"The Four Stages of Forging?" Mei Yi, deeply engrossed in the art of smithing, paid close attention to the Four Stages mentioned by Dao Kuang. "Is the forging of Divine Weapons truly different from that of ordinary weaponry?"

Dao Kuang glanced toward Old Liu beside him and stated calmly, "Bing Ao, that old fellow, once told me that for a Divine Weapon to manifest, one must seize its Hun Xin (Soul Core), fuse its San Cai (Three Elements), force their integration, and finally, compel its Jidian (Sacrificial Endowment)—in other words, obtaining the core soul, merging the essence of the Sun, Moon, and Stars, forcing these components to unify, and concluding with the final, most crucial step!"

"Does it require a ritual sacrifice?" Old Liu interjected, picking up the thread. "I've heard countless tales of knife and sword sacrifices. Could it be that Divine Weapons also require such a rite?"

Dao Kuang nodded. "Even common weapons need an edge honed; Divine Weapons are born of Heaven and Earth, so a rite of dedication is naturally more necessary. And I hear the offerings for this sacrifice are no ordinary things."

"This collapse of the Fourth Tier Pagoda—does that signify Ye Xiu has already secured the Soul Core?" Mei Yi, concerned for Ye Xiu, felt a surge of joy at his apparent breakthrough of one stage. "I knew that fellow would obtain a peerless artifact."

"When that guy went down into the Nine Hells Poisonous Fiend Array with me, he didn't even have a decent weapon!" Old Liu’s envy for Ye Xiu's fortune was palpable as he sat down again, clearly disgruntled.

……

The sound of flowing metal echoed beside Ye Xiu. When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing amidst a colossal precipice. Beneath his feet were crumbled mountain rocks, and below those rocks flowed a sea composed of fragments resembling swords and blades.

"The scene has changed again, Su Su?" Ye Xiu looked at the flowing metal with a hint of alarm. He had witnessed all manner of bizarre seas, even oceans of fire, but a torrent composed of liquid metal was entirely new. He scrambled up the nearby cliff to gain a better view, but as far as the eye could see, there was only the ceaselessly churning ocean of metal. "Where is this place?"

Su Su materialized into human form but was equally clueless. Just then, a horn sounded—a fleet was dimly approaching across the metallic sea. The ships were towering and grand; though their exact appearance was obscured, the standards flying atop each vessel clearly identified them: they belonged to the Qin Dynasty.

Ye Xiu gasped. Naval confrontations were rare during the Qin era. If the First Emperor deployed such a massive fleet, it could only mean one thing: a specific, documented period in Qin history where their objective was sailing beyond the Eastern Sea in search of the Elixir of Immortality. "Is this the historical expedition of the Qin envoys sailing to the Eastern Sea? Is there truly an Elixir of Immortality out here on the Eastern Sea?"

"I can’t sense any flow of soul energy from these ships. Are these perhaps just ordinary people?" Su Su, lacking historical context, was perplexed. The purple smoke beside her coalesced and spoke to Ye Xiu. "Look, next to that grand banner, there’s a character, Xu. Could that be the leader of this fleet?"

"Xu?" Ye Xiu fixed his gaze. Indeed, beside the large colored banner was a small character, Xu. A plan formed in his mind, and he muttered, 'What a coincidence.' The man the First Emperor dispatched to seek the Elixir of Immortality was Xu Fu. Xu Fu was originally a Daoist alchemist tasked by the Emperor to sail east to find a legendary spiritual mountain, the Three Divine Mountains, which might be modern-day Japan. Now that he saw Xu Fu's fleet, could this place be the ancient Three Divine Mountains?

"Whoooosh..." Suddenly, an unknown frigid wind swept down from the cliff face into the Sea of Blades. At that moment, the ships below swayed violently with the motion of the metallic current, soon building to a terrifying swell that dashed one large vessel to splinters in the sea of blades.

"Everyone, do not panic! There must be the Elixir of Immortality within these Three Divine Mountains! Hold fast! There will be ranks and titles upon our return!" The leader was a middle-aged man. Though dressed in the attire of an official, his lean frame and cloth shoes made him look like a Daoist priest. He commanded the soldiers behind him. "Order! Find a way to secure the ships near the cliff wall to weather this storm! We prepare for our third landing on the Three Divine Mountains!"

"The third time? They intend to come ashore?" Ye Xiu found it incredible. The cliffs of these Three Divine Mountains were immense; he was currently only halfway up. For those men to ascend from the Sea of Blades seemed impossible. "Since there’s an Elixir of Immortality here, I am interested in seeing it too. Let’s ascend first."

"This is the Dao Realm; I cannot use my teleportation ability. My apologies, Master." Su Su’s powers were limited, though she knew scaling a sheer cliff was hardly difficult for the current Ye Xiu.

"Boom!" Ye Xiu shot upwards enveloped in black flames. In moments, he stood atop the mountain peak. It turned out the Three Divine Mountains were not mountains at all, but an island—an island covered entirely in gray dust, resembling nothing so much as a battlefield ruin. Forget the Elixir; there wasn't even a single living soul in sight.

"Swish, thud, thud!" Just as Ye Xiu stepped onto the summit, several massive metal claws shot up from below the cliff face. They were shaped like curved eight-pronged hooks, and upon launching, they secured a firm grip on the ground. Ye Xiu looked down: the eight claws were connected by thick wires to Xu Fu’s ships, and several agile figures were already climbing the wires. They were indeed experienced; this was how they were attempting to land on the Three Divine Mountains.

"That’s strange. Even though I see them, I can’t feel their presence at all," Su Su said, now standing completely beside Ye Xiu, confusion clouding her features. "Are none of these people real?"

"Illusions again?" Ye Xiu crouched down, attempting to touch the eight-pronged hooks, but his hand passed straight through them; he couldn't grasp anything. "I had a similar experience in the Seven Star Formation. Some kind of power is replaying history before our eyes. Remember Han Xin from before? We need to be cautious."

"Mhm." Although Su Su couldn't exert much strength here, the Fourth Tier Pagoda was inherently bizarre, and they could not afford to relax.

"That is enough for now!" Once Xu Fu was calmly escorted ashore by two strong guards, the Qin army had fully established its position on the Three Divine Mountains. As Ye Xiu suspected, they were not on the same plane of existence as him. He genuinely couldn't tell who was the illusion.

"Commander, several years ago, we were routed here by an Eight-Legged Divine Dragon," a heavily scarred soldier stood beside Xu Fu, his eyes cold, filled with hatred for the dragon he mentioned. "The King ordered us to forge the Dragon Chain Locks. If we encounter that beast again this time, we will certainly capture the dragon and bring it back to Great Qin!"

Xu Fu nodded. Having led the repeated expeditions across the Eastern Sea, this contingent had faced countless bizarre occurrences beyond just the Sea of Blades. "The Divine Dragon only seeks to prevent us from entering the cave ahead. The King’s time is short; let us proceed."

"This Xu Fu is rather interesting, trying to fight a Divine Dragon with mere human strength?" Ye Xiu sauntered forward, placing himself ahead of Xu Fu’s entourage. He gazed into the distance and confirmed that at the center of this landmass, there was indeed a cavern, opening midway up a mountain—a mountain composed solely of earth and rock, devoid of any trace of new green growth.

"Master, I sense soul energy flow!" Su Su urgently called out. A long dragon plummeted from the heavens, its entire body shimmering with purple scales. The dragon head possessed a single, piercing eye fixed below. Its upper body had no claws, but strangely, its tail end split into eight legs, each emitting light of a different hue—it resembled a mutated Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Ye Xiu understood Su Su immediately: the flow of energy meant this creature was physical to him. Yet, its roar directed at the crowd indicated it could see Xu Fu and the others. Ye Xiu rapidly retreated a step, leaping toward the rear of the group. In his view, every divine beast had a master behind it; he wanted to know who was controlling the monstrous dragon.

"This fellow is indeed still here." Xu Fu’s expression was calm, as if this outcome was expected. He raised and swiftly lowered his hand. "Deploy the Dragon Chain Locks! I wish to see what recourse this monster has."

"Hahahaha!" The leading soldier let out a surprised laugh, stepping slightly aside as the soldiers behind him wheeled up several massive wooden carts. These carts were immense and exquisitely crafted. This group had clearly been here multiple times; the efficiency with which they moved men and machinery demonstrated the First Emperor's immense focus on achieving immortality.

Ye Xiu walked quietly up to one of the carts, running a hand over the heavy machinery. It possessed a robust structure and enormous wheels. Each bowl-shaped platform held a single projectile, but the tip of the projectile was not simply sharp; instead, it was shaped like a claw. This group had come fully prepared; no wonder they showed no fear upon seeing the monstrous dragon.

"Fire!" The leader commanded. The men behind him immediately cut the hemp ropes securing the projectiles. In that instant, dozens of projectiles shot toward the monstrous dragon.

The dragon was huge but slow-moving. It seemed to lack other magical abilities and likely paid little mind to the human projectiles. However, the projectiles were aimed not at the dragon's body but precisely at its eight legs.

"They want to capture the dragon alive!" Ye Xiu had realized this earlier. As the claws on the projectiles slammed down near the dragon's feet, the beast tried to shift its stance, but the claws suddenly retracted, locking it firmly to the ground. Then came the second, then the third. Before long, the creature was completely immobilized by the human machinery.

"Final strike!" the soldier shouted. Behind him, an even larger projectile rose, targeting the dragon's neck. This strike landed precisely, slamming the dragon heavily onto the ground.

"Ughwa-gah..." The dragon's cry was sharp. Its previous aggressive posture now resulted only in it collapsing, struggling futilely against the restraints that bound its limbs. At this moment, humanity had triumphed over the giant beast.