"Seventy-eight!"
Seventy-eight golden grains. The blood clouds reappeared with a deafening rumble. This time, the blood clouds condensed into a spear, thrusting violently toward Su Yu.
Eighteen pages had been integrated!
Holding the hammer in one hand, Su Yu lashed out with the other, detonating the blood spear with a single punch. The "Blood" character manifested once more, greedily absorbing the blood qi.
Su Yu's aura remained formidable. The Mind Expansion Hammer in his grip stayed rock-steady, without the slightest tremor.
The tremendous recoil reverberated through his physical body, yet he held his ground.
*Rumble!*
Page after page was forged into the book. Phantoms of ferocious beasts roared and howled. The more pages he integrated, the more violently the book beside him trembled, struggling in defiance as though trying to break free and escape.
"Suppress!"
With a low shout, divine characters erupted with power, forcefully pinning down the tome. Sweat poured from Su Yu like rain as he continued hammering.
By now, the blood clouds were gathering at an even faster pace.
Sacred armaments brought rewards, while blood armaments drew punishment.
Su Yu sneered disdainfully. What kind of bullshit rule was that? Across the myriad realms, slaughter was ceaseless; forging a sacred armament was what truly deserved punishment! Did someone really think a sacred weapon could reform an enemy through benevolence?
What a joke!
Only killing could halt killing; only war could end war.
The seventy-ninth golden grain was on the verge of forming. Right at that moment, streaks of blood swords shot toward him. Several of them hurtled forward, each possessing Shanhai-level power. But Su Yu's strength was not for show.
With a backhanded slap, he shattered multiple blood arrows and continued to nourish his "Blood" character.
The seventy-ninth golden grain manifested!
"Draw!"
With a muffled grunt, Su Yu took a deep, long breath, pulling in vast amounts of Heaven Yuan Qi. His yuan qi replenished slightly. Biting down on a Sacred Yuan Qi Fruit, he restored his energy and pressed on with the forging.
Now, the eightieth golden grain appeared.
*Boom!*
Scarlet lightning cracked across the hall, striking outward in all directions before hurtling toward Su Yu and the book once more. Su Yu's divine characters shot forth, clashing against the blood clouds in midair amidst an unending roar of explosions.
After a long struggle, a deafening blast shattered the blood clouds.
By this point, the power within the clouds was approaching the seventh stage of the Shanhai Realm.
Zhao Tianbing quickly warned, "Careful! Once it reaches eighty-two grains, a high-stage Shanhai blood tribulation will definitely appear!"
Forging while simultaneously fending off the blood tribulation was no easy feat.
The book was howling too. Within the integrated pages, the phantoms of fierce beasts roared, thrashing and resisting, unwilling to be subjugated by Su Yu.
The weapon was being forged, yet it fought back; the more pages absorbed, the fiercer the rebellion.
Meanwhile, the blood clouds continued to gather overhead, warning Su Yu to abandon the forging and stop here!
"Stop?"
Su Yu gave a cold snort. He had paid such an enormous price; how could he possibly stop!
With all his yang apertures open, Su Yu possessed the strength of a late-stage Sun Moon cultivator.
At this level, he could wield even a Heaven armament. Only weapons with 109 golden grains or more qualified as Heaven armaments. What use was an initial-stage Earth armament book to him? Taking advantage of this opportunity, he intended to push the forging as far as it could go. Until he reached his absolute limit, he would never give up.
Out of the three hundred pages, barely any had been merged so far.
An hour later, with Su Yu drenched in sweat, the eighty-first golden grain formed—the peak of initial-stage Earth rank!
*Rumble!*
At that moment, the blood clouds in the sky coalesced into several figures, each possessing the strength of a peak sixth-stage Shanhai, lunging toward Su Yu. Several of his divine characters fought them fiercely in midair.
Su Yu had no time to spare for them. Suppressing the book with sheer force, he hammered relentlessly, integrating the pages.
At eighty-one golden grains, forty-five pages had been fused.
The forging was growing increasingly arduous.
Su Yu felt as though he could barely keep it under control—not because his strength was lacking, but because the forging itself felt ready to slip off mark, threatening to be knocked astray by the rebound.
To the side, Zhao Li shouted, "Do as I say!"
"Hammer 162 times, split into three bursts, strong first and then weak..."
Su Yu asked no questions and followed Zhao Li's instructions to the letter. Zhao Tianbing's eyes lit up, and he added swiftly, "Kindle the Five Elements Fire and set up a Five Elements Cage to trap the book first! What a treasure—it's only reached this stage, yet it's already developing spirituality!"
With two grandmasters advising him, Su Yu didn't question anything; he had no time to think. He continuously adjusted his actions according to their words. Sure enough, the book's violent upheaval was brought under control.
The eighty-second golden grain was about to form. Once it did, it would become an intermediate-stage Earth armament!
"Junior Brother, get ready!" Zhao Tianbing said in a low voice. Once the eighty-second golden grain appeared, a high-stage Shanhai tribulation was guaranteed to manifest. It was not that Su Yu could not handle it, but that forging was dividing his focus too much.
If he fought with full strength, the forging would fail.
Under these conditions, Su Yu would be lucky to exert thirty percent of his combat power.
Zhao Li nodded.
He said rapidly, "Keep forging! We share the same smithing lineage—I can step in at any moment!"
This was Zhao Li's crucial role.
Otherwise, the moment Su Yu became distracted by the tribulation, the forging would collapse. And since this tribulation targeted only the smith and the armament, only the smith could face it.
Su Yu did not speak, swinging the massive hammer with thunderous roars!
The slightest slip would shatter a golden grain, causing the forging to fail. He dared not be careless.
With Zhao Li present, Su Yu could rest a bit easier.
Pages continued to merge into the spine.
With every hammer blow, the energy consumption surged, and the recoil intensified.
The book continued its resistance!
*Boom!*
Not only did it resist, but the integrated phantoms even launched sneak attacks on Su Yu. Although their strikes lacked immense power, they nearly caused his hammer to strike off-target. Su Yu's eyes turned icy, and he let out a furious roar!
*Hum!*
His thunderous bellow shook the air like the roar of Heaven and Earth. *Boom!* The phantoms were shattered by the sonic shockwave and forcefully hammered right back into the book.
...
Outside, the winds howled and clouds gathered.
Vast swathes of blood clouds were assembling!
King Tianzhu and the others looked grim. "It's about to reach intermediate Earth rank. Good grief, this kid first forged a saintly frame and is now crafting a demonic weapon. He's quite skilled at playing the rules, but integrating saint and demon into a single body makes the forging vastly harder!"
Yun Chen nodded, his expression equally solemn.
Su Yu had extraordinary audacity and courage.
Su Yu himself had not reached this realm of smithing; at most, he could be considered an intermediate Earth armamentsmith. Yet the weapon's nascent might already felt on the verge of exceeding that level. Still, he kept forging. Could this kid endure it?
Could he maintain control?
More and more spectators gathered.
Even veteran armamentsmiths who rarely showed their faces—and some Heaven armamentsmiths—arrived under the escort of powerful experts.
Forging an armament that combined both saint and demon, and with the youthful Su Yu as the smith, no less—to the Dao of armamentsmithing, this was a monumental event, well worth observing.
A decrepit, trembling old man bent his back, listening intently, and muttered as if in a daze, "Not good. The hammer strikes sound muddied... Could this forging have integrated blood spirits?"
Laymen did not understand, but true experts nodded in agreement.
King Tianzhu was also listening carefully to the changing rhythm of the hammer and the dissonant noise within it. Sizing it up, he called out, "Su Yu, adjust your technique! Use the Five Elements Forging Method—don't suppress it by force..."
Yet Su Yu continued to adhere strictly to the Zhao Clan Forging Art. King Tianzhu frowned slightly. *This kid doesn't trust me much, does he?*
Forcing it like this would invite immense trouble.
...
Inside the Castellan Manor.
Zhao Tianbing frowned slightly and said, "Listen to him!"
Zhao Li, however, barked, "Continue with the Zhao family forging method! Gentle on the outside, resolute within! If you ease the pressure, these things won't obey in the future. Even if the forging fails, don't show leniency—strike hard all the way to the end! Only then, once the forging succeeds, will these dead bastards obey!"
"..."
Zhao Tianbing glared at his junior brother, displeased, and scolded via voice transmission, "If the forging fails, do you have any idea how much he'll lose?!"
"All I know is that a disobedient weapon is better broken than finished! What good is an armament that might turn on its master? The malignant weapons and traitorous blades of this world are all forged by people like you!"
Zhao Li snorted coldly. King Tianzhu was not wrong, nor was Zhao Tianbing.
Following their advice would undoubtedly increase the success rate.
Neither a Heaven armamentsmith nor a peak Earth armamentsmith held an empty reputation.
However, if Su Yu followed their way, the armament would carry the risk of backlash against its wielder in the future. The vicious weapons in the world that turned on their masters usually came about precisely like this—because someone was unwilling to let the forging fail!
If the weapon's feral malice could not be suppressed now, then later, once Su Yu gathered more blood and stored more corpses to strengthen it, the backlash would be far more catastrophic.
Only by being even more ruthless than the weapon during the forging itself could Su Yu truly tame it!
And Su Yu naturally listened to Old Zhao. Without a word, he continued to hammer down forcefully, battering the phantoms into repeated dispersion while the entire book shuddered violently.
Even the surrounding space felt somewhat unstable, as if on the verge of leaking away.
Anyone else might have switched forging methods by now. Su Yu knew the Five Elements Forging Method too, but he didn't switch. Just as Old Zhao said, he had to beat his weapon into submission!
What was the point of owning an unruly weapon!
*Boom!*
The void trembled, and the eighty-second golden grain appeared. Instantly, three scarlet creatures pounced on Su Yu, each wielding the power of a seventh-stage Shanhai.
Su Yu roared, kicking out fiercely while his hammering arm remained steady as Mount Tai, continuing to forge.
The three scarlet creatures were pulverized by his midair kick.
His "Blood" character kept absorbing the scarlet energy.
Intermediate-stage Earth armament!
Su Yu was panting heavily; over fifty pages had now been integrated.
The further along he went, the harder it became.
The individual spatial pockets repelled one another, and their repulsive force was growing exponentially.
Zhao Li looked toward Zhao Tianbing and the others, his voice low: "You all should leave!"
The others frowned, and Hu Xiansheng chimed in hurriedly, "Go on, get out of here. I'll stay. If this kid blows up the weapon later and hundreds of spaces detonate, even Sun Moon experts will be finished. If I stay, I can still save him in time."
Su Yu suddenly chuckled. "Director, you really don't think much of me..."
"Holy shit!"
Hu Xiansheng jumped in fright. "Shut up! Don't listen to us, just focus on forging!"
What was he doing?!
He still had the mind to chat? Did this lunatic not realize what a catastrophe it would be if the forging failed and hundreds of spaces exploded at once?
At that moment, Xinghong's voice drifted from the rear hall: "No matter. If it truly detonates, I will intervene."
Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief!
That was good!
Just then, Su Yu swallowed the last Demon God Fruit. He had taken out four; the others had used three, leaving just one.
Swallowing it in a single gulp, Su Yu felt his blood qi, yuan qi, and willpower rapidly replenish!
The injuries sustained from the previous recoils healed swiftly.
Su Yu was back at his peak once more. With his strength instantly restored, he let out a great roar and forced the forging onward. *Rumble!* The eighty-third golden grain emerged!
The immense recoil nearly tore the hammer from his hand. He had not truly reached this level of mastery yet—forging ability was not the same as fighting ability, and things were slipping out of control!
At that critical juncture, a heavy hammer descended!
Zhao Li struck down with all his might, suppressing the shuddering book, and shouted, "Adjust! Quick!"
Adjust?
Yes. In an instant, Su Yu soared into the air with a roar and smashed an undispersed blood cloud to pieces with a single punch, shaking Heaven and Earth. That was his idea of an adjustment.
When something went slightly awry in the forging, he took a moment to adjust by demolishing a blood tribulation.
Having eradicated the blood cloud, Su Yu plunged back down. Right as Zhao Li brought his hammer down, Su Yu stepped back in. "Teacher, pull back first! Just be ready to save me at critical moments!"
He could not allow Zhao Li to deplete himself too much. Otherwise, if another slip occurred like just now and Zhao Li lacked the strength to intervene, they would be in dire straits. Su Yu was far from reaching his limit. He added quickly, "I still have methods in reserve, Teacher, don't worry. This is only the beginning!"
His physical body hadn't even advanced yet!
He wouldn't undergo body casting until at least the ninety-first golden grain appeared—in fact, Su Yu planned to wait until the 108th golden grain before casting his body. There should be a reward from Heaven and Earth, which he could channel to instantly grant his armament several more golden grains.
Zhao Li said nothing, swiftly pulling back once Su Yu fully regained control.
His cultivation was still somewhat lacking; those few hammer strikes just now had cracked the bones in his hands.
Zhao Li's face was grim.
It was only because Su Yu possessed a monstrously powerful physical body that he could endure; otherwise, forging up to eighty-three golden grains would have shaken him to death from the recoil alone!
Without Sun Moon-level strength, it was exceedingly difficult to forge an armament to this degree. Even if one had the technique, lacking sufficient power made it impossible.
Zhao Li possessed the vision, experience, and technical skill, yet he could not forge such a formidable armament on his own because his power fell short; without someone assisting him, the recoil would kill him.
Su Yu took over once more and resumed forging.
...
Outside the city.
King Tianzhu sighed and held his tongue. Seeing that Su Yu had not changed his forging technique, he understood Su Yu's intent.
*Forge an obedient weapon!*
If it failed, so be it, but he would not bow to his own weapon merely to ensure success.
King Tianzhu gave a wry smile. It was a matter of choice—or perhaps, a matter of wealth.
He didn't know precisely how much Su Yu had invested in this armament, but he knew it was staggering, perhaps beyond imagination. In any case, King Tianzhu could never bring himself to invest so much and risk failure.
It was too extravagant!
Even if the weapon proved slightly unruly, it could be adjusted and mended later. But he would make sure it was forged successfully; otherwise, the loss would be so catastrophic that one might not recover for centuries.
*This kid Su Yu is still young. Wealth came too easily to him, so he doesn't know how to cherish it,* King Tianzhu grumbled inwardly.
*Wait until you're like this old man—a Heaven armamentsmith who hasn't forged a Heaven armament in decades—then you'll realize just how wasteful and extravagant you were! Back then, success was all that mattered; who cared if the weapon might bite its master?*
Beside him, Yun Chen murmured, "Perhaps... he is the one who is right. The Dao of armamentsmithing, the Dao of cultivation—neither should brook compromise. One must forge ahead with indomitable resolve..."
As he spoke, he silently closed his eyes.
*Indomitable resolve...*
Easy to say, but how many could achieve it?
He hadn't.
Back then, in order to prove his Dao, he chose to fake his death, chose to turn away from facing it. Forging ahead fearlessly... was too difficult. Perhaps that was why his Dao had fractured.
Last time, he failed to prove his Dao.
He had failed to merge his three incarnations. No matter how powerful he was, he remained only a quasi-Invincible, not a true Invincible. Perhaps it was because of lingering attachments and unwillingness in his heart.
...
While King Tianzhu and the others were lost in thought, new trouble arrived for Su Yu.
In the sky, the blood clouds converged once more.
However... even when Su Yu completed the eighty-fourth golden grain, the blood clouds did not descend!
Zhao Li's expression shifted, and Zhao Tianbing said with a massive headache, "The rules are shifting—it's accumulating!"
"Accumulating?"
Su Yu was taken aback. It could do that?
Did that mean if he failed now or stopped forging, it wouldn't strike him?
After having its blood tribulations shattered several times in a row, the thing had actually learned to store up power!
"Then what if I charge up and destroy it right now..."
Zhao Tianbing hesitated. "It might just reform. As long as the tribulation hasn't descended, destroying it will only cause it to replenish continuously."
Su Yu was speechless!
What was the logic here?
Waiting until he reached ninety-one golden grains before striking him?
Was that even a thing?
Zhao Tianbing was not very familiar with this either. Although he had forged armaments for many years, the times he encountered tribulations were few.
Su Yu pushed the thought aside!
He kept forging!
He was prepared: if the trouble proved too severe, instantly undergoing seventy-two physical body cast steps might solve the problem.
Time trickled by.
Su Yu frantically consumed Heaven Yuan Qi and Sacred Yuan Qi Fruits, continuously replenishing his strength.
The blood clouds in the sky grew denser and denser.
Su Yu ignored them!
Eighty-five golden grains, eighty-six golden grains, eighty-seven golden grains...
The pages dwindled steadily.
By the time the eighty-eighth golden grain appeared, 130 pages had been integrated. The further along he went, the harder it was to form golden grains, and the more pages each grain demanded.
The blood clouds had already blotted out the sky.
...
"Madness!"
At this moment, someone clicked their tongue in astonishment. "If he doesn't stop, the lethal force will reach the Sun Moon level. Is he really trying to forge a Heaven armament?"
It was already eighty-eight golden grains!
The blood clouds were accumulating into something terrifying. If this continued, once it reached ninety-one grains, it might unleash the destructive power of a fourth or fifth-stage Sun Moon in an instant!
"He's strong enough, what's he afraid of!"
"What do you know? Once that thunderous strike erupts, he'll still be forging! Even if he withstands it, the armament will be destroyed. From what I can tell, the price he paid for this weapon is beyond imagination. If the weapon is ruined... that would be the true loss!"
...
Outside, discussions raged.
Zhao Li was also intensely nervous. He called out, "Su Yu, it will likely erupt when the ninety-first grain forms! Watch out!"
"Understood!"
Su Yu gritted his teeth and continued forging.
The eighty-ninth golden grain gradually took shape.
From within the book, phantoms of colossal beasts lunged toward Su Yu, while the blood clouds in the sky continued to gather.
Su Yu's "Calamity" divine character began to pulse.
Danger!
Suddenly, Su Yu cursed aloud, "Teacher!"
Zhao Li swung his hammer and stepped in without hesitation. Meanwhile, Su Yu tore through the air. At that very moment, the blood cloud morphed into a single human figure and charged at Su Yu, radiating the power of a fifth-stage Sun Moon!
Su Yu cursed furiously!
Underhanded tricks!
This blood cloud was actually playing dirty! If not for the pulsing of his "Calamity" divine character, Su Yu wouldn't have known it would detonate at the eighty-ninth golden grain instead of waiting for the ninety-first!
"Fuck!"
Su Yu spat curses as he clashed with the blood figure in midair. Below, Zhao Li smashed down with his hammer. *Boom!* His blood churned, the web between his thumb and forefinger split open, and he cursed under his breath too!
Are you insane?!
Even the rules play dirty now?
Well, nobody had ever explicitly told them the blood clouds would wait for the ninety-first grain; appearing at eighty-nine was entirely within reason.
At this moment, it was not just them who were caught off guard—the experts outside were stunned too.
Holy shit!
What an eye-opener!
The blood tribulation didn't wait for milestone boundaries; it struck at random!
Terrifying, wasn't it?
Everyone had assumed it would wait for the threshold, but instead, it ambushed him out of nowhere. Su Yu's reflexes were astonishingly fast, and crucially, he had someone who could take his place for a moment!
Otherwise, the forging would have been ruined right then and there.
"Die!"
Su Yu bellowed, throwing punch after punch, beating the blood figure into repeated collapse.
After three minutes of relentless combat, Su Yu gave a thunderous roar, blade-hand slicing downward like a saber to cleave the blood figure into fragments. Immediately, the "Blood" character absorbed the remains.
Below, Zhao Li was vomiting blood while hammering continuously!
Su Yu plunged down swiftly. Blood seeped from Zhao Li's lips, and the moment Su Yu took over the forging, Zhao Li retreated without hesitation, popping treasures into his mouth to heal his wounds. As he healed, he barked, "Zhao Tianbing, repair my hammer! Hurry up!"
Over on the side, Zhao Tianbing muttered curses. *I'm your senior brother! Asking me for help, yet you're still this overbearing!*
*Whatever, whatever—I raised this guy like a son, I won't bicker with him.*
Several armamentsmiths rushed forward to help repair his warhammer.
Su Yu could withstand the strain because his body was absurdly strong; Zhao Li could not. With only Shanhai cultivation, three minutes of hammering had nearly shaken him to death.
...
Back at the forge, Su Yu found the integration arduous in the extreme.
Without Old Zhao here this time, forging what? It would have failed long ago.
Su Yu had to admit he was still a bit green.
He had overestimated himself!
And he had underestimated the shamelessness of this blood tribulation. Who would have expected such a trick?
Furthermore, he hadn't even integrated his divine characters yet. Once he did, he worried an even greater tribulation would strike.
Perhaps body casting could wait a little longer.
*Rumble!*
The blood clouds gathered again. This time, Su Yu dared not let his guard down, keeping a vigilant eye out to prevent another sudden ambush.
After a long while, the ninetieth golden grain formed.
The peak of intermediate Earth rank!
The ninety-first grain would mark high-rank Earth armament.
Over half of the pages had been integrated, leaving 140 pages. They might only support another seven or eight golden grains. By then, it might only barely reach peak high-rank, or if he was lucky, the pinnacle of Earth rank.
Su Yu didn't care about that now!
He was already nearing his limit. If he truly couldn't forge a Heaven armament, that was only natural. If necessary, he would settle for an Earth armament first, but he had to outline illusory golden grains; otherwise, upgrading the armament later would be exceedingly difficult.
Only beyond 144 golden grains would it reach the divine armament stage.
The gap was still massive!
This time, the blood cloud went crazy again. Having just struck at eighty-nine grains, it didn't accumulate at all this time. Suddenly, it surged toward Su Yu once more! Su Yu cursed and flung out a round ball!
External helpers could not intervene against a blood tribulation.
Yet this was no outsider.
The little fur ball was unique, functioning almost like one of Su Yu's divine characters, as it always had. Su Yu shouted, "Fur Ball, swallow it for me!"
"Yikes, it's so strong!"
The little fur ball was scared out of its wits. Fragrant One was so treacherous!
This thing was terrifyingly strong!
"That's just the power of rules, you can handle it..."
Su Yu offered an encouraging word. Old Zhao had not recovered yet, and Su Yu had no time to fly up and blow it apart himself, so he left it to the little fur ball to buy a bit of time.
The fur ball squeaked and shrieked!
Too wicked!
Yet there was no other choice. Opening its mouth wide, the little fur ball swelled up instantly. *To hell with it, I'll eat!*
In one gulp, it swallowed the blood figure!
The next moment, the little fur ball turned into a giant fur ball, swelling continuously until it looked on the verge of exploding. Blood qi vented from all over its body as it was knocked flying in circles, crying out pitifully, "I can't take it, I'm gonna burst!"
"Digest it, you can do it!"
Su Yu offered another word of encouragement and quickly ignored it.
It wouldn't die that easily. If it were truly that fragile, he wouldn't have thrown it out.
At worst, it was just overstuffed!
No problem!
He tossed out the "Blood" divine character to alleviate some of the pressure on the fur ball, then resumed his work.
...
Outside the city.
The crowd watched in bewilderment. Forging an armament to the point where one had to engage in a battle of wits and courage against the rules of Heaven and Earth—this was truly unprecedented.
"Ninety golden grains!"
"Intermediate Earth rank peak! Does that mean Castellan Su can be considered an intermediate Earth armamentsmith?"
"That's way too exaggerated!"
"..."
The true connoisseurs remained silent. It was not exaggerated.
Of course, as the saying went, the foundation of Su Yu's weapon was exceptionally good, which was a major factor.
If given ordinary materials for intermediate Earth armaments, Su Yu might not have been able to produce an intermediate Earth armament, meaning he was not technically an intermediate Earth armamentsmith in terms of pure craft.
"Once ninety-one grains appear, his trouble will be massive. He might have to stop there!"
"Indeed. He even threw out a member of the God-Devouring race; he's near his limit!"
"..."
The experts communicated in secret, not bothering to debate with the laymen—it was meaningless. Meanwhile, some half-baked smiths were busy explaining to the onlookers, though it was equally pointless.
Not long after they spoke, a thunderous rumble sounded as surrounding yuan qi converged.
The ninety-first golden grain was about to emerge!
High-stage Earth rank!
This was a weapon that could genuinely be utilized by mid-to-high-stage Sun Moon cultivators.
At that moment, the blood clouds converged wildly. This time, a blood figure emerged wearing crimson armor.
Zhao Li's expression altered. "I'll take over, you go deal with it!"
Su Yu gritted his teeth and glanced at Zhao Li. Old Zhao's injuries were far from light; his physical body was too weak, and the three minutes earlier had taken a severe toll.
Su Yu wanted to cast his physical body!
As if anticipating what he wanted to do, Zhao Li shouted, "Wait a bit longer! Wait for the opportunity, wait until you step into the peak!"
With that, he stepped in with hammer in hand!
He could still hold on. But if Su Yu cast his body now, that might be his final breakthrough for the day, and this book might only ever reach high-stage Earth rank today. He had to wait until it reached the peak!
Su Yu gritted his teeth, disengaging swiftly to soar into the air.
This time, he swallowed a drop of blood essence directly, erupting with the might of a seventh-stage Sun Moon! The blood-armored general had barely manifested when Su Yu unleashed an enraged shout, cleaving it into fragments with a single saber slash!
"Hmph!"
*Playing dirty with me? I know how to play dirty too! Did you really take me for an ordinary Lingyun Realm cultivator?*
*I can unleash the power of a high-stage Sun Moon!*
*See if I don't beat you to death!*
The "Blood" divine character devoured the essence voraciously, giving off the feeling that it was on the verge of advancing. Su Yu was secretly astonished. Could this become his first Tier 5 divine character? That would be interesting.
This first divine character of his was rarely used nowadays, yet it had been steadily growing stronger.
If this continued, Su Yu felt little brother Blood might actually become his first Tier 5 character. He possessed many characters, and the "Blood" character had no special advantage, yet it might advance first?
Harboring these odd thoughts, Su Yu dropped back down rapidly.
At this moment, the seventh-stage Sun Moon power within him was surging.
He instantly took over the forging. Yet Zhao Li did not retreat, shouting, "I'll forge with you! Your power has spiked too sharply, and your control is too low—it's easy to fail!"
Su Yu nodded. He needed Old Zhao's help.
The reason he had refrained from swallowing blood essence earlier was precisely the fear that an excessive surge in strength would hinder his forging.
With Old Zhao assisting at his side and Su Yu's combat strength amplified, the hammering became somewhat easier.
Ninety-one golden grains!
High-stage Earth armament!
At this moment, both Su Yu and Old Zhao gained tremendous insights, but the pressure was immense as well. Phantom beasts attacked them once more. Su Yu could shatter them swiftly, but Zhao Li struggled to do so; the shockwaves battered his body, causing blood to flow freely.
Zhao Li gritted his teeth, ignoring the pain.
He was not the main smith; he was merely guiding Su Yu's hammering, aligning Su Yu's rhythm with the weapon.
Only in this way could the book achieve maximum harmony with Su Yu.
An hour later, the ninety-second golden grain appeared.
This time, Su Yu broke away immediately while Old Zhao held down the forge by sheer will, blood constantly spilling from his mouth. In less than a minute, Su Yu was back, having pulverized the blood figure once again!
...
Ninety-three grains, ninety-four grains...
The golden grains multiplied as the remaining pages dwindled.
Of the three hundred prepared pages, less than eighty remained. In another four or five rounds, the pages would be exhausted.
Su Yu took a quiet, deep breath. He had to hold on until at least ninety-nine golden grains.
Then, he would cast his physical body or integrate divine characters to make the book even more formidable.
One blood tribulation after another pushed both Su Yu and Old Zhao toward their limits.
Forging armaments was arduous!
The only thing Zhao Tianbing and the others could do was constantly repair Zhao Li's warhammer. Because the book was now more powerful than his hammer, the recoil repeatedly cracked it.
This was Zhao Li's armament of the Dao, merged with his own divine character.
Su Yu said nothing, nor did he urge Old Zhao to leave. His teacher was set on helping him forge a mighty armament of the Dao; even if ordered away, he would refuse to leave.
The moment his teacher truly could not hold on any longer, Su Yu would immediately undergo body casting.
With this resolve in his heart, Su Yu integrated page after page.
He continuously shattered the blood clouds!
By this point, the blood clouds packed the might of fifth and sixth-stage Sun Moon experts. This thing was stronger than anticipated.
Never before had forging an Earth armament drawn such a terrifying blood tribulation.
Ninety-eight grains!
Ninety-nine grains!
The moment the ninety-ninth golden grain appeared, all the pages had been completely forged into the book.
The peak of high-stage Earth rank!
Just one step away from the pinnacle of Earth armaments.
Zhao Tianbing and the others thought it was over and breathed sighs of relief. *Thank goodness, it's finally over!*
This was practically enough!
With ninety-nine golden grains, it was not inferior to an ordinary weapon with 108 golden grains; in fact, it was stronger. This was already an incredible outcome.
Yet right at that instant, Su Yu hesitated for a fraction of a second, gritted his teeth, and suddenly merged two divine characters into the cover!
"Civilization"!
The instant those two characters fused into the book, an earth-shattering explosion rang out!
The book resisted with ferocious violence.
Su Yu was trying to completely subjugate this tome!
In the blink of an eye, the golden grains jumped from ninety-nine to one hundred, 101, 102...
And in the void, blood clouds gathered once more. This time, they did not immediately descend, but continuously amassed, their aura swelling ever stronger—sixth-stage Sun Moon, seventh-stage Sun Moon...
A moment later, eighth-stage Sun Moon!
Zhao Li's face paled drastically!
"Abandon it! Quick..."
It was escalating too fast. Under the swirling blood clouds, the strength had leaped to the eighth stage in the blink of an eye. Su Yu had once unleashed the power of an eighth-stage Sun Moon, but the circumstances now were completely different!
Su Yu was already an arrow at the end of its flight!
Meanwhile, Su Yu stared in astonishment as the golden grains continued to multiply. These two divine characters were simply too compatible with the book, rocketing the count directly to 105 grains!
He looked up at the sky. The blood clouds were terrifyingly formidable and still growing stronger.
Su Yu took a deep breath. *Old Turtle, looks like I'll have to trouble you to help me seal them again. If I don't unseal my yang apertures, there's no way I can defeat this!*
The seal on his yang apertures shattered instantly!
In the passage below, Xingyue cursed furiously!
*Again?!*
*You bastard, you're siphoning me again!*
"Milady Monarch, give me a bit more! Once I succeed, I'll reward you..."
*Reward your grandfather!*
*I don't need it!*
Though Xingyue cursed violently in her heart, she quickly channeled a torrential flood of death qi to Su Yu. *Choke to death on it, you bastard!*
Chapter 533