Chapter 54: The Scarlet Seal

One month later, the forge room was complete.

However, Gu Yuan didn’t immediately start forging. Instead, he spent the following days setting up various array formations around the place. He arranged formations to prevent others from spying on him, a defensive formation for protection, and a Qi-gathering formation to improve the environment for both cultivation and forging.

His skill wasn’t high enough to make the place absolutely impenetrable, but the formations he could set up were still more than sufficient for his current needs.

After spending one month on the formations, Gu Yuan finally made his way into the forge room.

It was time to forge... or so he had planned.

Before he truly began, Gu Yuan took out an Earth-Grade hammer that he had received from the twins and began refining it.

Forging with this hammer would naturally be much better than using his own shabby one.

Another month passed before he finally finished refining the hammer, and Gu Yuan could at last begin forging.

As he struck the metal with his hammer, he thought about what kind of item he should forge for Ji Yan.

A weapon?

But she probably already had something better.

A defensive treasure?

She probably had something better for that too.

So, the item he needed to make had to be something whose appearance mattered more than its function.

An accessory, then?

But what kind?

Gu Yuan continued striking the heated metal as he thought.

It was then that he suddenly thought of the ring-like mark made of two colors around his neck.

The twins had one too. Usually, however, it remained hidden unless they deliberately wanted to show it.

Then, how about he make Ji Yan something that was always visible? Something that couldn’t be hidden?

The idea of putting a choker around Ji Yan’s neck suddenly came to Gu Yuan.

For some reason, he found the idea strangely alluring, and once the thought had taken root in his mind, he couldn’t get rid of it anymore.

Would she get angry over this kind of gift? What kind of reaction would she have when she received the choker?

Gu Yuan didn’t know. But he had already made up his mind.

Gu Yuan wanted to put a choker on Ji Yan’s neck!

One that he had made himself!

With his mind made up, Gu Yuan moved on to practicing how to make the choker.

He didn’t immediately use precious materials. Instead, he started with simple ones, intending to determine the design first.

However, things weren’t easy.

An accessory this small was quite different from the larger items he was accustomed to forging, and Gu Yuan lacked experience with this kind of work. So, he compensated for his lack of experience with hard work.

Fortunately, he wasn’t in a hurry.

He took his time, repeatedly refining his designs and improving his skills.

He still took time to cultivate, study Array Formation, and practice his other techniques.

Year after year passed like this, and before he knew it, five years had passed.

Maybe he was being too slow?

The thought came to Gu Yuan as he forged as usual.

Because he obsessed over every detail and was never satisfied with his own skills, always wanting to make something better than his previous attempt, he still hadn’t managed to create the choker.

But that was enough.

He couldn’t wait anymore.

If he wanted to make something he genuinely felt was worthy of those twins, it would take a long time, and he may still not be satisfied.

Actually, when are they coming back? Gu Yuan wondered as he put his hammer down.

Ji Yue had said that they might stay away for a long time, but even then, it had already been twelve years.

Aren’t they taking too long?

Gu Yuan had always wanted the twins to stay as far away from him as possible, because wherever they went, trouble seemed to follow.

Yet, strangely enough, he had started to miss them.

No, what am I thinking?

Have I been hypnotized somehow?

Is this the effect of that sacred ceremony?

Gu Yuan shook his head and decided to stop thinking about it. Instead, he began selecting the materials for the choker.

Nightweaver Threads, a material obtained from the webs of the extremely rare Nightweaver Spider.

Blood-Sun Stone, a precious material normally used in the forging of Heaven-Grade items. Using it for anything of a lower grade was considered excessively wasteful.

Gu Yuan selected these two as the main materials for the choker.

Naturally, he had both of them on hand. They had been given to him by the twins.

The forging process was far more demanding than shaping a simple weapon.

First he had to carefully refine the Nightweaver Threads, drawing out their flexibility while preserving their innate toughness.

Next came the Blood-Sun Stone. He heated and tempered it repeatedly, gradually carving and polishing it into a smooth, oval stone that would sit at the center of the piece.

Only then did he begin weaving the treated threads around a slender internal frame, binding the stone in place and shaping the choker so it would rest naturally against the neck.

Every step required precise control of temperature and spiritual power; a single mistake could ruin the high-grade materials.

It was an arduous process. He wasted a considerable amount of material along the way. Even so, he persevered.

Two months later, the choker was finally complete.

It possessed a deep black sheen, the woven threads forming a smooth, elegant band. At its center was a small crimson Blood-Sun Stone, shaped like a polished gemstone. The red stone stood out sharply against the black material, giving the otherwise simple accessory a striking and slightly dangerous appearance.

The finished product was only Top-Spirit Grade. He had failed to push it into Earth Grade.

Gu Yuan felt a little disappointed.

Considering his current forging skills, this was actually an excellent result. The gap between Spirit grade and Earth grade for artifacts was simply large, there was no intermediate Profound rank the way there was for techniques. Still, he had hoped for better.

Perhaps he needed to be satisfied with this for now.

Gu Yuan shook his head and took out a jade box before carefully placing the choker inside. He was about to put it into his storage bracelet when an idea suddenly occurred to him.

He still hadn’t tried using his Thread of Providence on an item.

Curious, Gu Yuan used the ability on the choker.

[Name: Scarlet Seal]

[Grade: Top Spirit Grade]

[Description: Because of Gu Yuan’s limited forging skills, the precious materials could not be fully utilized, causing the final product to fall short of its potential. Furthermore, his complicated thoughts during the forging process twisted the artifact’s nature.]

[Ability: Scarlet Seal can only be used by Ji Yan. When a foreign male aura approaches her with clear hostility or improper intent, the seal will automatically release a sharp burst of fire-attribute pressure.]

[If the wearer suffers a fatal attack, Scarlet Seal will self-destruct, releasing a powerful barrier of flames capable of withstanding attacks countless times stronger than the wearer could normally endure.]

Now, what the fuck is this? Gu Yuan frowned as he read the description.

Was this really talking about him?

In the end, he decided to pretend he hadn’t read anything. He quietly closed the jade box, put the choker into his storage treasure.