Swallowed Star: Primordial Artifact

Chapter 233: Weapon Refining Techniques
"Time stands still!"

"Perfect time freeze."

Jiang Ye felt as if time had frozen around him, and he fully understood the rarity of this secret-rune weapon.

The laws of time are divided into three main categories: "acceleration," "stillness," and "deceleration," each of which can be further subdivided into many smaller categories. Understanding even one of these smaller categories will grant one recognition within the laws of time.

However, mastering any one of these three categories to the extreme is incredibly difficult.

Generally speaking, those who can master one of the three aspects of acceleration, stillness, or deceleration to the extreme are basically peak-level King-level experts. Only a few high-level King-level experts can also use the corresponding methods due to their excellent understanding of the laws.

"Check its energy consumption rate. Hmm, wait a moment, round it up to 1 seconds, then turn it off!"

As Jiang Ye closed the Arm of Misfortune, all the faint Void Runes that had been visible within a radius of 1 kilometers disappeared.

"I wonder how much energy it has consumed." Jiang Ye checked the energy bar of the Arm of Misfortune, which showed "Energy remaining 98.9%".

"hiss!"

Jiang Ye thought to himself, "It only took 10 seconds, and that was only the minimum range, and it already has 98.9% of its energy left? This is a Vulcan Source Crystal worth 2 million points, and its energy is being consumed so quickly!"

In just 10 seconds, 1.1% of the Vulcan Source Crystal was consumed. One Vulcan Source Crystal is worth 200 million points, so in just 10 seconds, 2.2 million points were consumed, and in one minute, 13.2 million points would be consumed.

"1320 million points consumed in 1 minute? That's equivalent to the entire fortune of a Marquis Immortal!" Jiang Ye finally understood what it meant for the universe to be fair.

A powerful secret weapon like the Arm of Timelessness doesn't require spending a lot of time comprehending the laws; as long as energy is provided, it can achieve time freeze.

It would be unreasonable if its energy consumption were any lower.

"No wonder the ancestors of the native people of the Yanji Continent left a message reminding us that the Arm of Misfortune consumes an astonishing amount of energy and can only be used when facing a true enemy in a life-or-death battle. It should never be used recklessly in ordinary times!" Jiang Ye shook his head inwardly and couldn't help but mutter, "For ordinary King-level experts, if they use it casually, they could probably go bankrupt!"

However, at this time, the Arm of Misfortune was said to be worth far more than the combined wealth of the previous two world rings, which was indeed worth it. After all, no matter what, this weapon was simply a deadly weapon that immortal-level powerhouses, especially those who were powerful in the field of time law, dreamed of.

"Oh right, the powerful treasure, the Flowing Light Gale Disc, can also stop time." Jiang Ye suddenly thought of this and couldn't help but ponder, "I wonder if the Arm of Time Misfortune and the Flowing Light Gale Disc can be used together?"

Thinking of this, he couldn't wait to take out the Flowing Light Gale Disc from his storage space.

Since Jiang Ye obtained the Flowing Light Gale Disc, it has been difficult to control due to its severe damage. To unleash its function, he must draw upon the power of his own world. Each time he activates it, Jiang Ye feels as if his energy has been drained, and the range he can maintain is extremely limited, with a very short duration.

This forces Jiang Ye to be very careful when using it, and he would never dare to use it lightly unless absolutely necessary.

As soon as Jiang Ye took out the Flowing Light Gale Disc and touched it with his palm, the damaged treasure trembled violently. The obscure and incomprehensible patterns on its surface suddenly began to flash with a ghostly light. At the same time, Shi Chuan's Arm also seemed to sense this and emitted a buzzing sound.

"This is... resonance?" Jiang Ye's pupils contracted slightly, his heart filled with both surprise and joy. He was surprised by this sudden change, but joyful because he might be able to unleash even greater power from the two weapons.

Taking a deep breath, Jiang Ye attempted to control both weapons simultaneously using the power of the world.

As Jiang Ye's world power continued to pour in, the Flowing Light Gale Domain expanded outward like a surging tide, centered on the Flowing Light Gale Disc. The "Void Secret Pattern" emanating from Shi Chuan's Arm followed closely behind, as if it were responding enthusiastically to the call of the Flowing Light Gale Disc.

However, as their power continued to expand, the surrounding space began to show signs of distortion and deformation, as if it were being kneaded by an invisible giant hand.

The stillness of time around us has become restless.

Jiang Ye could clearly sense that the power contained in the two weapons was initially merging with each other, but as the domain expanded, some obstacles arose between them, just like seawater and river water colliding and stagnating at their confluence, making it difficult for them to truly merge into one.

"Can't they be fused?" Jiang Ye wondered to himself.

But he did not give up. He gritted his teeth and continued to increase the output of energy, trying to break through this resistance so that the two weapons could truly work together to exert a powerful force greater than the sum of its parts.

But just as the power of the world established a connection with the two, the surrounding space seemed to be suddenly gripped by an invisible giant hand, and a sharp, ear-piercing explosion suddenly rang out.

Jiang Ye groaned, his blood and qi surging within him.

He was horrified to discover that the Flowing Light Gale Disc was frantically draining the energy from the Arm of Time's Misfortune, and the Arm of Time's energy bar was plummeting at a visible rate. In just one second, the remaining energy dropped from 98.9% to 65%.

"Not good!" Jiang Ye was startled and hurriedly severed the connection with the power of the world. As the connection was broken, the abnormal movements of the two rune weapons gradually subsided, and the distorted space around them slowly returned to calm.

"No! These two weapons cannot be used at the same time." Jiang Ye looked at the two treasures in his hands with lingering fear, cold sweat still remaining on his forehead.

Through this attempt, he realized that the two weapons could not be used together, and forcibly fusing them would only cause incalculable losses.

"Ok!"

Just as Jiang Ye was feeling dejected, he suddenly noticed a newly appeared crack on the Flowing Light Gale Disc.

The crack is slowly devouring the secret patterns surrounding the core of the treasure, seemingly threatening to completely destroy the entire treasure.

"Not good!" Jiang Ye's heart tightened. He knew that the reason why this precious treasure, the Flowing Light Gale Disc, could still be used with difficulty was entirely due to the fact that the last bit of its core had not been completely destroyed.

"What should we do? If it's not repaired in time, this Flowing Light Gale Disc will probably be completely ruined." Jiang Ye was extremely anxious, his brows furrowed into a deep frown. "But I don't have the materials to repair it right now!"

Just as Jiang Ye was racking his brains for a solution, a pattern on the surface of Shi Chuan's arm caught his attention.

The energy fluctuations emanating from these patterns subtly resonated with the core patterns of the Flowing Light Gale Disc. Jiang Ye's heart stirred, and he tentatively brought the two secret-patterned weapons closer together once more.

This time, instead of directly injecting the power of the world, he guided the energy of the Arm of Misfortune to gently permeate the damaged parts of the Flowing Light Gale Disc.

As energy was slowly injected, something strange happened.

The cracks on the Flowing Light Gale Disc not only stopped spreading, but the dim secret patterns also regained their luster.

"Haha, I understand!" Jiang Ye laughed excitedly. "No wonder these two weapons resonated with each other before. I didn't expect that the material of the Arm of Misfortune would be so compatible with the Flowing Light Gale Disc. It's simply the perfect material to repair the latter!" Upon seeing this, Jiang Ye immediately sat down cross-legged and began to carefully study the method of repairing the Flowing Light Gale Disc.

According to the weapon-refining inheritance that Jiang Ye obtained from the Qiankun Cauldron.

It takes five steps to craft a treasure.

Material preparation – design concept – material melting – shaping and setting – engraving of secret patterns.

The first step, preparing the materials, is easy to understand.
The material Jiang Ye needs right now is precisely the arm of Shi Chuan.

He carefully sensed the material on the Arm of Misfortune and the energy fluctuations emanating from the Flowing Light Gale Disc, confirming that the two were highly compatible.

To prevent energy disturbances during the repair process, he took out several pieces of sea marrow crystal from his storage space. Sea marrow crystal contains extremely pure energy, which can stabilize the energy during the melting process and ensure that the Arm of Misfortune can be successfully transformed into repair material.

Then, under Jiang Ye's control, the Qiankun Cauldron slowly floated in mid-air. The temperature of the flames inside the cauldron rose rapidly like a rocket, and the Arm of Time's Misfortune gradually melted under the high temperature, turning into a pool of liquid metal that emitted a faint light. The laws of time that originally flowed within it also quietly disappeared.

Jiang Ye closed his eyes, and his mental energy probed into the interior of the Flowing Light Gale Disc like invisible threads.

He combed through the complex time-law patterns inside the Flowing Light and Gale Disc, analyzing the impact of each damage on its overall function.

Combining the characteristics of the Arm of Time's Misfortune, a repair plan was constructed in the mind: not only to fill the cracks and restore its original function, but also to use the energy of the Arm of Time's Misfortune to optimize the operation of the Time Laws of the Flowing Light Gale Disc, expand the scope of the domain, reduce its energy consumption, and extend its duration.

Jiang Ye placed Shi Chuan's arm and the sea marrow crystal into the Qiankun Cauldron.

A ghostly blue flame rose from inside the cauldron. This flame was the Chaos Flame that the Qiankun Cauldron possessed, with an extremely high temperature, capable of melting most materials in the world.

As the flames enveloped it, the surface of the Arm of Timelessness began to melt, radiating a dazzling light. Jiang Ye focused intently, precisely controlling the flame temperature and melting rhythm using the power of the world. During the melting process, the Sea Marrow Crystal gradually merged into the liquid substance of the Arm of Timelessness, the two perfectly fusing to form a repair material.

Once the materials were melted, Jiang Ye used his telekinesis to slowly introduce the liquid material into the damaged area of ​​the Flowing Light Gale Disc.

During the shaping process, he constantly fine-tuned the distribution of the material to ensure that the repaired part was perfectly integrated with the original structure.

At the same time, he used his own world power to suppress and solidify the repaired parts, allowing the material to quickly take shape and merge with the Flowing Light Gale Disc.

As the restoration work progressed, the time law patterns inside the Flowing Light Gale Disc gradually became clearer, and the originally chaotic energy flow became orderly.

"We've finally reached the most crucial step! The core of repairing the Flowing Light Gale Disc lies in re-engraving the secret runes, and there are currently two feasible methods."

Jiang Ye stared intently at the surface of the Flowing Light Gale Disc, his thoughts racing as he pondered the most challenging step in the restoration process: engraving.

According to the manuals on weapon crafting, although the methods of weapon crafting are complex and diverse, they can be mainly divided into the method of weapon crafting based on laws and the method of weapon crafting based on secret patterns.

This is exactly the same as the main cultivation system of Devouring—the Secret Pattern School and the Law School.

The Mystic Rune School focuses on analyzing and constructing the fundamental runes of the universe, using intricate runes (such as those on weapons and armor) to drive power. It emphasizes the concrete understanding and creation of the universe's rules. Therefore, it requires extremely high comprehension and creativity. For example, Luo Feng, in the Beast God Realm, experienced 180 million years under a ten-thousand-fold time acceleration before even entering the Mystic Rune School.

(The divine power system that breaks through the perfect genetic level through continuous research into the structure of life can also be considered another kind of secret pattern.)
The Law-based school advocates that practitioners directly comprehend the fundamental laws of the universe (such as the laws of space, time, metal, and wood). Practitioners gradually improve their strength by continuously mastering different levels of these laws.

Taking Jiang Ye himself as an example, his cultivation of the "Cosmic Chaos Stele" and "Cosmic Spacetime" both started with a basic understanding of the laws, and then gradually analyzed the profound laws corresponding to the natural phenomena such as stars on them.

Overall, this school relies more on systematic secret techniques, such as the Chaos Stele Diagram, and rich practical experience.

Of course, compared to the talent requirements of the Mystic Pattern school, the Law school is obviously easier to get started with.

This is why it has become the most mainstream cultivation system in the entire universe.

In fact, these two schools of thought are not completely separate.

The essence of secret patterns is the concrete expression of laws, which presents abstract laws in specific patterns.

In short, the Mystic Rune School emphasizes "creation and analysis," while the Law School emphasizes "comprehension and control." The former has a higher barrier to entry and is closely related to supreme treasures; the latter is the mainstream path for cultivators of the universe.

The above are the advantages and disadvantages of these two schools of thought in cultivation. Although there are differences in weapon crafting, they are largely the same.

Take the Law-Based Weapon Refining Method as an example,

To inscribe weapon runes using one's own understanding of the laws of nature requires a cultivator to have a deep understanding of the fundamental laws of the universe.

...Cultivators need to use secret techniques related to the laws to guide the energy within their bodies to resonate with the corresponding laws in the outside world, thereby constructing law patterns on the surface of the weapon.

The vast majority of treasures are forged in this way, such as the Purple Bell, a precious treasure that Luo Feng obtained from the Purple Bell King he killed in the original novel.

The precious purple bell contains a set of combat techniques that utilize the ancient purple bell – the "Demon Sound Fire God Bell". Once the first level is mastered, one can perfectly drive this ancient purple bell.

Jiang Ye's Devouring Abyss Sword also has a set of combat techniques.

The Secret Pattern Refining Method focuses on analyzing and constructing the secret patterns of the universe's origin.

Cultivators need to deeply analyze the secret patterns of the universe's origin, construct a secret pattern system that is compatible with the weapon, and then inscribe it on the surface of the weapon.

This weapon-refining technique, like the cultivation of the Secret Pattern School, demands extremely high levels of talent and creativity.

The Calamity Armor, Original Soul, Star Tower, and Mechanical Treasures crafted by Zuo Shan Ke all utilize this technique. On the Origin Continent, because many weapon refiners believe that this technique is the advanced way, mechanical weapons are very popular there.

However, there is no difference in quality between these two refining methods. It's just that the method of inscribing laws requires the refiner to have an extremely high level of understanding of laws, while the method of inscribing secret patterns requires the refiner to have extraordinary creativity and analytical ability.

(End of this chapter)