The realization settled heavily in Lin Mu’s mind.

Senior Xukong’s true strength must have been far beyond what Lin Mu could currently comprehend. Even the discarded shell carried enough power to injure beings at this level.

Lin Mu steadied himself and sharpened his focus.

He could not afford to treat this lightly. The elders might endure such attacks, but endurance did not mean invulnerability. More importantly, even minor disruptions could break the rhythm of the forging process, and that was something they could not allow.

The Mountain Dwarf Elder glanced at him briefly.

"Stay alert," he said.

Lin Mu gave a slight nod.

"I will."

The process resumed.

The Dao Forge reignited, its flames rising once more as the Fireforge Elder poured his Dao Traces into it. The husk was returned to the anvil, its surface still shimmering faintly with unstable spatial energy.

The cycle began again.

Heat.

Then the hammer.

Lin Mu synchronized his movements with the Mountain Dwarf Elder, activating the Aspect of Heaviness at the precise moment of impact. The strikes landed with amplified force, each blow pushing deeper into the husk’s defenses.

The barrier trembled.

Cracks formed.

For a brief moment, progress was visible once again.

But Lin Mu had learned from the previous attempt.

He could feel the husk’s internal state shifting. The spatial energy within it began to condense, gathering in preparation for another outburst.

"It’s coming," he warned.

The elders did not hesitate.

Lin Mu reacted instantly.

He extended his spatial control outward and formed a containment structure. Space itself solidified around the elders, creating a protective enclosure. It was not a crude barrier, but a refined construct shaped through Meld, capable of halting even high-speed spatial fragments.

The next moment, the husk erupted.

Sharp shards of spatial energy burst outward once more, striking against the solidified space and stopping abruptly. The fragments hung motionless, unable to penetrate the barrier Lin Mu had formed.

For a brief instant, it seemed like success.

Then Lin Mu’s expression changed.

"We failed," he said quietly.

The elders realized it at the same time.

The protection had worked.

But it had also immobilized them.

Within the sealed space, they could not move freely. The rhythm of the forging had been broken, the flow of Dao Traces disrupted. The momentary interruption was enough.

The husk seized the opportunity.

Its spatial barrier reformed instantly, thicker and stronger than before.

The cracks that had taken hours to create vanished as if they had never existed.

The Mountain Dwarf Elder lowered his hammer slightly, his expression growing more serious.

Lin Mu released the barrier.

The elders stepped out, their movements steady, their focus unchanged.

"Again," the Fireforge Elder said.

They did not dwell on the failure.

They continued.

The process repeated.

Heat.

Strike.

Crack.

Warning.

Containment.

Interruption.

Recovery.

Over and over again.

Days passed within the Dao Forge realm.

The passage of time became irrelevant as they focused entirely on the task. Each attempt refined their coordination, each failure taught them something new about the husk’s behavior.

Yet the outcome remained unchanged.

Every time they approached the final layer, the husk responded with the same violent outburst. Every time they defended against it, the interruption allowed the barrier to restore itself completely.

Lin Mu adjusted his timing.

The elders altered their approach.

They tried striking faster, slowing the heating phase, modifying the rhythm of the blows.

Nothing worked.

The husk adapted faster than they could overcome it.

After nearly a week of continuous effort, the pattern became undeniable.

They had reached a limit.

The final attempt ended just like the others.

The hammer struck, the barrier cracked and the spatial energy surged.

Lin Mu intervened at that time and the process broke causing the barrier to recover.

Silence followed.

This time, the elders did not immediately restart.

The Fireforge Elder stepped back from the Dao Forge, allowing the flames to subside. The Rune Dwarf Elder withdrew his control over the anvil, and the Mountain Dwarf Elder lowered his hammer fully.

For the first time since they had begun, the three Transcendent elders stood still.

Lin Mu watched them closely.

"What do we do next?" he asked.

The Rune Dwarf Elder folded his arms, his gaze fixed on the husk.

"Our approach is correct," he said slowly. "We are weakening it. We are reaching the final layer."

He paused.

"But we lack the power to finish it."

Lin Mu absorbed that statement.

He thought for a moment before speaking again.

"If more Dao Embryos are used," he suggested, "would that increase the effect?"

The elders exchanged glances.

"The Dao Forge can handle hundreds of Dao Embryos," the Fireforge Elder replied. "That is not the limitation."

"Then what is?" Lin Mu asked.

"The problem is resonance," the Mountain Dwarf Elder said.

He stepped forward, his voice steady.

"It is not enough to have more Dao Embryos," he explained. "They must align. Their comprehension must be close enough to each other to form a stable resonance with the forge."

Lin Mu frowned slightly.

"I see," he said.

The elder nodded.

"You are already an exception," he continued. "Your comprehension of the True Earth Heart is unusually high for your cultivation stage. That is why you can synchronize with me."

He gestured toward the other elders.

"There are others among us who possess similar Dao Embryos," he said. "But even then, very few are at a level where they can contribute effectively."

"How many?" Lin Mu asked.

"Five, at most," the elder replied.

Lin Mu’s thoughts raced.

"That should still be enough to increase the power," he said.

The Rune Dwarf Elder shook his head.

"It is not that simple," he said.

"There is another issue."

Lin Mu looked at him.

"If the difference in Dao comprehension is too great," the elder continued, "the resonance becomes unstable."

"And then?" Lin Mu asked.

The elder’s gaze hardened slightly.

"Backlash," he said.

The word carried weight.

"The Dao Forge will reject the imbalance," he explained. "The energy will not flow smoothly. Instead, it will turn against those involved." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Lin Mu felt a slight chill.

"And the more participants there are," the elder added, "the greater the risk. For everyone."