Chapter 349

Wang Ping produced the Chaos Star Token; although the attendant on duty did not recognize his face, seeing the swirling Chaos Star and the silver pattern of highest authority on the token, he immediately grew solemn, bowed, and guided the way: "Instructor, please follow me."

Passing through the noisy outer hall and many public forging rooms, the deeper they went, the rarer the footprints became, yet the fire-element power in the spiritual air grew purer and more violent, while a faint trace of chaos aura began to mingle. Finally, they stopped before a heavy dark-gold metal door. The door was neither metal nor stone, cold to the touch, its surface etched with intricate array patterns, at its center a slowly rotating chaos vortex design.

"This is the No. 1 forging chamber of the Chaos Fire Eye," the attendant said respectfully. "The fire here is transformed and purified by the Chaos Return-to-Origin Array beneath the palace, already possessing a trace of Chaos True Fire nature; it is extremely hard to control, but it works wonders for tempering high-grade treasures, especially materials bearing the chaos attribute. Throughout history, only instructors who have grasped the chaos Dao and reached late Nascent Soul may apply to use it. Holding the Star Token, you may enter at any time."

Wang Ping nodded, pressing the token against the chaos vortex at the door's center. The vortex pattern flashed light, and the door slid open silently inward; a scorching breath laden with ancient chaos resonance rushed over him. The attendant bowed and withdrew.

The interior was not large, about ten zhang square; all four walls and floor were made of a dark-red "energy-absorbing star-pattern steel" capable of withstanding high temperature and energy impacts. The ceiling was inlaid with several "stabilizing spirit pearls" emitting a cool, tranquil halo to steady the refiner's mind. The core of the room was a circular hole about one zhang in diameter in the central floor.

Beneath the hole was not ordinary magma but a constantly rolling surge of gray-white flame. Though the flame seemed less fierce and bright than ordinary fire, it gave the feeling of being able to incinerate the essence of all things and return them to chaos. Within the flame, tiny chaos runes occasionally sparked and faded—these were the trace of Chaos True Fire nature generated by the array's transformation. This is the "Chaos Fire Eye."

Wang Ping entered the room; the door closed behind him, sealing inside from outside. He first stood quietly at the edge of the fire eye, sensing its unique flame rhythm, while adjusting his own state, focusing his mind to a state of empty clarity.

After a moment, he flicked his robe sleeve, and several items hovered before him.

First was the main body of the Heaven-Overturning Seal, eroded by the blood-sacrifice power of the Immortal Palace's Inverse Yuan Hall and then dimmed in spiritual light after successive battles. The seal's body was ancient and simple, with the patterns of mountains, rivers, and terrain still visible, but upon close inspection, a few tiny cracks and blurred dao markings could be seen.

Next was the heap of rare immortal materials obtained from the Immortal Palace's treasure vault. Wang Ping scanned them with his divine sense and precisely drew out several: a fist-sized lump of dark-gold metal naturally bearing star-like silver patterns—"Earth Star Pattern Iron"—this object was extremely heavy, containing earth essence and stellar magnetism, an ideal primary material for enhancing the Heaven-Overturning Seal's "suppress" and "weight" attributes; a section about a chi long, its color constantly shifting among green, yellow, red, white, and black, exuding rich five-elements primordial qi—the core of the "Five Elements Source Root Wood"—this material could harmonize the five elements, stabilize the seal's structure, and further amplify its ability to draw earth-pulse power; additionally, there were several kinds such as "Void Crystal Sand" (enhancing spatial stability and traversal) and "Taiyi True Gold" (increasing sharpness and breaking spells), among other auxiliary immortal materials.

Lastly were the three scrolls of the "Chaos Immortal King's Artifact Forging Insights·Remnant Volume." Wang Ping unfolded them to the basic chapter "All Things Return to Origin" and a section concerning the strengthening of seal-type treasures, letting them hover nearby for ready reference.

Preparations complete. Wang Ping drew a deep breath, a gleam flashed in his eyes, he formed hand seals, and pointed downward at the Chaos Fire Eye.

"Rise!"

Boom!

The gray-white chaos earth fire responded, rising as a thick pillar of flame that enveloped the hovering Heaven-Overturning Seal and all the materials. The flame licked but was not merely violent burning. Wang Ping's divine sense, like a thread, precisely controlled the heat, using his own Chaos Immortal Essence as a medium to guide that trace of Chaos True Fire nature, gently permeating into the seal and the various materials.

He first dealt with the auxiliary immortal materials. Following the "All Things Return to Origin" method, Chaos Immortal Essence mixed with divine sense entered the "Void Crystal Sand," "Taiyi True Gold," etc., like the finest chisel and solvent. In his perception, these materials' microscopic structure, energy nodes, and residual laws were fully revealed. Chaos power flowed, gradually breaking them down into the purest energy streams and characteristic imprints, while removing impurities and discord. The process was delicate, like dancing on a steel wire; a slight mistake could ruin the material's properties. Thanks to repeated drills on the Question-Dao Platform, Wang Ping's operation, though initially clumsy, was without major error and gradually became skilled.

Next came the "Earth Star Pattern Iron" and the core of the "Five Elements Source Root Wood." These two primary materials were of extremely high quality and solid structure; Wang Ping dared not rush. He devoted a large portion of his mind, driving Chaos Immortal Essence to permeate them like mercury spreading across the ground, slow yet steadfast. The characteristic of Chaos True Fire now played a key role: it could gently loosen the materials' most stubborn internal bonds without damaging their core essence. After an entire day and night, he managed to preliminarily "return to origin" these two primary materials into two clusters of distinctly different yet exceedingly pure primal spiritual light—one cluster heavy dark-gold with flowing star patterns; the other five-colored mist, with the five elements endlessly circulating.

At this moment, the Heaven-Overturning Seal wrapped in chaos flame, while continuously heated and soaked in chaos aura, saw its originally dim spiritual light faintly brighten; its surface's tiny cracks, under the dual action of high temperature and chaos power, seemed to be smoothed somewhat, yet this also more clearly exposed some weak and damaged parts of its internal structure.

The most crucial step had arrived—fusion and reconstruction.

Wang Ping's expression grew solemn; his hand seals shifted like a blooming lotus. His divine sense erupted fully, splitting into several strands like nimble fingers, beginning to guide the several clusters of "returned-to-origin" material essence, as well as the refined energy within the chaos flame, slowly drawing them toward and permeating the Heaven-Overturning Seal.

It was not a simple overlay or inlay, but a deeper fusion. He intended to meld these new materials with the seal's damaged main body, under the harmonizing of chaos power and the forging of Chaos True Fire, to re-cast them into one entity, and in the process infuse it with his new understanding.

First, using the essence of the Five Elements Source Root Wood core to harmonize the seal's body, repair internal damage, stabilize the structural framework, and construct a smoother five‑element energy circulation channel, thereby greatly enhancing the Heaven‑Overturning Seal's ability to draw and control the earth‑pulse's five‑element power.

Then, fusing the essence of the Earth Star Pattern Iron into the seal's main body. In this process, the ancient and simple seal body seemed to turn into a bottomless pit, greedily absorbing the heavy dark-gold stellar spiritual light. The seal's body became noticeably more solid and heavy at a visible speed; the mountain, river, and terrain patterns appeared to come alive, faintly pulsing with earth veins and stellar gravity flowing across them.

The essence of Void Crystal Sand was guided by Wang Ping to the bottom of the Heaven‑Overturning Seal and the junction of the seal knob with the seal body, enhancing its spatial stability and allowing it, when suppressing, to faintly draw spatial power, thereby strengthening the sealing effect. The essences of auxiliary materials such as Taiyi True Gold were evenly dispersed throughout the seal body, increasing overall strength and spell‑breaking attributes.

The fusion and reconstruction of the materials lasted a full three days. During these three days, Wang Ping dared not lose focus for a moment; his Chaos Immortal Essence and divine sense surged like tides, and by relying on the energy of the Chaos Fire Eye and his own strong recuperative power, he barely maintained balance. Sweat beaded on his forehead, instantly evaporated by the surrounding heat.

When the primal essences of all materials had initially fused with the Heaven-Overturning Seal, and the seal's light retracted inward while exuding an aura heavier, older, and more mixed-yuan than before, Wang Ping knew the moment had come to inscribe his own dao markings.

This is the finishing touch of Wang Ping's re-forging of the Heaven-Overturning Seal this time, and also a key attempt to put into practice the Chaos Immortal King's forging insights.

Wang Ping closed his eyes and focused his mind; in his sea of consciousness, the "Suppress" character divine glyph faintly glowed, merging with his comprehended true meaning of Chaos Suppression Seal. At the same time, the phantom of the Chaos Immortal Sword initially condensed in the Immortal Palace trembled slightly in his dantian, emitting a trace of sword intent that cuts through falsehood and asserts sole authenticity.

Wang Ping used his finger as a brush, taking his Chaos Immortal Essence mixed with a trace of divine sense as ink, and drew in the void. One by one, profound and complex gray runes containing the meanings of "suppression", "seal", "chaos", "heaviness", and even a trace of "sharpness breaking laws" flowed from his fingertip; they were not imprinted on the surface of the Heaven-Overturning Seal, but, guided by his divine sense, penetrated the flames and the seal's body, directly engraved into the deep material source of the Heaven-Overturning Seal that had just been reconstructed, tightly combining with its energy flow and legal structure.

This is an extremely draining process for mind and Dao resonance. Each stroke felt like moving mountains and solidifying rivers. Wang Ping poured his understanding of gravity laws, his comprehension of spatial stability, and his insights into chaos inclusiveness and suppression into these Dao patterns.

At first, the engraving was slow and arduous. But as the first complete Chaos Suppression Seal base Dao pattern successfully merged into the seal's core, the Heaven-Overturning Seal shuddered violently, emitting a low hum, as if after a long drought meeting sweet rain, it began to actively absorb the energy of the surrounding Chaos Fire Eye and the Dao resonance Wang Ping conveyed.

Wang Ping's spirit lifted, and he sped up. More and more Dao patterns were engraved by him, interconnecting, gradually forming within the Heaven-Overturning Seal a layered, unfathomable network of Chaos Suppression Seal Dao patterns. Meanwhile, that trace of sharp sword intent prototype derived from the Chaos Immortal Sword phantom was carefully concealed by him within the seal's edges and bottom patterns, hidden and unused, serving as a hidden trump card to break obstacles at crucial moments and enhance suppression penetration.

At the moment when the final Dao pattern representing "return to origin and stabilization" was completed and perfectly connected to the entire network—

"Hum——!!!"

The Heaven-Overturning Seal suddenly burst forth with unprecedented intense light! Grayish chaos light shot up into the sky, instantly breaking through the isolation formation of the Chaos Fire Eye forging chamber, bathing the entire interior of the Hall of Heavenly Craftsmanship in chaos hue!

Moreover, within the fire eye, gray-white chaos flames surged wildly, and before Wang Ping they evolved into a hazy, vast phantom: Hongmeng undifferentiated, chaos in its entirety; then the clear and turbid began to separate, yin and yang appeared; earth, fire, water, wind surged, yet were gently subdued, ordered, and brought to calm by an invisible heavy force—this is the ancient phenomenon of the primordial chaos opening, yin-yang separation, and the establishment of heaven and earth!

"Instrument Dao resonance! Chaos phenomenon!" Inside the Hall of Heavenly Craftsmanship, whether instructors and disciples currently forging, or the on-duty elders, all were startled, turning their shocked gazes toward the deepest part of the Chaos Fire Eye direction.

"Who is forging in the Chaos Fire Eye? To actually provoke such a phenomenon!"

"Judging by this phenomenon, the treasure being forged is certainly not trivial! At least a top-tier fifth rank, even touching the threshold of sixth rank!"

"The aura is heavy and chaotic, with an intent to suppress heaven and earth……Could it be that an elder who specializes in the earth or chaos Dao is forging a great treasure?"

Inside the hall, discussion ran rampant, speculation endless. Several on-duty Void Refinement elders even showed looks of surprise, transmitting to each other: "Such a phenomenon has not been seen for hundreds of years. Looking at the direction, it is the No. 1 Chaos Fire Eye, today's usage permit……could it be the newly promoted first-rank instructor Wang Ping?"

"Is it him? I heard that after his return, his cultivation advanced greatly, and the dean personally granted him first-rank instructor. Who would have thought that in the art of forging he also possesses such astonishing accomplishment? He can actually provoke a response from the Chaos Fire Eye's source, manifesting the phenomenon of opening heaven!"

"The younger generation is formidable……"

Inside the forging chamber, Wang Ping seemed oblivious to the external commotion. He focused all his mind and spirit on the Heaven-Overturning Seal before him, radiating boundless light and surrounded by phenomena.

That phantom of the primordial chaos lasted about ten breaths before gradually dissipating, turning back into pure chaos fire energy that returned to the fire eye and the Heaven-Overturning Seal. Meanwhile, the light emitted by the Heaven-Overturning Seal gradually withdrew, finally hovering above the Chaos Fire Eye and slowly rotating.

At this moment, the Heaven-Overturning Seal's appearance, compared to before, is not earth-shattering. The seal's body remains an ancient, simple square; the relief of mountains, rivers, and terrain is clearer and more vivid, with a faint flow of light wandering between the patterns. The color is deeper, between profound black and dark gold; upon close inspection, starlike glimmers and five-colored aura flow within the material's depths. The seal's knob, shaped as a strange beast, looks more formidable, its eyes seeming half-closed, as if it might awaken at any moment to inhale and exhale chaos. The ancient seal script "Heaven-Overturning" on the bottom seems to have gained, in its strokes, an indescribable heaviness and a Dao resonance that suppresses all things.

Most miraculously, around the seal's body, strands of crystalline chaos aura automatically drooped down like pendants and bead curtains, encircling it. These currents spontaneously absorb the surrounding space's chaos aura and earth-fire essence, nurturing the treasure seal itself.

A feeling of bloodline connection and mind-to-mind communication clearly came from the Heaven-Overturning Seal. It seemed to have become an extension of Wang Ping's limbs, a unique embodiment containing the tremendous "suppression and seal" power and the mysteries of chaos. Its grade has indeed steadily entered the upper fifth rank, with a solid foundation, carrying a hint of chaos trait, and its future growth potential is immense.

Wang Ping let out a long breath, his face showing a weary yet satisfied smile. Seven days of nonstop, all-out forging had nearly exhausted his mind and immortal essence, but the result far exceeded expectations. He reached out his hand, and the Heaven-Overturning Seal, as if sentient, lightly fell into his palm, its light fully retracted, unusually docile; only its weighty heft and the terrifying power within reminded him of its extraordinariness.

At the very moment the Heaven-Overturning Seal landed in his palm, a certain Daoist root within Wang Ping's body, unusually active from long-term control of gravity, suppression, and chaos power, jumped violently.

His various insights into "gravity technique"—from the initial basic control, to later combining the "Suppress" character divine glyph with the Heaven-Overturning Seal to manifest a gravity field, to this forging where he engraved the "heaviness" and "suppression" Dao patterns into the seal's source, touching the essence of power deeply—all his accumulations and flashes of inspiration, at this moment, were set in motion by the Heaven-Overturning Seal's successful refinement, its self-generated spirit's complete qi mechanism, and erupted in a thunderous breakthrough!

Hum!

Wang Ping's surrounding invisible gravity field spontaneously expanded, then instantly contracted, condensing into a space of a few inches. A flash of realization crossed his eyes, giving him an unprecedentedly clear understanding of how to control "force", interpret "heaviness", and how to move, alter, or even create the fragments of the "gravity" law with his own will.

The long-stagnant third realm of gravity technique, "Lift the Heavy as Light, Transform into a Domain", now had its bottleneck loosened, taking a tremendous solid step toward the legendary fourth realm's perfection, "One Thought Makes Mountains Heavy, All Things Follow My Heart". Although true perfection is still a hair's breadth away, requiring more real-world tempering and realm advancement to finally break through, the path is now clear and the direction unmistakable.

He slowly clenched his fist, the Heaven-Overturning Seal within his palm warming slightly, as if responding to the surge of power insight in his heart.

After putting away the Heaven-Overturning Seal and the fragmentary records of forging insights, Wang Ping slightly adjusted his breath, recovered some spirit and immortal essence, then tidied his robes and opened the door of the Chaos Fire Eye forging chamber.

Outside the door, several attendants of the Hall of Heavenly Craftsmanship and curious instructors and disciples were waiting at a distance to observe. Upon seeing him emerge, they felt the still-not-fully-subsided, vaguely connected mighty aura emanating from him and the newly forged great treasure, as well as a fleeting glint in his calm eyes that seemed able to suppress hearts; everyone's hearts jolted, they instinctively made way, and cast gazes mingling reverence and curiosity.

Wang Ping gave the crowd a slight nod, said nothing more, and walked away with steady steps. The Heaven-Overturning Seal warmed in his dantian, its qi merging with that of his Chaos Nascent Soul, as strands of chaos aura drifted down, continually nourishing each other. The loosening of the gravity technique's bottleneck gave him an added ease in controlling his own power.

Forging completed, Dao arts advanced. Next, he ought to familiarize himself well with this upgraded natal magic treasure, and further plan his cultivation and duties within the Dao Institute. His gaze swept over the clear sky outside the Hall of Heavenly Craftsmanship, his heart filled with lucid resolve.

After returning from the Chaos Fire Eye forging chamber, Wang Ping sat in quiet meditation for three days in his newly obtained instructor's abode, "Profound Subtlety Peak".

The peak's spirit veins are plentiful, the quiet chamber deep and secluded; he, on one hand, nurtures the newly formed Heaven-Overturning Seal with chaos immortal essence, carefully sensing the newborn "Chaos Suppression Seal" dao‑pattern network and its ever‑tightening bond with himself.

On the other hand, he organizes the many insights gained after breaking through the bottleneck of gravity technique, gradually weaving those spiritual light fragments into a more systematic conception of the "Gravity Law".

The Heaven-Overturning Seal hangs in his dantian, facing the chaos infant; the dripping lucid chaos flow not only nourishes the seal but also feeds back to the infant, so that Wang Ping's chaos immortal essence, besides being substantial, gains a deep, condensed resonance of suppressing the four extremes and stabilizing the eight directions.

Moreover, the advancement of his gravity technique lets him achieve a new height in microscopic control of force; a slight thought can alter gravity within a zhang around him, making the heavy feel light and dissolving force into the invisible.

His cultivation, dharma treasures, and dao arts have all achieved minor success, but Wang Ping knows deep down that this is still far from enough.

Whether it is the latent "Disorder" threat, the unfathomable cultivation needed to rescue the gloomy shade, or the future path of his own chaos dao, all require stronger offensive means.

The Heaven-Overturning Seal chiefly serves for suppression and defense; although it has secretly gained a hint of sharpness, it is ultimately not a weapon dedicated to slaughter.

His gaze fell upon the faint image of the "Chaos Immortal Sword" that had been preliminarily condensed from the fragments of the immortal palace but never truly solidified; this phantom resides in the infant's hand, seeming both present and absent, with only a nascent sword intent of cutting through falsehood circulating.

"It's time." Wang Ping whispered. He plans to forge a true natal flying sword that is his own, focused on offense, to break myriad laws, and to complement the Heaven-Overturning Seal in attack and defense, enhancing each other.

And the materials are precisely those rare immortal substances from the immortal palace's treasury that best match the attributes of "sharpness", "law-breaking", and "chaos".

With his mind set, he delayed no longer. That day, as the morning sun rose, the clouds atop Mysterious Subtle Peak were tinged gold. Wang Ping's figure once again appeared before the Hall of Earthly Fire and Heavenly Craft.

The attending steward disciple, upon seeing him, was even more respectful than before, with a hint of admiration.

The news of the seven‑day forging that stirred the primordial chaos omen had long spread throughout the Hall of Heavenly Craft and even among some senior instructor circles; this newly promoted first‑rank instructor, besides possessing profound cultivation, also astonishes with his skill in the art of forging.

"Instructor Wang, will you still be using the heavenly fire eye today?" the steward disciple hurried forward.

"Hmm." Wang Ping nodded and handed over the chaos star talisman.

"The No. 1 Fire Eye has been reserved for you all along; please follow me." The disciple led the way, and the cultivators they passed glanced sideways, whispering, their eyes filled with curiosity and awe.

Stepping once again into the familiar forging chamber, the heavy metal door clanged shut behind him, sealing off the outside. The central chaos fire eye continued to churn with gray‑white flames, exuding an ancient and perilous aura.

Wang Ping sat cross‑legged before the fire eye, closed his eyes to calm his spirit for a moment, adjusting his state to peak condition. Then he flicked his sleeve, and several materials, flashing with diverse gem lights and astonishing auras, hovered before him.

First was a crystal about the size of a head, its whole body a deep dark purple, yet its surface constantly flowing with a silver‑gray halo— the "Chaos Yuan‑Magnet Crystal".

This object is a rare treasure born from the interaction of chaos power and the primordial magnetism of heaven and earth under special conditions, possessing both chaos's inclusive evolution and yuan‑magnet's repulsion‑attraction dual extremes; it is extremely hard, exerts strong interference and penetration on spiritual power and divine sense, and makes an excellent main blade material for forging a law‑breaking flying sword.

Next was a piece of wood roughly two chi long and as thick as a child's arm, gray‑green in color, appearing ordinary yet emanating a dao resonance of "severance" and "termination"— the "Calamity‑Striking Thunderstruck Wood".

It is said this wood grows in the Thunder Marsh Deadlands, must endure nine heavenly tribulation lightning strikes without being destroyed, and within destruction it nurtures a trace of life that can sever myriad laws, containing a hint of heavenly tribulation's might and the true intent of calamity extinction; it can imbue a flying sword with the qualities of "breaking tribulation" and "severing".