Deities: Rulers of Nature

The 541st year of the Divine Calendar.

Summer has arrived once again in the Divine Realm of Mountains and Seas. The wind blows across the world-encircling sea, carrying abundant moisture and reaching the long river plains and mountain forests of the central continent.

The Qingling Mountains stretch endlessly, with ancient trees reaching for the sky, their canopies swaying in the wind, resembling a green ocean.

Sunlight filters through the branches and leaves, casting dappled patterns of light. Various birds fly by from time to time, nimbly weaving among the tree branches. The clear chirping of birds and the roars of various animals intertwine, creating a vibrant scene.

The natural oak tree in the center of the divine realm has grown much taller over the years, and its canopy has become more and more extensive. The budding deer frolic, forage, or leisurely bask in the sun under the tree.

Seven years have passed since Ji Xuan fused the corrupted divine power into the natural oak tree forging, but Ji Xuan feels that the progress is only slightly more than halfway done.

These years, Xuan did not launch another glorious war, but instead allowed his clans to recuperate and rebuild, waiting until the divine smelting was completed before discussing anything else.

Seven years is enough time for the Snowdrop Spider Clan to fully integrate into the Mountain and Sea Divine Realm.

After Ji Xuan completely integrated the nine-layered underground cave into the divine realm, the spider people chose to rebuild their home on the first floor of the cave.

They dug a passage in a rock wall at the foot of Xishan Mountain that led directly to the first level of the underground cave, not far from the Xishan tribe.

For the Spider-Men who have always lived in the Dark Caverns, the environment of the Nine-Layer Cavern is more suitable for them. Not to mention that Ji Xuan has also modified the cavern, so it is no exaggeration to say that this is an enhanced version of the Dark Cavern.

Of course, the spider people don't always live in the caves. They also come to the surface to train with the snake people, work in the fields, hunt, and brew and weave with the cherry blossom spirits...

It is worth mentioning that during her studies in textiles, Kadia had a flash of inspiration and used spider silk as a material for weaving.

Spiders can control the composition of spider silk. By removing the original stickiness and increasing its flexibility, spider silk cloth has become the most popular clothing material.

Compared to animal hides, scales, and various types of cloth, spider silk cloth is lighter, more breathable, and silky, and most importantly, it is strong enough.

In addition to the above advantages, spider silk fabric is easier to dye, not only can it be dyed in more colors, but the dyed colors will also not fade easily.

The collision of different ethnic customs and styles has resulted in a rich variety of clothing styles in the Xishan tribe today. Everyone can make clothes according to their own preferences, and even if they don't know how, they can ask friends who do to help.

Snake people, cherry blossom spirits, and spider people live together harmoniously under Ji Xuan's will.

After entering the first level of the underground cave through the passage dug by the Spider-Man, one can clearly feel a slight warmth.

This is because Ji Xuan has made some modifications to the underground cave again. As mentioned before, Ji Xuan will rebuild a suitable nest for the Iron Beasts. The location was chosen on the southern side of the underground cave, which connects the three levels of the area.

The Iron Beast loves to dig, using the search for food as a way to sharpen its scales—something the Spider-Man was completely unaware of when he first raised it.

Ji Xuan also drew out a wisp of magma from underground, allowing it to flow within the obsidian structure and radiate sufficient high temperature.

Having gone to such great lengths, Ji Xuan felt it would be a waste to only raise the Iron-Melting Beasts, so he built several more forging workshops nearby.

"Ding-dong!"

"Sizzle!"

"Clang!"

The sound of hammering echoed in the forging room, but it was confined to that place.

In order not to disturb the Iron-Melting Beast, Ji Xuan specially used materials with good sound insulation.

Inside the forge, several burly snake-men were wielding hammers, repeatedly pounding red-hot iron blocks. Beside them, several snow-white spider-men skillfully sharpened and polished the forged weapons.

Only cherry blossom spirits are truly unsuitable for forging work, so they are rarely seen in the forging workshop.

The arrival of the Snowy Spider-Man propelled the Xishan tribe from the Stone Age into the Iron Age.

The spider people could not only distinguish various minerals, but also helped the snake people forge weapons such as knives, swords, and spears.

"My king, take a look at these two newly forged daggers." A snake-man blacksmith handed two gleaming daggers to Crimson.

The crimson gaze was involuntarily drawn to the shape of the daggers. The two daggers were about half an arm's length long, with a smooth willow leaf shape. The tips were pointed upwards and extremely penetrating. There were also two blood grooves on the sides of the daggers, and the handles were made of the skin of the black-scaled python.

He took the dagger, tried swinging it a few times, then tested its sharpness, and finally nodded in satisfaction.

"This is the fifth edition of the Crimson Iron Dagger, forged from the scales of a beast that feeds solely on hematite. It is extremely sharp. We tested it before, and even a bronze-tier Inkscale Python's hide couldn't withstand it; it was shredded in just a few blows." The snake-man blacksmith's tone carried a hint of pride.

Crimson initially made only a few simple requests, then let the snake-man blacksmith work freely. After numerous attempts, he finally forged these two most outstanding finished products.

"These blood grooves not only cause bleeding damage to the prey, but also make it easier for the Crimson Chain Snakemen to apply poison..." Another snakeman blacksmith came over and introduced the dagger to Crimson.

"Very good, we'll use this as a template from now on. If any Red Chain Snake People come, we'll recommend this one," Crimson said with satisfaction.

Crimson himself didn't care whether he used a weapon or not, but the Crimson Chain Serpent Man did, as the dagger played a significant role in the battle.

After so many years of exploration and numerous failures, the snake-men blacksmiths have summarized several excellent material ratios and forging techniques, and the red iron dagger mentioned earlier is one of them.

Its material is the scales shed by the Iron-Melting Beast, which feeds solely on copper ore. After undergoing various forging processes, it is quenched in the blood of the Iron-Melting Beast.

Weapons forged in this way are not only sharp, but also extremely tough.

In addition, there are weapons forged from the scales shed by the Iron Beast, which feeds on hematite and a little Qingwo ore, and then quenched in the water of the Moon Reflection Pool. These weapons are very suitable for hunting because they can keep the prey fresh.

……

However, the success of these recipes depends heavily on luck, because some Iron Beasts are picky eaters and won't eat whatever you feed them.

Moreover, the mouths of the Iron Beasts that have eaten hematite and zirconia become discerning, and they usually disdain ordinary minerals.

As a result, the snake-man blacksmiths could only conduct their own research, sometimes succeeding, and sometimes the new alloys they obtained were not as effective as pure hematite.

But this did not dampen the blacksmiths' enthusiasm; they received generous rewards for every invention they developed.

"Take your time. The foundation our lord has provided for us is already excellent enough. We can be slow, but we can't achieve nothing," Crimson said, patting the snake-man blacksmith on the shoulder.

"Yes, my king." Not only the snake-man blacksmith, but also the spider-men responded in unison.