In Qingming, Zhang Sheng walked into the main hall, where True Monarch Xuanyue was already seated.
After offering his salutations, Zhang Sheng stood still, quietly awaiting instructions.
True Monarch Xuanyue waved a hand and said, "No need for formalities. Sit."
Once Zhang Sheng took his seat, Xuanyue said, "Show me that thing again."
Zhang Sheng pointed with a finger, and a doll wound from threads appeared out of thin air. Her eyes had originally been a pair of hollow sockets, yet an invisible pair of eyes seemed to dwell within them.
The moment it appeared, it fixed its hollow gaze upon True Monarch Xuanyue, its mouth opening to let out constant, hissing snarls as a dense stench of blood drifted through the room.
True Monarch Xuanyue frowned slightly and said, "Though I've seen it twice before, I still find this thing terribly wicked. Ten days have passed now. How do you feel?"
"It is as if I cultivated it myself, like a bizarre kind of sword-wielding immortal. In both spirituality and power, it surpasses any single one of my swordsmen; it is an immortal foundation in its own right. However, it was born carrying immense resentment and obsession, always threatening to devour its master. Even though I have over five hundred swordsmen and this is the only aberration, it is like a stone dropped into a bowl of rice—the entire bowl is ruined, leaving me temporarily unable to advance to a dharma idol."
Within Zhang Sheng's Dao Foundation, two swords were special. One was the beginning of all things, dividing from one into two, two into four, all the way to two hundred and fifty-six—totaling five hundred and eleven swords in all—and this sword was named 'Beginning.'
The remaining sword was named 'Dao.'
The one Huiye had replaced with the Calamity Doll was precisely this Dao Sword. With one missing between the Beginning Sword and the Dao Sword, it naturally had a massive impact on the completeness of Zhang Sheng's dharma idol.
Xuanyue said slowly, "I have already consulted Yanshi and sought out old friends at the Sword Palace, but none had a good plan. The best solution, naturally, is for Wei Yuan to return with your Dao Sword, at which point this thing can be swapped back. The lesser alternative is to directly request the Palace Master's intervention to destroy it. That way, you would still have over five hundred immortal swords, and the damage to your strength... well, it shouldn't be too great."
"I will wait for Wei Yuan's return."
True Monarch Xuanyue seemed to have anticipated this and nodded. "Do you need me to step in and help seal this thing to some degree?"
"Thank you, Patriarch, but there is no need. This doll is brimming with spirituality and formidable power; it serves as an ideal whetstone. Lately, I have been using my sword-wielding warriors to battle it, and I have already gained some insights."
"Then take care of yourself. How is Qingming? Is everything all right?"
Whenever it concerned Zhang Sheng and Wei Yuan, Xuanyue became wordy and endless.
Zhang Sheng said, "I have decided to emerge from seclusion and take temporary charge of Qingming until Wei Yuan returns."
Xuanyue raised his brows and declared, "Qingming was fought for and won by you and Wei Yuan together. With Wei Yuan away, it is only right and proper that you take command. If anyone objects, tell them to come find me!"
Zhang Sheng smiled. "Rest assured, Patriarch. Every post in Qingming is currently held by senior martial brothers and sisters from our sect. Nothing will go wrong."
Xuanyue's expression relaxed a little. He then retrieved a small sword about the size of a dagger from his robes and handed it to Zhang Sheng, saying, "Actually, there is another way. This is a spirit sword I begged from an old friend at the Sword Palace, and it can be refined into a Dao Foundation. If you can refine this doll into a sword-wielding immortal and have her wield this spirit sword—using the sword to master the person—you will be able to control it.
"That way, even if there is a slight flaw when you form your dharma idol, its power won't suffer much, and it will still be acceptable."
"Patriarch, where did this sword come from...?"
Xuanyue waved his hand dismissively, sending the small sword flying into Zhang Sheng's hands, and said, "If I tell you to use it, just use it! Stop dawdling like an old woman. I'm off!"
While his voice was still echoing in the hall, Xuanyue's figure had already vanished, leaving Zhang Sheng sitting motionless for a long time, holding the small sword.
Magic treasures that could be refined into a Dao Foundation were exceedingly rare to begin with, valued a full tier higher than ordinary magic treasures. The dagger-sized sword was itself a Scenery Command spirit sword, meaning that by this calculation, its worth could easily rival an immortal artifact.
As a sword cultivator, Zhang Sheng naturally recognized the sword's value at a single glance.
Yet True Monarch Xuanyue had already emptied his pockets to build the Tianqing Grand Hall, even wearing robes presented out of filial piety by Wei Yuan. Where, then, had this priceless little sword, Fuyue, come from? Xuanyue had left in such a hurry, however, that he had given Zhang Sheng no chance to ask.
Holding this small sword of less than two jin in his hands, Zhang Sheng felt as though he were holding a mountain.
***
After forging the Great Desolate Divine Iron, Wei Yuan was still not satisfied, sensing that the piece still had room for improvement. It so happened that he had just gained two strands of advanced Power Shaman karmic luck, so Wei Yuan circulated the Heavenly Luck Spirit Forging Art. Immortal light flowed over the hammer, accompanied by two intertwining strands of dark-yellow karmic luck like a pair of fluttering little dragons.
Wei Yuan raised the hammer toward the heavens and closed his eyes for a long time. Sensing that his essence, energy, and spirit had all reached their peak and that he himself was subtly resonating with the entire Great Desolate, he finally brought the hammer down!
As the hammer moved, the heat of the Desolate Realm's sunlight, which had been settling within his body, was stirred and erupted along the forging hammer, consuming most of the accumulated heat in Wei Yuan's body in an instant.
When the hammer struck, the wondrous phenomena of earth cleaving to unleash flames and a volcano erupting appeared! Then the sound of the hammer transformed into a piece of immortal music, complete with two distinct movements.
Hunter Thirty-One and Zhengang were both utterly dumbfounded, unable to utter a single word.
Wei Yuan did not know what sort of thing he had forged either. Lifting the hammer bit by bit, he saw thick red light gushing continuously from beneath it.
The human and the two shamans stared fixedly beneath the hammer, not daring to blink.
Beneath the forging hammer, an arrowhead slowly revealed itself, though it was only as thick as a finger—a circle smaller than it had been as Great Desolate Divine Iron. From time to time, red light flashed across the arrowhead, as though a light source within was darting back and forth.
Wei Yuan moved the hammer away completely and saw that the arrowhead had become nearly transparent. Within it, a lizard cloaked in blazing fire had actually appeared, crawling back and forth.
This treasure had already surpassed the scope of Hunter Thirty-One and Zhengang's knowledge; let alone seeing one, they had never even heard of such a thing. Yet looking at the artifact spirit alone—transformed from an ordinary little bird into a psychically endowed fire lizard—not only had its spirituality vastly increased, but it had also gained deadly slaughtering power. This change in the artifact spirit alone was enough to advance the treasure another tier, turning it into a late-stage Scenery Command spirit treasure.
Neither shaman spoke for a long time. Then, two strands of karmic luck—dark-yellow on the outside with thick red cores inside—descended into Wei Yuan's sea of consciousness once more. Wei Yuan finally understood what the karmic luck of a Power Shaman's worship looked like.
This time, however, Wei Yuan finally felt that the treasure had reached its limit, incapable of further elevation.
Wei Yuan looked at the two rare strands of karmic luck, lost in thought. This was the limit of the karmic luck that two dharma idol Power Shamans could contribute; beyond this, only Desolate Shamans could generate it. Judging by these two strands, the two shamans were thoroughly awestruck by Wei Yuan's godlike artifact-refining skill.
Wei Yuan asked, "In the Desolate Realm, do craftsmen hold high status?"
Zhengang said, "High doesn't begin to cover it! They're practically gods!"
Hunter Thirty-One said, "Anyone who can forge desolate steel is already a god! Someone who can forge Great Desolate Divine Iron is a god among gods!"
The two shamans chimed in one after another, praising Wei Yuan to the heavens. This time, it truly was not flattery; every word came straight from the heart, as proved by those two ultimate strands of karmic luck.
Although he had unexpectedly forged a late-stage Scenery Command spirit treasure, Wei Yuan still felt that something was missing. After pondering for a moment, he decided to switch directions for his attempt. Calling Hunter Thirty-One and Zhengang over, he gave them detailed instructions and sent them to make their preparations.
A moment later, a rhythmic clanging of smithing began to echo.
At Hunter Thirty-One's left hand was a pile of prepared ordinary iron. He grabbed a piece and placed it on the anvil; Wei Yuan then blessed it with karmic luck, after which Zhengang's iron hooves came down one after the other, sparks flying with every strike.
Then, with his right hand, Hunter Thirty-One took the forged iron piece and tossed it into a storage bag.
The entire process—placing the material, infusing karmic luck, hammering, and gathering the finished piece—was completed in one continuous flow, smooth and unhindered as running water and drifting clouds, repeating seamlessly. The human and two shamans maintained a distinct, crisp tempo like an efficient machine, processing a large batch of iron in the blink of an eye.
Chapter 875