<h4>Chapter 635 - Awakening of the Artifact Spirit</h4>


    Liu Wuxie nodded at the hazy exnation. He had heard of something simr, like the ruler of a star, who would be called Star Lord.


    The benefits of ruling the entire in were evident, as one could continuously draw power from the itself, and the lord wouldn''t die as long as the existed. The revtion that the Southern Province could bless someone with the power of an entire realm was unexpected, and it left Liu Wuxie momentarily stunned.


    There must’ve been a reason since Mu Tianli mentioned it to him, and he would do his best. This didn''t go against his goal of growing stronger.


    With that, everyone stepped into the cksmith Pagoda. On this trial, Mu Tianli advised Liu Wuxie to keep a close eye on Deng Yong, a renowned prodigy as a cksmith. At thest Ten Grand Ceremony, the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion was greatly humiliated during the cksmithing trial and mocked by the Indigo Cloud Gate.


    Aside from Deng Yong, Bai Yuan couldn''t be underestimated either. The Indigo Thunderme could also be used for crafting, and he was an ideal candidate for the first ce.


    The fact that he finished third on the alchemy trial was a disgrace to the Heavenly Origin Sect, and they could only restore their pride by winning first ce.


    "Yuan''er, this is your chance. Make the most of it, and don''t let the pressure get to you," Bai Jin said, patting his son''s shoulder. The alchemy trial was a significant blow to Bai Yuan, especially since he had nearly died in the Spiritual Array Tower.


    "Father, I''m no longer a child, and such setbacks mean nothing to me," Bai Yuan replied confidently. He was determined to obtain first ce during the cksmithing trial.


    On the other hand, the Indigo Cloud Gate''s sect master also offered guidance to Deng Yong. Alongside Deng Yong, the Demonic Heart Pce''s Qiu Kui was also apetitor that couldn''t be underestimated, and they all had a chance to make it into the top three.


    The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion''s Murong Yi and Misty Sect''s Xu Lingxue were ced among the first-tier contenders through the first two trials. Though they failed to reach the top three in the Alchemy Tower since they were women, they probably wouldn''t give up on the cksmithing trial.


    Every cksmithing chamber had an iplete meteorite; the goal was to purify it immediately. Speed and purity were key; the results would be examined through the crystal orb before the participants reached the next level.


    After all, forging aplete weapon was too time-consuming, so thepetition focused on technique and precision. Some people could remove the impurities for the same material, while some couldn''t, no matter how hard they tried.


    Liu Wuxie nced at the meteorite on the desk, roughly the size of two adult fists. The meteorite radiated a powerful aura, and it was no small feat for the Divine Sun Pce to gather so many meteorites. After all, they were only ranked tenth among the ten major sects.


    Seventy percent of the spectators outside had their attention firmly fixed on Liu Wuxie, their curiosity mounting as the trial began.


    "How do you think Liu Wuxie will fare in this trial?" someone whispered in the crowd.


    "Judging from his performance on the two previous trials, I''d say that his forging skills shouldn''t be weak," said an elder from a second-tier sect.


    "Don''t be so sure about that. cksmithing isn''t the same as alchemy; me control wouldn''t help much. It requires a strong understanding of each material and precise techniques," an elder from the Grand Banner Gate stepped forward to refute. He wasn''t wrong because each material required different techniques and temperatures.


    The remarks sparked a debate among the crowd. Some believed that Liu Wuxie would continue to shine in this trial, while others were skeptical and believed that cksmithing might be his weakness.


    The meteorite on the desk hovered before Liu Wuxie, and with a wave of his hand, a demonic me began to engulf it.


    With a flick of his finger, a tiny rift appeared, leaving the spectators stunned. They began to wonder what spiritual rune Liu Wuxie was drawing to make it so powerful.


    Liu Wuxie began to form seals with his hands and guided them into the meteorite.


    "What extraordinary technique!" An elder from the Sky Rift Valley got up on his feet. Unlike Liu Wuxie''s alchemy techniques, his forging techniques were highly profound, as the runes would manifest into various diagrams before merging into the meteorite.


    "Why have I never seen such techniques before?" many people asked, looking bewildered. That was especially the case for an Indigo Cloud Gate’s elder, who was a Grandmaster cksmith. He had seen all sorts of techniques before but wasn''t familiar with Liu Wuxie''s.


    "He''s just showing off. If he can forge any weapon with his technique, I''ll kneel and kowtow to him!" scoffed a disciple from the Grand Banner Gate.


    "As you wish!" Elder He cackled, his voice dripping with malice. He had developed a perverse delight in shattering the kneecaps of others, finding excitement in watching them writhe in humiliation and despair.


    When all the runes were injected into the meteorite, it began to expand and contract as though it was breathing.


    "H-How is this possible? " The elder from the Indigo Cloud Gate was left speechless, his voice trembling as what he saw exceeded hisprehension.


    "An artifact with its artifact spirit! What a monstrous prodigy!" a Misty Sect''s elder eximed. Ordinary artifacts required a xiantian spirit to awaken their artifact spirit, but Liu Wuxie''s technique involved adding his spirituality when forging it, allowing the artifact to awaken its artifact spirit.


    This was the technique Liu Wuxie had used when forging the Heretic de. The power wasparable to a xiantian treasure when it was still a spiritual treasure because the spirituality within was strong. After obtaining the dragon bones, he had fused them into the de and sessfully awakened its artifact spirit.


    Liu Wuxie''s forgingsted only ten breaths before he stopped, and the meteorite hovering in the air had changed. It had shrunk in size, but it emanated a terrifying spirituality that could be felt thousands of meters away.


    The grading was differentiated into four colors when the meteorite was ced on the crystal orb. But when the meteorite was put on it, the crystal orb released a dazzling purple beam that shot into the sky.


    "This..." The Transcendent Plume Gate''s sect master stood up with a grave look in his eyes.


    "Sect Master Mu, where did you find such a monstrous prodigy?" asked Deng Li, the sect master of the Divine Sun Pce, his eyes glinting with curiosity and envy as he turned to Mu Tianli.


    If the Divine Sun Pce could recruit a prodigy like Liu Wuxie, they might finally break free from their fate as the weakest of the ten major sects within a few years.


    "You''ll have to find out for yourself," Mu Tianli shrugged. He had no intention of revealing Liu Wuxie''s background to anyone.


    After finishing, Liu Wuxie stowed the meteorite into the interspatial ring and headed to the second level.


    "It''s your turn now!" Elder He roared and mmed his palm down. Before the Grand Banner Gate’s disciple could react, he already found himself lying on the ground.


    Liu Wuxie''s performance engrossed everyone so much that no one noticed what was unfolding. A blood-curdling scream echoed through the air across the Heavenly Mountain.


    Seeing a disciple crippled, the Grand Banner Gate''s sect master could only grit his teeth, but there was nothing he could do about it. He could only issue strict orders for his sect''s disciples to remain silent, and everything else had to wait until the Ten Grand Ceremony ended. They couldn''t bear to suffer any more losses.


    Upon reaching the second level, it wasn''t a meteorite but an iplete weapon that required contestants to refine it. Like the first level, the higher the quality, the higher the points.


    This time, nearly all eyes were turned to Liu Wuxie as they wondered how he had awakened the artifact spirit earlier.


    As the demonic me gushed out, Liu Wuxie began forming bizarre seals that fused into the sword embryo. Through a series of intricate moves, the sword began to expand and contract as though it were breathing.


    "Am I seeing things?" Dugu Shan rubbed his eyes. These iplete swords were all refined by the Dugu n and forged with the same materials and technique. Yet, none of them could aplish what Liu Wuxie did.


    "Yan''er, this brat is really the reincarnation of a monster like mentioned," Dugu Shan turned to the young woman beside him.


    If Liu Wuxie were here, he would''ve recognized her immediately. She was Dugu Yan, and they had gone to the Blood Sea Abyssal Ind together in the past.


    "Everyone in the Blood Sea Abyssal Ind died except for him. Don''t you think that''s enough to prove that he''s a monstrous prodigy?" Dugu Yan replied.


    Though a year had passed since the incident in the Blood Sea Abyssal Ind, what happened there continued to remain a mystery.


    Dugu Shan nodded solemnly. He had also heard about what had happened in the Blood Sea Abyssal Ind, but no one could find any answers.


    All the sect masters of the ten major sects looked in disbelief. Though they could also achieve what Liu Wuxie did, they only managed to do it by relying on thews of the True Profound Realm to forcibly awaken the spirituality in a weapon.


    However, the fact that Liu Wuxie could aplish it in the Astral River Realm was enough to prove his heaven-defying talent.


    In less than the time it takes to brew tea, Liu Wuxie was already done refining the sword embryo. It was an ordinary spiritual treasure, but the spirituality rivaled a xiantian treasure.


    When Liu Wuxie ced the sword on the crystal orb, a radiant purple beam shot into the sky, illuminating half of it; the beamsted for three seconds before it gradually died down.


    "Sect master, what do we do now? At this rate, the young master can''t obtain first ce!" murmured a concerned elder of the Heavenly Origin Sect. After all, Bai Yuan hadn''t obtained first ce in any trials, a humiliation that weighed heavily on the sect.


    "Are you certain that the materials are wless this time?" Bai Jin asked as he nced at Wang Ba.


    The gaze made Wang Ba flinch, and he quickly stood up, trembling. What had happened in the Spiritual Array Tower had caused a rift between him and the Heavenly Origin Sect. The sect master''s trust in him had visibly declined no matter how he tried to atone for his mistakes.


    "I swear on my life that there are no issues this time," Wang Ba said, patting his chest as he reassured the sect master. They had checked everything thoroughly, and the other two elders had cross-verified it.


    Bai Jin''s expression softened at the assurance.


    As time passed, Liu Wuxie continued to ascend the tower, reaching the seventh level in just four hours. His performance in the past few days had left all the spectators numb. He climbed to the eighth level after he was done refining the spear on the seventh level.


    Meanwhile, Bai Yuan had reached the sixth level and was only two levels behind Liu Wuxie. The gap wasn''t significant, and Deng Yong was only one step behind Bai Yuan.


    Bai Yuan and Deng Yong were evenly matched in terms of cksmithing, and it came down to whoever could perform better.


    The test on the eighth level was a ck pagoda, an unexpected challenge. After all, refining a pagoda was more challengingpared to ordinary weapons. The pagoda was capable of housing its own world throughplex spiritual arrays.


    Demonic energy seeped ominously from the pagoda and was unmistakably a demonic artifact.


    The Demonic Heart Pce had set up the eighth level, and they had no ns for anyone to clear this stage easily.


    However, after ncing at the pagoda, a cold smirk rose on Liu Wuxie''s lips.