Artifact forging

Rhodes sensed the changes brought by becoming a god, manipulating his divine power into ever-changing forms. Now and then, he turned into animals he had seen in his previous life or other things; at other times, he casually switched the clothes on his body, cycling through tracksuits, beach shorts, and shorts before finally returning to his original robe.

Only after he had finally had his fill of playing did Rhodes remember that he had already become a god. He wondered whether the system had changed or gained any other functions.

This system of mine keeps a pretty low profile. I almost forgot about it, Rhodes thought.

"System," Rhodes called softly.

Host: Rhodes (Wind-Thunder Divine Roc)

Cultivation level: Lowgod

Willpower: 50%

Innate Divine Ability: Heaven and Earth Extreme Speed, (???)

Profound Mysteries of the Laws: Lightning Element Profound Truth

Hmm, the system panel has changed. It displays my innate divine ability, and it also shows that I truly stand at the very pinnacle among Lowgods. Not bad. Although I don't have the ridiculously awesome talent or omnipotent systems of those transmigrators who came before me, at least mine doesn't have system missions. Otherwise, if it were nothing but "fail and be erased, fail and be erased" every day, that would be far too miserable in the Coiling Dragon World, where even a Saint-level could live forever.

It even displays the profound mysteries I've comprehended. The system is pretty considerate!

After sorting through all the information the system displayed, Rhodes began planning his next steps in cultivation. He would definitely leave Heavenly Thunder Mountain, but before that, he had to make all the necessary preparations. He needed to forge an Interspatial Ring and divine artifacts.

Although the Law of Space could not be cultivated in a Subordinate Universe, Deities could casually forge Interspatial Rings. The original story made that clear: every Deity had an Interspatial Ring, and forging one was practically instinctive, let alone for Rhodes, who was now a Deity himself.

Preparing to forge divine artifacts, Rhodes looked over the resources he had collected earlier, first selected materials suitable for an Interspatial Ring, and began forging an artifact for the first time in his life. (Everyone, just assume that becoming a Deity grants an understanding of how to forge Interspatial Rings and divine artifacts. I really can't remember where the original story described how Interspatial Rings were forged. There was still artifact forging on the Yulan Continent, but after the story reached the Infernal Realm, it was never mentioned again. Just assume everyone in the Coiling Dragon World can forge their own divine artifacts!)

As time passed, Rhodes finished forging the Interspatial Ring first. He immediately bound it with a drop of blood, then waved his hand and put away all the materials he had collected earlier.

"Now this is what a fantasy world should be like!" Rhodes exclaimed, looking at the Interspatial Ring on his finger.

With a turn of his hand, the crystal he had found earlier, which he suspected was a Heaven and Earth Wonder and which was wreathed in the Lightning Law, appeared in Rhodes's palm. His divine power swiftly poured into it. As he continued channeling divine power into it, he finally refined it. It was indeed a Lightning Element wonder, a divine treasure that could aid cultivation of the Lightning Law. Simply by continually studying it with his divine sense, he could continue comprehending the Lightning Law and fusing its profound mysteries.

This object had also been nurtured by the peculiar terrain of Heavenly Thunder Mountain when heaven and earth first opened. With it, his attainments in the Lightning Law could be said to be guaranteed to reach at least the Asura level; even becoming a Paragon was not impossible. If he could truly comprehend this object completely in the end and become as perfectly seamless as the Lightning Law upon the crystal, that would be the day Rhodes became a Paragon.

After all, in the later stages of cultivating the laws, each additional profound mystery fused brought a hundredfold, thousandfold, or ten-thousandfold increase in strength, to say nothing of the fiftyfold increase in overall strength provided by his fifty-percent Willpower.

"The most important thing now is to forge a weapon that feels right in my hands." Rhodes had long since planned what kind of divine artifact he would forge: a longsword. With his innate divine ability, Heaven and Earth Extreme Speed, along with the profound mysteries of material attacks and the Soul Attack Profound Mystery contained within the Lightning Element, once he created an ultimate move suited to himself, vast though the present Infernal Realm was, wouldn't he be free to roam it as he pleased?

With a wave of his hand, several pieces of ore containing purple lightning appeared before Rhodes. He had discovered these when he first entered the pillar of lightning that connected heaven and earth. Having been steeped in thunder for who knew how many years, they were the most suitable materials for forging a divine artifact for his Lightning Divine Clone. As for a weapon for after he became a god in the Wind Element, Rhodes already had a general idea.

As his divine power continuously refined the purple ore, it gradually became a pool of purple liquid containing lightning, as though lightning concentrated to the utmost were flowing.

Time flew by. The ore turned into liquid lightning, then transformed again into a solid, sword-shaped weapon, finally taking its finished form.

Rhodes named the sword "Calamity Breaker," meaning, "All calamities shall be broken by this sword. There is nothing it cannot break, no one it cannot break."

The sword's base color was purple, accented with gold ornamentation. With its lotus-shaped guard, the purple sword resembled a lotus in bloom, incomparably sacred.

"From now on, you'll accompany me as I venture through this world. Let's leave legends of us in this Infernal Realm!"

As Rhodes spoke, he gently stroked the divine sword he had forged with his own hands.

The divine sword flickered faintly with purple light as though it possessed a spirit, leaving Rhodes immensely satisfied. Whether in material or appearance, he was utterly pleased with his first divine artifact. Indeed, the more he looked at it, the more pleased he became. With a wave of his hand, he drew the divine artifact into his body to nurture it with Lowgod power, so that it could become a Lowgod artifact as soon as possible.

Rhodes looked at his original body, which was still comprehending the Laws of Wind with its eyes closed. After finishing the Interspatial Ring, he had released his original body to let it continue comprehending the Laws of Wind. If his original body became a god while his Lightning Divine Clone was forging a divine artifact, wouldn't that waste his materials and time?

The two were one, and Rhodes knew that his Wind Divine Clone would soon come into being. After all, possessing the innate ability Heaven and Earth Extreme Speed made comprehending the Wind Element's Profound Mystery of Speed relatively easy. It was even easier at this time when heaven and earth had just opened and the laws were so abundant.

No longer paying attention to his original body's cultivation, Rhodes swept his divine sense over his "eggshell" inside the Interspatial Ring. "Perhaps I should forge some armor too. If my divine body is damaged in battle, restoring it will cost divine power."

"What kind of armor should I forge? Hardly anyone in the original story seemed to wear armor. How about a suit of inner armor? It would fit close to my body without affecting my fighting." Rhodes still felt that forging inner armor was the better choice. It could be concealed beneath his robe and normally nurtured inside his body, appearing at any time during battle to shield him from damage.

If his divine clone had the strength of his original body's divine body, he would not need any armor at all. The feathers covering his body were the strongest armor.

Time ticked away, second by second and minute by minute, as Rhodes forged his inner armor.

The Wind Element surrounding his original body grew increasingly dense, as though he might become a god in the next moment, yet also as though he would remain this way forever. Although he was a Divine Beast in such an environment, profound mysteries were still profound mysteries. Unlike his Lightning Element cultivation, his Wind Element cultivation had no Heaven and Earth Wonder to assist it, so taking a little longer was only natural.

Just look at that first group to become gods-was there a single ordinary figure among them? They were all future Sovereigns, figures who would stand at the very pinnacle of the Coiling Dragon Universe for countless billions of years. In their eyes, only those few fellow Edict Sovereigns of the same rank mattered. They thought nothing of the other Elemental Sovereigns.

Artifact forging was an extremely dull and tedious task, but Rhodes discovered that as he used lightning to melt the eggshell material, he seemed to be comprehending the Laws of Lightning as well.

Rhodes understood. Perhaps this was the assistance provided by the Heaven and Earth Wonder, the Thunder Crystal, in his Soul Space. "What a treasure! From now on, I might be able to study the Lightning Law at every moment." Rhodes smiled as he spoke to himself.

Time slowly passed as Rhodes forged artifacts and cultivated. He was filled with emotion. "No wonder the Sovereigns of the future need hundreds of thousands of years just to nurture a Sovereign Artifact. Time really isn't worth much in the Coiling Dragon World!"

"Humm~~"

That familiar sensation came again, and Rhodes turned to look at his original body, which had risen into the air once more.