Chapter 1521: Breakthrough Key Item

“A divine weapon?” Zu'an was taken aback. To be honest, the Taia Sword had always been extraordinary, but apart from being exceptionally hard, it only possessed one special effect: a pressure domain. This pressure was very effective in the early stages, but later on, as enemies' cultivation levels grew higher, its effect became less and less noticeable.

It certainly qualified as a Heaven-tier weapon, but calling it a divine weapon was a stretch. It might not even be worthy of being called an immortal artifact.

Seeing his expression, Mi Li snorted. “What does an ignorant child like you know? The Taia Sword is the Emperor's sword! It can pierce the highest clouds and cleave the deepest earth. Once this sword emerges, all under heaven will submit. It is, naturally, a genuine god-tier weapon. It was merely degraded to a Heaven-tier weapon due to the erosion of long years and the addition of a seal.”

Zu'an realized she had a point. He couldn't help but voice a long-standing question: “A seal? Who placed the seal?”

“It was probably Ying Zheng. Back then, he was trying to deal with me, and the Taia had always been Chu's divine sword. He worried I might use the Taia, so he sealed the sword,” Mi Li replied.

“'Probably'?” Zu'an's expression was odd. “You're not even sure about something so important?”

Mi Li's expression also seemed strange. “I don't know. I feel some memories from back then are a bit blurry, and recently I seem to have awakened some other memories...”

“What memories?” Zu'an eagerly pressed.

Mi Li's face suddenly flushed. “None of your business! Oh, by the way, call me 'Master' again. I want to hear it.”

Zu'an was speechless. This woman's temperament was truly fickle. What kind of peculiar habit was it to enjoy hearing him call her 'Master'?

He didn't mind, though. He called her 'Master' repeatedly, making Mi Li beam with smiles. “One day... it will definitely be interesting.”

“Why are you speaking in riddles too?” Zu'an was quite exasperated.

“Alright, alright,” Mi Li finally composed her smile. “Let's take this opportunity to repair and upgrade the Taia Sword.”

Zu'an nodded. Inside the great cauldron, the Heaven-tier ores were gradually melting, and the White Lotus True Flame burned even more fiercely. Dense vital energy filled the room.

He placed the Taia Sword into the great cauldron. While controlling the White Lotus True Flame to engulf it, he asked worriedly, “You reside within it. Will this intense fire affect you?”

“There will be some effect,” Mi Li nodded. “But my soul body isn't inside the sword body right now, so the impact should be minimal.”

“Then I'll try to reduce the intensity so you don't suffer.” As Zu'an spoke, he began to control the flames, and the White Lotus True Flame in the great cauldron visibly weakened.

“No!” Mi Li immediately stopped him. “How can forging a divine weapon be so easy? Even your White Lotus True Flame might not be intense enough. We still need the Flying Fire Meteor Pills to enhance it. How can you intentionally reduce the power?”

Zu'an understood this principle. “Then if you can't bear it later, just tell me. Your safety is more important than a divine weapon.”

“I know,” Mi Li said, a hint of softness in her eyes. How many people in this world could refuse the temptation of a divine weapon? If it were an ambitious person with ill intentions, they would stop at nothing to forge a divine weapon, even if it meant sacrificing her in the process.

Next, Zu'an began to operate the forging system. He found the forging system to be extremely intelligent. Even if you knew nothing about forging, it didn't matter; you just needed to control the input fire.

Above the great cauldron was something resembling a car's speedometer. In the middle was a specially highlighted zone. This zone moved constantly, and you just needed to control the fire so the pointer landed within this zone. This indicated the optimal intensity of the fire.

The zone moved very quickly, and the pointer was extremely sensitive. A slight lapse in attention would cause the pointer to go beyond the optimal range.

The sensitivity was too high. For ordinary cultivators, this would be an almost impossible task.

Fortunately, Zu'an's control over every wisp of vital energy was incredibly precise. Only this allowed him to barely keep the pointer within that range.

Even so, it was very strenuous for him. He dared not be distracted for a moment.

Gradually, the Heaven-tier ores turned into a crimson liquid that flowed onto the Taia Sword's body. The Taia Sword then absorbed the crimson molten liquid as if it were a bottomless pit.

At this moment, Mi Li furrowed her delicate brows. She took a few steps back, out of Zu'an's line of sight, then quietly loosened her collar and fanned herself gently into the neckline with her other hand.

Although her soul body was currently outside, the Taia Sword was, after all, her place of residence. She still felt waves of intense heat.

After a while, Zu'an heard a 'ding' sound. His heart filled with joy, and he quickly turned to tell Mi Li the good news. “It's been successfully repaired, my beauty... Master...”

Mi Li awkwardly pulled her collar tighter. “Then throw in the Hongyuan Tribulation Gold. Let's see if we can use this opportunity to restore its former glory.”

“Oh, okay.” Zu'an tossed the incredibly precious Hongyuan Tribulation Gold into the great cauldron without a glance. Instead, he turned back to look at Mi Li and asked, “What are you doing?”

“It's a bit hot. Can't I get some air?” Mi Li glared at him with her phoenix eyes.

“Of course.” Zu'an understood after a moment's thought. The Taia Sword was, in a sense, her body. It would be strange if she wasn't hot now that it was being roasted like this.

A scene suddenly flashed in his mind: Mi Li, unable to bear the heat, shedding all her clothes...

“What kind of filthy thoughts are making you smile so lewdly?” Mi Li's suspicious voice came from beside him.

“No, I'm not. I wasn't. Don't say such things!” Zu'an quickly issued a three-part denial. At the same time, he found it strange. Shouldn't he be feeling clear-headed and calm right now? Why was his mind still racing with such inappropriate thoughts?

Meanwhile, he felt the vital energy within him surging intensely. However, he merely assumed this was due to continuously controlling the White Lotus True Flame and didn't pay much attention.

“Don't look back later,” Mi Li snorted. She knew that when forging the divine weapon later, the temperature would be incomparably higher than during the current repair. She would need to calmly circulate her energy to mitigate it, and also loosen her clothes to help dissipate the heat.

“Okay!” Zu'an readily agreed, but secretly thought to himself, 'But my divine sense can still see.'

As if guessing his thoughts, Mi Li's voice came again: “To forge a divine weapon, one usually needs a cultivation level above Earth Immortal to even have a chance. While your current cultivation is decent, the hard requirements are still far from met. Fortunately, the Taia Sword is already a divine weapon. You only need to help it restore its former glory. The difficulty is incomparably simpler than forging a new divine weapon from scratch.”

“Even so, it's not something at your level could achieve. Fortunately, this strange great cauldron can lend you a hand.”

“However, you still need to be fully focused. One mistake, and all will be for naught.”

Zu'an nodded. He knew he had been on edge just now, and the difficulty would definitely be higher later. If he got distracted looking behind him, it might truly lead to a failed upgrade.

Seeing that he had taken her words to heart, Mi Li finally relaxed. “Let's start then.”

Zu'an nodded and urged the White Lotus True Flame to furiously engulf the Hongyuan Tribulation Gold. Alas, the Hongyuan Tribulation Gold lived up to its name as a unique wonder of heaven and earth; it showed no reaction at all.

Under Mi Li's guidance, he successively threw the Flying Fire Meteor Pills into it. The power of the White Lotus True Flame instantly surged dramatically. It was fortunate that the great cauldron of this forging system was special; otherwise, probably no furnace in the world could withstand such rampant power.

After some time, the Hongyuan Tribulation Gold finally began to show signs of melting. Wisps of golden aura, imbued with laws, began to gather towards the Taia Sword in the center, guided by the great cauldron.

As the Taia Sword absorbed wisps of the golden threads, its entire body began to emit a layer of crystalline light. The more golden threads it absorbed, the more the crystalline light began to flow along its blade.

Just then, a voice echoed in Zu'an's mind: “Detection: The artifact being forged can break through to Immortal-tier. Items required for breakthrough: True Dragon Blood, True Dragon Bone, and the Aura of a King of Beasts from either the Lion or Tiger race. Do you wish to proceed with the breakthrough?”