Chapter 171: The Call of the Mysterious Whale Hammer

Wooo~

Darkness surged like a tide, not a single thread of light to be seen.

The Soldier-Commanding Register hung high like a star chart, six great stars upon it shining brilliantly; beneath their starlight, the darkness at the edge of the grey stone platform receded, expanding by double.

"The interval for switching command has shortened again — only an hour and a half is needed…"

Li Yuan digested the information surfacing in his mind, glancing around the now-wider stone platform; the Divine Fire Weapon-Fusing Furnace was no longer at the edge.

But in the newly expanded area, nothing else had appeared.

"No surprises…"

Li Yuan felt a twinge of disappointment inside. He'd spent so much silver, and had expected a surprise similar to the Divine Fire Weapon-Fusing Furnace.

"Damn it, give me a refund!"

After digesting the information flooding his mind, Li Yuan's heart felt like it was being cut by a blade — so much silver, enough to last him a lifetime…

"Wait, no!"

Li Yuan's heart jolted. Looking carefully, only on the side directly opposite the Divine Fire Weapon-Fusing Furnace, near the edge of the darkness, did he make out a blurred outline.

【Divine Fire Weapon-Forging Platform (Sixth-Tier)】

【Unopened】

"Divine Fire Weapon-Forging Platform!"

Li Yuan leaned in to observe, practically pressing himself against it, but could only make out a faint outline by the dim light of the Soldier-Commanding Register.

"…Better not to have let me see it at all."

After staring for a good while, Li Yuan glumly discovered that no matter how he tried to sense it, there was always a layer between them.

Apart from that single outline, not even a scrap of information.

And besides…

"The materials for the Soldier-Commanding Register to advance to seventh tier…"

The moment he probed it slightly, Li Yuan nearly had his heart stop.

He knew that seventh-tier weapons corresponded to divine weapons, and that the Register reaching this step might require many materials, but he hadn't expected it would need this many.

"…Having something to strive for is still good."

The joy of the Register's advancement was nearly beaten out of him entirely; Li Yuan cast a glance at the outline of that divine weapon forging platform.

The expansion of the grey stone platform had already stopped; after doubling once more, the platform looked quite spacious.

He shifted the incense burner toward the middle, then began to savor the changes after the Register's advancement.

The number of weapons commanded increased, the interval for switching command decreased, the sensing range for weapons doubled…

"Not exactly a loss."

After a good while, Li Yuan opened his eyes and temporarily left the Crimson Fusion Cave. Though he could endure heat a bit better, sleeping here was still far beyond his limits.

In a mountain cave not far away, Li Yuan casually tossed a pill to Little Shi Shi Zuzu, took off his shoes, and got onto the bed.

Reclining against the headboard, he entered the Soldier-Commanding Space once more.

Spreading out the various weapons on the stone platform, Li Yuan took stock once again:

"First- and second-tier incense offerings are enough to ignite the Divine Fire Furnace three hundred and forty times; third-tier incense offerings, only forty-three portions; fourth-tier, even fewer, only twelve times; fifth-tier incense offerings, just one portion…"

After silently counting the incense offerings of each tier, Li Yuan's gaze fell upon those hammers and forging hammers.

"Time to fuse weapons."

Over the past half year or more, he had only a handful of named-grade or above hammers and forging hammers, but first- and second-tier hammers and forging hammers were everywhere.

"Mm…"

Li Yuan thought for a moment, and before fusing, he temporarily placed the incense burner obtained from the Remnant God Temple inside the mountain cave.

That incense burner provided 'a sliver of ill fortune' — what if it really had an effect?

"Fuse!"

What weapons to fuse, Li Yuan had long since planned in his mind; without hesitation, he took out a pile of gold and silver and began fusing weapons.

Starting from unranked items, he fused all the low-tier goods — boots, accessories included — up to second-tier.

Second-tier was already a fine sharp-blade-grade item; any single piece was worth at least thirty or forty taels of silver.

"Just this batch of sharp blades is worth over ten thousand taels of silver. But fusing weapons also cost over a thousand taels of silver — it's a profit, but only a small one…"

After fusing all the low-tier goods and weapons, the first- and second-tier incense offerings were nearly used up.

From here on, Li Yuan was far more cautious.

Third-tier and above incense offerings were too hard to come by; one failure would make his heart ache, and for every fusion he had to deliberate over his choices.

"Success!"

Li Yuan carefully selected, taking 'hammer-technique talent' as the primary condition, and began fusing forging hammers and hammer weapons.

First success, second success…

Fifteen times in a row, and not a single failure!

"As expected, the more similar the weapons commanded, the higher the success rate."

Li Yuan was in high spirits; from among several hundred hammers he picked out the most similar ones to fuse, and only after twenty-nine consecutive successes did the first failure come.

"From here on, the failure rate is bound to be much higher."

Li Yuan paused briefly, opened his eyes and stroked Little Shi Shi Zuzu for a while to rest his spirit, then continued fusing weapons.

After fusing the most compatible hammer weapons, just as he had predicted, in the next thirteen attempts he failed as many as six times.

"Incense offerings don't last."

Looking at the thirty-six hammer weapons before him, Li Yuan was well pleased — these were all fine things that boosted hammer-technique talent.

"From here on, I need to be even more cautious — only twelve portions of fourth-tier incense offerings…"

Li Yuan counted the hammer soldiers several times before opening his eyes; he planned to retrieve the few small incense burners he had placed in the Hammer Soldier Hall tomorrow before merging them.

If luck can be a little better, then a little better is fine.

By now, the night was likely deep, yet Li Yuan remained wide awake; he went to the Red Fusion Cave to worship the Blue Heaven twice more, only to find no movement.

"Has the Ancestor fallen asleep?"

After the last drop of the Five Spiritual Beasts' blood was used, Li Yuan felt somewhat disappointed; or perhaps the Ancestor prefers the meat of spiritual beasts?

He pondered it in his heart, planning to gather enough meat of the Five Spiritual Beasts before trying again.

"Hoo!"

"Inhale!"

Suppressing his stray thoughts, Li Yuan swallowed several pills and, utilizing the intense heat within the Red Fusion Cave, began to alter his root and bone.

These past days, he had not delayed altering his root and bone.

The Ancient Elephant Six-Form Hammer had barely reached entry level, but with the Fundamental Diagram, the Spirit Ape Spear Technique had seen great progress.

This was the first form of a spiritual beast he had altered; Li Yuan was very cautious.

Early the next morning, Li Yuan returned to the Hammer Soldier Hall and collected the small incense burners he had temporarily left there after absorbing their incense.

After the Military Talisman promoted, the space on the gray stone platform expanded greatly; besides the two large incense burners, it could now hold six small ones.

"Hmm, is the luck sufficient now?"

With six small incense burners and one large one all possessing the effect of enhancing luck through command, Li Yuan glanced at the room with some regret.

He still had a few more incense burners, but there was truly no room left.

"Hmm, have Liu Zheng help me bury them in Lin Zili."

Li Yuan turned and left; on the way, he found the Inner Island far more desolate than before. He went to the Casting Valley to ask Niu Jun, only to learn that the front lines were in crisis.

"It is Wan Ya, the Sect Master of Sanyuan Wu; he has captured nine cities and thirteen passes in succession. Commander Duanmu has suffered several defeats, and the situation is critical."

Niu Jun's expression was not good.

Only a few days had passed since the news of Shi Hong's great victory arrived, and now news of a great defeat came.

"What about the Elder?"

Li Yuan felt a slight tightening in his heart.

He remembered that Jing Jing Shuhu had already gone to support them, but even counting him, the number of Channel-Passing experts in the Divine Weapon Valley was absolutely at a disadvantage.

"There is still no news."

Niu Jun's face was heavy.

Li Yuan glanced around; the other blacksmiths also wore anxious expressions, unable to focus on their hammering, showing how quickly this news had spread.

"The situation is dire."

Li Yuan felt a slight chill in his heart; he went to find Lei Lei Jingchuan. The latter's expression was also not good, but his tone was stable:

"Although Wan Ya has already refined his organs, the supreme art he learned is incomplete; he cannot kill Duanmu, let alone the Elder."

Lei Lei Jingchuan, with a stern face, said: "With the Huailong Palace involved, among the four great sects of Huizhou, it is not only us who are declining."

"Those families..."

Li Yuan's heart stirred slightly: "Huailong Palace?"

"Over a thousand years ago, the Huailong Palace was granted Huizhou; the Ancestor migrated here. On the surface, they were naturally quite magnanimous, but secretly..."

Lei Lei Jingchuan let out a cold sneer.

Li Yuan was not surprised; in Gao Liu County, the weapon forges would always suppress newly emerging blacksmith shops.

The Divine Weapon Valley also suppresses the small and medium sects in the subordinate commanderies and counties; for the Huailong Palace to do so is no exception.

"The advantage of a Zhou Sect over a Fu Sect is too great."

Lei Lei Jingchuan sighed.

"Even the weakest Zhou Sect controls an entire province."

Li Yuan nodded inwardly.

Over the past thousand years, countless disciples have complained about the Ancestor sealing the clouds; there is reason for this.

In the land of one province and eight prefectures, whether it is Dechang Prefecture or Zhelong Prefecture, the name of the Huailong Palace is far greater, truly sucking in resources from all prefectures.

The last disciple of the Divine Weapon Valley with a Great Dragon-shaped root and bone was Gong Gong Yangyu from seventy years ago, but the Huailong Palace has had such disciples in every generation.

Disciples are one aspect; adding resources, authority, and so on, the advantage is so great that subordinate sects have almost no chance of turning the tables.

"I've strayed too far."

Lei Lei Jingchuan said no more and returned to Sanyuan Wu:

"Over four hundred years ago, the Ancestor of that generation of Sanyuan Wu died in a foreign land, and the supreme art 'Three Parts Returning to the Origin' was left with only half. Thus, although Wan Ya has refined his organs, his Wu Gong is far inferior to the other sect masters."

Lei Lei Jingchuan paused slightly: "Qi Ying's talent is good, but with an incomplete supreme art, if one strike misses, a prolonged battle will surely lead to defeat against Shi Hong."

Shi Hong had received the transmission of the supreme art.

Li Yuan's heart stirred slightly; he asked a few more questions about the art of casting weapons, and after a moment, he returned to his own cave.

Wooo!

The pale yellow flame extinguished; the Divine Fire Weapon-Merging Furnace vibrated with a "Weng," and a heavy hammer fell onto the stone platform.

"It is done!"

Li Yuan stepped out from among the incense burners; this heavy hammer was fierce and vicious.

Just the hammerhead was half the size of a person, as if three thousand-jun heavy hammers had been fused together.

【Chen Shan Zhong Hammer (Fifth Tier)】

【The Master of Arms forges it with divine fire in the Weapon Furnace: a hammer weighing a thousand jin...】

【Conditions for Control: Bloodline of the Master of Arms, strength of a thousand jun】

【Effects of Control: Tier Six (Yellow): Hammer Technique Talent,

Tier Five (Pale Yellow): Weight of a thousand jun, momentum like a mountain range

Tier Four (Green): Hammer Technique Talent, Physical Body Talent,】

"A Tier Six Hammer Technique Talent!"

Li Yuan breathed a sigh of relief; this was the line of thought he had even before forging his first thousand-jin heavy hammer.

Using extreme characteristics to influence the effects of control; now it seems, it truly works.

Having the tier of the control effects higher than the weapon itself is something only an extremely masterful weapon smith can accomplish.

"If I had forged this heavy hammer myself, my weapon smithing art would at least have reached the Great Perfection stage; unfortunately..."

Saying "unfortunately," Li Yuan was actually quite satisfied in his heart.

One Tier Six Hammer Technique Talent is equivalent to nine Tier Four talents; in other words, one only needs to control this heavy hammer.

His talent in hammer techniques is at least several times, even ten times that of Fang Fang Bao Luo and Ba Ba Wanli, and dozens of times that of Gao Gang and other elite inner disciples of the Bingtang Hammer Division.

A difference of one tier in talent already creates a gap visible to the naked eye.

"Unfortunately, there is only one; if there were a few more, wouldn't my talent make Old Han fall far behind?"

Li Yuan felt a slight joy in his heart; he had always regarded Old Han as a hypothetical rival.

Buzz!

While pondering in his heart, he had already handed this heavy hammer into the Master of Arms Talisman.

The conditions for controlling the Chen Shan Zhong heavy hammer were easily met; he casually paired it with the Mixed Gold Great Xi Yi Hammer and had already taken control of it.

【138】 Buzz!

Hum!

In an instant, Li Yuan felt a chill at his brow, even sensing a sharp sting, as if his brain membrane had been suddenly tightened.

Whoosh!

Li Yuan opened his eyes, ignoring

the terrified little mouse, exerted force with his feet, and quickly rushed out of the Red-Melting Cave that was vibrating and humming.

The forging ground erupted in a clamor; blacksmiths like Niu Jun, having experienced similar tremors, were already evacuating in an orderly fashion.

"Hah!"

Li Yuan swallowed a Viscera-Protecting Pill; a mysterious light woven from various colors flickered in his eyes.

【Split-Sea Dark Whale Hammer (Tier Eleven)】

Relying solely on the buffs from the Mixed Gold Great Xi Yi Hammer and the Chen Shan Zhong heavy hammer, he had seen the Split-Sea Dark Whale Hammer for the third time.

And it was far clearer than before.

Li Yuan's heart beat faster.

Tier Seven was already a Divine Weapon; a Tier Eleven heavy hammer, its temptation for him was indescribable.

A weapon of this grade, with just one control effect, equals eighty-one Divine Weapon-grade control effects!

"Stack four more hammers..."

Li Yuan murmured in his heart; without any hesitation, he took control of four Tier Four Famous Artifact-grade heavy hammers that buffed the Hammer Technique Talent.

Boom!

Li Yuan felt a shock in his heart, and his entire being was dazed for a moment.

Through that Red-Melting tunnel, he seemed to feel a certain rhythm, as if something was calling him over.

"Split-Sea Dark Whale Hammer!"

Li Yuan subconsciously wanted to approach, but was startled awake by a sharp rebuke:

"Do you want to lose your life?!"

Lei Lei Jingchuan strode forward, grabbed Li Yuan who had walked to the edge of the Red-Melting tunnel, and without a word of explanation, dragged him down to the ground.

Bang!

Bang!

Inside the forging ground, huge chimneys trembled one by one; large chunks of earth and stone fell, emitting dull sounds.

This tremor was far stronger than the last one.

Wooo!

When Li Yuan came to his senses, he had already been dragged to the ground by his biggest creditor.

He shook his head; that streak of mysterious light was still visible before his eyes,

the light condensing and not dispersing; it was the rhythm and call of the Split-Sea Dark Whale Hammer, calling him to come over.

"This hammer has truly become a spirit!"

This feeling was too intense; even from so far away, Li Yuan was somewhat dazed, and fear naturally arose in his heart.

He had almost been led, unconsciously stepping into the Red-Melting tunnel...

Wooo~

Li Yuan closed his eyes slightly and could still feel that faint throbbing; he was immediately speechless in his heart:

"Can't you just come over?"

While silently cursing and feeling post-traumatic fear, a trace of joy also surged in Li Yuan's heart.

This hammer is about to bear the surname Li!

"The earth is shaking again!"

"This time it is more violent than before; the tunnel won't collapse, will it?"

"My savings are still underground. I've saved for over thirty years, all to marry a wife..."

Chaos reigned within the Weapon-Forging Valley; the tremor was so violent and sudden that many hadn't even had time to put on their trousers.

Many blacksmiths, terrified and shocked, wore tear-streaked faces and wanted to rush back.

"Why is it shaking again?"

Lei Lei Jingchuan's heart was filled with doubt and alarm. If the last time was a coincidence, what about this time?

Two tremors in one year—this cannot be a coincidence as well.

Counting back a thousand years, the Weapon-Forging Valley had never experienced such violent tremors.

"Could it be that the hammer is about to emerge?"