Chapter 432: Dark Demon’s Soul Forge (4k)
Although the Moon Goddess version of the Capital Sin Card could cause the Golem to lose control, if he could use other lower-level Capital Sin Cards to adjust it… Wait, why not directly mix a bit of his own “Bliss” during the炼成 process?
A flash of inspiration struck Dak, and he suddenly realized.
Since “Pride I” and “Pride II” could reassert control over the Golem evolved by “Bliss III? Moon”, then adding a little of Dak’s own “Bliss” during the “Bliss III? Moon”炼成 process should theoretically allow for improvements.
Moreover, both forms of “Bliss” were not in significant conflict; there was value in trying it out.
Currently, the “Bliss” within the Moon Goddess statue was at least 100 points. If successful, this would mean he could produce three controlled “Bliss III? Moon” cards in one go!
The appearance of these three “Bliss III? Moon” cards would thoroughly change his deck lineup. Whether it be the “Magical Beast: Ibut”, “Curse Cage: Imp”, or “Mana Spirit”, they could all evolve using “Bliss III? Moon”.
Additionally, the “Ditto” could also advance to four stars using “Bliss III? Moon”!
If the battle intervals were too short, there would be no worry about the cooldown of the “Bliss III” series mana cards being too long.
In summary, using them would provide more flexibility.
But currently, he only had two points of “Bliss”…
Dak thought for a moment, then took out an extremely sealed iron box from the bottom of his backpack.
This iron box had internal shock-absorbing magic devices, which he had borrowed from Professor Kazel when asking him to modify the “Flower Card”.
Inside the iron box were three test tubes with wooden stoppers. These test tubes could store thought substances but were inferior to thought bottles, serving only as temporary storage.
Each test tube could hold up to 10 drops of “Capital Sin”.
Dak borrowed a set of three test tubes, equivalent to the capacity of one thought bottle.
One of these test tubes contained two drops of “Bliss”!
This reserve was left from last month and was brought into the secret path specifically for forging the “Soul Forge”.
Originally, he planned to perform the “Tri-Armor Spell Formation” directly in the secret path, so all materials were prepared.
However, if he wanted to improve the “Bliss III? Moon” here, these two drops of “Bliss” were clearly insufficient.
Therefore, he needed to make a choice.
Method one was to forge armor in the secret path, taking out 60 drops of the Moon Goddess version of “Bliss”.
Method two was to improve “Bliss III? Moon” in the secret path, returning next month to forge armor, taking out another 60 drops of the Moon Goddess version of “Bliss”.
Using the first method, the Goddess statue without the Moon Goddess’s soul fragment would just be an ordinary stone statue, unable to retain “Bliss” even if the Temple did not disappear.
Using the second method, there was no guarantee that unexpected changes wouldn’t occur next month.
Perhaps he might never find this Temple again.
“Compared to this, forging armor is clearly more important.”
Dak slightly frowned and decided on the first method.
“Taking out 60 drops of the Moon Goddess’s ‘Bliss’, if everything goes smoothly, it will be enough to improve two ‘Bliss III? Moon’ cards.”
With this in mind, he decided to fill two of the three test tubes first, then start the armor forging process, filling the last test tube afterward.
Everything was ready, and he immediately began.
When two test tubes were filled, he took out two rectangular boxes from the bottom of his backpack again.
These boxes had multiple compartments inside.
Each compartment held different base materials.
Dak was already proficient in the “Tri-Armor Spell Formation”. At this moment, he started the experiment in the “Paradise” on a stone table.
…
Most of the experimental materials were pre-treated, making them ready to use.
The tricky part was some magic potions needing on-site preparation, such as the “Red Spider Lily” for the base.
Fortunately, his skills were proficient, and he quickly completed all potion preparations. Then, he took a blank magic card and evenly smeared the “Red Spider Lily” on it, giving it a basic “Transformation”.
During this process, the Moon Goddess continuously observed him, but her lack of knowledge prevented her from understanding what Dak was doing.
However, as the experiment progressed, she gradually felt a sense of unease, which grew stronger.
When Dak advanced the炼成 experiment to the stage requiring the “Tri-Armor Spell Formation”, she finally couldn’t help but ask, “What exactly are you doing?”
Dak was surprised. “Didn’t I say I was helping you move?”
Moon Goddess: “…”
Ignoring the Moon Goddess soul fragment, Dak took out “Bliss III” and waved it at the small Mana Spirit.
The Mana Spirit, with a look of longing, flew over from the thought bottle.
Dak raised his hand, pinched the “Bliss III” between his index and middle fingers, and activated it with a light brush in front of him.
In a moment, the Mana Spirit evolved into a Mana Nightmare Demon in the glow of “Bliss III”!
Though Dak was accustomed to it, the evolution of the Mana Spirit was truly incredible, elevating its entire life level significantly.
Especially since it was evolving due to “Bliss III”!
This scene struck the Moon Goddess’s soul fragment like lightning, shocking her entirely.
Perhaps at this moment, she suddenly realized that Dak’s promise to help her reshape her soul and achieve resurrection might not be false!
Indeed, regardless of what Dak said, her sole goal was resurrection!
As long as she could resurrect, she would do anything.
Of course, in pursuit of the ultimate goal, she had some autonomy.
For example, the wish to retain her self-awareness.
She was indeed swayed by Dak.
But before Dak showed the ability to help her achieve her goal, she certainly wouldn’t be easily fooled.
Even though she had been in the Temple for a long time without hope, she still held onto that.
However, Dak’s unintentional display of ability finally caught her attention.
Thus, she spoke again, “How can I trust you?”
Dak’s finger paused.
He had basically given up on communicating with the Moon Goddess soul fragment, but she suddenly brought it up herself.
“Could it be because of the Mana Spirit’s evolution?”
Dak’s gaze turned strange.
If he had known that performing just one evolution would make the Moon Goddess consider submission, what was he doing all along?
But it was too late now.
Without even looking up, he said, “It doesn’t matter whether you believe me or not. I communicated with you out of humanitarian concerns. In fact, even if you disagree, it won’t change the outcome.”
Moon Goddess was shocked. “Are you going to force me?”
Dak: “…”
No way (?°?°? )? You only realize this now?
Moon Goddess: “Does that mean I have no choice?”
Dak raised an eyebrow. “Not exactly.”
Moon Goddess: “?”
Dak: “You can choose to accept it happily or even more happily.”
Moon Goddess pondered for a moment, confused. “Why are both choices happy?”
Dak continued his operation while asking, “Are you not happy now?”
Moon Goddess thought for a moment and replied, “I haven’t felt any happiness.”
Dak said, “You will feel happy in the future.”
Moon Goddess: “…”
Dak turned to the Mana Nightmare Demon and said, “It’s about time. Go get her soul fragment.”
“Miyao!”
The Mana Nightmare Demon was noticeably more mature and steady than the Mana Spirit. It nodded slightly and floated toward the Moon Goddess statue.
Dak then began to engrave the “Trinity Armored Conjure Array”.
But the Moon Goddess’s next words made him pause.
“Hold on, how should I cooperate?”
“Yomimi?”
The Mana Nightmare Demon floated in the air, lowering its head to look at Dak, seemingly waiting for his response.
Dak looked at the partially completed magic card on the table, then up at the face of the Moon Goddess statue, and simply picked up the engraved living metal, saying, “If you can enter yourself…”
A stream of light flickered in the Moon Goddess’s eyes. “Can it ensure my soul remains intact?”
Dak thought for a moment. “Probably not.”
The Moon Goddess was momentarily speechless.
Dak smiled. “Only temporarily. Once I complete the炼成, it will be fine. You know, getting something comes with risks. Nothing is free. Besides, you don’t have a choice.”
…
In essence, it all boiled down to voluntary versus involuntary.
The Moon Goddess’s soul fragment ultimately chose the more dignified “voluntary”.
Of course, this was also related to her belief in Dak’s words.
As long as she could take one step closer to her ultimate goal—resurrection—she would accept it.
Otherwise, she would rather “self-destruct”.
…
Therefore, in just three minutes, the Moon Goddess statue suddenly glowed, and a sacred aura burst forth.
Dak frowned and watched as the Moon Goddess statue’s figure became blurry. A faint shadow slowly emerged, shrinking rapidly towards the face until it became human-sized.
She was completely transparent, with tendrils emerging from her joints like octopus tentacles.
Apart from that, she was identical to the statue itself.
Dak had witnessed the Moon Goddess’s revival before, but at that time, she had revived as a Celestial Beast, influenced by that form and thus very different from her true self.
“Since so, come in.”
Dak raised the living metal high. The Moon Goddess’s soul fragment descended, transforming into a beam of pure moonlight, entering the living metal instantly.
At that moment…
The living metal in Dak’s hand transformed into a statue, releasing a sacred white light.
“How does it feel?” Dak asked.
The Moon Goddess’s voice became weak. “Not great, hurry up.”
Dak nodded slightly and immediately began to draw the “Trinity Armored Conjure Array”.
After the Moon Goddess’s soul fragment left the statue, it lost the “Bliss” nourishment, and the living metal itself couldn’t store “Bliss”. Her existence was very limited.
Fortunately, Dak was already very skilled in drawing the “Trinity Armored Conjure Array”.
In just a few minutes, a three-dimensional spherical炼成 array appeared fully.
Dak then took the test tube containing two drops of “Bliss”, using a mana dropper to extract one drop, dropping the full point of “Bliss” into the glowing sphere of the “Trinity Armored Conjure Array”.
Upon contact, a halo spread.
That point of “Bliss” flowed outward along the surface of the glowing sphere, soon spreading throughout the entire炼成 array.
He carefully observed the changes in the炼成 array, and after careful consideration, did not add the second point of “Bliss”.
With the end of “Soul Pouring”, the entire炼成 array successfully transformed into a “Soul Forge”.
Dak let out a sigh of relief and picked up the living metal again, instructing.
“The炼成 process ahead may be arduous. If you want to retain your self-awareness, focus your mind.”
Afterward, he didn’t wait for the Moon Goddess’s soul fragment to respond and placed the entire living metal into the “Soul Forge”.
Then he picked up the magic pen and drew a point at the top of the “Soul Forge”, slowly injecting mana.
As mana flowed in, the white light within the “Soul Forge” grew stronger.
Seeing that the熔炼 process was proceeding smoothly, he injected the second point of “Bliss” into the “Soul Forge” to protect the Moon Goddess’s soul fragment.
If this soul fragment were destroyed during the熔炼 process, all efforts would be wasted.
While the “Armored Conjure” was fundamentally different from the Golem’s炼成, these two points of “Bliss” should suffice.
Dak fully immersed himself in the control of mana, adjusting the entire熔炼 process as if controlling the heat in weapon forging.
As time passed, the mana in his body rapidly depleted, and a subtle stirring arose in his heart.
Then, he concentrated intensely, feeling the sensation akin to triggering a “Flower Card”.
He immediately called up the system, and sure enough, the “Bliss” indicator dropped by one point!
[Bliss -1]
In a blink, the “Bliss” that had been in the nineties dropped below ninety!
This was the first time Dak had lowered “Bliss” below ninety after it had risen continuously.
He was greatly delighted.
If he could reduce “Bliss” to a safe range, he would have more leeway after the holiday.
And what he needed most next was “Pride,” not “Bliss.”
But he didn’t stay happy for long. When the “Bliss” indicator dropped to 80 points, it suddenly stopped.
Yet, he clearly felt that the “Soul Forge” still craved “Bliss.”
