Forging Immortality: The Undying Blacksmith

Chapter 81: Forging the Sword

Li Qing knew from bitter experience just how difficult Black Gold was to forge—a lesson learned long before he had even touched the realm of Outer Force.

Now, Qian Hong wanted an entire longsword crafted from pure Black Gold. The difficulty was staggering. Even for Li Qing, whose body now surged with potent force, the task would be strenuous.

“The design should be similar to my Qinghong Sword,” she said, drawing the blade that hung at her waist and offering it to him. “Try to keep the length about the same.”

Li Qing took the Qinghong Sword, weighing it in his hand. He got a feel for it and had a rough idea of what was needed. The craftsmanship was impressive; its edge was keen and the hilt felt natural in his grip. It was a fine blade, no doubt.

But compared to the legendary peerless weapons of the martial world, it was a far cry from true greatness.

“Understood,” Li Qing said honestly. “Because this is a special ore, the forging will take some time.”

“No problem. I’ll leave the Qinghong Sword with you in the meantime.”

With that, Qian Hong gave a crisp salute and departed without a moment’s hesitation. She was gone before Li Qing even had a chance to say goodbye, her figure vanishing from the smithy’s entrance.

“Only a formidable power could procure this much Black Gold,” Li Qing murmured, picking up one of the heavy, dark ingots. “The forces behind Commander Qian are not to be underestimated.”

It made sense, though. A woman rising to the rank of a thousand-man commander in the Wuli Army was already remarkable. Then, the moment the Feng Guard was established, she seamlessly transitioned into its leader. Such a swift ascent required more than just personal strength; the backing she possessed had to be immense.

Putting someone like her in his debt was an investment with immense returns and zero risk.

At this thought, Li Qing gave a slow, satisfied nod. A flicker of genuine passion for his craft ignited within him.

“Light the furnace. Forge the sword.”

For Li Qing, crafting a weapon purely from Black Gold was a monumental challenge. He was intimately familiar with its properties from forging the Peerless Hammer. The metal was stubbornly resistant, demanding both immense pressure and extreme heat to yield even the slightest deformation.

Melting it into a liquid was simply out of the question.

This material was nothing like common iron. The flames of an ordinary forge couldn’t liquefy it. Li Qing suspected that to melt such an extraordinary metal, one would need something beyond mortal means—some kind of Daoist magic. Perhaps the Samadhi True Fire or the Heavenly Thunder and Earthly Fire spoken of in legends.

He shook his head, clearing the stray thoughts from his mind.

*WHOOSH!*

With a roar, the furnace blazed to life, and the temperature inside the smithy began to climb. The crimson glow painted Li Qing’s face in stark relief. His expression grew intensely focused, his entire being consumed by the red-hot, churning heart of the forge.

Having successfully created the Peerless Hammer, Li Qing already had experience handling Black Gold.

One by one, he fed the sharp-angled, ink-black ingots into the inferno. The intense heat began to bake them. He took up a pair of long iron tongs and began to turn the Black Gold within the flames, as if he were merely turning sweet potatoes roasting in the embers.

After a long while, he finally pulled out a piece that had been thoroughly heated and set it on the anvil. Raising the Peerless Hammer, he settled into the fundamental stance of the Gu Xuan Hammer Technique. Drawing power up from the very ground beneath his feet, he unleashed his Outer Force and internal energy in a single, explosive burst, bringing the colossal hammer crashing down.

*CRACK!*

The sound was a physical explosion in the confines of the smithy. The very ground shuddered under the force of the blow, a testament to the terrifying power behind it.

He repeated the crushing impacts again and again. Breathing heavily, Li Qing finally tossed the half-worked piece back into the furnace’s maw. He then drew out another ingot and began the brutal process anew.

Hammer, return to the furnace. Hammer, return to the furnace.

He fell into a relentless rhythm, a machine of flesh and bone that knew no fatigue.

It wasn’t until late into the night, when a deep numbness had settled into his limbs, that he finally stopped. After all those hours, he had only completed the first round of forging for less than half of the Black Gold.

He had no intention of working through the night. A human body had its limits, and even an Outer Force martial artist needed to rest. Forging a blade from pure Black Gold was a marathon, not a sprint. He needed to recover his strength, or his body would break down.

Li Qing added enough fuel to the furnace to keep the Black Gold roasting until dawn, then returned to his room and collapsed into sleep.

The next morning, the deep, thunderous impacts rang out from the smithy once more.

*BANG! BANG! BANG!*

The commotion was immense, far louder than any noise from his previous forging projects.

After nearly another full day of this punishing labor, Li Qing had finally completed the first pass of heating and hammering for all the Black Gold. Throughout the process, he fueled his body as he fueled the forge—water when thirsty, great chunks of meat when hungry. Fortunately, his food stores were always well-stocked; he never skimped on such necessities.

The Black Gold was already beginning to change, its texture softening slightly.

But it wasn’t enough. He knew this metal too well. The entire process would need to be repeated at least two or three more times before the ore became malleable enough to truly shape.

In the blink of an eye, five more days passed.

The thunderous clamor from Li Qing’s smithy had been ceaseless, a constant series of muffled explosions echoing down the street.

Fang Laoda, of course, knew that Li Qing was forging a divine weapon for Commander Qian Hong of the Feng Guard.

“A full five days, and he’s still going,” Fang Laoda remarked in awe. “This Master Li is something else. His skill with the hammer is one thing, but the martial power behind those blows… it must be extraordinary.”

And the work still wasn’t finished. Fang Laoda couldn’t even begin to imagine what kind of legendary weapon would emerge at the end of it all. Perhaps it would be something that could truly rival the demonic blade of the Nine Lotus Sect, or even the famed Xuanwu Spear.

Indeed, after five days of relentless forging, Li Qing had finally beaten the stubborn Black Gold into a state of malleability. Combined with the continuous, searing heat, the metal could now be fused into a single piece.

The Peerless Hammer, of course, had been indispensable. With its head also forged from Black Gold, it saved Li Qing an incredible amount of effort. Otherwise, he would have likely shattered several lesser hammers by now. Only a weapon of the same peerless caliber could withstand such a brutal, sustained assault.

“An unexpected bonus,” Li Qing thought, a flicker of satisfaction in his eyes. “There will be two fist-sized pieces of Black Gold left over.”

He had just finished forging the rough shape of the sword. As he surveyed his work, he was pleased to find the excess raw material. He would, of course, be keeping it for himself.

On the anvil lay the sword’s nascent form—a long, uneven bar of Black Gold, its surface a tapestry of hammer marks, yet still glowing with a deep, inky luster.

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