Chapter 290: Forging Stuff
"It is done, my lord."
Granitas' voice echoed in Cedric's mind. He closed his eyes for a bit to spread out his senses, which went beyond Prime Earth, and felt the subtle but undeniable changes there.
The Grand Solar Laws might still seem distant to him, but he could still feel the difference.
"Great work. You may now return to your previous post," Cedric declared.
"As you wish, my lord."
His telepathic communication with Granitas ended there.
Cedric then turned his eyes to humanity's territory and observed the changes over the past few weeks.
Compared to before, this place has become increasingly lively. The colors seem more vivid, and everything feels more real and mystical. There's a profound sense of positivity present in the air, making everybody look forward to tomorrow.
There aren't many people who can feel this renewed hope. It's a subconscious feeling that most of them just brush off, but its importance can't be underestimated. After all, hope is one of the gears that would move a civilization forward.
"Acala has already fused with the Spiritual Dragon Veins without any hiccups," Cedric muttered to himself. "Her recovery has sharply increased since then, and she has been siphoning corruption and converting it into raw energy to nourish the veins and herself."
"The Demon Race has yet to notice this because her target isn't the corruption on the surface but the ones that seeped deeper into Prime Earth."
"Thanks to this, the dragon veins are already discharging spiritual energies into human territory, the quality of which is something that the previous one simply couldn't compare. As a result, the civilization starts looking more vibrant each passing day."
"All it needs is one more month of steady discharge, and the spiritual energy density within this civilization will essentially double. The clocktower is also working overtime to provide more variety for people to use."
"Because of the Heavenly Cycle Array, even the soldiers within the walls could experience night and day, which improved their mentality. All traces of corruption within the territory have long been eliminated, so it's an overall improvement."
"The addition of cultivation techniques sharply increased the longevity of the army and exponentially increased their combat abilities. Breakthroughs after breakthroughs are happening during these past few weeks, and with access to Essence Souls of greater variety, they could support numerous advancements."
"As for the subtle changes I made to the agreement between Prime Earth and the Space Pirates, it would take some time before anybody noticed them. It'd be great if nobody noticed at all, but that's pretty much impossible."
"Overall, not bad for a month's worth of effort."
If you ask anyone, they would hardly believe that all of the changes that have happened so far occurred within a mere month. To them, it feels like the Origin Energy Storm happened last year instead.
It's wild, but it's the truth. And it's far from over.
Cedric took a step forward, employing the Heaven Shrinking Steps as he did so, which caused the world to turn into a blur around him. When his foot landed on the ground, he already appeared within the depths of Heavenly Origin Mountain, the new name he gave to the same mountain where he revived Acala and now functions as the center of his operations.
He skipped towards one of the tunnels, which led to the sealed traces he created a few days ago. He flicked his sleeves, and the runes glowed as the entrance opened for him.
The interior of this room's ceiling was a couple of dozens of meters high. It also has a wide space, which could be used for many activities. Inside, there's a billowing forge, a calm and placid lake, and other tools necessary to create all kinds of equipment.
This was undoubtedly a forging room, one that Cedric made according to his needs.
He sealed the entrace behind him and sent a message to his girlfriends that he'd be busy for a bit. Those two are on the farm; they're either cultivating, practicing their skills, or sparring with each other, which made Cedric gratified.
For the rest, Cedric was on Do Not Disturb for an unspecified amount of time. They believe that he's in seclusion, working hard to mature quickly, but the truth is far from that. Cedric felt a little bad about lying to them, but it's a necessary evil.
After informing the girls, Cedric dumped several materials on his work table. Each one diffused a brilliant radiance, which meant that they're of no ordinary quality. These are things he got from trading with fellow challengers in the Tower of Prodigies, mainly from the one called 'Howler'.
Wings of the Crow Emperor, spine of the Golden Freedom Roc, skull of the Undying Salamander, heart of a Vermillion Bird, the shell of a snake-tailed black tortoise, claws and crown fur of a White Tiger King, 100 pieces of Azure Dragon's shedded scales, etc.
Howler's world is in a state of constant war. He said that he's some kind of mercenary, and these things were 'trophies' he harvested from his missions. To him, these were useless, but for Cedric, they're no less than divine materials that he could use to improve the strength of his people.
Cedric hasn't received any forging legacies on the Ancient Stone. However, he did receive one from trading with someone called the 'Hermit'. It's a complete legacy too, and he mastered it before leaving the tower.
"Let's see..." Cedric hummed to himself as he thought of what to make. "A feathered gown for Chrissy using the wings of the Crow Emperor. And a wand staff for Erica using the spine of the Freedom Roc."
"The skull of the Undying Salamander and the heart of the Vermillion Bird could be used for a physique refining furnace of some sort. I could set it up as an additional reward for those who continue their winning streak on hell dives."
"As for the shell of the Black Tortoise, I could fuse it to the defense walls and engrave a runic formation for it that will sharply increase the defensive capabilities of the territory."
"Wait..." Cedric's eyes suddenly brightened. "Vermillion Bird, Black Tortoise, White Tiger, and Azure Dragon... don't I have all the necessary materials to create the Divine Beast Guardian Formation?"
The Divine Beast Guardian Formation was one of the common defensive formations in the alliance. One was actually available for purchase in the shop, but it was too expensive for Cedric, so he didn't buy it.
It's function was to create spiritual guardians in the form of divine beasts to protect an area. In the alliance, it's a low- to mid-rank defensive formation, but on Prime Earth? It's essentially invincible.
"Oh yeah, this is great! It's decided then!"
This doesn't mean that he's scrapping the previous projects. Actually, to create the Divine Beast Guardian Formation, he only needs a sample from each Divine Beast; even a drop of blood will suffice. Of course, the rarer the sample was, the stronger its incarnation would be.
(For example, an incarnation of a Vermillion Bird that came from a fallen feather would be much weaker compared to something that's created from its heart blood.)
There would be some left after using a sample, so the rest could still be made into other equipment.
"Ah, right. Since I'm already here, I might as well create a new home for the Law Communion Sword," Cedric muttered.
"Yo! You rang?" The Law Communion Sword shot out from his consciousness and floated around him.
Its appearance caused the concept laws to become active. Even the materials on Cedric's work table were releasing a radiance that resonated with the sword.
"Ooh! What you got here! I've never seen these before!" The sword curiously looked over at the table.
"Can you taper down your aura? You're making the materials nervous." Cedric glared at the sword.
"Oops, sorry," it replied, reeling in its aura shortly after. "But I heard you're finally making use of me; is that true?"
"Yes, I am." Cedric nodded as he replied. "My plan is to create the Law Enlightenment Hall with you on the core. I'll make you a physical body and put you as the guarding elder of the hall."
"The Law Enlightenment Hall will be open to those who're willing to spend their accumulated merits for this opportunity. This should not only make them more proactive in making this world a better place but also greatly improve their strength."
"You're giving me a body and an Elder position!? Shit, that's so generous! I'm in!" The Law Communion Sword thrummed in excitement.
Cedric shook his head and took out his forging hammer to begin.
For the next couple of hours, the sounds of thundering blows echoed within the forging room. The impact was so strong that if it weren't for the reinforcements that Cedric left in the room, this whole mountain would've caved in by now.
It took Cedric three days and nights to finish making everything, hardly resting in between creations. By the time he was done, he had created all of the things he had listed previously, plus more.
He only stopped because the other things needed more quenching time. Also because he wanted to check on his girlfriends.