50 Chapter 1207: Leaving Aperture Ordeal (1/2)

Saint 5-dan Leaving Aperture realm was the level where a cultivator's Primordial Spirit gained the ability to leave its physical body and survive for a prolonged period of time independently, but in order to do so, the cultivator had to undergo the Leaving Aperture Ordeal first.

While artifacts were able to reach the Leaving Aperture realm as well, their spirits were unable to make the metamorphosis into Primordial Spirits. As a result, unlike normal cultivators, they were unable to leave the confines of their body. Nevertheless, they would still gain the ability to grow hands and legs, granting them greater ease and flexibility of movements.

The Golden Origin Cauldron had already been at Half-Leaving Aperture realm prior to the upgrading, and after having the Black Goldcrystal Ore fused into it, it successfully overcame its previous bottleneck and drew in the Leaving Aperture Ordeal.

Dark clouds swiftly gathered in the area, causing the darkness to spread. A powerful gale raged, tearing apart the roof of the Forging Hall, exposing the room to the world.

This was the first time that most blacksmiths in the room had witnessed an artifact's Leaving Aperture Ordeal, and they stared at the sight before them intently as their bodies trembled in excitement.

Kacha!

A deafening peal of thunder rumbled as countless blue streaks of lightning tangled with one another within the dark clouds.

”Why would the cauldron draw in the Leaving Aperture Ordeal despite having yet to be tempered? Does Zhang shi not intend to temper it?” Guild Leader Qin asked in confusion.

There were three main steps to smithing and upgrading a weapon. First, the fusing of the ores to form a suitable alloy. Second, the forging of the alloy into the correct form. Third, the tempering of the formed artifact to enhance its durability and flexibility!

Most blacksmiths would be able to grasp the first two steps with sufficient practice. What was truly difficult to master was the third one.

Whether an artifact would be able to achieve true perfection depended on how well the blacksmith was able to conduct the tempering.

There were many techniques used in the forging process that he was not able to understand, so he had thought that the tempering stage would be an eye-opener for him as well, allowing him to catch a glimpse into the prowess of a true genius blacksmith. Yet, before the tempering could be carried out, the Leaving Aperture Ordeal had already fallen!

”It's not that he doesn't intend to temper his cauldron; he is going to temper it now,” Master Lin Jie replied hoarsely, his quivering tone reflecting his disbelief at the situation.

”He's intending to temper it now? Wait a moment, Master Lin Jie, you don't mean that… Zhang shi intends to use the Leaving Aperture Ordeal to temper his cauldron?” Guild Leader Qin froze upon hearing those words, and his eyes bulged in disbelief.

Master Lin Jie nodded. ”That seems to be the case. He's probably intending to use the lightning to temper his cauldron to perfection.”

”But the devastating might of the Leaving Aperture Ordeal is one that could incapacitate even True Leaving Aperture realm experts! To temper an artifact that rose to Leaving Aperture realm just a moment ago with the Leaving Aperture Ordeal is utter madness!” Guild Leader Qin exclaimed in shock.

At this moment, he really felt that Zhang Xuan had gone insane.

In the Leaving Aperture Ordeal, one would have to undergo a lightning tribulation, which was the nemesis of souls and spirits alike! Even True Leaving Aperture realm experts would cower from it, not daring to take it head on.

Even though the deceased Pavilion Master Gou had long reached the Leaving Aperture realm, he still had not dared to undergo the Leaving Aperture Ordeal due to his old age, fearing that his soul would dissipate.

While everyone was eager to avoid the Leaving Aperture Ordeal, that fellow was actually intending to use the lightning to temper his artifact!

Wasn't he being too gutsy?

That was truly playing with fire! The slightest mistake could very well render all the effort he had put into upgrading his artifact futile. More importantly, if the Golden Origin Cauldron failed to withstand the lighting ordeal, it could very well explode on the spot!

That would be equivalent to the explosion of a Leaving Aperture realm cultivator! The entire Blacksmith Guild and everything in its vicinity would be utterly obliterated!

”Elders, begin evacuating everyone from the area!” Guild Leader Qin could not afford to take this risk, so he quickly issued commands.

Even if the Blacksmith Guild was destroyed, as long as their men remained, they would at least still be able to rebuild it.

But the problem was that all of the 7-star blacksmiths in Qingyuan City were currently gathered in this room to listen to Master Lin Jie's lecture. If all of them were killed due to this, the Qingyuan Empire Blacksmith Guild would really become a thing of the past.

”Yes!”

”Everyone, hurry up and flee!”

”Quick, contact the Master Teacher Pavilion and have them dispatch some personnel here! If something goes wrong, it could end in a disaster!”

The other blacksmiths also swiftly came to realize the grave danger they were in, and their faces turned ghastly pale. They hurriedly rushed out of the Blacksmith Guild and dashed into the distance.

Soon, only Zhang Xuan, Chu Xiang, Master Lin Jie, and Guild Leader Qin were left in the room.

In this moment, Chu Xiang's face was pale in fright as well, and his body would not stop trembling. He quickly turned his gaze toward Zhang Xuan, only to see the latter standing with his hands behind his back, looking at the sparks of lightning in the sky calmly. Not only was there not the slightest hint of fear to be seen on his face, there was even a tangible vibe of excitement around him.

”Zhang shi…” Chu Xiang gulped as he called out to Zhang Xuan in apprehension, perhaps wanting to seek comfort from the other party's words in this unnerving situation.

Seeing through Chu Xiang's worries, Zhang Xuan replied with a light chuckle. ”There's no need to worry. Just a mere Leaving Aperture Ordeal, the Golden Origin Cauldron will be able to survive it with ease!”

Normal tempering would be able to further the effects of the Black Goldcrystal Ore on the Golden Origin Cauldron as well, but the results would not be as pronounced as tempering through lightning. By tapping into the lightning energy in the Leaving Aperture Ordeal, not only would it perfect the fusion between the Black Goldcrystal Ore and the Golden Origin Cauldron, more importantly, it would grant the latter the Power of Lightning as well.

The Power of Lightning would put the Golden Origin Cauldron at a decisive advantage when facing other Leaving Aperture realm experts!

Kacha!

While the others were still in a state of shock, the first streak of lightning descended from the heavens.

It struck the Golden Origin Cauldron squarely, but surprisingly, the latter managed to absorb it easily without any problems. Its exterior became even more lustrous, and its structure seemed to have become more compact and firmer.

”This…” Master Lin Jie was astonished by how easily the Golden Origin Cauldron managed to withstand the lightning strike. ”Given that the cauldron is a Saint intermediate-tier artifact, and the Black Goldcrystal Ore has been fused into it, it's understandable how its body is able to withstand the first lightning strike easily. But how could its spirit remain completely unharmed?”

Possessing the yin attribute, spirits and souls were innately weak against lightning!

Once the lightning was absorbed into the artifact, the spirit would naturally be devastated by the Power of Lightning as well, possibly even resulting in its dissipation.

Yet, the spirit of the cauldron was completely unfazed by the lightning. In fact, it was even shaking its body gleefully in the air, as if provoking the lightning in the heavens to give it its best shot…

Just what the heck was going on?

Seeing how frenzied Master Lin Jie was from being unable to comprehend the situation before him, Zhang Xuan shook his head and explained, ”The spirit of the Golden Origin Cauldron has been tempered by lightning once in the past, thus granting it some degree of immunity to lightning. While the lightning tribulation in the Leaving Aperture Ordeal isn't weak, it is no longer sufficient to cause significant damage to the Golden Origin Cauldron.”

Back in their expedition in the Qiu Wu Palace, the Golden Origin Cauldron had exposed itself to concentrated streaks of lightning in order to shield the rest of the expedition team from harm. Eventually, its spirit had ended up falling into a dormant state from the immense damage it had sustained. While it had nearly lost its life from the encounter, surviving the ordeal had made its spirit more resilient than ever.