Cultivation : I'm an Ancient Giant Bear-Chapter 419 - 397: Inner Forging Technique

It only took Wang Wu a little over ten minutes to settle the matter concerning the mortals.

The mortals need not leave the city for the time being, but the fifteen billion points of demonic energy outside the city walls must eventually be dealt with. This energy can also corrode the city walls and diminish the protective effects of the Hidden Origin Bell, impacting its foundation as if it were a chronic poison.

However, with disturbances afoot and the constraints of the Hidden Origin Association’s permanent neutrality, solving this problem proves quite challenging for Wang Wu.

"I can’t follow their pace; if I want to resolve the demonic energy, the other side might already have several contingency plans waiting for me. So, I need to approach this differently, use a strategy like ’taking out the firewood from under the pot.’

Wang Wu mused, the fifteen billion points of demonic energy outside felt like a stock market index. If he dared to enter and rescue the market, the other side would intercept; if he didn’t enter, they would slowly nibble away.

Thus—it’s time for a bold move.

Wang Wu sneered slightly; not being able to kill doesn’t mean he can’t harvest the ’chives,’ right?

Take it slow.

At this moment, he already had an idea, a spark of inspiration that had flashed through his mind earlier.

That is, perhaps the foundation of the Hidden Origin Bell can be further upgraded.

The power of the Hidden Origin Bell is strong, but limited by the load limit of its foundation, it currently can only exert a maximum of fifty percent of its power. Even so, after enduring fifteen attacks by Immortal Artifacts, the foundation is inevitably at the point of collapse, short-circuiting beyond repair.

So clearly there are 108 Heaven-Supporting Pillars, but actually, once more than a dozen are thoroughly damaged, the Hidden Origin Bell has to stop, which is incompatible.

As long as the quality of the foundation is improved by a level, the power the Hidden Origin Bell can exert will increase exponentially, rendering what currently appear to be complex and troublesome issues not issues at all.

Even better, if the new chief were to take direct charge, Wang Wu wouldn’t be able to do anything, at most just help repair the foundation.

But now that he became the deputy chief, with nearly expanded maximal authority, naturally he also has the right to upgrade the foundation.

"Hmm, a Celestial Fifth Grade Eternal Firm Immortal Artifact, the foundation quality should best be Celestial Fifth Grade, but the cost is too great. Currently, all foundations are Celestial Eighth Grade, so upgrading to Celestial Seventh Grade should about let the Hidden Origin Bell’s power exert up to seventy percent."

As Wang Wu examined, he pondered.

He felt this matter was truly feasible.

As for how to upgrade the Profound Iron Heaven-Supporting Pillar, it’s actually simple.

Just like refining a Lifebound Flying Sword, it’s akin to refining Lifebound Demon Soldiers.

Relentlessly investing resources will suffice.

But the key problem is, after investing resources, ownership of the Hidden Origin Bell still doesn’t belong to the one who invested.

It always belongs to the Hidden Origin Association.

So even if Song Guangming has been the chief here for three thousand years, it’s just like being a mere decorator.

If Wang Wu were to upgrade the Profound Iron Heaven-Supporting Pillar now, it would mean spending his own money to add a brick to the Hidden Origin Association.

Neither his Lifebound Demon Soldiers nor his Lifebound Flying Sword had the chance to get upgraded yet.

However—

"One has to look at this from both angles. Using these resources for eight hundred years of stable cultivation is actually very much worth it."

"Moreover, even Song Guangming could be the chief here for three thousand years; could I not be chief for five thousand years? The more I invest, the higher the Hidden Origin Bell will resonate with me. At that point, I’ll essentially be the local emperor here, with the Vermilion Bird Immortal Alliance at my back, extorting and blackmailing the Jade Cauldron Immortal Alliance—isn’t that sweet?"

"You wouldn’t want the Dragon Head City branch to have to relocate, right?"

"Let’s go with that!"

Wang Wu made up his mind, that without taking risks, there would be no rewards. He first bankrolled the branch construction with his own money, ultimately able to recoup costs and make a big profit.

Moreover, the branch’s internal treasury also had a significant stock of Profound Iron, supplying nearly one-fifth of the needed upgrades, with Wang Wu’s own stock covering the remaining four-fifths.

Up to now, Wang Wu’s resources were still quite ample.

It’s just that Spiritual Qi was slightly lacking, barely reaching two billion when pieced together.

The total amount of the Five Qi of the Human World was down to just two hundred thousand wisps, a level of poverty that defied belief.

Only in terms of Refined Profound Iron, there was true abundance.

First, there was the large volume of Refined Profound Iron left by his former good brother Liu Zongbai. Over the years, Wang Wu had been bustling about, upgrading Companion Iron Essence, yet hadn’t used even one-fifth of it.

Then there was his sympathetic and cherished ally, Mud Turtle, which left Wang Wu a large sum of Refined Profound Iron. Although the quantity wasn’t as much as Liu Zongbai’s, it also left two huge turtle shells, boasting the prefix of Innate Bloodline First-Grade Treasure. Can you say no to that comfort?

In a life-and-death struggle, Mud Turtle undoubtedly used its trump card, the Iron Turtle, with its turtle shells having an exceptionally high iron content.

No time to lose, proceed at once!

Wang Wu planned to complete the upgrade within six months.

"Old Iron, do me a favor, from now on, you’re my brother!"

Wang Wu spoke sweetly to the Companion Iron Essence, which finally reluctantly agreed.

Yes, how could such a massive undertaking possibly exclude the Companion Iron Essence?

"Swish!"

Wang Wu brought the Companion Iron Essence to a Heaven-Supporting Pillar, selecting no specific hour, and activated the Ruyi Body Technique himself, transforming into a speck of dust. He then used the Companion Iron Essence to pave the way, first drilling a hole in the pillar, reaching its core, and then pulling out the Companion Iron Essence.

Next, he reset the position, drilling nine lines to essentially cut off the Ninefold Tribulation Fire Array on the pillar, putting it in a scrapped and pending repair state.

This was necessary.

Otherwise, the power of the Hidden Origin Bell will continuously bolster it.

Having done all this, Wang Wu then arrived directly above the Heaven-Supporting Pillar.

Here, one can see the true visage of this Celestial Fifth-Grade Eternal Firm Immortal Artifact, the Hidden Origin Bell.

It’s huge! Too huge, a colossal entity spanning three hundred miles, perched atop a high peak. Inside, there are countless mechanisms, arrays, and an unknown, mysterious Immortal Array that combine and connect it, ultimately forming a whole.

Even with Wang Wu’s current knowledge, it’s difficult to comprehend, nor does he wish to comprehend. This is clearly not something just any Immortal can accomplish alone; it surely requires dozens of Immortals, painstakingly working, spending untold time to craft it.

This is simply the pinnacle of Cultivation Realm industrial achievements.

The power it contains internally is unmatched by ordinary Immortal Artifacts.

What is this Eternal Firm Immortal Artifact? It’s more like the peak product of heavy industrial armor in the Cultivation Realm.

Every time Wang Wu faces this thing, he can’t help but praise it.

Moreover, the safety it brings him is the kind that directly adds +10000.

"If a mortal saw this, they’d worship it as a god!"

After a sigh, Wang Wu began to work.

At this moment, because this Heaven-Supporting Pillar has already been severed from the operation of the Ninefold Tribulation Fire Array, the connection point between the Hidden Origin Bell and this Heaven-Supporting Pillar has automatically disconnected, a convenience for maintenance.

The entire Heaven-Supporting Pillar can also be pulled out and recast.

Wang Wu doesn’t have the ability to recast, but he does have his advantages: Level 18 Spirit Essence + Companion Iron Essence + a sea of Profound Iron resources.

"Let’s get to work, old iron!"

Wang Wu called out, like a farmer driving an old ox, supporting the Companion Iron Essence, directly drilling down at the central core of the Heaven-Supporting Pillar, even playfully flicking a small whip now and then, performing a little show for the Companion Iron Essence, making it happy and thus himself happy.

Just like that, he drilled from the top to the bottom of the Heaven-Supporting Pillar in one go, but without penetrating completely, while retaining a thickness of fifty centimeters.

The first round of the old ox plowing the field was accomplished.

Next came the Four Clowns onto the field, needing to calculate how many segments can be divided within a cylindrical shape to ensure even heating and fulfill the requirements of the Inner Forging Technique.

The so-called Inner Forging Technique was Wang Wu’s own creation.

"The core mystery of the Inner Forging Technique is that the pressure comes from within but does not transmit outward. That means its exterior can remain unchanged, but its inner essence undergoes a qualitative change."

At this moment, Wang Wu revealed his initial conception.

Whether it would work, he didn’t know, but it was indeed the result of experience and insight accumulated from previous repairs of the Heaven-Supporting Pillar.

Since repairs can be conducted internally without impacting the overall structural stress of the Heaven-Supporting Pillar, why can’t internal upgrades be performed?

"Damn it, you brat, aside from having a brainwave, what else can you do? How can this possibly work?"

"Exactly, exactly! Even if we updated our database from the Divine Turtle Race, we’ve never seen such a so-called Inner Forging Technique; it’s completely nonsense! Oh grandson, don’t daydream!"

...

The Four Clowns fiercely objected.

"Opposition is invalid, calculate! If you can’t calculate it, you’ll be locked up!"

"Never mind whether I can do it, you just need to calculate the heat distribution and stress equilibrium pore layout within the Heaven-Supporting Pillar!"

"Remember, the heat must be evenly distributed, the stress balanced, ensuring no dead ends."

"But if you do this, won’t you have to hollow out the entire inside of the Heaven-Supporting Pillar?"

"Not hollow it out; if hollowed, the stress direction would become the exterior. It should be like a maze, hollowed out, you understand? I’ll melt the Profound Iron into liquid, needing the injected pressure to evenly distribute at each point, not just on the outer shell."

Wang Wu continued to provide concepts to the Four Clowns, torturing them with iterative calculations, then using the results to further refine his idea, until the idea gradually became complete...

During this process, the Four Clowns were deeply resentful, even thinking about rebelling, but calculation ability can’t rebel; what are they thinking?

Wang Wu decisively suppressed them.

However, the Four Clowns were indeed powerful, using a full half-month, tirelessly, and really managed to deduce what seemed to be a feasible, perfect plan in Wang Wu’s eyes, albeit extremely complex.

"Don’t blame us; we only calculated whether it works, only completed your requirements, but whether you as the contractor can deal with it is unrelated to us."

The Four Clowns started watching from the sidelines, enjoying the show.

Wang Wu frowned and looked at the construction plan with the Companion Iron Essence.

Damn, it’s really dense. According to this construction plan, the entire Profound Iron Heaven-Supporting Pillar must be more excessive than a honeycomb or termite nest.

From top to bottom, vertically, five straight through holes must be drilled; that’s fine.

But what do the 3.6 million horizontal holes on the parallel cross-section mean?

The Companion Iron Essence was already ready to revolt.

It’s true Companion Iron Essence, but you can’t actually treat it as a beast of burden.

"Shh, calm down! Once this matter is done, I’ll find you a wife!"

The result was that the Companion Iron Essence jumped even more happily.

Indeed, it was very happy, you too wanted a home, right!