144: Chapter 144 The Fifth Life, The Blazing Sun Illuminates the Martial Path (Ninety-Two)

He picked up a new sword blank and began to carve again.

This time, he did not carve the two rune groups separately, but instead arranged them in an interlocking pattern.

The tail end of the Sharpness Rune perfectly connected to the beginning of the Durability Rune.

Vital energy flowed in from the Durability Rune group and out from the Sharpness Rune group, forming a smooth circuit.

The moment the final line was carved.

"Zheng!"

Six runes lit up simultaneously.

A pale golden light rippled across the surface of the sword blank—first the aura of sharpness, followed immediately by the heavy aura of durability—the two auras fused together perfectly.

Chu Shi picked up the longsword and gave the anvil beside him a light slash.

With a loud "clang."

A gash several inches deep was carved into the anvil.

Yet, the edge of the longsword remained completely unscathed.

A mid-grade magical artifact had been completed.

It had taken him only ten days to progress from low-grade to mid-grade.

Shi Tie and the others trembled with excitement.

They had seen too many disciples stuck at the low-grade magical artifact level for years, unable to make a breakthrough.

"Senior Brother is amazing!" one of the disciples couldn't help but cheer softly.

Shi Tie quickly tugged at him, signaling him not to disturb Chu Shi.

Chu Shi put down the longsword, showing no trace of arrogance.

He looked at the runes on the sword body, his brows slightly furrowed.

"It's still not enough.

The synergy between these two rune groups is still too shallow; it can only achieve simple sharing of vital energy, not mutual transformation."

What he didn't know was that behind the crack in the inner door, Elder Jin was watching him quietly.

A faint smile of gratification appeared on the old man's face.

Many people would be complacent after crafting their first mid-grade magical artifact.

Only Chu Shi saw the shortcomings at a glance.

This temperament was even rarer than talent.

In the following days, Chu Shi began to experiment with different rune combinations.

Sharpness + Agility, creating a short dagger suitable for assassination;

Durability + Weight, creating a shield suitable for defense;

Heat Resistance + Energy Conduction, creating gauntlets suitable for fire-attribute cultivators.

He tried every kind of combination.

Meanwhile, Shi Tie watched Chu Shi craft various magical artifacts with different methods every day, his eyes filled with longing.

Chu Shi noticed his gaze.

While resting one day, Chu Shi took an artifact blank, carved a Sharpness Rune on it, and handed it to Shi Tie.

"You try. Carve it once, following the patterns I engraved."

Shi Tie was stunned, his eyes instantly turning red.

He had worked in the workshop for over two years, watching others forge artifacts every day, and had long been itching to try it himself.

But he was only a Utility Disciple and had no qualifications to learn how to inscribe runes.

Let alone Elder Jin, even those ordinary Inner Sect Disciples wouldn't spare him a second glance.

"Tha... thank you, Senior Brother!" Shi Tie trembled as he took the carving knife and the artifact blank, too excited to speak.

Chu Shi nodded without saying anything more.

He just felt that effort should be rewarded.

Shi Tie was a steady person, and during this time, he had saved Chu Shi a lot of trouble, so he deserved a chance.

With Chu Shi's guidance, Shi Tie progressed rapidly.

In just a few days, he carved his first Sharpness Rune in his life.

He kowtowed three times to Chu Shi, and from then on, followed him even more devotedly.

Time flew by, and another ten days passed.

Chu Shi had practiced all the combinations for mid-grade magical artifacts.

He finally began to challenge himself with high-grade magical artifacts.

A high-grade magical artifact required nine runes, forming three mutually synergistic rune groups.

This was no longer a simple case of one plus one.

The three rune groups had to form a complete closed loop, supporting and transforming into one another.

For example, the impact force absorbed by the Durability Rune group could be converted into the attack power of the Sharpness Rune group.

The vital energy of heaven and earth absorbed by the Energy Conduction Rune group could simultaneously supply the other two rune groups.

This was a qualitative leap.

For the first time, Chu Shi felt a bottleneck.

In his first attempt, he carved the Sharpness, Durability, and Energy Conduction rune groups.

But the three rune groups fought their own battles, completely unable to form a synergy.

Vital energy flowed chaotically within the runes, and the sword blank quickly cracked.

The second time, he adjusted the positions of the runes, letting the three rune groups form a triangle.

As a result, the Energy Conduction Rune group absorbed too much vital energy, exceeding the tolerance limit of the other two rune groups.

The sword blank still exploded directly.

The third time, the fourth time...

For seven whole days, Chu Shi failed twenty-seven times.

The pile of scrap iron in the corner grew significantly higher.

Chu Shi's eyes were bloodshot, and light stubble had grown on his chin.

He locked himself in the forging room, neither eating nor drinking, deducing and experimenting day and night.

Shi Tie saw this and was anxious; he prepared meals every day and placed them at the door of the forging room, but Chu Shi never touched them.

Late that night, Chu Shi failed once again.

He sat exhaustedly on the ground, looking at the scrap iron all over the floor, his brows tightly locked.

"Where exactly did I go wrong?"

He had clearly followed Elder Jin's instructions and connected the three rune groups into a closed loop, so why was it still impossible to form a stable synergy?

Just then, the door of the forging room was gently pushed open.

Elder Jin walked in, holding a piece of blackened scrap iron in his hand.

He didn't speak; he simply tossed the scrap iron to Chu Shi and then turned and left.

Chu Shi caught the scrap iron and looked at it carefully in the light of the furnace fire.

On the scrap iron, there were three interconnected runes carved.

They were not three independent rune groups, but three runes that contained each other, forming an integrated whole.

Chu Shi's eyes suddenly lit up.

"So that's it! I understand now!

The core of a high-grade magical artifact is not three independent rune groups connected together, but nine runes that together form a complete rune array!

They are not three parts, but one whole!"

Before, he had always treated the three rune groups as three independent entities, only using energy-guiding lines to connect them.

But in reality, the nine runes of a high-grade magical artifact should be mutually penetrating and fusing.

Every rune is both a part of this rune group and a part of that rune group.

Only in this way can true synergy be formed, achieving a unity of offense and defense, and a circulation of vital energy.

Having realized this, Chu Shi felt suddenly enlightened.

He didn't bother to bow to the departing Elder Jin, instead immediately standing up and picking up a new sword blank.

He took a deep breath and held it.

The carving knife fell.

This time, he did not carve one rune group completely before carving the next.

Instead, he carved the runes of all three rune groups simultaneously.

One Sharpness, one Durability, one Energy Conduction.

Interweaving and connecting them to one another.

Chu Shi's movements were slow, but incomparably firm.

Every stroke was incomparably precise, and every line was just right.

The nine runes, like nine stars, were arranged according to a specific trajectory to form a perfect array.

The moment the final line was carved.

"Boom!"

A powerful aura instantly erupted from the sword blank.

Nine runes lit up simultaneously, the golden light illuminating the entire forging room like daylight.

Vital energy flowed rapidly through the rune array, forming a stable closed loop.

The aura of durability, the aura of sharpness, and the aura of energy conduction fused perfectly together, indistinguishable from one another.

Chu Shi picked up the longsword and gave it a light swing.

The anvil beside him, already riddled with holes, was instantly sliced in two.

A high-grade magical artifact was completed.

Chu Shi let out a long sigh of relief, a weary but gratified smile appearing on his face.

He turned his head to look in the direction of the inner forging room and bowed respectfully.

"Thank you for your guidance, Elder."

Inside the forging room, the smile on Elder Jin's face could no longer be concealed.

"Good lad. You truly did not disappoint me."