Chapter 1 The Grand Sound of Metal

Amidst the massive clang of gold and iron, An Qisheng's eyes were slightly closed, as if half-asleep.

Martial arts lie in all aspects; walking, sitting, and lying are all cultivation, and every move is martial prowess.

Forging iron is naturally the same.

With each strike of the hammer, the slightest reactions of himself, the hammer, and the metal being struck surfaced in his mind.

Seemingly identical blows, each hammer strike had subtle adjustments.

Pounding, drilling, exploding, dispersing, solidifying, enveloping…

Forging iron is like a deadly battle!

Aura, physique, and true qi were all fully mobilized.

Each hammer strike caused the massive cold iron platform to tremble and hum, and the magma sea surged even more violently, making one suspect that the cold iron platform would be shattered.

Bang!

Bang! Bang!

The series of fierce hammer blows awakened the shocked old monks.

Sanyin and the others quickly gathered around, transporting various metals, controlling the heat, and assisting An Qisheng.

Huangjue Temple had a unique secret method to increase the flame's temperature by adding some unknown powders.

At the same time, the old monks were increasingly shocked.

Clearly, the Daoist's posture for exerting force was incorrect, yet the sound of his hammering grew louder and faster, as if he felt no fatigue at all.

Only Sanmu's eyes twitched as he felt sorry for his hammer.

Although he trusted An Qisheng's control over his strength, he couldn't help but worry that his cold iron hammer would be ruined.

The force was too fierce.

This busyness lasted for three days and three nights.

Boom!

A loud noise broke the silence of Huangjue Temple in the night.

"Forging Valley? Could it be… a furnace explosion?"

Near Forging Valley, many monks were awakened, all frowning as they looked towards it.

Forging weapons was not always successful. Over the years, furnace explosions in Forging Valley had occurred frequently.

The two most dangerous times even triggered the eruption of the volcano suppressed by the cold iron, almost destroying Forging Valley.

Whoosh, whoosh…

Many martial monks stationed in Forging Valley hastily put on their robes and stepped into the winter night.

Looking up, they saw flames soaring above Forging Valley, a mushroom cloud clearly reflected under the red moon, spreading out with a boom.

What reached their ears was the sound of countless metal clashes.

It was as if all the weapons in Huangjue Temple were leaping and vibrating.

"What happened?"

In an instant, countless monks were horrified.

They felt that Forging Valley had become an ocean of weapons. Although invisible to the naked eye, they could feel the extreme sharpness brewing and accumulating, making them shudder with fear.

"This is…"

Sankong looked remotely at Forging Valley, his long white eyebrows trembling.

He had never seen this situation before, but he had heard of it. Two hundred years ago, on the day the Huangjue Bell was cast, it had also triggered the vibration of the weapons in Forging Valley.

For two hundred years, countless blacksmiths had tried to recreate this phenomenon, but all had failed.

Now, the phenomenon had reappeared?

His heart stirred, and his body disappeared into the wind and snow, heading towards Forging Valley.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…

A gale seemed to rise in Forging Valley, and all the swords, spears, staffs, and clubs hanging in various places trembled and hummed.

Beneath Forging Valley, fiery waves rolled, and the boiling magma raged even more.

On the steps outside the cold iron platform, the Sanzi generation monks who had been forced to retreat, ignoring their dusty faces, watched the cold iron platform with a mix of shock and joy.

In the center of the cold iron platform, An Qisheng raised a large hammer, his white robe constantly billowing in the air currents.

On the iron platform in front of him, a long spear was constantly humming and vibrating.

The spear was twelve feet long, entirely red, with vein-like patterns covering its body, running from the tail of the spear to the yet-to-be-sharpened tip.

At this time, the long spear seemed to have a life of its own, constantly trembling and vibrating, emitting a humming sound like a tiger's roar or a dragon's cry.

An extremely sharp aura spread out.

It was as if a single glance at the unsharpened spearhead would cause one's eyes to bleed.

"Intent of weapons…"

An Qisheng's eyes were half-open and half-closed.

His divine will was unusually active, able to sense the rolling, formless intent of weapons coming from all directions, circling and gathering around him, no, near the long spear, thereby triggering the substantial gale.

All things have a qi field, whether strong or weak. Even iron and stone, the invisible void, is filled with qi fields.

This was the Jiufu Realm's understanding of qi fields.

In fact, just as mass graves give people a gloomy feeling and ancient temples give people a sense of tranquility, Forging Valley had accumulated a strong intent of weapons over thousands of years.

He had not expected that such a change would be triggered when the spear was about to be completed.

He raised the large hammer, and his half-open eyes seemed to reflect countless crisscrossing intents of weapons.

'The Dao of Heaven diminishes excess and supplements deficiency… Under my hammering, the long spear generated a qi field, and within this qi field, it is at the lowest point, just as water flows to low places and air flows from high-pressure areas to low-pressure areas...'

An Qisheng thought.

This was not a bad thing. Being baptized by many intents of weapons would definitely be of great benefit to the long spear.

After a long time, feeling the airflow weakening and the trembling of the long spear gradually subsiding, An Qisheng brought down the last hammer he had been raising for so long.

It fell with a boom!

Boom!

As the cold iron platform rumbled and the magma churned, the old monks heard a fleeting sound of a spear cry, followed by a streak of crimson-gold light piercing through the sky, like a dragon leaping from the abyss, a golden peng spreading its wings and soaring to the heavens.

The divine spear was finally complete!

........

The wind howled, and snow filled the sky.

The heavy snow that had been falling for several days had covered the boundless earth with a thick layer of white.

Several miles outside Huangjue Temple, in a roadside pavilion that was usually used by passersby to cool off, smoke rose as two people sat around a small stove, drinking wine.

"That old bastard is inhuman, inhuman…"

Squeezing his damp clothes, Ji Liu took a sullen sip of wine.

The spicy sensation spread from his mouth and tongue.

He was very agitated.

With his status, other than having to be humble in front of the Grand Preceptor, he didn't even need to be polite when meeting the frontier officials of Da Feng.

People had always waited for him; he had never had to wait for others.

And he had been waiting for three months!

"Sixth Brother, can this really be more unbearable than when we brothers followed the lord in the boundless sea, suffering from hunger and cold for dozens of days, and fighting dozens of battles against the enemy?"

A middle-aged man in black attire, with a somewhat sallow complexion, shook his head.

"Are you really so used to the good life that you can't bear even a bit of hardship?"

"What you said makes sense, but…"

Ji Liu squeezed his wine glass and shook his head. "You and I risked our lives in battle. Of the more than ten thousand brothers we had back then, only the eight of us remain. What was it all for? Wasn't it for wealth and glory?"

As he spoke, he poured himself a glass of wine and filled Ji Ba's glass as well. "Could it be for loyalty to the emperor and love for the country? Don't be silly."

Ji Ba shook his head inwardly, no longer discussing this with him, and instead asked,

"Sixth Brother, what did the lord say in your previous pigeon message?"

"The lord said to see if the old Daoist priest has forged a divine weapon. If he has a divine weapon in his hand, you and I should immediately release the golden-feathered eagle and retreat, without stopping for even a moment…"

Ji Liu put down the wine pot, his face somewhat indifferent, and said,

"The lord wanted to win over the old Daoist priest, but last night, a great fire broke out in Huangjue Temple, with faint signs of weapons. I'm afraid those old monks still defied the lord's intentions…

I released the golden-feathered eagle last night. Whether it's true or not, we'll know after a look. If the divine weapon is complete, he will eventually leave…"

Three months was neither a long nor a short time.

At least, with the strength of Huangjue Temple's Forging Valley, not to mention a divine weapon, even two or three would probably be enough time.

And if the old Daoist priest really came out with a divine weapon, then the problem would really be big…

He could only hope that what happened last night was a furnace explosion, not the actual forging of a divine weapon!

"In recent years, as the king has acted more and more hastily, the conflict between Huangjue Temple and the imperial court has also increased. I heard that the Six Doors have been searching for evidence of Huangjue Temple's crimes all these years…"

"Their offense to the lord will only hasten their demise!"

Ji Ba's face was gloomy.

Huangjue Temple and the imperial court initially had no conflict. On the contrary, compared to those unruly martial artists, these seemingly honest monks made the imperial court feel more at ease.

Everything started from the Nantian Mountain hunt.

That time, although Huangjue Temple sent many martial monks to assist, they flatly refused the imperial court's request to requisition their Forging Valley, without any room for discussion.

Although they later offered tens of thousands of high-quality weapons in an attempt to repair the relationship, everyone with discerning eyes knew that the relationship between the two sides was not as harmonious as before.

The Six Doors wanted to collect all the weapons in the world, and Huangjue Temple would inevitably bear the brunt.

But as he spoke, he also became somewhat suspicious:

"But the commotion last night was so similar to when the lord forged his saber armor. I'm afraid it's not a good sign…"

"The lord is also used to being cautious. There are dozens of divine veins in the world. What does it matter if there's one more? They wouldn't dare to be enemies with our imperial court, would they?"

Ji Liu raised his head and drank the wine in his cup in one gulp.

"If he accepts our overtures, that's fine. But even if he doesn't, would he become an enemy of our Da Feng?"

Although a divine vein was said to be capable of matching a country, it was certainly not a match for Da Feng, which possessed millions of miles of territory, millions of soldiers, and countless experts!

Even someone as strong as Pang Wanyang did not dare to directly confront Da Feng's might. Even if an old Daoist priest became a divine vein, what storms could he stir up?

"Huh?"

Ji Ba, holding his wine cup, suddenly moved his gaze and exclaimed,

"Sixth… Sixth Brother, look…"

Ji Liu followed his gaze.

He saw a cold dragon, more than ten zhang long, winding its body between the layers of clouds, swimming in the sky filled with wind and snow. With a slight movement, it crossed miles, moving at an incredible speed.

Swish~

Ji Ba stood up abruptly, shattering his cup and spilling wine everywhere.

Ji Liu's face also changed, and his mind tightened.

He saw the cold dragon swooping down, a Daoist standing on the dragon's head, his white robe fluttering, toying with a crimson long spear,

Glancing over with a faint look.

That gaze was deep and calm, yet it seemed to possess a substantial weight, causing their hearts to feel a burst of stuffiness, almost making it difficult for them to breathe.