Ye Zhongming had initially been quite pleased. Although he hadn’t managed to upgrade the Earth Sand Moon Blade to seven colored grade, he had already prepared himself for the disappointment, knowing it was a long shot.
Moreover, he had successfully repaired the Traditional Shields, proving that by repairing equipment, he could obtain its recipe. This was yet another overpowered ability. Ye Zhongming could acquire countless equipment recipes, gather the materials, and craft them himself if needed. This meant he was no longer entirely bound by blueprints and could even write and sell his own recipes.
However, he realized they were different when he repaired the Earth Sand Moon Blade and compared the recipe he obtained from the roulette with the one in his mind. It dawned on him that the recipe he gained from repairing equipment might only be usable by him and couldn’t be shared with others.
While this was disappointing—it dashed his hopes of selling recipes—it was still a significant advantage. Ye Zhongming didn’t dwell on it too much.
But when he chiseled the weapon, which should have been a straightforward process, the once-crystalline blade turned ashen, as if it had aged overnight from youth to decrepitude.
This truly frightened Ye Zhongming.
Even with Cloud Peak’s wealth and his own resources, purple-grade equipment was a treasure, not something that could be easily obtained. Even the Earth Sand Moon Blade, which he had crafted himself, was no exception. If he were to make another one now, the success rate would be uncertain, and the materials alone would take who knows how long to gather.
He quickly picked up the blade to inspect it, his heart filled with doubt.
First, the purple glow representing the equipment’s tier hadn’t changed—something he had overlooked in his panic.
This discovery eased Ye Zhongming’s anxiety somewhat.
Next, he tapped the blade lightly with his finger, using about 30% of his strength.
Ye Zhongming’s strength was terrifying. Even steel would have dented under such force, but the blade emitted a clear, crisp sound and didn’t shatter, proving it was intact.
Finally, Ye Zhongming channeled his mental energy into the weapon.
He sensed a dark power.
Unlike the dark energy of his own bloodline, this was a power of… restless spirits.
“Sharpness: 700, Toughness: 800.”
The first change left Ye Zhongming puzzled.
Previously, the Desert Moon Blade had values of 720 and 780 for sharpness and toughness, respectively. This meant the sharpness had slightly decreased, while the toughness had slightly increased.
Less sharp but more durable?
Ye Zhongming quickly turned his attention to the most critical aspect: the skills. He read through them one by one.
Moon Glow… Skill Memory… These two skills remained unchanged. However, the other abilities had changed, and these changes helped Ye Zhongming understand what the rune gems truly were.
The Earth Sand Moon Blade had a skill called Blood Pact. Previously, its ability was that when the blade’s attack caused damage, the target’s injuries would worsen over time, and the power of Moonlight would be enhanced based on the severity of the target’s wounds, increasing its base attributes by 1% to 5%.
Now, Blood Pact had transformed. The continuous damage became curse damage, and while injured, the target would suffer from one of several negative status effects: weakness, confusion, fear, blindness, deafness, pain, stiffness, numbness, or dizziness. The severity and duration of these effects depended on the target’s mental strength.
At first glance, this seemed like having a curse caster assist him in battle. But Ye Zhongming, with his vast experience, quickly realized its true potential.
In combat, if he faced a warrior, their mental strength was usually not very high. If they were injured by the Earth Sand Moon Blade’s passive ability, the negative status effects would significantly impact them. If they were struck by dizziness, even for just a second, it would be enough for Ye Zhongming to finish them off.
On the other hand, if he faced a ranged or spellcasting class with high mental strength, the blade’s sharpness alone would usually be enough to deal with them, making the negative status effects unnecessary.
This single skill alone had increased Ye Zhongming’s combat effectiveness by about 10%.
The second skill that had changed was Moonlight Field. Now, when activating Moonlight Field, it would spawn restless spirits that inflicted corruption on targets, adding a corrosive effect to the existing slow and dizziness.
Next was Sandstorm Moonlight Tornado. Previously, canceling Moonlight Field would convert its energy into a Sandstorm Moonlight Tornado, dealing both light and earth damage. Now, it dealt triple damage, adding dark damage to the mix. The power of this ability still depended on the number of tornadoes the user chose to create—the fewer the tornadoes, the greater the damage.
But what surprised Ye Zhongming the most was the new ability that had been added.
“Ability 7: Spectral Rift.”
“When the weapon’s attack leaves a mark on any non-living surface, these marks will temporarily become spectral rifts. Depending on the depth and length of the marks, undead creatures of varying strength will emerge from them. The speed and number of creatures produced by each rift are proportional to the user’s evolution level, mental strength, and the attack power used to create the rift.”
“Undead Sand Moon Blade (Purple).”
This named weapon had changed its name and gained a new ability!
What Ye Zhongming had feared would be a ruined weapon had instead made significant progress. He felt the joy of recovering something he thought was lost.
He picked up the blade and slashed it across the ground, leaving a two-meter-long mark. However, this mark was different from usual—it glowed faintly, as if tiny LED lights had been embedded within it.
In less than two seconds, two skeletal hands emerged from the mark, prying open the rift and turning the glow into a gaping maw. Then, a three-meter-tall skeletal warrior climbed out.
It looked around, found no enemies, and stood motionless before Ye Zhongming.
Ye Zhongming waited. Soon, a skeletal hound emerged, about two meters in length. A few seconds later, a green-skinned zombie appeared, baring its sharp teeth and hunched over, its glowing green eyes scanning the surroundings.
Ye Zhongming realized he could only designate targets for these undead creatures to attack. He couldn’t control them as intricately as he could with battle beasts.
Nevertheless, he was satisfied. With just a casual slash, he summoned three undead creatures, each with a strength equivalent to around level three.
Excited by this discovery, Ye Zhongming first informed his subordinates not to be alarmed by his experiments. Then, he unleashed a full-power Thousand Seal Slash at the ground, creating a deep, dozens-of-meters-long fissure.
Having fought all day, repaired two pieces of equipment, and expended significant mental energy, Ye Zhongming was exhausted. Thinking that the undead creatures wouldn’t cause any harm, he decided to take a nap, planning to see how many of these creatures he could summon when he woke up.