Treasure Artifact: Thorn Armor

A burst of children's laughter suddenly interrupted Zhuge Xiang's thoughts. Sitting by the window, Zhuge Xiang looked in the direction of the sound and saw a small Garden not far away. A little girl, about seven or eight years old, dressed in a white dress, was laughing happily. In her arms, she was holding a white puppy. The puppy's eyes were full of liveliness, and its white fur was as smooth as silk, without a single blemish.

"Hmm? Isn't that Xiao Yue?" Zhuge Xiang was slightly taken aback when he saw the white puppy in the little girl's arms. Since Xiao Yue was alright, why hadn't it returned to the place they had agreed to meet?

"Xiaoying, come back quickly, it's windy outside, and you're not feeling well..." In the Garden, a woman who looked to be about thirty years old last year looked at the little girl with affection and called out.

"Okay, I'll go back now," the little girl replied, holding Xiao Yue in her arms.

"Woof woof woof..." Just then, Xiao Yue, who was in the little girl's arms, suddenly barked a few times, then jumped out of the little girl's arms and ran around happily, heading directly towards Zhuge Xiang.

Arriving at the corner of Zhuge Xiang's room, Xiao Yue was holding a strangely shaped stone, looking quite amused as she kept poking at it with her paws. In Zhuge Xiang's mind, however, Xiao Yue's Divine Sense Transmission echoed.

"I'm currently with Liu Ruying's wife and daughter, and we've discovered many of his secrets. Wait for me at the window at Son of Heaven..."

Zhuge Xiang nodded slightly to indicate that he understood, but did not answer. A little girl of about seven or eight years old ran over, calling out "Little White," and picked Xiao Yue up in her arms.

"Miss, be careful!" A Maid ran over to the little girl beside the woman and said worriedly. The woman also came over at the same time. Seeing Zhuge Xiang at the window, she smiled gracefully and said, "I hope the little girl's playfulness didn't disturb the young master."

"You're too kind, Madam. The little girl's innocence and charm are a kind of beauty in themselves. It's my Luck to be able to appreciate her. There's no need to disturb her," Zhuge Xiang replied with a smile.

"Young master, you are indeed an Elegant Scholar," the woman said with a smile. After saying this, she bent down, took the little girl into her arms, bid farewell, and turned to leave the Garden.

"Did you find out the information by following Liu Ruying's wife and daughter?" Zhuge Xiang murmured to himself, watching the woman's departing figure.

Waiting for Xiao Yue to come looking for him at midnight, Zhuge Xiang rested for a while before leaving the City Lord's Manor. He then found a place in Shuzhong City where cultivators traded, searching for the materials needed for forging.

The Star Ascension Stone could potentially upgrade Twelve Star Magic Tool to the level of Treasure Artifact. Since it concerned his own strength, Zhuge Xiang naturally seized the opportunity. Magic Artifact he carried were of the eleventh grade. After thinking for a moment, Zhuge Xiang decided to upgrade his Thorn Armor by another grade, to the level of Twelve Star Magic Tool.

Upgrading equipment naturally requires extraordinary materials. After searching around, Zhuge Xiang spent dozens of low-grade Spirit Stones to gather all the materials he needed. As night quietly fell, Zhuge Xiang returned to the City Lord's Manor. After having a meal, he summoned Niu Geng and the others to his room.

In the center of the room, One Qi Furnace stood. Zhuge Xiang took off his Thorn Armor and placed it beside him. It was already known that Zhuge Xiang had reached the level of Beginner Twelve Grade Artifact Forger, but judging from his appearance, he seemed to want to demonstrate it himself today.

"A Beginner Twelve Grade Artifact Forger? I didn't expect that after more than a year, not only has your cultivation reached the Innate Realm, but you also possess such strong Forging. What exactly have you experienced in the past year?" Niu Geng, sitting next to Zhuge Xiang, said with undisguised admiration on his face.

"Beginner Twelve Grade? Once your cultivation reaches the Deity Transformation stage, you should be able to break through to the Intermediate Artificer level. Hehe, my Blood Python Spear has a chance..." Zhang Kuang, standing beside him, gently touched the Blood Python Spear in his hand and said with a smile.

Su Huayu, Qin Qing, Zi Xiang, and Mo Wuyan did not speak, but stared intently. Although they knew that Zhuge Xiang was a Beginner Twelve Grade Artifact Forger, they had never seen his blacksmithing ability in person.

Without a word, Zhuge Xiang stared solemnly at the One Qi Furnace, skillfully igniting the Flame. Then, his hands moved swiftly, continuously adding materials one by one. His control over the heat was flawless, his movements fluid and graceful, like Antelope Hanging Its Horns, Heavenly Steed Soaring Across the Sky and effortless...

Seeing Zhuge Xiang's actions, Niu Geng and the others dared not speak, for fear of disturbing Zhuge Xiang. Only Qin Qing, seeing Zhuge Xiang's focused expression, would occasionally carefully and gently wipe the sweat from Zhuge Xiang's forehead.

Materials are continuously thrown into the furnace, refined, fused, and transformed...

Finally, Zhuge Xiang threw the Thorn Armor into the furnace. As if attracted by a magnet, the materials quickly adhered to the Thorn Armor, causing it to emit Thorn Armor ethereal magic.

It wasn't about directly forging a twelve-star Magic Artifact, but rather improving Magic Artifact quality. Zhuge Xiang didn't spend much time on it; in just two hours, he retrieved the Thorn Armor Zhuge Xiang and cooled it down, while the Flame in the One Qi Furnace remained burning.

Zhuge Xiang glanced at it and nodded to himself. Sure enough, after consuming dozens of low-grade Spirit Stones, he had indeed upgraded the Thorn Armor to the level of Twelve Star Magic Tool.

"That's it? It doesn't look that difficult," Su Huayu pouted, pretending to be relaxed.

"Not difficult? Then try it yourself?" Zhuge Xiang asked, turning his head to look at Su Huayu.

"Well, I'm too lazy to waste time on this..." Su Huayu said stubbornly, a hint of embarrassment flashing across her face.

"Zhuge Xiang, is it because we're upgrading the quality of the Magic Artifact now that we're about to have a fierce battle?" Niu Geng asked Zhuge Xiang after the forging was completed.

Shaking his head, Zhuge Xiang took out the Star Ascension Stone and said, "I obtained this material by chance. It seems to be able to upgrade Twelve Star Magic Tool to the level of Treasure Artifact, so I wanted to give it a try."

"What!? Twelve Star Magic Tool? Upgraded to the level of Treasure Artifact?" Zhuge Xiang's words caused the others to exclaim in surprise.

"Whether it will succeed or not, we'll find out by trying," Zhuge Xiang said, throwing the Star Ascension Stone and the Thorn Armor directly into the One Qi Furnace. The Flame in the furnace hadn't died down yet when the Star Ascension Stone was thrown in, and it melted quickly. Since it was already a pure material, it didn't need any purification and simply adhered to the Thorn Armor.

Before Half a Tea Interval, a Cultivation Technique of intense light suddenly emanated from the Thorn Armor, and it flew out of the forging furnace, chiming softly with a joyful tone. Clearly, it was the birth of Artifact Spirit, celebrating its own arrival.

Zhuge Xiang sensed something and, from his Divine Sense, separated a wisp of his soul imprint, firmly imprinting it onto the armor. Following Zhuge Xiang's gaze, the information about the Thorn Armor Zhuge Xiang also appeared before him... (To be continued.)