CHAPTER 361: CHAPTER 361: EXPANDING METHODS_1

"With my current level of cultivation and forging skills, I don’t rely much on external objects. All I need is Earthly Fire and various materials!" Shen Mo replied with a faint smile. "There’s no need to rearrange the Forge Room."

When his cultivation was weak, the process of forging a magic artifact required various tools for assistance.

Now, with just a thought, his immense Mana, True Yuan, and Soul could replace the functions of most tools.

Only the spirit flame required for Forging was indispensable.

Forgemasters like Ming Yu, who relied on their innate talent to condense pearl-like magic artifacts, didn’t even need Earthly Fire or other materials.

Of course, she couldn’t produce pearls out of thin air; it also came with significant consumption.

She relied on consuming food rich in Vital Energy to replenish her state!

"By the way, the basket of pearls given to me by Demon Lord Ming Cang has been crafted into magic artifacts."

As he spoke, Shen Mo took out a pearl bracelet from his bosom. Each pearl was clear and translucent, their Qi interconnected.

He took Zhao Lingyin’s delicate hand and put the bracelet on her fair wrist.

"This is a top-grade profound-level magic artifact, twelve pearls connected as one."

"You need to perform a Blood Sacrifice for refining it. In the future, if you encounter danger, you can pour in your Mana to activate its power."

"At that time, it will form twelve layers of water ripples to protect you!"

Zhao Lingyin didn’t lack powerful magic artifacts, but this bracelet was a token of Shen Mo’s affection.

Moreover, considering her lack of martial arts skills and battle experience, Shen Mo had specifically made this artifact simple and easy to use, requiring only an infusion of Mana!

Except for Soul Curses, the water ripple shield could counter any other type of attack.

In Zhao Lingyin’s Mind Sea, there was already a Treasure Soul Cauldron that was infinitely close to a Spiritual Artifact, so she didn’t need to worry about being injured by Spells.

"It’s beautiful..."

Zhao Lingyin fiddled with the bracelet on her wrist, growing more and more delighted by the second, even uncharacteristically giving Shen Mo a kiss.

Shen Mo also wore a similar bracelet, though on his, each pearl had a dull color, and a close look revealed something stored inside.

The high-grade pearls gifted by Demon Lord Ming Cang totaled thirty-six. Each set of twelve, corresponding to the number of Earthly Branches, was crafted into a single bracelet-type magic artifact.

The third bracelet was prepared for Chen Mengze!

However, although all were bracelet-form magic artifacts, each one possessed distinct powers!

Into each pearl on Shen Mo’s bracelet, he had forged a small mountain peak.

Of course, he couldn’t casually sever peaks within the Riverside Sect’s territory, otherwise, the Enforcement Hall would undoubtedly come knocking.

For this, Shen Mo took a trip to the Linjiang Mountain Range. After careful selection, he chose twelve small mountains and severed them at their roots with Universe Sword Qi.

He then expended a great deal of energy to refine each small mountain peak, painstakingly forging them into the pearls.

To withstand the power of a mountain, these pearls were also crafted with high-class spiritual materials and special techniques, making them exceptionally sturdy—their defining characteristic was sturdiness!

Apart from layers of reinforcement for the Treasure Bead, the only other thing the engraved runes provided was the special effect of ’handling complicated matters with ease’.

Otherwise, wearing this bracelet would greatly hinder Shen Mo’s movements.

Without activating his magic, merely standing on a mountain rock could cause him to shatter the summit, let alone freely wielding his swordplay.

This Forging concept was inspired by the *Demon Slaying Sword* and *Thunderstroke Sword*, focusing solely on maximizing one effect to its extreme!

This magic artifact could be disassembled into individual pearls, each as heavy as a mountain, to be used for smashing people.

Even a Class III demonic beast would suffer fractured bones and torn tendons if struck by one.

As for Human Cultivators, it went without saying; unless they were like Shen Mo, having cultivated two major external magic techniques, a mere graze would cause injury, and a direct hit would mean death.

It served as a supplement to Shen Mo’s many killing methods—after all, who could blame him for having four extra arms!

The bracelet-type magic artifact forged for Chen Mengze was different again.

Each pearl could activate a different effect, such as a water ripple shield, a bird or beast of flame, sharp bursts of energy, Spiritual Qi chains, and more.

Chen Mengze was not like Shen Mo, who had mastered numerous powerful magic and martial arts techniques. Nor was she like Zhao Lingyin, who usually stayed on Spirit Gathering Peak, rarely venturing out or engaging in combat.

With its many functions capable of unleashing different artifact powers in various situations, it couldn’t be more suitable for her!

When Shen Mo went to Hongye City to bring Qian Xiaofeng to the Riverside Sect’s outer sect to cultivate, he could conveniently hand this item over to her.

...

Besides forging magic artifacts, Shen Mo also found time to visit the Magic Tower and receive the last two magic cultivation methods.

One of them was naturally the Sacrificial Magic, *Gecko Divine Skill*; the other was the *Startling Swan Sword Technique*.

There was no need to elaborate on the *Gecko Divine Skill*; like the *Withering Pursuit Soul Palm*, it was a last-ditch, life-risking measure.

However, just as Shen Mo could transform the Withering Pursuit Palm into a frequently used trump card, he could naturally also utilize the *Three-Heads Six-Arms True Immortal Technique* to weaken the side effects of the *Gecko Divine Skill*.

But for now, he hadn’t fully mastered this Sacrificial Magic, so he didn’t dare to easily attempt the "Tail Cutting" effect!

He still needed to use [Martial Performance] to deepen his cultivation of this magic, grasp its intricacies, and avoid truly sacrificing half of his body.

The *Startling Swan Sword Technique*, on the other hand, was a magic that transformed the body into a sword.

When this method was applied, the body would merge with the Sword Light.

It could be used for killing and could also replace the *Soar Cloud Immortal Method* for travel!

Of course, when using the *Startling Swan Sword Technique* for Flying Escape, the speed was only about thirty percent faster than ordinary escaping light, yet the consumption of Mana was twice as much.

Even with three Spirit Seas in his body, Shen Mo couldn’t withstand such expenditure.

Unless it was for scouting enemies, escaping, or passing through terrain like narrow spatial rifts, using this method for regular travel wasn’t particularly cost-effective.

As for this move’s Killing Power, it was actually quite average, far inferior to the sword Qi Shen Mo unleashed when using the *All-Encompassing Sword Canon*.

After all, this technique’s grade wasn’t particularly high, only reaching the high-grade of the profound level.

According to the Keeper Elder, the *Startling Swan Sword Technique* was created by a Senior of the Riverside Sect who drew inspiration from a female sword immortal’s *Maiden Sword Mantra*.

As a result, this Senior’s Proficiency in the Sword Path wasn’t particularly high. He had only learned the risk-taking aspects of the *Maiden Sword Mantra*, failing to grasp its ethereal and ingenious essence!

Fortunately, this magic technique took an unconventional path, allowing a cultivator to transform their body into Sword Light. To a certain extent, it was a decent Sword Escape method; otherwise, it would have just been left in the Magic Tower to collect dust.

After Shen Mo cultivated this technique, he was quite amazed! While its Killing Power was average and not worth mentioning, when he transformed his body into a sword, he perceived its profound nature.

It wasn’t a true merging of vitality, soul, and Sword Light in the literal sense. Instead, it was as if an independent, space-like existence was opened up within the Sword Light.

This "independent space" could only accommodate the practitioner and moved along with the Sword Light.

Once the Sword Light dissipated, this peculiar "space" would immediately collapse.

It fell far short of Clam Girl Ming Yu’s [The Smallest and The Largest], let alone the cave paradises opened by mighty cultivators using Great Divine Power!

However, it gave Shen Mo a chance to glimpse the possibility of "opening a cave paradise with the Sword Path."