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墨書 Inktalez
Zuo Dao was in a good mood at the moment. Although there was little progress in Alchemy, it was an excellent exercise for his mindset. He remained calm and unhurried, like a gentle breeze.
Sipping fine wine and gazing at beautiful women brought him great pleasure.
Across from him sat the Yan sisters, Yan Zi and Yan Hong. He was a good listener to Yan Zi while watching Yan Hong chatter away incessantly.
"Daozi, don’t worry! Even if you can’t cultivate anymore, you have me to protect you. Who would dare bully you?"
"Hey, Daozi, are you even listening?"
"By the way, what’s it like in Reflection Cliff?"
"And your skin is so nice! Is there some treasure in Reflection Cliff? I really want to go in and take a look."
Hearing Yan Hong's words, Zuo Dao nearly spat his drink all over Yan Zi.
What was she talking about? People feared Reflection Cliff like the plague, yet Yan Hong treated it as if it were a beauty sanctuary.
"Fifth Senior Sister, this has nothing to do with Reflection Cliff! I’m just naturally beautiful; that’s irreplaceable!" Zuo Dao's remark made even Yan Zi stifle a laugh.
"You cheeky Zuo Dao! Are you trying to tease your senior sister? Do you want a beating?" Yan Hong exclaimed, ready to pounce on him.
"Alright, sister, stop messing around. Daozi is just joking with you!" Yan Zi stepped in to mediate.
"By the way, Daozi, we came here to give you something." With that, Yan Zi took out a jade slip from her Storage Ring.
"This is something we stumbled upon during our outing. You might find it useful now. Remember to relax when it's time for Alchemical Path; don’t forget the way of ease."
Yan Hong watched her sister present the jade slip, her eyes flickering for a moment before returning to normal.
Zuo Dao casually took the slip. At that moment, he couldn’t discern what was inside. He crushed it in his hand, and a stream of light surged into his forehead. After a while, he snapped back to reality and stared blankly at Yan Zi.
"Senior Sister, this is too precious," Zuo Dao said with a wry smile.
"It's just a chance find; you don't need to take it to heart. Besides, we sisters won't be using it anyway," Yan Zi replied lightly. Yan Hong, on the side, made a face at Zuo Dao.
The Great Dream Hammer Technique was the content contained within this jade slip.
The Great Dream Hammer Technique was said to have been created by the Great Dream Elder, a master of the Artifact Path. It was both a method of crafting artifacts and a way to cultivate the Mind Method. As far as Zuo Dao knew, there were only a handful of complete jade slips of the Great Dream Hammer Technique passed down throughout the Moling Star, and all were incomplete. However, he estimated that the piece he held was at least the full version; even if it wasn't, it couldn't be far off.
The Great Dream Hammer Technique was renowned within the Artifact Path and regarded as a classic in artifact crafting. Among all crafting methods, only the Great Dream Hammer Technique did not require magical power; it relied solely on physical prowess. And physical strength happened to be Zuo Dao's forte.
The others who obtained the Great Dream Hammer Technique had only practiced half-formed versions of the Mind Method, which granted them considerable fame in the Alchemical Path. However, they could not comprehend the artifact crafting aspect of the Great Dream Hammer Technique, something Zuo Dao realized only after acquiring the complete version of the Dream Hammer Technique.
After sending off the Yan sisters, Zuo Dao began his cultivation of the Great Dream Hammer Technique. The Cave had everything needed for an Alchemist's Chamber and crafting room, but it lacked tools for practicing the Dream Hammer Technique. While methods like Heart Refinement, Fire Refinement, Water Refinement, and Ghost Forging only required vessels, practicing the Dream Hammer Technique necessitated an artifact platform.
The Great Dream Hammer Technique was divided into two parts.
The first part: Great Dream, focused on cultivating the Mind Method.
The second part: Dream Hammer Technique, concerned with artifact crafting.
The combination of Mind Method cultivation and Dream Hammer Technique artifact crafting constituted the authentic Great Dream Hammer Technique. The purpose of cultivating the Mind Method was to better grasp material purity, transformation, fusion, and shaping during artifact crafting. Meanwhile, the Dream Hammer Technique involved purifying, transforming, fusing, and shaping materials during artifact creation. Both aspects were equally important and complementary.
For Zuo Dao, cultivating the Mind Method was merely an enhancement; his already powerful Divine Consciousness became even more solid after practicing it. What is Great Dream?
In dreams without self, in dreams with self; in self without dreams—Great Dream is unperceived; dreams have no awakening. The essence of the Mind Method lies in maintaining one's true self between reality and illusion, refining oneself with one's original heart to achieve a state where consciousness enters realms and realms embody consciousness. Without being a practitioner of Great Willpower, one would likely go astray while cultivating this method; it demands extremely high standards. Those few who obtained this method could only practice it under the protection of powerful Heart Protecting Treasures, but its benefits were evident.
The Dream Hammer Technique was straightforward and comprised Five Styles:
Hundred Forgings, Shattering Rain, Star Cutting, Falling Sun, Creation.
The materials needed for the initial forging were mostly raw ores and unrefined stones. Due to their large quantity, they were scarce within the peak. Zuo Dao left the peak for several days, collected some, and then began his seclusion.
He started with the practice of the first form of the Dream Hammer Technique: Hundred Forgings, which was divided into three sequences: one, ten, and hundred. When these three sequences combined, it formed Hundred Forgings, also known as Ten Thousand Strikes. Without a robust body and immense strength, one could not hope to practice it.
Zuo Dao reached for a piece of raw ore and tossed it into the furnace, allowing it to heat until it glowed red. He then placed it on the forging platform. To his surprise, the platform was actually an improved version of a blacksmith's anvil, which made him chuckle.
He struck the glowing ore with his fist, producing a sound like metal clashing against metal. Now, Zuo Dao's body was impervious to fire and water, and no technique could break it; however, he still lacked sufficient strength. With one strike, sparks flew, but the ore showed little change.
Zuo Dao began practicing according to the key points outlined in the Dream Hammer Technique. After completing the first sequence, there was no change in the ore. The second, third, and up to the tenth sequence passed—after a thousand strikes—the ore shattered with a loud crack. His first attempt had failed.
At that moment, Zuo Dao realized how profound Hundred Forgings truly was; it was entirely about the application of force. He found himself unable to continue practicing. Following the method recorded in the jade slip for one sequence of practice, after completing a stage of training, his body began to ache.
This was something that should not have happened to him; it left Zuo Dao astonished. What level of cultivation method was the Great Dream Hammer Technique? How did Yan Zi possess such a jade slip?
The soreness he felt was not due to fatigue but rather from strain caused by incorrect execution during practice. Despite using proper posture, correct movements, and appropriate methods of exertion, he still sustained injuries.
What kind of cultivation method could injure a Divine Body? Zuo Dao dared not contemplate further. However, he became even more determined to master the Great Dream Hammer Technique.
The recovery of his injured areas was swift but took about an hour or so.
“It’s clear that I must have overlooked something during my practice of the sequence; I just haven’t realized it myself. Once I correct these flaws, I should be able to master this sequence quickly,” Zuo Dao thought.
“The best way is to compare my posture, movements, methods of exertion with my body; wherever there’s an operation involved in those areas is where I’ve made mistakes.”
Practice led to injury, which led back to practice again. A month passed in this cycle. During his recovery time, Zuo Dao utilized it to combine the Great Dream Mind Method with alchemy and gained quite a bit from it.
One day, after completing another stage of his sequence practice, a wave of joy surged within him.
“I finally succeeded in mastering this sequence! After completing it, my body no longer feels uncomfortable as before,” Zuo Dao thought to himself. “If just one sequence feels like this, there are still ten sequences and Hundred Forgings ahead; I must tread carefully and not celebrate too early.”
While motivating himself, he also reminded himself of the reality.
"But the completion of the first link is only relative to the Dream Hammer Technique. My physical strength remains the same as before, with no improvement—this is a significant issue!"
Instinctively, Zuo Dao summoned his internal power, and suddenly a realization filled him with joy.
A faint current was slowly flowing within his body.
"This only appeared after completing the first link," Zuo Dao murmured to himself.
"I had tried before, but I never felt this current; it only emerged after the first link was completed."
"What kind of person is the Great Dream Elder? Is it possible to create such a reverse Cultivation Method?"
The emergence of this current signified the recovery of his physical strength, which was undeniably good news. It clarified that the Divine Gold Lock and Celestial Material Chain were not omnipotent. Since the Celestial Chain could be broken through, there must be a way to unlock the Divine Lock as well.
Zuo Dao understood that one cannot achieve great success in one go; being overly ambitious was not his style.
Now, he was eager to see what the completion of Hundred Forgings would be like.
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