Chapter 461: Final Preparations

Fifteen years of time slipped away silently.

In the manufacturing zone of the Hell Sulfur Plane's Core Laboratory, the air grew scorching.

Gao Jie Ming stood alone before the central control console, over thirty massive arc-shaped holographic screens floating before him.

Each screen displayed different data streams, energy spectra, material states, or intricate 3D control interfaces.

His hands hovered over the control panel, fingertips glowing faintly with spiritual energy, deeply linked to the vast network of arrays in the manufacturing chamber.

Through the multi-layered composite observation windows ahead of the console, one could see a core manufacturing chamber the size of a basketball court.

At this moment, tens of thousands of pre-installed micro-arrays within the chamber operated in perfect sync, following Gao Jie Ming's complex program, emitting colored light to perform precise operations.

Some arrays spewed pale or deep-blue flames, their temperatures controlled with micron-level precision; others functioned like mechanical arms, extracting powdered, liquid, or crystalline materials from fixed tracks and evenly spraying or etching them; still others generated powerful force fields, stretching the object at the chamber's center.

It was a thin, shifting mist—neither fully real nor entirely illusory—the "Xu Gang Hong Chen Barrier," awaiting complete transformation and upgrade.

Gao Jie Ming's mind was calm, his gaze sharp.

What he was doing now was "modernized alchemy," combining Daoist artifact-crafting with wizardly precision manufacturing.

In his early days, when his rank was low and his lab rudimentary, he could only rely on his own true fire and manual labor to slowly and arduously forge artifacts.

But now, with access to a fully developed Level Seven elemental pool, a highly automated array network, and vast accumulated knowledge of materials science and energy manipulation, he no longer needed such primitive methods.

The manufacturing chamber before him was the culmination of his technology, capable of efficiently and precisely crafting or modifying the vast majority of complex artifacts.

"Step one: material fusion."

Gao Jie Ming focused his spirit and issued commands through the holograms.

Behind the observation windows, several large arrays ignited simultaneously.

First, the storage zone's passage opened; a vast quantity of dazzlingly colored "Flower God Calamity" was drawn by invisible hands, forming a viscous torrent that flooded into the core array, completely enveloping the Xu Gang Hong Chen Barrier.

Next, two pitch-black "Calamity Storage Gourds," radiating bone-chilling cold, were activated.

High-quality "Death Calamity Energy" within them roared like two monstrous black dragons, merging into the colorful torrent, colliding and intertwining with the Flower God Calamity.

Under the arrays' powerful constraints, the two forces were forced into slow fusion, their color deepening into a darker, more dangerous shade of violet.

Then came the "liquid refined gold," serving as the "skeleton" and "mediator."

Bright metallic liquid fell like fine rain, guided by the arrays to permeate evenly into the calamity mixture, providing it with a solid structural framework and superior energy conductivity.

A small amount of "Worldly Dust Energy," emitting the aura of mortal realms, was also introduced.

Considering the versatility of Worldly Dust Energy, Gao Jie Ming used only a minimal quantity, treating it as an adhesive and stabilizer.

Its purpose was to establish a fragile balance and connection between the violent calamity energy and the cold liquid refined gold, ensuring overall structural stability while preserving its inherent ability to disrupt heavenly fate and confuse cause and effect.

Finally, the most critical step.

The dedicated pipeline to the "Incense Poison" storage warehouse opened.

The compressed, nearly solid golden substance—its interior swirling with twisted, dazzling light patches—was carefully, strand by strand, extracted under precise array control and gently injected into the core mixture.

Instantly, all light within the core manufacturing chamber seemed to dim for a heartbeat!

The previously stable violet mixture churned violently, countless twisted light patterns surging within it!

The essence of billions of sentient beings' chaotic thoughts, negative emotions, and disordered wills—contained within the Incense Poison—began frantically infecting and assimilating the other materials, attempting to drag everything into a abyss of madness.

Gao Jie Ming's expression remained unchanged; his hands left blurring afterimages across the control panel.

Over three hundred regulating arrays activated at full power simultaneously!

Arrays on the chamber ceiling released pure order-light to suppress the chaos, while other arrays swiftly constructed layered spiritual filtration barriers within the Xu Gang Hong Chen Barrier.

Then, vibrating at specific frequencies, they guided the "toxicity" of the Incense Poison to fuse directionally with the properties of the other materials, rather than causing indiscriminate destruction.

This was an extremely dangerous and precise balancing act.

One misstep would not only ruin all prior effort; the unleashed Incense Poison might contaminate the entire manufacturing chamber—and even the laboratory.

But for Gao Jie Ming, this level of difficulty was still well within his control.

Energy curves and material structure analyses on the holograms flickered wildly, revealing every minute change in the internal fusion.

After an indeterminate time, the core mixture finally ceased its violent churning, its color settling into a subdued, dark gold that seemed to swallow the gaze.

Occasionally, faintly twisted, colorful light flitted across its surface—then vanished, appearing dangerous and uncanny.

"Step two: shaping and soul-infusion."

Gao Jie Ming took a deep breath and began the next phase.

Pre-prepared artifact-crafting runes and high-level wizard energy-solidification arrays were simultaneously inscribed into the fused material.

The arrays' glow intensified; temperature and pressure changed with precise control, like invisible hammers repeatedly forging every part of the artifact.

The dark gold material began collapsing inward, its form gradually shifting from a chaotic mist toward a more stable, invisible barrier attuned to Gao Jie Ming's soul resonance.

Within it, the properties of the various materials were skillfully woven together by the artifact-crafting runes and energy arrays, forming a complex autonomous defense and counterattack system.

When all arrays in the manufacturing chamber dimmed and the burning true fire gradually faded, the object floating at the center was no longer the previous thin mist.

It looked… somehow even more "unremarkable."

Completely colorless, transparent, formless, intangible.

Merely a slight difference in air density, quietly suspended in place.

Only the most acute perception could faintly sense the subtle discord within.

Gao Jie Ming left the control console and entered the core manufacturing chamber through the airlock.

He stood before the "nothingness," extended his index finger, and gently tapped it.

His fingertip felt a cool touch, along with a soul-link as intimate as an extension of his own limb.

The upgraded New Xu Gang Hong Chen Barrier!

Gao Jie Ming closed his eyes and carefully sensed it.

The upgraded artifact retained its original defensive and counterattack mechanisms, but the comprehensive upgrade of its core materials—especially the massive infusion of Flower God Calamity, high-quality Death Calamity Energy, and most crucially, the Incense Poison—had utterly transformed its "foundation" and "toxicity."

"Added so much 'ingredient'…" Gao Jie Ming's lips curled into a faint smile, "Now, even a Level Seven wizard who dares to use curses, prophecies, or soul-infection techniques against me… will die a very ugly death!"

With a thought, the upgraded Xu Gang Hong Chen Barrier "unfolded" as if alive, instantly spreading to envelop Gao Jie Ming's entire body.

Then it vanished completely into the surrounding space and energy field, leaving no trace.

First critical preparation—completed.

Gao Jie Ming did not leave the manufacturing zone.

He walked to the side of the control console and pressed a specific call button.

Soon, several towering black giant priests, their liquid-metallic skin even deeper in luster, hurried in.

"Master." The lead priest bowed.

"How is the progress on the base materials I requested?" Gao Jie Ming asked directly.

"Report, Master: according to your list, the filling progress of 'Material Storage Area One' has reached eighty-seven percent and continues rising rapidly. However, I must inform you that the planned capacity of 'Material Storage Area One' accounts for only fifty percent of the total materials you requested. Additionally, long-term procurement contracts signed over the past fifteen years have begun delivering in bulk; we anticipate a large influx of materials arriving via interplanar teleportation in the near future." The priest rapidly reported the data, clearly well-versed in every detail.

Gao Jie Ming pulled up the surveillance holograms.

The screen showed an open-air storage yard, specially designated and spanning an area comparable to a small plain—its scene breathtaking.

There stood tens of thousands of black giants, each over thirty meters tall, radiating powerful auras.

These were elite units cultivated over years to meet Level Five transcendence standards.

Now, they served as tireless laborers.

From beside a constantly flickering large spatial teleportation array, they carried mountain-like ingots of rare metal, clusters of colorful crystals, sealed liquid material tanks, and deposited them steadily onto the storage yard.

Though these black giants were massive and immensely strong,

the compressed, packed material piles still appeared substantial in their hands.

Along one side of the yard, materials had already piled into true mountains of metal and crystal, reflecting cold light under the crimson sky of the Hell Sulfur Plane.

The data on the hologram confirmed the priest's report: the real-time storage volume of Material Storage Area One was visibly and rapidly increasing.

"Good." Gao Jie Ming nodded in satisfaction.

He did not rest; he turned back to the main control console, his gaze settling on another pre-calibrated automated production interface.

As he operated, the previously dormant arrays in the manufacturing chamber ignited once more.

But this time, the target was not the Xu Gang Hong Chen Barrier—it was the vast quantities of base materials continuously fed into the pre-processing zone via conveyor belts from the storage yard.

Under Gao Jie Ming's control, scorching fusion furnaces activated, melting large blocks of rare metals into flowing liquid.

Crystal grinding arrays started, crushing hard energy crystals into standardized powders; extraction arrays operated, separating required active components from specific plants or mineral sources…

Under Gao Jie Ming's precise control, these pre-processed materials rapidly formed into standardized units in secondary manufacturing cells, following specific ratios and sequences.

Finally, from the end of the production line, thin metallic discs—each the size of a thumb, shaped as perfect octagons, surfaces smooth as mirrors, gleaming with dark gold—fell like a stream, collected automatically into energy-storage containers.

These were Gao Jie Ming's new "ammunition" for the coming war—the second-optimized "Li Huo Mie Jue Shen Guang" single-use storage wizard devices.

Unlike early versions crafted as staffs, these metal discs featured highly integrated internal structures, with nearly all space dedicated to etching more efficient energy-storage runes and ultra-fast charging arrays.

The cost: each metal disc could store and release only one full-power blast of "Li Huo Mie Jue Shen Guang."

But its advantages were exceptional: extremely rapid recharging!

Under sufficient energy supply, a depleted metal disc could be fully "recharged" in just thirty seconds, restoring combat readiness.

Moreover, its compact size allowed for easy mass carrying and rapid deployment.

This was precisely Gao Jie Ming's design philosophy for high-intensity, high-intensity warfare.

Rune-wizard devices excel at harnessing ambient energy for "infinite" firepower, but due to technological limits, they currently cannot carry highly specialized composite spells like "Li Huo Mie Jue Shen Guang."

Traditional wizard devices are stable and unaffected by environment, but their firepower is limited, typically reserved for emergencies or last-resort use.

Gao Jie Ming took a different path: if a single wizard device's firepower is limited, then compensate with quantity!

As long as I carry enough wizard devices—so many that by the time the first batch is expended, the earliest ones already began recharging and are ready to be "refilled"—

then, under ideal conditions, a closed-firecycle is formed, theoretically enabling continuous, high-intensity saturation strikes!

Three prerequisites are needed to realize this concept: first, near-infinite energy support; second, vast quantities of standardized wizard devices capable of rapid recharging; third, sufficient storage space to house these devices.

Fortunately, Gao Jie Ming fully meets all three prerequisites.

The incense god Dao's cross-space energy transmission system has been preliminarily constructed, backed by a Level Seven large elemental pool; Gao Jie Ming could easily declare, "My energy is limitless."

As for sufficient space—his ever-expanding internal dantian presents no issue whatsoever.

As for sufficient quantity…

The endless stream of dark gold metal plates before him is the answer to the second prerequisite.

Gao Jie Ming personally operated the system and completed the manufacturing process for the first batch of approximately five hundred metal plates.

He randomly selected several for testing, confirming stable internal energy structures, smooth charging interfaces, and meeting the required activation power.

"Quality is satisfactory. Proceed with mass production."

He set down the tester and configured the entire automated production process he had just calibrated as a highest-priority cyclic task.

Simultaneously, through the control console, he directly connected to a dedicated interface of the incense god Dao's cross-space transmission system, channeling the vast and stable energy from the Level Seven large elemental pool continuously into the manufacturing chamber's power network.

"Activate, fully automated mass production protocol."

Command issued.

Instantly, the entire vast manufacturing zone awoke like a slumbering beast!

All related arrays, furnaces, and production lines operated at full power, emitting deep, powerful roars.

Materials were consumed at a faster rate; dark gold metal plates rained down like golden drops from the end of the production line, filling the waiting energy storage crates. Soon, each crate was full, automatically sealed, and transported by conveyor belt to a dedicated finished goods warehouse, while new empty crates immediately replaced them.

Efficiency had increased by more than a hundredfold compared to when Gao Jie Ming operated it manually!

Gao Jie Ming stood before the control console, watching the waterfall-like stream of production data on the screen and the bustling scene in the surveillance feeds, slowly exhaling a long breath.

(Just this chapter today—I'll take a moment to recall the later outline.)

(End of chapter)