After Andy left, following the clues provided by the Bar Owner, he strode towards the magma mining area south of Reverse Mountain.
The further he walked, the more unbelievably high the surrounding temperature became, as if he were in a giant steamer.
The air was filled with a pungent sulfur smell, and every breath felt like his nasal passages were burning.
The ground beneath his feet was scorching hot; his shoe soles, upon contact with the ground, felt as if they were slightly melting and softening, with each step bringing a sticky sensation.
"This damn place is really hot…" Andy raised his hand to vigorously wipe away the sweat constantly beading on his forehead. The sweat drops slid down his arm and fell onto the scorching ground, instantly turning into a wisp of smoke and dissipating.
Soon, a bustling mining area came into view. Miners were working with fervent energy.
They wore special heat-resistant suits, whose surfaces reflected an eerie light, acting like a thin protective shield in this high-temperature environment.
They held various tools, strenuously digging into the scorching rocks, searching for rare ores.
Each strike was accompanied by splashes of scorching sparks, which were particularly dazzling in the dim and hot environment.
Andy eagerly scanned his surroundings, trying to find Rex in the crowd.
Just then, an urgent and terrified voice suddenly reached his ears: "Be careful! Get out of the way!"
Andy quickly turned his head at the sound, only to see a miner standing beneath a precarious rock wall. The rocks on the wall seemed to have been loosened by the high temperature, threatening to collapse at any moment.
And above the rock wall, a huge rock was slowly and precariously sliding down, raising a slight cloud of dust.
In the nick of time, Andy unhesitatingly pulled out his broken blade from his spatial storage, and charged forward with lightning speed.
His eyes instantly sharpened like an eagle's, his aura suddenly changed, and a sharp sword qi, wrapped in scorching airflow, whistled out, like a bolt of lightning cutting through the muggy air.
With a loud "boom," the huge rock was precisely split into two halves, and shattered stones rained down.
The miner, still shaken, his legs gave way, and he slumped to the ground.
"Are you alright?" Andy quickly walked over, asking with concern.
The miner slowly raised his head, revealing a weather-beaten face.
He looked around fifty years old, his face covered with deep wrinkles etched by time, each wrinkle seemingly hiding countless arduous stories, but his eyes were still bright and sharp, showing a tenacious spirit.
"I… I'm fine, thank you for saving me," the miner said gratefully. Then, as if realizing something, he carefully scrutinized Andy.
Suddenly, he widened his eyes, filled with shock and disbelief, "You… you are Red Hawk Andy?"
Andy's lips curved slightly into a gentle smile: "That's right, I am Andy. May I ask who you are…?"
"I am Rex!" The miner's voice trembled with excitement, "I never imagined that the youngest swordsman in West Blue would appear here!"
Andy was also quite surprised. He never expected that Rex, whom he had been diligently searching for, would appear before him in such a dramatic manner.
"Mr. Rex, I was just looking for you," Andy said, "I heard you are an exceptionally skilled swordsmith, so I specifically came to ask you to forge a good blade for me."
Upon hearing this, Rex's eyes instantly flashed with a hint of excitement, but soon, the light dimmed, replaced by a touch of helplessness and disappointment: "Red Hawk, I am very grateful for your appreciation, but… I no longer have the ability to forge good blades."
"Why?" Andy asked, full of confusion and incomprehension.
Rex sighed heavily, as if to release the long-held bitterness in his heart, and slowly began to tell Andy about his predicament.
It turned out that due to a long-term lack of resources and funds, he hadn't forged a decent blade for a long time.
He came to this unbearably hot mining area, toiling hard every day among the scorching rocks, just to find some rare ores and realize his dream.
However, it was very difficult.
After listening to Rex's account, Andy looked at Rex and said with a firm gaze: "Mr. Rex, if I am willing to provide funds and help you find resources, can you forge a good blade for me?"
Rex's eyes immediately lit up, the light even more dazzling than before, as if he had seen the dawn of hope: "Really? Red Hawk, you are willing to sponsor me?"
Andy nodded solemnly: "That's right, I believe in your ability. Moreover, I also need a blade that truly suits me."
Rex was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes, streaming down his dusty face, leaving two clear tear tracks: "That's great! Red Hawk, I will do my utmost to forge an unparalleled blade for you!"
And so, Andy and Rex reached an agreement. Andy would be responsible for providing resources and funds, while Rex would be responsible for designing and forging the blade.
Subsequently, Andy took out the design drawing he had prepared earlier and handed it to Rex.
The design drawing was for a Tang Heng Dao, but Andy indicated that Rex could make slight modifications based on the actual situation.
When Rex saw the design drawing Andy took out, his eyes instantly widened, and his face was full of amazement: "Red Hawk, your design drawing is truly excellent, I don't think any adjustments are needed at all!"
"That's good then. What materials are you still lacking now? I'll go get them," Andy nodded, then asked.
But Rex did not respond immediately. He looked at Andy, his eyes hesitant to speak, but the crazy light in the depths of his eyes was not concealed at all.
"What's wrong? Rex, is something amiss?" Andy was a little confused, vaguely feeling that something unusual was happening.
At this moment, Rex lowered his voice, his voice trembling slightly with excitement:
"Red Hawk.
If it's just to forge a Good Grade Sword of the Fifty Skillful Works, as long as there are enough Berries, the materials for a Good Grade Sword can be purchased.
And I have at least a fifty percent chance of forging it, and it might even turn out better!
But I still want to ask you, do you want your blade to reach the level of a Great Grade Sword of the Twenty-One Skillful Works?"
Hearing Rex's words, Andy immediately became interested. He knew there must be other conditions involved, but his curiosity and desire still made him immediately press on: "Of course I do. So, what other conditions or materials are needed to forge a Great Grade Sword of the Twenty-One Skillful Works?"
Following this, Rex seemed to open up, pouring out all the thoughts he had hidden in his heart for a long time.
It turned out that ever since he was able to forge Good Grade Swords, he had always dreamed of forging a Great Grade Sword of the Twenty-One Skillful Works.
So, ever since Emberhardt advocated for reform more than ten years ago, he had embarked on this thorny and costly path alone.
One must know that resources and materials capable of forging Good Grade Swords are already rare, not to mention materials for Great Grade Swords, which are simply unattainable.
Over these past ten years, he had attempted countless times, expended countless resources, and endured countless failures.
Each failure was like a sharp stab to his heart, but he never gave up.
Finally, after countless explorations and attempts, he found a feasible method.
However, this method requires the most precious resources of Reverse Mountain: the crimson laser magma and obsidian profound steel ore, which can only be obtained from the underground magma world!
To obtain these two minerals, one must venture deep into the perilous underground magma world, where high temperatures, poisonous mists, and various unknown dangers abound, and with extremely good luck, it might be possible to encounter them.
Of course, besides these two ores, there was also the most important point that Rex didn't mention. Adding that point would maximize the success rate.
Because according to his method, what would be forged would be a Cursed Blade!
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