The [Rainbow Forge Manual].

Written by the former Kaijin Lord known as the Rainbowsmith, this manual detailed the forge master's personal insights and techniques he had developed when it came to three important aspects of his work.

The first was a detailed chapter on how to best bring out the raw power in the various materials he had handled over the years.

Not all metals melted at the same temperatures, and not all materials reacted the same way when exposed to certain stimuli. Hell, some materials even reacted in strange an unpredictable ways when brought together.

This type of insight can usually only be taught through experience, but the Rainbowsmith's account was detailed enough to make it possible for even a novice to pick up with great ease.

This alone made the manual valuable, but not quite priceless.

The second aspect was a detailed technique on how one could safely accommodate not just aether flames from conflicting series, but how to combine them in ways that could enhance their powers or produce effects that have never been seen before.

Aether flames, like all naturally occurring aether treasures, were incredibly volatile by nature and have a tendency to react violently to the presence of other naturally occurring aether treasures.

The only exception to this volatility are other natural aether treasures that just so happened to be in the same "series" as them. Granted, these series determinations were made over the course of centuries and the sacrifice of millions who basically tested whether or not they imploded from combining certain flames within themselves.

That stated, only certain formulas and physiques in existence are able to effectively channel such combinations without any negative drawbacks...such as spontaneously exploding.

And it's this point that made the [Rainbow Forge Manual] priceless in the eyes of most cultivators.

The Rainbowsmith was said to have a formula that wasn't designed to accommodate aether flames, and yet, he was able to house within his body a thousand different types of aether flames from a hundred different series.

Beast flames, soul flames, natural flames—it didn't matter where they were sourced; he was able to manipulate and combine them as easily as a chef mixing different types of grains together for a porridge.

In the Rainbowsmith's hands, these fused flames were predominantly used to combine materials that would normally be in conflict with one another. But in times of actual battle, they could be used to overwhelm enemies through unpredictable firepower.

Now these two aspects by themselves were obvious to anyone that could cultivate aether. But the third aspect, the part that made this priceless book into something truly unfathomable, required the ability to cultivate [Chaos].

[Chaos], in many stories, is the origin of…everything.

Every piece of metal, every living soul, and every bit of star and stardust originates from [Chaos].

However, how that [Chaos] manifests is different from story to story.

In some, [Chaos] is a solid stone that needs to be separated into the land and sky.

In others, it's an ancient and endless ocean in which all life eventually rose from.

And, in the interpretation written in the [Rainbow Forge Manual], it is a primordial flame that provided the first spark of life and was the first form of light that graced the universe.

In other words, the [Rainbow Forge Manual] allows one to tap into the very [Flame of Creation]...or at the very least, an imitation that can be achieved by combining the various flames that had originally split from it.

-The reason why this manual is important, as explained by Logos and Pathos to a curious Jasper and Janice.

…

'Fucking hell, I was not expecting this many people to be interested in this fuck-ass manual!' Zhen Liu internally cursed as he heard the prospective buyers argue over their bids.

"525!"

"575!"

"600!"

"665!"

Zhen Liu had hoped that a book that had been sold and resold a dozen times over would be considered unbuyable by most normal people, but he forgot to include one very important factor in his observations: aether warriors were far from fucking normal.

Whether it was due to their innate personalities or because cultivation had a tendency to fuck with one's mind, every single cultivator in existence had at least a few screws loose.

To the average cultivator, spending thousands and possibly millions of gold coins for a partial manual was better than nothing.

"669!"

"700!"

'Well…at least now I understand why the protagonist in most cultivation novels usually opts to just rob what they want from the other guy,' Zhen Liu mentally concluded as he heard the price continue to rise little by little.

A part of Zhen Liu wanted to use all of the money they had just made from their auctions on securing this manual, but he knew better than to do something like that.

'This money isn't mine to spend,' Zhen Liu told himself. 'I shouldn't use it so freely on a vague—'

"900!" Jinju Ren declared, using a special aether treasure that was provided by the auction house.

This treasure was designed for private booth guests so that they could let their bids be known to the auctioneers, and blah, blah, blah, the crazy dragon princess just decided to use ninety percent of the funds they had just made on this manual for no clear reason.

Needless to say, Zhoen Liu was flabbergasted.

"Jinju Ren…why?" Zhen Liu asked the dragon princess with the clearest form of shock plain on his face.

This shocked expression of his amused the princess so she didn't immediately answer. Instead, she made sure to squeeze his cheeks before providing an actual answer to his burning question.

"I am well aware that your bleeding heart wanted to use the money we made here to help out Axer, but think about it like this: that manual there can make you a hell of a craftsman, yes? The kind that could whip up not only potent aether treasures but treasures that make use of [Chaos], correct?"

"Yes, that's correct," Zhen Liu nodded, a strange feeling creeping up his throat.

"The way I see it, it's an investment that will pay itself off in two ways First,bif we can get our hands on that book, then you can help out Axer with all of his work," Jinju Ren began to explain. "Then, once that's out of the way, you can make me and the others [Chaos] treasures with your personal touch to them. Oh, and you'll probably be able to help with Lythero's swords here a little sooner than anticipated."

"Huh?"

"That...actually makes a lot of sense," Zhen Liu agreed once the idea was fully explained to him.

Still, dropping nine hundred thousand gold coins was a lot of money to spend at once.

Thankfully for them, though, it sounded as if they had made the highest bid of the auction.

"Nine hundred thousand gold coins for the [Rainbow Forge Manual], going once..."

In the next three seconds, assuming nobody else made a bid, then Zhen Liu was about to level up his forging game to an entirely different level.

"Going twice..."

At this new level, he could not only make himself and his allies custom equipment, but he'll also be able to make stuff for the Kaijin. Heck, he could even see if it was possible to bestow upon them personal trea—

"One million two hundred."

"FUCK!"

Just before the auctioneer could announce that the manual was fully sold, another voice cut through the air and raised the price to the near limit of all of their funds.

Making matters even worse, Zhen Liu could immediately recognize who that voice belonged to.

"Alain..."

In a private booth not too far from their own, across the room even,Alain of the Lightwing was watching the exact same auction and felt compelled to make a move for the manual as well.

After all, there was some decent overlap between the manipulation of fire and the manipulation of light when it came to [Chaos]. Not only that, but if he couldn't comprehend its power, that was fine too.

He could simply ask his benefactor, Buzza himself, or even see if anyone new and compatible got added to their ranks of fellow Grafted warriors.

After all, they were the reason why he was able to slowly cement his position as the crown prince amongst the people,and why he was going to be king shortly after that.

"1.2 million gold coins from the prince from Radiant Feather for the privilege of owning the [Rainbow Forge Manual]. Going—"

"1.3 million!" Jinju Ren called out for their last bid of this day.

This was basically all of the money they had managed to earn from this auction, and if Alain decided to raise his bid any higher than that, then Zhen Liu and his allies could kiss that manual good bye forever.

Well...they could kiss acquiring it through nonviolent means good bye forever.

'I mean, worse case scenario...'

Inside of Zhen Liu, the [Flame of Greed] was glowing a little brighter than normal.