Zhang Chong departed, his mind recalculating the long-term value of the asset. Li Yao's growth metrics were exceeding projections. For Rising Sun Island, this was optimal.
Alone, Li Yao inventoried the resources: seven hundred jin of Pure Source. The two-hundred-jin increase, added after Zhang Chong witnessed his breakthrough, was noted. It was a real-time adjustment to his resource allocation contract, reflecting an updated valuation. His total capital was now significant.
A logistical calculation followed. The Heavenly Book's second page, corresponding to the Life Spring chapter, required refinement. This process was fueled primarily by profound realm-based comprehension, which he now possessed, and supplemented by the passive absorption of environmental essence. Raw Source was not the primary fuel. Therefore, a delay of one to two months to achieve a perfected scripture was an acceptable trade-off for a foundation that would optimize all future growth.
This did not mean inactivity. With realm advancement came new operational requirements. His current combat protocols were rudimentary. He required specialized applications: offensive and defensive techniques.
He selected two from the Yao Guang Holy Land's standard arsenal, suitable for his Life Spring cultivation: Blazing Sun Divine Radiance (offensive) and Blazing Sun Divine Shield (defensive). The ultimate technique, Holy Light Art, was locked behind higher realm permissions (Four Extremes). For now, the selected techniques would provide a substantial increase in tactical versatility.
The second priority was foundational: Weapon Forging.
The forty-nine Dao Runes above his consolidated Bitter Sea were the raw material. In the cultivation framework, one's first weapon was not merely a tool; it was an extension of the Dao, a companion on the path, and a core component of one's combat system from its inception.
His analysis of weapon archetypes led to a strategic choice. He required an instrument that could:
Suppress (control the battlefield, dominate opponents).
Refine (purify energies, aid in his own cultivation and processing of resources).
Attack (possesses inherent formidable offensive power).
The form of a furnace or cauldron satisfied all parameters. It was a vessel of creation and transformation, aligning with the Yao Guang Scripture's principles of balance and harmony. It could contain, refine, suppress, and, in its weight and majesty, crush.
Furthermore, he adhered to the high-risk, high-reward principle recorded in only the most profound ancient texts: Refining a Single Weapon Across Four Realms. Instead of forging separate artifacts at the Bitter Sea, Life Spring, Divine Bridge, and Other Shore realms, he would pour the divine runes and insights of each realm into perfecting this single furnace. The result, if successful, would be an unparalleled treasure that grew with him. The risk was locking his early combat potential to a single form and the possibility of failure. The potential reward was a foundational weapon of supreme grade.
The decision was made. He would forge a Dao Furnace using the forty-nine Divine Runes of his Bitter Sea as its first layer of foundation.
The following days entered a new operational cycle. During daylight, he practiced the Blazing Sun Divine Radiance and Shield on an isolated cliff face, treating it as a systems test range. He measured output, efficiency, and control. At night, he focused on the meticulous, iterative process of forging the conceptual framework of the Dao Furnace within his consciousness, weaving the Divine Runes into its embryonic form.
Cultivation years were inherently monotone—a series of repeated optimizations. The isolation was not an emotional state, but an expected environmental condition for deep work. He acknowledged the sensory deprivation as a system input, one that required disciplined processing to prevent degradation of focus. The path was long; operational endurance was a required parameter.
Two months passed in this cycle of refinement and practice.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Concentrated bursts of Blazing Sun Divine Radiance struck a thirty-zhang cliff face. The mountain trembled. Stone shattered and vaporized. The light was intense, the sound thunderous. This was not a display of power, but a live-fire stress test. He was calibrating the technique's maximum localized output, energy expenditure, and recharge rate against geological mass.
After a prolonged series of tests, the activity ceased. The summit was a calibrated scene of destruction: craters of precise depths, trees vaporized or shattered in predictable patterns based on distance and shielding experiments. The Blazing Sun Divine Shield had been tested against the radiant backlash of his own attacks.
He stood amidst the debris, running diagnostics. Techniques: operational and optimized for the current realm. Weapon Foundation: embryonic framework stable, awaiting the infusion of Life Spring insights after the scripture deduction. Resources: accumulating. Comprehension: deepening through practical application.
The delay was almost over. The foundational work was complete. Soon, the Heavenly Book would have integrated the necessary comprehension from his sustained practice and realm consolidation. Then, he would initiate the deduction of the perfected Life Spring chapter and resume rapid realm advancement.
The loop continued: Prepare → Test → Integrate → Advance.