404: Chapter 405 No More Iron Ore, Changing the Landscape

Time quietly slipped away amidst the extreme intake and output of energy.

The red earth centered around Lu Chen was no longer dark red; instead, it took on a dazzling golden hue, as if the land itself were made of pure gold.

In the air, the sharp Metal-element Origin Qi had concentrated to the extreme, almost manifesting physically; with every breath, one felt the illusion of fine blades scraping against their internal organs.

The nine tripods floated and rotated slowly, the golden inscriptions and Formations on their bodies glowing to the limit like nine small suns, radiating endless majesty and sharpness.

Deep underground, it was as if a metal giant Dragon that had slumbered for eons was fully awakened, continuously offering up its power.

Lu Chen's cross-legged figure was now enveloped in a layer of thick golden light, leaving only a blurred outline visible.

His aura was no longer just sharp; it had gained a touch of weight and solidity—the characteristics of metal's hardness and immortality.

At a certain moment.

"Buzz—!"

The nine tripods let out a resonant hum in unison, grander and more distant than any before.

The golden Golden Core floating in Lu Chen's Dantian Qi Sea suddenly erupted with ten thousand rays of light!

The Golden Core, which had still felt slightly illusory, completely solidified at this moment!

On its surface, countless profound and complex golden runes flowed and branded themselves like living things, eventually etching deeply into the core of the Golden Core; every rune radiated a terrifying sharpness capable of cutting through everything and tearing through space.

An aura of Perfection, flawlessness, and indestructibility spread from the Golden Core.

Success!

The Xuanjin Void-Rending Scripture reached Major Achievement; the metal-attribute Golden Core reached Perfection!

Almost at the instant the Golden Core reached Perfection, the azure water-attribute Golden Core beside it trembled slightly, emitting a soft yet majestic water rhythm.

One gold and one blue, two round and smooth Golden Cores resonated with each other within the Dantian Qi Sea.

Metal generates water, and water nourishes metal.

The sharpness of metal, the softness of water.

Two completely different powers had now reached a perfect balance, nourishing and promoting each other, forming a stable cycle.

The aura within Lu Chen's body stabilized accordingly.

The sharpness was no longer exposed but restrained, like a peerless divine weapon hidden in its sheath—silent until it astounds the world.

The nine tripods floating around his body also gradually dimmed, returning to their simple and unadorned appearance before slowly sinking into Lu Chen's body.

The golden light enveloping his body dissipated.

Lu Chen slowly opened his eyes.

As he opened his eyes, two substantial golden flashes of lightning seemed to flicker past, and the air made a slight "hissing" sound.

He looked down; at this moment, the metal-attribute Origin Qi deep within the earth's veins had been devoured by him.

Lu Chen didn't plan to let these iron Ores go either.

The corners of Lu Chen's mouth curled up slightly.

He raised his right hand and gave a gentle beckoning motion toward the ground below.

"Rumble—"

The earth began to vibrate violently!

It wasn't an earthquake, but a deeper rhythm, as if the metallic elements of the entire region were responding to his call!

In the gray and desolate land below, countless tiny metal particles, Ore fragments, and even metal veins buried deep underground began to stir and converge as if pulled by an invisible force!

The red soil and gray rocks were easily pushed aside and crushed before this power.

Only the purest metal components were extracted, converging from all directions like hundreds of millions of tiny metallic streams toward an open space designated by Lu Chen.

The air was filled with the ear-piercing sounds of metal grinding and Ore shattering.

The scene was incredibly grand, as if an invisible giant hand were roughly sifting the "skeleton" of this land!

Lu Chen's eyes were calm as his fingers shifted through several more hand seals.

"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!"

—The [Nine-Turn Reincarnation Array] and others... nine major Formations lit up simultaneously!

The lights of the complex Formations intertwined, forming a massive three-dimensional Formation covering an extremely wide area, enveloping the metallic torrent converging from below!

"Refine!"

A single word escaped Lu Chen's lips.

Instantly, the Formations activated!

The massive metallic torrent, after being instantly refined, purified, and shaped by these nine Formations, let out a deafening roar!

Impurities were instantly expelled, leaving only the purest metal.

This pure metal was quickly shaped into uniform, gleaming standard metal ingots!

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Heavy Steel Ingots fell from the Formations in mid-air like dumplings into a pot, stacking neatly on the ground with dull thuds.

From extracting the Ore essence underground to refining and purifying it through the Formations, and then shaping it into ingots—the entire process was as smooth as flowing water!

The scale involved was even more terrifying!

Lu Chen's Divine Sense blanketed the sky and earth, covering this vast region famous for its iron mines.

Everywhere his eyes saw and his Divine Sense probed, all detected iron Ore resources—no matter how deep they were buried or how low their grade—had their metallic essence forcibly extracted by this domineering power!

The surface of the earth collapsed at a speed visible to the naked eye!

The red earth, which had merely lost its luster, now turned completely into massive craters!

One after another, they stretched on without end!

The earth was wailing and collapsing!

Hills vanished, and plains subsided!

The entire iron Ore reserve area of the Australia continent was undergoing earth-shattering changes!

And the super Steel Ingots being refined were piling up like mountains, more and more!

One billion tons...

Ten billion tons...

Finally, when the essence of the last piece of iron Ore was extracted and refined, the open space in front of Lu Chen was piled high with an uncountable number of Steel Ingots.

A full eighty billion tons!

And the unexpected harvest was uranium!

While refining the uranium, the nine tripods clearly vibrated more violently, the runes on their bodies flickering as if analyzing and suppressing some deeper level of power.

Finally.

"Clang!"

What fell was no longer in the shape of ordinary ingots.

Instead, they were standard hemispheres with surfaces as smooth as mirrors.

Each piece was only 20 kilograms, because Lu Chen knew that this stuff had a critical volume!

Exceeding a 50-kilogram standard sphere!

That would directly start a chain reaction, commonly known as: nuclear bombs!

Uranium blocks!

1.5 million tons!

Lu Chen waved his hand, dispersing and isolating these special "Uranium Hemispheres," storing them separately in a corner of his Divine Sense space.

This stuff might be of great use later.

Lu Chen remembered people on the internet in later generations discussing whether Earth's technology could eliminate a Cultivator at the Golden Core Stage.

Now, in Lu Chen's eyes, it was simply a joke!

Heh? Nuclear bombs?

A Cultivator at the Golden Core Stage who had mastered the metal-attribute Law would find obtaining high-purity uranium as easy as turning over a hand.

Creating nuclear bombs would be incredibly easy.

If the 100,000 tons of Highly Enriched Uranium in Lu Chen's hands were directly turned into nuclear bombs, it would be no joke!

Getting so much uranium so easily this time made Lu Chen even more determined to completely control the world's metals in his own hands.

Then the technology tree of this world would be in his hands; how it develops would be up to him, Lu Chen.

On the ground, only massive mining pits remained, like scars gouged out of the earth.

The former Nation of Iron Mines had its underground iron Ore resources completely emptied in a short period!

Australia would have no more iron mines from then on.

Looking at the devastated massive pits below and the remaining grayish-white rock and soil at the edges that had lost their metallic luster, Lu Chen remained expressionless.

He looked up toward the sky.

With another thought.

The water-attribute Golden Core that had just gone quiet became active again.

The Cangming Sea-Overturning Scripture activated!

In the sky, the wind and clouds changed color!

The originally clear sky was quickly obscured by thick dark clouds, rolling like spilled ink.

The air became moist and heavy.

"Crash—!"

In the next moment, a torrential rain poured down from the heavens!

It wasn't ordinary rain, but Spiritual Rain containing pure water-attribute Origin Qi; every drop was as plump as a pearl, carrying the power to wash away dust.

The rain was so heavy it was like the Heavenly River had burst its banks, crazily pouring into the countless massive pits that had just been formed!

"Gurgle! Gurgle!"

In the massive pits, the water level rose rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye!

The rain washed the rock walls of the pits, carrying away the last traces of slag.

Soon, the abandoned mining area that was once dusty and devastated completely disappeared.

Replacing it were massive lakes, scattered like stars and shimmering with light!

Brand new lakes were embedded in the heart of the Australia continent, their waters clear, reflecting the rolling dark clouds in the sky.

The dry, scorching air filled with the smell of rust was completely replaced by moist, fresh water vapor.

The natural environment of the entire region was forcibly changed by Lu Chen's power alone!

The dark clouds dispersed, and sunlight spilled down once more, shining on the brand-new lake surfaces and reflecting a dazzling light.

Lu Chen hovered in mid-air, glancing down at the cluster of lakes he had created with his own hands.

His figure instantly blurred and disappeared into the horizon.

Leaving behind only this land with its completely altered landscape and environment, and the deep, calm, brand-new lakes, silently recounting everything that had just happened.