Chapter 74: Blood Refining, The Calamity Clouds Emerge
“How many days has it been?”
“If I count carefully, it should be nearly seventy days now.”
“You’re mistaken—it’s exactly seventy-one days, eleven hours, and three quarters.”
“You old deer, just how bored are you?”
“What do you mean? Are you saying I’m foolish again?”
...
Outside the chamber where the forging fire burned, a group of master artisans watched those conversing outside. Their voices rose and fell, and from time to time they cast anxious glances at the chamber, worry clouding their eyes.
During the first ten days, none were concerned. After all, forging a Nirvana-level fiendish weapon required at least two or three days.
After twenty days, calm still prevailed; no one thought much of it.
But as the days stretched to thirty, forty, and finally seventy, even these veteran masters could no longer sit still, unable to focus on their cultivation.
None of them had anticipated the forging would take so long.
Forging demanded immense concentration and physical stamina. For two demon cultivators at the Nirvana stage to labor for seventy days without sleep or rest—even a true Demon King would feel exhaustion.
“We can’t interfere now, not even observe. If we disturb their concentration and something goes wrong, it would be a grave mistake.”
“Perhaps we should invite the Great Demon Marshal to investigate. If he intervenes, he could do so unnoticed.”
“That’s ridiculous—what use is the Marshal? You might as well suggest bringing in the grandmaster to help!”
...
Unlike the noise outside, the forging chamber was filled with rows of blade-like feathers suspended above the fire.
The elder flower demon, Elder Hua Mo, raised his hand and formed a seal, channeling his fiendish energy to control the flames.
The array’s imprint was already complete, awaiting only the final round of tempering.
Not far away, Hongyun, bare-chested, wielded a massive hammer forged from refined black iron.
As moonlight shimmered around him, he twisted his body, lifting the hammer overhead and brought it crashing down.
Clang—clang...
After countless blows, he gathered the materials and tossed them back onto the fire.
He looked up; a dense cluster of blade-like weapons spun above the icy, cold flames, faintly glowing with the patterns of the array.
Is it ready...?
When frost formed on all the blades, Hongyun moved his mind, summoned them from the cold fire, and they flew before him, forming a pair of iron wings.
He activated them slightly, and a hint of sharpness spilled forth, greatly satisfying him with their power.
As he manipulated them, sensing their aura, a trace of doubt crept into his heart.
“Why hasn’t the tribulation lightning descended yet?”
He knew that for such weapons to truly awaken their power, surviving the lightning tribulation was essential.
When Hongyun withdrew the blades from the cold fire, all restraints vanished from his body.
He staggered over, gazing at the exquisite weapon, his cloudy eyes dazed.
He reached out to touch it, but before his fingers met the blade, they were sliced open.
“Excellent, excellent, the edge is sharp, but it lacks a touch of ferocity and bloodlust.”
He nodded in praise, clearly pleased with its attack.
Forming a seal, he scattered the weapon floating before Hongyun, then summoned it back onto the cold fire.
“The forging isn’t finished yet—there’s one final step.”
As he spoke, he gradually reverted to his true form—a night-blooming flower appeared before the cold fire, swaying gently.
“If you wish to witness the tribulation, watch closely.”
With those words, he leapt and plunged into the heart of the fire.
Roots and stems slowly froze in the flames, then crystallized, until only an unopened flower bud remained.
Blood-forging—the night-bloom blooms for its lord!
As the flower blossomed, its aura summoned the clouds of tribulation; thunder rumbled overhead.
Seeing the elder transform, Hongyun had already guessed his intention, but could not stop him.
Such is the pursuit of the forgemaster...
Watching the tribulation clouds gather, Hongyun sighed, summoned the blades into a torrent, and swept them into his sleeve.
He vanished, his cloud wings unfurling.
Upon those wings, thick iron feathers gleamed with sharp brilliance.
With a beat of his wings, his form blurred and soared skyward, charging toward the tribulation clouds.
With the blades empowering him, his speed nearly doubled.
...
As the tribulation clouds appeared, the masters first froze, then retreated en masse.
They didn’t need to speak; the servants and laborers had already begun fleeing, fearful of being caught in the disaster.
“The clouds are here—the forging is done!”
“Judging by their scale, it must be a royal weapon. Even if not, it’s close enough!”
“A royal weapon! If that’s true, I don’t feel so bad about those two pieces of bloodthirsty brass I gave up.”
“Haha, I can’t believe that old fellow actually succeeded. Quick, think of a way to keep his smug face from getting too arrogant.”
The forgemasters watched from afar. When Hongyun’s figure shot to the sky and none else appeared, two demons realized something and their expressions darkened.
As thunder sounded, they noticed Elder Hua Mo’s absence, and gradually understood, their faces turning grim.
“Could it be...”
“That fool!”
...
Amid curses, the crowd guessed the truth and fell silent.
Much of the joy from forging a royal weapon faded.
“This must be Elder Mo’s destiny. If faced with the same outcome, I believe each of you would make the same choice.”
The elder at the front stared intently into the tribulation clouds, worry written across his face.
“We should wait until the tribulation passes before deciding. If he fails, it’s only a half-step royal weapon—reigniting the tribulation would be difficult.”
...
In the depths of the tribulation, Hongyun sat with his cloud wings wrapped tightly about his body, letting the lightning crash upon him.
The force of the tribulation, though not as fierce as that endured by a Demon King, was not far behind.
Hongyun struggled to withstand it. The lightning passed through his wings into his flesh, surging through his organs, tempering his body and the weapon attached to his wings.
His once-pure white wings were now densely clad in a silvery shell of sharp blades, dazzling as light flowed across them.
He felt his body’s strength rising and healing, yet the destructive power of the lightning soon exceeded his limits, his expression changing.
This can’t go on.
The thought flashed in his mind; without hesitation, he plunged his consciousness deep into his sea of awareness.
Panel, restore my wounds—let me break through to the pinnacle of Nirvana!