43: Chapter 43 The Earth Sword is Forged, and Another Extraordinary Treasure is Heard of

"Hum—!"

The moment the nine heavens breathing soil fused in, the mass of earthy-yellow metal liquid inside the Artifact Refining furnace suddenly erupted with a brilliant, dazzling light. The entire Artifact Refining furnace began to hum and vibrate violently, as if it might explode at any moment!

A surge of incredibly heavy, violent earth-elemental Origin energy crazily spread out from the fused liquid, filling the entire Immortal Cave.

"Not good! It's going out of control!"

Your expression changed. The nine heavens breathing soil was truly worthy of being a legendary divine object; the Origin energy contained within it far exceeded your imagination. The auxiliary Materials you had refined previously were simply unable to completely neutralize or contain this power.

Seeing that the mass of liquid was about to go completely berserk, the furnace exploding was only a matter of time.

Just at this critical moment, the [Epiphany] trait kicked in!

Your brain instantly entered that ethereal and mysterious state, and everything in the outside world became slow and clear.

Your agitated heart also became as still as an ancient well in an instant.

"The problem lies in the imbalance of power... the power of the breathing soil is too strong, and the power of the auxiliary Materials is too weak... forcing a Fusion will only lead to mutual destruction."

"Since it cannot be fused, then... guide it!"

In a flash of lightning, a bold idea formed in your mind.

You no longer tried to suppress that violent power of the breathing soil, but instead did the opposite and began to guide it!

You mobilized your vast Divine Sense, transforming it into billions of invisible fine threads, and cautiously probed into the berserk mass of liquid.

Then, following the most complex and exquisite sword embryo construction diagram recorded in the "Five Qi Towards Origin Sword Canon", you guided that power of the breathing soil to construct and circulate within the liquid itself.

This was like performing the most precise micro-carving surgery inside a gunpowder barrel about to explode.

If it were any other Cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Stage, even if a Core Formation True Person had come, they would likely only be able to sigh in despair.

But you, relying on the extraordinary state brought by [Epiphany] and the powerful foundation brought by [Divine Sense Double], managed to do it!

Time passed minute by minute.

Fine beads of sweat seeped from your forehead, and your face turned somewhat pale due to the immense consumption of your Divine Sense.

But your eyes were growing brighter and brighter.

Under your guidance, the mass of liquid that had been incredibly violent gradually stabilized.

An unfathomably profound Dao rhyme began to circulate within it.

Finally, after not knowing how much time had passed, you suddenly opened your eyes and cast the final finishing spell with both hands.

"Condense!"

You let out a low shout.

The mass of liquid inside the Artifact Refining furnace instantly restrained its light, rapidly contracting and deforming, until it finally transformed into an ancient-looking, simple longsword about three feet long, earthy-yellow in color, with a wide and thick blade.

On the blade, there were no flashy patterns, only an ancient "Earth" character mark, flickering in and out of view.

The moment the longsword formed, a feeling of being connected to your Bloodline and in sync with your heart surged into your mind.

You moved your mind.

"Clang—!"

The earthy-yellow longsword let out a clear, melodious sword hum, leaped out from the Artifact Refining furnace, and like a living Dragon, it happily circled and danced around you.

You reached out and firmly grasped the hilt.

Upon grasping it, there was a heavy, substantial feeling, as if you were holding the entire earth.

You could even feel that this sword was breathing.

"Success... my first life-bound Flying Sword, the wutu sword!"

You looked at the longsword in your hand, your eyes filled with excitement and joy.

For this day, you had struggled for twenty-five years in your simulations!

You injected a burst of magic power into the wutu sword.

"Hum—!"

The blade vibrated violently, and an incredibly heavy earthy-yellow sword aura erupted from it, pressing the ground of your entire Immortal Cave down by three fen!

"What powerful might!"

Your heart was filled with joy. This was only the initial forging; it hadn't even been nurtured yet, and it already possessed such power. If it were to form a sword array with the other four swords in the future, the power would be unimaginable.

You played with it affectionately for a while before taking the wutu sword into your body, using the magic power in your Dantian to begin nurturing it.

[Age 44: You successfully forged your first life-bound Flying Sword, the "wutu sword," and your strength greatly increased. At the same time, after three years of arduous cultivation and insights gained during the Artifact Refining process, your cultivation level also naturally broke through to the Late Foundation Establishment Stage.]

You felt the magic power within your body, which was now several times larger than before, and felt incredibly comfortable.

"I'm in the Late Foundation Establishment Stage... the next step is the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, and then charging towards Core Formation!"

You were full of confidence in your future.

"However, the pressing priority is to gather the remaining four swords."

You rubbed your chin and began to calculate.

The Materials for the remaining four swords were more outrageous than the last.

The main material for the "Geng Metal Sword" is "geng metal from beyond the heavens."

The main material for the "Azure Wood Sword" is "ten thousand year soul nurturing wood."

The main material for the "Xuan Water Sword" is "Profound Nether Heavy Water."

The main material for the "li fire sword" is "essence of earth core li fire."

These things were all legendary items that one could only hope to encounter but not seek out. Relying on yourself to search around like a headless fly, you didn't know how long it would take.

"It seems I have to go out and inquire about information."

You ended your three-year closed-door cultivation and pushed open the stone door of your Immortal Cave.

The first thing you did after coming out of seclusion was to visit your Master, Liu Changfeng.

When you showed the "wutu sword" you had initially forged to him.

Your Core Formation Stage Master, who had lived for hundreds of years and seen all sorts of storms and waves, completely lost his composure.

He held your wutu sword, looking it over repeatedly for half an hour, constantly muttering to himself: "A divine object... truly a divine object..."

Then, he grabbed your hand and checked your cultivation level several times, and finally, he looked at you with an expression as if looking at a monster, unable to say a word for a long time.

"You... you brat... exactly what kind of Prodigy are you..."

In the end, he could only let out such a sigh.

Regarding this, you just chuckled, attributing everything to "good luck" and "Master's excellent teaching."

Liu Changfeng also couldn't be bothered to pursue the secrets you held. He only knew that he had taken in an incredible Disciple, and the future hope of the Azure Cloud Sect rested on you.

"Speak, what is it this time after coming out of seclusion?" Liu Changfeng calmed his mood and asked. He was already accustomed to the fact that you, this Disciple, would give him a shock every time you came out of seclusion, and incidentally make some requests.

"Hehe, Master still understands me." You rubbed your hands and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Disciple came this time because I wanted to ask Master where I can find the Materials to forge the other few Flying Swords."

You told Liu Changfeng all the remaining main Materials.

After listening, Liu Changfeng furrowed his brows and fell into deep thought.

"The few items you mentioned, each and every one of them is a supreme treasure sufficient to trigger a scramble among Nascent Soul Old Monsters. Wanting to obtain them is as difficult as ascending to heaven."

He sighed and said: "'ten thousand year soul nurturing wood' and 'Profound Nether Heavy Water', these two items, I have only seen recorded in ancient texts; for thousands of years, they have never appeared in the Northern Region, and I fear they have long since gone extinct."

"As for the 'essence of earth core li fire', there seems to be a trace of its aura deep within the 'Falling Demon Valley', a Forbidden Ground of the Sect. But that place has extremely unstable space and lingering ancient Devilish Qi; it is incomparably dangerous, and even the Sect Master dares not easily venture deep into it."

Hearing this, you silently noted the place name "Falling Demon Valley" in your heart.

"However..." Liu Changfeng changed the subject, "that 'geng metal from beyond the heavens' you mentioned, recently, there actually seems to be news about it."

"Oh?" Your eyes lit up.

"I heard from your Third Senior Brother that three months from now, at 'Heavenly Star City', the largest Cultivator marketplace in the Northern Region, a grand auction held once every hundred years will take place. It is said that one of the finale items of this auction is a piece of 'geng metal from beyond the heavens' weighing eight liang, excavated from a meteorite!"

"Heavenly Star City auction! geng metal from beyond the heavens!"

Your heart skipped a beat.

It was truly someone handing you a pillow just as you were falling asleep!

"Master, I must go to this auction!" You said with a firm tone.

"I knew you would say that." Liu Changfeng shook his head helplessly, "However, those who can participate in an auction of this level are either rich or noble. To bid for 'geng metal from beyond the heavens', without several hundred thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones, I'm afraid you shouldn't even think about it."

"Several hundred thousand!?" You gasped.

You sold all the loot from the Crimson Trial, plus your own savings, and at most, it was only thirty or forty thousand. This gap was simply too large.

"You don't need to worry about the money." Liu Changfeng looked at you, his eyes filled with doting and expectation, "In this life, I don't have any other hobbies, just saved up some possessions. I will pay this money for you; remember to pay me back later!"

As he spoke, he handed you a Storage Pouch that looked completely unremarkable.

"Inside this, there are five hundred thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Take it and go. Remember, do not flaunt your wealth, and be careful in all things."

You took the heavy Storage Pouch, looking at Master's face that was filled with "You are my everything," and your heart warmed, your nose feeling a bit sore.

"Master..."

Your thousands of words eventually turned into just two words.

"Thank you."

You bowed deeply to Liu Changfeng.

Three months later, after some disguise, you turned into an ordinary-looking Loose Cultivator, quietly left the Azure Cloud Sect, and arrived at the incredibly bustling Heavenly Star City.

Standing on the street filled with coming and going people and clouds of Cultivators, you looked at the magnificent, palace-like auction house in the distance, your eyes flashing with the light of determination.

"geng metal from beyond the heavens, here I come!"