Chapter 59: The Perfect Fusion of Tool Martial Souls and Alchemy, A New Path to Godhood
Within the Plane Origin Sea, Lei Chen finished mentally organizing the preliminary strategy to counter the Abyss Plane.
With Electrolux as a powerful piece capable of turning the tide in the crucial mid-level battles, their chances of victory had already greatly increased.
However, Lei Chen, ever cautious by nature, understood the principle that even a lion must use its full strength to catch a rabbit. Facing the invasion of an entire plane, one could never be too prepared. Thus, he decided to further bolster the Douluo Plane's odds of success.
With a slight stir of his thoughts, his figure vanished from the Sea of Origin, shimmering with multicolored light.
In the next moment, deep within the heavily guarded Royal Hall of Offerings in the capital of the Sun Moon Empire...
Space rippled subtly, and Lei Chen's figure appeared soundlessly in an Alchemy laboratory filled with precise Spirit Tools and various strange metallic materials.
In the center of the laboratory, Kong Deming, the father of Spirit Tools in the Sun Moon Empire, was completely focused on an object floating before him. It was his life-bound Spirit Tool, the manifestation of his Martial Soul—the silver moon divine light shield.
At this moment, the silver moon divine light shield emitted a soft silver radiance. On its surface, countless intricate, faintly golden lines flowed and intertwined slowly, forming a three-dimensional and profound matrix.
This was precisely one of the core formations from the high-level Alchemy inheritance Lei Chen had previously bestowed upon him, which originated from the Divine Seal Plane.
Soul Power flowed condensed from Kong Deming's fingertips as he carefully executed the final strokes. His gaze was fervent and focused, utterly unaware of the fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
Finally, as the last stroke of the alchemical rune connected perfectly, the entire three-dimensional matrix suddenly lit up!
Hum—
A clear, melodious hum emanated from within the silver moon divine light shield. The faint golden matrix seemed to come alive, beginning to operate on its own.
In that instant, the Heaven and Earth Origin Energy surrounding the laboratory, and even the entire Hall of Offerings, was stirred as if by an invisible giant hand. It transformed into visible streams of pale white energy, frantically converging towards the silver moon divine light shield.
The energy streams swirled, even forming a small vortex at its center, where the silver moon divine light shield greedily absorbed the energy.
"Success! The Alchemy Matrix successfully resonated with and drew upon the power of Heaven and Earth!"
Kong Deming abruptly raised his head. His weary face was instantly filled with immense excitement and joy, his eyes sparkling with uncontrollable radiance.
After nearly a year of painstaking research and countless failed simulations, he had finally, at this very moment, perfectly fused the supreme Alchemy from another plane with his own life-bound Spirit Tool!
And it was at this peak of excitement that the corner of his eye finally caught sight of Lei Chen, standing quietly to the side with a faint smile.
Kong Deming's heart immediately jolted. All his excitement instantly transformed into profound reverence. He hurriedly composed himself, stepped forward quickly, and bowed deeply. His voice was slightly hoarse from his earlier agitation:
"Your junior, Kong Deming, was unaware of the Plane Master's arrival and failed to greet you from afar. I beg for your esteemed self's forgiveness!"
Lei Chen gave a slight nod. His gaze swept over the silver moon divine light shield that was voraciously devouring Heaven and Earth Origin Energy, his tone carrying a hint of praise: "There is no need for such formalities. You have done well."
His voice was calm, yet it greatly encouraged Kong Deming.
Lei Chen continued, "It has been less than a year since I bestowed that Alchemy inheritance upon you. Not only have you grasped its essence, but you have also applied your learning, pushing your life-bound Spirit Tool to a higher level. Such comprehension and dedication have truly not disappointed my expectations."
Just as Lei Chen's words fell, the transformation of the silver moon divine light shield also reached its climax.
After absorbing a vast amount of Heaven and Earth Origin Energy, the silver light on its surface grew increasingly brilliant, gradually transforming into a deeper, more restrained moon-glow hue.
The originally strongly metallic shield body now seemed to have turned into flowing liquid radiance, exuding a sacred and powerful aura.
The alchemical matrix inscribed upon it solidified completely, merging with the shield body itself. It no longer flickered but instead emitted a constant golden halo from within.
A pressure far exceeding that of a ten-grade Spirit Tool slowly permeated the air. It was a qualitative change, a symbol of mortal metal transforming into divine weaponry!
At this moment, the silver moon divine light shield had successfully crossed that chasm, truly advancing from the 'quasi-divine artifact' level to become a—Divine Artifact!
Hum... Another soft hum sounded, but this time it was distant and majestic, as if emanating from the highest heavens, announcing the birth of a new Divine Artifact.
The silver moon divine light shield slowly retracted its radiance, its size seeming to shrink slightly but becoming more condensed. It hovered quietly in the air, its surface flowing with moonlight, emanating a heart-palpitating power.
Looking at the successfully transformed Divine Artifact, a flash of understanding passed through Lei Chen's eyes. He said to Kong Deming, "Congratulations, Kong Deming. Your silver moon divine light shield is now a true Divine Artifact."
Kong Deming gazed excitedly at the treasure born of his heart's blood, his hands trembling slightly with elation.
Lei Chen shifted the focus, pointing out the deeper significance of this event: "This object was created by you, based on your own Martial Soul and combined with your lifelong skill in Spirit Tools. It is bound to your very life, an extension and sublimation of your Martial Soul. Now that it has taken the lead in transforming into a Divine Artifact..."
Lei Chen's gaze seemed capable of piercing through Kong Deming's very origin. He stated calmly, "...it means your Martial Soul has also, through this Divine Artifact's form, reached the divine level ahead of time."
"The Divine Artifact nourishes its master in return. From now on, all bottlenecks on your cultivation path, up to the level 100 divine realm, will cease to exist. You need only accumulate Soul Power step by step, and you will smoothly break through to the divine level."
Upon hearing this, the look of pleasant surprise on Kong Deming's face instantly reached its peak, even surpassing his joy at the successful forging of the Divine Artifact moments before.
His original greatest goal was merely to forge a Divine Artifact belonging to the Sun Moon Empire, to strengthen the nation's power and increase his own foundation, hoping perhaps to glimpse a sliver of opportunity for reaching the divine level in the future.
He never imagined that the weapon achieving divinity would, in turn, pave a smooth, broad road to godhood for himself. This was an unexpected delight, a heaven-sent fortune.
"This... Esteemed One, is this truly the case?!" Kong Deming's voice trembled, hardly daring to believe his ears.
Lei Chen smiled faintly, "Why would I deceive you? For the Martial Soul to achieve divinity before the person, while not the orthodox path, is indeed a viable shortcut."
Looking at Kong Deming, overjoyed and already seeing the light of the divine realm, Lei Chen also smiled slightly.
'Indeed, the system that pushed Alchemy to its peak in the Divine Seal Plane has a compatibility with the Douluo Plane's Tool Martial Soul system that far exceeds expectations.' For ordinary Soul Masters, they themselves must first reach the divine level, possessing both a divine soul and a divine body, before they can refine and elevate their own tool Martial Souls into Divine Artifacts.
But now, with the power of Alchemy, one can proceed in the opposite direction. By first concentrating resources and wisdom, one can push the life-bound tool Martial Soul—through external objects and techniques—to the grade of a Divine Artifact ahead of time.
Once the Divine Artifact is formed, it is like planting a divine-level seed within a mortal vessel. It continuously nourishes the host, naturally guiding them towards the divine realm. This is tantamount to opening a brand new path to godhood for Soul Masters with tool Martial Souls.