Ch.52 Key Item Acquired
Leaving his training chamber, Luo Nan descended to the refining chamber in the basent level of dillion Duke Manor.
The chamber’s vaulted ceiling was built from obsidian and mithril, engraved with celestial glyphs. Flowing quicksilver veins embedded in the floor pulsed like living tissue in response to magic fluctuations.
Bronze crucibles hung along the walls, suspended midair, their boiling contents refracting an eerie blue phosphorescence.
“The traditional refining aesthetic really hits the spot—way better than those soulless ‘assembly-line refineries’ the family runs.”
“Let’s see… two scales from the corner of a rmaid’s eye as the base material. First, I’ll need to wash them with a refining reagent.”
Luo Nan dragged over a bronze crucible, poured out its unknown blue liquid, and filled it with the manor’s highest-grade refining reagent. He then ignited the magic crystal beneath it; guided by an auto-rune array, the crystal flared into blue fla.
“According to ‘The Shining Myriad Trails’ instructions for crafting a ‘Truth-Piercing Star Spike,’ the first step is a thirty-minute wash…”
“Next, lt the scales into liquid and add the auxiliary components.”
He pulled out the other materials needed: “One dragon blood crystal, three stormbird beaks, five pairs of fairy wings dried under moonlight…”
“The thod says to dump everything into the crucible together with the scales and lt them. The endpoint is determined by how well the magic fuses…”
Luo Nan focused again, testing his new ability to ‘see’ magic. “No problem—I can ti this myself.”
Without further delay, he donned protective gear, dumped all materials into the crucible, sealed the lid, and adjusted the rune array’s power dial.
In an instant, the blue fla turned blinding white.
In Luo Nan’s vision, beyond the physical crucible, flas, and rune array, the colorless magic currents in the air gradually converged toward the crucible’s interior.
“Actually, they’re not completely colorless—I seem able to distinguish subtle differences in magic from different transcendent materials…”
About twenty minutes later, he watched as the magic emanating from the materials inside the crucible gradually rged into a seamless whole.
“Ti’s up—cut the fla!”
Da—
Luo Nan imdiately shut off the rune array and grabbed a nearby starmote mold. He lifted the crucible lid and poured the pale-blue gel-like substance into the mold.
“Next step: sprinkle in chromium powder. Regular gold powder works if chromium isn’t available…”
“But money’s no object for —and I recall the more powder you add, the stronger the effect.”
Following his mory’s dosage guidelines, Luo Nan took a sealed jar made of ebony iron and poured chromium powder into the mold as if it cost nothing.
“This amount… should max it out. Any more, and the next step won’t work.”
Setting the jar aside, he picked up a teoric iron rod and followed the crafting instructions: seven clockwise stirs, then seven counterclockwise, until the golden-glowing gel solidified into a sharp twelve-sided cone.
“Next: engraving.”
“Thank goodness ‘The Shining Myriad Trails’ refining system is so detailed—every step for crafting transcendent gear is fully laid out, allowing
to do this solo…”
“And luckily, the ‘Truth-Piercing Star Spike’ doesn’t demand precision in technique—just the correct thod.”
Luo Nan took a voidwood carving knife and etched guiding runes onto the cone’s surface.
“The tip bears the ancient elven rune for ‘Pierce Illusion.’”
“The shaft features spiral patterns mimicking rmaid tear trails… Hmm, not the prettiest engraving, but functionally identical.”
“The base holds a black hole totem—the more chromium powder settled there, the stronger its ability to devour illusions.”
“Final step: Paradox Quenching!”
He tossed the knife aside and plunged the finished Star Spike into a bubbling pool of paradoxical quicksilver.
“This paradoxical quicksilver costs Faras per milliliter—this whole pool must be worth tens of thousands of Faras. Truly, only the dillions could afford such extravagance.”
While silently counting his blessings, Luo Nan carefully monitored the quenching process.
“Done!”
After draining the pool, Luo Nan picked up the completed ‘Truth-Piercing Star Spike’ and examined it closely.
Under the light, the twelve-sided cone resembled solidified night sky, with chromium particles scattered like stars within. Though his engravings lacked finesse, any master artisan would instantly recognize the runes.
“Lucky break—success on the first try.”
“Then again, with my complete mories and ample funds, executing this plan exactly as intended was only natural.”
He recalled the Star Spike’s functions:
“Function One—Pierce Illusion: penetrates all illusions, disguises, and ntal manipulations; the struck target briefly reveals their true form.”
“Function Two—Drain: builds on Function One to siphon a portion of the caster’s true power.”
“Function One is just the baseline. If I truly et her, only with this can I earn the right to face her directly.”
“And Function Two… will be my leverage when negotiating with her.”
“That should suffice. Though I’d like more preparation, I have no idea how or when she’ll approach .”
“The original plot never explained why I ‘colluded with demons’—it only showed the aftermath, my humiliating defeats at the heroines’ hands, and those brief observation scenes that introduced her.”
“Truly the fate of a disposable villainous foil…”
“As for that black cursed skull—set it aside for now. I’ll stay holed up in the manor these next few days. I doubt anyone could pull off a second assassination inside Duke dillion’s estate.”
“For now, back to cultivation—to stabilize my new realm! After all, power is the ultimate safeguard.”
“Oh right—I need so Tier One martial techniques I can pick up quickly.”
“The manor’s library should have plenty. Last ti I went for research, I hadn’t entered the transcendent realm yet, so I didn’t pay much attention. Ti to go.”
With that, Luo Nan stowed the Truth-Piercing Star Spike in his spatial storage and resolved not to take it out again until he reached the ‘collusion with demons’ plot point.
Having laid out his next steps, Luo Nan strode out of the refining chamber.
Less than five minutes after he left, a short figure clad head-to-toe in a sealed protective suit hurriedly pushed open the chamber door.
“Forgot to grab—”
The figure’s voice cut off mid-sentence. They rushed to the quenching pool, stared at the empty basin, and collapsed onto the floor, legs giving way.
“Who… who did this?! Who dumped all my freshly replaced paradoxical quicksilver?!”
“Huh? Is soone arguing in the manor? Whatever—I didn’t catch it clearly. None of my business.”
On his way to the library, Luo Nan flinched at the heartbroken, furious wail and unconsciously quickened his pace.
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