Chapter 727 — The Old Stubborn Bull

Over a hundred li from the center of the blast, Shen Mu crawled out of a huge crater in a sorry state, his clothes hanging in tatters. He slapped at the flames still burning on him; sputtering and hissing, they scorched his body until the air around him carried a smell of roasted meat. A moment ago, he had ignited the Heavenly Fire with his demonic essence, and the explosion had come without the slightest warning.

Fortunately, he had been cautious and used only a wisp of demonic primal qi to drive the Heavenly Fire, so the blast that followed was not terribly violent — it had merely hurled him a hundred li away.

Even so, it had nearly blasted the life out of him; luckily, he had cultivated the Creation Art of the Red Sovereign and the Bright Sovereign, and so had managed to keep his life. "Youdu belongs to the demonic path, and Xuandu to the divine path," he muttered.

"Using the demonic qi of Youdu to kindle the Heavenly Fire of Xuandu was bound to go wrong, it seems. " The youth extinguished the demonic flames on his body, then glanced back over his shoulder.

The back of his clothes had also been blown into several large holes, exposing half of a snow-white buttock. These clothes had been forged by Yu Zhaoqing together with the masters of the Skyfeather Clan, and they were wonderfully made — the garment could grow or shrink at will, and could even change color with his mood, so that it was never monotonous.

He had worn them all this while; now they could no longer be worn. "I will just have to ask Sister Yu for help and have a few new sets forged.

" He rose into the air and felt a cool draft at his backside. Shen Mu returned to the center of the explosion to find his sword core. During the blast just now, he had aimed the force of fire directly at the sword core, and the core had borne the full collision of demonic fire and heavenly fire; he had no idea whether it had been scorched or blasted apart.

"Eh?

" Shen Mu gave a soft exclamation.

The sword core had shrunk a great deal more, and was now only the size of a fist — whether part of it had been vaporized, or whether it had truly been forged into something smaller, he could not tell.

At this moment the sword core gave off a calm, dim light, like a night pearl. The glow was not intense; it flowed out from the core's interior like water, held in rather than let loose, making the core look as if it were made entirely of light. He reached out and took the core in his hand.

It was exceedingly heavy and solid to the touch, no lighter than it had ever been, which showed that the great explosion of demonic fire and heavenly fire had not vaporized it.

Shen Mu was a little taken aback. Alternate tempering with divine fire and demonic fire could indeed quickly refine a sword core until the sword became like flowing water, but what had just happened was a violent explosion of demonic fire mixed with heavenly fire. To have the sword core refined to a flowing-water state under those circumstances was almost beyond belief.

He gripped the core tightly. Inside it, a sword like a stream of light seeped out between his fingers, bending and streaming at his will. This sword light was very serene, very mysterious.

When it cut through the air, it made no sound at all; even at lightning speed, no whistle of parting air was heard — a silence so profound it was frightening. And yet, when Shen Mu gently stroked the sword light, he could distinctly feel the cold, solid texture of the blade.

This nature told him that the sword's flexibility had reached a degree nearly equal to flowing water, while the blade's strength was extraordinary as well. Both the toughness and the strength of the sword core had attained a perfect level. "My own skill in forging and smelting has never reached such a level," he thought. "Even Grandpa Mojiang might not be able to do as much.

So what exactly is going on here? " Other people, when they refined treasures, took success for success without wondering about the reason; but he was all the more interested in the cause of this phenomenon.

"I wonder how wear-resistant it is. " Shen Mu rummaged through the Taotie Pouch and took out the Heaven-Mourning Bell. This bell was a treasure of Mingdu.

In the Celestial-Yin Realm, disciples of Mingdu had once bombarded him with this treasure, causing him no small amount of trouble.

The Heaven-Mourning Bell was a treasure forged by gods and demons, made of the same Celestial-Yin Gold as the sword core in Shen Mu's hand — except that his sword core carried a little additional Buddha-essence red chrome. Shen Mu lifted the bell and rubbed its rim against the sword core.

He ground away for a long while, and a patch of the bell's rim was worn away, yet the sword core remained utterly unharmed.

"It is extremely wear-resistant as well! " Shen Mu stood stunned. In terms of forging technique, his own skill was indeed remarkable, but it was not remarkable to such a degree.

"Was it the effect of heavenly fire and demonic fire? There is something to that, but more likely it was the abnormally intense heat and impact produced by that explosion just now.

" Shen Mu frowned slightly.

"Can explosions also be used for smelting and forging? Why did Grandpa Mojiang never teach me. .

. Wait!

In treasure refining, the smelting is done with a hammer pounding again and again; at the foundry, giant mechanical giants press and forge, delivering millions of jin of pressure in an instant. When a deity like Grandpa Mojiang swings his hammer, the pressure can rise to several hundred or several thousand times that of the mechanical giants!

In the instant the hammer falls, the temperature climbs to nearly that of the sun's surface!

But an explosion can produce the same effect — and the pressure an explosion brings is even greater! " His eyes lit up.

He paced back and forth, muttering, "When heavenly fire and demonic fire crash together and explode, the heat and pressure they produce are beyond even a god-demon like Grandpa Mojiang could match — that is how my sword core was forged to perfection in a single stroke! Explosive treasure-refining holds vast promise!

" Shen Mu spread his five fingers. The sword core suddenly rang with a clang and split into eight thousand swords, their tips all pointing toward the center. At a stirring of his mind, the sword core vanished and transformed into two long blades. Shen Mu seized them and began to execute the Night Slash — A Thousand Cities in Wind and Rain, but after only half a move he was gasping, and nearly fell to his knees. "The sword core is too heavy," he panted. "Driving it with primal qi is one thing, but holding it in my hands, I can barely manage a single move. " A thought flickered through his mind, and the two long blades vanished, merging back into a fist-sized sword core. Even stored in the Taotie Pouch, it pulled at his belt and dragged his trousers down.

The Capital Guard had noticed the explosion and hurried over, riding great birds with black feathers and crimson crests. Seeing Shen Mu in his tattered, ruined clothes, they started and asked hastily, "Lord Shen, what happened here? " Shen Mu waved a hand and laughed. "Just a small matter.

No need to worry. I'm heading back to the Tujiang Foundry — you can fill in the crater this explosion made.

" With that, he set off for the foundry. The guardsmen exchanged glances, watching this Lord Shen, whose fame filled the capital, trudge with difficulty along the river toward the foundry, half a snow-white buttock exposed at every step. "Should we offer his lordship a piece of clothing to cover his shame?

" one soldier murmured. The captain hesitated a moment, then shook his head.

"I have heard that Lord Shen is also a tailor. In his early years, the fashionable elite of the capital would seek him out to cut and sew their clothes — it was quite the rage.