A Sword Nurturing Box was something that was considered almost essential to those that were following the Sword Path.
Sword cultivators would consider their swords as their own body, treating it with the same care. As such, a Sword Nurturing box was something that could be considered as giving the sword a proper place to rest in.
While there was of course ,the sheath of a sword, it could be considered more like the 'robes' of a sword.
In the case of Lin Mu, both his immortal swords, Afternoon Pine and Ocean Raker, did not have sheaths. Though this was mostly due to the fact that they were being nurtured in the Deep Sapphire City for a long time.
Even if they had a sheath at one point, they were probably gone.
And since Lin Mu mostly kept the swords in his ring, he didn't need specific sheaths for the swords either.
Adding a sheath didn't matter much to Lin Mu either, as he didn't use a sword style that required the use of a sheath. And while special sheaths with unique functions could be made, they were considered immortal tools on their own and were quite valuable.
Lin Mu wasn't on the level of being able to make one himself.
Plus, the best quality sheaths were made according to the sword itself.
Not only did they need to match the size and shape of the sword, they also needed to be conducive to its type and skills. For example, an immortal sword that was of the skill type should have a sheath that could amplify the amount of Immortal Qi that was present in it.
Or one could make a sheath that would steadily replenish the immortal Qi for the sword while it was not in use.
The swordsmen that specialized in Sword Drawing needed sheaths for this specific reason. Their strength was focused on single hit slashes that would kill the opponent. Thus, each slash would drain majority of the sword's energy.
Thus, it needed to be replenished every time. And while the swordsman would be able to do this with his own immortal Qi, it would not be fast enough. This was why a sheath that could replenish a large amount of Immortal Qi was important.
These sheaths would be specialized in being able to hold Immortal Qi that was several times more than that of a sword, as well as being able to inject a large amount into the sword upon sheathing.
In the case of swords that were of pure refinement types, they needed a different kind of sheath.
These swords were often used along with their sheaths as a defensive tool. Thus, their sheaths needed to be very durable and strong instead of holding large amounts of immortal Qi.
Then there were the hybrid type of swords that had both a Qi skill as well as high refinement levels. These needed sheaths that could potentially do both, and were the hardest to make.
Right now, Lin Mu didn't have a sheath that fulfilled any of these conditions, thus he would either have to look for one or make one himself. And until he could do that, making a Sword Nurturing box was the best option.
It could allow the Immortal swords to grow slowly and would also help the Sword Spirits to be nurtured. Overall, it could speed up the time needed for an Immortal Sword to upgrade to the next grade.
That was also how Ocean Raker and Afternoon Pine had managed to reach their current levels. They had been nurtured in the Deep Sapphire City for thousands of years.
But growth wasn't all that was obtained through the Sword Nurturing box. It could also help a sword repair itself over time!
When a swordsman fought, injuries were expected. And it wasn't just one's body that would be injured, their sword might be injured too. Even if the injuries were small, they would increase over time.
The most common example would be the loss of the Sword Edge. If the sword was not maintained, it would lose its sharpness and become blunt. A Sword Nurturing Box could take care of all this.
It was even said that there were some Peak Grade Immortal Sword Nurturing Boxes that could further temper the swords. Over time, these swords would get tougher and grow faster than other Sword Nurturing Boxes.
Though even making them was a difficult job, as only a handful of Immortal Weaponsmiths could do this.
Lin Mu pondered over all this before finally coming up with a plan for his Swords.
"Alright, let's go with replenishment and repair for you two." Lin Mu decided.
~HUMM~
The two swords chimed in response, showing their approval.
"Once I have better skills, I'll improve the boxes for you too." Lin Mu added, making the swords happier.
With that done, he finally got to work.
The first thing he did was to take out the large chunk of Peak grade immortal stone!
~SHUA~
As soon as it was placed outside the ring, a rich wave of Immortal Qi spread out from it.
"Restrain!" Lin Mu tapped the table, triggering one of the restraining formations.
~HUALA~
In the next second, a circular barrier surrounded the room, preventing any Immortal Qi from escaping it. Once this was done, Lin Mu activated his spatial perception and observed the large chunk of Peak Grade immortal stone.
He measured its dimensions and calculated the optimum size that would make the least amount of waste. After all, the chunk wasn't of a perfect geometric shape, and some amount of loss was expected.
Lin Mu made sure to get as close to the edges as possible to get a clean cut.
Meld!
Visualizing the dimensions with his eyes, Lin Mu activated Meld, cleaning cutting away a perfect Cuboid from the Peak Grade immortal Stone chunk!
The chunk was about fifteen centimeters wide, fifteen centimeters tall and a hundred centimeters long. It was the perfect size such that the sword would fit inside it!
