Chapter 1198: Refining the Dao Universe

"Sacrifice..."

Listening to Mud Fox, Xu Qing's gaze fell into the abyss, lost in thought. After a long moment, he withdrew his gaze and spoke calmly.

"Since exploration is difficult, let's put it aside for now."

With that, Xu Qing's body swayed, rising from the Ink Earth and flying outwards. Mud Fox, following behind, also breathed a sigh of relief. Having recalled what this place was, he felt a strong unease about continuing the exploration; even the scent of rust made his heart pound.

After all, no one knew when the primordial Star Nail, which had been removed, would return. If by chance it returned during their exploration, the moment it was hammered back into this place would also be the moment of his and Xu Qing's complete annihilation. Of course, Mud Fox knew that the probability of such a thing happening was low. What truly made his heart pound was the unknown beneath the Ink Earth. That was a mystery and danger beyond his omniscience. Seeing Xu Qing give up now, Mud Fox immediately followed, relieved.

And so, with Xu Qing leading and him following, they left the Ink Earth. The moment they emerged, Xu Qing raised his hand and tossed the fishing rod to Mud Fox. Mud Fox caught it, already having a guess, and a hint of resentment appeared on his face.

"You stinky brother, are you running off to play by yourself? Leaving me at home to fish for you?"

Xu Qing nodded. That was indeed his plan.

"There are only ten months left until I go to the Welcoming Universe, so time is limited. I also need to claim some of the rewards after my ascension."

"I'll be back in a few months at the fastest, or half a year at the latest."

"During this time, I trouble you, exalted deity, to continue fishing here for me. Naturally, the more source essence, the better."

Having said that, without waiting for Mud Fox's agreement, Xu Qing's body flickered, and he departed first. Mud Fox snorted, watching Xu Qing's retreating figure, and pouted.

"Polite words, but an undeniable tone, and his actions are just the same. This kid... he's grown up."

"He dares to talk to me like that now!"

"However, I like him even more like this."

After pouting, Mud Fox couldn't help but lick his lips. With a wave of his jade-like hand outside the Ink Earth, a sea of flowers instantly appeared, blossoming, and from within them emerged numerous charming women. These were all creations of Mud Fox's divine art, so lifelike. Amidst the chattering and singing, melodies also echoed. It was as if they had returned to the Hundred Flowers Palace. Naturally, a soft couch also appeared, along with some immortal fruits and spirit wine. Mud Fox, knowing how to enjoy himself, now lay on the soft couch like a concubine, cast the fishing rod, letting the line fall into the Ink Earth, and then happily ate immortal fruits, drank spirit wine, and listened to beautiful music.

"One must not shortchange oneself in life."

Xu Qing noticed this scene of comfortable fishing outside the Ink Earth before he left. Everyone's preferences and perceptions differ. Mud Fox enjoyed pleasure and liveliness, but Xu Qing preferred tranquility and quiet. What one found tedious, the other might find peaceful. So, regardless of the process, it was merely a difference in choice; ultimately, as long as the source essence was fished out, it was fine.

With these thoughts, Xu Qing used his immortal jade slip to leave the Moyang Universe and head for... the Dao Forging Universe! Both the Constitutional Baptism of magic treasures and the opportunity for lower immortals to personally forge artifacts took place in Dao Forging. The Dao Forging Universe was, naturally, special; it was even reasonable to call it a strategic resource universe. This was because, in terms of artifact forging, this universe was already the core of the entire Nine Shores Heaven. The artificial modifications within it were also vast and astounding.

The Dao Forging Universe had no starfields, no galaxies, no stars. It only had a colossal furnace! This furnace occupied seventy percent of the Dao Forging Universe's area, which made its immense size unimaginable. The Dao Forging fire within the furnace came from... countless stars! All the stars of the entire Dao Forging Universe had been moved here to empower this fire. However, the Dao Forging fire wasn't solely formed by the stars of this universe. Some parts were brought from other universes to make the Dao Forging fire even stronger. Another portion came from the fire of deities. All of these converged to form this terrifying Dao Forging Furnace, capable of accommodating hundreds of millions of artifact masters for forging.

From a distance, this furnace didn't look much different from a sun, but it was far more astonishing and vast, becoming the sole celestial body in this universe. At the same time, countless ethereal belts emanated from the Dao Forging Furnace, swaying in all directions. On each ethereal belt, countless cultivators could be seen moving back and forth. Anyone in the entire Nine Shores Heaven who had artifact forging needs and met the qualifications would come here, making the Dao Forging Universe bustling at all times.

When Xu Qing appeared, he was on an ethereal belt. Everything he saw, the sounds around him, and the surging heat wave made him momentarily disoriented.

"Such a furnace..." Xu Qing murmured inwardly, his steps unwavering as he hastened forward.

Following the ethereal belt, he moved past the coming and going crowds, eventually approaching the end. He queued in front of the black altar erected there. Due to the immense demand for artifact forging in the Dao Forging Universe, there were many people waiting on every ethereal belt. Fortunately, the number of artifact masters within was also astonishing, so the waiting time wasn't overly long. Most cultivators sat cross-legged, cultivating while they waited. When it was their turn, they would step onto the altar, crush a jade slip, transform into a pillar of light, and be teleported into the outer layer of the Dao Forging Furnace. Thus, several days passed quickly in this wait.

During these days, Xu Qing also meticulously observed the Dao Forging Furnace. This furnace was divided into nine levels: upper, middle, and lower. The lower the level, the more numerous the forging entrances, with only a few entrances on the uppermost level. Most cultivators teleporting on the ethereal belts entered the lower three levels, while those entering the middle three were less common. As for the upper three levels, Xu Qing hadn't seen anyone enter them. Thus, he made some judgments in his mind.

After a few more hours, when the cultivator in front of him also stepped onto the altar and disappeared via teleportation, Xu Qing finally became the first in line. When it was his turn, Xu Qing took a deep breath, stepped onto the altar, and took out the immortal jade slip he had received as an ascension reward. Following the actions of others he had observed over the past few days, Xu Qing crushed the immortal jade slip. With a bang, the shattered jade slip diffused and merged into the altar, creating an activating force that roared as it transformed into a beam of light, rising upwards.

The pillar of light went straight to... the second level of the upper three levels of the Dao Forging Furnace! The appearance of this pillar of light immediately drew the attention of cultivators on the surrounding ethereal belts, and curious gazes turned towards it. Whispers of discussion also resonated among the cultivators.

"Someone's actually entering the second level!"

"The upper three levels of the Dao Forging Furnace are for immortal forging!"

"Generally, one only gets such a qualification after making immense contributions..."

"It must be one of the newly ascended cultivators from this generation. The top ten of this generation receive this honor!"

Most of these discussions carried a hint of envy. Indeed, an opportunity for a lower immortal to personally forge an artifact was extremely rare.

Xu Qing, however, was unaware of everything happening outside. At this moment, as he was teleported by the pillar of light, he reappeared inside a forging entrance on the second level. Intense heat enveloped him, and before him was a massive fire pit. An elder in red robes sat cross-legged on the fire pit, exuding an incredibly terrifying aura. After sensing it, Xu Qing's expression became solemn. He immediately determined that this person was an immortal! He bowed respectfully.

"What artifact do you wish to forge?"

The red-robed elder did not open his eyes, remaining cross-legged on the fire pit, but a divine thought echoed. Without hesitation, Xu Qing waved his hand, immediately taking out the Constitutional Treasure Compass he had obtained earlier, and also brought out the speck of Heavenly Principle Dust. After thinking for a moment, he also placed his Star Pagoda to the side. Having done all this, he respectfully spoke.

"Senior, I wish to refine this compass. Using its material, combined with the Heavenly Principle and my own Constitution, I want to forge it into a treasure that resonates with my Constitution!"

"What shape?" the red-robed elder's divine thought conveyed.

"Make it into a skewer!" Xu Qing waved his hand, conjuring the iron skewer he often used back then, to determine the form of the treasure to be forged. Then he pointed at the compass. "As for the Constitution within this compass, I ask senior to help extract it and merge it into my pagoda treasure."

This time, the red-robed elder on the fire pit slightly opened and closed his eyes. A terrifying pressure emanated from his gaze, falling upon Xu Qing.

"You only have one opportunity to forge an artifact."

Xu Qing lowered his head and spoke calmly.

"I also have one opportunity for Constitutional Treasure Baptism."

"That is not for me to do," the red-robed elder said faintly. Then he carefully scrutinized Xu Qing and suddenly added, "Are you Xu Qing?"

Xu Qing nodded. The red-robed elder smiled.

"Since you are the first of this generation... Very well, I'll help you this once."

After saying this, the elder raised a hand and pointed. An astonishing power immediately emanated from his fingertip, landing on the compass. The compass trembled, rapidly melting, its impurities dissipating, leaving behind only its essence. As for the Constitution within it, it was extracted without damage. With a slight shift of the red-robed elder's finger, the compass's Constitution directly flew towards the Star Pagoda beside it. In the next instant, a ball of flame erupted from the fire pit, enveloping the Star Pagoda. After the Constitution merged completely within it, even the Star Pagoda's own damage was re-forged in the flames. Not only was it restored, but the power it emitted was clearly stronger.

Having done this, the elder began to forge the magic artifact for Xu Qing. He swiftly merged the purified compass essence with the Heavenly Principle Dust. After a moment of thought, he took out a palm-sized green stone and waved it into the mixture. Subsequently, the flames of the entire fire pit surged, burning fiercely. Under continuous refinement, an iron skewer... faintly appeared within the sea of fire.

Just as it was about to take shape, the red-robed elder suddenly spoke.

"Your Constitution!"

Witnessing this effortless forging, Xu Qing knew that the elder before him was undoubtedly a master. With excitement, he immediately released his own parallel Constitution. It merged into the sea of fire, into the iron skewer. The iron skewer vibrated violently, seemingly becoming a kaleidoscope, revealing countless illusory forms.

"It's done!"