After the Demonic Hand Divine Lord was defeated and the Netherworld Sect's branch in the Scarlet Fire Chaos Prefecture was severely damaged, it completely disappeared.
Even the city lord of Qin Chuan, despite his best efforts to investigate, could not find the location of the other party's lair.
In recent days, the Great Sage Scarlet Fire has sent some Eternal True God to provide support. City Lord Qin Chuan led these Eternal True God to reclaim lost territory city by city, almost taking back all the parts of Scarlet Fire Chaos Prefecture had been lost. However, the Netherworld Sect still did not make any response.
Unable to locate the enemy's lair, Lu Qingshan and Fire Saint had no choice but to continue waiting in Lihuo City.
They know.
The Netherworld Sect will not give up so easily.
The Demonic Hand Divine Lord was merely an inner disciple; losing one inner disciple was nothing to the Netherworld Sect.
The quieter they are, the stronger the storm that is about to break; it's just that the day hasn't come yet.
And so, two decades have passed in a flash.
Nanyun City, Xia Family Residence.
Xia Mingyue stood before the weapon-refining platform, her divine power flowing slowly. A gray Blade Embryo floated before her, its surface smooth as a mirror and its internal structure extremely stable and solid. Even by Lu Qingshan's standards, it had already reached the level of Eternal True God Level weapon embryo.
"Good!"
Seeing the embryo taking shape, Xia Mingyue breathed a sigh of relief, a smile flashing in her eyes.
But she also knew that this was just the beginning.
After resting for a while, she took out a transparent crystal, inside which was sealed a complete primordial rune, like a river sleeping within it.
Fusion!!
She pressed the transparent crystal close to the embryo, and under the guidance of divine power, the river inside the crystal turned into a liquid, slowly seeping into the interior of the Blade Embryo. The dormant river seemed to be awakened, perfectly fitting into the interior of the embryo, transforming into an exquisite primordial rune.
After that, the aura of this gray War Blade began to rise, and it quickly broke through a certain critical point, reaching the level of an eternal divine weapon.
"Success!"
Xia Mingyue looked at the War Blade in her hand, a smile appearing in her eyes.
This wasn't her first success, but it was her most successful one, and the quality was far superior to the bone spear she had forged initially.
Although he still couldn't match his grandfather's weapon-forging skills, he was comparable to most of the Eternal True God weapon-forging masters.
However, Xia Mingyue also knew that this was not entirely her achievement, nor could she say that she could independently forge an eternal divine weapon. The main reason was the sealed Origin Mark, which her teacher had prepared for her. Without this, she would not have been able to forge an eternal divine weapon with her current abilities.
However, the Six Lineages Grand Competition does not prohibit the use of external objects. If she were to forge an Eternal Divine Weapon with the strength of Void True God in this competition, it would surely shock the entire Divine Weapon Pavilion.
Of course, what Xia Mingyue was most looking forward to was her teacher.
Long ago, following her father's instructions, she subtly inquired with her teacher whether she could represent the Xia Family in the Eternal True God Level weapon-refining competition, and her teacher readily agreed.
Over these two decades, Xia Mingyue realized just how skilled her teacher was at weapon crafting; even her grandfather probably couldn't compare.
If the teacher is willing to help, the Xia Family lineage will most likely be able to win first place in this competition.
Just then, Xia Mingyue sensed a message from the Communication Token and stepped out of her cave.
"Father."
Xia Yuanshan was standing outside the door. Seeing his daughter come out, he immediately said, "The Sect Master has ordered all six sects to proceed to Divine Weapon Mountain immediately. The Six Lineages Grand Competition is about to begin."
"So fast!"
Xia Mingyue was slightly taken aback.
"Isn't there still a few hundred days left?"
Xia Yuanshan said, "I've inquired about it. It seems that a distinguished guest has arrived at the Divine Weapon Pavilion, and in order not to keep this guest waiting too long, the event was moved up by several hundred days. Of course, it's also possible that the Yao Family pushed something. After all, the Six Lineages Grand Competition was already announced several decades in advance, so moving it up by a hundred days wouldn't have a significant impact."
"It's alright, I'm ready."
Xia Mingyue said confidently.
Even in a mere hundred days, she couldn't create another embryo for an eternal divine weapon; her current state was just right.
"What about Divine Lord Fang Yuan?"
This is what Xia Yuanshan is worried about.
They had already set a date, but now it's been moved up. I wonder if Divine Lord Fang Yuan can spare the time.
"I've already spoken to the teacher, and he said he'll go directly to Divine Weapon Mountain. These past few days, in preparation for the Six Lineages Grand Competition, the teacher hasn't been in seclusion to cultivate," Xia Mingyue said.
" Divine Lord Fang Yuan has shown the Xia Family an immeasurable kindness!"
Xia Yuanshan said, moved.
Xia Mingyue nodded slightly.
Both father and daughter were well aware of how much Divine Lord Fang Yuan had helped their Xia Family. If Divine Lord Fang Yuan hadn't been willing to join their Xia Family lineage, let alone participate in the Six Lineages Grand Competition and achieve such excellent results, their Xia Family lineage might not even exist now.
"Father, let's go first and call Xia Dong along."
Xia Mingyue spoke slowly.
Xia Dong is the most outstanding True God weapon refiner in the Xia Family lineage, and will also represent the Xia Family in the True God Level competition.
However, the contests between True God and Void True God Level are actually not that important. The main event is the contest between Eternal True God Level, which accounts for 70% of the score.
Xia Yuanshan nodded and said, "I've already spoken to him. We'll go now."
Divine Weapon Mountain is located on the east side of Nanyun City. It is the ancestral land of the six branches of the Divine Weapon Pavilion and the highest point in Nanyun City. The mountain peak appears dark.
The building is red, with majestic palaces standing on it, surrounded by many side halls. These are the residences of the Six Families.
Divine Weapon Mountain is not usually crowded. Only during the Six Lineages Grand Competition, which takes place once every hundred epochs, does it gather countless powerful individuals. When Xia Mingyue and Xia Yuanshan's group arrived, there were already quite a few people there.
Some were weapon refiners of the Six Meridians, some were from various forces in Nanyun City, and some were from other cities. They were basically all high-quality clients of the Divine Weapon Pavilion. Only high-quality clients of the Divine Weapon Pavilion would receive an invitation to attend the ceremony.
When Xia Mingyue and her group arrived, some people began to whisper among themselves.
" The Xia Family has arrived."
"I heard that Master Xia Yeheng, the Eternal True God Refining Master of the Xia Family, has not yet returned. This time, the Xia Family is likely to come in last place."
"He didn't even return for the Six Lineages Grand Competition. Could something have happened to Master Xia Yeheng?"
"I don't know, but I'm afraid it's mostly bad news. It seems the Xia Family even hired a guest minister of the Eternal True God."
"I know, that famous True God Fang Yuan from Nanyun City. I heard he doesn't like cultivation, only enjoys himself, and often takes his servants to the Wondrous Sound Pavilion, where he's very generous—"
"I guess he just broke through to the Eternal True God, so he's indulging in pleasure. I was the same way when I broke through to the Void True God."
"I heard his rating at the Yanfeng Guild Hall is only below Grade B."
"I don't know. Information about the Eternal True God is very expensive; I can't afford it."
"I heard it from my father."
Although Xia Mingyue couldn't hear their conversation, she could tell from their gazes that they were discussing something. However, two decades ago, she might have felt uneasy, but now, she felt very at peace.
This time, they're not here to be at the bottom; they're here to make a name for themselves!
On the huge platform, there were six exquisite weapon-refining tables. Xia Mingyue stepped through the crowd and came to the back of one of the weapon-refining tables. This was the seat reserved for the Xia Family.
Next to the Xia Family's seats were the Yao Family's seats.
Yao Qi, the Divine Lord, was also there. He glanced in the direction of the Xia Family members, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Beside him stood a composed weapon-refining master, also at the Eternal True God Level, though his aura was far stronger than Yao Qi's.
"The Xia Family really got incredibly lucky to find an Eternal True God as a guest advisor; otherwise, they would have been swallowed up by our Yao Family long ago, and they wouldn't be where they are today—"
Yao Qi smiled outwardly, but sent a vicious message.
" Xia Mingyue has good talent, so it's not surprising that he was able to find an Eternal True God as his backer. However, in this Six Lineages Grand Competition, their Xia Family has little hope."
"That's inevitable. At the Void True God level, Xia Mingyue is there to support them. At the True God level, that little guy from the Xia Family is just average and not worth mentioning. With no Eternal True God, they're undoubtedly at the bottom."
"Without Eternal True God Weapon Refining Master, Xia Mingyue's performance is meaningless, no matter how well she does. Could she possibly forge an Eternal Divine Weapon?"
"That's impossible—if she had such abilities, she would have already broken through to the Eternal True God Level."
Before long, all the members of the Six Families had arrived, and Lu Qingshan also came to the Xia Family's seats.
However, since all the members of the Xia Family were here, it was quite normal for Lu Qingshan, a guest elder, to be here as well; no one would have expected him to participate.
The guests who were there to watch the competition gradually arrived and filled all the seats around Divine Weapon Mountain.
Once everyone had gathered, the Pavilion Master of the Divine Weapon Pavilion slowly rose from the high platform. He appeared quite Old, yet his eyes were exceptionally sharp. His gaze swept over the crowd before he spoke, "Welcome, esteemed guests, to Divine Weapon Mountain. I now declare the Divine Weapon Pavilion's once-in-a-century Six Lineages Grand Competition to begin."
He paused for a moment, then continued.
"As in previous years, the materials for this competition will be provided by the Divine Weapon Pavilion, allowing the Six Meridians Weapon Forging Masters to freely express their talents."
Three divine weapons were forged in total. Their value was then comprehensively evaluated to determine their final ranking. The three eternal divine weapons created today will be auctioned after the competition. Now, please welcome the weapon-forging masters at the Six Meridians True God Level to the stage.
The Xia Family's seats.
A young man with a youthful appearance stood up; he was Xia Dong, the representative of the Xia Family at the True God Level.
" Little Dong, don't feel pressured, just do your best."
Xia Mingyue spoke.
"Don't worry, Sister Mingyue, I will definitely perform well and won't bring shame to our Xia Family."
"Yes, just do your best."
Xia Mingyue nodded.
The other five weapon refiners also stood up and came to the front of the weapon refining platform.
Because time was limited, they wasted no time and immediately selected materials to begin refining the weapon.
The crafting of artifacts at the True God Level is not very visually appealing; it's just an appetizer.
The powerful figures watching the ceremony were all very relaxed, judging the actions of each weapon refiner.
"That one from the Yao Family is truly remarkable; he has already successfully created the embryo. The Yao Family truly lives up to its reputation of having two Eternal True God weapon refiners."
The family has raised a very good new generation.
"Speed isn't everything; ultimately, quality matters. Look at the Xia Family; they chose cloud silver ore, which is quite difficult to forge into True God's weapon."
" The Xia Family is probably anxious. With Master Xia Yeheng absent, they want to perform well in the competition between True God and Void True God. However, they're destined to come in last place."
"I'm really looking forward to Xia Mingyue's weapon crafting. I heard that a hundred epochs ago, she was a True God Level weapon crafter who participated in the Six Lineages Grand Competition and won first place at the True God level. This time, she'll probably participate in place of her father."
"That's most likely the case. Xia Yuanshan ranked fifth last time, which was a mediocre result, so I'm afraid he won't continue."
As everyone discussed it, one after another, weapons of True God Level were forged.
The Divine Weapon Pavilion had allocated ample time, and everyone finished ahead of schedule.
Next comes the judging process.
The six divine weapons of True God Level were all sent to the judging panel. The judges were the Pavilion Master of the Divine Weapon Pavilion, the Pavilion Elder who did not belong to the Six Meridians, and the client representatives of the Divine Weapon Pavilion, all of whom had a deep understanding of weapon crafting.
Before them, the True God Level divine weapons, whether good or bad, were laid bare.
Each judge gave their score and evaluation.
Finally, the Divine Weapon Pavilion gathered everyone's scores and made the final ranking.
" The Yao Family, Yao Shengxin, created the most outstanding and powerful True God Weapon, scoring 9.4 points, making it number one."
" The Meng Family scores 8.8, placing them second."
" Xia Family scores 7.9, third place----"
The weapons at the True God Level have a weighting of 10 points. The final score is the average of all the judges' scores, and the highest and lowest scores are removed, which is considered relatively fair.
After the True God Level competition, the next competition will be the Void True God Level competition.
Xia Mingyue glanced at her teacher before slowly getting up and walking towards the weapon-refining platform.
The weapon refiners from the other five factions also took to the stage.
Compared to the competition at the True God Level, the competition at the Void True God Level has a certain level of prestige.
The audience's attention was also much more focused.
"As expected, Xia Mingyue is the representative of the Xia Family."
As a renowned genius of the Divine Weapon Pavilion, Xia Mingyue attracted a lot of attention as soon as she appeared.
"The Xia Family Xia Family ranked third in the last competition, and since they don't have any weapon refiners at the Eternal True God Level participating, the outcome is already predetermined."
It's likely that Xia Mingyue wants to fight for first place.
"The first one is somewhat difficult. Last time in the Six Meridians Competition, Xia Mingyue was only representing True God."
"Just wait and see, the answer will be revealed soon."
After the competition began, all six weapon refiners started selecting materials.
Xia Mingyue also chose the type of ore she had been using most recently.
" Star-Patterned Black Crystal!"
"The ore Xia Mingyue chose was actually Star-Patterned Black Crystal— "
The spectators watching the competition were all astonished. They knew that Star-Patterned Black Crystal was the most common material for forging Eternal Divine Weapons. Although it could also assist in forging Void True God Divine Weapons, it only required a small amount of material. Xia Mingyue, however, did not bring any other materials.
"She's going to use Star-Patterned Black Crystal to forge a divine weapon embryo? Isn't she afraid that the resulting weapon won't be of sufficient quality?"
It's not that the better the materials, the better the weapon. The quality of a weapon depends on the combination of the embryo and the secret runes. Without powerful secret runes, even the best embryo won't be able to unleash its full potential, and will only increase consumption without any benefit.
Moreover, the higher the grade of the ore, the more difficult it is to process, and the harder it is to obtain a perfect evaluation.
Upon the Yao Family this, Yao Qi scoffed.
In his view, Xia Mingyue was also anxious and wanted to prove herself, which is why she made such a foolish choice.
Unless she can forge an eternal divine weapon, choosing this Star-Patterned Black Crystal as a material is destined to be a failed choice.
Xia Mingyue's choice has drawn a lot of attention, as everyone wants to see what this genius is up to.
However, whether they were genuinely interested or just looking for a laugh, they were quickly impressed by Xia Mingyue's weapon-refining skills.
Her weapon-forging method was fluid and graceful, almost like art. In less than a hundred days, she had crafted a War Blade as smooth as a mirror.
Although it is an embryo, everyone knows that the quality of this embryo will inevitably reach the level of Eternal True God's weapon.
The Void True God forged a divine weapon embryo at the Eternal True God Level, which already makes him half Eternal True God weapon-forging master. After all, all it takes is for a true Eternal True God weapon-forging master to imprint the primordial secret runes into it, and it becomes an Eternal Divine Weapon.
I thought that was the end of it.
The fact that they were able to create an embryo of an eternal divine weapon has indeed proven the Xia Family's capabilities.
Just when everyone thought Xia Mingyue would imprint the secret runes of the Void True God's Supreme Treasure into it, they saw her pick up a transparent crystal.
A moment later.
This dark-colored War Blade surged with power, unleashing the oppressive might of an eternal divine weapon.
At this moment, the entire square fell silent.