Chapter 286 — The Demolition Boy

. " The two women teased and bantered with Sect Master Shen for a while, then went to rummage through the collapsed temple for useful things. After a moment, Ling Yuxiu came over carrying two great pillars on her shoulder and set them before Shen Mu. These two pillars likely weighed tens of thousands of catties, yet she had hoisted them up by sheer strength. Si Yunxiang praised her, "Truly, a plump person has strength.

I am no match for Princess Xiu—I am frail and delicate.

" Ling Yuxiu was driven mad with frustration, wanting to pin this Holy Maiden of the Nether Demon Cult to the ground and give her a sound beating, but with Shen Mu nearby it was not convenient to act. She gritted her teeth and smiled, "Yes, the Holy Maiden Xiang is indeed frail and delicate—far too thin. There isn't even two ounces of flesh on her chest.

" Si Yunxiang was indignant, her gaze unfriendly.

"I am still young and still growing. And what use is being large? When one grows old, won't it sag anyway?

" The two women exchanged a glance, then looked away. "Great Sect Master, do you think these two pillars can be used to forge yuan weapons?

" Ling Yuxiu asked softly.

Shen Mu was examining the other jade eye, trying to understand the mystery of how the two jade eyes operated, and had no idea what they were arguing about.

"This metal is rather rare. It seems to be mixed with other metals—several metals blended together.

Its texture and flexibility are both far superior to dark iron cold crystal! " Shen Mu examined the two pillars and was rather surprised.

The divine-power wielders of the Kingdom of Jingping, when forging yuan weapons, invariably sought purity; yet these two pillars did not seek purity at all. By mixing other metals into the dark copper, they had greatly enhanced both strength and flexibility! "Can you forge the Nine Dragons weapon I need?

" Ling Yuxiu asked hastily.

"Yes!

" Shen Mu was full of confidence.

"My blacksmithing skills are very good, truly! " He activated the formation array of the sun jade eye and melted down one of the copper pillars. First he forged a great hammer, then had Ling Yuxiu release the form of her yuan weapon and demonstrate all the transformations of the Nine Dragons weapon.

He pondered for a long while, took out paper and brush to draw a blueprint, and then began to forge.

Two days later, Shen Mu finally finished forging the Nine Dragons weapon: nine dragons that could be linked together to form a great hammer, or separated with their tails still joined to become the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Shroud. The dragon bodies he forged to be soft and pliable, and during the forging he had infused them with the Creation Spirit Art, allowing them to undergo many transformations.

For instance, though the nine dragons were cast of metal, within each dragon body were over nine hundred bones, enabling them to swim through the air. Each dragon scale could also detach from the dragon body as an independent entity—exceedingly sharp—and could be recalled as well. Besides the scales, the dragon claws were like hooks, exceptionally sharp; the dragon teeth were like blades; and the two dragon whiskers were golden chains linked segment by segment, yet very soft, capable of binding and seizing others. When the nine dragons merged, they became a single Nine Dragons Golden Wall, the scales combining into a mirror surface, with nine protruding dragon heads behind the mirror. Even though Si Yunxiang and Ling Yuxiu had little attainment in forging, they could see that the Nine Dragons weapon Shen Mu had forged was indeed extraordinary, displaying very high craftsmanship.

This set of Nine Dragons weapon should suit Ling Yuxiu very well. Ling Yuxiu excitedly transformed her yuan qi into runes and branded them onto the Nine Dragons weapon, nourishing it with her yuan qi.

After a brief ritual refinement, she felt that it handled very smoothly and could transform into whatever form she desired at any time. "Not bad, not bad!

" Ling Yuxiu praised him endlessly. "Oxherd, your craftsmanship is not bad—only a tiny bit inferior to the Vice Minister of Works. " Si Yunxiang was exceedingly envious.

She manifested the form of her own yuan weapon, a single silk thread undergoing a thousand transformations, and said, "What is the meaning of hundred-refined steel turned into softness that winds around the finger? To forge a yuan weapon to the degree of softness that winds around the finger is not merely a matter of simple blacksmithing. Sect Master, my yuan weapon is called Thousand Threads—it is both sword and dharma, modeled upon the scriptures of my Heavenly Holy Cult's Great Nurturing Nether Demon Sutra.

Can you forge metal to be as soft as a silk thread?

" Shen Mu studied the form of her yuan weapon and frowned. "To forge such a slender sword, fine as silkworm silk, and moreover to brand spell seals upon it—that is difficult.

I have learned how, but I have never actually forged one. Let me try! " Si Yunxiang's Thousand Threads yuan weapon was far more troublesome than Ling Yuxiu's Nine Dragons weapon, requiring greater delicacy. The metal had to be hammered to the utmost softness, then stretched out to forge a metal film many times thinner than silkworm silk. The thickness of silkworm silk was one si, and beyond si there were yet finer measures: hu, wei, xian, sha, chen, ai, miao, mo, and so on. Shen Mu could only roll the metal film out to the thickness of chen—the measure of dust—and could not achieve anything finer.

At this thickness, even more exquisite branding was required. Shen Mu and Si Yunxiang both cultivated the Great Nurturing Nether Demon Sutra, and the two of them joined forces to brand the runes. After untold hardships they finally branded the rune seals onto the metal film; during the process the film tore several times, and they had to reforge it.

Afterward, Shen Mu folded the metal film, hammered and refined it a thousand times, stretched it out again, and re-branded the rune seals. This was repeated again and again, and at last the Thousand Threads yuan weapon was forged. Si Yunxiang's mind stirred slightly, and the Thousand Threads yuan weapon transformed into a silk ribbon tied at her waist. The water in this undersea world was gradually deepening; they could not remain long. Shen Mu immediately transformed his yuan qi into yuan qi threads, gathering the two jade eyes and those jade stars into a yuan qi net, and said, "Let us go up.

" The three of them hurried toward the great cauldron.

Si Yunxiang came to the cauldron's side, her gaze flickering, and tried to lift the great cauldron and carry it away. But the cauldron was inconceivably heavy; no matter how she exerted her full strength, it did not budge in the slightest. "Your chest is small, so you have no strength," Ling Yuxiu said with a grin. "Then you with the big chest, you try!

" Si Yunxiang retorted angrily. Ling Yuxiu stepped forward, but unexpectedly the cauldron was truly too heavy—she could not lift it either, and could not help but blush slightly.

Shen Mu shook his head.

"This cauldron has spewed out so much spirit water, and the spirit water was lifted to a height of over one thousand six hundred zhang.

The weight of the water ejected from the cauldron likely rivals a mountain. And that is to say nothing of the cauldron's own weight.

This object is absolutely a divine artifact—you had best not entertain any ideas about it. " The two women inwardly sighed in regret and followed Shen Mu upward. After a long while, they finally surfaced.

Ling Yuxiu laughed, "This time we did get a few treasures—the journey was not in vain.

.

.

" "How many treasures did the Princess get? What treasures are they? " A voice came from the edge of the pool. The three of them quickly looked, and saw Long Jiaonan sitting atop the head of a giant red serpent, whose immense body had coiled a full circle around the pool.