Within the golden shield, Lin Yue arranged the Space Crystal and Mysterious Iron Essence in the proper proportions. On the stone platform before him sat the Ice-Fire Poison scraped from the Red Prison Scorpion's tail stinger. He planned to use the Space Fire Cauldron's unique properties to fuse these three materials with the Chaos Small Sword.
"First step: remove the impurities." Lin Yue took a deep breath and drew on the Fire Attribute energy in his body. Crimson-gold flames danced in his palm. Instead of burning the materials directly, he channeled the flames into the Space Fire Cauldron, using the patterns etched into its body to make them gentler and more precise.
He tossed the Space Crystal and Mysterious Iron Essence into the cauldron. The flames moved like nimble hands, carefully stripping away the impurities in the ores. The Mysterious Iron Essence's original gray-black color gradually faded, revealing pure silver-white beneath. The Space Crystal grew increasingly translucent in the flames, its internal blue-green patterns seeming to come alive as they slowly shifted.
"Second step: Law Fusion." Lin Yue picked up the Chaos Small Sword. Scratches from his fight with the Red Prison Scorpion still marred its blade. He suspended the sword above the cauldron and tried to guide the Space Crystal's energy into it.
But just as the blue-green energy was about to touch the sword, it began to tremble violently. The Space Crystal's energy seemed to strike an invisible barrier and was actually bounced back!
"What's going on?" Lin Yue frowned and tried again. This time, he deliberately slowed the flow of energy and mixed in a trace of Fire Attribute energy, hoping to neutralize the repulsion between space and metal.
But the result was the same—the moment the energy touched the sword, it triggered an even stronger rebound. A fine crack even appeared along the sword's edge.
"Are the Laws incompatible?" Lin Yue picked up the sword and studied the crack, feeling a little discouraged. When he had forged it before, he'd only needed to consider how flame and metal fused. He had never imagined the Law of Space would be so "stubborn."
He sat on the stone platform and repeatedly leafed through the Basic Fire Control Art, trying to find a solution in the scroll. But it mostly recorded methods for fusing flame and metal, and said nothing at all about fusing Laws.
"Maybe... I can try using a third kind of energy as a bridge?" A thought flashed through Lin Yue's mind, and his eyes unconsciously drifted to the space between his brows. There, the Chaos Spirit Pearl radiated a faint golden light.
The pearl contained Origin Energy from the beginning of chaos. In theory, it could accommodate any Law. But he didn't dare try recklessly, afraid that its powerful Origin Energy might destroy the sword's spirit outright.
Just as he hesitated, Pangu's voice came from behind him. "A sword spirit is like an infant. You must coax it patiently, not force-feed it."
Lin Yue spun around. Pangu had appeared nearby without him noticing, his gaze resting on the Space Fire Cauldron. "Senior, what brings you here?"
"I happened to be passing by." Pangu walked over to the stone platform and lightly tapped the Space Crystal inside the cauldron. "The Law of Space is delicate, while metal is rigid. When the two meet, it's like water running into a stubborn rock. Of course they repel each other." He pointed to Lin Yue's brow. "Don't you have 'Water of Harmony' inside you?"
Lin Yue's heart stirred. "You mean... the Chaos Spirit Pearl?"
"Exactly." Pangu nodded. "The pearl's energy comes from Chaos Origin and can transform all things. Use it as a bridge between the Space Crystal and the sword spirit. Let them grow familiar with each other gradually, and only then can they fuse."
Lin Yue suddenly understood. He had been trying to force the fusion all along, overlooking the need to take things step by step. Just as people needed time to become familiar with one another, so too did Laws and sword spirits with entirely different attributes.
"Thank you for your guidance, Senior!"
Pangu waved a hand. His gaze passed over the Chaos Small Sword in Lin Yue's palm, then fell on his own. A flash of golden light in the shape of an axe appeared there and vanished so quickly that it could have been a trick of the eye. "I only happened to think of it while refining a 'little toy for World Creation.'"
Lin Yue paid little attention to Pangu's words. All his focus had returned to the forging. Following Pangu's guidance, he first drew a trace of energy from the Chaos Spirit Pearl into the Space Fire Cauldron, letting it mingle with the energy of the Space Crystal and Mysterious Iron Essence.
Something miraculous happened—the blue-green spatial energy and silver-white metal energy, which had repelled each other moments before, began to slowly merge under the golden Origin Energy's influence, forming a new energy shot through with blue-green and gold!
"It worked!" Lin Yue was delighted. He hurriedly guided the new energy toward the Chaos Small Sword, feeding it in little by little.
This time, the sword neither trembled nor resisted. The blue-gold energy flowed like a gentle stream, slowly seeping along the patterns on the blade. Wherever it passed, the scratches and cracks began to mend and heal.
Lin Yue concentrated, controlling the rate at which the energy flowed in. At the same time, he used Spatial Perception to "observe" the changes inside the sword. He could "see" that the sword spirit, originally a hazy ball of red light, was greedily absorbing the blue-gold energy. It gradually took on a blue-green hue and grew increasingly solid.
"Final step: shape and condense the spirit." Lin Yue lifted the Space Fire Cauldron and poured all the blue-gold energy inside into the sword.
In an instant, the Chaos Small Sword burst into dazzling blue-green light. Its blade grew from three inches to five, and blue-green patterns like those on the Space Crystal appeared along its spine. Faint golden Origin Energy threaded through them, lending the sword a mysterious and imposing air.
When the light faded, a brand-new sword floated in Lin Yue's palm. Its entire body was silver-white, yet shimmered blue and gold. Its edge was so sharp it seemed capable of cutting through space. Most remarkable of all, the moment Lin Yue grasped its hilt, he could clearly feel its spirit synchronizing with his Spatial Perception—even anticipating his intentions when he attacked.
"From now on, I'll call you the Space Spirit Sword." Lin Yue gently stroked the blade, his eyes full of delight. This sword was no longer an ordinary spiritual treasure; it was his natal treasure, linked to his consciousness.
Pangu watched the Space Spirit Sword, a trace of approval in his eyes. "When refining a treasure with Laws, what matters most is 'attunement.' If you can do this much, you've taken your first step." With that, he turned and walked deeper into the shield, his figure gradually blending into the faint light of Chaos.
Holding the Space Spirit Sword, Lin Yue tried swinging it. A blue-green Blade of Space shot out along the path traced by his perception, striking a piece of Chaos Rock in the distance with perfect accuracy. The rock split silently in two, its cut surface smooth as a mirror.
"Its power has increased by at least thirty percent, and it can even correct its trajectory automatically..." Lin Yue was thrilled. He knew that with the Space Spirit Sword, his strength had risen another level.
Night deepened, and the Chaos outside the shield remained still and silent. Lin Yue sat cross-legged with the Space Spirit Sword across his knees. The blue-gold patterns on its blade rose and fell in time with his breathing, as if it were cultivating alongside him.
He thought of the flash of golden light in the shape of an axe in Pangu's palm. Though he was curious, he didn't dwell on it. To him, it was only natural that a senior like Pangu would have a few powerful treasures.
At that moment, he still had no idea what kind of turmoil the "little toy for World Creation" would stir up in the future. Nor did he know that the Space Spirit Sword in his hand would play an important role in that upheaval.
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