Saying and doing, Zhou Ming placed the long sword flat on his knees, formed a hand seal with both hands, and rubbed his fingertips slightly, causing a wisp of purple-gold Nascent Fire to appear silently in his palm.

Under the guidance of his will, the Nascent Fire floated out from his palm and slowly enveloped the entire long sword.

The firelight reflected on the cave wall, dyeing the dark cyan rocks into a flowing purple-gold.

Under the burning of the Nascent Fire, the sword body gradually began to turn slightly red.

However, Zhou Ming did not deliberately melt or forge the long sword; he only let the flame nourish the sword body, keeping it at just the right temperature.

Inscribing a Formation does not require melting the sword embryo, but it does require the sword body to be in a semi-active state so that mana can penetrate it.

The preliminary steps and techniques for inscribing a Formation appeared in his mind one after another.

Zhou Ming held his breath and focused his mind, condensing his mana into a wisp that was extremely thin and tough, extending from his fingertips like a spring silkworm spinning silk, slowly injecting it into the sword body.

As soon as this wisp of mana entered the sword embryo, it began to outline the first Formation pattern: the Hardening Formation.

Cultivators above the Perfection of the Qi Condensation Stage all refine Magical Artifacts for themselves, and the Hardening Formation is the cornerstone of all Magical Artifact Formations; it allows the sword body to avoid shattering when enduring mana impacts.

To carry subsequent offensive Formations and flight Formations, the sword itself must first be solid enough.

The purple-gold Formation pattern spread silently inside the sword body, every stroke extremely steady and stable.

Where the Formation pattern passed, an extremely thin and faint line would light up on the pitch-black sword body, then immediately hide deep within the sword.

After finishing the Hardening Formation, he adjusted his breathing for a moment and began to inscribe the second set of Formations: the Lightness Formation and the Sharp Metal Formation.

These two sets of Formations belong to auxiliary types; they can be inscribed simultaneously and do not conflict with each other.

The Lightness Formation can significantly reduce the weight of the sword body, making the Flying Sword more agile and swift when controlled.

The Sharp Metal Formation can convert mana into sharp Qi and attach it to the sword blade, cutting through metal and jade as if cutting tofu.

The two Formation patterns intertwined in parallel inside the sword body, sometimes separating to outline individually, and sometimes tangling and overlapping.

After finishing these two auxiliary Formations, he let out a long breath of turbid air.

The basic Formations had all been inscribed; what followed was the true test of skill.

The offensive Formation and the flight Formation.

He had found two extremely exquisite Formations in Emperor Liu Jun's Jade Slip:

One was called the "Split Light and Form Shadow Formation," which could allow the Flying Sword to conjure dozens of sword shadows during an attack, mixing truth with falsehood, leaving the enemy unable to defend.

The other was called the "Flowing Light Evasion Shadow Formation," a flight Formation specifically for inscription on Flying Swords, which could cause the speed of sword-flying to soar several times over, covering a thousand miles in an instant.

He had repeatedly contemplated these two Formations in the Snow Mountain Valley for several months, and this was his first time actually operating them.

Zhou Ming took a deep breath, immersed his mind into the sword body, and using his Divine Sense as a guide and mana as ink, began to outline the complex and profound Formation patterns in the deepest part of the sword.

The patterns of the Split Light and Form Shadow Formation were extremely complex; every line needed to simultaneously account for the mana nodes of virtual-real transformation and the upper limit of the number of sword shadow divisions.

It took nearly an hour to complete, and the moment the last Formation pattern closed, the sword body emitted a clear and long hum.

The entire sword floated up from his knees on its own, rotating silently once inside the cave.

Wherever it passed, it left several purple-gold residual traces of sword shadows, each trace condensed and undissipated, lasting for several breaths.

Zhou Ming suppressed the excitement surging in his heart and focused all his attention on the last set of Formations.

The patterns of the Flowing Light Evasion Shadow Formation were completely different from the Split Light and Form Shadow Formation.

It did not require virtual-real transformation, but instead required completing multi-level mana stacking and instantaneous release within a very short distance.

This was also the most difficult part of this Formation; once the rhythm of mana stacking was off by even a fraction.

At best, the Formation would fail; at worst, the sword body would not be able to withstand the instantaneous release of mana impact, and the entire sword would shatter into fragments.

Zhou Ming spent a full hour to finish inscribing this Formation pattern.

When the last Formation pattern closed, the entire sword shook violently.

The Formation patterns that had been inscribed on the sword body previously lit up simultaneously, intertwining in layers.

The purple light of the Hardening Formation, the silver light of the Lightness Formation, the golden light of the Sharp Metal Formation, the virtual light of the Split Light and Form Shadow Formation, and the blue light of the Flowing Light Evasion Shadow Formation.

The five-colored Formation patterns flowed and intertwined on the surface of the sword body, eventually fusing into a very deep dark purple, slowly sinking into the interior of the sword body.

The long sword fell from mid-air and landed steadily in his hand.

The sword body was still the same sword, pitch-black and lusterless, with no patterns or decorations on its entire body, as plain as the most inconspicuous rough embryo in the corner of a blacksmith's shop.

But Zhou Ming could feel that this sword had undergone a complete transformation from the inside out.

Holding the hilt and injecting a wisp of mana, the sword body hummed and trembled; it did not shatter, nor did it chip, but just quietly lit up with a dim purple light.

Satisfied, he put the long sword into his Storage Ring.

Only now could this sword be considered to truly have the look a Flying Sword should have.

In fact, Zhou Ming was just too inexperienced; for a Flying Sword like the one he refined, Disciples of large Sects would already be able to refine it by the time they reached the Foundation Establishment Stage.

After finishing refining the long sword, Zhou Ming took off the emerald green ring from his finger.

This ring was still the one he had originally refined from that piece of jade half a person tall.

It could barely count as a trinket that could be worn on the hand; the interior was completely empty, and it didn't even have any storage function.

Later, when he obtained Emperor Liu Jun's Storage Ring, this jade ring had been left idle on his finger, serving more as a decoration.

Now that he had mastered the Dao of Formations, it was the perfect time to re-refine this ring.

Zhou Ming held the ring in his palm, rubbed a wisp of purple-gold Nascent Fire from his fingertips, and slowly enveloped the ring.

The Nascent Fire licked the ring surface silently, and the emerald jade quickly turned back into a mass of emerald green liquid floating in mid-air.

Zhou Ming's mind probed into the interior of the liquid and began to outline the first defensive Formation: the Golden Aegis.

This was a defensive Formation commonly used by Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators, which could automatically trigger when the wearer encountered a fatal attack.

It would form a golden light shield woven from mana around the body, blocking physical attacks and Spell impacts.

The Formation pattern spread outward from the core of the liquid, every stroke extremely steady and stable, with purple-gold light slowly flowing inside the emerald green liquid.

After finishing the Golden Aegis, Zhou Ming adjusted his breathing for a moment and began to inscribe the second defensive Formation: the Rebound Formation.

This Formation could reflect a portion of the impact force back the instant the Golden Aegis was shattered, letting the attacker also taste the flavor of being backlashed.

With the two defensive Formations superimposed, the protective capability of this ring far exceeded that of ordinary Foundation Establishment-level Magical Artifacts; even when facing an attack at the Golden Core level, it could block at least one strike.

Zhou Ming withdrew the Nascent Fire, and the emerald green liquid quickly cooled and solidified in mid-air, turning back into an emerald green ring.

The ring surface was still as smooth as a mirror, with faintly visible, silk-thin streams of light slowly moving inside, making it a few degrees more lively than before.

He put the ring back on his finger and wiggled his finger; the ring fit perfectly.

This ring, just like the Flying Sword he had just refined, was simple and unadorned on the surface, but had undergone a complete transformation on the inside.