Chapter 210: The Threefold Realms

Artifact Forging Room.

Lian Mu had prepared all the necessary spirit materials and began refining Wealth Bringer.

Wealth Bringer was currently a fourth-rank sword, but all spirit artifacts were categorized by their base rank. Anything above third-rank was considered a high-grade spirit artifact.

Upgrading from a low-grade to a high-grade spirit artifact was far more complex than the earlier refinement processes.

Lian Mu had stayed up late studying the forging techniques for high-grade spirit artifacts, memorizing every key detail. Though the learning process had been tedious, it paid off when it came time to apply it. With thorough preparation, everything now flowed smoothly.

Forging a high-grade spirit artifact required a strong compatibility with one’s spiritual root. To that end, before beginning the forging process, Lian Mu took a pill to temporarily unseal her Metal Spirit Root.

Ever since she had reformulated her spirit replenishing pill, her body had become much more robust. But the side effects were significant. Whenever she unsealed the other two Heavenly Spiritual Roots, they would clash violently, causing spiritual energy turbulence that struck her dantian and left her drenched in sweat from the pain.

Still, to successfully upgrade Wealth Bringer, she endured it.

Lian Mu took a deep breath, activated the forging platform, and placed the sword body of Wealth Bringer inside. The moment she channeled her spiritual energy into it, the tendons in her arms twitched, her muscles contorted, and two streams of spiritual power from her Heavenly Spiritual Roots collided in rejection.

If she had been a regular Three Spirit Root cultivator, it wouldn’t have been so painful. But with Heavenly Spiritual Roots, only one could exist harmoniously in the body. The three of them repelled each other, and she was the one who suffered.

Her hands trembled uncontrollably, cold sweat poured from her forehead. Thankfully, she hadn’t drawn upon the spiritual energy in her blood, or her eyes would have already been blinded.

Once Wealth Bringer’s sword body melted, she added Refined Jade. The jade essence dissolved within the isolation layer, forming a fiery red liquid laced with threads of gold and green.

The three colors merged into a stream that flowed through the guiding channel and into the sword body. Perhaps because she had previously used first-rank spirit materials to patch the sword, there was no adverse reaction when the new materials made contact.

The explosion she had anticipated never came, and her heart lifted with relief. She immediately took out Seven Star Leaf juice and activated the Jiao Pearl to refine the Spirit Water Membrane.

She replaced the lower-grade spirit materials with a large amount of first-rank materials, letting the first-rank Greenclaw Toadspirit armor form the core to stabilize the artifact’s rank.

As expected, once the first-rank materials were added, the two sets of spirit materials began to repel each other. She quickly used the Spirit Water Membrane to introduce the Seven Star Leaf juice.

Under the neutralizing effect of the Seven Star Leaf juice, the barrier between the materials gradually faded, showing signs of fusion.

With the support of her Metal Spirit Root, Lian Mu’s control over the spirit materials became even more precise. She made a few adjustments to the original proportions she had planned.

As she poured in more and more Spirit Water Membrane, blood began to seep from her eyes. And not just her eyes—she felt as if her entire body was bleeding. When she looked down, sure enough, spiritual blood was oozing from her skin.

She had drawn on the power of two spiritual roots and also used the spiritual energy in her blood. The toll on her body was immense.

But at the same time, Lian Mu felt a faint connection forming with Wealth Bringer. She closed her eyes, and in her mind appeared a vast white sea, slowly dyed by red, gold, and green waters.

Steeling herself, she poured all her spiritual energy into the forging platform, then withdrew the fire and began shaping the sword.

The new sword body stabilized at first-rank. She embedded within it a “key” unique to her—a spiritual material matching the grade of her spiritual root, which would act as a primer when she wielded the sword.

The first refinement was the hardest, the second time she had a bit of experience, and by the third, she had grown much more proficient.

When she finally shut down the forging platform, Lian Mu looked like she had been dragged out of a sea of blood. Her entire body was flushed red, and her head spun so badly she could barely stand.

She quickly grabbed the edge of the table to steady herself, trembling as she frantically pulled out spirit replenishing pills. She swallowed several in a row before she finally began to recover.

She removed her blood-soaked outer robe, which was so saturated that wringing it would release a stream of blood. Even she was startled by the sight.

But there was no time to worry about that now. While the forging platform still radiated residual heat, Lian Mu embedded a small pearl at the tip of the sword. It was the Water-Warding Jiao Pearl.

After embedding the Jiao Pearl, Lian Mu placed the sword into water and activated her spiritual energy to resonate with it. Even submerged, the sword released a fierce fire-based energy.

With the Water-Warding Jiao Pearl mounted on her sword, it would no longer fear water, effectively eliminating the Water Restraint.

Lian Mu closed her eyes. At this moment, she could feel the immense power now contained within Wealth Bringer. Its rank had officially risen to first-rank.

And that wasn’t all. The primer spirit materials she had added served more than one purpose.

Excitement surged in her chest. She didn’t even bother to wipe the blood from her face before eagerly testing the sword.

Wealth Bringer’s sword body now contained spirit materials of multiple ranks, forming three distinct resonance realms. When her spiritual energy touched the lowest resonance layer, the sword’s power was limited. But as she reached higher resonance layers, its strength increased dramatically.

The sword had three realms, each with its own advantages.

The first realm consumed little spiritual energy but offered high sensitivity, making it ideal for sword flight and initiating sword formations.

The second realm tapped into the dual auxiliary veins of metal and wood fused from the Refined Jade. Once her other two spiritual roots were fully unsealed, she could resonate with all three simultaneously and wield the power of three elements at once.

The third realm belonged to the high-grade domain. It had the greatest explosive power. Once she reached the third realm, Wealth Bringer would stand on equal footing with other first-rank swords. She would no longer have to fear it breaking, thanks to the infusion of steadfast gold energy and the undying source flame during the forging process. Together, they made the sword both offensive and defensive.

Moreover, the sword had been fused with her spiritual blood. Its sword aura now carried a natural demon-repelling effect, intimidating to low-level demonic beasts.

Lian Mu gently stroked Wealth Bringer. All her hard work over these past days had not been in vain. At last, she could wield a true first-rank sword.