Leaving the south gate of the Wan Mountain City, there was a gray dirt road that stretched three hundred miles south into the Flowing Sleeves Mountain Range, with a total of three villages along the way. This direction was the most dangerous, which is why there were fewer villages. The village where Dunk was located was the most remote "Roland Village".
Ge Zheng and the guide returned to the village, with the guide pointing to a dilapidated wooden house on the northern side of the village, saying, "That's the home of honest Dunk. But he's definitely not there right now." The guide thought that Dunk had hidden after cheating someone of their money.
Indeed, Dunk was not at home, but he had gone to the eastern part of the village to ask Aunt Colleen to help him find his wife.
Ge Zheng had already prepared everything before coming, so he immediately wrote the guide and opened a tent to rest on the grass next to Dunk's house.
It was getting late, and Dunk soon returned. His mood was not very good, as he had presented a gold coin as a betrothal gift, but Aunt Colleen still bluntly told him that perhaps no girl in Roland Village would be willing to marry him, after all, he was just a woodcutter.
With his head hanging, Dunk returned to his own little nest, feeling low. He didn't notice Ge Zheng's tent near the house. "Dunk!" A call made him look up, and he was very surprised. "What are you doing here, noble sir?" Dunk scratched his head in bewilderment. Ge Zheng waved his hand and said, "I'm not a nobleman, I've come to ask for your help with something." Dunk scratched his head and replied, "Here, anyone with money is a nobleman. Tell me, what's the matter?" "I want to survey the inaccessible crags around your village and need a guide. I've decided to pay the guide ten silver coins per day. Are you willing to do it?"
Dunk was worried about his poverty - the outbreak in the Wan Mountain City obviously didn't earn him an honest and respectable reputation in the village. However, if he followed a "nobleman," the situation would be completely different. Without a second thought, Dunk immediately nodded and said, "I'm willing!"
Ten silver coins a day, and in ten days that was a gold coin; goodness, the village head himself didn't earn as much as honest Dunk!
The "inaccessible crags" were actually an exaggerated name, referring to any steep and hard-to-climb mountain peaks. Ordinary villagers couldn't climb them, and adventurous climbers who could climb them found it pointless. The inaccessible crags weren't actually dangerous, people just didn't want to exert the effort to climb them.
The inaccessible crags in front of Ge Zheng presented a striking sight, like a sharp sword piercing the mountains. Other mountains had valleys and ridges, ups and downs, some steep and some gentle, but this one was straight up and down, with no footholds except for some cracks in the rocks.
The primarily red and yellow rocks were mostly exposed, with only a few scattered spots of small green plants, resembling someone with a skin disease.
"Noble sir, this is the closest inaccessible crag to the village, and it's quite difficult to climb. Besides myself, no one else in the village has reached the top. The treasures I sold you last time were found around here." Ge Zheng, uninterested in the yellow iron ore Dunk showed him, felt a bit disheartened.
For several days, the two men searched through a dozen inaccessible crags near the village. The world's plants here were different from the ones on Earth, leaving Ge Zheng feeling frustrated and at a loss. However, they did find a few rare medicinal plants documented in the alchemical library, but these plants required complementing therapeutic magic to activate their effects. There was no formal medical study in this world, and the plants couldn't be used independently; they had to be activated by therapeutic magic, or else even ingesting them would be pointless and could even lead to poisoning.
Ge Zheng looked at the few medicinal herbs in his hand with regret: this one, named "Falling Dragon Whiskers," looks like an old man's beard. When combined with the fourth-level life magic "Godly Restoration," it can make a critically injured person recover within a few hours. The golden vine known as "Regenerating Creeper," when combined with the third-level life magic "Limb Regeneration," can cause severed limbs to regrow.
Each kind of medicinal herb corresponds to a matching magic, and the herbs are also categorized by grade. Almost every sect has a "Life Chart" that details the combination of various drugs and magic, as well as the characteristics of the drugs, such as their appearance and taste.
Although many medicinal herbs are scarce, their prices are not high because they require magic to be used.
Ge Zhen, feeling helpless, questioned whether he would have to helplessly watch as his first dan in this world went to waste. Fully dissatisfied, he firmly believed in Paracelsus's famous saying: "As long as magic can accomplish it, alchemy can definitely accomplish it!"
He suddenly had an idea: the life magic triggering the medicinal effects of the herbs must have a certain mechanism. As long as he could understand this mechanism and find a way to induce the effects without needing magic, he wouldn't require magic to trigger the effects.
After searching the surrounding hills of Roland village, Ge Zheng found more than thirty kinds of medicinal herbs. Dunk, the guide, excelled at his duty during the twenty-plus days. When Ge Zheng settled the bill, Dunk, feeling guilty, refused additional payment, stating that the two gold and thirty silver coins for twenty-three days were enough.
Ge Zheng asked Dunk if he would like to work as a salesperson in his shop, to which Dunk eagerly agreed. This was a significant achievement for Dunk, who had gone from gathering firewood in Roland village to becoming a shop assistant in Wàng Mountain City, a position that the villagers looked upon with respect.
With Dunk taking care of the shop, Ge Zheng could focus on other things, such as researching the principles of the combination of medicinal herbs and life magic in this world.
He purchased three life magic scrolls at the magician's props store in the city, including the "Godly Restoration Scroll" and the "Limb Regeneration Scroll." These scrolls cost him over a thousand gold coins, underscoring the lucrative nature of being a magician in this world.
With Dunk minding the shop, Ge Zheng now had time to research the combination of medicinal herbs and life magic. He would need to deepen his understanding of his current level-seven identification spell. He believed that the finer details could only be discerned by applying a more advanced level of identification, such as the one used by Paracelsus.
The creation of magic scrolls was also a form of art, and the quality of the materials used impacted its success rate. The cheapest material, rat's-grass paper, had a low sensitivity to magic and a low success rate. High-quality magic animal hide parchment was more sensitive to magic and had better success rates but was difficult to preserve. The most superior material was the hide of various grades of magic creatures, with dragon skin being the most cherished but extremely rare due to the unity of dragons in response to threats.
Ultimately, with Dunk looking after the shop, Ge Zheng had the opportunity to dedicate more time to his research and understanding in the intricate world of alchemy.
Ge Zheng's hand held a few life magic scrolls made of magic paper, and the rolled-up magic paper had a hidden imprint of milky white life holy fire on the back, tied with golden-red silk thread, exquisite to the extreme, indeed comparable to a work of art.
He tore open the scroll, and a burst of exuberant life holy light soared into the sky, accompanied by a chorus of holy songs. The white light floated like the goddess's long hair, gathered in the air, and fell as a soft light ribbon. Ge Zheng hurriedly raised the conical bottle to intercept the flow of life light. The milky white light sank into the murky herbal liquid in the bottle, causing the liquid to warm slightly. Ge Zheng quickly cast an identification spell, and the liquid was slowly becoming clear. Substances that were usually present inside the plants, under the influence of life magic, seemed to act as catalysts, combining with each other to form some extraordinary substances.
Ge Zheng had prepared more than a dozen chickens as test subjects, and he quickly caught one, cut a wound on it, and then fed it the liquid.
After waiting for half a day, the wound on the chicken's body continued to bleed, and the liquid seemed to have no effect. The experiment failed, and Ge Zheng was deeply disappointed.
Where did the problem lie? Did it mean that magic, herbal materials, and living organisms were indispensable? Ge Zheng immediately went out and purchased three scrolls of the Restoration of Divine Radiance. This time, he first mixed in a drooping dragon beard with the chicken feed before using life magic. Sure enough, the wound on the chicken's body healed at a visible speed.
Ge Zheng also extracted some chicken blood, but upon identification, found no unusual substances. The rules of the Star Refining World had remained unchanged for tens of thousands of years. Many alchemists before Ge Zheng had had the same idea, but the rules of the Star Refining World had not been changed, indicating the challenges of attempting to break them.
Ge Zheng's identification spell had not yet reached the molecular level, making it difficult to find any clues in these subtle changes.
Just as he was preparing to conduct another experiment, Dunk's voice came from outside: "Master, the gentleman who visited yesterday is here. Did you answer his question?" Only then did Ge Zheng remember this matter.
Pausing the experiment, he found the scroll of papyrus on the workbench in the laboratory. The man was waiting in the shop, and Ge Zheng threw the papyrus scroll to him, saying, "I have answered all of them. Take it back." The man thanked him and left, just as someone else walked in. Ge Zheng originally intended to leave Dunk to handle it and return to continue his herbal experiments, but upon seeing the distinguished visitor, he decided to stay.
Dunk hurriedly greeted him, and with great courtesy asked, "Mister, what do you need?" The man ignored Dunk and walked straight to Ge Zheng, setting down a rectangular parcel. Upon opening it, Ge Zheng saw a black, arm-thick iron block with a faint water wave pattern. It was indeed similar in appearance to a rare metal, and he hurriedly cast an identification spell, confirming that it was Abyssal Iron.
Abyssal Iron was one of the hardest metals in the world, among several rare metals like refined gold and dense silver. Unlike dense silver, which was a "sharp" tool, adding a little dense silver to ordinary weapons could turn them into formidable implements. Abyssal Iron, on the other hand, was a "hard" tool, mostly used in armor. Just by adding one percent Abyssal Iron to ordinary armor, its defensive capabilities would increase several times.
This precious metal seemed no different from ordinary black iron, with the only discernible feature being the water wave pattern on its surface.
Seeing the iron block, Ge Zheng nodded and asked, "How much are you selling it for?" He thought the man had come to buy materials, but the man shook his head, saying, "I'm not here to sell materials. I just want to ask you if there's a way to forge a weapon that can sever it."
Ge Zheng was taken aback. It was not easy to penetrate armor reinforced with Abyssal Iron, let alone a whole block of it. The man generously said, "As long as you can forge it, the price is up to you." But Ge Zheng shook his head, saying, "A weapon that can sever such a large piece of Abyssal Iron is already at the level of a quasi-artifact. It can't be bought with money."
The man chuckled, "That's exactly what a master-level alchemist would say. That's good! I knew I had to ask for the help of a master-level alchemist. It's not something that can be done with money. Take a look at this." Ge Zheng regretted inwardly, as he needed money. It didn't matter if it was a master-level alchemist or not, if you could give me ten thousand magic crystal coins, I could still forge a divine weapon for you!
When Ge Zheng said "It can't be bought with money," he meant that you needed to give me "magic crystal coins." Unexpectedly, the man misunderstood and thought Ge Zheng was being aloof.
Since he was misunderstood, Ge Zheng felt awkward about changing his statement right away. He decided to wait and see what the man brought. If it didn't meet his expectations, he would still have to demand magic crystal coins, even if it meant being brazen.
However, as soon as the man presented the item, Ge Zheng couldn't take his eyes off it. All thoughts of gold coins and magic crystal coins were thrown aside.
The thing that could captivate an alchemist this way could only be one thing: an alchemical formula. Indeed, it was an alchemical formula, carved on a stone slab, unlike the usual ones. Ge Zheng immediately identified its extraordinary nature with a single glance, but the man quickly retrieved it. Even with just a brief glance, Ge Zheng was certain that this alchemical formula was extraordinary.
"How is it, Master?" the man said somewhat smugly. After some contemplation, Ge Zheng told him, "I need a few days to gather materials." "No problem. I'll give you seven days. I will come back after seven days." "It's a deal!"
Ge Zheng no longer had the heart to conduct herbal experiments. The stone slab alchemy formula was all that filled his mind. The bold lines and vibrant colors, like a series of magical incantations, seemed to be imprinted in his mind, defying all efforts to dispel them.
Putting aside all other matters, Ge Zheng left with several crystal cards to purchase materials. Seven days may have seemed long, but it wasn't enough time to forge a quasi-artifact capable of severing Abyssal Iron.
While forging weapons appeared to be the work of blacksmiths, it was not so simple to craft a quasi-artifact. In addition to coordinating various materials, temperature control was crucial. There were also other methods to increase and refine the sharpness, such as magical fusion and the imprinting of magical arrays. This was not the dual-attribute longsword that Ge Zheng had used to deal with Boromos; this was a real and complete quasi-artifact!
The materials store for alchemy, Huns Alchemy Materials in the North Gate, was a longstanding establishment to Ge Zheng. Huns, a grotesque-looking fairy, remained a rarity among friends in the vicinity, with Ge Zheng being one of the few people he could chat with. Both individuals understood a great deal about alchemical materials, and Huns, known for being a shrewd merchant among the fairy race, never gave Ge Zheng a discount, regardless of the circumstances.
"Thirty mosquito eggs, five fifth-rank beast magic cores, two kilograms of star sand, six kilograms of alloy iron, half a kilogram of coral bronze, and half a kilogram of luminous chrome – how long will it take to prepare?" Ge Zheng asked.
Huns was taken aback, "What? Are you planning to snatch business from old Feeore the dwarf? You should be careful; his war hammer is quite something." Ge Zheng waved his hand, saying, "Someone asked me to forge a magical weapon." Huns was surprised, "A weapon like that requires so many high-grade materials." "Don't worry about that. I'm just asking you, how long until the materials are ready?"
Huns shouldered a small basket and pushed a ladder with wheels, finding and throwing the materials into the basket. After a while, he came down and said, "Here you go. If I can find the remaining half a kilogram of star sand and coral bronze, I'll deliver them to you tomorrow. If I can't, I'll have to order them from outside, which will take longer."
Ge Zheng nodded, "Settle the bill."
These materials were all high-grade, such as star sand, an additive used in weapons. Even Feeore's city-state weapon shop would not use two kilograms of star sand in a year.
"A total of four thousand six hundred and twenty-nine gold coins. Thank you for your patronage. No credit will be extended for this small-scale business," was Huns's customary farewell. Regardless of who visited, he always ended the transaction with these same two sentences.
This time, Ge Zheng had spent a considerable sum, nearly emptying his coffers of nearly five thousand gold coins, all for that stone slab alchemy formula. As he counted the coins, he prayed in his heart, hoping that the item was worth it.
If he could forge a quasi-artifact using materials available at a small shop, Ge Zheng would be on par with the alchemy deity Hermes. He was confident because he had another material on hand: meteoric iron.
However, there was only this one piece of meteoric iron, and even after traversing over a dozen ridges with Dunk previously, they hadn't found a second piece.
Though the materials were insufficient, Ge Zheng could still prepare. The mosquito eggs were one kind of beast that resembled mosquitoes, about the size of a basketball. Though they were only third-rank, their eggs were among the best magic mediums. Magic mediums were required to enhance the affinity between metal and magic, followed by engraving a magic array to create a sharp magical weapon.
The magic cores were used to provide magical power. If the rank was too low, it would not support the magical power consumption of a quasi-artifact; if it was too high, Ge Zheng couldn't afford it. Hence, five fifth-rank magic cores were sufficient. The choice of raw materials for forging magical weapons did not depend solely on their rank; suitability was key. If the magic cores were of excessively high rank, the weapon might not withstand the immense magical power and could even shatter.
With the remaining materials combined with meteoric iron and his ideas, Ge Zheng believed it would not be a problem to forge a quasi-artifact capable of severing an Abyssal Iron.
The forging process for an alchemist was different from that of a blacksmith. The blacksmith would heat the metal until it was red-hot in the flame, then hammer it repeatedly into the required shape. The alchemist's forging was called "magic forging." It involved processing the materials in an alchemical manner, causing them to react, and then using magical power to mold them at once.