Mythical Era: My Evolution into a Celestial Beast

The reforging process for the Primordial King's divine weapon lasted even longer. Nearly half a day passed before the half-illusory Dark Realm Cloud Ore fully fused. Meanwhile, the once-black mace grew more ferocious in form. Intricate white markings spiraled and spread across its surface, like vines wrapping around a tree trunk.

By the time the white markings had coiled nine full loops, a broken image of the sky appeared on the mace's surface, and an ominous aura of destruction rippled outward into the world.

Buzz... buzz...

The black mace shone brightly and trembled violently. Deep within, it emitted a distant roar, like the shattering of the heavens and earth. Then, the white flames engulfing the weapon suddenly extinguished. The mace blazed with light, its form rapidly expanding as it emitted a pillar of black radiance into the sky.

In moments, a colossal black mace over thirty thousand meters long hovered across the sky like a mountain range, surrounded by fearsome power that shattered the space around it.

The instant the ancient divine weapon emerged, the heavens changed. Endless dark clouds formed out of thin air, covering several thousand kilometers. In the dense clouds, golden lightning danced wildly.

Boom!

A thunderclap resounded across the world, shaking heaven and earth. A massive golden thunderbolt took shape in the air and tore through the cloud layer, its light illuminating everything as it shattered the surrounding layers of space. Even from over a thousand kilometers away, the formless aura of destruction made the faces of all cultivators below the mythical level turn pale.

Roar!

Just as the golden thunderbolt was about to strike the Skybreaking Mace, a savage and violent roar resounded through heaven and earth, and a towering ape over ten thousand meters tall suddenly appeared. Covered in black scales, the Eight-Armed Rampage Ape glared with fury, bellowing as it reached out and grabbed the massive black mace.

Boom!

The moment he grasped the ancient divine weapon, the Primordial King's aura surged. Countless white markings extended from the mace, spreading across his entire body.

His form swelled further, muscles bulging, transforming into a peerless Rampage Ape over 1,500 meters tall. With a mighty swing, he swept the Skybreaking Mace through the heavens, as the golden thunderbolt descended from the skies.

Boom!

A blinding burst of light erupted, as if a second golden sun had emerged in the world. Ripples of principle-level radiance spread outward, shaking heaven and earth. The land below collapsed from the immense shockwave, and the sky fractured. Even those over a thousand kilometers away, like Heavenly King Xuanwu and the others, were visibly shaken.

"Careful!"

"Block it!"

Xuanwu, Heavenly King Jiuyou, and several chief gods acted in unison, channeling transcendent energy to form a dome-like barrier spanning hundreds of kilometers.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The blast of principle-level power roared like mountains crashing and oceans overturning. The invisible pressure it carried made Xia Youhui and others feel their legs go weak.

Is this the power of a supreme powerhouse? The aftermath of that strike was diluted over a thousand kilometers and blocked by several heavenly kings, but it's still this terrifying. T-Too strong.

The earth-shaking shockwave lasted more than ten minutes before gradually subsiding. Only then did Lin Xue and the others breathe a sigh of relief.

By now, the golden brilliance that had illuminated the skies had dissipated, leaving only turbulent chaotic currents. The mountains had crumbled, the land broken, and a cloudless rift several thousand kilometers wide had formed in the sky.

At the same moment, Heavenly King Xuanwu, as well as the divine kings and chief gods of the Heavenly Feathered Race, had vanished from the scene, only to reappear a thousand kilometers away, staring in astonishment at the sky.

There, the massive Eight-Armed Rampage Ape stood tall, wielding the fearsome Skybreaking Mace. The space around it looked like shattered glass, fractured and irregular. An intense aura of annihilation towered sky-high, and he stood like an ancient demon god summoned from a bygone era.

With the blessing of a complete ancient divine weapon, the power of the Primordial King's ancient Rampage Ape true form had reached its peak. However, while the Skybreaking Mace had become a complete ancient divine weapon, it still fell far short of the might of Tyretis's Demonic Saber of Darkness.

Ancient divine weapons weren't world-level weapons. The function of their battle patterns was to amplify the wielder's own principle-level power, not to add another principle entirely. More importantly, its tier still didn't compare to Tyretis's saber. That weapon had been refined to a terrifying level by Tyretis itself.

Phew!

The Primordial King exhaled deeply, shrinking his form and appearing before Chen Chu. His aged face was now glowing with color as he looked at Chen Chu with excitement. "The completed Skybreaking Mace is powerful indeed. Chen Chu, I truly thank you for this."

Chen Chu smiled. "No need to be polite, sir. This was my duty."

"As for the Celestial King's weapon..." the Primordial King hesitated, unsure if Chen Chu would be able to help.

Seeing the eager light in the Primordial King's eyes, Chen Chu wryly smiled. "I'm afraid I can't help with the Celestial King's divine weapon for now. When I activate my refining talent, what I burn is actually life energy. Of course, not my life essence, but the energy from the Life Crystals I usually refine and store. I exhausted all of my reserves refining your weapon just now. I'd need a large amount of Life Crystals to repair the Celestial King's weapon."

So that's it. Simple enough.

Compared to the power boost of a supreme powerhouse, the cost in Life Crystals was negligible.

Heavenly King Zhenwu asked, "Chen Chu, how many Life Crystals would it take to repair the Celestial King's divine weapon?"

"It depends on how complete the weapon is and whether there are any compatible principle-level materials available. If no suitable principle-level material is provided, then it would take about six hundred thousand level 1 Life Crystals, or an equivalent amount of life energy."

600,000 level 1 Life Crystals could be converted into over 2.5 million, but less than 3 million, attribute points. That would be more than enough to enhance and repair the Celestial King's divine weapon, with several hundred thousand attribute points left over, which was enough to make up for the consumption.

While enhancing a supreme powerhouse's weapon meant raising the strength of the entire human race, Chen Chu himself also needed attribute points to accelerate his cultivation and prepare for the Eight Desolations Halberd's next advancement.

In the next great battle, if he could slay another demon god or a pinnacle great demon king and claim their pseudo-world-level weapon, he would have enough to enhance the Eight Desolations Halberd to a true world-level weapon.

"Six hundred thousand level 1 Life Crystals' worth of energy, is it..." The Primordial King murmured. "The Celestial King has been stationed at the frontlines for years, with no time to explore the mythical world in depth. He definitely won't have any materials for repair. But the next battle is of great importance. If his strength can be raised another step, all the better. I'll send word to the Blue Planet at once and have them mobilize all Life Crystals across their inner worlds. From this point on, the entire crystal output will be allocated to you."

Chen Chu's talent was simply too formidable. If provided with enough refining materials and Life Crystals, he could enhance the weapons of several human heavenly kings, raising the high-end combat strength of the human race across the board.

Of course, reforging every king's or heavenly king's weapon wasn't realistic. There just weren't enough Life Crystals. Besides, Chen Chu clearly needed some of those resources himself.

Divine kings from the Heavenly Feathered Race flew over, their eyes burning as they stared at the massive mace in the Primordial King's hands, especially at the oppressive power radiating from it.

A late-stage divine king named Tolstoy, five pairs of golden flame wings unfurled behind him and a golden wheel of divine light shining behind his head, smiled and said, "I never expected you would have such extraordinary mastery in artifact refinement. To actually help another craft a principle-level weapon!"

Chen Chu responded with modesty, "You flatter me, Lord Tolstoy. I was only able to help the Primordial King repair his divine weapon through some luck."

"Your Excellency is too humble."

None of the three divine kings believed it was luck. One of them—Segovia, with white flame wings at his back—hesitated briefly but couldn't help speaking up. "Lord Divine Might, my Heavenly Radiant Spear has also stepped onto the path of the world level. It's currently at pseudo-world-level. Do you mind helping me refine it?"

Another divine king nearby was also clearly tempted.

Chen Chu considered for a moment. "Our two races are mutually dependent allies. I'm happy to assist where I can, but..."

"But what?" Segovia was already impatient, his eyes lighting up the moment Chen Chu expressed willingness to help.

Chen Chu replied, "You'll need to prepare the materials for upgrading your weapons. And the forging process consumes a great deal of energy on my part, so I'll need sufficient Life Crystals to replenish myself."

"Life Crystals?" The three divine kings paused in surprise.

"Yes, Life Crystals. My ability to quickly refine and enhance weapons relies mainly on my talent. The secret arts of forging only play a supporting role," Chen Chu explained again. "The pure life force within Life Crystals replenishes my energy and serves as fuel to activate my talent."

"I see." The three divine kings nodded, and Bordea, not far away, also looked as if something had just dawned on him. No wonder Chen Chu had previously asked for Life Crystals.

However, this issue was much simpler. Divine King Segovia asked, "Then may I ask, Lord Divine Might, how many Life Crystals would you require?"

Chen Chu smiled. "For a high-level pseudo-world-level weapon, assuming sufficient materials are available, at least 120 level 9 Life Crystals would be needed. If level 9 Life Crystals aren't available, level 7 or 8 ones are also acceptable. What matters is the total amount of life energy to be burned, not the level. If the materials are insufficient, I can even override foundational principles to forcibly compensate for that, but in that case, the energy required from the Life Crystals would be at least doubled."

A single level 9 Life Crystal could yield between 10,000 to 15,000 attribute points. For high-level pseudo-world-level weapons, the enhancement requirement was typically around 500,000 attribute points, which meant that enhancing an ordinary world-level weapon would cost Chen Chu about 1,000,000 attribute points in equivalent energy.

"Only 120 level 9 crystals!?" All three divine kings were momentarily stunned, then smiled in relief.

World-level weapons weren't just difficult due to the sheer resources and materials involved; they also required a level of forging mastery and an immense amount of time. Otherwise, such weapons would be far more common.

Quasi-mythical colossal beasts were no different from ants to these powerhouses. With a single thought, they could be slain. The only hassle lay in locating and gathering the Life Crystals, but in the end, it would only take a bit more time.

Once those two Purgatory Empires were defeated and they secured a buffer period, it would only take about half a year of delving into the mythical world for them to gather everything needed.

More importantly, even 120 quasi-mythical colossal beasts couldn't match the value of a single titan-level beast, let alone that of a world-level weapon capable of elevating a divine-king-level powerhouse. It was an incredible deal.

However, due to the current lack of materials and Life Crystals, any matters related to weapon forging, including the Celestial King's divine weapon, would have to be put on hold for now.