Chapter 1532 — The Finest of Swords

This was the forging of a great vessel, a great vessel to emblemize the Jingping age.

Jingping had been forbidden by the Celestial Court to build great vessels, and for long ages, apart from refining tower ships and heavy vessels and spirit energy teleportation bridges, it had made nothing else, so that the Celestial Court had misjudged Jingping's strength. This time was the moment for Jingping's power of making to bloom.

Emperor Xuan and Emperor Wu had already moved, drawing the waters of the Sea of Heaven Yin to quench the weapon, for the Heaven Yin waters were of utmost cold and yin, best of all for quenching treasures.

After quenching, the Dao fire blazed still fiercer, burning the finished heaven red-hot and near to melting, while tens of thousands of Heavenly Artisans stood upon the surface of the first heaven and seized the moment to hammer, great hammers rising and falling with earth-shaking sound.

On the other side, tens of thousands of formation masters urged their formations, striking Shen Mu's Great Dao runes and Dao patterns and Dao chains into the treasure, letting Shen Mu's Dao laws fall beneath the hammers, whereupon the Artisans' strength drove the brands ever deeper. Emperors Xuan and Wu moved again to lead the Heaven Yin waters and cool the first heaven, making the first heaven of the divine sword harder and more stable.

Thus quenched and forged again and again, after dozens of quenchings and forgings, the first heaven at last took form, so that even the ninefold Dao fire could not melt it.

Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon looked toward that first heaven with a start, for Shen Mu's Great Dao runes had formed within it sun and moon and stars, mountains and rivers, lakes and seas, wind and cloud, thunder and lightning, a method of refining that indeed passed beyond his expectation. Only, what had this to do with a sword?

He was puzzled.

As this first heaven took form, metal qi surged grandly, and the metal qi gushing from the first heaven burst forth with terrifying might, threatening the many Artisans at their refining.

At that moment Western Emperor White Tiger acted, pressing down the metal qi within the Nine Heavens of Dao Fire, causing it to gather inward and hide within the treasure of the first heaven without release. As this Empress worked her arts it was like a dance, fluttering within the Dao fire, a bright and lovely sight.

The tens of thousands of Artisans and formation masters forged on without pause toward the second heaven. Day by day passed, until when the Artisans had built the thirteenth heaven, Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon and the others at last saw where the sword lay.

Layer upon layer of heavens stacked together jointly framed the sword's body.

From hilt to guard to blade, it was taking shape bit by bit beneath these giants' hammers.

More astonishing still, Shen Mu branded heaven upon heaven with his own Great Dao, each stronger than the last, with almost no Dao repeated between heavens. This was the terror of Mu Tianzun.

When the Artisans had refined the twenty-third heaven, Shen Mu's Daos were exhausted, and the Silent Artisan was about to stop, but Li Youran shook his head and said, "Keep refining, leave room to spare.

" The Silent Artisan's heart stirred, and with the Artisans he kept refining until the thirty-sixth heaven, only then resting.

The Founding Emperor, the Village Chief, Jiang Baigui, and other sword Dao masters all unfolded their sword Daos, and above the Sea of Heaven Yin and within the Dao Fire Ancestral Ground, sword Daos crossed and rang like zithers, tempering the divine sword, long before they ceased.

The Founding Emperor even raised his own Worry-Free Sword to rouse this divine sword's sword qi and sword light and sword intent, whetting the blade.

Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon breathed relief, waking from shock, and murmured, "The divine sword is forged then?

Fine as this sword is, it still cannot use up so much divine gold and divine stuff.

.

.

" He had just spoken when the sky-filling sword Daos vanished, the sword masters each收了 their divine swords, and after a brief rest the Artisans took up their hammers again.

Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon stared wide-eyed in bewilderment.

"The first domain is forged," the Founding Emperor beside him instructed him, saying, "Behind it there should be thirty-five more domains.

" Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon stood dazed, then suddenly laughed aloud, "Shen Tianzun, the material is enough, but is the wielder's skill enough?

If a divine sword of thirty-six domains is truly forged, I fear even you could not command such a treasure?

" The Founding Emperor said lightly, "Mu Tianzun's aptitude and talent in sword Dao are no less than mine, even higher. Whether he admits it or not, he is my descendant, blood of the Shen family, steeped by birth in sword Dao.

Only worldly affairs delayed him, and he spent too much effort on other paths.

" He fell silent a moment, then said, "When he was young, his swordsmanship was already the foremost in a million years.

In this world, only he can command this sword.

" Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon felt great displeasure at heart, thinking, "You merely boast for Mu Tianzun, how can he deserve such praise?

"