"I will start with this furnace first," Zhi Xuan said. He brought the Furnace closer to him, noticing the rune with the eclipse pattern that he had already suspected, serving as a clue to its origin and the clan symbol he believed belonged to the lost Heaven Clan.

  "This furnace will be useless if I don't repair it," Zhi Xuan muttered. "Its vitality is completely exhausted, only fragile bronze remains."

  Zhi Xuan then recalled a conversation he had heard in the past, that a First Ember cultivator with a third-level Soul Flame could begin to forge their desired weapon, a process known as Celestial Forging. Zhi Xuan was once hesitant to start this, considering this furnace a clue to his origins.

  But now he needed provisions for his journey. He had no weapon other than the sword thread, his Devil Blood Sword. He needed something stronger and capable of competing with other spiritual weapons.

  Zhi Xuan sighed, staring at the Half-Destroyed Furnace in his lap. The artifact, though dilapidated, was the most tangible clue he had about his true identity and heritage—likely connected to the lost Heaven Clan.

  'I need a weapon, Ruo. My Devil Blood Sword is powerful, but it's an Essence manifestation, easily spotted and requires constant focus. I need a physical artifact that doesn't attract attention,' Zhi Xuan said in the Sea of Consciousness.

  'You are right, Monkey,' Ruo Xianxue replied, her tone serious. 'Celestial Forging is the only way. Your Azure Holy Flame Soul Fire is capable of burning and forging, but you must be careful. Those eclipse runes are very ancient. If you try to repair this Furnace whole, you might erase the last trace of the Heaven Clan. You don't have the proper forging formula.'

  Zhi Xuan touched the furnace. Its surface was cold and rough. He felt the ancient eclipse runes on the intact side, which seemed to faintly pulse with an unfamiliar energy.

  "In that case, I will sacrifice the bones inside the shabby coffin," Zhi Xuan decided coldly. "Building a Tripod, a weapon capable of competing with Heaven."

  Zhi Xuan placed the Half-Destroyed Furnace on the flat ground in front of him. He then took out the Shabby Coffin from his storage bag. The coffin looked like a wooden relic that would crumble to dust at any moment, but he knew that this coffin contained a deeper secret than it appeared.

  With a subtle hand gesture, Zhi Xuan opened the coffin.

  The aroma of earth and age greeted him. Inside, there were broken skulls, an ancient, seemingly fragile jade scroll, and a pair of broken wings that emitted an aura of calm darkness. Zhi Xuan ignored the scroll and the wings, focusing on the shattered bones. He knew these bones were a necessary sacrifice.

  "The coffin contains ancient bones, Ruo. The remaining energy there feels very old, much purer than any Devil impurity I've ever absorbed," Zhi Xuan said, his eyes fixed on the bones inside the coffin. "If I combine those bones with the eclipse rune fragments from the ruined furnace, my Azure Holy Flame might be able to create a proficient Three-Legged Cauldron."

  He closed the coffin again, storing the jade scroll and the broken wings inside. He only took a handful of shattered bones, which felt surprisingly heavy despite their small size. The bones emitted a pale white, almost golden sheen, and immediately dispelled the putrid smell from the coffin.

  In front of him, the Half-Destroyed Furnace lay on the stone.

  "I will separate the intact fragment that has the eclipse rune," Zhi Xuan decided. He knew that this intact part of the furnace was a valuable artifact. Using it for total melting was an unforgivable waste of heritage, but he had to do it.

  Zhi Xuan raised his hand, and the dark purplish light of the Azure Holy Flame immediately ignited in his palm. The intense heat spread, turning the surrounding air into a visible heatwave. Xiao Die, on his shoulder, flapped her rainbow-gold wings, emitting a pure energy field to protect Zhi Xuan from his own heat.

  This was the most dangerous step. He had no formula or blueprint, only intuition and the power of the Azure Holy Flame.

  Zhi Xuan focused his Essence, and a wave of Dark Purplish Soul Flame shot forward, engulfing the entire body of the Half-Destroyed Furnace.

  WHUUMMPPH!

  The Soul Flame surged. The Azure Holy Flame was a high-level Soul Flame, but it met ancient bronze that had been forged by eclipse runes. The Furnace did not immediately melt. Instead, it emitted a low rumble, and the eclipse runes on the intact side shone brightly, attempting to resist the Soul Flame.

  Zhi Xuan gritted his teeth. He channeled more Black Jade Essence, rotating the Celestial Samsara Wheel with the Law of Four Seasons—Summer and Autumn. The Soul Flame grew stronger, its color becoming more concentrated.

  Finally, the ancient bronze reached its melting point. From the broken side of the furnace, the bronze began to melt into a dark gold liquid that emitted an ancient aroma. However, the intact part, where the eclipse runes were, remained firm, resisting the fire.

  Zhi Xuan calmly waved his hand, the dark gold liquid immediately clumped together, becoming a piece of bronze the size of a fist. He drew the clump towards him and it pierced his chest, entering his dark Sea of Consciousness. He planned to form a Soul Artifact connected to his Soul Flame, resurrecting an artifact originally tied to his soul.

  The clump rebelled, shooting randomly as if refusing to be formed and purified. "You belong to me," Zhi Xuan hissed, his voice containing the cold determination of a heaven defier.

  Within the vast, dark Sea of Consciousness, where the Celestial Samsara Wheel rotated, the clump of dark gold liquid darted wildly, emitting an ancient aura of rebellion. The liquid was the remnant of an ancient artifact, and it refused to submit to the newly formed Soul Flame.

  He drew a red thread from the Ancient Devil Monument, and a vine of red thread immediately emerged from the bottom of his Sea of Consciousness, intending to entangle the clump of artifact remnant. However, the clump was too difficult to subdue.

  Zhi Xuan realized the ancient bronze clump was not just rebelling; it emitted the will of the previous master. That will, though faint, carried the grandeur and bitterness of the lost Heaven Clan. If he forced it, he risked damaging his own Sea of Consciousness.

  'The will of this artifact has merged with its material, Monkey. It refuses to be a slave to a new Soul Flame. You must soften it with a more primordial essence,' Ruo Xianxue hissed, her voice filled with tension.

  Zhi Xuan clenched his jaw. He understood. He immediately retrieved the prepared ancient bones. With his Essence, he injected the handful of shattered bones, which emitted a pale gold aura, into his Sea of Consciousness. As the bones entered the darkness, they immediately crumbled into glittering gold dust. The gold dust was not just material; it was a primordial will much older than the artifact's will.

  "With bone and blood as the foundation, with the Dao as the path. Heaven is ruthless, earth is the beginning of all life."

  Zhi Xuan channeled every word, using the Law of Spring from the Celestial Samsara Wheel to awaken the vitality contained in the gold dust. The gold dust immediately formed a vortex in his Sea of Consciousness, a small storm that emitted pure, ancient Life Essence. The vortex rushed towards the rebellious clump of dark gold liquid.

  When the ancient gold dust touched the liquid clump, the reaction was astonishing. The clump trembled violently, and the rebellious will within it suddenly dimmed, as if encountering a much older and more authoritative ancestor. The dark gold liquid, which was aggressive before, now became soft and vulnerable, greedily absorbing the gold dust.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  "A wisp of soul, circling the nine heavens. A flawless immortal form, a grand rebirth that shakes the heavens!"

  Zhi Xuan clenched his jaw, his voice filled with the resolve of a cultivator ready to defy the Dao. This was soul-engraving, not mere forging. Failure meant the collapse of his Sea of Consciousness, perhaps even the newly formed Soul Flame.

  He channeled more Black Jade Essence, spinning the Celestial Samsara Wheel at terrifying speed. The Law of Four Seasons—Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter—rotated simultaneously, creating a perfect cycle of purification and condensation.

  He used his Divine Sense, aided by Ruo Xianxue's guidance, to carve the shape of the artifact he desired. The shape was not a simple weapon, but a Three-Legged Cauldron symbolizing cosmic stability.

  In the dark Sea of Consciousness, the dark gold liquid, which had now absorbed the gold bone dust, began to change. Its surface pulsed, emitting a soft but intense jade-gold light. It was no longer an artifact remnant; it was primordial matter purified by a high-level Soul Flame.

  The jade-gold liquid stretched, forming three sturdy legs. Zhi Xuan condensed three points at the bottom of the material. With all the essence of the Law of Four Seasons, he carved the sharp and solid legs of the Cauldron, each leg adorned with patterns that radiated a sturdy and cold aura. Then, to purify the body material of the Cauldron, eliminating every impurity.

  Its surface became smooth, emitting a pure aura typical of a weapon artifact, but dark jade-gold in color. In the center of his Sea of Consciousness, Zhi Xuan condensed his Soul Flame, and with the Law of Four Seasons, he carved a Soul Rune. He did not carve the eclipse rune; he carved a small Four Seasons Cycle Rune at the base of the Cauldron, permanently binding the artifact to his Dao Law.

  The process took three full days. During that time, Zhi Xuan did not move an inch on the hilltop. Cold sweat soaked his robe, and his Essence was nearly depleted. At dawn on the fourth day, Zhi Xuan shouted, his voice hoarse but filled with triumph.

  "Form, Cauldron!"

  Inside the Sea of Consciousness, the dark jade-gold Three-Legged Cauldron was fully formed. Its height was only the size of a human head, but it emitted a calm and stable spiritual pressure, far surpassing ordinary spiritual artifacts. It was a Soul Artifact bound directly to Zhi Xuan's Soul Flame and Law of Four Seasons.

  Zhi Xuan opened his eyes, a dark purplish flash crossing his eyes. With a gesture, the Three-Legged Cauldron shot out from his forehead, appearing in the air with a brilliant jade-gold sheen. The Cauldron rotated slowly, emitting the scent of ancient earth and pure vitality.

  Zhi Xuan, overwhelmed with ecstasy and joy after successfully creating an artifact, waved his hand, directing the Heavenly Trifold Reincarnation Cauldron to strike the ancient trees around him.

  WHIRR!

  The Cauldron clanged and shot out at terrifying speed. It did not emit a dazzling light or a dramatic sound; its movement was calm and focused, a manifestation of a stable foundation. The Cauldron struck an ancient Oak tree more than twenty meters tall, whose trunk was as hard as ironstone.

  BAM!

  The sound of the impact was low and dull, not the sound of metal hitting wood. The tree did not break; instead, a human head-sized hole appeared in the hard tree trunk, and from the hole, the Life Essence of the tree immediately evaporated, leaving dry ash remnants around its edges. The Cauldron itself bounced back, landing gracefully in Zhi Xuan's palm.

  The Cauldron felt warm in his hand, and he could feel an inseparable soul connection with it. This artifact was not only physically powerful; it carried the ability to suppress and drain vitality. The ancient bones he used had given the Cauldron the ancient vitality attribute, and the Law of Autumn within it gave it the ability to "fell" life.

  "Perfect..." Zhi Xuan muttered, his voice hoarse but filled with deep satisfaction. He raised the dark jade-gold Heavenly Trifold Reincarnation Cauldron to his eyes. Its surface emitted a calm, faint light, a striking contrast to its deadly, silent attack.

  "I shall name you, Heavenly Trifold Reincarnation Cauldron."

  Heavenly Trifold Reincarnation Cauldron. The name resonated with hidden history, an acknowledgment of the ancient bones and the ancient fragment that formed its foundation, as well as the Four Seasons cycle that gave it life.

  Zhi Xuan suppressed his Essence, and the Heavenly Trifold Reincarnation Cauldron immediately shrunk, transforming into a dark jade-gold bead that hung in his long black hair. The warmth of the artifact felt soothing, a constant presence connected to his Soul Flame.

  After the Heavenly Trifold Reincarnation Cauldron was successfully forged, Zhi Xuan felt a new surge of confidence. He was no longer naked before the world. He had a proficient weapon, an inseparable soul connection, and most importantly, an artifact that symbolized his triumph over a lost legacy and the creation of his own Dao.

  Zhi Xuan took a long breath, calming his Sea of Consciousness. Forging the Heavenly Trifold Reincarnation Cauldron had consumed most of the Black Jade Essence he had newly collected, but the reward was worth it. The warmth from the Heavenly Trifold Reincarnation Cauldron, now hanging in his hair, felt like a protective talisman.

  He stared at the remnants of the Half-Destroyed Furnace lying on the stone. One fragment, the part where the eclipse rune was, remained intact, untouched by the Azure Holy Flame. It looked like a small bronze disc, emitting the same ancient aura he had felt in his Sea of Consciousness.

  "Those eclipse runes... the will of the lost Heaven Clan," Zhi Xuan muttered.

  He picked up the rune fragment and stored it in his storage bag. Although he had sacrificed part of the original artifact, this fragment was the purest trace remaining. He would not damage it.

  Zhi Xuan then picked up the shabby coffin box. This coffin still contained the ancient jade scroll, a few more complete skulls, and a pair of broken wings.

  "Now, let's see what's in this scroll, and why you, Ruo, have been so silent about the owner of this coffin," Zhi Xuan urged, looking at the coffin. Xiao Die, sitting on the stone, flapped her wings once, as if indicating agreement.

  Zhi Xuan opened the coffin and carefully took out the ancient jade scroll. The scroll felt cold and extremely fragile in his hand. As soon as he channeled a small amount of Black Jade Essence into it, the scroll shone with a faint golden light, and a mental image immediately flooded his Sea of Consciousness. This was not a spell or a cultivation technique. This was an incredibly ancient historical record.

  Mental images flooded Zhi Xuan's Sea of Consciousness, not as a forced memory, but as a subtle yet undeniable visual narrative. The Ancient Jade Scroll was a window to a long-lost past.

  The first thing that appeared was a scene of unparalleled vast plains, almost not touching the edge of the plains, as if too magnificent to go to its end. Then, a magnificent city appeared, the city was not made of stone or wood, but of black jade pillars soaring to the sky, enveloped by golden spiritual mist.

  Above it, clouds moved with cosmic regularity, and in the center of the city, stood a tower that pierced the atmospheric boundary, its peak seeming to touch the stars.

  'That is the Golden Sky City,' Ruo Xianxue whispered, her voice in the Sea of Consciousness sounding full of rare respect. 'This is the Era of the Fall of the Nine Heavens.'

  Zhi Xuan saw the creatures inhabiting the city. They were not ordinary humans; they were celestial beings, tall, elegant, and each of them emitted a pure ancient aura. Most wore silk robes embroidered with the eclipse pattern—the same pattern on the fragment of the Half-Destroyed Furnace. They were the Ancient Heaven Clan.

  Then, the narrative shifted, focusing on a young man who looked very similar to Zhi Xuan, but with eyes that radiated a purer golden-jade light. That man—an unparalleled genius—was the original owner of the coffin. Someone capable of splitting heaven and earth, becoming a legend surpassed by none.

  He saw the young man grow, challenging celestial lightning, and leading his army against unimaginable entities. That army was cultivators serving the Heaven Clan, wearing black armor with jade carvings, who flew across the sky with a pair of broken wings—the Broken Wings now lying inside the coffin.

  They were the Fallen Heaven Warriors, an army specializing in extremely extreme cultivation, sacrificing part of their lives to gain the power capable of fighting the Great Ruin.

  "The Great Ruin has come," a voice was heard in the mental image, a heavy and mournful voice. "The cycle of the Dao has ended. This is the fall of the Nine Heavens."

  The scene of the jade city then turned into a battlefield. The stars above were falling, and the Heaven itself seemed to tear itself apart. Fighting the Heaven Clan were entities shrouded in a devil mist much denser and more terrifying than the Demon Mist Swamp, primordial creatures that only existed to annihilate.

  The genius young man fought on the front line, holding a luminous Three-Legged Cauldron—a Cauldron very similar to the Heavenly Trifold Reincarnation Cauldron that Zhi Xuan had just forged, but much larger in size, and emitting a light capable of suppressing the void. In the middle of the battle, he realized the inevitable defeat. The Heaven Clan, though powerful, could not fight the Dao that had turned against them.

  "We must secure the Heritage. We must ensure a rebirth. I will be the last seed," the young man said.

  The scene then focused on the final preparation. The young man used his Three-Legged Cauldron to absorb the spiritual essence of the collapsing Golden Sky City, condensing the Essence of the entire city into pure gold dust—the Bone Dust that Zhi Xuan used.

  He saw the young man tearing a pair of wings from his back—wings that radiated an aura of darkness and majesty—the Broken Wings inside the coffin. He put the wings, the condensed bones, and some of his personal artifacts into the coffin made of black jade wood that had been condensed by his blood.

  He then carved the Heaven Clan Reincarnation Rune on the inside of the coffin. This Rune was a vow, not a spell.

  "If any of my blood descendants find this, let this heritage be your foundation. Rise to challenge Heaven where we fell. I am your ancestor, and my descendant is the one who will rise and be immortal."

  The mental image faded. Zhi Xuan opened his eyes. He gasped for breath, his Sea of Consciousness shaking.