novelraw Chapter 726 - 425: A World of One’s Own_2
Chapter 726 - 425: A World of One’s Own_2
Chapter 726: Chapter 425: A World of One’s Own_2
When they arrived at this desolate place, Cou Ling stopped and began to walk at a slow pace. From time to time, she would pick up a stone, examine it carefully, and then place it back where she had taken it. Clearly, she was searching for something specific. Although Yan Xiaobao was incredibly curious, he focused all his attention on observing the woman before him.
Traversing the area, the woman finally started to quicken her pace. After fifteen minutes of inspecting one stone after another, they arrived at a small stone altar. The altar was black, but the runes engraved on its rough surface at the top were incomprehensible to Yan Xiaobao.
"Alright, tell me if you’ve changed your mind," Cou Ling sighed as she picked up a storage stone and retrieved a silver hammer engraved with runes. Yan Xiaobao watched as the hammer was placed on the ground, feeling vibrations reverberate through the earth. The hammer was obviously several tons in weight, clearly not as light as it appeared in the hands of the woman.
"Nine Heaven’s Blood Forging is far from a simple or straightforward forging process. As the name implies, we will need your blood. But just using your blood alone won’t suffice," Cou Ling said with a deep sigh, exposing a long scar on her forearm. "You will need to infuse the metal affinity dwelling deep within your body into your blood. The more metal you’ve attuned to within you, the more effectively the Metal Flame in your Middle Dantian will blend into your blood, enhancing the forging process."
"Does it absolutely have to be my blood?" Yan Xiaobao asked curiously, looking at the blacksmith in front of him. She nodded solemnly. "Try picking up my hammer," she said, shrugging as she pointed to it. Yan Xiaobao approached, but no matter how hard he tried, it was impossible for him to move the hammer even an inch.
"This weapon will only heed the commands of its rightful owner. The one who feeds it blood will be the sole person it obeys. Unfortunately, with a weapon like this, one must regularly feed it blood. The metal it ultimately creates is called the Nine Heavens Blood Devouring Metal. Just like some tools require maintenance and oiling, these weapons and tools thirst for blood. You may choose to feed it with your own blood or someone else’s, but honestly, killing people suddenly in the middle of the city isn’t a great idea."
Considering the woman’s words, Yan Xiaobao simply nodded in agreement. Rampaging through the city and killing people wasn’t an ideal choice, and since he had already shed so much of his own blood, as long as the sword could be restored, he was willing to do almost anything.
Seeing the determination in Yan Xiaobao’s eyes, Cou Ling couldn’t help but sigh. "This is by no means an easy task," she warned again as she retrieved what appeared to be a small silver circle from her storage stone.
"You will need to endure this. It will attract lightning to your body. But let me warn you, when I forged my hammer, I stayed here for three months. During that time, I had to forge it nine times. Each time, I could only withstand one bolt of lightning, and even then, I barely survived. If it weren’t for a good friend who took care of me until my body stabilized, I would’ve been long dead."
"Don’t think you can handle all the lightning at once with ease. We will need to try several times," the woman said, her eyes uncertain. Although she knew forging in a single attempt was impossible, she couldn’t predict how much this young man could endure.
"Understood," Yan Xiaobao nodded to the blacksmith before him. She nodded back and walked towards the altar, saying, "Place the sword here. This altar will serve as my anvil."
Following the first instruction he had received, Yan Xiaobao immediately retrieved the sword from his storage stone and placed it on the altar as directed. As he looked expectantly at the woman in front of him, he noticed her hesitation growing stronger. Yet, despite her evident reluctance, she continued forward.
"In your Middle Dantian, the Metal Flame hovers above the spiritual energy sea," she instructed, guiding Yan Xiaobao, who nodded in understanding. "Extract a small portion of that flame and push it into your blood."
Closing his eyes, Yan Xiaobao entered his Middle Dantian. He focused intently and separated a small fragment of flame from the massive inferno within. Pushing it through his meridians, Yan Xiaobao directed it towards the Chongmai Meridian, the pathway that allows Qi, spiritual energy, and martial power to flow into the body. It is also where energy transfers from the meridians into the body itself. Whenever he strengthened his internal organs and bones in the past, he had used this same meridian.
When he first opened the Chongmai Meridian, Yan Xiaobao had to manually push energy through it into his body. However, as his strength increased, he was able to absorb larger amounts instantly. As the energy flowed through the meridian, it would automatically leave the pathways to fortify his body.
It was along this same meridian that Yan Xiaobao now directed the small Metal Flame, channeling it into his blood. From his arm, black blood seeped out, shimmering faintly with the infusion of metal, dripping onto the stone altar below.
The moment the blood made contact with the altar, a rumbling sound echoed, and tremors shook the ground. What had been a clear sky suddenly turned ominously dark. Looking up, Yan Xiaobao saw clouds inexplicably forming out of nowhere.
"We need to act quickly," Ke Ling said, grabbing the hammer and the broken sword. She placed them onto the altar, taking hold of Yan Xiaobao’s arm and letting his blood drip onto the blade’s surface. Although nothing seemed to change about the sword, the altar began to radiate with a brilliant light. Moments later, the stone turned transparent, and intense heat started to emanate outward.