There was no envy in the Elder's voice, only respect.
"Many would have lost themselves in such temptation," he added. "So of the Embryos you described… even we would hesitate to turn them away."
"Fuck that! I'd gladly replace my Dao Embryo if I got the chance." One of them said.
Lin Mu simply shook his head. "They were not what I needed."
That answer alone drew another round of quiet admiration. The ability to resist such choices spoke of a will far stronger than most cultivators possessed. Finally, one of the elders asked the question they had been holding back.
"How long do you think you were inside?"
Lin Mu considered for a mont. "It felt long," he admitted. "Much longer than before."
The elders exchanged glances.
"Eighteen months," one of them replied.
Lin Mu repeated softly, "One and a half years…"
To him, it had felt like centuries.
If the trial had been real, if his body had truly endured that duration of continuous combat, he knew the outco would have been very different. But the illusion had removed those limits, leaving only one thing to be tested.
His will.
The elders then nodded among themselves.
"You should familiarize yourself with the Flawless tal Anvil," one of them said. "As you did with the All lt Furnace."
Lin Mu shook his head.
"There is no need," he replied.
They paused.
"I have used it extensively already," Lin Mu continued. "I understand its functions, its skills, and its limits."
The elders looked at him for a mont, then broke into smiles once more.
"Of course," one of them said, amused. "You have been forging and fighting with it for over a year. That is more than enough."
Another elder nodded. "Then we will not delay further."
The mood shifted.
What had been a mont of reflection turned into one of anticipation.
"The husk," the Fireforge elder said, his voice carrying a hint of excitent. "We can finally begin."
Lin Mu looked toward the center of the Dao Forge, where the imnse task still awaited them.
After all the preparation, all the trials, all the comprehension he had gained, the true purpose of his journey here was finally within reach.
He nodded.
"Yes," he said calmly. "Let's begin."
The mont all preparations were complete, the Dao Forge responded once more.
HUMM
The spatial realm trembled softly, as if acknowledging the convergence of multiple wills and Daos.
Runes spread outward from beneath their feet, weaving into an intricate formation that extended in every direction. The ground itself seed to dissolve into a vast array, each symbol pulsing faintly with energy that carried both ancient might and precise purpose.
Lin Mu stood at the center alongside the elders.
This ti, there was no hesitation.
He raised his hand and summoned his Dao Embryos.
The All lt Furnace appeared first, its form compact yet blazing with contained intensity. Imdiately after, the Flawless tal Anvil manifested, radiating a steady and grounded presence. Then ca the True Earth Heart, beating with a deep and rhythmic pulse that seed to echo through the entire realm.
The reaction was imdiate.
All three resonated with the Dao Forge as a deep hum filled the space, low at first and then rising steadily as the connection strengthened.
The Furnace rged into the forge itself, its fire becoming one with the existing structure. The Anvil followed, anchoring itself within the array as runes ford around it in complex patterns. The True Earth Heart did not remain separate either.
It responded to the presence of the Mountain Dwarf elder's Dao Embryo and moved toward it. When the two ca into contact, they fused. It was not a simple rging. The two Dao Embryos intertwined, their Dao traces weaving together until they ford a unified existence. The pulse that followed was deeper, heavier, and far more stable than before.
The elders exchanged glances.
This level of resonance was beyond what they had expected.
"Begin," the Fireforge elder said, his voice steady but filled with anticipation.
Lin Mu did not waste ti.
The husk of Xukong was brought forward and placed within the Dao Forge.
The process began with heat.
Refine.
The All lt Furnace surged to life, and the temperature rose instantly. This was not ordinary heat. It was ford from Dao traces and Dao insights, a manifestation of the Fire Dao at a level that transcended simple combustion.
The energy flowed through the forge, gathering and focusing upon the husk.
At first, the husk resisted as it always had. Its surface shimred with spatial energy, forming layers of defense that deflected the incoming heat. But this ti, sothing was different.
The presence of Lin Mu's Dao Embryo amplified everything.
The flas intensified further, their structure becoming more refined. They did not simply burn. They penetrated, seeking weaknesses, flowing into the smallest gaps within the husk's defenses.
Cracks appeared.
One layer broke.
Then another.
Within monts, five layers of the spatial barrier shattered while the husk remained within the forge itself.
The elders' eyes widened slightly.
"That alone would have taken days before," one of them muttered.
"Now," Lin Mu said quietly.
The husk was transferred.
Placed upon the anvil.
The Rune Dwarf elder activated the Flawless tal Anvil, its runes glowing as it stabilized the structure of the material. The Mountain Dwarf elder raised his hamr, the Earthen Armant Aspect forming around it as layers of stone and tal fused into a single massive construct.
Lin Mu stepped in.
The Aspect of Heaviness activated.
The weight of the hamr multiplied many tis over, and at the sa ti, the husk itself was anchored to the anvil, preventing it from shifting under impact.
The first strike fell.
CLANG.
The sound reverberated through the realm.
The barrier trembled.
The second strike followed.
CLANG.
Cracks spread.
With each impact, the combined effects of Reinforce and Hone ca into play. The hamr's structure remained intact despite the imnse force it endured, while its striking power increased beyond its apparent limits.
Layer after layer began to break.
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