Precious Treasure

"This secret script can't merge? Hmm, let me add another one to balance it out..."

"This one's actually interesting—its properties change entirely when combined. Let me test if the others do the same..."

"These few are tricky. Add one, and it reverses everything..."

Inside the base, amidst a mountain of scrap that included not only metal but also wood shavings and even weeds, Chen Qing sat before the pile of waste, holding an ordinary stone in his hand like a carving researcher, carefully tracing patterns on it with his fingers.

Lines of secret script gently landed on the stone and vanished without a trace. Moments later, the stone crumbled into a heap of yellow powder.

This situation had persisted for over a hundred years. After the last breakthrough, Palace Master Biluo had granted another two-month leave without Chen Qing even needing to ask.

Everyone seemed to have formed a strange tacit understanding, which made Chen Qing feel a bit odd.

Now that Chen Qing was focused on artifact refining, Palace Master Biluo said nothing, and Original Ancestor hadn't appeared in a long time.

He had to admit, the secret script was truly miraculous—its complexity was no less than that of fusion laws.

No wonder no one wanted to offend Mountain Sitting Guest. Not only was he skilled at refining treasures, but his methods were also mysteriously profound.

With these ever-changing combinations producing bizarre and unpredictable effects, it was impossible to discern the cause without a proper inheritance. No wonder it was so mysterious.

"Now that I've mostly figured out the combinations of various secret scripts, I didn't expect to gain quite a bit of insight into the fifth layer as well."

The cultivation methods for the fourth, fifth, and sixth layers were largely similar—all required comprehending secret patterns.

The fifth layer was probably even more complex than a Universe Lord's fifth-tier secret technique, let alone the sixth layer.

Even with guidance, the time required would be immense. But from now on, I can leave that to Green Lotus.

I need to prevent the secret realm from emerging. With less than a thousand years left, I'll secure the supreme treasure first.

Chen Qing had basically finished studying the theoretical knowledge of artifact refining and had simulated it many times in the Virtual Universe.

Generally speaking, refining a heavy treasure involved two major difficulties.

The first was refining the materials, and the second was inscribing and solidifying the secret script—both required powerful cultivation to support.

But now things were different. The materials didn't need to be top-tier. There were plenty on E-class starships; just dismantle one and remodel it into a model—simple enough.

Inscribing secret scripts on E-class metal required World Power, which was basically sufficient. It only needed a certain level of soul strength, and none of that was a problem for Chen Qing.

On top of that, the abundant source energy here, guided by the Creation Secret Script, made solidification easy.

"Success or failure hinges on this one move!"

Looking at the black armor before him, this was the result of Chen Qing's repeated designs over the past century.

It used the sturdiness of metal and earth as its main body, mixed with water-attribute secret scripts to cushion impacts.

Space and soul secret scripts served as nodes, and finally, the Creation Secret Script was embedded as the soul to unite everything into one.

Though most of it was made from E-class starship materials, it had still taken Chen Qing several years to forge—three pieces in total.

After forging the model, Chen Qing used his soul as a guide and his World Lord power as a blade, inscribing the secret scripts bit by bit, gradually guiding and transforming them.

Now came the final step: all the secret scripts would merge into a whole. What came next depended on how far it could grow.

"Merge!"

With a loud shout from Chen Qing, the secret scripts on the armor fused together, appearing flawless, and began to emit a cyan glow.

"Boom..."

The surrounding source energy churned like boiling water, continuously surging into the armor, quickly forming a cocoon of energy.

"What's going on!"

Jiang Fang and Yao Rao were both startled awake by the momentum and burst into Chen Qing's workshop, staring at the glowing mass as they asked.

"It worked!"

Feeling the armor's steadily rising power, Chen Qing couldn't suppress his excitement. He scooped up both women, ready to start a celebration.

"Stop, teacher..."

In the Virtual Universe, Original Ancestor had rare time out for some fresh air. The five of them gathered together, but the two women stood with their heads lowered behind Palace Master Biluo.

Clearly, they had been caught by Palace Master Biluo again. After several times, the Palace Master had probably grown used to it, sitting there serenely, too lazy to even lift an eyelid.

"You brat, you're rarely this excited. What did you gain this time?"

In the end, it was Original Ancestor who broke the awkward silence. After all, that was just Biluo's temperament—the fact that she was sitting here at all was already good enough.

"Something good!"

Chen Qing's grin nearly split his face. With the Primal Universe's help, the armor had been nurtured quickly. More importantly, he had gained a lot from the fifth layer of Creation.

"The armor's toughness exceeds G-class metal. Even an ordinary Venerable would struggle to damage it.

With just a hundred times the peak power of a World Lord, you can activate the secret patterns.

No matter the attack—even a soul attack—as long as it doesn't exceed the limit, it can absorb ninety percent of the force."

After hearing Chen Qing's introduction, the others fell silent instead—good grief, had they heard that right? An E-grade metal could produce such an oddity?

Original Ancestor slowly took a sip of tea, still somewhat unconvinced.

"You've already started forging a heavy treasure?"

"Look at what you're saying, it's just the Primal Universe lending a hand. If we left the Origin Land, processing materials would be a huge headache."

Across from them, Jiang Fang and the other woman rolled their eyes at Chen Qing, feeling like someone was showing off.

"You really are the Primal Universe's favored son! It even helps you nurture this, saving you the trouble of finding materials!"

Hearing Original Ancestor's sour tone, Chen Qing chuckled.

What he didn't know was that the Primal Universe was even happier—ever since Chen Qing started his experiments, she had been constantly absorbing new Daos.

"What's the plan for training next?"

A cool, clear voice rang out, startling Chen Qing. It wasn't until he met Biluo's silver gaze that he snapped back to reality.

"Next, I'll forge a few sets of equipment, then it'll be time for training."

Chen Qing answered obediently. Though he enjoyed playing little games with his wives, he was still very grateful to Biluo.

"Jiang Fang and Yao Rao's cultivation still falls a bit short."

Biluo's voice was calm, but her meaning was clear.

Now that they had been in the secret realm for nearly a thousand years, there was no rush—once both women had fully analyzed their essences, they could verify the results. But she was also reminding Chen Qing that with such a good environment, he shouldn't keep his mind on trivial matters.

Original Ancestor sipped his tea indifferently. In his view, these were harmless matters, but it was good that Biluo cared so deeply for her disciple.

Chen Qing gave an awkward laugh, pretending not to understand, and replied very honestly, "No worries, we have plenty of time."

Palace Master Biluo calmly glanced at Chen Qing, confirming he understood her meaning, and said nothing more.

After all, she wasn't speaking only for him to hear—she trusted the other two would grasp it as well.

Chen Qing had no objections either. His laws would take time to acknowledge, and forging things would also take time.

The armor had a ready-made template. Since one successful case existed, the rest would be much simpler.

But the weapons required more thought. Sister Fang had water and space attributes and had trained with a blade for years. The outer form could stay the same, but the inner rune arrangements would need repeated verification.

Yao Rao was different. Due to the unique nature of lightning, Palace Master Biluo had long suggested she switch to swordsmanship, and the runes would need verification as well.

As for Chen Qing himself, with his messy mix of everything, it would probably take even more time.