Scorched gate, glowing with sparks of fire slowly cascading down like crimson teardrops, stood ominously.
Upon entering, the very air and atmosphere seemed to compress, heavy with the weight of what lay beyond...
CLANK!
CLANK!
A vast cavern stretched endlessly before him, lined with colossal forge furnaces, each working autonomously. Their enormous size made every hammer strike roar like a caged beast, as flames surged high enough to lick the cavern's ceiling.
THUMP!
Similar to the exterior of this fortress anvil, enormous mechanical hammers rose and fell in rhythmic precision, delivering thunderous blows that sent tremors rippling through the ground. The stone floor beneath his feet shuddered with each impact.
Rivers of molten adamant coursed through trenches, glowing with an intense blue radiance that painted everything in an ethereal light.
The liquid metal flowed with hypnotic grace, occasionally spitting and hissing when meeting cooler air, sending tiny droplets dancing into the void before solidifying mid-air and falling like metallic snow.
Ji Wuye's charred black silk robe, adorned with golden embers, fluttered unaffected by the suffocating heat that would have reduced ordinary fabric to ash in seconds. His crimson pupils, sharp as cut garnets, scanned the vast hall with calm indifference, his expression unmoving as he continued to walk, white hair flowing behind him.
'It's different, but also familiar,' he mused inwardly, comparing Varkos Anvil with Igrion.
As the vast hall faded into the background, something far more imposing came into view.
"This must be the main anvil," he stated. He halted before a massive obsidian platform, large enough to serve as a battlefield in its own right.
The polished black surface reflected the surrounding fires in such perfect detail that it appeared as though two forges existed—one above and one below, meeting at an impossible horizon.
At the heart of the platform stood the anvil—not made of metal, yet resembling it, though not entirely the same.
Behind the anvil loomed a towering forge furnace, similar to those in the enormous hall but exponentially more magnificent.
White-hot magma poured steadily from its core, giving off heat so intense that the air shimmered and distorted around it, making distant objects waver like mirages.
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It fed into spiderweb cracks radiating across the entire obsidian platform, creating a network of glowing veins that pulsed with the rhythm.
Surrounding it were numerous forgery tools—grindstones, quenching basins, and other instruments.
"Strength is in the strike. Steel is in the will. Shape, or be shattered."
The moment Ji Wuye stepped onto the obsidian platform, a voice resonated across the spac. It seemed to emanate not from any single point but from the very substance of the forge itself.
At the same time...
BANG!
Ji Wuye's crimson pupils narrowed, then slightly widened as a massive hammer appeared before him in a flash of molten light. It materialized from swirling motes of energy that coalesced into solid form, suspended in the air at perfect height.
It was a forging hammer, immense in size—its length rivaled that of a jian, and its width was nearly three times the breadth of Ji Wuye's arms.
The handle was wrapped in what appeared to be leather darkened, while the hammer's head gleamed with an almost sentient luster, reflecting the dancing flames in hypnotic patterns. By comparison, it was at least twice the size of a Cháng Dāo.
'No wonder it's a test of strength,' he thought. At the same time, he gripped the gigantic hammer without hesitation, his slender fingers wrapping firmly around the ancient handle.
The surface felt warm against his palm, almost alive. His entire shoulder tensed, veins bulging prominently beneath pale skin as he applied force, yet his brows slightly rose in surprise. Despite its intimidating size, he held it with just one hand and…
'It's light,' he remarked inwardly, his shoulder relaxing almost instinctively.
BOOM!
As he let the hammer fall to the ground again, the entire obsidian platform trembled beneath the impact. Tiny fissures of blue-white light spread outward from where the hammer struck, racing along the intricate network of cracks before fading.
In the next instant, Ji Wuye's fingers moved, selecting a transparent screen that had appeared before him.
As his fingertips brushed against the glowing sigils, suddenly, a blinding light illuminated the space.
BOOM!
"Time to get to work," Ji Wuye murmured as he grabbed a boulder-sized fragment of Celestial Ore that materialized before him, drawing it out from his inventory.
Without hesitation, he hurled the ore into the colossal forge behind the anvil.
Step 1: Heating the Ore
SWOOSH!
A deafening roar filled the air, as though a massive beast had awakened. The forge responded to the celestial material with hungry enthusiasm, its flames shifting from orange-red to an intense blue-white.
Flames consumed and devoured the Celestial Ore hungrily, their crackling sound echoing like thunder, sending plumes of multi-colored smoke spiraling upward.
At the same time, the Celestial Ore's outer shell—deep midnight black and speckled with silver-white flecks like a fragment of night sky torn from the heavens—began to change. Uncharacteristically, instead of reddening like ordinary ores, it started to take on an intense bluish hue.
"The first step is to heat the ore," a voice reverberated across the vast, massive obsidian platform.
Simultaneously, as if guided by his Quick Adaptation skill, a highlighted white glow illuminated both the colossal forge and the Celestial Ore set before Ji Wuye.
Of course, Ji Wuye had already acted ahead. He now stood holding a pair of tongs—ordinary in appearance. He watched the Celestial Ore as it endured the heat of the raging flames.
His crimson pupils, dark and unyielding like pools of blood, observed the process.
The beast-like flames roared and devoured the massive, boulder-sized Celestial Ore, chewing through its ebony outer shell as the internal astral metal began to liquefy slightly.
Time dragged on, with more than one incense stick's worth of time passing, but Ji Wuye showed no impatience. His breathing remained steady.
Occasionally, his head tilted slightly as he caught a subtle change in the ore's composition, his nostrils flaring to catch the evolving scent—from cold stone to something sweeter, reminiscent of night-blooming flowers and distant stars.
At last, the ore, which had transmuted from black to a deep, vivid blue that seemed to contain infinite depth, began to emit a faint, star-like white glow amidst the searing white flames.
Small constellations appeared to form and dissolve within its semi-molten mass, like cosmic secrets briefly revealed.
Without hesitation, Ji Wuye moved. Taking up the tongs, he adjusted his grip minutely, knuckles whitening as he—
CRACK!
The tongs in his hand bit down and gripped the glowing, boulder-sized Celestial Ore with surprising strength, holding it steadily in place.
Ji Wuye then lifted the massive, glowing ore as he gently placed it onto the anvil before the great forge.
And then, as if on cue...
"Grab the ore and place it on the anvil," repeated the same resonant voice, vibrating through the expansive obsidian platform as Ji Wuye had already completed the first step.
By the time the disembodied voice finished speaking, Ji Wuye had already moved, the massive hammer gripped firmly in his hands.
CLANK!
Step 2: Shaping the Weapon.
