Lord of the Rending Stars

In the Duanxingge Jiazi Jiufeng Workshop, the deep blue light from the Zhuochen Ding illuminated the entire hall.

Qingyang sat cross-legged before the cauldron, his consciousness immersed in the profound mysteries of the "Thirteen Chapters of Void Refining: The Chapter on Heavy Treasures." Over the past few thousand years, he had repeatedly studied the techniques for refining ordinary heavy treasures in this treasure trove of weapon crafting hundreds of times, gaining new insights with each reading.

Inside the Zhuochen Cauldron, a ball of dark blue liquid was slowly rotating. Qingyang's fingertips twitched slightly, and a secret pattern woven from the laws of spacetime fell into the liquid. Like a seed, the secret pattern took root and sprouted deep within the liquid, slowly growing branches and leaves along an ancient and unfamiliar trajectory.

This is the core principle he gleaned from the "Treasures Chapter": crafting artifacts is like planting trees. The principles are engraved on the artifact, the principles are the seed, the materials are the soil, and the artifact grows its own secret patterns and veins.

Over thousands of years, he has used this method to refine more than thirty ordinary treasures.

There were battle swords, armor, palaces, and also extremely difficult-to-forge items like domains and souls. He poured his heart and soul into each and every one of them. Each one reflected his understanding of the art of weapon forging.

The azure liquid in the cauldron suddenly trembled. Qingyang raised his hand and injected a condensed power of law into it. Dense patterns began to appear on the surface of the liquid, growing like vines and expanding like blood vessels, eventually weaving into a network of laws covering the entire surface of the liquid.

Several months later, a clear, melodious hum came from the cauldron. A silver ball of light, ten meters in diameter, rose from the Zhuochen Cauldron. Inside the ball of light, countless tiny silver points of light twinkled like stars. They moved, intertwined, and separated according to some mysterious law, like a miniature starry sea.

This is the second domain-type treasure crafted by Qingyang, "Binding the Void Sea".

The difficulty of crafting a domain-type treasure is no less than that of crafting the Time Palace. Crafting a domain-type treasure requires the formation of a complete cycle of laws within the artifact. This places extremely high demands on the structure of the secret runes; even the slightest deviation will cause the cycle to collapse.

Qingyang failed with his first two domain treasures. The third one is this "Binding the Void Sea," a top-grade item.

It is shaped like a silver disc, its surface inscribed with densely packed spatial and temporal runes. When activated by divine power, it unfolds into a silver sea of ​​light hundreds of millions of kilometers in diameter. Within this sea of ​​light, spatial structures are distorted, folded, and solidified; any enemy trapped within will feel as if they are sinking into quagmire, their speed drastically reduced.

Qingyang once tested it with his Yuanhua clone. After the "Binding Void Sea" was activated, even the teleportation of a beginner universe venerable would be interfered with, and they could only escape by flying.

Qingyang flipped his hand and put away "Binding the Void Sea," then took out another precious treasure from his world ring.

It was a purple crystal ball the size of a fist, with faint flashes of lightning inside. With each flash, countless lightning-law runes would appear on the surface of the ball. This was an ordinary soul-type treasure crafted by Qingyang, the "Thunder Soul Pearl".

The crafting difficulty of soul-type treasures surpasses that of domain-type treasures. This is because soul attacks and soul defenses require the artifact to bear the user's soul will. This places extremely high demands on the purity of the materials, the precision of the runes, and the compatibility with the laws.

Qingyang's original intention in refining soul treasures was to exchange them for treasure points. After thousands of years of refining, Qingyang had already used up most of the wealth points in his account.

Qingyang put away the Thunder Soul Pearl and then took stock of the other precious treasures he had refined over the past thousands of years.

Seven battle swords, ranging in quality from superior to top-grade; five sets of armor, all of medium to high quality; three palaces, the other two being medium quality, excluding the Time Palace; two domain treasures, the Binding Sky Sea being superior and the other medium quality; one soul treasure, superior quality; and more than ten other auxiliary treasures of varying quality.

In a side hall of the Human Treasure Vault in the Holy City.

Qingyang stood in front of the treasure vault's light screen, flipped his hand, and a purple crystal ball appeared in his hand. It was an ordinary heavy treasure, the Thunder Soul Pearl.

A beam of white light swept across the treasure vault, enveloping the entire purple crystal ball. A moment later, the treasure vault system's voice sounded.

"The Thunder Soul Pearl, offered to the clan, will grant 1000 Treasure Points. Are you willing to contribute it to the clan?"

"Contribution," Qingyang smiled.

Then, a flash of white light swept across the area, and the Thunder Soul Pearl vanished.

Qingyang took out the Time Realm Palace again, letting the white light of the Treasure Vault's light screen envelop it. After a moment, the Treasure Vault system's voice continued to ring out.

"The Time Realm Palace, if offered to the clan, will grant 850 Treasure Points. Are you willing to contribute it to the clan?"

"Contribution," Qingyang said.

Qingyang then took out a silver disc and let the white light of the treasure vault screen envelop it. After a moment, a system notification sounded.

"Bound by the Sky Sea, contributing it to the clan will grant 800 Treasure Points. Are you willing to contribute it to the clan?"

"I won't contribute," Qingyang shook his head.

......

After Qingyang contributed the last treasure to the clan's treasury, his virtual universe system account showed: 3844 treasure points, 0 supreme treasure points.

"Having refined ordinary treasures for thousands of years, with over thirty finished products, my crafting skills have been greatly enhanced. After deducting the cost of crafting materials, I can still reap a fortune of about 3700 treasure points. It's truly killing two birds with one stone," Qingyang said with a satisfied smile.

Qingyang did not offer the superior-grade treasure "Binding the Void Sea" to the clan, because it was something he had prepared specifically for King Jiuyu.

For nearly ten thousand years, after returning from his journey to the Kunwu Ruins, King Jiuyu continued to adventure on the borders of the human race's territory, fighting against powerful beings from various races in the universe. Later, he gained some insights and went into seclusion for several decades. Finally, news spread that Jiuyu had broken through to the level of a Universe Venerable.

This news caused quite a stir among the human race's high-ranking members. Although King Jiuyu was one of the human race's top invincible kings, there was an insurmountable chasm between an invincible king and a cosmic venerable. Countless invincible kings had failed to cross this threshold even after hundreds of millions of epochs, so King Jiuyu's breakthrough within ten thousand years was a testament to his talent and good fortune.

When Qingyang received the message, he was deducing the secret rune structure of a new treasure. He put down his work, connected his consciousness to the virtual universe, and sure enough, he saw an invitation from King Jiuyu in his mailbox.

"Qingyang, I have miraculously broken through to the next level. In three days, I will host a banquet for all my friends at the Nine Heavens Palace in the Holy City. I hope you will grace me with your presence." His words revealed a sense of joy.

Qingyang smiled slightly and replied with a "Okay".

Three days later, Qingyang's human form emerged from the Star Forging Pavilion, transforming into a streak of light and flying towards the Nine Heavens Palace in the Holy City.

The Nine Universe Palace is located in the eastern district of the Holy City, a palace covering an area of ​​over a thousand square kilometers. The palace is majestic, with carved beams and painted rafters, exuding an ancient and solemn atmosphere. In the plaza in front of the palace, many immortal powerhouses and cosmic venerables have already arrived, gathering in twos and threes to exchange pleasantries.

As Qingyang landed, a servant came forward and respectfully led him into the hall.

Inside the main hall, King Jiuyu—no, Venerable Jiuyu—stood in the main seat, conversing with several cosmic venerables. He wore a brand-new dark gold robe, his aura was harmonious and restrained, and there were faint fluctuations of spatial laws flowing around him.

A rare smile graced the face of Venerable Jiuyu.

"Qingyang!" Venerable Jiuyu's eyes lit up when he saw Qingyang, and he strode forward to greet him. "Haha, you've finally arrived!"

Qingyang bowed and said, "Congratulations, Brother Jiuyu, on breaking through to the Venerable Realm. From now on, the path to becoming a super strong person is open to you."

"You're too kind!" Venerable Jiuyu grabbed Qingyang's arm and pulled him to his side, introducing him to the other cosmic venerables present, "Everyone, this is King Liefeng, Qingyang, the youngest weapon-refining master of our human race, and also my brother who once fought alongside me!"

Several cosmic venerables cast their gazes upon Qingyang, their expressions a mixture of scrutiny, curiosity, and goodwill.

After exchanging pleasantries for a few moments, Qingyang took out an object. It was a palm-sized silver disc, its surface engraved with densely packed spacetime attribute runes, radiating a soft and profound silver light under the illumination of the hall.

"Brother Jiuyu, you have broken through to the Venerable realm. I have nothing to offer as a congratulatory gift. This little trinket is something I have crafted in recent years. I hope you will not find it offensive."

The Nine Universe Venerable accepted the disc and released a slight burst of divine power. The secret patterns on the disc's surface suddenly lit up, and a silver sea of ​​light, several meters in diameter, unfolded in the hall. Within the sea of ​​light, the spatial structure began to distort and fold, even slightly disturbing the auras of the several Universe Venerables in the hall.

The Nine Universes Venerable's pupils contracted, and he blurted out, "A domain treasure?"

Upon hearing this, the gazes of the several Universe Venerables present changed. Domain-type treasures, even ordinary ones, are far more valuable than weapons and armor of the same level. The reason is simple: domain-type treasures are extremely rare. In the entire human race, the number of refiners capable of consistently crafting domain-type treasures can be counted on two hands.

And this young man who has just broken through to immortality and has only been around for ten thousand years is actually able to refine a domain-level treasure?