"Third Uncle, trust me."
Zhang Chen didn't explain further. He immediately pulled the Family Head Token from his robes. "Open it."
Seeing the token was like seeing the Family Head. Although Zhang Yunwu's heart ached so much that he trembled, he didn't dare disobey.
He could only sigh as he shakily opened the Treasure Vault's long-sealed doors.
Half an hour later.
Zhang Chen emerged, thoroughly satisfied, his Storage Bag bulging.
Behind him, Third Elder stared at the shelves, now more than half empty, and looked like he was about to cry.
"What a spendthrift... He really doesn't know how to live within his means..."
Third Elder leaned against the doorframe, feeling his blood pressure rise.
Back at Dao Seeking Peak, Zhang Chen headed straight for the Earth Fire Chamber on the Back Mountain.
It was fueled by flames drawn from the magma deep underground.
The place was reserved for the Lineage's Artifact Forgers and Alchemists.
Zhang Chen chose the Jia Artifact Forging Room, where the flames burned fiercest, activated the Isolation Array, and turned away all visitors.
"Whew..."
Standing before the enormous Artifact Forging Furnace, he felt the scorching waves wash over him. Zhang Chen didn't feel even a hint of discomfort.
Instead, excitement surged through his veins.
With a sweep of his sleeve, dozens of Rare Ores clattered to the floor.
"Rise!"
Zhang Chen called out softly and formed a hand seal.
The crimson magma flames in the Earth Fire Chamber suddenly leaped three feet high.
But that wasn't enough. Zhang Chen flicked his fingertip.
A wisp of purple-gold Heaven and Earth Thunder Fire merged with the flames.
Boom!
The crimson flames instantly turned an eerie purplish red, and their temperature surged several times over.
The hardest piece, Star Pattern Meteorite Iron, began to soften rapidly the moment it was tossed into the furnace.
Impurities turned to wisps of smoke and drifted away.
That was the domineering power of a Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment cultivator's spiritual flame!
Zhang Chen sat cross-legged and spread out his Spiritual Sense.
He was about to do something utterly insane—control the flames to forge a Magic Artifact while dividing his attention to hone the God Shaking Technique through the extremely precise work.
It was like dancing on a tightrope. The slightest slip could damage his Spiritual Sense or blow up the furnace and ruin the materials.
But Zhang Chen's eyes held nothing but fervor.
"Fuse!"
His Spiritual Sense transformed into countless invisible carving knives and burrowed into the flames.
Under the scorching heat, every wisp of his Spiritual Sense trembled. Yet Zhang Chen forced them under his control, stripping away every tiny impurity in the ore.
Pain!
The sensation of his soul being roasted over a fire drenched his robes with sweat in an instant.
But the pain brought its reward.
The Ore Liquid reached a purity that was nearly perfect.
"Not enough! Again!"
Zhang Chen bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of Essence Blood, forcing his mental strength higher.
As time passed, the temperature in the Earth Fire Chamber kept climbing. Zhang Chen looked as if he'd just been fished out of the water.
But in his Spiritual Sense, the mass of Ore Liquid was no longer lifeless. It was an embryo brimming with life.
He could "see" the arrangement of every tiny particle inside.
He could shape it into whatever form he pleased.
"Take shape!"
At Zhang Chen's thunderous shout, the flames suddenly contracted.
A Flying Sword, three feet long and shimmering with a dark-purple glow,
slowly took shape in the flames.
"Carve the arrays!"
This was the most perilous step.
Zhang Chen's Spiritual Sense darted across the still-hot blade like a butterfly weaving through flowers.
Thunder patterns, wind patterns, Spirit-Gathering patterns...
One intricate Tier 2 Top-Grade Array Pattern after another
was forcefully imprinted inside the blade within just a few breaths.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—
The blade trembled and rang with clear, crisp sword cries, as though it were resisting—and as though it were cheering.
"Done!"
Zhang Chen slammed a palm against the furnace.
Clang—!
A streak of purple light shot into the sky and slammed into the protective array at the top of the Artifact Forging Room.
Ripples spread in layer upon layer.
The Flying Sword hovered in midair, tiny lightning serpents winding across its blade. Its razor-sharp aura
was so keen that, from a distance, it sliced off a strand of Zhang Chen's falling hair.
Zhang Chen beckoned, and the Flying Sword obediently settled into his palm.
Nine thunder patterns ran naturally along the spine of the blade.
Its edge gleamed coldly, radiating a bloodthirsty aura that made the heart tremble.
"Tier 2 Top-Grade, Thunderclap Sword."
Zhang Chen lightly plucked the blade and listened to its pleasant ring, his face lighting up with satisfaction. "The blueprint from the system really is top-notch!"
"With this quality, even the protective spiritual light of a Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator could be pierced with one strike!"
Of course, quality wasn't all these Magic Artifacts had to offer. They could also build up power and unleash a Thunder Fire Art of tremendous might!
Even a Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator would be left half-dead after taking a hit like that!
They were proper killing weapons!
His first success filled Zhang Chen with confidence.
But he wasn't satisfied with that.
With a ten-person team battle coming, fighting alone was the inferior strategy.
The real trump card was teamwork.
"What I'm forging isn't just a set of Top-grade Magic Artifacts. It's a whole formation!"
A special blueprint from the Hundred Refinements Divine Machine Diagram came to mind: the Seven Stars Thunder Fire Armor and the Mother Child Chain Blades.
They weren't merely defensive and offensive Magic Artifacts. Etched into them were miniature Teleportation Array Patterns that resonated with one another.
Once all ten people wore them, they could share Spiritual Power and coordinate offense and defense as one.
They could even gather the strength of all ten in an instant and unleash a Combined Attack Ultimate Skill comparable to a Golden Core strike!
Before you continue