154: What is this thing?

“Ding~ ding~ ding ding ding!”

A few seconds later, a wooden sword reappeared in his hand.

Its panel data was as follows.

[Unnamed (Tier 2)]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Equipment Effect: +10% Attack Power, +5% Attack Speed]

This equipment is non-tradable and indestructible.

Zhou Yan looked at the wooden sword, which now had a slight metallic sheen and a lighter color, feeling both satisfied and regretful.

He wondered if the phenomenon of “A Dog Eating an Immortal Pill” had resulted in one plus one being less than two, or if Li Shan’s ability was genuinely limited; although the sword was successfully forged, its Attributes had decreased.

However, based on its Overall Attributes alone, it had indeed surpassed any of the previous three items.

Zhou Yan took out the wooden sword, first bending it with his hands, then stepping on it on the ground, and finally entering his Dragon Transformation state to try and break it forcibly and blast it with Thunder, yet he couldn't damage it in the slightest.

Having been tricked by the System more than once, he always harbored doubts about the descriptions of items produced by the System.

Who knew if this “indestructible” status might suddenly fail?

But at least the current experiment proved that a Core Formation Stage Cultivator couldn't do anything to it.

Afterward, Zhou Yan took out the sword embryo gifted by the Grand Elder.

After a moment of contemplation, he gritted his teeth and decided to feed it to the cun hao sword as well.

Zhou Yan wanted to personally forge a Lifebound Treasure.

Those Magic Treasures were indeed powerful, but in terms of Plasticity, none could compare to this cun hao sword.

If it could absorb their Attribute Effects, even if the numerical values decreased, he could accept it.

Moreover, Zhou Yan's current first choice for a Lifebound Treasure was those two kindling seeds. Even if the Divine Sword forging failed, he still had a backup.

Finally, under Zhou Yan's nervous gaze, Li Shan swung the hammer.

Every strike felt like it was hitting Zhou Yan's heart.

It was hard to say whether this refinement would result in something Divine or something Ghostly.

“Ding~ ding~ ding ding ding!”

The forging ended, and a light cluster appeared again.

Damn it, it was a blue light cluster!

Seeing this color, Zhou Yan's heart sank halfway.

Sure enough.

[Unnamed (Tier 3)]

[Quality: Fine ★★★]

“Gaia—!”

Zhou Yan clutched his head with both hands and shouted while collapsing onto the ground.

He had long considered that fusing high-tier items into low-tier ones would reduce quality, but that item was Epic Two-Star! Dropping to just Epic would have been acceptable!

“Damn it! I'm going all out!”

Zhou Yan's expression turned fierce. He sprung up with a carp flip and immediately melted the Talisman Brush into it as well.

Only when the forging finished again and a purple light cluster appeared did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

[Unnamed (Tier 3)]

[Quality: Epic]

Looking at the panel, Zhou Yan still felt a pang of heartache. Two high-quality Magic Treasures were melted down just to forge this thing.

Fortunately, the Attributes were inherited.

The texture of the sword before him returned to wood, but its overall color became pure white.

Zhou Yan sensed it. If he took it as his Lifebound Treasure, it could aid his Sword Dao Cultivation, and the sword edge could also be used as a Talisman Brush for writing, making it a combination of Sword and Talisman Integration.

But this was not enough—far from enough compared to the investment!

Thinking of the two Magic Treasures he had melted, Zhou Yan gritted his teeth and looked toward the two kindling seeds.

Just as he was about to act, he suddenly snapped back to reality and slapped himself.

“Zhou Yan, oh Zhou Yan, why are you falling back into your old habits?”

“When Enhancing Equipment, you must have a backup! You must leave a path for survival! Have you forgotten even this?”

After forcing himself to sober up, he abandoned the idea of melting the kindling seeds and turned his attention to the other Materials.

Since the kindling seeds were the backup, he would find compensation elsewhere.

Zhou Yan took out the various Materials gifted by the Sect Master and began Upgrading the sword.

Watching it upgrade all the way from Epic to Epic One-Star, then Two-Star, and seeing it about to reach Three-Star, he felt increasingly satisfied.

Now it was definitely stronger than the kindling seeds, enough to become the best Lifebound Treasure.

Just as he was about to continue adding Materials, he suddenly paused.

“Wait a minute, I only upgraded the quality, but what about the Compatibility?”

Zhou Yan scratched his head, feeling a bad premonition.

He opened the panel and saw that the Compatibility was indeed so low it was comparable to the drop rate in some games.

“Damn it, this won't do! Didn't I just waste all that investment?”

Zhou Yan felt like the sky was falling.

Half the Materials were used up, and now he was realizing it couldn't be his Lifebound Treasure, only an ordinary Magic Treasure. What good was that?

After reaching the Nascent Soul Stage, what Magic Treasure wouldn't he be able to obtain? Why keep such a useless item?

He paced back and forth in the blacksmith shop. Because he had been AFK for too long, the Q-version Li Shan was already sitting on the ground blowing snot bubbles.

Zhou Yan walked faster and faster, becoming visibly haggard.

“I've got it!”

His eyes were bloodshot, but he didn't care, because he had thought of a “Divine-Grade” idea.

And that was adding “Chicken Essence”!

Since adding Technology and Ruthlessness can fundamentally change the nature of food, Magic Treasures should be the same.

As long as he imbued this Magic Treasure with his own nature, wouldn't the Compatibility increase?

Deciding to act immediately, Zhou Yan kicked Li Shan awake and told him to continue working.

Next, he took out the Dragon Blood and human blood he had previously shed, using them as Materials to melt into the sword.

Ultimately, Cultivators and demons are fundamentally similar.

Demons can Cultivate, humans can Cultivate. If demons can be used as Materials, there's no reason humans can't.

He didn't care about harming heavenly harmony; since Zhou Yan was using his own blood, it definitely had nothing to do with harming heavenly harmony.

Another forging session ended, and this time Zhou Yan was not disappointed: the Compatibility had indeed increased.

Hope reignited. He used all his stored blood in one go, forging it in batches.

Unfortunately, after three attempts, the blood was used up. The increase in Compatibility was still limited, and the overall value remained low.

Zhou Yan gritted his teeth, thought of the sunk cost, hardened his resolve, and started draining his blood right there.

While taking medicine and draining his blood, he also discovered a few tricks.

flesh and blood had a greater effect than just blood.

flesh and blood in the Dragon Transformation state slightly boosted the equipment, but the Compatibility increase was small, meaning the overall loss outweighed the gain.

When using human blood, the quality would decrease, but the Compatibility would greatly increase.

After multiple experiments, Zhou Yan began dismembering himself, attempting to add an entire hand, arm, or thigh to the forging process.

Since blood and flesh were considered Materials, the limbs themselves contained these, making them rarer, so the increase was naturally greater, even though the quality decrease was also significant.

Zhou Yan continuously added the remaining Materials and persisted in amputating limbs for infusion.

Occasionally, he added Dragon Transformation limbs to supplement the consumption of Materials, creating a buffer for the forging process.

Later, seeing the immense potential of this Magic Treasure, Zhou Yan even got carried away and added the kindling seeds intended as a backup.

Through additions and subtractions, a full day and night passed without him noticing.

Because Zhou Yan had informed the Li Residence and his companions that he was entering seclusion, no one came to disturb him, allowing him to immerse himself in his art.

Finally, Zhou Yan's masterpiece, his perfect and exclusive Lifebound Treasure, was born.

“What the heck... what is this thing?”

The finished product of the forging left Zhou Yan momentarily speechless.

The quality was indeed extremely high, the Attributes were outstanding, and even the panel and growth path were maxed out.

It's just... the appearance is a bit... Although the Magic Treasure before him was still a Magic Treasure, it looked nothing like one.

It appeared humanoid, possessing a body with perfect golden ratio, floating in mid-air, arms outstretched, like the posture of God loving the world.

The majority of its body was composed of white wooden Materials, with parts of the torso appearing golden. That white branch was probably the cun hao sword's final stubbornness.

And the strangest thing about this equipment was...

It had no head.

It looked like a person, but lacked a head.

As for why?

That's naturally because even if Zhou Yan got carried away, he couldn't actually give up his own head.

[Magic Treasure Diagram]

Beneath this absurd yet Divine appearance, Zhou Yan excitedly opened its panel.

The reason for his excitement was that the light orb produced by the final forging, just like his golden eyes and golden bow, was a Legendary Quality golden light orb.

This wasn't just a cosmetic item this time; it was genuine Legendary Quality!

[Unnamed (Tier 3)]

[Quality: Legendary]

This equipment is non-tradable and indestructible.

Looking at this Magic Treasure, which was as perfect as a work of art, Zhou Yan opened the panel.

Its Compatibility with Zhou Yan was: 99%!

Seeing this figure, Zhou Yan could roughly guess how much of his body tissue he had stuffed inside while he was overzealous.

“It hasn't been named yet, so I might as well give it a modest name.”

“I'll call it 'Eternal Radiance Heavenly Barrier · Primordial Life Skeleton Structure | Divine Skeleton Harmonizer G.U.T.-VII Type'!”