Chapter 1226: Out-of-Body Robbery

In the Saint 5-dan Out-of-Body realm, where the spirit departs the body, one must undergo the Out-of-Body Tribulation to become even stronger.

Even though a weapon can reach the Out-of-Body realm, its spirituality cannot condense a spirit or break free from its restraints. Nevertheless, it can manifest legs and feet, allowing it to walk like a human, making it much more agile than before.

This cauldron, which had already reached the half-step Out-of-Body level, now, after fusing with the Golden Crystal Profound Stone, indeed broke through its restraints in one go and attracted the Out-of-Body Tribulation.

The dark clouds grew larger and larger, tearing open the roof, scattering dust, and revealing the sky outside.

The many artifact masters in the room, seeing a crafted weapon reach the Out-of-Body realm for the first time, all trembled with excitement and not a single one left.

"Crackle!"

Thunder roared, and countless blue lightning bolts intertwined, seeming to tear the very air apart.

"How could this cauldron attract... the Out-of-Body Tribulation without even being tempered?" President Qin was filled with disbelief.

There are three steps to crafting a weapon: first, melting metals and ores; second, forging the embryonic form; and third, quenching! For skilled artifact masters, the first two are not difficult, but the third is the hardest to master.

For many weapons, whether their materials can perfectly fuse and whether their quality can be further improved depends entirely on the artifact master and their mastery of quenching.

He couldn't understand many of the previous techniques. He had thought that the final quenching would open his eyes and truly show him the skill level of a powerful artifact master. He never dreamed, however, that it would attract the Out-of-Body Tribulation before even being tempered!

"It's not that it hasn't been tempered," Master Lin Jie said, his throat dry, "but rather... it's about to be tempered!"

"About to?" President Qin's pupils contracted, and his body stiffened as he realized something. "Does Master mean... using lightning for tempering?"

"That's right, he intends to use lightning for quenching..." Master Lin Jie nodded.

"The Out-of-Body Tribulation is fierce and violent; even true Out-of-Body realm experts find it difficult to withstand. To let a newly advanced weapon use this to..." President Qin felt that he wasn't crazy, but that Master Zhang was.

The Out-of-Body Tribulation is lightning, extremely violent; many Out-of-Body realm experts fear it greatly and dare not face it head-on! Hall Master Gou of the Master Teacher Pavilion had long ago broken through to this realm, yet he dared not endure even a single lightning tribulation. This was because he was old and frail, feeling he couldn't withstand it, and a slight misstep would lead to his soul being scattered.

Such a dangerous thing, which everyone avoids like a plague, this fellow... actually plans to use it for quenching! In other words, absorbing the power of lightning into the weapon... What audacity!

A slight misstep, and all previous efforts would be ruined, which wouldn't be the worst... The most crucial thing is that it might not withstand it and explode on the spot. If an Out-of-Body realm weapon suddenly explodes, it's equivalent to an expert of that level self-destructing... It's very possible their entire branch would be directly wiped out, completely removed from the Master Teacher Continent.

"Everyone, quickly retreat! Guide everyone out..." Unable to hold back any longer, he quickly ordered in a loud voice.

All the 7-star artifact masters from Qingyuan City were gathered here, intending to listen to Master Lin Jie's lecture. If they were all to be blown up, it would truly be over...

"Yes!"

"Run..."

"Quickly go to the Master Teacher Pavilion to get people over here... If this isn't controlled, it could be a catastrophe!"

The many artifact masters also realized the danger; their faces all turned pale, and they frantically rushed out.

Soon, only Zhang Xuan, Master Lin Jie, President Qin, and Chu Xiang remained in the room.

At this moment, Chu Xiang also turned pale with fright and trembled continuously. He quickly looked at Master Zhang, who was guiding him nearby, but saw that the latter had his hands clasped behind his back, looking at the lightning in the sky, showing not a hint of fear, but rather a strong sense of excitement.

"Master Zhang..." He swallowed and called out.

"Don't worry, it's just the Out-of-Body Tribulation," Zhang Xuan said with a faint smile, knowing what the other party was worried about. "The Golden Origin Cauldron will definitely endure it!"

While normal tempering would also allow the Golden Crystal Profound Stone to exert its power, its might would certainly be far inferior to tempering with lightning. Doing this would not only allow all the materials to fuse more perfectly but, more importantly, imbue the entire cauldron with the power of lightning, giving it a great advantage when fighting other Out-of-Body realm experts!

Crackle!

As everyone watched in shock, the first lightning bolt struck down.

It landed on the Golden Origin Cauldron, was easily absorbed, causing no ripples. Instead, it made the cauldron's luster even more dazzling, and its texture seemed to become firmer and denser.

"This..." Master Lin Jie could hardly believe it. "This cauldron itself is a mid-tier Saint artifact, and now it has fused with the Golden Crystal Profound Stone. It's nothing for it to withstand the first lightning tribulation. But how is it that its spirituality is completely unharmed?"

Spirituality, like a shaman's soul, is yin in nature, and what it fears most is lightning! Absorbing lightning into the weapon for tempering would naturally attack the spirituality... A misstep could lead to its complete annihilation!

But the spirituality of this cauldron was completely unharmed. Instead, it was controlling the cauldron, twisting wildly in the air, looking as if it had achieved its ambition... What on earth happened?

"The Golden Origin Cauldron's spirituality has experienced a lightning impact once before," Zhang Xuan explained, shaking his head at the master who seemed on the verge of going mad. "Its spirituality has already undergone a transformation. Although the lightning of the Out-of-Body Tribulation is not weak, it's difficult for it to harm it!"

In the Sea of Lightning, the Golden Origin Cauldron, to save people, had its spirituality struck by lightning and fell into a deep sleep. What it experienced then was even more powerful than now! The power of an eighth-level formation, even without someone controlling it, is incomparable to the Out-of-Body Tribulation.

It was precisely because of this experience that Zhang Xuan dared to use lightning for tempering.

"It experienced lightning?" Only then did Master Lin Jie understand and breathe a sigh of relief. However, he immediately showed a look of concern: "The Out-of-Body realm is also divided into four levels: initial, middle, late, and peak, corresponding to four lightning tribulations. I wonder... what realm can this Golden Origin Cauldron reach?"

A normal Out-of-Body realm expert, after reaching the initial stage, undergoes the initial tribulation, which involves only one lightning bolt. Although difficult to withstand, as long as they can endure it, their spirit will become stronger after consolidating its injuries, and subsequent middle tribulations will be much simpler to experience.

Weapons are different. If it advances too much at once, directly reaching the peak of the Out-of-Body realm, it will attract four lightning tribulations—initial, middle, late, and peak—all at once. Its spirituality won't have time to recover, and it's highly likely it won't be able to withstand them, crumbling apart.

"Chu Xiang's artifact crafting techniques are still a bit weak," Zhang Xuan said after calculating. "Although he cooperated well, it still didn't reach the peak of the Out-of-Body realm; it should be around the late stage!"

Although the Golden Crystal Profound Stone is rare and greatly benefits weapons, the Golden Origin Cauldron's previous material was too weak. Coupled with Chu Xiang's slightly weaker artifact crafting techniques, even with his guidance ensuring no errors, reaching the late stage of the Out-of-Body realm was already its limit.

However, don't underestimate this realm. When cultivation reaches Saint 5-dan, every minor level-up is harder than ascending to heaven, trapping countless individuals.

The strength of the late-stage Out-of-Body realm, coupled with tempering by lightning, means even a normal peak Out-of-Body realm expert might not be a match. Such strength, let alone in the Qingyuan Conferred Empire, would probably be considered top-tier even in the Qianchong Conferred Empire.

"Late-stage Out-of-Body realm? That means three lightning tribulations... That might be very difficult!" Master Lin Jie's mouth twitched, and his face was full of worry.

"I know!" Zhang Xuan nodded. "However, I believe the Golden Origin Cauldron will succeed!"

It's difficult to withstand three lightning tribulations at once. However, only by enduring them will it truly be tempered successfully and its strength greatly increased.

How can one see a rainbow without experiencing wind and rain? Although the Golden Origin Cauldron seemed somewhat unreliable, it was, after all, a spirituality that had lived for an unknown number of years, nourished by countless individuals in the Master Teacher Academy, and possessing the will and spirit of master teachers. It would surely endure.

Otherwise, back in the Sea of Lightning, it wouldn't have just fallen asleep, but would have died directly.

Amidst their conversation, the second lightning bolt struck down again.

This time, it was even more violent than before. Even before it arrived, the air seemed scorched black as if torn by lightning, ready to split apart at any moment.

Crackle!

The lightning struck the Golden Origin Cauldron, causing it to shrink back. Its form, flying in the air, could no longer maintain stability, and it plunged straight down, smashing a large pit in the ground.

Although it looked disheveled, it still held on.

Boom!

As the second bolt ended, without waiting for a reaction, the third lightning bolt poured down.

This one was even more powerful. The deep blue electric light, as thick as a water vat, struck straight down at the Golden Origin Cauldron.

"Oh no! It's much larger than I imagined, it might not hold on!" Seeing the might of the lightning, Zhang Xuan lost his previous composure, his expression tightening.

Although he had great faith in the Golden Origin Cauldron, the lightning before him was truly terrifying. If it really struck down, there was a risk that its soul would be scattered and its spirituality disappear on the spot.

"Golden Origin Cauldron, devour the earth flame, use fire against lightning..." Knowing that the cauldron alone couldn't withstand it, Zhang Xuan quickly shouted. At the same time, he flipped his palm, and a pile of formation flags appeared in his palm.

He raised his hand and flicked them out. Swish, swish, swish, swish!

The formation flags landed around the Golden Origin Cauldron, immediately forming a formation that drew in earth flames.

The lightning was immense; direct resistance was impossible. Since that was the case, they would meet force with force, using earth flames against the lightning.

Blaze!

The formation activated, and the surging earth flames were immediately drawn in by the formation, forming deep purple flames.

The Golden Origin Cauldron also knew it was a matter of life and death. It struggled out of the pit, its lid opened, and it sharply inhaled.

Whoosh!

The flames immediately entered the cauldron's interior, forming a giant fire dragon.

The fire dragon surged forth, colliding with the third lightning bolt descending from the sky.

The ground shook and mountains swayed. The shockwave formed by the two immense forces spread outwards, and in the blink of an eye, it blew down all the artifact masters' buildings, causing countless structures to collapse.

"My guild..." His eyes twitched, and President Qin cried.

"You said you wouldn't cause trouble, so I let you craft... Now that it's turned out like this, how will I explain myself to my ancestors later?"