen Cheng clicked his tongue in amazement.

Luo Tiezhu said, "But of course. Do you have any idea what a piece of Ink Crystal Stone this size is worth?"

Chen Cheng shook his head.

Luo Tiezhu said with a serious expression, "At least one million taels of patterned silver. And even if you have the money, you can’t find a seller. Very few people are willing to part with it!"

"That expensive?" Chen Cheng was slightly taken aback.

"Naturally." Luo Tiezhu nodded.

Chen Cheng suddenly asked, "Elder Luo, are you able to smelt this Ink Crystal Stone?"

Luo Tiezhu had only seen Ink Crystal Stone once. If he couldn’t smelt it, Chen Cheng would have to find another way.

Luo Tiezhu gave a sly chuckle. "A treasure like Ink Crystal Stone is naturally extremely difficult to smelt. You could count the number of people in all of Linji who can smelt Ink Crystal Stone on one hand.

However, it just so happens that I am one of them."

"Then I must trouble Elder Luo to help me use this Ink Crystal Stone to forge a Divine Blade Level Long Saber," Chen Cheng said with a slight bow.

"Ah Cheng, why are you being so formal with this old man? If you need me to do some Artifact Refining for you, you just have to say the word!" Luo Tiezhu shot Chen Cheng a sideways glance, feigning reproach.

Chen Cheng smiled and said, "Many thanks, Mr. Luo!"

Luo Tiezhu also smiled, thought for a moment, and then added, "Normally, using this Ink Crystal Stone to forge Divine Weapons and Sharp Blades would be the best choice.

But you mentioned before that you wanted to have a suit of Inner Armor forged that weighs over a thousand catties.

This old man has an idea. It would be more fitting to fuse this Ink Crystal Stone with Profound Gold to forge a suit of Ink Gold Inner Armor."

"To forge Ink Gold Inner Armor? Is this little bit of Ink Crystal Stone enough?" Chen Cheng asked, surprised.

’The Inner Armor I want has to be over a thousand catties, but this piece of Ink Crystal Stone is only twenty or thirty catties. That’s not nearly enough.’

Luo Tiezhu chuckled. "Ah Cheng, you may not know this, but Ink Crystal Stone, being a material for forging Spiritual Artifacts, is naturally extraordinary.

Ink Crystal Stone contains the Power of the Five Elements’ Geng Metal Origin. When smelted with other metals, it can often change their texture and greatly enhance their properties."

"It’s that magical?" Chen Cheng clicked his tongue in amazement again.

"Naturally," Luo Tiezhu said. "Take the Profound Gold for your Inner Armor, for instance.

The main ingredient is Black Gold Stone and the supplementary material is Profound Iron. Both materials are extremely heavy and durable.

Black Gold, in particular, has an even more outstanding weight property.

But that’s just ordinary Black Gold. If you add Ink Crystal Stone while smelting the Black Gold, its weight property will be greatly enhanced.

Similarly, for some light-property metals, like the Ying Iron used to forge Weapons such as Soft Swords, adding Ink Crystal Stone during smelting will make them even lighter, while also making them tougher and sharper.

Strictly speaking, a Weapon forged from metal whose texture has been enhanced by Ink Crystal Stone will already contain a trace of Geng Metal Origin Power and possess a hint of Spirituality.

This is why, if you then add other materials that contain Spirituality, like a Demon Beast Essence, you can often forge a Pseudo-Spiritual Artifact that possesses a degree of Spirituality."

"I see." Chen Cheng had the look of a student who had just been enlightened. He then asked, "Elder Luo, what specific changes will the forged Inner Armor have after adding the Ink Crystal Stone?"

"Specific changes, you ask..." Luo Tiezhu thought for a moment, then answered seriously, "To be honest, I’ve never forged something like this myself. However, ancient records state that when you add Ink Crystal Stone while smelting Black Gold...

...the Black Gold will fuse with the Geng Metal Origin Power, making its texture more compact. For the same weight, the volume will shrink to one-half or one-third of its previous size.

A suit of Ink Gold Inner Armor weighing over a thousand catties will likely be even thinner than your previous suit of Profound Gold Inner Armor.

As for its durability, even a Divine Blade Level Weapon would have difficulty piercing the Ink Gold Inner Armor. Only a legendary Spiritual Artifact could possibly damage it.

Furthermore, the Ink Gold Inner Armor will contain Geng Metal Origin Power. Even some powerful Realm Powers would struggle to damage it, as long as they don’t have a specific advantage over Geng Metal Origin Power."

"An Inner Armor that powerful is truly amazing!" Chen Cheng was overjoyed and said with some impatience, "Elder Luo, I’ll have to trouble you to get started on forging this Inner Armor for me right away."

"Of course, no problem." Luo Tiezhu patted his chest and agreed.

But he soon grew pensive again. "Smelting the Ink Crystal Stone will take at least a month.

Furthermore, with my current strength, smelting the Ink Crystal Stone will be a bit of a stretch. I’m afraid I’ll need to find a helper with formidable Martial Arts Power.

If we’re looking for help, that kid Mingyu could lend a hand, but you asked to keep the forging of the Inner Armor a secret, so it wouldn’t be right to let him know.

Therefore, you’ll have to be my assistant."

"Is that so..." Chen Cheng pondered for a moment. "Alright, I’ll just find an excuse to take a month’s leave.

By the way, Elder Luo, could we secretly move the Blacksmith Workshop to the Zheng Martial Arts Hall and forge the Inner Armor there?"

"If you were forging an ordinary suit of Inner Armor, I certainly wouldn’t bother. But forging a treasure like Ink Gold Inner Armor... *Sigh*... I suppose I can go along with your little covert operation this one time!"

Luo Tiezhu sighed softly, shot Chen Cheng a sideways glance, and struck a playfully proud pose.

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