208: Refining Magic Items

Seeing his Demon Soldiers newly equipped and their morale soaring like a rainbow, Gao De felt quite satisfied.

Taiwan Novel Network accompanies your reading, super thoughtful.

But he knew that this trip to the Dragon Palace, while seemingly to celebrate the Qianjiang Dragon King's birthday, was actually fraught with undercurrents; his own strength was his ultimate reliance.

Having successfully advanced to the fourth rank and transformed into human form, his Lifebound Demon Weapons, the purple scale earth-shaking armor and the thunder fang formation-breaking halberd, though they had accompanied him through many battles and were considered Sharp Weapons for offense and defense in the Golden Core Stage, their Materials and power were now gradually failing to keep up with the leap in his Bloodline and Realm as he faced a broader world and potential opponents of the same or even higher ranks.

In the previous battle during the eruption of the earth fire, he had relied more on his strong Physical Body and powerful Divine Ability and Spells; the power of his Lifebound Demon Weapons was already starting to fall behind.

“It's time for my old partners to undergo a complete transformation as well!” Gao De's eyes burned with intensity as they fell upon the faint phantom of purple scales on his body and the micro-vibrations of the thunder-flame halberd light in his palm.

With a wave of his hand, he ordered Iron Profound to lead the Demon Soldiers to expand the security perimeter and strictly blockade the valley. He then walked into the deepest part and set up several layers of even stricter isolation, protection, and spirit-gathering Formations to ensure the Artifact Refining process was foolproof and that any anomalies would not leak out.

Sitting cross-legged, he sank his mind into his Dantian.

He saw a suit of illusory armor, ancient and heavy with a dark purple metallic luster, and an illusory halberd, entwined with purple thunder-flame and its blade gleaming with a chilling light, slowly circling the purple-gold dragon pearl. Their auras were connected, like extensions of his body.

These were his two Lifebound Demon Weapons, cultivated with his very life, connected to his mind, and as easy to use as his own limbs.

“Purple Scale, Thunder Fang, today I shall use various treasures to reshape your true bodies, so you may follow me to roam the four seas and shake the eight desolations!” With a thought, Gao De opened his mouth and exhaled.

“Buzz!” “Clang!”

Two distinct yet equally spiritual vibrations rang out.

On the left, an illusory dark purple full-body armor appeared, exuding an aura as heavy as a mountain; it was the purple scale earth-shaking armor.

On the right, an illusory halberd solidified, about ten feet long, its shaft as thick as a child's arm, with a crescent blade and a sharp tip, entirely purple-gold and wreathed in thunder and fire; it was the thunder fang formation-breaking halberd.

Next, with another thought from Gao De, two clusters of light, one large and one small, flew out from his storage Magic Treasure.

The larger cluster consisted of the Dragon Scales shed from his body when he successfully broke through to the fourth rank and transformed. Both in quality and quantity, they far exceeded those used when he first refined his Lifebound Treasure.

These scales varied in size and thickness, but all were a deep purple-gold with naturally occurring profound patterns on the edges; their quality far surpassed ordinary Artifact Refining Materials.

The smaller cluster was the essence specially reserved from the previous refining of the Demon Soldier armor: including the core of Purple Heaven Thunder Flame Jade Marrow, a wisp of earth core fire pattern gold mother Origin metal Qi, the lotus heart of profound ice jade lotus, and the earth-fire essence from the unicorn horn of the Molten Rock Wyvern and the armor-breaking poisonous baleful energy from the tail hook of the Earth Fire Poison Scorpion, both obtained from previously slain Yao Beasts.

“The old body returns to the Origin; the new bones are recast!”

Gao De looked solemn as his hands formed ancient Artifact Refining seals inherited from the depths of the Purple Heaven Dragon Transformation Art. The dragon mark on his brow glowed brightly, and the majestic, pure fourth-rank dragon essence within his body surged out without reservation. Combined with his powerful Divine Sense, he triggered the high-quality purple-gold dragon essence true fire in front of him to burst into two streams—one blazing like a solar furnace, the other heavy and still like an earth-core flame pool—wrapping around the artifact spirits of the purple scale earth-shaking armor and the thunder fang formation-breaking halberd respectively!

“Sizzle... Crackle! Boom!”

Under the burning of the highly targeted dragon essence true fire, the old forms of the two Lifebound Demon Weapons began to slowly melt and decompose, removing Impurities, hidden injuries accumulated over long years of battle, and the less-than-perfect auxiliary Materials integrated during their initial refining. Only the core artifact spirit imprints, the dragon blood connection, and the fundamental Dao rhymes of “Earth-shaking” and “Formation-breaking” were retained.

This process was slow and laborious; Gao De was fully focused, not daring to be careless in the slightest.

Simultaneously, he threw the cluster of Lifebound Dragon Scales and the reverse scale protecting the heart into the outer edge of the heavy fire representing the “Armor.” Using a special “nurturing and calcining” method, he slowly stimulated the dragon blood Origin, the earth's pulsation power, and the sliver of thunderous vitality within the scales, softening and purifying them, and linking their auras to faintly form a natural armor structure.

On the other side, he threw the reserved Purple Heaven Thunder Flame Jade Marrow core, the earth core fire pattern gold mother Origin metal Qi, and various offensive material essences into the blazing fire representing the “Halberd,” beginning the preliminary Fusion and tempering to extract the purest thunder-flame sharp Qi.

Once the main bodies of the two old weapons were melted and purified, turning into a liquid mass of armor Origin emitting a heavy dark light and a liquid mass of halberd Origin breathing thunder-flame sharpness, Gao De began the most critical stage of material Fusion and reshaping.

Reforging the [purple scale earth-shaking armor]:

Gao De first guided the cluster of Lifebound Dragon Scales, which had become soft and full of spirituality after nurturing and calcining, to slowly merge into the armor Origin liquid mass.

Each scale seemed to come alive, arranging, inlaying, and fusing according to a certain profound Formation, with the reverse scale protecting the heart as the central core, layering to form an incredibly solid base armor body.

Next, he reintegrated the Dragon Turtle shell Origin, Alligator Dragon muscle and bone essence, and Geng-metal essence he had obtained in his early years, strengthening the armor's physical defense and shock-reflection capabilities.

Then came the wisp of ultimate vitality and pure icy power from the profound ice jade lotus heart.

Gao De used clever techniques to evenly permeate it into the joints and internal pathways of every scale, forming an invisible “vitality cold membrane.”

This method had three effects: first, it greatly enhanced the armor's resistance to energy attacks; second, it provided continuous vitality nourishment, accelerating the armor's self-repair after being damaged; third, it guarded the wearer's mind, countering external mental impacts and Heart Demon intrusions.

Finally, Gao De once again spat out three mouthfuls of Lifebound Essence Blood, merging them into the armor body, and struck out ancient Dragon Clan runes representing “Earth,” “Protection,” “Shock-reflection,” and “Dragon Might,” branding them onto every scale.

“Purple scales as the base, dragon blood as the guide, earth-shaking to protect the body, impervious to all Spells—The Armor is complete!”

As the hand seals were completed, light burst forth from the heavy fire, and a brand new suit of armor quickly took shape!

This armor was a deep and noble purple-gold throughout. The scales were no longer simply layered but grew and joined naturally like the scales of a true giant Dragon, flowing with a metallic luster and jade-like warmth.

The shoulder plates were shaped like roaring Dragon heads, there were barbs at the elbows and knees, and the vital areas of the chest and abdomen were covered with a reinforced reverse scale layer. The overall lines were smooth and full of power.

Phantoms of mountains and rivers faintly rose and fell on the armor body, exuding a heavy aura of being as immovable as a mountain and reflecting ten thousand catties of force. Furthermore, a layer of pale blue vitality ice mist flickered between the gaps of the scales.

After the armor was reforged, he took it into his body for nurturing. Gao De then continued with the task of reforging the [thunder fang formation-breaking halberd].

Gao De thoroughly merged the liquid mass of thunder-flame sharp Materials, which had already been fused and tempered, with the halberd Origin liquid mass.

Instantly, the liquid mass boiled violently, thunder flashed, flames surged, and sharp Qi radiated in all directions.

Controlling it with his powerful Divine Sense, the liquid mass quickly stretched and took shape.

The halberd shaft was recast using the original shaft essence fused with Alligator Dragon muscle and bone and earth-fire profound iron, making it tougher and capable of perfectly conducting Demonic Power and thunder.

For the halberd head, the crescent blade and sharp tip used the earth core fire pattern gold mother Origin metal Qi as the core, wrapping around the thunder-flame crystal points refined from the Purple Heaven Thunder Flame Jade Marrow, forming indestructible slashing and piercing points.

The various dragon blood Materials, Geng-metal, and thunderous baleful energy integrated in his early years were perfectly fused into various parts of the halberd body.

Gao De once again spat out three mouthfuls of Essence Blood into the halberd and struck out violent Dragon Clan war runes representing “Thunder,” “Destruction,” “Tearing,” and “Conquest,” branding them onto the shaft and blade.

“Thunder fangs as the edge, dragon soul as the spirit, breaking Formations to slay evil, the halberd sweeps through heaven and earth—The Halberd is complete!”

From the blazing fire, a purple-gold halberd phantom that one could not look at directly soared into the sky, then retracted and took form!

The newborn halberd was about twelve feet long, its thick shaft covered with fine Dragon scale patterns and thunder runes, with slip-resistant Dragon tendons wrapped around the grip.

The halberd head was massive, the crescent blade's curve was elegant yet chillingly sharp, and the central tip was straight like a dragon's tooth piercing the sky. It was entirely purple-gold, with thunder-flame moving incessantly on the blade like a living thing, exuding a terrifying killing intent that could tear everything apart and destroy all laws, faintly creating a strong resonance with the thunder-flame sword Qi inside Gao De.

“Return to your place!”

Gao De guided them with his hands and gave a low shout.

The [purple scale earth-shaking armor] nurtured within his body turned into a heavy purple-gold light, instantly covering Gao De's entire body. It fit perfectly, like a second skin, yet provided terrifying defense and shock-reflection power as immense as a mountain. The layer of vitality ice mist brought a sense of clarity to Gao De's mind.

The [thunder fang formation-breaking halberd] let out an excited, Dragon-like cry and fell into Gao De's right hand.

It felt heavy in his hand yet perfectly attuned. With a slight thought, the thunder-flame on the halberd body surged, flickering as if it could tear through the Void Realm at any moment.

The quality of the two Lifebound Demon Weapons had surprisingly both reached the level of fourth-rank Magic Treasures!

In the future, as Gao De grew, it was not impossible for them to even become Spirit Treasures.

Furthermore, their Foundations were solid, their potential was immense, and they were closely linked to Gao De's Bloodline, far surpassing ordinary Magic Treasures.

Gao De felt the absolute sense of security from the armor and the matchless power from the halberd. Under the feedback of the two Lifebound Demon Weapons, the Demonic Power in his body circulated even more surgingly and majestically, and his Divine Soul also underwent a tempering.

Compared to before the reforging, his overall strength had undergone a qualitative leap!

He rose to his full height. With a thought, the light of the purple scale earth-shaking armor withdrew, transforming into a purple-gold close-fitting outfit, while the thunder fang formation-breaking halberd was taken back into his body to continue being nurtured.

He removed the Formations. The heavy defensive aura and the tearing slaughter power that could make heaven and earth lose color were quietly withdrawn. However, the unfathomable and profound temperament surrounding Gao De caused Iron Profound and the other Demon Soldiers acting as Protectors outside to involuntarily kneel down, their minds shaken to the core.

Gao De walked out slowly, his gaze sweeping over his loyal subordinates. Feeling the two great Lifebound Demon Weapons in his Dantian, which complemented his Golden Core and had undergone a complete transformation, a surge of heroic pride welled up in his chest. He felt even more composed and confident about the upcoming trip to the Dragon Palace.

“Qianjiang Dragon Palace, let us see this seat take this armor and this halberd to meet the heroes of the world's aquatic clans!”

“Set out!”