Ryu set the books down after a long while and entered a state of meditation. He was once again baffled, though, that even a Sixth Heaven didn't have even the slightest bit of information on his Chaotic Silk Meridians. In fact, the amount of information he found on high class Talents was actually quite low.
He thought that the Radiant Star Sect library had taught him enough about his Perfect Blackbody soul and other talents, only to realize that the information the Sect had was actually quite poor. It could only be said to be more detailed than Sacrum, but that wasn't saying much to begin with.
Ryu came to realize that he was relying too much on others to gain a good understanding of his own talents. In fact, just now, if not for his expertise as a Ruin Master reminding him of the translation error related to his own Bone Structure, he might have just blindly followed the four pillars and built an alloy based on that.
However, had he done that, he would have stunted his own growth. Even though the problem wouldn't be obvious for a long while, by the time he truly started touching the highest reaches of the Sky God Realms, he would only lose out on more and more strength he could have had.
This was the lingering fear most had that stopped them from going down the route of the [Refinement Sutra]… But it was also exactly because of this that Ryu had come to realize that this cultivation technique also maybe held the greatest potential of any in existence!
With his new and deeper understanding of his own Bone Structure, Ryu then began to look through the rudimentary information on Blacksmithing.
Whether it was Blacksmithing weapons or alloys, they followed pretty much the same ranking system that pills did. There was first a purity metric, and this a Rune completion metric.
This was simple enough and Ryu was already used to the process.
What was different, though, was the methods Blacksmiths used. Compared to alchemy which only had two methods, pill and potion making, one using fire and the other yin waters, blacksmithing simply had far too many… it could even be said to be as numerous as the creations you could make with them.
Many blacksmiths did, indeed, use fire, that much was true. However, there were just as many that didn't rely on any elements at all and only used their hammer and their qi. This second method was especially popular when it came to forging alloys, but even that was just the tip of the iceberg.
There were blacksmiths that used lightning and thunder as a tempering method, there were some blacksmiths that actually used formations and were almost entirely hands off, there were some blacksmiths that relied on their earth and metal qi to forge, and there were yet some more still that relied on Feng Shui and very specific environmental cues in order to forge the perfect alloy or weapon.
Compared to Sacrum where practically 90% of Blacksmiths just used hot fire in their practice, this number of methods was almost overwhelming. There were even many that moved Ryu's heart.
For example, blacksmiths that used lightning and thunder to forge their weapons… just how grand would Ryu be if he chose such a method? With his control over Tribulation Lightning, would anyone even be capable of matching the weapons and alloys he forged? They would be tempered by the Heavens even before the Heavenly Favor descended!
And what about the Formation Master Blacksmiths? They also stirred Ryu's heart.
They were also known as the Blueprint Masters of the Blacksmithing world. They had the most complex designs, and yet they hardly needed to lift a finger during the forging process, all the work was done ahead of time.
They would create and set down their complex blueprints first, and then prepare the metals and alloys they would use. Following this, they would pour the metals into what they called Blueprint Casts or Formation Casts.
Once the metal was inside, the formation would begin to work, setting the mold and completing the creation. All one would need to do is provide the energy.
As though that wasn't enough, there was a third that stirred Ryu's heart as well… The Feng Shui Blacksmiths.
These Blacksmiths spent their time searching and scouring the world for perfect locations for their creations. Once they found the perfect location, they would set up their formations and their precious materials and then allow nature itself to complete the forging.
Ryu might be a bit biased because he had a soft spot for Feng Shui, something he had studied with quite some depth as a Ruin Master, but he felt that this form of forging was even more perfect than the previous two…
However, even with that being the case, he couldn't quickly decide.
All three methods resonated with him. The Lightning Refinement Method would be the easiest to execute, but it would also somewhat clash with the results he wanted. The alloy Ryu needed to create had to resonate with the Heavens, but if there was Tribulation Lightning involved, especially if there was too much, the aura of judgment would be too great and it would overwhelm the results he needed.
His Bone Structure was non-confrontational and in complete harmony with the world, and that included the Heavens.
It was possible to use the Lightning Refinement Method and have the judgment aura help rather than hinder, but it would take a few extra steps that would make the so-called "easiest" method far more difficult.
The Blueprint Refinement Method was also excellent. It was in the middle of the three in terms of difficulty, and it vibed well with Ryu's talents, but it was much too artificial and it lacked the spiritual nature Ryu needed to make his creations truly one with the world.
Then there was the Feng Shui Refinement Method. Using nature to forge was absolutely perfect for the results that Ryu needed, there was no better method for becoming in tune with his Bone Structure and allowing it to flourish.
It seemed, then, that the answer was obvious. He could obviously go with the Feng Shui Refinement Method.
But, like with all things, there was another problem. While the Feng Shui Refinement Method was perfect, it was too difficult to employ, and the odds of finding a region perfect for his Bone Structure was next to impossible. And even if such a region existed, it might only exist for a few short seconds once every several millennia.
And that was just one issue, there was another, larger problem.
Because this method relied on the whims of nature, the results were often crude, albeit powerful. As such, it was very rare to reach even 80% purity through this method, let alone the Runed level.
Ryu sat in silence, not quite sure what to do.