The desolate world showed no signs of expanding but focused on the laws inside, becoming more complete.

The powerful spirituality in the ancient spiritual bamboo shoot added life to the lifeless desolate world, making it more vibrant. However, it wasn’t enough to meet the desolate world’s needs.

Liu Wuxie spent an entire month stabilizing his cultivation in the pinnacle seventh-level Heavenly Phase Realm.

The two ladies had successfully reached the first level of the Heavenly Phase Realm. They needed time to consolidate their cultivation before another breakthrough.

Having leaped through several levels in their cultivation, they needed time to temper their physique and primordial souls. They needed to let their bodies and primordial souls adapt to their new cultivation.

However, Liu Wuxie did not need to adjust because he was an Immortal Emperor in his past life. Each of his breakthroughs was smooth and natural.

At most, he only needed to temper himself briefly before making another breakthrough to higher cultivation.

Meanwhile, Serene Sea City became more bustling by the day. Many people left their cultivation chambers to prepare for the monthly stone betting event.

The three major sects would bring back a batch of shipments from the barren land, and experts would gather in Serene Sea City, eager to pick stones.

Luckily, one might obtain a supreme-grade spiritual essence or an ancient fragment.

“I need to forge my weapon. You two rest for the next few days,” said Liu Wuxie. He knew he couldn’t afford to be distracted while reforging the Heretic Blade. The cultivation chamber was large enough, equipped with separate resting areas.

The two ladies nodded and needed a break after cultivating for so long.

The forging chamber wasn’t vast, but it was enough to satisfy Liu Wuxie’s needs. He took out many materials, including the ancient fragment and the quasi-heavenly artifact.

“I’ll have to depend on you if I can forge a monarch artifact!” Liu Wuxie murmured to himself, holding onto the quasi-heavenly artifact.

The Heretic Blade was already on the verge of reaching the Monarch Artifact, where its power would rise significantly.

When Liu Wuxie took out the quasi-heavenly artifact, the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron began to stir, wanting to devour it.

“The Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron wants to evolve again?” Liu Wuxie muttered as he eyed the cauldron. The last time it had undergone an evolution, an immense demonic flame had surged from within, signaling a dramatic transformation.

"This is strange... the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron has never reacted like this before, almost as if it’s eager to refine something," Liu Wuxie murmured, sinking deeper into thought. The cauldron’s unusual behavior left him contemplating his next steps—whether to reforge the Heretic Blade or allow the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron to evolve.

Both choices would ultimately benefit him, placing him in a dilemma.

“Forget it. There’s still time before I reach the Astral River Realm. I can fuse the ancient fragment into the Heretic Blade first and aim to upgrade it to a quasi-monarch artifact. I should prioritize upgrading the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron first.”

He took out a small fragment the size of a fingernail. This was likely a piece of a Heavenly Artifact that was buried in the ground after it had shattered.

The Heretic Blade was only one step away from becoming a monarch artifact, but its quality surpassed that of ordinary monarch artifacts.

Liu Wuxie began forming a series of hand seals and infused them into the Heretic Blade before smelting the ancient fragment with immortal runes to extract the boundless laws and pour them into the Heretic Blade.

The artifact spirit was already born and possessed strong spirituality.

As the Heretic Blade began to expand, Liu Wuxie realized he had underestimated the power contained within the fragment. The energy it held was immense, far beyond what he had anticipated.

He quickly began smelting his prepared materials, fusing them into the Heretic Blade. The artifact spirit, in the form of a golden dragon, greedily devoured each material that was sent into the blade.

Liu Wuxie accelerated the forging process, channeling spiritual runes into the blade, laying the groundwork for its transformation into a monarch artifact. The blade lengthened, its aura becoming so suffocating that it filled the chamber with an oppressive force.

Chen Ruoyan and Jian Xing’er staggered in the adjacent rooms under the overwhelming pressure released from the forging chamber. They barely managed to hold their ground, the intensity of the energy leaving them breathless.

“Big Brother Liu’s weapon is too powerful. It’s only a xiantian treasure, but it’s even stronger than a monarch artifact,” said Chen Ruoyan in shock as she regained her balance.

Jian Xing’er nodded in agreement. From the first day she met Liu Wuxie, she had witnessed how he created one miracle after another.

With each hand sign formed, spiritual runes were sent into the Heretic Blade, and a new bridge was formed. Liu Wuxie laid down the foundation to upgrade it into a monarch artifact.

He had already reached the limit with the Fatality Blade Art, which no longer suited him. This meant he would have to find a new blade technique for him to use.

While the Fatality Blade Art was sufficient against ordinary opponents, the enemies he would run into would be much stronger, which meant he required more powerful martial techniques.

“I have to hurry up to reach the Astral River Realm. At that time, I won’t have to worry about martial techniques,” Liu Wuxie muttered to himself while he continued to reforge the Heretic Blade.

After reaching the Astral River Realm, Liu Wuxie would gain access to some means of an immortal, and he could even start cultivating simpler immortal techniques, albeit with difficulty.

The Heretic Blade’s power had increased drastically in just an hour. It might not have reached the level of a monarch artifact, but it had surpassed the level of ordinary monarch artifacts.

Liu Wuxie began to construct the spiritual runes of a monarch artifact repeatedly. Once a weapon became a monarch artifact, it would develop an internal space that could also function as an interspatial ring.

The larger the space, the more spiritual runes he could infuse into the Heretic Blade, which would be activated during combat. For example, the spiritual runes would form an offensive or defensive spiritual array to boost the weapon’s destructive power.

Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye, and the Heretic Blade remained at the level of a pinnacle xiantian treasure. However, the artifact spirit was significantly boosted after fusing with the ancient fragment.

Sounds of dragon roars echoed within the forging chamber, where Jian Xing’er and Chen Ruoyan hugged each other instinctively as the dragon’s aura filled the entire cultivation chamber.

Liu Wuxie quickly grasped the Heretic Blade, and the overwhelming aura it emitted began to retract. If he allowed the pressure to continue, it could very well shatter the primordial spirits of Chen Ruoyan and Jian Xing’er under the oppressive force of the dragon’s aura.

With a swift motion, he stowed the Heretic Blade into his interspatial ring. The weapon had already developed a faint consciousness and could now cultivate itself without his direct involvement.

Liu Wuxie’s next task was to upgrade the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, and he eagerly anticipated the transformation it would undergo after devouring the quasi-heavenly artifact. The cauldron’s demonic flame flared to life, more potent than any ordinary flame. This demonic fire, acquired during the last upgrade, possessed the terrifying ability to consume anything.

The demonic flame could devour everything, so Liu Wuxie could only spend half a day refining many spiritual essences.

An ordinary treasure would only take him a few breaths, while others might need days or months to absorb them.

When he tossed the quasi-heavenly artifact, a longsword, into the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, Liu Wuxie shifted his consciousness into the desolate world, waiting patiently. The demonic flames surged, wrapping around the sword, continually extracting its laws and essence. The sword’s surprising resilience exceeded Liu Wuxie’s expectations.

The Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron could refine ordinary monarch artifacts in a few breaths, while this longsword remained intact after so long, bringing a trace of astonishment to his face.

"It’s fortunate I had the cauldron handle this," Liu Wuxie muttered to himself. "If I had tried to fuse it into the Heretic Blade, the blade might not have been able to withstand the longsword’s power. I could’ve faced a backlash, and the Heretic Blade might’ve crumbled."

The demonic flames continued to surge as strange markings appeared on the cauldron’s surface.

“It has started to evolve!” Liu Wuxie watched closely, his attention fixed on every change to the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron. They didn’t belong to demonic runes or immortal runes. He had never seen anything like them before.

Although the cauldron seemed small on the outside, the internal space was vast and limitless. It acted like the central control system that constructed the entire desolate world.

The desolate world was built upon the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron. The two were intricately connected and supported each other.

Time slowly passed as the demonic flame corroded the ancient sword. Bit by bit, the surface began to melt into a molten liquid, flowing into the depths of the cauldron.

Shortly after, a terrifying surge of energy was fed back into the desolate world.

“What’s this...” Liu Wuxie didn’t expect the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron to give him a portion of the energy while refining the quasi-heavenly artifact.

“Prepare for a breakthrough!” Liu Wuxie’s cultivation was stuck in the seventh level of the Heavenly Phase Realm, and the sudden feedback of energy instantly helped him to break open the gate to the eighth level.

Liu Wuxie pressed forward and used the energy fed back to him. His cultivation began to rise, advancing to the late phase of the eighth level.

Six months had passed inside the cultivation chamber, while only two days outside.

The two ladies didn’t idle and rested for two days before they focused on cultivating. After all, every day was a waste when they had such an excellent cultivation chamber.

The Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron continued to evolve, but the quasi-heavenly artifact hadn’t dissolved completely. The surface’s runes continued to increase, forming chains that shot out of the cauldron.

Liu Wuxie divided a portion of his divine sense to closely monitor the changes to the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron while making a breakthrough in his cultivation.

A look of astonishment appeared on Liu Wuxie’s face when he saw chains emerging from the cauldron. The pitch-black chains slithered like black dragons, weaving through the interior of the cauldron.

This scene made Liu Wuxie’s scalp tingle with unease. He had no idea why so many chains had appeared during the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron’s upgrade.

“I understand now,” Liu Wuxie muttered. A bold idea began to form in Liu Wuxie’s mind. “It’s rumored that demonic entities are imprisoned in hell. Could these chains be similar to the Earth-Binding Chains, capable of imprisoning everything?”

He was too familiar with the Earth-Binding Chains’ power. Hell was the filthiest, darkest, and the most evil place in all existence. Anyone who descended into the depths of hell would become a demon.

Liu Wuxie pondered what exactly the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron truly was, especially with its ability to manifest hell-like visions. He still wasn’t sure of the full extent of the power contained within the mysterious chains that rattled from within the cauldron, eager to be unleashed. He made a mental note to test them as soon as his seclusion ended.

With a mere spread of his divine sense, the chains rattled as if they wanted to burst out from the cauldron.

The sword began to dissolve, and the feedback energy was diminishing.

He spent the remaining time consolidating his cultivation. From time to time, he guided the two ladies and also practiced his martial technique.

When Liu Wuxie’s hands formed seals, icy energy appeared before Liu Wuxie and took on various shapes and forms. After making two consecutive breakthroughs in his cultivation, his dao technique also grew significantly in power.

Aside from the Primordial Astral Fist, the Frost Finger was his greatest combat strength. Combined with Soul Spear, which was perfect for surprise attacks, along with the Heavenly Dragon Seal and Earth-Binding Chains, Liu Wuxie estimated that he could even slay opponents in the high levels of the Astral River Realm.

Several months had passed in the blink of an eye before Liu Wuxie knew it. Meanwhile, Serene Sea City was bustling with activity.

When the three major sects transported a fresh batch of shipments from the barren land, they stored them in the guild established by the three sects, where they were sold to the public.

The guild was established to facilitate trading goods from the barren land. This ensured that buyers wouldn’t have to travel back and forth between the three major sects.

“Young Lady, it has been four days, and he still hasn’t come out!” Lady Yan was growing anxious. Aside from the Ling Clan, the three major sects had also sent an invitation to the House of Tea Art to invite Murong Yi to the upcoming stone betting event.

The sudden invitation to the House of Tea Art had hinted at their deeper intentions.

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