“Hmm? What’s going on here?”
Surprisingly, the blood of four Fenghuang Beasts wasn’t enough to completely cool down the glove.
Shui Miao had originally planned to keep a few Fenghuang Beasts alive for potential breeding, intending to use their blood for quenching in the future. However, the glove turned out to be much smaller than the Yang Hammer and Yin Nails, yet required an extra Fenghuang Beast’s blood without achieving the desired cooling effect. This was beyond his expectations.
Could it be due to the essence of the Nuwa Stone?
Shui Miao released the remaining Fenghuang Beasts, but the glove remained hot, vaporizing all their blood instantly!
Could it possibly require Dragon Blood!?
Shocked, Shui Miao immediately sent a telepathic message to Hui De, who had grown significantly. A bit of dragon blood was no big deal for Hui De, and he readily offered a portion.
Under the quenching of dragon blood, the glove gradually cooled down and turned a deep red!
Shui Miao concentrated his spiritual sense on the glove, discovering the internal formations were perfectly intact. After being tempered with dragon blood, the formations were tinged with crimson, exuding a bloody dragon aura, making it look more like a demonic artifact than a celestial one.
In contrast, the Yang Hammer and Yin Nails were entirely black, shining with a pitch-black luster from the inside out.
Shui Miao wasn’t in a hurry to take the glove out but instead moved it into his spiritual realm to absorb more essence.
Taking it out now would only raise unnecessary questions.
“It’s done!”
Only half an hour later, Shui Miao emerged, bringing out the Yang Hammer and Yin Nails, which immediately emitted waves of black light upon exposure to the outside world.
“Wow! What treasure is this? What level of treasure!?”
Seeing the black Yang Hammer and Yin Nails, Jiao Gong became instantly excited.
“Don’t rush. They need to absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth to stabilize. Do you have any pure celestial substances? Bring them out for the artifacts to absorb,” Shui Miao breathed a sigh of relief. At least they weren’t duds since they emitted light.
“Of course! Of course!”
Excitedly, Jiao Gong pulled out a pill gourd and crushed the pills, letting the Yang Hammer and Yin Nails absorb their essence.
“Hmm?”
Shui Miao was puzzled. His spiritual sense detected that the pills were mostly for enhancing essence and opening spiritual pathways. “Brother, what are you doing?”
“Haha! Little brother, you don’t know. This method was bought at a great price. Using this technique allows a celestial artifact to cultivate a spirit, greatly enhancing its properties. If a mid-grade celestial artifact develops a spirit, it becomes a high-grade one, dramatically increasing its value!”
Jiao Gong kept crushing the pills.
“…”
Shui Miao had never heard of such a secret method before, but upon reflection, it did make some sense.
As streams of medicinal essence were absorbed into the Yang Hammer and Yin Nails, two spirits gradually formed within!
The two spirits were naturally pitch-black. Shui Miao’s spiritual sense detected them, and he was stunned. This was truly a lifelong learning experience! There was actually such a secret method in forging. Following this method, couldn’t all celestial artifacts cultivate spirits? Shui Miao pondered, secretly rejoicing that he hadn’t taken out the glove yet. He resolved to gather more quality pills before revealing it.
“It’s done!”
At the final moment, the Yang Hammer and Yin Nails suddenly flew up on their own!
The spirits had awakened, flying around chaotically.
Jiao Gong quickly leapt into the air, grabbing the Yang Hammer and Yin Nails, and dripped his blood onto them to establish a master-spirit bond.
“Haha! Supreme-grade celestial artifacts! These are supreme-grade celestial artifacts!”
After the blood bonding, Jiao Gong immediately sensed the artifacts’ properties.
He was ecstatic, overjoyed beyond measure!
Indeed, he had struck gold!
A supreme-grade celestial artifact was immensely valuable. Compared to the materials he provided, he had gained at least a hundredfold profit!
Usually, even a Celestial Sovereign might not possess a supreme-grade celestial artifact.
Supreme-grade artifacts were just below ultimate-grade ones.
Considering Jiao Gong’s situation, the spirits’ natural growth, and his own magical properties, with proper nurturing, he might even elevate this supreme-grade artifact to an ultimate-grade one, multiplying its value a thousand or even ten thousand times!
Witnessing this, Shui Miao was also deeply moved.
If these black artifacts could transform into supreme-grade ones, how inferior could his gloves be? At the very least, they should be ultimate-grade!
This time, Shui Miao was particularly cautious.
The first time he crafted a time-related artifact, it was immediately snatched away.
This time, he would not let that happen again.
“Brother, this is great! You’re my savior, my savior! Oh, and by the way, I’ll give you the forging furnace and everything else. Also, brother, if you ever need my help in the future, just let me know, and I swear I’ll make sure everything goes smoothly for you.”
Jiao Gong was like an excited child. After saying this, he quickly hid the Yang Hammer and Yin Nails.
Shui Miao, however, felt a bit annoyed. So Jiao Gong had been planning to take the furnace back all along?
Oh man, this Jiao Gong was really being unreasonable. Spending time with him was practically a waste.
Back to the point, Shui Miao’s mind stirred as he said, “Brother, I actually have a favor to ask of you.”
“What is it? Just speak freely, brother.”
Jiao Gong had already hidden the supreme-grade artifacts, his face still flushed with excitement.
Shui Miao licked his lips. “I want to buy a celestial mountain and establish my own sect. I wonder if brother can help me with that?”
“Uh…”
Jiao Gong hadn’t expected Shui Miao to make such a request. It was clearly another daunting challenge like acquiring a Celestial Mountain Token!
“Let me think, let me think…”
Jiao Gong didn’t want to offend Shui Miao, as he still hoped for future collaborations in crafting celestial artifacts. After some deliberation, he solemnly declared, “Brother, this matter is both difficult and not difficult. I have an idea, but it depends on your cooperation. If you’re willing, I guarantee I can get you an ultimate-grade celestial mountain!”
“Tell me, what’s the plan?”
Shui Miao felt he had nothing to lose. Obtaining an ultimate-grade celestial mountain would allow him to bring everyone from Luosha Island, helping them ascend to immortality. If possible, he would even bring his loved ones and friends from the lower realms to share in this immortality.
Jiao Gong immediately sent a telepathic message to Shui Miao…
Jiao Gong’s plan was simple. In the Ninth Heaven, the most influential figure with the best connections was none other than the Celestial Sovereign Hu. If Shui Miao could reconcile with Hu and become friends, promising to craft an ultimate-grade celestial artifact for him, then other matters would be trivial.
However, considering the strained relationship between Shui Miao and Hu, Jiao Gong was uncertain.
After hearing Jiao Gong’s words, Shui Miao coldly smiled. “Brother, you came up with such a plan. Do you really think I would go begging to him? Do you think I can swallow such humiliation when he dreams of me kneeling before him? Alright, let’s not talk about this for now. I plan to travel around the Celestial Realm, so you don’t need to worry about me anymore.”
Shui Miao prepared to leave.
Jiao Gong followed, persuading him, “Little brother, I know you don’t care for him, but getting along in the Celestial Realm requires harmony. It’s better to resolve enmity than to nurture it. It’s always better to have more friends than enemies, right?”
These were Jiao Gong’s heartfelt words.
Shui Miao pondered. His enemy was indeed Chang Sheng Zhen Ren of the Yu Xu Sect, and he shouldn’t create more personal enemies.
After a pause, Shui Miao said, “Brother, I’ll follow your advice. Three days later, we’ll go to the Xiao Yao Palace and see how things develop.”
“Good, good! Brother, you’re thinking the right way. We’re here to achieve great things!”
As Jiao Gong spoke, Shui Miao’s mind stirred, sensing that Jiao Gong was no ordinary person. As the head of the Thunder Department’s Fire Thunder Academy, he should have been focused on his duties, yet he was secretly crafting supreme-grade celestial artifacts and talking about achieving great things. Could he have special ambitions?
Shui Miao took note of these thoughts.
After leaving, Fang Zhentian and Fang Ze saw Jiao Gong’s expression and knew the forging was successful.
They quickly asked Shui Miao for help in crafting as well. Shui Miao inquired about their materials and found out that their supplies were insufficient, so he promised to help them when they had enough materials.
In a good mood, Jiao Gong granted Fang Zhentian a leave, allowing him to accompany Shui Miao to tour the Ninth Heaven.
Shui Miao bid farewell and, accompanied by Fang Zhentian, began exploring the Celestial Realm.
Lian Er, hiding in the shadows, saw Shui Miao come out and transformed into a colorful butterfly, following him discreetly from a distance.
Looking around, the Ninth Heaven was filled with blue skies and white clouds, with celestial mountains rising from the clouds. These mountains varied in size; the larger ones were majestic, rivaling even the Celestial Capital Mountain, while the smaller ones were merely lifeless rocks.
“Brother, that celestial mountain looks quite impressive. Whose is it?”
Shui Miao looked toward the nearby Celestial Capital, where several grand celestial mountains stood tall and mighty, with dense forests, abundant spiritual energy, and flying immortal cranes, exuding a strong celestial aura.
“Oh, that’s the Celestial Mountain Cluster of the San Qing Sect, the largest sect in the Ninth Heaven. The San Qing Sect isn’t just influential in the Ninth Heaven; it holds significant power throughout the entire Celestial Court. It’s said that the San Qing Sect has over eight hundred Celestial Sovereigns, eighteen Celestial Emperors, and even three Celestial Sages!” Fang Zhentian was very familiar with the Ninth Heaven, making him an excellent guide.
Shui Miao nodded. Such a massive sect was beyond his reach. He turned his thoughts and asked, “Brother, do you know the Yu Xu Sect? I’ve heard it’s quite powerful.”
“Of course I know the Yu Xu Sect. It used to be the second most powerful sect in the Celestial Realm. However, during the last Celestial and Divine War, the Yu Xu Sect suffered heavy losses, losing three hundred Celestial Sovereigns and five Celestial Emperors. Now it can only rank sixth.” Fang Zhentian suddenly remembered something and lowered his voice, “Recently, I heard a big piece of news. It seems that a Celestial Sovereign named Hua Yuting from the Yu Xu Sect’s Fifth Heaven, along with his son, went to the Luosha Realm to show off and was ambushed and killed by a demon pretending to be weak. Now they’ve regenerated their souls but are being suppressed by the higher-ups. I heard they’ve been demoted to our Ninth Heaven for reflection and repentance.”
“Such a thing happened!”
Shui Miao’s heart was deeply shaken. Was this an opportunity given by heaven for him to eliminate them?
Fang Zhentian nodded. “The news has spread. Now the Yu Xu Sect is declining day by day. But to revive, I heard they are actively recruiting wandering immortals to join their sect, offering extremely favorable conditions. Haha, but this matter has nothing to do with you, brother. You’re the disciple of the Great Forger Luo Tong, so you wouldn’t care about a small sect like Yu Xu.”
“Haha, that’s not necessarily true.”
Shui Miao licked his lips and smiled. “I’ve been in the Luosha Realm all along and don’t know what the Celestial Realm is like. Since Yu Xu offers such good conditions, I’m actually considering giving it a try.”
“Brother, you’re not serious, are you? Don’t you need to find your master? What are you doing here!” Fang Zhentian looked at Shui Miao with great doubt.
Shui Miao raised his eyebrows. “My master taught me his skills and let me go out to train. What else can I do but follow his instructions?”
“Oh, I see!”
Fang Zhentian’s mind stirred. “Brother, you came from the Luosha Realm, so you should know about the incident involving Hua Yuting and his son, right?”
“Brother, the Luosha Realm is vast. The Luosha Sea alone is as big as this Ninth Heaven. How could I possibly encounter Hua Yuting there!” Shui Miao shook his head and suddenly changed the subject. “By the way, brother, how can I get a lot, a lot of crystals and pills in the Ninth Heaven? You know, I’m a blacksmith. Materials like these are treasures I dream of!”
“This…”
Fang Zhentian tapped his head and showed a difficult expression. “Brother, there are ways, but… I don’t mean to underestimate you, but this method really requires strength. Without strength, it’s just suicide. With strength, you can give it a try.”
“Brother, tell me about it.” Shui Miao stopped walking and stroked his chin.
Fang Zhentian nodded. “It’s like this. Our Ninth Heaven centers around the Celestial Capital Mountain, which is surrounded by one hundred thousand celestial mountains. However, beyond these one hundred thousand celestial mountains, there are countless desolate mountains with sparse spiritual energy. Many wandering immortals have set up their own sects there, and many bandits and demon immortals also roam around. Over time, some powerful bandit sects have accumulated vast wealth. They are ruthless and occupy certain areas. If you, brother, have the strength to eliminate these bandit sects, their treasures will naturally belong to you. However, they are not easy opponents. Immortal Elders are common, and there are no shortage of Celestial Sovereigns among them!”
“I see!”
Shui Miao nodded and suddenly turned around, shouting, “Sister Lian Er, come out. Don’t hide anymore. I’ve known you were following me all along.”
“Brother, you’re amazing!”
Lian Er laughed and appeared before Shui Miao.
Fang Zhentian was startled, as he hadn’t sensed her presence.
Shui Miao took a deep breath and spoke seriously, “Sister Lian Er, I’m a straightforward person, so I’ll get straight to the point. I want to partner with you and Brother Fang to do some big business beyond the one hundred thousand celestial mountains. But before that, I need a batch of pills. If you’re willing, lend me the pills, and I’ll return ten times as many later.”
“Haha! It’s a deal!”
Without hesitation, Lian Er immediately moved all her pills to Shui Miao.
“Bi, brother, you’re serious?”
Fang Zhentian looked at Shui Miao in disbelief… Shui Miao’s expression couldn’t possibly be fake, could it?
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