"The first step—materials. I happen to have those ready."
"But as for the divine power I'll need afterward…" Chen Junting murmured, feeling the vast vitality surging from the earth beneath his feet. Then, he turned his gaze toward the heaven-piercing pillar of light at the Destruction Altar.
Although the destructive divine power had retracted by more than seventy percent after he pulled out the "Destruction Scepter," as long as that pearl at the bottom remained, this heaven-piercing light pillar still retained that powerful aura of destruction—merely dormant. However…
"Which type of divine power should I use?"
"Destruction? Or perhaps Life?"
Chen Junting rubbed his temples in distress.
He had originally intended to follow the method modified by Elder Yi, using the divine power contained within the light pillars to forge divine artifacts. But now, he was troubled by which type of divine power to use.
"Can't you just borrow both types of divine power together?" At that moment, Tyrant's voice rang out in Chen Junting's mind.
"Yes, of course that's possible."
Life and death, Life and Destruction.
The two were inherently complementary and antagonistic—two sides of the same coin. If he could forge divine artifacts using both great divine powers, that would naturally be ideal.
But the problem was…
"But the distance between the two is too great."
Chen Junting spoke, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness.
Was he unable to think of it, or did he not want to?
Of course not!
Rather, based on his earlier estimation, the distance between them was absolutely not short. There was even spatial separation between them, making it impossible for Life divine power and Destruction divine power to intertwine.
Unless…
At this thought, Chen Junting suddenly had an idea.
At this moment, the hand that had been rubbing his temples had unconsciously moved to the space between his eyebrows, where the mark of the Rakshasa God was imprinted.
"I wonder if the senior will agree… Forget it, I'll try first and see. Even if it really doesn't work out, it probably won't be a big deal."
Thus, at this moment in the Divine Realm.
The God of Destruction, who was just preparing to attend to matters, suddenly received the message transmitted by Chen Junting and couldn't help but stop in his tracks.
However, the God of Destruction didn't say much. He merely muttered "Interesting idea" and then directly made a slicing motion with his hand. A trace of divine power, barely perceptible, sank into the void, destination unknown.
Meanwhile, above the ocean of the Douluo Plane.
A streak of purple divine power suddenly descended, sinking into an island group isolated in another space without any living creature noticing. Instantly, the island group underwent a drastic transformation!
Now, Chen Junting, who was on the island, also sensed the change. It felt to him as though the island had shrunk.
Because another space on the island—that is, the space where the Life Altar was located—instantly drew closer to the space where the Life Valley was located, to the point where the two spaces directly fused together.
But in reality, this was merely an illusion.
The spaces where the Life Altar and Destruction Altar were located moved directly toward the center of the island under the divine power bestowed by the God of Destruction.
At the moment of complete fusion…
The Life Valley was invaded by the Destruction Forest, and many plants withered directly under the aura of destruction. The situation in the Destruction Forest was similar to that of the Life Valley—those plants that had already carbonized were unexpectedly re-infused with life under the exuberant vitality.
And this region became the boundary between the two.
At this moment, the fused space formed a circle, like a Taiji diagram. The Life Altar and Destruction Altar respectively served as the two fish-eyes within the Destruction Forest and Life Valley.
As for the position where Chen Junting stood…
It was the very center of this entire circle!
Half his body in destruction, half his body in life—different scenes intertwined upon Chen Junting's person, making him appear like a god or demon.
"I didn't expect it to actually come true."
Chen Junting spread open his hands, feeling these two completely different powers. Since that was the case, then today he would borrow these two completely different divine powers to forge a few divine artifacts for himself.
Afterward, Chen Junting sat cross-legged, his eyes slightly closed, his mind sinking into a state of empty clarity. His spiritual power spread out like invisible tentacles, probing downward into the depths of the island to connect with the bottom of the altars, and upward to intertwine with the destructive light pillar and life light pillar that permeated between the Life Valley and Destruction Forest.
Following the method that the God of Destruction had casually provided when the island transformed, Chen Junting activated the power of the two altars.
"Rise!"
In the next second, he let out a low shout.
In an instant, the winds and clouds changed over the Destruction Forest.
The life light pillar that shot toward the sky radiated a powerful emerald vitality, even completely affecting the Life Forest.
Streaks of emerald light burst forth from the depths of the earth's veins, like tender sprouts breaking through the soil in early spring, brimming with endless vitality.
The moment they merged into the heavens, boundless vitality lingered.
Immediately after, at one end of the Life Valley, the air suddenly grew heavy. Another light pillar similarly shot toward the sky, but the energy it radiated was completely different. Streaks of purplish-red destructive power seemed to tear through the space wherever the light pillar passed, carrying a heart-palpitating desolation and decay, whistling above the heavens. This divine power was incomparably violent, as if it wanted to devour everything, destroy everything.
It seemed that without the suppression of the two scepters, the divine power contained within the two light pillars erupted without restraint, and the resulting might—or rather, the scope of its influence—far surpassed what it had been before.
The perfectly fine Destruction Forest was nearly turning into a Life Forest, while the perfectly fine Life Valley was evolving toward a Destruction Valley.
The two divine powers of Life and Destruction gathered around Chen Junting's body, forming a small Yin-Yang fish. One faintly flickered with destructive thunder, the manifestation of Destruction divine power; the other faintly displayed scenes of blooming flowers and flourishing grass, clearly the manifestation of Life divine power.
These two diametrically opposed divine powers swirled around his body, clearly distinct as the Jing and Wei rivers, yet forcibly bound together by an invisible force.
At this moment, Chen Junting's complexion had turned somewhat pale, and fine beads of sweat seeped from his temples. Even though he had already passed the first trial, having these two divine powers appear simultaneously and coil around his body was still no small burden for him.
"Divine power transforms into fire; heaven and earth become the furnace!"
With a thought from Chen Junting, the Life divine power in his left hand and the Destruction divine power in his right hand slowly moved toward the center. They did not directly touch but formed a strange energy field several feet in front of him. Then, these two divine powers instantly rose up, transforming into flames under Chen Junting's control.
To test their power, Chen Junting carefully and cautiously drew upon the purplish-red Destruction divine fire, but he dared not draw too much. After mobilizing it with his soul power, he merely peeled off a wisp…
Hiss—
At that moment, that wisp of purplish-red flame began to jump, unexpectedly igniting his soul power and rapidly dissolving it. In mere moments, Chen Junting's soul power was completely incinerated by the purplish-red Destruction divine fire. Clearly, this Destruction divine fire evolved from Destruction divine power was extremely dangerous.
"This flame is incredibly violent; I must be extremely careful."
Although he had already harbored such a mentality, Chen Junting still emphasized this to himself internally. Because compared to the Destruction divine power when he had pulled out the "Destruction Scepter," this flame was even more powerful in terms of raw might—after all, this fire was concentrated.
Afterward, Chen Junting turned his gaze toward the Life divine fire.
If the Destruction divine fire was like a ball of flame burning, then the Life divine fire was somewhat different. Beneath the misty haze, it didn't look like a flame at all; it was practically like immortal qi, appearing incredibly peaceful. Yet it made one's heart race and one's soul tremble, exuding a terrifying fluctuation that made one's heart palpitate.
Thus, Chen Junting did the same as before, once again drawing upon a wisp of Life divine fire that was like misty clouds. This time, the moment his soul power touched it, it was ignited and completely incinerated, not leaving a single trace.
"Equally terrifying."
After a brief sigh, Chen Junting tossed these two balls of flame upward, where they continuously hovered in the high sky.
In the next second, emerald and purplish-red light intertwined and flickered, and a terrifying might instantly spread out. Yet in merely three breaths' time, everything returned to calm. A flame intertwined with emerald and purplish-red, faintly revealing a pinkish hue, burned above Chen Junting's head, occasionally emitting a light "sizzle" and sometimes erupting with low energy fluctuations. Moreover, it was enveloped by a dense mist, as if revealing a sense of unreality.
But beneath this calm exterior, it was like a volcano on the verge of eruption. If one truly dared to touch it, even a demigod would suffer.
Chen Junting took a deep breath, calming the surging blood and qi within his body. He spread open his left hand, upon which quietly lay a staff with purplish-red patterns—the "Destruction Scepter." As a gift from a God King, it was clearly an excellent material for forging divine artifacts.
"Go!"
Chen Junting let out a light shout, tossing this staff into the "divine fire" before him, where the Life divine fire and Destruction divine fire intertwined.
Clang—
The moment the staff entered the divine fire, it emitted a harsh sound.
The "Destruction Scepter," which originally had patterns on its shaft, became smooth and refined under the rough polishing of the two divine powers of Life and Destruction. Moreover, as time passed, the emerald Life divine power first wrapped around the staff like a gentle flame, slowly penetrating it and stimulating its internal potential. The purplish-red Destruction divine power was even more domineering, transforming into countless dense energy threads that repeatedly impacted, cut, and smelted every inch of the metal staff's structure. The two powers—one soft, one hard; one life, one destruction—engaged in fierce clash and fusion within the divine material. However, this was merely the foundational work.
Time passed minute by second, and Chen Junting maintained a high degree of focus throughout. He carefully regulated the divine fire formed from the combination of Life and Destruction, ensuring that they could effectively smelt the divine material without causing damage due to power imbalance.
This was a task requiring slow and meticulous effort; it couldn't be rushed, nor could mistakes be made.
That incomparably hard metal divine material gradually began to soften and deform under the continuous tempering of the divine fire. The dark golden luster on its surface also grew increasingly bright, as if something inside was about to break out of its cocoon. The surrounding energy fluctuations also grew more intense, and the air was filled with a special scent of metal being smelted, along with a strange odor produced by the collision of divine powers.
Finally, at an opportune moment, Chen Junting's eyes focused, and his hands suddenly pushed forward. The two divine powers contained within the flames instantly erupted, forming an even more intense torrent of energy that completely submerged the divine material of the "Destruction Scepter."
"Transform!"
Immediately after, it was as if a spring thunderclap erupted from his tongue.
Under the terrifying divine power, the divine material of the "Destruction Scepter" finally could no longer endure, emitting a humming sound similar to a mournful cry, then melting and liquefying at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Soon, the original staff-shaped form completely disappeared, replaced by a fist-sized lump of liquid metal shimmering with brilliant golden light. This lump of liquid metal hovered within the divine fire, its surface flowing with colorful light, its interior seemingly containing thousands of rivers of stars revolving, brimming with indescribable spirituality and power. It had completely transformed into the essence of divine material that had been thoroughly purified and had all its potential activated.
Looking at the successfully refined molten metal, a trace of a satisfied smile appeared at the corners of Chen Junting's mouth. But this was only the beginning…
"Seven Kill, rise!"
Immediately, Chen Junting moved with a thought.
A sharp and peerless sword intent shot toward the sky!
Following the summons of his will, an illusory, ancient longsword slowly appeared behind him—it was precisely his martial soul, the Seven Kill Sword!
Originally, under Chen Junting's comprehension and cultivation, the Seven Kill Sword was not completely illusory; on the contrary, it was actually incredibly solid.
But now, the Seven Kill Sword seemed to have returned to the state when he had first awakened his martial soul. However, in reality, this was merely something condensed from his spiritual will, sword dao comprehension, and martial soul comprehension.
At this moment, under his control, this incredibly illusory yet clearly visible Seven Kill Sword slowly floated above the molten metal.
"Using the martial soul as the mold, cast the body of the divine artifact!"
Brilliant light exploded in Chen Junting's eyes as his hands formed seals.
In the next moment, inexplicable patterns, like divine chains, spread out from Chen Junting's fingertips, instantly wrapping around the molten metal and the Seven Kill Sword, causing the two to gradually draw closer.
He could be seen carefully controlling that lump of divinely smelted molten metal shimmering with flowing light, causing it to slowly rise like a lively golden serpent, flowing toward the tip of the illusory Seven Kill Sword. This process was like an exquisite "pouring." The illusory Seven Kill Sword became an intangible mold, while the smelted molten metal was the scalding molten steel.
At this moment, this lump of molten metal slowly merged into the illusory sword body, and with every bit that merged, the illusory Seven Kill Sword grew a bit more solid, and the aura it emitted grew increasingly intense.
This process consumed an enormous amount of spiritual power. Chen Junting not only had to maintain the stability of the divine fire but also precisely control the flow and speed of the molten metal, and even more importantly, ensure that the form of the divine sword did not dissipate.
In this space, the strange spectacle continued.
The divine fire intertwined with emerald and purplish-red burned fiercely, and a lump of golden liquid continuously deformed and extended within it, gradually sketching out the rudimentary form of a sword. Meanwhile, Chen Junting's complexion grew increasingly pale as time passed, clearly indicating an enormous consumption.
He didn't know how much time had passed—perhaps an hour, perhaps merely an instant. When the last drop of molten metal transformed from the divine material perfectly merged into the hilt of the illusory Seven Kill Sword, the entire sword emitted a clear and resonant cry, like a sword yet like a dragon. At this moment, the originally illusory Seven Kill Sword martial soul had been completely filled by the golden divinely smelted molten metal, transforming into a quasi-divine artifact possessing a solid sword embryo.
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