Joe Di had already mastered the art of forging high-grade magical weapons. Now, with an even stronger flame and superior materials, he was confident that crafting a top-tier artifact would pose no challenge at all.
He summoned the Celestial Nightfire, and as the Celestial Blade Steel fell onto its surface, it began to melt almost instantly.
The Celestial Blade Steel truly lived up to its reputation as the ultimate treasure for forging blade-type weapons. Even as it melted, Joe Di could sense a faint, elusive flow of blade intent emanating from the metal.
After half a day, as the outline of a blade began to take shape within the Celestial Nightfire, Joe Di flicked his hand and tossed the Violet Silksand into the flames.
The moment the Violet Silksand touched the Celestial Nightfire, it scattered like countless grains of sand, dissolving into billions of starlit specks that fused into the Celestial Blade Steel. In that fleeting instant, Joe Di almost believed he glimpsed the vastness of the cosmos. Yet the vision vanished as quickly as it appeared, leaving not a single trace.
Joe Di controlled the embryonic blade with his spiritual sense, rolling it through the flames again and again. Guided by his will, the blade embryo constantly shifted its shape.
At first, Joe Di simply observed the changes in the blade intent within the embryo. This blade intent originated from the Celestial Blade Steel itself—pure and unending, born of nature, yet lacking in spirit and killing force.
Even without true spirit, as the blade intent gathered, a simple blade momentum began to form within the embryo. The momentum grew ever stronger, as if it might burst forth from the Celestial Nightfire at any moment. A faint aura of killing intent also emerged amidst the flowing blade force.
Joe Di had never seen anything like this before. He hurried to suppress the surging blade momentum with his spiritual sense. Soon, he found himself immersed in the endless flow of blade intent and momentum, his own comprehension of blade intent merging with the force within the flames.
Whirlwind Blade, Wind Whisper Blade, Rift Blade, Skyveil Blade...
Blade after blade, guided by Joe Di's will, swept across the black Celestial Nightfire. Within the flames, the blade embryo's intent gradually gained a trace of spirit.
For the third time, Quinn Windflower stopped refining the array flags, watching in astonishment as Joe Di's blade embryo danced within the Celestial Nightfire. He sighed inwardly, "No wonder he could emerge unscathed from the depths of the Celestial Ruins. He's only at the Soul Formation stage, yet he's already brushed the very edge of the laws—it's truly astounding. Even with my cultivation, I've barely touched the surface of these rules. No, to be precise, I've only just begun to understand what rules are, let alone their surface."
The blade embryo tumbled in the flames for days on end, until its momentum finally settled. In that moment, Joe Di awoke with a start.
Now the blade embryo had taken shape, and Joe Di grew anxious—he hadn't yet infused it with any seals. A blade forged without restrictions was a failure in his eyes.
Both the Celestial Blade Steel and Violet Silksand were incredibly precious to Joe Di. If either were destroyed, it would be almost impossible to find replacements.
Soon, Joe Di was delighted to discover that the blade required no seals at all. The profound blade intent itself had replaced the restriction. Even before completion, this blade was already a supreme artifact. With its intent in place of seals, no one but Joe Di himself could ever wield it.
A clear ringing sounded—"Clang!"—as a simple, unadorned azure-hued long blade hovered before Joe Di.
The blade was complete. Including the hilt, it measured four feet five inches, shrouded in an azure haze, with several faint blade patterns running along its length. The spine was broad, and the blade itself widened from the guard outward.
Were it not for that layer of azure haze, the blade would be indistinguishable from any found in a blacksmith's shop. Because the blade intent replaced the seals, to others it appeared as nothing more than an ordinary, unranked blade.
Joe Di was particularly fond of the blade's surface haze, like a veil of blue silk, concealing all the intent within.
"A fine blade!" Quinn Windflower praised, then added, "You have fused your own blade intent into this weapon, and refined it with your Dao Fire. In the future, do not store it in your ring—carry it on your back. This way, it can absorb the momentum of heaven and earth and advance in rank."
"Thank you for your guidance, Senior," Joe Di replied, overjoyed.
With this blade in hand, Joe Di was itching to challenge a Void Spirit realm expert. With his current strength, seeking out Soul Formation cultivators as opponents almost seemed beneath him.
Recalling that blades on Earth often had red tassels tied to their hilts, Joe Di acted on a whim and forged a few red tassels to adorn his own.
Seeing Joe Di adorn such a fine blade with red tassels, Quinn Windflower was momentarily stunned, then couldn't help but burst out laughing.
For so many years, it was the first time he had laughed so heartily. This young man, Joe Di, was truly remarkable—to do something so childish and frivolous. Who would believe that a cultivator at the fourth level of Soul Formation would do something fit for a child?
Joe Di paid it no mind. He liked this blade very much, and as a Huaxia native, he favored touches of red for good fortune.
"Are you ready?" Quinn Windflower finally stifled his laughter and looked at Joe Di.
Joe Di stared in amazement at the pile of array flags before Quinn Windflower, unable to believe it. "Senior, didn't you say it would take another month or two to finish refining all these array flags?"
Quinn Windflower nodded, "That's right. More than a month has already passed."
"Did I really spend an entire month forging this blade?" Joe Di asked in shock.
Quinn Windflower replied, "To be precise, it was one month and thirteen days."
Impressive, Joe Di thought, tongue-tied. He hadn't realized how deeply he'd immersed himself in the blade's intent, losing track of so many days.
He slung the long blade over his back and stood, bowing to Quinn Windflower once more. "Senior, before I leave, I have one more matter I hope you can help me with."
Quinn Windflower nodded, "Go ahead. I can sense that my days are numbered. Whatever I can do to help you, I will. If I fail to restore Nightfall Starland this time, then in the future, if you have the ability and the opportunity, please help Nightfall Starland."
Joe Di hurried to answer, "Senior, I too am a cultivator from Nightfall Starland—it is my home planet. If I ever gain the ability, I will surely return to see if I can help restore it."
"Good, good," Quinn Windflower said, repeating the word several times.
Joe Di finally spoke, "I actually came here from another planet. But with the incomplete laws of the Aurora Continent, it's incredibly difficult to cultivate to the True Transformation realm and tear open the boundary. I long to return to my original planet to settle some matters. I hope Senior can lend me a hand."
Quinn Windflower nodded, "I do have a Boundary Breaking Talisman, but it would be useless to you. What you need is a Realm Splitting Talisman, and I have one. However, with your current cultivation, even if you use it, you wouldn't know which realm to enter."
"Does Senior have a solution?" Joe Di asked, heart pounding. With the Realm Splitting Talisman, he might have a chance to visit Hengyu Star.
Quinn Windflower hesitated before answering, "Unless your divine sense is extremely refined. When you activate the Realm Splitting Talisman, you must use your divine sense to capture the aura of the realm you've been to before, and then enter that realm. With your current strength, the odds are slim—success is highly unlikely."
Joe Di quickly said, "Senior, I have trained in the Spirit Refining Technique—my divine sense is quite refined."
"You have trained in the Spirit Refining Technique?" Quinn Windflower asked in surprise.
Joe Di took out a damaged jade slip and handed it to Quinn Windflower. "Senior, this is the jade slip containing the Spirit Refining Technique that I obtained."
Quinn Windflower accepted the jade slip, swept it with his divine sense, and after a full incense stick's time, handed it back to Joe Di. "You truly are fortunate. Thank you for the jade slip—I have gained much from it."
"If Senior needs it, please take it," Joe Di said without concern.
Quinn Windflower smiled, "There's no need. I've already memorized it. If I survive in the future, it will be thanks to your jade slip. Here, take this ring. Everything you need is inside, along with two array disks and some array flags I've refined."
Joe Di quickly accepted the ring and swept it with his divine sense. Inside, he found not only various materials, but also two array disks, a pile of array flags, and a Realm Splitting Talisman.
Joe Di did not refuse these gifts—this was Quinn Windflower's final attempt to restore Nightfall Starland. If it failed, there would be no second chance.
Seeing Joe Di accept the ring, Quinn Windflower hesitated before saying, "If you ever gain the ability to travel the stars and meet Vivian Ho, help me... help me..."
Joe Di understood Quinn Windflower's meaning and immediately said, "Senior, if I meet Vivian Ho and have the strength, I will definitely ask her for you—clearly and thoroughly."
Quinn Windflower sighed, "Ah, never mind. Just ask her one thing for me—Nightfall Starland is her home planet too. Even if she wants me to leave, all she needs to do is say so. Why split one's own home planet apart like that..."
Quinn Windflower ultimately could not continue speaking.
Joe Di had nothing more to say. He harbored deep dislike for someone like Vivian Ho. Quinn Windflower was sincere and valued the past. After receiving so much from him, even if Quinn Windflower hadn't asked, Joe Di would have taken on this matter himself.
After a long silence, Quinn Windflower suddenly said, "Once you leave, I don't know how many lonely years I'll spend here again. Perhaps being buried beneath the Celestial Ruins of Nightfall is a kind of homecoming..."
Joe Di did not respond. He resolved that, should he gain the strength in the future, he would come back for Quinn Windflower. With his current power, there was no point in making grand promises.
Quinn Windflower remained lost in sorrow for a while before finally saying to Joe Di, "Since your weapon is a blade, show me a move or two."
Joe Di realized Quinn Windflower intended to offer some final guidance before his departure. He immediately cupped his fists, and with a flick of his hand, the blade appeared in his palm.
"A fine blade!" Quinn Windflower praised again. "Every treasure deserves a name. Since you forged this blade yourself, and I can see how much you like it, have you given it a name?"
Joe Di was struck by inspiration and replied, "This blade was forged from Violet Silksand and Celestial Blade Steel at the bottom of the Celestial Ruins of Nightfall. Why not call it 'Celestial Sable'?"
This blade held a hint of poetic mood: 'Mist shrouds cold water, moon veils the silk.' Yet, unlike that, the azure haze concealed the blade's intent. If not for the lack of grandeur in the name 'Azure Haze,' Joe Di would have named it so.