Chapter Thirty-Four: Refining the God-Slaying Spear

Liu Junhuai cautiously extended his divine sense into the object, gently peeling away a trace of restrictive energy. He gathered his spiritual awareness and enveloped this sliver of power, then gradually infiltrated it bit by bit. The moment he penetrated it, an intense, searing pain erupted in his sea of consciousness. Thunder and lightning raged above, chaotic currents swirled, and cracks tore open as if splitting heaven and earth itself. The agony felt as though his mind was being ripped apart.

At the same time, a residue of spiritual consciousness within the restrictive energy surged into him, constantly infiltrating his divine sense, as though driving away an insignificant pest. Cold sweat broke out on Liu Junhuai’s brow as he hastily marshaled all his spiritual power, condensing it into a single thread to resist the invasive remnants. The residual consciousness, encountering resistance, reacted with furious might, attacking as if enraged at this affront to its authority. For a time, the two forces clashed fiercely in the narrow battleground of his mind.

Gradually, with the home advantage and superior numbers, Liu Junhuai’s spiritual sense began to gain the upper hand, slowly eroding and consuming the invading residue. The pain in his consciousness lessened somewhat. Only after completely devouring that lingering trace did his spiritual sense turn to assault the remnant power outside his mind. The two energies entangled once more, and the spiritual energy above his sea of consciousness grew even more turbulent, until Liu Junhuai was nearly overcome by agony.

Desperately, he set the golden orb spinning, drawing a surge of golden spiritual power to reinforce his divine sense. The golden brilliance instantly stabilized the collapse, and began to devour the remaining power. The chaotic energy above his mind gradually dissipated, until it was wholly consumed by the golden and spiritual forces. The first wisp of restrictive power was refined, but Liu Junhuai nearly suffered a backlash, fully realizing at last the accuracy of the old steward’s warnings.

He pressed on to refine the second strand, enduring hardship and pain but ultimately succeeding. Then the third, the fourth...

Several times along the way, he replenished his vital essence, and when confronted with a particularly formidable restriction, his spiritual and golden powers nearly collapsed—until the “Primordial Shield Cauldron” arrived just in time. With the addition of primordial energy, the three forces barely managed to completely refine the restriction at the spearhead. Now, the tip floated quietly in the air, allowing Liu Junhuai’s spiritual sense to permeate it and gradually establish a resonance with his own consciousness, an intimacy forming between their spirits.

At this moment, Liu Junhuai’s mind was utterly immersed in the vast, ancient aura emanating from the Godslayer Spear’s tip. As this presence touched the time-mark in his sea of consciousness, the mark became excited, plunging eagerly into the ancient, desolate grandeur. It was like a fish returning to the sea, an indescribable sense of freedom and exhilaration.

He remained deeply absorbed, the ancient, boundless energies washing repeatedly over his mind. Before long, a pure, clear breath of heaven and earth seeped into his consciousness, intertwining and contending with the ancient aura, clarity and murkiness alternating and battling as if churning oceans within his mind.

Visions swirled through his awareness, his sea of consciousness like a small boat tossed on stormy waves, rising and falling with the tides, drifting between day and night, sleeping in warmth and cold. As clarity and confusion mingled into an even amalgam, his mind was suddenly illuminated. A stark black-and-white time-mark streaked through the center, and Liu Junhuai’s perception instantly expanded. The world before him became crisp and clear, his understanding of the time-mark reaching new heights, and he gained the beginnings of control over it.

Awakening, Liu Junhuai saw the Godslayer Spear’s tip floating quietly in the air. He quickly summoned a drop of his own blood and let it fall onto the spearhead. Instantly, a sense of intimate kinship arose between his will and the weapon. He reached out and grasped it—the mottled rust was gone, replaced by a smooth, glossy black that radiated a chilling murderous intent, as though it had drunk its fill of blood.

He infused his spiritual sense into the weapon, feeling its freedom of movement in his consciousness, connecting even to his dantian. At his mental command, the Godslayer Spear flashed into his dantian, floating quietly to be nourished—his very first life-bound treasure.

With another thought, the spear appeared in his hand. Pouring in spiritual power, it shot out like lightning into the distant cave wall, leaving only a perfectly round hole. He recalled it, then infused golden spiritual power; the spear turned into a golden flash and vanished into the wall, leaving behind a faint, shallow cut.

The forging of the Godslayer Spear was a complete success, and his deeper insight into the time-mark filled Liu Junhuai with joy. Even his meditation could not calm him, so he abandoned cultivation for the moment and returned to the forge.

The steward, Zhiqiu, was still by the old artifact furnace, arranging refined materials into neat rows. Liu Junhuai, eager to show off, handed him the Godslayer Spear. The steward could not hide his excitement.

Pointing at the surface, the old steward said, “See these dense layers of runes? That’s the sliver of primordial aura at work—natural formations are contained within, which only weapons of the same ancient era could possibly break. The craftsman was a grandmaster; to craft a matching shaft, you’d need to reach that level yourself. Anything less would yield a shaft with less than a fifth of the tip’s power, so you’re better off using the spearhead alone—it’s far more formidable this way.”

Liu Junhuai nodded. “I’ve refined it as my life-bound treasure. Is that fitting?”

“More than fitting. The Godslayer Spear is worthy of being your life-bound spiritual weapon—in fact, it surpasses the category of artifacts and stands unique even among spiritual treasures,” replied the old steward.

“What about the chaotic energy within?” Liu Junhuai asked.

“That trace of chaos has merged with the spear’s spirit. It can draw on chaotic energy of its own accord, but you’ll only perceive a reaction in places where such energy exists. Its very lethality contains a touch of chaos, annihilating any single-attribute vital force within an enemy.”

Liu Junhuai, a little embarrassed, handed over his cleaver. “And how do you think I should fix this knife? It’s too ugly.”

The steward examined it. “Too many mixed materials—the edge is sharp, but it lacks spiritual essence and doesn’t even possess a blade spirit. A failure. But by accident, you’ve made it quite malleable—you can still reforge it.”

The old steward pulled Liu Junhuai down to the pile of refined blocks, picked out several, and said, “First, advance to a second-level artificer. Then add these materials, and make sure to execute the shaping incantation precisely. I’ll watch; not a single step can go wrong.”

Liu Junhuai took the second-level artificer’s jade token and began the ritual, activating the furnace. He placed the materials as instructed and closed the lid, channeling his vital energy as the token directed. The fierce earth-fire enveloped the materials, melting them completely.

He performed the shaping incantation, infused more vital energy, and with a flash of red light, a low-grade longsword emerged. He had become a second-level artificer.

After seven or eight more tries, his technique stabilized at second level. The steward then urged him to proceed to the third level.

Liu Junhuai took the third-level token and practiced according to its instructions. The challenges increased significantly; it took three full hours and more than a dozen failed attempts before he succeeded in reaching third level.

After this, the old steward told Liu Junhuai to bring out the Hongyuan Chaos Furnace and the Heavenly Lotus Heart Flame for further practice. The chaos furnace was not yet refined, and another half hour was needed to attune to it. He summoned A’Zi, tossed in the third-level materials, and with A’Zi’s help forged a third-level longsword, its quality far surpassing those made with earth-fire.

Finally, the steward agreed to reforge the cleaver. Liu Junhuai became especially cautious. He threw the cleaver and the selected materials into the furnace, following Zhiqiu’s instructions step by step. Nearly two hours later, a brand new longsword emerged.

The blade was entirely black-gray, the edge and tang a foot in length, the blade wide above and narrow below, the hilt three feet long. Touching the edge, one could feel a faint, chilling aura.

“Tomorrow, go to the formation chamber and advance to third-level array master. Lay a few concealment arrays on the blade, then refine it again,” the steward instructed.

Liu Junhuai had been thinking the same, and readily agreed.

He had spent several hours in the forge, his vital energy greatly depleted, and the rest of the day passed unnoticed in cultivation.