"Uncle Jiang, do you usually refine pills here?" Li Lin asked.

"I rarely come here, but now this place is good for refining ten-thousand-year-old red copper. Whether you can successfully refine it depends on yourself," Uncle Jiang said.

"Don't worry, I can handle a bit of hardship," Li Lin said lightly.

"This is not just a bit of hardship; it even involves risk to your life," Uncle Jiang said.

"It doesn't matter. I've always come through life and death situations by gritting my teeth, everything will pass," Li Lin said with determination in his eyes. If he couldn't endure this bit of hardship when Uncle Jiang was using ten-thousand-year-old red copper to forge a weapon for him, it would be a waste of Uncle Jiang's kindness.

"Good lad, I hope you can withstand it later," Uncle Jiang looked at Li Lin and then asked, "What kind of weapon do you need?"

"Uncle Jiang, how about a sword, or maybe claws?" Li Lin hesitated before speaking. Among weapons, Li Lin thought swords were not bad, and claws, his white jade silk gloves, were quite powerful.

Uncle Jiang glanced at Li Lin and said, "Among swords, spears, swords, and halberds, swords rank third. Though their power is not weak, they are not the best weapon for killing, unless you want to look good with a sword. As for claws, they are extremely powerful but have many weaknesses. At the same time, there are very few martial arts techniques for claws, especially high-level techniques, making it difficult to unleash their strongest power if made into claw weapons."

Li Lin's eyes flashed. Uncle Jiang's words made sense. Up to now, he hadn't found any martial arts techniques to match his white jade silk gloves.

"A weapon for killing," Li Lin immediately said, "Uncle Jiang, what about making it into a knife?"

"Weapons don't really have a hierarchy; it all depends on the strength of the user. However, in terms of momentum, knives are absolutely the king of weapons. I'll forge your ten-thousand-year-old red copper into a knife. As for the future levels, that depends on you," Uncle Jiang said lightly.

"Humming!"

With a gesture from Uncle Jiang, a red light appeared from his brow and fell to the ground, transforming into a huge cauldron about five or six meters in size.

This cauldron had nine legs, each with a dragon-shaped object coiling around it. The cauldron was also covered with dense secret patterns. Upon closer inspection, these patterns seemed to be pulsating with energy, as if flames were flowing, emitting a scorching aura that heated up the cave instantly.

"Could it be a spiritual weapon, not a mundane object?" Li Lin exclaimed, feeling the ancient aura emanating from the cauldron, which imposed a certain majesty upon a glance. This cauldron was much better than his Fire Dragon Cauldron, definitely not on the same level.

"Uncle Jiang, is this cauldron a spiritual weapon?" Li Lin asked in surprise. This cauldron came from Uncle Jiang's brow, stored within his mind, a feat only a spiritual weapon could achieve.

"This is the Nine Dragons Red Flame Cauldron, a ground-level soul spiritual weapon, barely considered at the lower end among ground-level soul spiritual weapons, but it has not yet reached the level of a divine weapon," the old servant said with a slight smile.

"Uncle Jiang, are there different types of spiritual weapons?" Li Lin asked. There were records of spiritual weapons in the Heavenly Spirit Records, but they were not very detailed.

"Of course," the old servant Uncle Jiang said. "Ordinary spiritual weapons refer to soul spiritual weapons, which are used by spiritual practitioners. Some can also be used by martial artists, but the power is naturally lesser compared to when used by spiritual practitioners. Soul spiritual weapons mainly rely on soul power to activate, and martial artists' soul power is generally inferior to that of spiritual practitioners, so the power is naturally much less."

The old servant Uncle Jiang continued, "There's also another type of spiritual weapon, the martial spiritual weapon, used by martial artists and activated by true qi. The power is similar to soul spiritual weapons. Spiritual weapons are rare, but martial spiritual weapons are even rarer."

Li Lin was somewhat surprised. He thought he knew quite a bit, but there was still much he didn't know. "Uncle Jiang, why are martial spiritual weapons so rare?"

"That's because martial artists alone cannot forge martial spiritual weapons. Just like martial artists can't control demon beasts without the help of spiritual practitioners, forging martial spiritual weapons is too difficult and consumes too much of a spiritual practitioner's energy. Without sufficient benefits, spiritual practitioners would not be willing to help, especially since ordinary spiritual practitioners don't have the ability to forge spiritual weapons. Moreover, the materials required for forging spiritual weapons are extremely demanding, so ordinary martial artists, even if they spend all their efforts to obtain the materials, won't have the resources to ask a spiritual practitioner for help," the old servant Uncle Jiang said.

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"Uncle Jiang, what do you plan to forge for me now, a soul spiritual weapon or a martial spiritual weapon?" Li Lin asked.

"If it were before, I could have used the ten-thousand-year-old red copper to forge a soul spiritual weapon for you, but now, I'm willing but powerless, only able to help you forge a martial spiritual weapon. I only know one method to refine the ten-thousand-year-old red copper," Uncle Jiang said. "And this method is somewhat special. If the ten-thousand-year-old red copper is successfully refined, it could potentially be nurtured into a divine weapon in the future. The final result depends on your own efforts."

"Uncle Jiang, how many levels are there for spiritual weapons?" Li Lin asked.

"Generally, they are divided into heaven, earth, mysterious, and yellow levels. Only when it reaches the heaven level can it be called a divine weapon. My Nine Dragons Red Flame Cauldron is only at the earth level, not yet able to reach the heaven level," the old servant Uncle Jiang said.

"Uncle Jiang, do you mean you can refine the ten-thousand-year-old red copper into a divine weapon for me?" Li Lin asked with a delighted smile.

"You wish. I've said that with my current strength, I can only help you refine the ten-thousand-year-old red copper, which is already quite good. A divine weapon, even at my peak strength, I might not be able to forge. What I'm helping you forge now is just the lowest level yellow-grade martial spiritual weapon," Uncle Jiang glared at Li Lin and said.

"What, only a yellow-grade spiritual weapon?" Li Lin was stunned. "Uncle Jiang, wasn't this material for forging divine weapons? How can it only forge a yellow-grade martial spiritual weapon?"

"The ten-thousand-year-old red copper is excellent, but I can't forge it now," Uncle Jiang said with a slight smile. "But you don't need to be discouraged. My method is somewhat special. After helping you forge a yellow-grade martial spiritual weapon, it can become your lifeforce martial spiritual weapon."

"Lifeforce martial spiritual weapon?" Li Lin said lightly.

"Lifeforce spiritual weapon, something everyone wants. Don't think it's easy to forge. Even ordinary Spirit Kings can't forge their own lifeforce soul spiritual weapons, let alone forge a lifeforce martial spiritual weapon for someone else. Even Spirit Lords, although capable of forging their own lifeforce soul spiritual weapons, to forge a lifeforce martial spiritual weapon for a martial artist is like a fool's dream," Uncle Jiang said proudly, looking at Li Lin as if he didn't know the value of what he was being offered.

"Uncle Jiang, just tell me what a lifeforce spiritual weapon is," Li Lin asked. This was what he really wanted to know. The ten-thousand-year-old red copper, forged into the lowest level yellow-grade martial spiritual weapon, was something Li Lin found hard to accept, especially when Uncle Jiang's Nine Dragons Red Flame Cauldron was two levels higher.

"A lifeforce spiritual weapon is one that is connected to your mind and spirit. Only when connected can it achieve perfect harmony. The most important aspect of a lifeforce martial spiritual weapon is that it can absorb your true qi to advance its level. The ten-thousand-year-old red copper is a material that can be used to forge divine weapons, which means it can eventually break through to the divine weapon level, just needing time. This lifeforce martial spiritual weapon, by absorbing your true qi to advance, will also be much more powerful when you use it. If it becomes a divine weapon in the future, the power of a lifeforce divine weapon will be much stronger than that of ordinary divine weapons. In the long run, forging a lifeforce yellow-grade martial spiritual weapon for you, although currently weaker, will make you happy in the future," Uncle Jiang said.

"So that's how it is." Li Lin immediately smiled and said, "Uncle Jiang, let's start forging now."

As the words fell, Li Lin had already taken out the ten-thousand-year-old red copper, looking forward to the martial spiritual weapon to be forged. Reaching the level of a spiritual weapon was much stronger than ordinary weapons.

"Then you should also prepare. The ten-thousand-year-old red copper is an ancient material, extremely difficult to refine, and I only know one method to do it," Uncle Jiang looked at Li Lin and said. "This method requires the most pure essence blood from within your bones, combined with the red flame within my Nine Dragons Red Flame Cauldron, to refine the ten-thousand-year-old red copper, a material of divine weapon level. Missing any component will make it impossible to refine such material."

"The most pure essence blood." Li Lin frowned. The Blood Soul Mark he practiced before also required the most pure essence blood, which is extracted from the bone marrow. The pain of living worse than dying, Li Lin still remembered vividly.

"What, are you scared? During the process of extracting essence blood, if you're not careful, you could turn to ashes," Uncle Jiang looked at Li Lin and said.

"I've never been afraid, let's do it," Li Lin gritted his teeth. Having already experienced the pain of extracting essence blood once, for the sake of his lifeforce martial spiritual weapon, he could only fight once more.

"This essence blood is not extracted in one drop, but over half a month's time. I hope you can withstand it. Here, take this protective pill, it will help protect you a bit," the old servant Uncle Jiang looked at Li Lin, taking out a white pill and giving it to Li Lin.

"A fifth-grade pill." Li Lin took the pill, which was at the middle level of the fifth grade, and swallowed it immediately.

"Enter the Nine Dragons Red Flame Cauldron. You just need to protect your own body. I will control the red flame to extract the essence blood," Uncle Jiang instructed Li Lin. "If you really can't bear it, then shout out. Forcing yourself to resist may endanger your life at any moment."

（Read more chapters: ficcloud. Çōm）