The magical treasures of various Holy Lands more or less all originate from the Heavenly Fire Holy Land.
However, the Heavenly Fire Holy Land is quite temperamental; to entice their help in forging a magical treasure, one needs to pay a hefty price and it still depends on their mood.
Those who can use the Jade Balance Star Core are probably the old-timers of the Heavenly Fire Holy Land, or even ancient creatures who have survived since Ancient Times. To ask them to make a move?
The difficulty is not small.
“What about those three families?”
“The Ancient Mo Clan, the Ancient Gongsun Clan, and the Ancient Ouyang Clan – these three ancient families possess forging skills not inferior to the Heavenly Fire Holy Land. But these families have always been sparse in population and reclusive, uninvolved in world affairs, so fewer and fewer people are aware of their existence. My sister’s understanding of the art of forging was learned from an ancestor of the Ancient Mo Clan.”
As Lin Shiyu spoke, she once again drifted into her memories.
Lu Changsheng, Lin Qinghan, Dugu Aotian, and others were all startled.
They hadn’t expected such a background.
The Mount Taihua Goddess, as the founder of the Mount Taihua Sacred Land, acquired her forging skills from a venerable senior of the Ancient Mo Clan.
In that case, the understanding of the Ancient Mo Clan regarding the art of forging on the Great Dao is indeed unimaginable.
And to think that there are two other ancient forging families on par with the Ancient Mo Clan – the Ancient Gongsun Clan and the Ancient Ouyang Clan.
These forging families, due to being too ancient and low-key, were so obscure that even the well-informed Lu Changsheng had never heard of their existence.
If it weren’t for Lin Shiyu mentioning the “One Saint Three Families” of the forging world, Lu Changsheng wouldn’t even know about these ancient forging families.
These families are really playing it too low-key.
“If these families could be persuaded to act, they would surely solve this problem.”
Lu Changsheng knew that since in Ancient Times, someone could use an Ancient Star’s core to forge magical treasures, it should be feasible now as well.
“Don’t be too happy just yet. The demands of these ancient families are even more exorbitant than those of the Heavenly Fire Holy Land.”
“Ah?”
Lu Changsheng had thought that the pricing of these families would be lower than that of the Heavenly Fire Holy Land, but it turned out to be even higher.
“The reason why the Heavenly Fire Holy Land could develop into a Holy Land is because they absorbed a large number of Refinement Grandmasters from the Immortal Realm. These grandmasters require various Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures for their training to improve their forging skills. Hence, with many people, there’s competition, leading to lower prices. That’s why sometimes the various Holy Lands would present materials and request the Heavenly Fire Holy Land’s grandmasters to help forge magical treasures.”
“As for the three great ancient forging families, their art of forging is generally only passed down to the direct descendants, resulting in few but highly skilled practitioners. They only forge top-quality magical treasures, with frighteningly high prices. Typically, the various Holy Lands or some ancient entities, when they have special forging needs, then would they seek out the three great ancient forging families. If you bring the Jade Balance Star Core to them and ask for their help in forging, they might demand ten times the materials.”
“Ten times…”
Lu Changsheng thought to himself that the three great ancient forging families were too exploitative.
Great Accomplishment, others would consider it much even at seventy percent, but in front of the three great ancient forging families, that doesn’t even count for much.
It seems that internal competition among the Heavenly Fire Holy Land’s grandmasters has driven prices down, making it a more cost-effective option.
However, there are only a few grandmasters in the Heavenly Fire Holy Land capable of using the Jade Balance Star Core to forge magical treasures.
Lu Changsheng decided to save up more Jade Balance Star Core first and consider whether to seek the help of a grandmaster for forging when he had accumulated more.
Now, with only a piece of the Jade Balance Star Core the size of a fingernail, approaching the three great ancient forging families – they could take advantage of the situation, and the final product might not even be better than a mosquito leg.
“Do you know where the three great ancient forging families are located?”
Lu Changsheng made a note of the locations of the ancient forging families.
“The Ancient Ouyang Clan resides at Sword Pond, the Ancient Mo Clan at Feigong City, and as for the Ancient Gongsun Clan, they are in the Void’s Mechanism Realm.”
The Void, the Mechanism Realm, is a small world opened up by the Ancient Gongsun Clan, where the clan members of the Gongsun family reside.
Suddenly, the barrier of the Mechanism Realm fluctuated, and the dozens of Gongsun family members guarding it were taken aback: “Who are you? This is the Mechanism Realm. Could it be that you wish to be enemies with our Ancient Gongsun Clan?”
A tall and majestic figure appeared, with overwhelming Demonic Qi. The Great Dao Laws materialized around him, condensing into Great Dao runes.
His eyes were as deep as black holes, seeming to pull anyone who made eye contact into a never-ending abyss.
“Are you the Hallucinatory Dark Demon Venerable?”
The expressions of several dozen Gongsun family members became even more astonished.
The newcomer was none other than the Hallucinatory Dark Demon Venerable, whose sinister reputation shook the Three Realms.
“This Venerable is looking for your Clan Leader to craft a Magical Treasure.”
Without waiting for these members of the Ancient Gongsun Clan to notify their Clan Leader, the Hallucinatory Dark Demon Venerable transformed into a black fog and burst straight in, unstoppable by the clan members.
“The Hallucinatory Dark Demon Venerable seeks our Clan Leader to craft a Magical Treasure? What level of Magical Treasure does he wish to create?”
The members of the Ancient Gongsun Clan looked at each other in bewilderment, unclear as to why the Hallucinatory Dark Demon Venerable was seeking their Clan Leader, and just how terrifying the Magical Treasure he wanted to craft could be.
The black fog broke into the main peak of the Mechanism Realm and settled before a cavern dwelling.
A tall figure of the Hallucinatory Dark Demon Venerable appeared from the black fog as it poured into his body.
“Gongsun Sheng, you owe this Venerable a favor as big as the sky; the time has come to repay it.”
“It has been a long while since someone dared to call me by my name directly. Hallucinatory, your Refinement abilities are not bad; why seek my assistance?”
An old man with flower-white goat whiskers and a tuft of white hair on his head emerged from the cavern dwelling.
“This Magical Treasure, its magical power is astonishing; even with my abilities, I cannot complete it. I need the strength of your Gongsun Family.”
“Oh? Just what level of Magical Treasure is it that poses such a difficulty for you?”
Gongsun Sheng became interested.
“You will know soon enough.”
The Hallucinatory Dark Demon Venerable’s large hand presented a piece of metal, pitch-black and swallowing all light around it, as if its very presence was a void.
Gongsun Sheng’s murky eyes sparkled: “I wouldn’t have imagined you could get your hands on something like this; this is quite remarkable.”
“So long as you help this Venerable craft the Magical Treasure I require, the debt you owed will be wiped clean. I give you five million years.”
“Five million years is too rushed; it’s impossible to craft a perfect Magical Treasure, which would be a waste of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. How about nine million years?”
“Agreed.”
In the territories of the Changliu Holy Land, within the Ruthless Forest, a Blood Sea Palace stronghold was attacked by Elders and Disciples of the Changliu Holy Land. Sword Qi threaded the sky, forcing the Elders and Disciples of the Blood Sea Palace into a continuous retreat.
“Ah! No!!!!!”
The protector overseeing this Blood Sea Palace stronghold let out a scream of agony, disintegrating into ashes in the face of the overwhelming frosty Sword Qi.
To minimize casualties while clearing out the Blood Sea Palace branches, the Changliu Holy Land had the Old Sword Saint take action.
The protector of Blood Sea Palace was no match for the Old Sword Saint, who executed him with a single sword strike.
“Damn it, we’ve been lying low in Ruthless Forest, only moving by night. How did Changliu Mountain find us?”
“Someone must have leaked our location!”
The surviving Elders and Disciples of Blood Sea Palace, escaping into underground tunnels, hoped to use them to flee to safety.
“They’ve fled into the tunnels; let’s pursue them.”
Li Changye, leading the disciples of Changliu Mountain, discovered the tunnels used by the branches of Blood Sea Palace and, employing Earth Escape Divine Skills, continued the pursuit alongside the disciples of Changliu Mountain.
Li Changye chased for tens of thousands of miles when suddenly, he halted, leading the Changliu disciples back to the surface.
A strong scent of blood hung in the air.
On the ground lay the corpses of the Elders and Disciples of Blood Sea Palace, scattered haphazardly.
These bodies were withered, entirely drained of their blood.
A familiar figure emerged in Li Changye’s line of sight.
His body was shrouded in a cloud of blood mist; clearly, he had slain all the Elders and Disciples of Blood Sea Palace.
Upon seeing Li Changye, he smiled cruelly, “Master, this time I have indeed done you a great favor.”
“Wayward disciple, you seek to destroy the corpses and erase the evidence, cutting off my leads!”
Li Changye’s body quivered with emotion, never expecting to encounter the treacherous Xiao Xiangdao once again, especially since his Demonic Cultivation Skills had reached Great Accomplishment, surpassing his own strength.