Chapter 1522: Sword Qi Spanning Thirty Thousand Miles

The forging system undeniably simplified many things. If Zu An had to forge a weapon from scratch himself, he would have to pay attention to numerous details, and it would require many techniques and secret methods—knowledge often considered unteachable, making it impossible to learn.

Which forging master in the world didn't inherit their craft through generations?

Now, Zu An's forging process was simplified to merely providing True Fire and controlling its intensity. The system even directly prompted him on what materials were needed.

Forging masters in the world typically discover effective additions only after countless experiments. With so many materials available, finding the right formula is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Yet, Zu An could directly see the correct answers. Any other forging master witnessing this would surely cry foul!

Zu An, however, didn't realize the unfair advantage he had; he was currently preoccupied with the materials required for the breakthrough.

True Dragon Bone, True Dragon Blood?

His first thought was to pull Chiwen over and try? After all, he was the Dragon King's direct son, so he should meet the requirements.

But he quickly dismissed the idea. Chiwen was a hybrid of a dragon and a fish; it was uncertain if he still counted as a True Dragon. Besides, for the sake of Shang Liuyu, he couldn't possibly harm him.

Suddenly, an idea struck him. There seemed to be another dragon corpse inside the Glazed Orb – the Red Dragon he had killed outside Brightmoon City long ago.

Looking back, that dragon had simply been unlucky, but its strength was actually quite impressive.

He just wondered if it counted as a True Dragon.

And what exactly was this "Regal Aura" of the Lion or Tiger clans?

Although both the Lion King and the Tiger King had many followers, they likely acknowledged each other as equals in power, with either capable of becoming the King of all Beasts.

But this Regal Aura...

Remembering how docile Hu Qianxiao had been earlier, like a tabby cat, it was hard to associate him with that term.

He really wanted to pull Hu Qianxiao over and ask, but there wasn't enough time, and even a slight distraction now would make him lose control of the fire.

"Try the golden gauntlet you seized from the Lion Prince last time," Mi Li said softly from behind him, her cherry lips parting. She was seated cross-legged on the bed, having further loosened her clothing.

As a soul entity, whether she loosened her clothes or not made little difference for heat dissipation, but it was a human instinct nonetheless.

The True Fire was incredibly potent, scorching the Tai'e Sword and simultaneously affecting her soul. Had she not possessed profound cultivation, extensive knowledge, and employed special techniques to maintain clarity, she would have long since been burned to ashes.

Zu An found her voice a little strange, but his eyes lit up at the suggestion.

He retrieved a golden gauntlet from the Glazed Orb. It emanated a faint oppressive aura, much like Shi Zhentian's presence when he was alive.

This was the spoil of war he had obtained from the Lion Prince, likely a cherished weapon Shi Zhentian had carried for years and then given to his beloved son.

"I wonder if this will work..." Zu An tossed the golden gauntlet into the large cauldron, as if it weren't a Heaven-tier weapon.

He had already decided that if this didn't work, there was no need to waste the True Dragon blood and bone.

He would pause the breakthrough, find Hu Qianxiao, and clarify what this "Regal Aura" truly was.

After the golden gauntlet was thrown into the cauldron, it pulsed with a golden light and hummed, clearly sensing danger.

Unfortunately, the power of the White Lotus True Fire, enhanced by the Fiery Meteor Pills, was so immense that even Divine-tier Primordial Calamity Gold couldn't withstand it, let alone a Heaven-tier golden gauntlet.

Soon, the golden gauntlet could no longer endure and gradually melted.

A chime sounded in Zu An's mind. He noted that the "Regal Aura" of the Lion and Tiger clans, one of the three previously required materials, had been satisfied. A wave of joy surged through him: "Master, I can't believe this actually worked!"

"Don't look back!" Mi Li's urgent warning came from behind him.

Zu An then remembered Mi Li's earlier words and hastily stopped himself: "Sorry, I almost forgot."

Yet, his mind couldn't help but conjure certain images, and he wondered why it felt so hot today.

"Carry on, I recall you still have a dragon corpse," Mi Li said, loosening her tightened clothes further.

Zu An nodded and took out a large urn from the Glazed Orb. This was the dragon blood he had collected back then. Although the Glazed Orb had the power to preserve items indefinitely, if the blood had remained inside the Red Dragon's corpse, it would likely have solidified. Therefore, he had specifically used a special urn to store the dragon blood, adding a unique agent to prevent coagulation, originally intending to sell it for a good price later.

Who knew how unpredictable life could be? He had forgotten about it for a long time, and now, unexpectedly, it was proving useful.

Dragon blood was incredibly precious. Zu An had initially planned to save some for future use, but after pouring in more than half the urn, the forging system still didn't register it as sufficient.

Left with no choice, he gritted his teeth and poured in all the remaining dragon blood.

Only then did the forging system emit a sound of satisfaction.

Zu An still felt a pang of regret, but then he reconsidered: it was precisely because such valuable materials were required that legendary divine artifacts could be forged.

Next, he tossed in the True Dragon Bone. Although the large cauldron was immeasurably smaller than the dragon bone, the entire bone fit inside without any difficulty, as if there was a self-contained space within it.

Zu An had originally intended to throw in the entire Red Dragon corpse, but Mi Li stopped him. Dragon meat was, after all, excellent food, and might prove useful in the future.

So, he played the role of a butcher. Fortunately, he could now conjure sword qi with ease, making it convenient to carve meat and debone.

Once all the materials were placed in the cauldron, they were refined at a visible speed, finally transforming into three streams of energy—white, red, and yellow—which then entered the Tai'e Sword.

The Tai'e Sword let out a dragon's roar, and immediately after, strange characters and shackles began to appear on its blade.

"That's the Tai'e Sword's seal!" Mi Li exclaimed.

At that moment, a divine radiance flowed across the Tai'e Sword's blade, and all the flickering shackles upon it shattered.

"Congratulations, the forged weapon has successfully broken through to the Immortal tier!"

The forging system's voice resounded.

Zu An noticed that even through the blazing flames, the Tai'e Sword now radiated a chilling glow. It appeared countless times sharper than before, and a potent sword intent permeated the room. Zu An was overjoyed, realizing that this tier breakthrough had unexpectedly also released the sword's intrinsic seal.

"Don't be complacent. Keep pushing to restore it to its true peak in one go," Mi Li reminded him, though her voice was also filled with delight.

Zu An nodded. Inside the large cauldron, only a thin layer of Primordial Calamity Gold had been consumed, yet this alone had allowed Tai'e to break through to the Immortal tier.

However, his expression immediately turned serious again. This proved that the resources required to break through to the Divine tier would be far greater than those for the Immortal tier.

Sure enough, as he began to push towards the Divine tier, the indicator dial spun countless times faster than before.

Under Mi Li's guidance, he successively dropped the remaining Fiery Meteor Pills into the cauldron. Zu An dared not be distracted for a single moment, diligently controlling the intensity of every flicker of flame.

Time seemed to stretch endlessly. Even with Zu An's formidable willpower, he felt himself faltering. Pressured by the intense flames and the need to keep the indicator needle constantly within the proper range, it was like dancing on a tightrope. Soon, he was drenched in sweat, and his vision began to blur.

Fortunately, he possessed the Primordial Chaos Scripture, which granted him astonishing recovery capabilities, allowing him to grit his teeth and persevere.

Any other cultivator, even one with a higher cultivation level, would likely be unable to endure such high intensity for so long.

He felt the internal heat intensify, soaking his clothes until they were sticky and uncomfortable, also hindering his control over the dial's pointer.

So, he simply released a burst of vital energy, shattering all his clothes.

The refining process within the cauldron also made Mi Li struggle with the intense heat. She had already shed her outer garments, leaving only her innermost attire, revealing large expanses of delicate skin on her arms and legs.

Zu An's sudden act of shedding his clothes startled her. As she watched sweat trickle over his bulging muscles, her expression instantly became somewhat unnatural, and scenes from her time inside Chu Chuyan's body resurfaced in her mind.

She quickly shook her head to dispel these thoughts, then waved her hand, pulling a screen between them. Only then did her mind slowly calm down.

"Master, what's wrong?" Zu An was also startled by the movement behind him.

"Nothing. Just focus on what you're doing," Mi Li said, trying to keep her voice level.

Zu An nodded, then fully activated the White Lotus True Fire, pushing his vital energy to its limit. Sweat poured off him like a waterfall; he felt he had lost an excessive amount of water over this day and night.

After an unknown period, the volume of Primordial Calamity Gold steadily diminished. A moment later, a prompt sounded in his mind: "Detected that the refined weapon can break through to the Divine tier. Breakthrough materials required: High-grade Taotie Horn, High-grade Mimic-scaled Death Motherworm Scale, Feather Mountain Spirit Spring Water. Do you wish to proceed with the breakthrough?"

Zu An was somewhat dazed. These items were exceedingly rare; even someone as powerful as Zhao Hao might not be able to acquire even one of them, demonstrating the immense difficulty in forging a divine weapon.

Yet, he happened to possess them all. It truly seemed to be fate.

He successively placed these materials from the Glazed Orb into the cauldron. Soon after, an blinding divine light erupted from the cauldron, followed by a terrifying sword qi that shot skyward. Even though the rooms in the Little Demon Queen's palace were protected by defensive arrays, their roofs were instantly ripped open, and the sword qi soared straight into the clouds.

Sword qi spanned thirty thousand li, a single stroke of light chilling nineteen continents!