Above Destiny

Chapter 581 The Form Three
Besides the finest hardware, the most important thing is the item placed on the tray at the other end of the table—a crystal with a radiating structure resembling snowflakes, sparkling and lustrous, like amber.

A marvel born from the long passage of time under 24 hours of natural sunlight, a crystallization of sunlight.

Its characteristic is absolute purity, containing no external elements, no matter how many decimal places it is counted to... This is pure light.

Calm and gentle, pure and mild, like the sunshine that brings life to all things.

So-called, the essence of the sun!

Looking at the two main materials in his hands, Ji Jue couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

It was hard-won and achieved through great difficulty.

Both of these items were on the list he gave to Dugu Ming back then. He figured, well, there's no harm in trying, and who knows, maybe they'll actually come along.

The result... was that it didn't happen.

Although fine metal items are not uncommon, they are all ready to use immediately. Even if stored in an absolutely sealed environment, they can only remain active for a few days and are simply difficult to preserve.

If you want it, you have to place your order at the exact time, and the price is exorbitant.

After a long negotiation with Dugu Ming, the other party was only willing to provide the raw materials—five kinds of metal raw materials purified to the extreme, which were obtained through Huanyu Heavy Industry's channels.

That's quite a lot of money they bleed out.

Silver, copper, iron, and tin are all fine, but gold is the real problem. Gold is an absolute hard currency no matter where it is.

This strand of golden essence is the result of Ji Jue's long-accumulated reserves and his brother Du's generous gift. It is the essence extracted from a full ton of gold after being purified and refined to the limit.

Or is alchemy too expensive?

If you really start spending money, it's not just a little bit; you can easily go bankrupt if you're not careful.

Fortunately, the essence of gold is only derived from gold. The loss of its purity does not detract from the raw material's status as a precious metal. Rather, the essence of gold is a byproduct.

Even after harvesting, its properties remain unchanged. Moreover, having undergone alchemical processing, it becomes an even better material; at most, it simply cannot be harvested a second time.

Ji Jue immediately handed it over to the association, and with the help of the gold sash on his body, he obtained a complete Sun Essence on credit from the Taiyi Ring, paying after receiving the goods.

Then, I threw myself into work that seemed to have no end in sight...

For more than half a month, the continuous purification and extraction, even with the three-phase alchemy, almost took Ji Jue's life.

Purely manual labor.

There's no way around it; you can't have someone else do this for you, and you can't just order a ready-made one.

Ye Xian's warning was correct—if Ji Jue really wanted to apply the work to his reborn form, then he had to use himself as the main material, and the entire process had to be created by Ji Jue himself in order to minimize the pressure that the blessing sequence brought to Ji Jue.

Even more crucially, if one wants to gather the essence of the five metals, one cannot create them individually. The five processes of gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin must begin simultaneously. Then, throughout the entire process, one must use the secret techniques of the Xiangxiang (a system of symbols) to harmonize them, triggering a shared resonance and synergy among the five elements.

Now they are in five different places, yet they are subtly connected.

It looks like hardware, but it's actually a single piece.

With the Qi connected, as long as Ji Jue releases it, it will immediately converge into one. If the convergence and fusion process is controlled during this process, and it is contained in the essence of the sun, and then undergoes transformation and catalysis, then the resulting thing will be one of the nine types of sword blanks.

——【Zhanlu】.

Each of the nine types of designs has its own strengths.

Among them, Zhanlu refers to the entropy that represents energy in the highest good, and its function is also closer to the essence of the sword as a weapon.

They cannot save their lives or avoid danger or delay disaster.

Its only function is destruction.

Or to put it simply—'explode'!
Swordsmanship is absolutely explosive!
I'm going to explode!
Exploding the heavens and the earth, exploding themselves—throughout history, one-third of the Ye family's artisans who died from the Type Nine were killed by it. And outside of the Ye family, Zhanlu's achievements account for half of all the victims of the Type Nine!
With a single sword strike, thunder roars for miles; a moment's carelessness can result in countless deaths and injuries.

In the annotations of the Hanxiang Mirror, it was also praised by a craftsman of the previous generation as the sword of benevolence—because those who encounter this sword will neither be killed by blood sacrifice, nor have their spirits absorbed into the sword, nor will they be left with any shadows or scars that they will never forget for the rest of their lives. Usually, everyone dies peacefully and leaves very quickly.

One hundred.

Normally, it will turn into a snow-white ash.

For the craftsman, it was an enormous waste, but for the person who could die cleanly by this sword, it was incredibly merciful.

Although it's a pity to waste materials, for Ji Jue at this moment, there is no better option.

As his rank increased, the destructive power of his guns gradually became insufficient to meet his needs.

So, just as his former teacher had taught him, he set out to build even stronger guns and cannons!

Pan Ying is there for fierce battles, Chun Jun is there to protect the soul and prevent sneak attacks, and Longshan Armor is there for defense. What his blank rebirth form lacks most now is precisely this kind of means that can burst out instantly in battle and make a decisive move.

Especially in a place like Middle-earth, you can't even stand up straight if you don't have a big bomb in your hand!

So Ji Jue pondered for a while and made a decision to bring his talent to the Central Plains—we, the Central Plains, also need our own fusion bomb!

As for who actually has the remote control, let's not worry about that.

Even after deciding on Zhanlu, problems continued to arise.

First of all, it is not feasible to simply copy traditions and theories wholesale.

Ji Jue didn't intend to have his reborn form covered in sword hilts, turning himself into a hedgehog. He could only try to integrate the sword hilts into his body.

Using itself as the main material, it encompasses the violent power of Zhanlu.

And the selected materials...

In the workshop of the Doomsday Train, Ji Jue took a deep breath, then transformed into a mechanical rebirth form, pulled a cable from his back, and stuck it into the back of his head.

Then, the structure on his chest unfolded layer by layer, and beneath the iron frame, a beating metal heart appeared before him.

Snapped--

With a crisp sound, it was as if a ripe melon had fallen from its vine, and Ji Jue had casually plucked it and held it in his hand.

Suddenly, a chill ran through me.

Well, literally.

"It seems that if things don't go well, we'll have to be more careful in the future."

He chuckled self-deprecatingly and threw his heart, which had been strengthened several times over the past few days, into the furnace once again for preheating and fusion.

For the umpteenth time, I've missed Isis.

If she were here to assist, even if she couldn't participate directly, I wouldn't be in such a flustered situation, right?
I don't know how far her transformation is going. Once it begins, I can't always interrupt the process by opening up the ley lines to check on her. I can only infer that the progress is promising by observing the earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that occur in Punabantu.

Ji Jue could only console himself with waiting and hope.

Then, focus on the present.

Just like Chun Jun's previous imitation, Ji Jue had already practiced and refined it hundreds or thousands of times using other substitutes before this.

They were extremely cautious, even more so than when they cast the Chun Jun ware.

Because he's out of money again...

To raise such a large sum of gold, he had almost emptied all of the coast's working capital, and even advanced a portion of the dividends from HaiChao Military Industry.

If he messes up this time, he'll probably have to sell everything he owns and mortgage his assets if he wants to try again.

Moreover, alchemy contains a great deal of metaphysics.

Generally speaking, if it doesn't work the first time, it's often difficult to succeed the second time either; it might take eighty or ninety tries...

From a realistic perspective, after so many simulations and refinements, no matter how clumsy or unexpected the process, the worst outcome would be nothing more than producing a defective product.

If, after all this, it still fails, then it can only mean that there are irreconcilable contradictions and flaws in the overall approach and theory, or even shortcomings that one has not noticed.

Then we'll have to scrap everything and start all over again.

"May all the past emperors of the Eternal Empire, all the masters of the Mohist school, and all the ancestors of the Ye clan bless me!"

In front of the furnace, Ji Jue rubbed his hands together and muttered to himself, completely unaware that none of the people he was talking about had a good ending!
And even if it really does manifest, they'll either be struck dead by lightning or fight each other first...

In short, whether it was Ji Jue's skill or some kind of miracle, the fusion of the essence of the five metals and the essence of the sun proceeded smoothly without any ripples!

Flowing clouds and flowing water.

Five colors of light—gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin—wandered within the furnace, merging into one from the core of the sun's essence under the guidance of non-aggression.

In an instant, the amber-like essence of the sun emitted waves of soft light, as if it had been given a soul, becoming incredibly vibrant.

Ascension was achieved through the collision and fusion of spirituality and materiality!
The original radial crystal structure instantly transformed, like a wisp of light existing between existence and non-existence, constantly flickering and wandering within the furnace.

Generally speaking, once you reach this stage, it's already 99% complete!

Next, all you need to do is select a suitable sword blank as a container and complete the final fusion of the object and spirit, and you'll be all set.

But the problem is... Ji Jue doesn't plan to use a sword.

Ji Jue, now a machine, sat cross-legged in front of the furnace, his eyes fixed on a sliver of pure, ethereal light amidst the flames. He felt a cold sweat break out on his back, a tension he had never experienced before.

Success or failure hinges on this one shot!

He decisively reached out, pointing to the metal heart within the furnace, and then...

—【Deus Ex】!
Snapped!
Amidst the raging flames, the metal heart, formed from Ji Jue's soul and body, suddenly exploded.

Left ventricle, left atrium, right ventricle, right atrium, myocardium, valves, blood vessels... everything, real and unreal, unfolded and expanded in an instant, as if a lotus flower were blooming.

It was as if it opened its mouth wide and let out a loud "whoosh".

He swallowed the Zhanlu Spirit Essence, which was constructed from the essence of the five metals and the essence of the sun, into his 'belly'!

boom! ! ! ! ! !

The huge workshop suddenly trembled violently.

Countless phantom hands emerged from the light and shadow of the furnace, gripping the heart tightly, mediating the conflict and contradiction between the spirit and the heart, guiding and diverting it.

All the internal turmoil was transferred outside the furnace.

It was as if countless hands were trying to cover up an exploding bomb; every moment, every second, the amount of skillful manipulation was constantly increasing.

Ji Jue felt like his head was about to spew out engine oil and coolant.

只感觉自己就好像一个冤种，强行插入斗争的双方，还要让对方心服口服的罢手言和，相亲相爱，因此只能被动的承受两边的攻击，不但不能还手，还要让攻击的双方揍自己的时候别太生气，不要揍坏了身体。

It highlights a shameless and despicable nature.

I have to be shameless, or I'll go bankrupt!
The three passive blessings—Blood of the Furnace, Unquenchable Furnace, and Divine Spirit—are fully activated, minimizing the chance of the furnace exploding. At the same time, spiritual energy is continuously being infused into Zhanlu Spirit Essence, while the Earth's Blessing and Sea's Embrace strengthen the heart.

Maintaining a balance between the two sides, gritting their teeth, enduring, enduring, and enduring some more.

Until, for a fleeting moment, the riots of both sides seemed to be on the same beat.

Ji Jue's eyes lit up.

Snapped!
In an instant, their hands clasped together, and in that crucial moment, the fluctuations and bursts of energy from both sides overlapped, creating a fleeting resonance that seemed to merge into one.

Even if in the next instant they are completely separated, rejected, detached, and conflict arises again.

But a moment is enough.

In that crucial moment, Ji Jue used solid alchemy with his left hand to strengthen his heart, forcibly fixing the Zhanlu spiritual essence inside, while using fluid alchemy with his right hand to seize this moment of miracle and firmly maintain the connection between the Zhanlu spiritual essence and his heart.

Then, the spiritual hand gripped the heart tightly—gas alchemy, using spiritual beings!
One is materialistic, the other is spiritual; the other connects them, reducing buffers and building bridges.

Under the flow of the three phases, the Zhanlu Spirit and the Mechanical Heart, the completely incompatible spirit and matter, have already completed their binding, and then...

The riots have begun again!
Unable to accept the mechanical heart, the Zhanlu spirit began to vibrate wildly. Feeling unable to adapt to the environment, the Zhanlu spirit instinctively sought a way out, using gas alchemy to extract physical properties and replenish itself!

Amidst the raging flames, the heart began to pound violently, and rust and cracks quickly appeared, almost as if it would be drained dry in an instant.

But, it doesn’t matter!
Sweating profusely, Ji Jue's vision blurred. He stretched out his hand once more, pointing towards his heart—"Earth's Boundless Power, strengthen me!"

Instantly, a massive amount of spiritual energy surged forth, and the fuel depot of the Doomsday Train opened, releasing all the spiritual metals stored within.

Go ahead and draw! Go ahead and draw! Go ahead and draw!

There are plenty of spiritual beings!
It's not just spiritual matter, but also the continuous influx of other metals.

Gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin were visibly reduced to dust as the heart extracted them, merging into the heart itself. Under the strengthening influence of the earth's burden and the sea's embrace, the heart extracted spiritual matter and material, causing its own material properties to begin to rise rapidly.

Meanwhile, behind the heart, a spirit named Zhanlu is sucking at it fiercely through its vaporization alchemy...

Both sides are constantly growing and transforming, then colliding with each other, forging and changing each other. Brilliant gold, silver, bronze, iron gray, and transparent light white flow endlessly on the heart. After absorbing the properties of matter for an unknown period of time, the material and properties of the mechanical heart itself finally match Zhanlu's needs.

Or rather, Zhanlu, through extraction and transformation, finally adapted to the heart.

Inside the furnace, all was silent.

Only a metal heart, riddled with spiritual energy circuits, remained, beating silently. Its vein-like interfaces emitted spiritual energy and burst forth with dazzling bolts of lightning.

Ji Jue, on the other hand, was so weak that he could barely stand up.

He collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.

Finally, it's all done!
"Thank God, at least my conscience is saved."

Ji Jue, who had been catching his breath for a long time, finally gripped the still-warm steel heart and felt the surging vibrations emanating from it.

The spirit rises and rises with the heartbeat, like the flames in an engine.

Flawless, a masterpiece of nature!
Ji Jue's countless deductions and experiments were not in vain. To ensure that nothing went wrong, he even borrowed the Lou family's secret techniques for combining spiritual material shaping and entropy system for reference.

After giving it my all, I finally didn't let down all that hard work, effort, and my own money!

But when the time came, with his heart in his hand, he dared not put it back.

If anything goes wrong, I'm afraid I'll really be in big trouble.

But what's the use of hesitating?
Whether it's a mule or a horse, it will eventually have to be put to the test. Did he waste so much time just to dig out his own heart and make it a decoration?

"Intelligent oxen and horses?"

"Master, I am here."

The dull voice of the temporary workshop spirit rang out.

"Preset emergency response sequence—"

After thinking for a moment, Ji Jue ordered, "If my vital signs show any abnormalities and there is no response, immediately activate the Doomsday Express to the coordinates of the Tide Sound Workshop, and send an emergency signal to the contact teacher, granting her all permissions and providing all experimental data."

"Preset complete."

So Ji Jue was relieved.

Surely I won't end up killing myself this time?
Although I'll most likely end up taking the spiritual defense and attack course anyway, at least I'll still be alive...

"Whether we live or die depends on this!"

Ji Jue gritted his teeth, "Try it and you'll die!"

With a click, the metal heart connected to the body.

Then, Ji Jue could no longer control himself and screamed hysterically.

"Holy crap—!!!!!!!!!!"

A frenzy of lightning erupted from his body, bursting forth in streaks and beams, like lashes, sweeping in all directions.

Intense light burst forth from the eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.

In its reborn form, the mechanical body pulsates with intense light and thick smoke from every crevice of its limbs and bones.

The moment the connection between spiritual and material was completely established, the heart was fully integrated into Ji Jue's soul and body.

It was just a fleeting impulse, an experiment, infused with a wisp of spiritual energy.

In an instant, his heart raced, lightning surged, and his steel body was already burning red-hot—the terrifying heat and lightning, along with the blood of the furnace, spread throughout his entire body.

Like a volcanic eruption, the terrifying force nearly shattered Ji Jue completely.

In his haste, he only had time to open his mouth...

—yue!

boom! ! ! !

A dazzling and chilling bolt of lightning erupted from his mouth, raging and roaming through the workshop, burning everything in its path to ashes, leaving behind streaks of scorching red and gray-black.

In an instant, devastation was everywhere!
Amidst the piercing alarm, the workshop spirit began to assess Ji Jue's condition, and the countdown began.

Until, Ji Jue weakly raised his hand.

still alive.

Therefore, the emergency response sequence was cancelled.

Thank goodness he didn't kill himself; he's still breathing.

The Non-Attack Matrix reappeared, and he began to repair his body. Under the strengthening effect of the Earth's Burden and Ocean's Absorption, he quickly repaired the metal fatigue and deformation caused by the previous high heat.

Then, the process of deleting, modifying, adding, and supplementing began again.

Find loopholes and oversights, identify problems, summarize methods, and then start making improvements.

For the umpteenth time, Ji Jue began to marvel at the expandability of his reborn form... It could fill in whatever was missing, it was just too free!
The riot just now stemmed from my own oversight in calculations—although I had tried my best to upgrade and increase the margin for error beforehand, the two pathways and interfaces formed by the reinforced aorta and superior vena cava still could not withstand the power that Zhanlu unleashed when it was first activated.

The magnitude was several times higher than expected, leading to meltdown and short circuits.

My soul had no prior experience with this and hadn't had time to adapt to the completely different heart, so it was putting in a lot of effort.

Fortunately, I had a sudden inspiration and took the initiative to relieve the pressure.

He opened his mouth and spat it all out.

Otherwise, even if it doesn't kill you, half of your body will be burned away.

Once the problem is identified, the solution becomes clear. Ji Jue directly extracted the material and repaired and strengthened the aorta, superior vena cava, and other related pathways, improving their resilience.

Then, regarding the soul's control over the Heart of Zhanlu, a new version of the driver was directly updated, while the output under normal conditions was reduced.

Try again—

Snapped!
A bolt of lightning suddenly shot out from Ji Jue's raised right hand, dancing wildly. As the force he exerted increased, it gradually became more violent and turbulent.

In the end, it almost completely covered Ji Jue.

But Ji Jue was completely unharmed.

In an instant, all the lightning dissipated, and Ji Jue raised one finger, slowly pointing it toward the rising armored target.

The blood of the furnace flowed, and the light emanating from that scorching red finger gradually became dazzling, until finally, it had gathered its power.

Shoot out!

And then, another loud bang.

The four overlapping armored targets were easily pierced by the 'finger flick', and then the heat contained inside burst forth, instantly turning the targets into molten iron and completely melting them.

A heatwave, strong enough to scorch the lungs, rolled in from hundreds of meters away!

A quick test, and the results were pretty good!
So, now it's time to try out the big knife...

And so, under Ji Jue's expectant gaze, another platform slowly rose from beneath the workshop, and a new target was placed on it—a small calf and horse with a constantly beeping horn...

Unfortunately, this time, it didn't have time to run away.

"Don't be afraid, just close your eyes and take a nap and it will be over."

Ji Jue smiled reassuringly, then raised his hand toward the calf, his five fingers clenched tightly.

—This time he's going to try it out, Rocket Punch!

"Beep!!"

The calf and horse frantically pressed down on the lama, only managing to transform Longshan, crouch down in defense with their heads covered, and then...

boom! ! ! !

Endless flames rushed towards us.

The entire workshop was shaken.

The originally planned experimental area has now become a large pit, and the calves and horses in the pit are charred black, sparking and beeping incessantly.

Then, they saw Ji Jue raise his other hand...

boom! ! ! !

After a series of loud bangs, Ji Jue finally breathed a sigh of relief when he had had enough fun.

Looking up to the sky and laughing.

I felt the joy and pride of success.

Unfortunately, when he turned around and looked at the workshop in complete disarray behind him, he could no longer laugh.

broken!

I got so engrossed in playing it that I didn't know what to do!
If Isis comes back and finds that she has made a mess of the workshop...

He started sweating.

But then it dawned on him: Something's not right!

This is my workshop! Why should I be afraid of her? So what if she's angry? She still has to work for me, and she still has to cook me a couple of dishes!

Of course, that's the reasoning behind it.

When it comes to actually putting it into practice, it's a different story...

By the time Ji Jue came to his senses, he already had the mop and broom in his hands. He was stunned for a moment, and when he realized his ugly state, he was furious.

Do you think I'm afraid of a mere workshop spirit?

I won't accept it!

So, she decisively threw the mop and broom in her hand into... the calf's arms.

The calf and horse looked bewildered.

"What are you still doing?"

Ji Jue angrily rebuked, "Look at the mess you've made of the workshop! How can it be such a chaotic mess? Let me tell you, I won't protect you. If you don't clean it up soon, you'll be in big trouble when Isis comes back!"

"..."

The calf stopped talking.

It can no longer even make a beep.

It only took a moment to realize that Ji Jue, that bastard, had already started altering the surveillance footage right in front of it!
Four bright red eyes stared straight at the creator before them, and suddenly they felt the difference in their origins... I may not be human, but you are a real beast!

So, as the oxen and horses carried the heavy load forward, a craftsman who had been laughing heartily sat down in a chair and began to examine his work once again.

This is the third Nine-Type Creation he has completed, following Pan Ying and Chun Jun.

Zhanlu!

Even within the history of the Ye family, there are very few craftsmen who can complete the three-stage nine-type process in their entire lives, let alone in such a short period of time.

Unfortunately, Zhanlu is not a work of nature.

The reason is simple... it, like Pan Ying, is only a semi-finished product.

In fact, its level of completion is not even as good as that of Panying.

The Heavenly Craftsmanship of Pure Jun needs no further explanation. It is named after the sword and is a unity of self and object. Ji Jue himself and his soul reflection are one, just two different forms of expression.

Pan Ying has at least gotten on the right path. As long as the six ancient ghosts' legacy of the sacrificial offering are gathered, the six evils will be complete, and the three days of rebellion will be overthrown. Naturally, it will be the orthodox one that triumphs over evil.

At this moment, Zhanlu in Ji Jue's hand, although it was derived from the Nine Forms, even if it was forged into the shape of a sword, according to the Ye family, no, according to the standards of swordsmiths, it was nothing more than an unorthodox method.

It has the appearance of something but no substance.

The essence has not been grasped!
The nine variations each have their own hidden secrets.

The key to Zhanlu's success lies not in bestowing blessings, nor in skill, but in...

—【Binding away the scourge, concealing a thunderous pool within】!
(End of this chapter)