88: The magic weapon is initially completed.

Returning to the Deep Pool Water Mansion, Gao De did not immediately set out to perform Artifact Refining.

He knew deeply that refining a Lifebound Treasure was a matter of great importance, allowing no room for failure, and he had to be fully prepared.

He first summoned his core subordinates, such as Turtle Three Thousand and Crab Eighteen, and spoke with a solemn expression:

"This King is about to enter seclusion to refine a Lifebound Treasure that concerns my Dao path. This seclusion will last at least a few months, or perhaps over a year, and no disturbances will be tolerated during this time."

"Turtle Three Thousand, you have full authority to decide on all matters within and outside the Water Mansion. Close the gates tightly, activate all defensive Formations, and raise patrol vigilance to the highest level. Unless it is a catastrophe, do not disturb me by any means."

"Crab Eighteen, you are to lead all Demon Soldiers and strictly blockade the hundred-mile water area around the Water Mansion. Anyone who trespasses, whether human or demon, is to be killed without mercy!"

"Shrimp No Shadow, send out all elite scouts to monitor all unusual movements in the direction of Dongting Lake and the Yunmeng Great Marsh. If there are large-scale force movements, report them immediately to Turtle Three Thousand for a decision through the internal circle."

"Clam Hanzhu, guard the Spiritual Vein nodes tightly to ensure a stable output of Spiritual Qi, especially the concealment Formation leading to the Dragon Palace Secret Passage; it must be maintained at all times."

The demon generals felt the gravity in Gao De's words, knowing that this matter concerned the future Foundation of the Water Mansion, and they all solemnly replied: "We will strictly obey the Lord's decree! We swear to protect the Water Mansion with our lives and ensure the Lord's seclusion is secure!"

After arranging the defenses of the Water Mansion, Gao De spent several more days carefully adjusting his state.

He brought his energy, spirit, and Soul to Perfection; the flood dragon pearl within his body was harmonious, his Demonic Power was surging, and the Purple Lightning Thunder Aura flowed obediently through his Meridians.

Subsequently, he quietly entered the Dragon Palace Secret Passage again and arrived at the geothermal room that had already become his own.

The stone door closed slowly behind him, completely isolating him from the outside world.

Inside the room, only the heat faintly transmitted from the geothermal vent and the dim light provided by the glowing moss on the walls created a quiet and focused atmosphere.

Gao De took a deep breath, his eyes becoming sharp and focused.

He first checked the infrastructure of the Artifact Refining Room, confirming that the few Advanced Spirit Stones he had newly replaced were sufficient to support the operation of the basic Formation for a long time.

Then, with a wave of his hand, he took out the main Materials needed for this Artifact Refining and made them hover in front of him:

Core main Materials: A small mountain of blue-black scales that had slowly fallen off and been refined after he Advanced to the third rank, shimmering with metallic luster and Purple Lightning patterns; dozens of worn claw tips and broken fangs, extremely sharp, containing pure Demonic Power and the Aura of thunder.

Key auxiliary Materials: The geng metal thunder stone obtained from the Hundred Beasts Sect's secret collection, the size of a millstone, with a dark gold base and natural thunder patterns; the earth vein milk marrow exchanged for, stored in a stone bottle, emitting rich earth-attribute vitality; as well as the fire-washing sand and star steel powder found in the Artifact Refining Room.

As for tools: That set of Iron Pincer, black forging hammer, jade condensation brush, etc., were neatly placed within reach. For Gao De, the method of refining a Lifebound Treasure in the Legacy did not yet require these things.

"First, I need to process the main Materials, remove Impurities, stimulate their original spirituality, and initially construct the vessel embryo veins according to the secret method recorded in the 'Thunder Flood Dragon Body Transformation Art'."

Gao De's mind moved, and instead of directly igniting the geothermal fire, he opened his mouth and spat out a stream of pure, deep purple Lifebound Dragon Flame!

This was the demonic fire nurtured by the Bloodline of the Purple Lightning Flood Dragon, possessing both the violence of thunder and the intensity of fire, far more suitable for refining his own Materials than ordinary geothermal fire.

The deep purple Dragon Flame wrapped around most of the scales and claws, beginning to burn and refine them slowly.

Amidst the hissing sounds, some extremely tiny Impurities were refined away, and the spiritual light of the Materials themselves became increasingly pure and dazzling. Gao De was fully focused, using his Divine Sense to precisely control the intensity and range of the Dragon Flame; this was a slow, grinding process that could not be rushed.

At the same time, he divided a portion of his Divine Sense to trigger the geothermal fire under the Artifact Refining platform.

A pure red tongue of fire surged out from the vent, and under his control, it gently calcined the huge geng metal thunder stone.

The power of the geothermal fire was intended to soften its external structure to facilitate subsequent separation and purification, rather than direct refining, so as not to damage the geng metal essence and the power of heavenly thunder inside it.

Throughout the Artifact Refining Room, the temperature soared. On one side was the deep and violent purple Dragon Flame, and on the other was the stable and scorching red geothermal fire. The two flames complemented each other, reflecting Gao De's face, which was covered in scales and wore a solemn expression.

Following the method of the "Thunder Flood Dragon Body Transformation Art", he began to slowly integrate strands of his own Origin Demonic Power, wisps of Essence Blood, and his comprehension and Dao rhyme of the "purple scale earth-shaking armor" and "thunder fang formation-breaking halberd" into the refined main Materials.

This was a process of bestowing "life" and "Soul" upon the objects.

Under the infusion of his intent and energy, the scales seemed to come alive, producing a faint resonance with each other, vaguely forming the prototype of a suit of armor.

As for those claws and fangs, under the forging of the Dragon Flame, they gradually condensed a sense of sharpness that could break anything and the might of thunder.

Time passed quietly in the silent and scorching Artifact Refining Room.

Gao De was completely immersed in it, forgetting everything about the outside world.

His Divine Sense was highly concentrated, precisely controlling every bit of flame and guiding the flow of every wisp of energy.

The refining of the Lifebound Treasure embryo officially began in this geothermal room deep within the Dragon Palace.

This was a long process and a crucial step for Gao De to move towards greater strength.

Whether he succeeded or not would directly affect his confidence in facing many challenges in the future.

In the geothermal room, time had flowed for who knows how long in the silence and heat; perhaps it had already been several months later.

At this moment, the scene in the Artifact Refining Room was vastly different from the beginning.

The deep purple Lifebound Dragon Flame had not extinguished; instead, it became more condensed. No longer spreading wantonly, it had turned into a deep purple thunder fire furnace about a zhang in diameter, floating above the Artifact Refining platform and rotating slowly.

Inside the furnace, there were no longer scattered scales and claws, but two prototypes of artifacts that were taking shape and had spiritual light soaring to the sky!

The group on the left was based on those countless blue-black scales, fused with the rich earth-attribute vitality of the "earth vein milk marrow" and the extension and toughness brought by "star steel powder".

At this moment, it had already taken the outline of a simple inner armor!

The armor was entirely deep blue-black, with layers of scales like natural dragon scales, and the joints were smooth and natural.

On the surface of the armor, not only did the original Purple Lightning patterns wander, but faint yellow light patterns like the veins of the earth also emerged, emitting a steady Aura as heavy as a mountain and as immovable as a peak.

It seemed to have life, rising and falling slightly in the thunder fire, constantly absorbing the Origin Demonic Power and Essence Blood that Gao De channeled into it, undergoing the final condensation.

The group on the right took those sharpest claws and fangs as the core, fused with the essence of the geng metal thunder stone carefully refined by the geothermal fire—that was a mass of dark golden liquid metal jumping with dazzling thunder light.

At this moment, the prototype of a battle halberd was clearly visible! The halberd was about a zhang and two long, with a straight shaft in dark gold, and natural thunder patterns entwined on it, like strands of imprisoned lightning.

The head of the halberd was not a simple spear tip, but like interlocking ferocious dragon teeth, flashing with cold light, its sharpness piercing, and it was constantly spitting out heart-palpitating purple electric rays, making a slight "crackle" sound, emitting a destructive Aura that could destroy everything and kill everything with thunder.

The two artifact prototypes had reached the most critical final stage of shaping and spirit-awakening!

Gao De sat cross-legged in front of the Artifact Refining platform, his scale-covered face showing a trace of fatigue, but his eyes were startlingly bright, like two purple stars.

His hands were forming complex and profound hand seals, and Demonic Power surged from his body like a tide, maintaining the stability of the thunder fire furnace, while simultaneously turning his understanding of Dao rhymes such as "Defense", "Counterattack", "Sharpness", "Break Formation", and "Thunder" into countless dense, invisible runes, sprinkling them onto the two artifact prototypes like spring rain.

Throughout the geothermal room, Spiritual Qi was surging, and Dao rhymes were permeating. Dragon roars were faint, and thunder rumbled.

"Condense!"

Suddenly, Gao De's tongue bloomed with spring thunder, a low shout!

He forced out two drops of heart Essence Blood and cut off part of his Divine Soul, both turning into two purple-gold streams of light, shooting towards the armor and battle halberd prototypes respectively!

"Hum—!!!"

Like the final touch in a painting, the moment the two streams of light merged, the two artifact prototypes suddenly erupted with sky-high brilliance!

The blue-black inner armor on the left let out a low dragon roar, and the scales on the surface of the armor seemed to come alive instantly, layers of brilliance flowing, finally condensing on the chest position to form a complex core demonic pattern like a coiled dragon protecting the heart!

A powerful spiritual fluctuation was born from this; it was connected to Gao De's heart and blood, as if it were an extension of his body, and with a single thought, he could use it like his own arm.

The purple scale earth-shaking armor, artifact embryo initially formed!

The dark gold battle halberd on the right let out a sharp thunderclap, the thunder patterns on the halberd shaft suddenly lit up, and Purple Lightning surged wildly on the sharp blade like dragon teeth at the head of the halberd, finally condensing a core demonic pattern shaped like exploding thunder at the connection between the halberd shaft and the halberd head!

A rebellious, sharp spirituality that could cut through everything rose to the sky, closely connected to Gao De's will.

The thunder fang formation-breaking halberd, artifact embryo initially formed!

Two powerful Spiritual Pressures collided and merged in the geothermal room. If not for the isolation of the Dragon Palace's Restriction, they would have likely triggered celestial phenomena in the outside world.

Gao De looked at the two artifact embryo prototypes slowly floating in the thunder fire furnace, with restrained brilliance but full of spirituality, and a smile of relief and joy finally appeared on his face.

He succeeded!

Although it was still just the initial embryo, and there was still a long way to go before it was fully formed and exerted its full power, requiring continuous nourishment with his own Demonic Power in the future and the integration of more precious Materials to improve its grade.

But the most difficult step—bestowing upon it a spiritual Foundation and core Dao rhyme—had been completed!

From now on, these two Lifebound Treasures would accompany him as he grew, becoming the most reliable shield and the sharpest spear in his hands!

He took a deep breath and began to slowly retract the Lifebound Dragon Flame and the geothermal fire.

The next work was to carry out initial nourishment, let the artifact embryo stabilize completely, and complete a deeper level of binding with himself.

Feeling the close connection with the two artifact embryos that was linked by blood and could be used like his own arm, a sense of heroism surged in Gao De's heart.

With them, plus his increasingly refined cultivation, even if he encountered wind and rain on the road ahead, he would be more confident in breaking through the waves and walking out a path to dragon transformation of his own in this vast world of cultivation!

The refining was temporarily coming to an end. What followed was long-term nourishment and improvement.

And Gao De's strength had already stepped onto a new level.