23: Chapter 23 Even the Green Snake Needs to Refine Weapons
"Using Ice Magic in front of me? You'll have to ask if This Snake's Green Fire agrees!"
Xu Qing's eyes lit up; he was just worrying that his Demonic Fire had no room to be used.
This was like being handed a pillow just as he was getting sleepy!
However, this crocodile could only barely condense a layer of ice before being paralyzed, so it couldn't consider much else.
Even if it knew Xu Qing had Demonic Fire, there was nothing it could do.
"Burn!"
The Green Fire poured down toward the ice, and the surface melted rapidly, turning into flowing water that scattered in all directions.
The crocodile inside the ice grew frantic, desperately trying to refine the Snake Venom within its body.
But what was inside was LV5 Snake Venom, a toxin that crushed those of the same Rank; how could it be easily refined?
It wasn't like that Cultivator from before who had Medicinal Pills to mitigate the toxin's damage.
This reminded Xu Qing of the fear of once being dominated by spider venom.
The toxin taking effect, falling into paralysis, struggling desperately while the body refused to obey commands...
Now, seeing his opponent fall into this state...
It was... simply exhilarating!
The ice layers were melted away one by one without any resistance, and soon the fire reached the crocodile demon.
Xu Qing originally intended to use the crocodile demon as a punching bag to grind his Rank, but he ultimately gave up on the idea.
He and the crocodile had no prior enmity.
In the Monster Beast Mountain Range, it was a world of the strong devouring the weak; killing Yao Beasts was for the sake of becoming stronger and self-preservation.
But he couldn't break his own principles and use any means necessary just to become stronger.
Breaking principles only happens for the first time or countless times.
If he did that, what difference would there be between him and a Devil Head?
Xu Qing cleanly and decisively gave the crocodile demon a quick end.
[Ding, Dao Cultivation +5, Evolution Points +10]
[Obtained Item: Blue Ice]
[Blue Ice] The natal ice core of a Blue Ice Crocodile. After Fusion, there is a chance to obtain the skill: Ice Magic LV1.
"Not bad, it wasn't in vain that I gave you a quick death."
Xu Qing patted the crocodile demon's corpse and stored it away.
When he killed the Cultivators before, he had obtained the Artifact Refining LV1 skill.
Although he was very confused about how a snake could forge weapons, since he had the skill, he should be able to increase its level.
In order to better mingle in the human world after transforming in the future, mastering a craft might be a good choice.
Craftsmen are highly sought after no matter where they go.
Therefore, he couldn't waste the corpses of the Yao Beasts he killed from now on; he had to collect them to grind the proficiency of his Artifact Refining skill.
Once he obtained an Alchemy skill in the future, even the flesh and blood wouldn't be wasted after killing Yao Beasts.
He was gradually becoming the kind of person he used to hate.
He was already a sufficiently excellent capitalist snake.
Hunting complete, time to head home.
Hunting one target per trip was already the limit of labor Xu Qing could accept.
Moreover, Foundation Establishment Yao Beasts with a hundred years of Dao Cultivation were not common.
In this Cultivation World, Foundation Establishment was already a high-level existence.
Yao Beasts that reached this grade were a tiny minority.
Humans have Medicinal Pills for Breakthroughs, so the number of Foundation Establishment humans far exceeds that of Yao Beasts, but they often accumulate pill toxins, causing their magic power to stagnate and preventing them from moving toward a higher Realm.
Therefore, for higher-level existences, the number of humans and Yao Beasts is not that different.
In summary, finding the next Foundation Establishment great demon would require luck and traveling a long distance.
The strenuous hunt made his whole body feel "exhausted," and he wanted to hang on the black flood dragon horn for a few days again.
At night, the sound of an exasperated snake's hiss came from deep within the cave on the island in the middle of the lake.
"Why did the Fusion fail?!"
"Every time before, the Fusion was successful, but this time it actually failed!"
Xu Qing was so angry his tail was whipping back and forth.
That's right, the Fusion of the Blue Ice obtained from killing the Blue Ice Crocodile had failed, and he hadn't gained any skills at all.
He had even been shivering with cold during the Fusion process.
What a huge loss.
To vent his frustration, Xu Qing took out the Blue Ice Crocodile's corpse, condensed Wind Blades on his tail, and began to dismantle it.
First, he drained the crocodile blood, then separated the skin and flesh, and pulled out the bones.
The bones and crocodile skin could be used for Artifact Refining.
The blood could be used for Alchemy, and the meat could be fed to Silly Snake or eaten by himself.
He hadn't eaten cooked food since becoming a snake; this time he could try roasted crocodile meat.
"I'm starting to understand a little bit why my own body is so tempting."
After dismantling a Blue Ice Crocodile, Xu Qing finally understood what kind of feelings humans had when they looked at him.
"Artifact Refining..."
"Even though I have this skill, how do I use it..."
For the first time, Xu Qing fell into confusion regarding the use of a skill.
He didn't have a shred of knowledge about Artifact Refining, yet he had obtained the Artifact Refining skill.
Unfortunately, although one of those three people had the Artifact Refining skill, there were no books related to Artifact Refining in their Storage Pouches.
Perhaps he could only figure it out on his own.
He took out a section of the Blue Ice Crocodile's bone and tried to calcine it with Green Fire.
The moment he used the Green Fire to burn it, Xu Qing felt as if his meridians had been instantly cleared.
He had a feeling that he really did know how to perform Artifact Refining!
In an instant, he burned the bone to ashes.
"..."
"Again!"
Xu Qing took out another section of bone. This time he lowered the intensity of the fire, and while calcining it, he began to change the bone's shape.
Soon, a crudely made small knife was refined by him.
This was the simplest Fire Forging Method mastered at Artifact Refining LV1.
After several trials, Xu Qing confirmed that he had already mastered the Fire Forging Method proficiently.
Next, he just needed repeated practice.
...
[Ding, proficiency has reached the requirement]
[Artifact Refining LV1 has been promoted to Artifact Refining LV2]
Xu Qing wanted to pull out more bones, only to find that he had used them all up.
"Ah, I accidentally..."
Xu Qing looked at the floor full of crudely made "bone knives" and nodded with satisfaction.
If an Artifact Refining Master saw this "excellent" technique, they would surely remark that there was a snake to carry on the legacy.
With this shape, one couldn't even tell it was a knife at all; it was all about the element of surprise.
The forging philosophy was three thousand years ahead of the Cultivation World.
Xu Qing didn't expect to be understood; pioneers were always like this.
Perhaps when they were unearthed tens of thousands of years later, the Cultivators of that time would surely be struck with awe.
"It must be so. This Snake is now an Artifact Refining snake."
Xu Qing piled the refined products into a small heap in the corner of the cave.
As for why a seven-meter-long crocodile skeleton only produced such a small pile...
Naturally, it was because the essence is always concentrated.
Xu Qing quietly swept the large pile of ashes and fragments, which was far larger than the finished products, out of the cave with his tail.
Using Water Control, he sank all the ashes to the bottom of the lake.
The crocodile was born in the marsh and was scattered back into the water after death.
"This Snake is truly so gentle, I'm moved to tears."
Xu Qing returned to the cave and hung himself up again.
"I already have an adult bed."
"It seems the Crib would be nice for the dazed snake to use."
Xu Qing looked at the Crib in his inventory.
The Three-Colored Venomous Snake was considered quite small among snake-type Yao Beasts.
Even with a hundred years of Dao Cultivation, it was only three meters long.
Sleeping in the Crib he used before was just right.
After all, Snake Snake only looks very long; once coiled into a snake-cake, its size isn't that large.
Of course, it definitely wasn't a gift.
It was just a loan! A loan!
As for the black flood dragon scale, he only had this one; it was very rare and unusual.
He couldn't afford to lose it.
Once he became an Artifact Refining Grandmaster in the future, he was counting on using this to refine a weapon of mass destruction.
With his Artifact Refining methods by then, it would definitely be awe-inspiring to all snakes!
Black Scale: Don't you come over here!