Chapter 5 The timing is perfect. Princess Dongfang, how hypocritical...
5
Soon, the palace finalized the plan to open the secret vault, offer sacrifices to the spirit bones, and forge the divine weapon at the Golden Hook Ye Gate.
On that auspicious day, Miaojue was meditating intensively, observing his spiritual roots and essence within his inner palace.
The system outlines the various hidden challenges within the secret formula, which is what the secret formula aims to address:
"The whole thing seems reasonable, but it's not. The sacrificial bone forging of the sword is a national event that the entire realm is watching. The process will be publicly displayed on the Heavenly Origin Mirror. This should have been a good opportunity for the male and female protagonists to stand side by side in public, but the female protagonist was heartbroken—"
"Because the weapon refiner sent by the Golden Hook Ye Sect is the eldest daughter, Ye Caifeng, whose infatuation with the male lead is second only to yours. You two usually compete openly and secretly, so naturally she didn't let go of this good opportunity."
Er Kang's clever move: "Don't say that about me."
She knew about this too. Compared to the useless princess, Ye Caifeng not only had a golden spirit bone that was close to the heaven level and inherited the superb tempering technology of the Ye Clan, but she also safely positioned herself in the position of the male lead's good brother.
How did they know the secret? Because the female protagonist once confessed to herself while crying in front of the tree.
"This Netherbone Blade is clearly our shared ambition, but what about him? He brought his Daoist partner to meet his friend. Shouldn't he have introduced his partner to the friend first? Does Yaotian really respect me?..."
The female lead is actually quite good in this respect; before she gets attacked, she always knows exactly why she's being attacked... That's so damn good—
Why did you cut me?
The female protagonist wept in the wind: "I am grateful to the woman from Yemen for helping us temper the Nether Bone Blade. She said that she grew up with male cultivators since childhood, so her behavior told me not to overthink it. But, but... what kind of relationship requires two people to hold hands and temper together? I don't understand... maybe it's my problem."
The secret trick was dredged up from my memory, and I opened my eyes speechlessly.
Why do these people all have Heaven-level or near-Heaven-level spiritual bones?
Miao Jue couldn't help but cry out in despair, but fortunately, she also had a chance. She carefully gazed at the spiritual bone sprout emerging from her dantian, which began to emit a faint green color.
This slight change made Miaojue clearly feel that her body became lighter, and the spiritual energy surging in the air began to wander behind her ears and between her nose and breath—what exactly was the world like in the eyes of the Heavenly Spirit Bone?
In this world, talent determines everything. The attributes of spiritual bones—metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, thunder, and ice—are all equal, but the levels of spiritual bones are divided into four grades: "human, earth, heaven, and mystery." Each grade is further subdivided into ten levels, which directly determines the power of heaven and earth that a cultivator can bear.
Miao Jue's current spiritual bone root seedlings haven't reached the level where they can be graded, so the amount of time-traveling power she can bear is very limited. But that's okay; after this major ordeal, she will definitely make a breakthrough.
"Let's go!" Miao Jue took two steps and then paused. "Wait a minute, what role does the villain play in this whole thing?"
System: "It might be..."
…
It serves a design purpose.
Miao Jue looked at the villain, who was dressed in white with a clear and handsome figure, long, bright eyes, and thin red lips. He felt that this person was so evil that he was like some kind of beautiful animal with beautiful fur. His face was not as sullen as when he was a child, but his evil aura had been greatly enhanced.
Unfortunately, everyone around them—mainly the male and female protagonists—was blind.
Chen Jinshi watched with great interest as the carriages quietly entered the palace.
The carriage shaft was marked with a golden hook seal. With the curtain lifted, a figure nimbly jumped down and rushed straight into Dongfang Yaotian's arms.
"Brother Yaotian!"
Ye Caifeng bumped into Dongfang Yaotian and before the male and female protagonists could react, she immediately and tactfully slipped out, touched the tip of her nose, and then placed her palm on Dongfang Yaotian's chest.
"Oh dear, look at me, always so reckless—I heard you took a direct hit from the Netherworld Clan. Did those damned beasts damage your meridians?"
Her words were full of concern, and her demeanor was like that of a good brother. If it weren't for the fact that her hand was directly touching Dongfang Yaotian's body, and that she intentionally or unintentionally ignored Gong Yuqiu standing right next to Dongfang Yaotian, it would have seemed perfectly normal.
Dongfang Yaotian was also a little stunned, but upon hearing the question, he immediately activated his bravado and smiled wickedly: "It's alright, it doesn't hurt at all."
The secret: "…………"
Ye Caifeng caught a glimpse of the fleeting disappointment on Gong Yuqiu's face and the barely suppressed speechlessness on Dongfang Qian's face, and raised the corners of her lips. She formed a fist in her palm and lightly punched Dongfang Yaotian's chest, "Brother Yaotian, we've been cultivating together since we were little, so I naturally understand your talent."
Dongfang Yaotian was completely oblivious to the undercurrents, his eyes bulging like a broken chamber pot, utterly oblivious to the gradual shattering of the female lead's expectation.
The system suggested: "To avoid this heart-wrenching moment, you could remind the male lead to pay attention to the female lead's emotions, or let the female lead see the true thoughts of the female supporting character!"
Miaojue shook his head with an air of experience: "You still don't understand them, you're too young."
If the male and female leads, this perfect couple, could be woken up by someone, would she have needed to endure so many stabs?
This agonizing plot point actually revolves entirely around one thing: the Netherbone Blade. The key is clear: destroy the blade.
The Heavenly Treasury is located deep within this royal palace.
Offering up the remains of the dead was a major event, and the palace was indeed on high alert everywhere, with the number of guards increasing several times over.
The wooden door at the entrance to the secret realm, carved with the River Chart Spirit Beast Array, is ancient and heavy, and it is sealed with an array that can only be opened by those of the Heavenly Evolution Royal Family bloodline.
So Dongfang Yaotian put it on again.
He casually raised his hand, and a surge of wind energy gathered in his palm, activating the spirit beast array. Ye Caifeng had somehow squeezed out Gong Yuqiu and was now standing closest to Dongfang Yaotian, calling him a master.
The secret gate has been opened.
The male lead and the female supporting character strode away proudly, while the female lead followed behind, pale-faced and looking like a pathetic, saintly saint.
Miao Jue couldn't bear to look at him, so he just touched the intricately carved sandalwood door with his palm, feeling a surge of resentment towards the royal family.
This is so environmentally unfriendly; these scoundrels' environmentalism is ingrained in their very bones.
Within the inner treasury, a towering thousand-step staircase leads to the entrance, with countless intersecting open and hidden compartments. From the outside, one would never guess the vastness of its interior; it truly is a place where a fragment of a Netherworld bone is stored.
Dust settled leisurely at the very end, listening to Ye Caifeng and Dongfang Yaotian angrily denounce the cruelty and bloodthirstiness of the Underworld Clan, while casually glancing at the snail-like creature slithering out of its wrist.
The small, dark blue fish pecked at the air, then drooped back: "There is indeed the fourth brother's bone essence in here."
The fourth of the Underworld Clan was the Red Tiger, who was the most valiant and also the one who died the most.
In human form, he was a burly man with broad shoulders and a strong waist, and he was also very capable of farming in the village.
"Hmm." Chen Jinshi lifted his beautiful dark eyes.
Ye Caifeng stepped in front of everyone, her tone filled with undisguised pride: "My father has obtained His Majesty's approval. For the sake of Brother Yaotian, and even more so for the prestige of our Tianyan Kingdom, all other materials in the secret repository can be used as the base material for refining the Nether Bone!"
She whispered several materials to Dongfang Yaotian's personal guards, and soon they were gently lifted a few steps from the top of the thousand-step staircase and carefully carried out.
"According to ancient records from Yemen, the Nether Bone is of a fierce nature and must be crushed into dust together with Fire Crystal Stone. Then, using earth-element rhinoceros horn and metal-element ivory as base materials, it must be tempered in the Golden Hook Fire for forty-nine hours to become a divine weapon."
Dust settled behind the crowd, a silent smile playing on his lips. The blue eagle in his sleeve remained quiet, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.
The male and female protagonists' gazes were drawn to the materials on the velvet tray. The treasured rhinoceros horn and ivory were clearly top-quality, as white as jade, and exuded a gentle and profound aura.
Dongfang Yaotian praised her repeatedly, and Ye Caifeng lowered her head and smiled modestly, glancing at the only person there who had joined in the fun. She knew that Dongfang Qian was absolutely furious at this moment.
Ye Caifeng blinked at the clueless, useless princess: "Qianqian, I didn't expect you to come today. Do you have any insights into the Nether Bone Blade?"
“Yes,” Miaojue said thoughtfully, “what did those cows, elephants, and other small animals do wrong?”
Everyone was taken aback.
Chen Jinshi's wicked smile suddenly stopped.
Inside his sleeve, the drooping fishtail flicked, then began to wriggle and pry at him.
Ye Caifeng was stunned for a moment, then covered her mouth and laughed: "Qianqian, I know you don't understand these things, but these words are too embarrassing for the Dongfang family - creating the Demon-Slaying Divine Weapon saves the lives of all living beings. Is that all you can see?"
Miao Jue looked bewildered: "Then you also have a metal-type spiritual bone. Wouldn't it be more effective to extract your own teeth and bones to refine it? For the sake of all living beings."
Everyone was completely stunned.
Ye Caifeng blushed.
What is Dongfang Qian pretending for? Everyone knows what she did in the past, so why is she pretending to be kind now?
Ye Caifeng realized perfectly naturally that Dongfang Qian was unhappy about her closeness with Yaotian, so she knew exactly how to strike at Dongfang Qian.
She turned to Dongfang Yaotian and pouted, saying, "Brother Yaotian, does the princess have some complaints about me?"
Dongfang Yaotian shook his head indulgently at Miaojue, "Qianqian, refining the Nether Bone Blade is of utmost importance, so don't be naughty."
Miao Jue knew there was no way to reason with these idiots.
If they had even a shred of environmental awareness, would they have cut her down for ten years?
Thinking of her tree covered in scars, healed and cracked again, layer upon layer, and the days when only small birds and sparrows would occasionally perch on the branches and talk to her, Miaojue closed her eyes with aloofness and decided to rewind time to the unit of time of rhinoceros horn and ivory.
She focused the apical buds of the growth rings onto the rhinoceros horn. Although she couldn't sense how long they had been plucked, the force required to rewind a unit of time was relatively small. She tried to rewind to a point before they were plucked.
If you don't have any materials for making knives, then go and make shit.
"Moreover, this is a rhinoceros horn that has been stored for eight hundred years! It's very tiring to refine, so Brother Yaotian has to make it up to me."
The secret: "
She remained silent and moved the timeline to the ivory tusk next to her.
"Only with the addition of this 600-year-old ivory can the most perfect and sharp blade be forged. From now on, Brother Yaotian will owe me a big favor."
The secret: "..."
Sorry to bother you.
…
Miaojue clenched his fists and got into the carriage.
On the way to the Golden Hook Ye Gate, she became somewhat vulnerable.
With her current spiritual bones, she can only withstand the power of reversal for a maximum of ten seconds.
While it can be used to extend to a few days in local units, to casually reverse hundreds of years of time, one would need a Xuan-level spiritual bone, right?
Is this some kind of nonsense, God? Hundreds of years of treasured artifacts are just piled up in the treasury of a small place like Tianyan Kingdom, just because the male and female protagonists are going through this tribulation? God, do you think this makes sense?
The ingenious technique broke through their defenses, so much so that they didn't even carefully observe the process of unleashing the Nether Bone.
When they came to their senses, they realized there was another person in their carriage.
The villain sits with his chin resting on his hand.
His spotless sleeves hung on the table, his gaze fixed on her face. Their eyes met, yet neither recognized the other.
No wonder the system was so quiet just now; it turns out the world-destroying demon was right in front of me.
However, the faint scent of grass and trees on Chen Jinshi's body seemed to have taken on a faint bloody smell, making his evil aura even more pronounced.
Miaojue opened her eyes and then wanted to close them again.
The villain, however, smiled and took the initiative to speak: "Princess Dongfang, how hypocritical you are."
When refining materials for the sword, she actually spoke up for rhinoceros horn and ivory. However, Dongfang Qian was known for her extravagance and cruelty since childhood. Because she was born without spiritual bones, she hunted countless rare and exotic beasts every year, forcing people to cut off their demon cores and beast bones, and eating them raw to nourish herself, all in order to create spiritual roots so that she could cultivate with Dongfang Yaotian.
Chen Jinshi's gaze was sweet, but the curve of his thin lips was cool and aloof, and the bloody aura surrounding him created a sense of oppression.
Miaojue was already in a bad mood, but hearing the instigator's sarcastic remarks only fueled her fighting spirit.
The villains were naturally unhappy that she stopped them from forging the sword, but her real plan was just beginning.
Miao Jue gave a fake smile with a blank expression: "I'm sorry, but I'm sincere. I really hope that humans can experience what it feels like to be cut to the bone."
A genuine look of surprise flickered in Chen Jinshi's eyes. He seemed speechless, or perhaps he hadn't expected such an answer at all.
The snail in the sleeve kept wriggling in dissatisfaction. Chen Jinshi pinched its tail, glanced at the girl again, and said nothing.
…
Their carriages, shrouded in protective arrays, stopped in front of the Golden Hook Ye Gate.
Upon seeing that it was Ye Caifeng returning, they quickly opened the gate to let them in. Inside Ye Gate, there were refining rooms everywhere. Their carriage drove all the way to the front of the tallest tower at the deepest part, where billowing white smoke of spiritual energy was emanating.
Then everything was no different from the heroine's painful confession back then. As soon as Ye Caifeng arrived in front of the furnace, she and Dongfang Yaotian clasped hands and together opened the giant cauldron burning with raging golden hook fire.
The Heavenly Mirror slowly rose into the air, and golden light broke through a clear ripple, reflecting their current scene.
Throughout the country and even the entire territory, countless people were watching this scene. Dongfang Yaotian immediately triggered his bravado mechanism again, completely ignoring the female lead's heartbroken expression, and smiled nonchalantly.
"Let's begin."
Ye Caifeng knew this was a golden opportunity. She took out the largest Tianyuan Mirror, wanting everyone to witness the moment when she and Yaotian forged an unparalleled divine weapon side by side! What could Dongfang Qian possibly have to compare with her?
Miao Jue's eyes were also illuminated by the firelight from the giant cauldron.
Soon, the materials for the knives were sent into the furnace in sequence according to some mysterious formation. Miaojue solemnly watched the calf and elephant be cremated, and then looked at the last thing.
It was a long bone wrapped in black fireproof cloth.
Miaojue sniffed, vaguely sensing a faint, almost imperceptible bloody scent emanating from the ghost bone.
The entire realm was watching intently. The instant the piece of the Nether Bone was thrown into the furnace, it immediately burst forth with an extremely dazzling, dark golden light—
Amidst the flames, it seemed as if a black bird raised its neck and cried out, its distant, clear cry echoing throughout the entire tower and even the sky above, shaking the four seas.
That was absolutely genuine, extracted from a member of the Netherworld during its peak period.
Dongfang Yaotian laughed heartily.
Miao Jue was also taken aback for a moment, and a strange tremor surged in her heart.
Ye Caifeng was extremely pleased with her naive and unsophisticated appearance, so she enthusiastically explained the details of the Golden Hook Fire tempering process to her in front of the Heavenly Origin Mirror.
"To forge an unparalleled divine weapon, timing is of utmost importance!" Ye Caifeng said.
The ingenious method immediately caught their attention: "Oh? How is it important?"
How dare she ask? Ye Caifeng's eyes were filled with disdain, but her expression was very intimate and friendly: "The heat must be just right, not a fraction too much or too little. It affects the hardness and sharpness of the knife. A slight error can lead to a huge difference."
The clever trick is to cover your mouth to express surprise.
What if you overdo it? Wouldn't that lead to a major disaster?
Ye Caifeng felt a surge of secret pleasure, and the sarcasm in her tone was no longer concealed. "Of course, this is all thanks to the perception of the near-heaven-level Golden Spirit Bone."
What do you know, you born good-for-nothing?
Miaojue pondered seriously: "Is it possible that the heat wasn't controlled correctly?"
Ye Caifeng rolled her eyes and grasped Dongfang Yaotian's hand in front of the Tianyuan Mirror. "The people of Ye Clan never fail, and besides, Brother Yaotian is by my side."
Dongfang Yaotian also laughed arrogantly: "With the Heavenly Origin Mirror above, I will never allow such a thing to happen."
Miaojue finally revealed a genuine smile.
...
Forty-nine hours later, the entire Tianyan Kingdom resounded with Dongfang Yaotian's magnificent voice:
"Let the whole continent witness the destined blade of Dongfang Yaotian!"
"Brother Yaotian, I must witness this moment with you!"
Open the furnace!
Here comes the knife!
The blade, as hard as a diamond and as thin and resilient as ice, finally appeared before the world.
The blade cools rapidly upon contact with the cold, revealing its translucent edge!
Then, it suddenly bent down softly.
The knife bent halfway, then bent again, and just before it fell, it bent once more, twisting and turning three times before finally settling into its final shape, as if it had been over-refined, ultimately forming a truly legendary form.
The brilliant idea made him clap his hands in admiration.
Let the world see your dazzling Eastern-style knife!
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