106: Taihe Baoguang, with a sword Taiyin

Three months later.

lunar calendar, Year 22, November.

Inside the Yuxu Grotto-Heaven.

The main hall at the mountain peak.

Yu Xuzi sat cross-legged in the center of the hall, with over a dozen Magical Artifacts scattered around him.

There were ordinary bronze short swords, spirituality-filled Animal Skin Bracers, Precious Mirrors shimmering with golden light, and Spiritual Wood Longbows that emitted the sound of howling winds... and so on.

However, they were all only First-tier Middle to High Grade Magical Artifacts.

Today was once again the time to Cultivate the Taihe Furnace Divine Ability.

It had been half a year since he obtained the first three layers of this Divine Ability.

Yu Xuzi had only mastered the first layer!

The second layer of the Divine Ability, which could be applied to Second-tier Magical Artifacts, had yet to succeed.

One must know that for other ordinary Spells, even the most difficult second-tier Spells, Yu Xuzi could learn them effortlessly and in a very short time.

Only this Taihe Furnace Divine Ability had not been Cultivated to the second layer after half a year; its difficulty could well be imagined.

"Let's begin!"

Composing his mind, Yu Xuzi formed hand seals with both hands.

The liquid mana within his Dantian began to circulate slowly, moving along the difficult and strange path described in the second layer of the Taihe Furnace Divine Ability.

Gradually, the Void Realm about a zhang in front of him began to distort slightly, and dense Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence poured in from outside the hall, slowly accelerating and rotating.

"Taihe Void Furnace, condense!"

Yu Xuzi shouted inwardly, his fingers flying as threads of mana shot out and intertwined, sinking into the core of the distorted spiritual essence storm.

Shadows and light flickered as the illusory outline of a furnace, about three zhangs high, slowly condensed and took shape before him.

The furnace was ancient in shape, with three legs and two ears. Its body was blurred, seemingly covered in countless tiny rune-like lights that flickered and flowed, yet remained indistinct.

As the furnace first formed, a strange suction emanated from within.

The Low Grade Magical Artifacts on the ground seemed to be pulled by an invisible hand, trembling and emitting low hums.

"I hope it succeeds this time!"

"Go!"

Yu Xuzi's expression was calm as he urged his mana once more.

The bronze short sword was the first to lift off the ground, wobbling as it plunged into the illusory furnace.

Next, the bracers, the Precious Mirror, the longbow... one Magical Artifact after another vanished into the distorted light at the furnace's mouth.

The moment all the Magical Artifacts were inside, the illusory furnace shook violently.

"Buzz— Buzz— Buzz—"

The flickering rune-like lights on the furnace body suddenly became clear, flashing wildly, and the entire structure shifted from a dull hue to a chaotic, multicolored brilliance.

Red, orange, yellow, green, and blue colors mixed and churned restlessly, with the faint, ear-piercing sounds of clashing metal and shattering jade echoing from within.

Yu Xuzi's face began to pale, and his fingers showed signs of trembling.

The fragile connection between his Divine Sense and the illusory furnace meant that every violent fluctuation of the furnace lashed back at his Divine Soul.

A heart-wrenching pain was born from this.

In previous attempts to Cultivate the second layer, he had mostly failed at this step, losing all his progress.

Yu Xuzi dared not be careless, fully operating the Divine Ability technique and carefully controlling his mana to maintain the furnace's stability.

At the same time, he guided the chaotic and violent Qi within the furnace, performing refinement and Fusion as described in the Divine Ability.

The multicolored light inside the furnace was like boiling magma; tiny illusory fragments of Magical Artifacts constantly surfaced, only to be swiftly swallowed by more intense colors.

The bronze short sword had completely melted, turning into a green sharp glow that lunged in all directions; the bracers became a tough, earthy-yellow ball of light; the golden Precious Mirror suddenly exploded, refracting illusory radiance; the Spiritual Wood Longbow pulled at invisible strings... they collided, eroded, and bit at one another.

"taihe precious light! Condense!"

Under Yu Xuzi's arduous urging, a tiny vortex slowly formed at the core of the furnace, emitting an even more powerful devouring force.

All the multicolored hues, all the illusory fragments, and all the wails and struggles were forcibly pulled, converging and compressing toward the center of the vortex.

Time passed bit by bit.

Yu Xuzi was drenched in sweat, his face as pale as paper, his body trembling violently due to the massive consumption of mana and mental energy.

The roaring and noise inside the furnace gradually subsided.

The chaotic, multicolored light also began to collapse inward, becoming increasingly concentrated and bright.

"Boom!!!"

Finally, at a certain moment, all the light and shadows within the illusory furnace vanished.

Only a few faint but extremely pure and condensed colored specks of light hovered quietly in the center of the furnace.

That treasure light was no larger than a grain of rice, yet it emitted a dazzling radiance and a mysterious, indescribable Dao charm, flowing with vibrant colors.

taihe precious light!

Yu Xuzi suppressed the feeling of near-collapse, his eyes bursting with bright light as he tremblingly extended a finger and carefully tapped the illusory furnace.

The furnace shook slightly, and a flash of light appeared at its mouth.

That grain-sized, vibrantly flowing wisp of taihe precious light flew out gracefully and hovered above his fingertip.

The illusory furnace in mid-air flickered a few times before quietly dissipating into the Void Realm.

"It's finally done..."

Yu Xuzi forcibly suppressed the excitement in his heart.

Holding his breath, his expression was incredibly solemn.

Next was the most important step!

With a point of his right hand, the longsword that had been lying quietly before him emitted a clear, crisp chime and automatically rose to hover in mid-air.

This was a First-tier High Grade longsword Magical Artifact, deep black in color. It was something Yu Xuzi had personally crafted years ago while practicing Artifact Refining, though he hadn't used it much.

Then, that wisp of taihe precious light, as if possessed of spirituality, slowly drifted toward the sword.

"Merge!"

Yu Xuzi shouted inwardly, activating the Divine Ability secret technique.

The taihe precious light instantly sank into the sword's blade.

At first, the sword only trembled slightly, with no major change.

But after only two or three breaths, a sudden change occurred!

"Buzz—!!!"

Accompanied by a sword chime far clearer and longer than before, a powerful deep-black light suddenly radiated from within the blade!

It was as if the entire sword had transformed into translucent black jade glass at that moment, with countless tiny, mysterious light patterns flowing, reorganizing, and condensing inside.

At the same time.

A trace of ethereal "spirituality" began to be born within the sword, and its rank as a Magical Artifact was forcibly elevated to second-tier Low Grade!

Yu Xuzi could clearly feel that the mental connection between himself and the sword had become incredibly close and clear at this moment.

The sword seemed to have become an extension of his arm, and a feeling of Bloodline connection and perfect control surged into his heart.

"It worked!!!"

Although it was only a second-tier Low Grade Magical Artifact, which Yu Xuzi could have crafted easily himself, the significance of the two was entirely different!

Just over a dozen First-tier Magical Artifacts, through the condensed taihe precious light, had actually forcibly created a Second-tier Magical Artifact!

By that logic... wouldn't Yu Xuzi soon be able to use a large number of Second-tier Magical Artifacts to forcibly pile up a Third-tier Magic Treasure?

"From now on, you shall be called the taiyin sword."