In an inconspicuous mountain range behind the peaks of the Tang Family, there was an iron gate made of thousand-year black iron.
The iron gate was engraved with mysterious spirit patterns, emitting waves of strong aura.
At a glance, this iron gate was actually comparable to an ordinary fifth-grade defensive Xuan Artifact. An ordinary Xuan Artifact would not be able to break through these two huge iron gates.
This was the forbidden area at the back of the Tang Family's mountain, which was also the place where the Tang Family's Old Master had closed off.
When Tang Tianhao and Tang Jin arrived, waves of spiritual energy fluctuations immediately came from all directions. It was obvious that someone was hiding nearby.
"The old man has already been closed for two years. I wonder if he has succeeded in breaking through now." Tang Tianhao muttered as he looked at the iron gate.
Tang Jin said, "To take that step, not only does he need a large amount of resources, he also needs a strong comprehension ability. The old man has focused on refining for most of his life. Otherwise, with his Tenbin, he would have broken through that step long ago."
When Tang Jin spoke, his eyes were filled with incomparable worship.
Tang Jin was originally not a member of the Tang Family, he was taken in as a servant by the Old Master Tang when he was traveling in his early years, and he had always followed the Old Master, achieving his current status. Later on, he was even bestowed the surname Tang by the Old Master, and his status in the Tang Family was even higher than the other direct descendants of the Tang Family's previous generation elders. He must have the most loyal heart to the Tang Family, and this was also the reason why the Old Master of the Tang Family focused on nurturing him.
Tang Tianhao walked in front of the iron gate, knelt down, kowtowed, and called out, "Tianhao pleads for the Old Master to come out of seclusion. There is something important for the Old Master to decide."
After a long time, an old voice came from behind the iron gate, "What's the matter?"
"Someone brought Ten Thousand Year Iron and Ten Thousand Year Deep Silver to ask the Old Master to refine a spirit weapon. I think this business can be accepted, so I came to disturb the Old Master," Tang Tianhao said respectfully.
There was no movement behind the iron gate again.
Tang Tianhao and Tang Jin were puzzled. "Could it be that the Old Master is not interested?"
Just as Tang Tianhao was about to say something again, the iron gate rumbled and opened.
A tall figure shrouded in flames slowly walked out of the cave.
Old Master Tang was an old man who was more than 600 years old.
Six hundred years had left countless marks on his face, but his back was still straight, and his arms were still strong and powerful. The aura he exuded made people want to worship him.
He was the most famous Spiritual Tools Grandmaster in the Southern Region and the true pillar of the Tang Family. As long as he existed, the Tang Family would prosper.
Three hundred years ago, he had forged Spirit Weapons for the Devil Shadow Sect's Sect Master and the Beast Alliance's Alliance Master. At that time, his name began to spread in the Southern Region, and he became a new noble in the Southern Region.
Now that three hundred years had passed, the people of the Southern Region were still talking about him enthusiastically.
"Tang Jin greets Master!" When Tang Jin saw the elder of the Tang Family, he immediately knelt down and greeted respectfully.
However, before Tang Jin's knees touched the ground, he saw the elder of the Tang Family waving his hand gently. He could no longer kneel down.
"Tang Jin, although you and I are master and servant in name, in reality, we are brothers. How many times have I said that you don't need to bow when you see me? How many times do I have to say it?" Old Master Tang said to Tang Jin with a hint of reproach.
Tang Jin straightened his body and replied, "Master's strength has increased by another level. Tang Jin is happy for you."
Although he had no way of knowing how powerful Elder Tang was, he could sense that he had become much stronger than he used to be.
Old Master Tang shook his head and asked Tang Tianhao, "Tianhao, you said that someone brought ten thousand year black iron and ten thousand year deep silver to refine a spirit weapon?
I wonder which power he belongs to? "
Tang Tianhao nodded and replied, "The person who came is the Prince Consort of the Gu Clan."
"What clan's Prince Consort?"
Old Master Tang snorted unhappily. Then, his old eyes bloomed with surprise as he asked, "Which Gu Clan are you talking about?"
"It's the Gu Clan that disappeared. Now, they have reappeared," Tang Tianhao replied.
Old Master Tang's eyelids twitched slightly. Then, he laughed and said, "Interesting … Interesting. I didn't expect that the great clan from ten thousand years ago did not go extinct. Now that they have made a comeback, I wonder if they still have the same domineering attitude as before."
"Old Master, you … Have you reached that step now?" Tang Tianhao asked carefully.
In front of him, as the Patriarch, he had to carefully serve him.
One had to know that the Old Master's temper had always been very fiery. If you made him unhappy, even if you were the Patriarch, you would still have to teach him a lesson.
Back then, before Tang Tianhao became the Patriarch, he had taken a lot of "care".
Tang Jin also looked at Old Master Tang's expression, as if he wanted to know the answer.
Old Master Tang shook his head and smiled bitterly. "Half a step away!"
"Half a step away?" Tang Tianhao and Tang Jin were stunned for a moment, but in the end, a happy smile appeared on their faces.
Half a step away meant that they had already taken half a step.
Half a step, even if it was half a step, was still a huge leap. It was enough to show disdain for anyone below half a step.
"You guys can leave first. In two days, bring the Gu Clan's Prince Consort to see me. I want to see what the Gu Clan has to make me take action," Old Master Tang said arrogantly.
Although the Gu Clan was a great clan from ten thousand years ago, things were different now. The current Gu Clan was not as scary as they were ten thousand years ago, but the Gu Clan had only sent a Prince Consort to forge a spirit artifact. This seemed to be very arrogant, so Old Master Tang also wanted to make things difficult for the Gu Clan's Prince Consort. He wanted to see if the younger generation of the Gu Clan had the confidence to make a Grandmaster like him, who had been famous for hundreds of years, take action.
How could Tang Tianhao not understand Old Master Tang's meaning? He immediately explained, "Old Master, he brought Ten Thousand Year Iron and Ten Thousand Year Deep Silver!"
He was afraid that he didn't know that the other party had brought valuable materials, so he emphasized once again.
Old Master Tang said disdainfully, "So what?
It's not like I haven't seen it before. "
"Old Master, it's different this time …" Tang Tianhao said anxiously. He wanted to explain that the amount of Ten Thousand Year Iron and Ten Thousand Year Deep Silver was very large, and not just a little bit.
Before he could finish, Old Master Tang waved his hand and interrupted him, "No need to say anymore. We'll talk after I see that kid."
With that, Old Master Tang entered the cave in a flash, and the metal door closed with a bang.
"Old Master!" Tang Tianhao called out again.
Unfortunately, he didn't hear a reply.
Tang Jin said from the side, "Let's go back. Since the Old Master has agreed to see that kid, he will definitely be overjoyed when he sees those two things."
Tang Tianhao sighed and said, "Elder Jin, you don't understand. If I don't make it clear now, when the Old Master sees those two things, he will definitely say that I didn't make it clear. This crime will fall on my head again."
"Hehe, Patriarch, you don't have to worry. The Old Master has always been very open-minded. He won't blame you." Tang Jin chuckled.
Tang Tianhao's expression was a little unnatural. He thought to himself, "He has always been open-minded, but he only became open-minded after venting his anger."
… ….
Ling Xiao stayed in the Tang Family for two days.
In these two days, Tang Guoguo personally brought Ling Xiao to visit the Tang Family's Iron Forging Pavilion, the smelting field, and the Inscription Peak …
Ling Xiao finally had a new understanding of the Tang Family's refining techniques.
The Tang Family was different from other forging workshops. They had a very detailed division of labor, and there would be a special person in charge of every order. Finally, before the weapon was out of the furnace, there would be a special master to check the quality of the weapon. Only after passing the master's eyes could the weapon be produced. Once they found any flaws, they would have to be eliminated or reforged again.
Ling Xiao couldn't help but sigh at the scale and management of an ancient family. It was really not something a small family could compare to. It was no wonder that they could maintain the title of the number one blacksmith family for so long.
At this time, Tang Guoguo was on his way to the Artifact Forging Pool on the main peak with Ling Xiao.
This main peak was where the Tang Family was located, and it was controlled by the Patriarch of each generation. If one wasn't a direct descendant of the Tang Family, very few people would be able to take even half a step near this place.
Now that Tang Guoguo had brought Ling Xiao to visit the Artifact Forging Pool, it was enough to show how much importance he placed on Ling Xiao.
"Brother Ling, what do you think of my Tang Family's artifact forging place?" Tang Guoguo asked with a hint of pride.
Ling Xiao replied seriously, "This is the largest artifact forging place I've ever seen. Your Tang Family's artifact forging skills are indeed worthy of their reputation."
"Haha, my Tang Family's artifact forging skills have been passed down for nearly ten thousand years. It can be said that no one in the Southern Region can compare to my Tang Family, so Brother Ling, coming to our Tang Family to refine spirit artifacts is definitely the best choice," Tang Guoguo said proudly.
In the past two days, the two of them had quickly become familiar with each other, and their conversation was no longer as distant as before.
As the two chatted, they quickly arrived at a spacious place facing the sun halfway up the main peak.
This place was guarded by a large number of experts from the Tang Family, and there were also glittering runes surrounding it. They were on high alert at all times.
"Greetings, Young Master!" The leader of the guards around the Artifact Forging Pool respectfully called out to Tang Guoguo.
"Alright, you can leave now. I've brought our esteemed guest here to take a look." Tang Guoguo waved his hand, dismissing the guard, and then brought Ling Xiao inside.
As soon as they stepped into the surroundings of the Artifact Forging Pool, waves of heat assaulted their nostrils. The high temperature of the air was abnormally uncomfortable.
Tang Guoguo didn't seem to feel uncomfortable at all when he arrived here. Instead, he seemed to be extremely comfortable.
Ling Xiao was just about to circulate his Ice Qi to resist the heat, but unexpectedly, the Blue Demon Fireball in his Sea of Consciousness had quietly changed.
It actually took the initiative to absorb the heat that was surging towards it.
This was the first time this had happened, and Ling Xiao only felt a little surprised. "Could it be that the Heavenly Lightning Fire here is also beneficial to the Blue Demon Fireball?"
As they walked inside, they saw a hundred meter wide Fire Pool. The flashing purple waves of fire were constantly surging within the Fire Pool, and that frighteningly high temperature made it difficult for ordinary people to approach.
"This Artifact Forging Pool really is an eye-opener!" Ling Xiao looked at the surging Fire Pool and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
This was simply a miniature version of a volcano that was isolated from lava.
If Ling Xiao hadn't entered the crater of a volcano and faced even more frightening waves of fire, he would have been frightened by this spectacular scene.
Tang Guoguo smiled and said, "This place has been accumulating Lightning Fire for many years, making it the best place to forge Artifacts. However, ordinary Profound Artifacts can't withstand the Lightning Fire here. Only high level materials for refining Spirit Artifacts can withstand the flames here."
"Truly a wondrous place!" Ling Xiao exclaimed in admiration once again.
The Blue Demon Fireball in his Sea of Consciousness actually had an urge to rush out, causing Ling Xiao to have a bad feeling.