Chapter 483 - 452: Artifact Complete, Celestial Tribulation

Chapter 483: Chapter 452: Artifact Complete, Celestial Tribulation

If they stopped here, it would be nothing more than a gourd shell, a rough prototype—or at best, a uniquely shaped hammer. This was neither what Yu Qian wanted nor what Chen Che had hoped for.

Otherwise,

Yu Qian would not have volunteered to take charge of the refining, as Jia Chaoyuan and Liang Yuan could have easily made some minor modifications without much trouble.

Since the goal was to create a ’Mother-Child Type’ Magical Artifact, magic patterns were naturally indispensable.

"DING!"

A soft chime echoed.

Yu Qian condensed his True Essence, guiding it with his Divine Sense to form a carving knife, and began to tap against the gourd.

"So hard!"

When Chen Che brought his Divine Sense down, he too managed only a single stroke. The rebounding force from the gourd’s shell even shattered the True Essence he had gathered. The difficulty far surpassed that of a mortal artisan carving on a stone tablet.

It took him the time of half an incense stick just to carve a single magic pattern the size of a fly’s head.

Looking around, he saw that the others, after carving a single stroke with their True Essence, had all looked up with troubled expressions.

"Of course it’s not easy! Just think about the materials Valley Master Chen used for this Gourd, and you’ll understand. The entire shell requires three Arrays and more than sixty thousand magic patterns."

Yu Qian looked up and grinned.

"Working alone, even if I toiled day and night without rest, I could only inscribe less than a hundred a day. It would take me two full years of non-stop carving. With the seven of us working together, it should only take three or four months at most."

Hearing this, everyone’s eyelids couldn’t help but twitch.

Chen Che was also stunned, but then a thought struck him. ’If it takes the combined effort of seven Golden Core Cultivators this long, could this item have a chance to reach Tier Four upon completion?’

It was like alchemy, requiring a slow simmer. This was a task of patient, grinding effort that couldn’t be rushed.

And so, in the time that followed,

Chen Che spent almost all his time in the back mountains, engraving magic patterns on the Gourd’s exterior.

He privately asked Yu Qian if the Gourd’s shell could be refined into a Tier Four Magical Artifact, but Yu Qian admitted he wasn’t sure. Although the grade of the materials used for the shell was sufficient, he said his own skill might not be.

He therefore advised Chen Che not to get his hopes up too high.

Even if it didn’t succeed, once it was formed into a ’Mother-Child Type’ Magical Artifact, the Gourd’s power would far surpass that of a Tier Three High Grade artifact.

...

In the period that followed, the lands under the Primordial Sect’s jurisdiction were calm on the surface, but a turbulent undercurrent was brewing.

On the seventh day after Cui Zhen was driven out of Jinyun Valley, a Golden Core Cultivator calling himself Wang Yuanqing arrived outside the valley and presented a formal request for a visit. Chen Che naturally knew he was delivering a letter on behalf of Duobao, but he still made the man wait for three days before allowing him entry.

As for the letter from the Primordial Sect, he had received that as well.

The letter was written by Qiu Tianshui, the Chief of the Internal Affairs Hall, and contained no difficult or unreasonable demands. It simply instructed him to summon Golden Core and Foundation Establishment Cultivators based on the manpower within his territory to guard against any sudden moves from the Star-Picking Sect.

Interestingly, Duobao had also counted the Meng Family as part of Jinyun Valley’s forces.

In fact, Chen Che had already guessed as much.

The reason he wasn’t in a hurry was because Yu Qian was still in the Valley; if there was any news, he would surely be the first to know.

However, he also knew that this war could not be held off for much longer.

The second piece of news was related to the Black Tortoise Calm Sea.

A mysterious Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator had undergone their Tribulation on a secluded island in the sea. It was unknown whether they succeeded or not. By the time others rushed to the scene, the person was long gone, leaving only the wreckage left behind by the Celestial Tribulation.

For a time, everyone speculated endlessly, but unfortunately, no one knew who it was.

This was because,

aside from the well-known Foundation Establishment Cultivators, there were also many Loose Cultivators of unknown origin.

Of course, that person was none other than Lu Yuntian, who had faked his death. After several months of continuous closed-door cultivation within Jinyun Valley to stabilize his foundation, he had gone to the Black Tortoise Calm Sea to face his Tribulation.

Though Crossing the Tribulation was perilous, he had succeeded.

After all, Chen Che had given him three Fierce Beast Pills for emergencies. If he still couldn’t achieve Core Formation with that, then he was simply fated to perish in the attempt.

He was now recuperating on an island reef and would return to Jinyun Valley once his injuries had healed.

From this point on,

Jinyun Valley had one more Golden Core ally, and this hidden piece had been successfully placed on the board.

Third, several cities under the Primordial Sect’s control had been turned into seas of fire overnight, their mortal inhabitants vanishing without a trace. A passing cultivator investigated and discovered that the cause was likely a Soul-Calling Banner.

Immediately, rumors spread throughout the outside world that Xiao Chan was responsible for this.

But Xiao Chan had remained in Jinyun Valley the entire time and had never left.

Moreover, he would never harm mortals.

And according to the intelligence from Yu Yunko, these incidents were likely the work of outside Golden Core Cultivators, as well as some who were acting under the command of the Star-Picking Sect.

’A great war is on the horizon. Some sharp-witted cultivators have already caught wind of it and are starting to fish in troubled waters between the two sects.’

Chen Che frowned.

This was inevitable. It was the same principle as demons and monsters running rampant when a dynasty collapses.

Because authority has been shaken and is no longer able to maintain control over its territories, some people seize the opportunity to cause chaos.

Fourth, Golden Core Cultivators from all over the Primordial Sect’s territories were scouting for Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Of course,

the details of this matter were too extensive to recount.

Chen Che also issued a Summoning Order to all the forces under Jinyun Valley’s jurisdiction, demanding that all Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators remain within their clans from the moment the order was given and not leave under any circumstances.

This was to be ready to respond to the Primordial Sect’s call at a moment’s notice.

Violators would be treated as deserters.

’Under Jinyun Valley’s jurisdiction, there are less than one hundred and fifty Foundation Establishment Cultivators...’

Taking back the list that had been handed to him, Chen Che stroked his chin.

Indeed, this list did not include the Lu Family, the Meng Family, or the Chen Clan.

But this was already enough to leave him quite satisfied.

In the few years he had been in charge of Jinyun Valley, he had transformed it from a place suffering a severe gap in talent to the most prosperous area in Yunzhou, producing countless new cultivators. Under normal circumstances, a clan of over three hundred people would often take thirty to forty years to produce a single Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

And that was only in situations without wars or unforeseen accidents.

But in reality, how could the Cultivation World ever be that peaceful?

For such small clans, just surviving was difficult enough. A single battle could often lead to their complete annihilation.

If the Meng Family were included, the number of Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators would reach over two hundred and twenty.

However,

after such a Summoning Order was issued, a sense of urgency that war was coming finally permeated Jinyun Valley.

...

「Several days later.」

Lu Yuntian returned and joined in the work of engraving the runes, which sped up the slow process somewhat. Originally, Chen Che had considered summoning a few Foundation Establishment Cultivators to help, but the True Essence of a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator was too weak.

When he saw that even Rong Zhongxuan, using all his strength, couldn’t leave the slightest mark on the Gourd, Chen Che had no choice but to dismiss this unrealistic idea.

Fortunately, however, the work was now nearing its end.

"It’s finally done."

After carving the final magic pattern, Chen Che let out a long sigh of relief.

He looked at the Gourd, which was half a man’s height. It had the appearance of Gold-Plated Jade, its surface covered in patterns of flowers, birds, fish, and insects, all of which were filled with densely packed, tadpole-like magic patterns. Everyone exchanged a look, their faces breaking into smiles.

Even Yu Qian breathed a sigh of relief and turned to say,

"It took three months and nine days, but it’s finally complete. Valley Master Chen, please proceed... The next step is to awaken the Array. Once the Array is formed, this Magical Artifact will be complete."

"Alright!"

Chen Che sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and extended his Divine Sense.

This method was equivalent to sharpening a weapon before its first use.

As for why the scissors hadn’t required an array activation, it was because the forging sequence was different. For that weapon, the runes were left in the void and directly imprinted onto it all at once.

In this vast, empty void, he could sense a gourd floating before him. Countless points of light shimmered faintly upon it—the marks left by everyone’s combined efforts.

"Begin!"

Chen Che shouted, and his Divine Sense connected directly to the point of light from the last magic pattern he had carved.

This point of light shuddered as if electrified, then flared brilliantly. A chain of light, like a bolt of lightning, shot out to touch the second point, which then lit up in turn.

WHOOSH—

Within everyone’s Sea of Consciousness, the Gourd appeared to be wrapped in a splendid ribbon of light, looking utterly mystical.

Just as the chain of light was about to reach the final layer,

Suddenly,

Yu Qian’s expression changed.

"Oh no!"

While the others were still confused, they saw Yu Qian look up. Following his gaze, they saw countless floating clouds high in the sky, rapidly converging into a vortex above the back mountains.

"BZZZT!"

The instant the very last point of light was lit,

the Gourd trembled silently.

A bolt of lightning, with almost no warning, shot down directly from the clouds.

"Tribulation Thunder?"

Chen Che was aghast, then immediately shouted, "Run—"

Before the word could leave his mouth, the Tribulation Thunder had already struck.