"It's really impressive."
Zheng Zhan gazed at the towering structure not far away, which seemed to reach straight into the clouds.
Mingde Hall has driven the development of the technological era. For example, the soul-guided streetlights that use spirit power ore to charge, and the soul-guided screens introduced by Starlight Auction House that can be operated by ordinary people as long as they have spirit power ore, are mostly produced within Mingde Hall.
And here.
Sun and Moon Royal Hall of Enshrinement.
Like this tower, it propels Spirit Tool toward the heavens and toward the divine.
The main entrance to the Hall of Enshrinement.
Although it is shaped like a tower, it is not an ancient rock tower. Its bronze exterior gleams with a metallic luster under the sunlight, giving it the feel of a mechanical church in the steam age of a fantasy novel with a supernatural setting.
"Honorable Lords." The two Spirit Saints, whose bodies were covered with spirit tools that resembled armor, addressed Su, Shen, and Zheng Zhan respectfully.
"Are Master Kong and the other honored guests present?" Elder Su asked.
"Yes, recently, apart from the three of you, no other officials have been out." The guard replied respectfully.
Old Shen took out a strange jade slab engraved with the sun and the silver moon on both sides and placed it on the device on the other side. He injected spirit power into it, and the next second, the gate slowly opened under the action of the machine. The metal gate, weighing tens of tons and half a meter thick, rose up.
The three entered the tower.
The tower has many levels, and the staircase spirals upwards, like a ladder leading to the gods.
"Tap tap tap..." A series of footsteps sounded.
The specially designed metal walls have excellent sound insulation, ensuring that the Soul Guide inside the room is not disturbed by other external environments, thus creating a quiet environment outside.
The next second.
With a "thump".
A figure suddenly fell from the top of the tower.
"Old Su?" An old man in red looked at Zheng Zhan and the others.
"Old Li," Old Su greeted the visitor, "Are you going out?"
"Hmm." The old man, known as Old Li, nodded gently. "I won't talk to you anymore. The gold stored in the hall is not enough. Master Kong asked me to ask the emperor to approve some more."
"Wait a minute." Old Su reached out and pulled Old Li back.
"how?"
"Old Li," Old Shen said with a mysterious smile, "I recently acquired a wonderful treasure. Would you like to take a look?"
"What?" Old Li became interested; Soul Guide has never lacked curiosity.
"This." Old Shen reached out, and a strange green metal appeared in his hand. It was neither jade nor gold, and seemed to be made of liquid. The moment it appeared, an extremely rich life force surrounded it.
" Zheng Zhan " stood behind Su and Shen, seemingly intentionally or unintentionally, controlling their words and actions through a master-servant contract. A wisp of gray aura, detached from this world, lingered around his neck, concealing his presence.
"A treasure!" Old Li exclaimed in surprise.
The body's instincts cannot suppress the desire for the power of life.
Old Li's eyes were fixed intently on Life Gold.
The next moment, a gray spiritual light shot out from between Zheng Zhan's eyebrows and into the spiritual sea where Elder Li's eyebrows were located.
The spiral staircase fell silent instantly.
It felt like a moment had passed, yet it also felt like an eternity had gone by.
Old Shen put away the Gold of Life and continued walking up the steps with Old Su and " Zheng Zhan ". Old Li's expression changed, but he said nothing. He seemed not to see the three people walking up the steps. He just stood there, taking out all the level nine spirit tools he carried, charging the ones that needed charging, and injecting spirit power into the ones that needed injecting spirit power, as if he were preparing for an upcoming battle.
Fifteen against five.
A smile appeared on Zheng Zhan's lips.
This "Old Li" was a pleasant surprise.
"We've arrived." Old Su stopped on one of the tower's floors.
Zheng Zhan took out an item, which Old Shen accepted.
After passing through a fairly long metal passage, we arrived at the end and swiped our cards to open the door.
It was a large, silver-metal room, over twenty meters high, filled with all sorts of extraordinary equipment. Rare metals, seldom seen in the outside world, were everywhere, some even carelessly discarded on the ground, showing signs of being scrapped. Knowledge that the Eight-Ring Soul Instructors desperately wanted to see was densely written on the walls, calculations contained within formulas. Several elderly-looking men were either examining an exquisite spirit tool's core magic circle with furrowed brows, or their calloused hands deftly inscribed core magic circles with engraving knives, like artists sculpting works of art.
"Master Kong".
Old Su stepped forward and bowed to one of the elderly men, who had white hair but a robust build, as a disciple. At 1.8 meters tall, he wasn't considered very tall in the exceptionally developed Douluo Continent, but his demeanor was extraordinary, like a towering mountain. His bright eyes, which seemed completely out of place with his appearance, shone with a thoughtful and wise light.
The No.1 Soul Guide in Mainland China Kong Deming.
"Master Kong." Old Shen stepped forward and bowed slightly.
The other Ninth-Level Soul Engineers acted as if they hadn't seen the newcomers, continuing with their own tasks and engrossed in their research. Kong Deming put down the metal inscribed with the new core magic array, turned to look at the group, and the next second, his gaze was immediately drawn to what Elder Shen was holding.
It was a blue crystal carving knife, clear as water, emitting a faint blue spiritual light, without a trace of impurity.
Gold of Life engraving knife.
Or rather, it is the carving knife of gold of life, which is inhabited by Electrolux.
"I acquired this item by chance and found it to be extraordinary. I hope it will be of some help to Master Kong's research." Old Shen handed it to Kong Deming.
"This…" Kong Deming's attention was instantly drawn to the extraordinary Gold of Life carving knife. He reached out and took it, examining it carefully with his eyes. He channeled spirit power into his fingertips, and a spirit tool that resembled a combination of glasses and a helmet appeared on his head.
As the first Soul Guide of the Sun Moon Empire, he had come into contact with countless metals and jades over the past hundred years, but he had never come into contact with anything like this. Even without using mental force to sense it, the pure and rich life energy was amazing. Just by touching it, Kong Deming felt as if he had become younger, and even the bottleneck in his spirit power that had been stuck seemed to loosen a bit.
treasure!
An unprecedented and rare treasure.
"You intend to offer this to me?" Kong Deming's voice was tinged with excitement.
"Yes." Old Shen nodded.
"This is far too precious." Kong Deming played with the carving knife in his hand with great affection, his excitement overflowing, his hands trembling slightly. "It is the pinnacle of materials I have ever seen in my life."
"The Mother of Metals! This might be the legendary Mother of Metals!"
Other Ninth-Level Soul Engineers:?!
What did they just hear?
Mother of Metals?
Where is the Mother of Metals?
All eyes turned to him, instantly drawn to the carving knife in Kong Deming's hand.
"Really...really?"
"Could Confucius possibly make a mistake?"
"This metal actually exists?!"
A flurry of intense gazes were fixed on the carving knife in Kong Deming's hand, not because of the Life Force it possessed, but because of the material of the knife itself.
For these Soul Guides who delve deeply into the study of spirit tools, rare metals are far more alluring than power, wealth, and beautiful women. It's like a beautiful woman in seductive clothing, with seductive actions and words, is irresistible to a lecherous man. This is one of the reasons why several Ninth-Level Soul Engineers were so easily lured into the Imperial Dragon Soul Guided Weapon Legion by Xu Tianyuan with rare metals as payment. Of course, it's also because no one expected that the leader of the Imperial Dragon Soul Guided Weapon Legion had already become an enemy.
"How about this?" Kong Deming looked at Elder Shen, his eyes full of joy and affection. "Young Shen, from now on you will study the level 10 spirit tool with me. We, master and disciple, will share the benefits of this item."
Together, master and apprentice?
The other four Ninth-Level Soul Engineers in the room looked at Elder Shen with envy. This was practically equivalent to Master Kong wanting to take him on as a personal disciple. Although Master Kong had instructed most of the Ninth-Level Soul Engineers in the Sun Moon Empire, the others were basically just nominal disciples. However, as envious as they were, if they were asked to exchange the Mother of Metal for this opportunity, they might not be willing to part with it.
"Thank you very much, teacher." Master Shen bowed excitedly, preparing to perform the formal disciple's salute.
"Congratulations, Lao Shen!"
"Congratulations."
In this joyful atmosphere.
Sudden.
"boom!"
The cheerful atmosphere in the room came to an abrupt end.
A pair of eyes flashed with a deep look of disbelief, as if they had witnessed something impossible.
Sun Moon Empire No. 1 Soul Guide In the Hall of Enshrinement at Sun and Moon Royal Palace, under the watchful eyes of several Ninth-Level Soul Engineers, Kong Deming's head, heart, and lungs were pierced by three illusory gray chains. An indescribable, eerie power coursed along the chains. It happened so suddenly that even Kong Deming didn't react in time. His face still showed the excitement from before, and his gaze remained as fiery as he stared at the cyan crystal carving knife in his hand.
Level 9 Necromantic Magic - Death Chain.
Electrolux specifically chose this magic considering the existence of the soul-triggered defense spirit tool. Forbidden spells are too powerful and could easily kill someone accidentally, and they are also unlikely to achieve surprise. However, this magic is already very close to a forbidden spell in some aspects.
Everything happened in an instant.
"What?!" A Ninth-Level Soul Engineer reacted with lightning speed, trying to activate his spirit tool. However, at that moment, a flaming greatsword slashed towards him, triggering his trigger-based spirit tool and sending him flying to the side by the intense flames. Before he could react, he was met with a barrage of attacks.
On the other side, Elder Shen's attack triggered another Ninth-Level Soul Engineer's trigger-based defense spirit tool. The raging lightning seemed to devour him, suppressing him completely.
The world.
As Electrolux made its move, " Zheng Zhan " suddenly appeared beside the two Ninth-Level Soul Engineers. Before the two Ninth-Level Soul Engineers could recover from their desire for the gold of life and the shock of Kong Deming's assassination, a massive and surging surge of blood energy engulfed and swallowed them like a monstrous wave, triggering their trigger-based defensive spirit tools.
It felt like trigger-activated defense spirit tools were standard equipment for Ninth-Level Soul Engineers. An Zhen thought to himself, watching the two Ninth-Level Soul Engineers still being flung away by the immense force and crashing heavily against the wall.
But if you have the means, who wouldn't want to get themselves something like that to save their life?