"Briefing: Today is August 17th. Morning weather across most of Haizhou will be clear, with rain in some areas in the afternoon. Average temperature is thirty-seven degrees Celsius. Favorable conditions, ample sunlight, intense ultraviolet rays. Sun protection is recommended."
"Dismissed."
"The administrative office of Tianmen University has sent another invitation regarding the speech on opening day—"
"No time."
"A message has arrived from the accountant of the Knights of Homecoming from the Red States in the Mid-Continent—"
"Let him wait."
"...Aside from these, there are twelve unread messages. No urgent matters. All have been logged into the memo for delayed processing."
In the dead silence of the workshop, Isis's voice sounded—calm, soft, and steady as always.
Flashes of light drifted in midair like shimmering stars, coalescing and scattering without form. Every glimmer guided a surging wave of thought through the spiritus hexaphase intersecting array.
Between the towering rows of machinery throughout the workshop, countless hands of quicksilver flowed in rhythmic motion, keeping everything under absolute control. Like surging waves, they cast back dazzling gleams of metallic iron.
Ji Jue stared at the flames rising inside the crucible, calculating the time. "Status report on the project."
"Core temperature stable. Quicksilver purification complete. Liquid spiritus approaching critical vaporization threshold—Phase One complete, Phase Three on standby, Phase Two commencing."
"Containment field fully established," Isis said. "Spurious noise filtered, interference eliminated. Sir, you may begin at any moment. Spiritus release countdown—
"Three.
"Two.
"One!"
The instant the countdown hit zero, the crucible shuddered with a thunderous roar. Immediately after, accompanied by piercing sirens, the shrieking grinding of metal echoed across the entire workshop.
A straight fissure split open out of thin air across the mirror-smooth metal floor, parting slowly to both sides. From behind the gap, howling gusts of blistering wind surged forth as iron light tumbled and raged, battering again and again against the workshop's constraints.
And now, the moment the final shackles unlocked, an immense deluge of scorching quicksilver could no longer be held back. Like an erupting volcano, it burst forth in a grand surge!
Limitless silver light surged and billowed, threatening to engulf Ji Jue in an instant, its savage proliferation and shrill roar resembling the shriek of a monster.
Yet in the very next breath, everything came to an abrupt halt.
Ji Jue reached out his hand.
Inside the furnace, the liquefied quicksilver teetering on the verge of explosive vaporization froze stiff, hanging motionless in midair as though seized by an invisible grasp.
The matrix of Non-Offensive expanded. Under the absolute suppression of barehanded alchemy, Ji Jue effortlessly seized command of everything, subduing it from the brink of total collapse into obedient material within his palm.
"Isis, maintain spiritus activity."
"Maintenance active," the soft voice answered. "You have thirty minutes to perform spiritus transmutation before material decay sets in—"
"More than enough."
Ji Jue raised his other hand and stared at the ring resting on his palm. After days of purification and alteration, the crimson and pitch-black hues within had vanished, replaced by a limpid, pristine clarity where faint, elusive radiance drifted into view.
Right now, the ring trembled faintly in his grip, as if understanding what was about to happen under the infusion and catalysis of Ji Jue's spiritus.
It buzzed with excitement.
"Time to get you a bigger house."
In that split second, a crisp sound rang out from between Ji Jue's closing hands. A fracture—Dissociation Art.
The blessing construct disintegrated in an instant, crumbling into ash and dust. But when his fingers splayed open once more, countless spiritus circuits intersecting like celestial orbits burst into view.
It was like an airbag bursting open.
Deprived of material constraints and anchoring, the internal spiritus circuits swelled and diffused with terrifying speed, running rampant out of control.
It was said that if all the blood vessels in a human body were unraveled and laid end to end, they could stretch from one end of the physical world to the other; yet most people spent their entire lives confined to a tiny space, never crossing such vast distances.
Within a single tiny ring, the sequential stacking and linking of nine spiritus structures and thousands of spiritus circuits could cover two entire soccer fields if fully unfurled.
Now, immersed in the workshop's spiritus-activated environment, countless circuits as delicate and fragile as spun glass spread out at staggering speed.
Then came a sight that would make countless craftsmen drop their jaws in disbelief.
Right there in Ji Jue's hands.
He pulled and tore at the spiritus circuits suspended in empty air with brutal directness, toying with those delicate threads that would disperse at the touch of a gentle breeze once freed of a physical medium. With effortless poise, he aligned their pathways, reorganized their layers, and swiftly transformed the tangled knot into a crystalline diagram worthy of a textbook.
Every detail stood out with lucid clarity.
Amidst it all, three blessings gradually emerged, flickering rapidly now that they were stripped of material binding. Without the suppression of the workshop and Non-Offensive, they would have vanished on the spot, returning to Sovereign Virtue.
Looking back once more at the creation he had once taken pride in, Ji Jue could not help frowning.
Crude. Way too crude.
It was like a model hobbyist staring at their very first kit—putting aside the complete lack of seam-line processing, how could there still be leftover nubs and flash? Uneven paint coat, shaky structure, articulation so poor it could only stand there like a statue.
To put it nicely, there was ample room for improvement. But through the eyes of his master, what kind of junk heap was this supposed to be?
What Heaven-Endowed Spirit brought was far more than just elevated spirituality for his creations and a higher floor for his craft; it bestowed instincts and sensitivities etched deep into his very soul.
To look down upon the flow of all spirituality, perceiving every flaw and shortcoming at a glance.
"It really is time for an overhaul."
Amidst Ji Jue's quiet murmur, two spiritus hands wrapped in pitch-black flames unfolded slowly from behind his back.
Soul Shadow, manifest!
Immediately after, every hand reached out, clenching tight toward the void. Dreamlike spiritus blades ignited and grew from between his fingers!
Chunjun!
When it came to revising spiritus and refining spirituality, what carving chisel could possibly surpass Chunjun?
In a flash, four spiritus blades extended, spread, raised—and slashed down without hesitation!
Tear down the remnants of the past and build anew!
In an instant, the spiritus went wild. The spiritus architecture and blessings of the Poison Heart ring plunged into violent turbulence, as though ready to shatter at the very next breath!
A structure that had long since set into permanence underwent ruthless dismantling and destruction, while brand-new frameworks sprouted and took shape at every branching node...
In a complex spiritus construct where every strand was intertwined with the whole, what was taking place was utterly unthinkable.
It was like gradually taking apart a tricycle barreling down a highway at its top speed of a hundred and twenty kilometers per hour, replacing every single part—including the chassis—while keeping the engine running, and finally rebuilding it into a supercar capable of hitting over three hundred kilometers per hour!
The merging of old and new constructs, the allocation of proportions, the details of every junction, the direction of spiritus circulation, the maintenance and catalysis of spirituality, and even the alteration of the blessings themselves...
In the exact same moment, countless transformations manifested out of the void.
Yet there was not the slightest hitch—everything flowed like running water!
Remodeling with Non-Offensive, severing with Chunjun, dismantling with Dissociation Art, and elevating substance and catalyzing spirituality with Fluid Alchemy... The roles and tasks rotated constantly among the four hands, working in flawless harmony as one.
Meanwhile, presiding over the workshop, Isis patched leaks, supplied tools, adjusted spiritus activity levels, and sustained the activation of both spiritus and material properties.
A seamless, immaculate coordination.
And the true crux of it all lay in altering the blessings themselves!
Ever Unforgetting, Harboring Resentment, and Consuming Lust—these three blessings also transformed under the revisions of the spiritus blades.
Blessings that had already undergone modification once before now welcomed a second overhaul. Ji Jue bolstered Ever Unforgetting's inherent stabilization and protection of spirituality, not hesitating to sacrifice its original trait of rewinding to a past state. He enhanced the flow and connection between Harboring Resentment and Consuming Lust, paring down the extraction and purification of emotions while expanding the scale and capacity for their absorption and release.
The connections and mutual interference among the three were immensely convoluted, yet in the end, they had to be forcibly integrated into a cohesive whole to prevent internal conflict.
Reshaped and reborn, transformed down to the bone!
One spiritus circuit after another dissolved into thin air, and Sovereign Virtue insignias flickered in and out. Amidst the cycle of creation and annihilation, the Poison Heart ring's former visage vanished without a trace, replaced by a grand construct so colossal that even the vast workshop could scarcely contain it.
Magnificent, vast, solemn, and chillingly austere.
It felt like standing within a sacred hall.
Taking the spiritus framework of the Nether Sea Worm as a foundational template, he revised it anew, integrating it completely into the boiling, flowing quicksilver from all directions until the two merged into one.
At last, as the four hands closed together once more, the vast array of spiritus circuits across the air collapsed and folded. Amidst the crisp cadence of the countdown, they melted into the surging quicksilver, gradually fading from view.
The spiritual projection that had once lingered inside the ring like a vengeful wraith had now changed entirely.
Within the quicksilver beneath rippling layers of iridescent light, a blurry face flickered faintly into sight, resembling a deceased soul submerged in the deep abyss. Yet her sleeping countenance was tranquil and serene, stripped bare of all resentment and sorrow.
Stare long enough, and it seemed as though the corners of her mouth were curving upward in a gentle smile.
A sweet slumber.
Awaiting awakening and rebirth.
Now, only the final step remained.
"Sir, considering the situation in Haizhou, such a creation is frankly excessive madness."
Before Phase Three commenced, Isis offered a final reminder: "Have you considered your precarious reputation and the consequences this will bring?"
"What consequences?"
Ji Jue asked dismissively, "Is there such a thing as an Embers who isn't out of their mind, or a craftsman who isn't notorious?"
"You did not have to be this way."
Isis remained impassive, her voice devoid of disgust or bitterness, as calm as ever. "The sky may fall and the earth split, but it has nothing to do with you."
"Perhaps."
Ji Jue lowered his gaze, staring at the tranquil gleam of the quicksilver.
"Ever since I was little, my mother told me that as long as you do your best to make things a little better within your power, your world will be a little better. The more good things everyone does together, the better the world becomes.
"Yet I've clearly done everything I possibly could... So why is this world still such a miserable piece of shit?
"Who's actually in the wrong? Is it me? Or is it this world?
"I can't figure it out."
Isis fell silent.
"Still, at the very least, I've come to understand one thing—"
Ji Jue looked up at her, suddenly breaking into a soft laugh. "Things are already this rotten, so why bother holding back?"
If it has sunk this low, is there even room left to fall? When something is already broken beyond repair, wouldn't any change count as an improvement?
Then why not do things my way?!
Tianlu, that old bastard, might have ten thousand reasons to be despised, but he was right about one thing—this was the true nature of a craftsman!
Arrogant and self-righteous, suffering the consequences of their own choices, and ultimately reaping what they sowed.
Since it was already unbearable, he might as well take matters into his own hands. No need to tremble in fear, no need to second-guess himself. To hell with all of it!
"Initiate Phase Three,"
Ji Jue issued his final command. "Get ready to unwrap your new gift, Isis."
Just like that, restrained under the repulsion field of the workshop, the surging quicksilver convulsed violently once more.
Activation phase, begin!
Not just the workshop, but the very core of Haian Industries was set in motion. The massive factory ceiling slid slowly open, and wisps of blue light crackled to life across high-voltage cables suspended high in the air.
Beneath the afternoon sun, lights inside building after building suddenly dimmed and died. To prevent collateral harm, all civilian power was cut off entirely, while across Haizhou, towering wind turbines began to roar in unison.
Colossal amounts of electricity surged through cables buried deep underground, converging toward Xinquan. Blinding blue light and shrill hums erupted from every transformer unit.
In the end, the entire sky seemed to darken in response.
Amidst shrieking sirens, all onlookers were hastily dispersed. Immediately after, thick arcs of lightning erupted from within the factory plant.
In an instant, tens of thousands of lightning bolts danced, rising and falling, crisscrossing like a torrential flood. After undergoing crude spiritus transformation and attachment, they plunged into the quicksilver, stirring monstrous waves within the churning fluid.
Within the boiling quicksilver, layers of electrical arcs rippled like water, droplet by droplet slowly submerging that sleeping face until it vanished entirely.
At that final moment, it—no...
She.
Isis opened her eyes.
BOOM!
A colossal roar echoed through Xinquan, erupting from the deepest recesses of Haian Industries. Amidst violent tremors and gale-force winds, everyone stood dumbfounded, clutching their ringing ears as they turned around in a daze.
They stared toward the source of the blast.
Was that thunder?!
Or an explosion?!
Separated by towering walls, nothing could be seen clearly. Yet there was neither fire nor thick smoke; even the daylight seemed to dim, overshadowed by a magnificent silver pillar of light that tore out of the ground, screaming upward into the sky.
Like a surging heavenly pillar.
Surging at breakneck speed, it pierced straight into the heavens and vanished into the dense blanket of clouds.
Rumbles of thunder rolled on without pause. Within a few heartbeats, the majestic pillar of silver light had disappeared. Yet the sky above did not regain its brightness.
For a new layer of clouds was slowly unfurling, blanketing the sky.
Innumerable glints of iron intertwined—cold, severe, and ferocious, hanging overhead like an iron curtain.
Behind the silver mist, a pair of hollow eyes slowly opened, looking down upon everything on the earth below. Her expression seemed caught between grief and joy, resentment and sorrow.
Once again, through her own eyes, she gazed upon the world before her.
Still barren and vast, hollow and cruel. Amidst the echoes of mourning, countless flies rose and settled.
Already scarred and battered beyond repair.
"...What the hell was that? Where'd it blow up?"
Sticking his head out the window, Gou Er murmured in stunned disbelief, unable to make sense of it. Then he felt a sudden coolness on his neck and instinctively reached up to touch it.
On his fingertips, silver light flowed like droplets of water.
"Is it raining?" he muttered blankly.
In that split second, the mortal world fell silent.
In the darkness beneath the iron curtain, boundless silver light descended from the heavens like tears!
Chapter 479