Born of Haze, Returned to Haze

In a dizzying spin, Hu Jian flew backward through the air. It was too fast—so fast he couldn't even feel the agony of shattering bones or the grogginess of a concussion. Like a fallen leaf tossed helplessly by a hurricane, he soared and plummeted. Midair, an extended dachshund head caught him gently in its jaws, so light and deft. Then the dachshund opened its mouth and licked across his face. Viscous saliva smeared over him; his wounds vanished, fully restored. Amid the belated daze, Hu Jian finally opened his eyes and stared blankly at the scene not far away. That savage silhouette descending from the sky! Now, enveloped in layers of silver radiance, a blade spouting blood-red flames severed downward without mercy, carving a serpentine arc across the air. A winding scar of scarlet. And just like that, a head flew up, then fell. The stone visage fractured, shattered, and crumbled into dust. Not a trace of what it once was remained... Yet at that very instant, a frenzied roar erupted from the headless neck. It surged violently, heaving up its battered body. Beneath the shackles of the flamberge, iron and stone shifted once more. The headless monstrosity thrashed in its death throes. And then, it came to an abrupt halt... Ji Jue raised his hand. The bloodied blade of Pan Ying had already plunged deep into the monster's neck, driving ruthlessly in up to the hilt. With a twist of his wrist, a detonation thundered. Blood-flame erupted like a surging tide, a torrent sweeping inwards, tearing through layer after layer while greedily devouring everything. In an instant, it swallowed all the mutated blood of the calamity beast. Upon the blade, the emblem of the Blood Wrist shuddered, shimmering with faint light as if thrilled with joy. Not long ago, it had feasted extravagantly in the White Nation, and now came another gluttonous gorge. As the calamity beast blood that had accumulated in the workshop for who knew how long was drained dry, the incomplete Sacrificial Lord's emblem finally received its final piece, whole once more. Now, upon Pan Ying: Mycelium, Scar, and Blood Wrist—three of the Six Evils! With the three in place, as Sheng Xie moved a step closer toward completion, an unseen resonance seemed to awaken. In response, three other illusory silhouettes faintly manifested along the spine of Pan Ying. Though they remained empty, Ji Jue's heart stirred as the names of three Sacrificial Lords surfaced in his perception: —Dead Soul, Wild Hunt, Death Devourer! Only now did he finally understand what the Former Phantoms of the Six Heavens were actually called! This would save him from searching all over the wilderness like looking for a needle in a haystack... Unfortunately, Swarms were running rampant everywhere these days, with countless Sacrificial Lord lineages around, not to mention the endless aliases and false monikers they went by in the outside world. Looking for clues according to a blueprint was barely any better than searching for a needle in a haystack. In the end, it all came down to luck. Well, he'd start looking... Who knew? Maybe one day while searching, one would just pop up right in front of his eyes. Ji Jue slowly withdrew the blade, lowering his gaze to study it. After all this time spent honing and tempering, the blade, where blood-light rippled, now showed faint traces of vermilion. Its length was just two inches shy of the three-foot pinnacle of perfection. It looked simple. Yet tempering and reforging those final two inches was more troublesome than forging a brand-new Zhanlu or Chunjun from scratch! It demanded both technique and raw luck—no wonder mastering the Nine Forms was the most difficult of achievements, and sword smiths had the highest mortality rate. He couldn't count on finishing it anytime soon. With a sigh, Ji Jue looked up to see the workshop beast frozen amidst the raging flames, fire spreading through its many fissures. It twitched in spasmodic fits, nothing more than chaotic reflex arcs; it had long reached the end of its tether. All it would take was a gentle nudge... Without waiting for anyone else to act, Ji Jue stepped in and claimed the final kill. —Dissociation Art: Jingzhen! Boom! Silver radiance spread outward inch by inch from his fingertips like ripples. Everywhere it passed, iron and stone disintegrated, the workshop collapsed, and the colossal monster was utterly reduced to rubble and dust. With the unrealistic dream shattered, no trace of the ancient castle or workshop remained. Born of haze, yet to haze it must return. No matter how much had gathered together, the time to disperse would inevitably arrive... The Captain continued puffing on his pipe, devoid of joy or sorrow. Yellowbeard silently drew his flamberge and let out a soundless sigh. The Veterinarian watched with a faint, enigmatic smile, having shown no genuine emotion from beginning to end. Only the dazed Hu Jian wandered among the ruins, remembering the days he had studied here, Berzuna's strictness and guidance. Unable to hold back any longer, tears began to stream down his face. And Ji Jue... Ji Jue was completely stunned. Unleashing that one Dissociation Art was like detonating a phlogiston oil well. He felt an ocean-tide of essence surge forward, utterly submerging him. On his watch, after accumulating for so long, the "9" that had still been half-empty instantly filled to capacity... and the excess that couldn't be digested was still panting and stuffing itself straight into his soul. What a tonic! It was far too rich a tonic! So nourishing that blood leaked from all seven facial orifices, smoke poured from his body, and sparks leaped across his steel frame, heating it red-hot in an instant until he nearly exploded. "Hoo... hoo... hoo..." Ji Jue's eyes rolled back. He had never swallowed such a massive portion! Who told that old fossil Berzuna to link all the workshop's structures together just to animate it! All prosper together, all perish together... As a result, when Ji Jue dropped that single Dissociation Art, every single structure in the entire workshop detonated. Swallowing it all in one gulp nearly blew him to pieces. Waste it? Waste was out of the question! Even if he burst from overeating, he wouldn't waste a single drop! In a dizzying whirl, he stumbled back, panting heavily. Shifting repeatedly between his Regeneration form and flesh-and-blood body, he convulsed for a long time before finally catching his breath and recovering his consciousness and senses. He noticed Yellowbeard standing beside him at some point. Yellowbeard looked indifferent. Seeing him recover, he nonchalantly looked away, as if nothing had happened. Ji Jue chuckled. "Much obliged, Grand Craftsman." Yellowbeard snorted. "And how do you know I wasn't just waiting for you to lose control so I could take another contract on the side?" "I get it, I get it!" Ji Jue threw an arm around his shoulder, patting his arm with a look of perfect understanding. His smug, shameless demeanor made Yellowbeard's fists itch to punch him all over again. *I was a damn fool to even spare you a glance...* In the end, everyone turned their eyes toward the Captain. "The Absolute Sentence is executed. Good work." After inspecting the scene, the Captain nodded and finally said, "Pack up. Get ready to head back." With that, he stepped aside, packed another bowl of tobacco, and smoked by himself while gazing at the stars and moon. The killing and burning were done. Next came time to divide the spoils. What are you waiting for... Everyone had been waiting for this exact moment! The dachshund stretched out once more, opening its jaws. Its body expanded rapidly—swelling, swelling, and swelling further like a balloon, belly bulging—before abruptly hacking it all up! Boom! An entire room that had been swallowed whole crashed onto the rubble. "The material vault is right here." The Veterinarian smiled faintly. "Don't say I'm keeping it all to myself. The lock hasn't even been picked yet." Immediately, in the silence, everyone looked toward Ji Jue. Without hesitation, Ji Jue rolled up his sleeves. Any workshop's material vault was undeniably its top priority. One could practically say the bulk of every artificer's assets was kept inside: materials, Blessings, and even their collected creations. Therefore, the tightness of its seal and the strictness of its defenses went without saying. It was even sturdier than the front gates. Furthermore, its internal spiritus supply was entirely independent, and its sheer weight was staggering—more than enough to crush eight or ten Huangxu or Vortex practitioners to death. Without a specific matrix as a key, without the unlocking sequence and properly matched spiritus transmutation, let alone picking the lock, even if Yellowbeard spent the entire night hacking away with his flamberge, he might not breach it. Unfortunately... with all those grand complications, they could go tell it to his Dissociation Art! After puzzling over it for nearly half an hour, Ji Jue finally found an opening. Without triggering the self-destruct sequence, he coordinated with Isis to erase all exterior structures simultaneously. The heavy door swung open with a boom. The entirety of Haze Workshop's centuries of collections lay exposed before everyone's eyes. "Hold on—" Just as everyone was about to start their free-for-all shopping spree, Ji Jue suddenly raised a hand and stepped in front of them. Under many surprised or amused gazes, he said slowly, "I forfeit all the creations in the collection. Can I have first pick of the materials and Blessings in the vault?" For a moment, silence fell. Even the Captain was slightly taken aback. "Are you sure?" "Sure." Ji Jue smiled faintly, unbothered. "The projects I've been working on lately are pretty massive, requiring a huge investment. I'm strapped for resources." Even at equal value, certain items were simply far rarer and more precious than others. While materials and Blessings were certainly valuable, they couldn't compare to the myriad finished creations Haze had accumulated over time. The key was that value was subjective. To major workshops, such materials were abundant at home, and even if they lacked something, they had their own channels and connections. But for Ji Jue, he had nothing, while the requirements of his projects grew more absurd by the day, demanding an endless grind. Since he put it that way, the others were happy to indulge him. "One-fifth of the total value. You go first," the Captain nodded. Without second thought, Ji Jue casually gathered a pile of equipment from the ruins. After consecrating them with Deus Ex Machina, he led them in like a mule train, driving straight inside to stock up. And then... he was dazzled by the choices. He wanted this, and he wanted that; he could hardly move his eyes or his feet. Gritting his teeth as he picked and chose, he selected for quite some time... and took a full third of the vault's total volume, hauling away all the cheapest items. It could be considered striking it rich overnight. Seeing that no one cared about the workshop equipment carrying the materials and Blessings, Ji Jue gleefully pretended he hadn't realized those should be counted in the share too. *Finders keepers!* Then, he noticed Hu Jian's gaze on him. In silence, it was so complicated. Yet Hu Jian said nothing in the end. At this juncture, he put on no pretenses of noble detachment either. After dutifully taking his rightful share, he set aside a chest packed with materials. Then, he casually placed it atop Ji Jue's mechanical mules. Gratitude? Or something else? Ji Jue couldn't figure it out, nor did he return it. If he wanted to give it, let him. He'd take it as a thank-you.