"The Four Symbols Suppressing the Mountain requires a breathing rhythm that matches the Kan and Li Confrontation. You increased the frequency of the Earth Vein Resonance by five percent, so of course it overloaded."

As he spoke, he snapped off some Thousand Mechanism Threads from his waist. The threads slithered like living creatures into the gaps between the bearings. The Hundred Refinements Silk Binding Strength vibrated along the threads, pulling twelve misaligned gears down and beginning to reset and re-engage them.

Han Qiushan froze on the spot.

This technique was clearly the Mechanical Hall’s secret ’Pulled Machine Guide,’ yet Xu Yunfan’s Silk Binding Force was even purer than Mo Shisan’s. As the head disciple of the Mechanical Hall, Mo Shisan was naturally gifted, possessing an innate and nimble perception of the most minute details that ordinary people lacked.

"The wind pressure in the Xun Position is abnormal because the leaf wheel has had seven air holes melted through it by Earth Fire Stone."

Xu Yunfan suddenly turned to another malfunction. A single Black Gold Thread coiled around the Red Copper Leaf Wheel in the Melting Furnace and pulled it flying into his palm. Under the effect of ’Remove Impurities and Retain the Essence,’ the charred, broken holes began to mend as he used astonishing strength to imbue the Red Copper in his hand with Blood Qi, melting and reshaping it like wax.

He casually tossed the leaf wheel back into the Melting Furnace, and the wind pressure gauge’s needle instantly returned to its proper position.

"Th... This is the Celestial Craft Department’s ’Flowing Fire Shaping’? But that’s a Secret Technique only a Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster can perform! How can this be..."

An elderly, gray-haired disciple said, his voice trembling.

The crowd watched as Xu Yunfan moved between the various points of failure. The rhythm of his Thunderfire Hammer strikes secretly matched the pulsation of the Earth Vein, and wherever he passed, the sound of gears engaging became as melodious as a set of chimes.

When he welded the final, canyon-like gap in the Transmission Chain shut with the Hundred-Forged Condensed Steel technique, the tremors shaking the entire Celestial Craft Fortress abruptly ceased.

Xu Yunfan wiped the iron dust from his forehead. When he turned around, he saw the disciples of the Mechanical Hall all take a uniform half-step back, their eyes filled with an awe usually reserved for the reincarnation of the first Ju Zi.

Mo Shisan, who had rushed over after hearing the news, looked at Xu Yunfan with an even more complex expression. It was hard to imagine that just a short while ago, Xu Yunfan had been learning from him, practicing how to apply the Hundred Refinements Silk Binding Strength to various intricate mechanisms. As for the earlier feat of sending threads into the seams to correct misaligned gears...

He himself could only pull it off five times out of ten.

And even then, he could never make it look as relaxed and effortless as Xu Yunfan did.

"Senior Brother Xu." Han Qiushan’s Adam’s apple bobbed. The wrench in his hand was already twisted out of shape. "That technique... does it really come from the Celestial Craft Forging Technique?"

Xu Yunfan smiled slightly. "It comes from your Mechanical Hall’s Thousand Mechanism Secret Technique."

As he said this, he couldn’t help but glance at the notification that had just popped up in his vision: his Skill Level in the Celestial Craft Forging Technique had increased.

’What a rarity. Ever since I first learned the Celestial Craft Forging Technique, this is the first notification I’ve gotten about an increase in Skill Points.’

This made Xu Yunfan much more interested in the idea of maintaining the Celestial Craft Fortress.

Mo Shisan snorted softly. "I know the Thousand Mechanism Secret Technique by heart, and there’s nothing in it about what you just did."

Just as he was about to press the matter, an earth-shattering explosion suddenly erupted from a nearby cabin.

The color drained from Mo Shisan’s face.

"Damn it, the pressure cabin blew!"

But Xu Yunfan was already a step ahead, sprinting toward the sound.

"..."

It wasn’t until dawn the next day that the repairs were complete. Nearly every disciple from the Celestial Craft Cave had been mobilized, led by three key figures: Mo Han, the Hall Master of the Mechanical Hall; Mo Shisan, its head disciple; and Xu Yunfan, a True Disciple of the Weapon Casting Hall. Together, they fixed the various problems throughout the Celestial Craft Fortress. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

By daybreak, under Zhan Yan’s fierce glare, Mo Han reluctantly let go of Xu Yunfan’s arm. As Mo Shisan looked on with a mixture of jealousy and admiration, Mo Han walked away, glancing back every few steps.

Right before he left, he looked up to the sky and sighed. "What terrible timing! If only I had met him first."

Xu Yunfan could only maintain a polite smile.

***

On the main road thirty li outside Jade Capital City, twelve Blood-Sweating Flood Dragon Horses galloped at full speed, pulling several Bronze Blood Jars.

The surfaces of these thirty-foot-tall jars were covered in dark red rust stains. Profound Iron Chains at their mouths clanged with every jolt of the journey.

The bottom of each Blood Jar was engraved with the pattern of the ’Twenty-Eight Constellations Star’. Thick blood was currently oozing out, leaving a serpentine stain on the bluestone road as the convoy moved along a specific trajectory.

Within Jade Capital City, atop the 533-zhang-tall Observatory, Guo Lang’s Daoist robe whipped loudly in the Gang Wind.

He gazed down at the roiling sea of blood-red clouds below, a storm of emotions raging in his heart.

As of yesterday, the Incense and Candle Sect had completed the blood sacrifice of over thirty-six million people. Now, the rest was up to him.

Whether he succeeded or failed today, he would be nailed to the pillar of shame and be cursed for millennia.

Not far away, beneath the Nine Dragon Canopy, the Empress sat upright, her deep eyes filled with an indescribable anticipation.

But things had come too far to turn back. Guo Lang looked up at the full moon, took a light breath, and suddenly channeled a wisp of True Qi from his fingertips. The Divine Weapon Taiyi Splitting Light Sword in his hand flared with a sharp glint, reflecting the positions of the Twenty-Eight Constellations.

"Heaven’s killing intent descends; stars shift and constellations change."

Guo Lang pointed his sword at Ziwei Heaven, and the Big Dipper suddenly blazed as bright as day.

Behind him, three hundred and sixty priests of the Incense and Candle Sect began to chant the Blood River Crossing Scripture. The waves of sound made the Profound Iron Chains at the Observatory’s base ring and vibrate.

Three thousand six hundred Bronze Blood Jars were arranged in the formation of the Twenty-Eight Constellations Star array, the blood within them glowing with an eerie, greenish-gold light.

On the top level of the Observatory, the Bronze Gnomon suddenly turned to the Hai position. Guo Lang pressed his left hand onto the Tai Chi Fish at the center of the Sun Dial Plate, while his right hand used the Taiyi Splitting Light Sword to lift seven Bronze Lamps.

Veins bulged on the back of the Director of the Imperial Observatory’s hand. The Great Tendons beneath his skin twisted and knotted into the shape of a Qiu Long—the very sign of a Jade Vein at Muscle Refinement Perfection.

"Activate the array!"

On the Astrology Platform, three hundred and sixty priests of the Incense and Candle Sect simultaneously slit their wrists. Their blood flowed along the grooves of the Array Pattern, converging into a central pool.

Guo Lang’s sword tip traced the path of the Big Dipper across the surface of the blood pool. The blood suddenly began to boil like searing oil.

From below the platform came the anguished wails of the people from Jade Capital City’s Seventy-Two Districts. The sound waves made the Profound Iron Chains clang violently.

The Taotie Pattern on the surface of the Blood Jars gradually began to glow red. A flowing Star Map was reflected in Guo Lang’s pupils.

He suddenly remembered his days cultivating the Dao in Ghost Valley thirty years ago. Back then, his master had observed the celestial phenomena by night and derived the ’Taiyi Salvation Scripture,’ a text originally created to avert disaster.

’The scripture still exists, but the one who was meant to save the world from this calamity has instead become the baleful star of its destruction.’

In that instant, beneath the nine-tiered Observatory, the Imperial Court, which sat on the central axis of the Great Zhou, suddenly began to shake.

"The Earth Vein... it’s beginning to reverse!"

The Empress couldn’t help but rise to her feet, her eyes fixed on the bizarre, churning sea of clouds below as it gradually turned blood-red.

’The previous dynasty used eight hundred cultivators to lock the Primordial Spirits within the Earth Vein. Today, that golden age will finally be restored.’

"Earth’s killing intent descends; dragons and serpents rise from the land!"

The sword’s edge turned toward the Earth Gate, and a deep, muffled roar echoed from the base of the Observatory.

In Jade Capital City, seventy-two ancient wells simultaneously spewed pillars of blood. The carved Water Beasts on the well rims opened their stone eyes amidst the bloody rain.

The webbing between Guo Lang’s thumb and forefinger split open from the force, and his blood seeped along the dragon patterns on the sword’s hilt and into the Star Map.

At the same time, across the entirety of the Great Zhou—the land that had been blood-washed by the Incense and Candle Sect—gusts of eerie wind rose from nowhere, carrying the furious howls of ghosts.

Tens of thousands of li away, in the Jiuyao Sect of Yanbei Dao, Bei Chen Zi stared at the Sect’s ultimate treasure: the Seismograph.

The Jade Bead in the bronze dragon’s mouth suddenly fell into the bronze toad’s mouth below. His calloused fingers traced the inscriptions on the device’s body.

"The disturbance in the Jade Capital Earth Vein is already more than ten times greater than the great earthquake of Tianqi’s third year."