The world is like a prison, my body is holy

Chapter 123 The gentleman is far away from the chef

This was Wang Wen's second time refining divine palace artifacts, so he was quite skilled at it.

He continued to use local materials, employing his divine sense to retrieve the various refining materials he needed from within the city of Kuaiji and from underground. For the very few materials that he couldn't find, he would find substitutes of equal quality.

Divine palace artifacts, as the name suggests, are palace-shaped artifacts for deities to reside in. As long as they have the two basic functions of accommodating and nurturing divine souls, other features are acceptable as long as the deity doesn't mind, even if they are designed to resemble a public toilet.

The two basic functions of containing and nurturing the soul may sound magical, but they are actually not difficult. The most common trees are the mulberry, willow, poplar, locust, and chinaberry trees, which have the function of gathering yin and nourishing the soul.

In just half a day, the divine palace artifact was completed.

However, the palm-sized golden-tiled, vermilion-walled, double-eaved, hipped-roof divine palace ritual implement (similar to the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City) feels like an exquisite figurine when held in your hand. If your line of sight is level with the gate of the ritual implement, you can clearly see the statue of a deity wearing golden and red civil and military sleeves sitting on the main hall of the ritual implement, as well as the golden-armored deity standing to the right of the statue.

The design of this divine artifact was copied by Wang Wen directly from the Huangshan Temple on the Bright Summit of Huangshan Mountain.

It was during the process of refining this divine artifact that he suddenly realized that with the more than 40,000 wronged souls underground, plus the more than 30,000 heroic souls under the Huangshan Temple, he, Wang Wen, was now a legitimate earth deity with more than 70,000 ghost people under his jurisdiction.

It was only after realizing this problem that he further realized that with the revival of spiritual energy and the turmoil of the world, he had already gained the upper hand... The path to enlightenment of the Lord of Mount Tai was something that the villains and rotten people of the White Lotus Sect could only dream of, so why couldn't Wang Wen make a dream of it?
If such standardized divine palace artifacts could be distributed throughout every city of the Great Zhou Dynasty...

The Huangshan Temple on the Bright Summit of Huangshan should be called the Huangshan Ancestor Temple!

At that time, even if there are successors on the path of the gods, upon seeing Wang Wen, they must respectfully address him as "Lord of Huangshan!"

'If you don't take what Heaven offers, you'll suffer the consequences!'

Harboring this sliver of ambition, Wang Wen consecrated the divine artifacts of the temple and placed them beneath the shrine...

With a gentle wave of his hand, without any trace of true energy or magical power, a dark crack automatically appeared in the ground at the bottom of the shrine. He then gently released the divine artifact in his other hand, and the artifact emitted a faint, dark golden light, flying into the dark crack.

With another wave of his hand, the crack closed silently and automatically, leaving not a single crack.

Having cultivated his Yin spirit to the Sun Travel Realm, and with the added blessing of the divine authority of Mount Huangshan, he already possessed a trace of divine power!
After the divine palace artifacts were returned to their places, Wang Wen activated the soul-summoning technique. The more than 40,000 wronged souls, who were floating and sinking in a daze underground, surged into the divine palace artifacts like rivers flowing into the sea. In less than a quarter of an hour, all 40,000 souls were inside the divine palace artifacts.

Wang Wen got up, took out three sticks of incense from the saddle on the back of the black ox, lit them, and put them into the incense burner.

A few wisps of smoke rose gently into the air, and an invisible force of will connected the statue and the ritual implements of the shrine into one...

Work together!
The rest is up to time.

Wang Wen slumped back onto the prayer mat and exhaled a long breath of stale air.

He drank some water, ate some dry food, and rested for half a day, leaning against Hei Erniu with his arms crossed.

As evening fell, he woke up from his sleep and the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was the fine steel silver spear hanging on Hei Erniu's body.

He sat up, took the badly twisted and deformed steel spear from the ground, and held it in his hand, gently stroking the crisscrossing sword and blade marks on the spear.

The generals of the forging battalion who originally forged this steel gun certainly did not skimp on materials and put in a lot of effort and energy.

If this steel spear were to fall into the hands of an ordinary martial artist, it could be passed down through generations.

But he's almost inhuman, how can this mortal weapon still withstand his command?

Now that this steel spear has been twisted and deformed into this shape, the easiest and most effortless way is to take it back to Yangzhou as a memento, find another weapon, or simply make a new steel spear yourself.

Without a doubt, forging a new steel spear would be far less troublesome and effortless than repairing this one.

The reason is that when he entrusted the generals of the General's Camp to forge the spear for him, he was only a Transformation Realm martial artist. When those master craftsmen designed the steel spear, they only considered the toughness of the steel spear and did not even consider the conductivity of true qi, let alone his magical power and thunder magic.

If he were to repair and modify this steel spear to a level sufficient for his current use without completely melting it into molten iron, the effort required would far exceed the effort he would have to forge a steel spear from scratch.

But as he looked at the twisted steel gun that had accompanied him through countless battles, he thought of the old buddy from his previous life that had been with him through thick and thin, supporting his family for over a decade.

He was tempted by the scrapping subsidy and personally took his old car to the scrap yard.

At the time, I didn't think much of it; I was actually happy to finally get rid of that old man.

Looking back now, I still feel resentful...

"It hurts a little, just bear with it..."

He patted the steel silver spear softly, then released the Yin spirit that had just been returned to the Purple Mansion Divine Palace. The Yin spirit, seemingly real and majestic, stood above his head, pointed its sword finger at the steel Yin spear, and a ball of surging, cold divine fire fell onto the steel silver spear.

The divine fire spread along the gun barrel, slowly enveloping the entire steel gun.

The seemingly cold, phosphorescent divine fire, which had little temperature, burned away all the remaining dirt on the gun in the blink of an eye, and even the dark gun body quickly turned fiery red.

While carefully controlling the temperature of the divine fire to prevent it from turning the steel spear into molten iron, Wang Wen first used his divine sense to drastically correct and straighten the twisted spear shaft.

After the steel silver spear returned to its normal position, he then poured a large amount of divine thought into the spear body, guiding the divine fire to gradually clear the knots of golden energy inside the steel spear body that resembled tree burls.

This is a truly meticulous task, requiring nitpicking. Not only must the tangled mess of stagnant metal energy inside the steel spear be straightened out without any omissions, but the divine fire circulating inside the spear must also be carefully controlled to prevent the spear from burning through accidentally...

This is why it's easier for him to reforge a steel spear than to repair or modify the one he already has. If he were to reforge a steel spear, he only needed to inject his true energy and magic power into it when the molten iron alloy solidified into the spear shape. The internal structure of the spear would then naturally form a channel for transmitting true energy and magic power, achieving the desired result in one step.

Wang Wen refined the divine palace's magical artifacts in just half a day.

But when it came to the steel spear, just the step of unblocking the flow of golden energy in the spear shaft took him an entire night to complete.

The next morning, he put away the divine fire and waited for the gun to cool down a bit before tentatively placing a finger on the handle and injecting a small amount of true energy.

The instant his true energy flowed into the spear, a soft "hum" was heard, and a sharp, pale blue spear light shot out from the tip. He gripped the spear with one hand, then swung it towards a scattered bronze and iron vajra a short distance away, the spear tip grazing the vajra.

"Keng..."

With a clear, sharp sound like a sword being drawn from its sheath, the vajra, as thick as a child's arm, silently broke in two.

Wang Wen glanced at the smooth, mirror-like broken edge of the Vajra Pestle and nodded in satisfaction.

If he had had this steel spear back in Hangzhou, he wouldn't have been able to stab that tough monk more than a dozen times without even breaking his skin.

He held the gun horizontally and tossed it gently; the steel gun floated back in front of him.

At this stage, it can only be considered a repair.

The real transformation is only just beginning...

He first reached into the saddle on the back of the Black Ox and took out the piece of Blood-Patterned Steel that the True Man Hunkun had given him for refining the Yin-Yang Needles. Then he released his divine fire again, refining the Blood-Patterned Steel into molten iron while heating the steel spear until it was red-hot. He then guided the molten iron from the Blood-Patterned Steel to first envelop the entire spear body, and then used his divine sense to control the molten iron from the Blood-Patterned Steel to seep into the inside of the spear body drop by drop, condensing into veins along the flow of golden energy inside the spear body.

Whether it's the hardness, strength, or energy expansion of metals, whether it's fine iron or meteorite iron, they are far inferior to the blood-patterned steel refined from the alchemy furnaces of Xuanmen cultivators. Blood-patterned steel is a top-tier refining material in the mortal realm that can be used as a base material for weapons and magical treasures. Fine iron and meteorite iron, which cannot be imprinted with talismans and magical seals, are not even as precious as old peach wood cores in the eyes of Xuanmen cultivators.

Therefore, to transform this steel spear from an ordinary weapon into a treasure, it is necessary to infuse it with a magical base material like blood-patterned steel. Fortunately, blood-patterned steel can further enhance the hardness and strength of this steel spear.

This step was another slow and painstaking process, taking Wang Wenyi a whole day.

By evening, the black-shafted, silver-tipped steel spear was covered with a dense layer of fine, orderly blood-red patterns, and when it reflected light, it faintly revealed a layer of dark golden light.

The crimson patterns are naturally the external manifestation of the Blood-patterned Steel perfectly integrated into the steel spear, while the layer of dark golden light is a trace of divine power retained by the Blood-patterned Steel after being burned by divine fire for a long time, which can increase the damage to evil things, which can be regarded as an unexpected bonus.

The modification of this steel gun has reached a point where it is already more than half successful.

Wang Wenqiang roused himself and used his hands to perform hand seals, infusing the spear with various magical techniques: toughness, sharpness, armor-piercing, evil-repelling, size and weight control.

After the many treasures and restrictions were solidified, he once again used his divine sense to inscribe talismans to enhance them: the eight-character divine power mantra "Heaven and Earth Without Limits, Huangshan Borrows the Law" and the ten-character divine scripture "Nine Heavens Respond to the Origin Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Heavenly Venerable".

Drawing on his successful experience with the Yin-Yang Needle Dao Pattern, this time he intentionally linked and connected various magical seals and talismans into a unified whole, forming a tight and complete talisman inside the spear...

After all the inscriptions and talismans were completed, he disregarded the fiery red color of the spear, grabbed the handle, and repeatedly tempered it with Crimson Palace Thunder nine times, from light to heavy, striving to add an indestructible force to the steel spear with the extremely strong and yang Crimson Palace Thunder.

The nine rounds of tempering by the Crimson Palace Thunder were completed, and it was almost dawn.

As the first rays of sunlight touched the horizon, Wang Wen, timing it perfectly, channeled all his inner energy and magical power into the steel spear. At the same time, he spat out a mouthful of hot blood and shouted, "Go!"

Blood, shimmering with golden light, sprayed onto the steel spear. With a "sizzle," a golden light flashed across the fiery red shaft of the spear, revealing the two ancient golden characters "Dawn," before it soared into the sky, heading towards the first wisp of purple light on the eastern horizon.

Wang Wen was taken aback when he saw the two ancient characters. He wondered where these two characters came from. He hadn't inserted any special seals or talismans related to "dawn" or "daybreak" into the gun.

But then, a surge of ecstasy welled up from the depths of his heart, and he looked up at the gloomy sky illuminated by the dawn.

He knew that it must have been that omnipresent big boss who gave it a push from the shadows...

Is this an acknowledgment or reward for his actions in Kuaiji City?

Or is it some kind of expectation of him?
Wang Wen didn't know.

Whether it was the battle of Yangzhou Prefecture, the decisive battle of Huangshan, or the trip to Kuaiji...

He never thought about gaining anyone's approval or reward; he was even a little annoyed by people expressing their gratitude to him for these things.

But he genuinely hoped that everything and everyone in front of him would be alright...

Wouldn't it be better if everyone lived peacefully, comfortably, and happily?

As the saying goes: A wise man keeps away from the kitchen, for seeing the animals alive, he cannot bear to see them die; hearing their cries, he cannot bear to eat their flesh.

Wang Wen considered himself no gentleman, and he never thought of becoming a great hero or savior...

But whether in his past life or this one, he has always deceived people and has no desire to be a bad person.

If he could, he would like to be a lazy, good-for-nothing spendthrift who doesn't lift a finger and has everything done for him, living a carefree and affluent life.

If that doesn't work, then he'll make trouble for whoever causes him trouble... He's even out of mortgage money, so who is he afraid of?

Before long, the Dawnbreaker Gun, having had its fill of flight in mid-air, flew back, swaying its tail and spinning around Wang Wen, sometimes rubbing its butt against his leg, sometimes lowering its muzzle to rub against his hand...

'Why are you being so dog-like?'

Wang Wen glanced at Hei Erniu, who was lying on the ground not far away, grinning and laughing foolishly at them, and wondered if this guy was setting a bad example.

"Okay!"

He said softly, "Stand up straight and let me have a good look at you."

The Dawn Spear immediately flew back to him, crashing heavily to the ground with a clang, standing upright in front of him, its fine gold and red patterns gleaming in the sunlight.

Wang Wen reached out and grasped the gun barrel, holding it in his hand. He carefully examined it with his divine sense and saw that the talisman he had drawn inside the gun barrel had formed a complete Dao pattern.

Moreover, surrounding this complete Dao pattern were numerous complex and profound patterns that he couldn't quite understand, which looked somewhat like talismans...

(End of this chapter)