"So this is Spirit-Forging..."
Huo Yuhao sat, clutching a piece of metal that radiated sentience. The phantom of the Eye of Destiny manifested on his forehead, and a golden light flickered deep within his eyes.
He was observing. It had to be said that Spirit-Forged metal indeed possessed the same sentience as Spiritual Metal, yet it boasted toughness and strength far exceeding normal Spiritual Metal.
Of course, the most important factor was that Spirit-Forged metal did not possess the strong "exclusivity" of Spiritual Metal.
Acquired Spiritual Metal can only be used by the person who nourished it. If handed to someone else, the metal instinctively repels them, significantly reducing its effectiveness.
Spirit-Forged metal was different.
The process of forging is essentially the infusion of sentience through nourishment, but it also expels all impurities from the metal—including the specific "personal color" of the forger's soul power.
It is a process of purification. The completion of Spirit-Forging leaves the metal with complete sentience while removing impurities, allowing anyone to utilize this sentient metal.
"Is that scrap metal really that good-looking?"
Qiu'er hugged his neck from behind, her head resting on his shoulder, her tone unfriendly.
She felt inexplicably annoyed that her own creation was stealing her Yuhao's attention. This guy, though very "skilled," was still a blockhead sometimes!
"Mmm... I just have some things I want to try out..."
Without holding anything back, Huo Yuhao told Qiu'er about his theories regarding Battle Armor and Soul Armor.
"...So, my idea is to use Battle Armor to augment the physical body, and Soul Armor to augment the Martial Soul.
"Take your current path of Blood Essence Body Cultivation; you can already try to integrate Battle Armor. When you reach the seven-ring Soul Saint level, you can integrate Soul Armor to strengthen your Martial Soul True Body.
"Then, we can attempt to fuse the Battle Armor with the Soul Armor that has already merged with the Martial Soul True Body, achieving a 'trinity' state. Once the Battle Armor is deployed, it would be equivalent to manifesting both the Soul Armor and the Martial Soul True Body simultaneously.
"It would allow for the permanent maintenance of the Martial Soul True Body's power.
"Of course, it could also allow for summoning the Martial Soul True Body to fight alongside the Soul Master...
"These theories are all feasible. What do you think?"
Qiu'er blinked, her blue-pink eyes showing a hint of clarity.
What did Yuhao say? Didn't quite get it... but it sounds like it'll make me stronger? Whatever, I'll just believe him. Yuhao wouldn't hurt me, would he?
Tightening her grip on Huo Yuhao's arm, Qiu'er said casually, "Just arrange it as you see fit. I'll listen to you."
That unreserved trust caused the corners of Huo Yuhao's mouth to turn up involuntarily.
These ideas of his were still just on paper; he certainly couldn't experiment on Qiu'er. Mmm... as expected, I'll have to use some Evil Soul Masters for testing.
After a thought, Huo Yuhao turned to look at Qiu'er and said, "Let's go. Though I'm not sure exactly how much time has passed, it's likely been several days. If I don't send you back soon, I'm afraid Di Tian and the others will charge straight into my Spirit Transmission Pagoda."
The Spectral Demiplane was, after all, a demiplane; there were no rotating stars or cycles of sun and moon. In a place lacking complete time rules, even Huo Yuhao couldn't be one hundred percent sure of the duration and could only estimate.
"Hmph! Uncle Di Tian should just break your legs so I can be the one to take care of you forever."
Qiu'er said without hesitation.
As she stood up, she suddenly remembered something. "Wait... you're sending me back, right?"
"Yeah... I also wanted to drop by and see Elder Yi, to see how his research is progressing."
"No—no way. You can't go to the Star Constellation Great Forest for now."
Qiu'er spoke solemnly, pointing through his clothes at the silver bite mark on his shoulder left by Gu Yuena.
"The mark the Lord gave you can retain a scent. You absolutely cannot go in front of her right now!"
Otherwise, how could I possibly compete with her!
The bite mark left by Gu Yuena, aside from declaring her sovereignty, was also a recording method. It could retain the scent of anyone who had come into intimate contact with Huo Yuhao for a period of time.
Since Gu Yuena's level was so high and the mark wasn't malicious, Huo Yuhao naturally hadn't noticed.
How did Qiu'er notice? Simple. As the Auspicious Beast, her own power of fate was so abundant that her very scent contained it. Sensitive to the power of fate, she naturally felt the scent containing her own fate power being held within Gu Yuena's bite mark, thus realizing the mark was unusual.
The inspiration for her own mark on Huo Yuhao had come from exactly this.
But now, suddenly remembering, Qiu'er was struck by a terrifying realization: given the Lord's possible feelings for her Yuhao, if she felt the scent of more than one person within that mark...
At that point, her Yuhao would probably be imprisoned by the Lord, bullied every single day, and not let out until they had five or six dragon babies!
Too scary... truly too scary!
At this moment, Qiu'er's IQ spiked. After a brief deliberation, she looked at Huo Yuhao and spoke seriously:
"In short, until you figure out how to get rid of the scents stored in the mark the Lord left you, you are not allowed to return to the Star Constellation Great Forest!"
After a slight pause, Qiu'er added:
"Give me the method to enter and exit this space. When the time comes, I'll come find you."
The high-IQ Qiu'er was incredibly calm. She guessed that the Lord hadn't yet fully confirmed her "home" had been raided, but only had suspicions.
Though she really wanted to run away with Yuhao to the Spirit Transmission Pagoda so they could be together every day, doing so would definitely arouse the Lord's suspicion!
If the Lord found out that Yuhao had even been "eaten" for a third time, what "War for Yuhao"? What "rules of the game"?
She didn't think the Lord was someone who enjoyed following rules. She might just flip the table and take the ultimate prize for herself!
Therefore, she must not let the Lord discover her or the other two who had made an early move!
"This..."
Huo Yuhao, who had originally intended to come clean to Gu Yuena, hesitated. As he had decided before, he didn't want to hide anything from them. If they asked, he would tell the truth.
But now...
"I understand." Huo Yuhao sighed softly. As expected, with these matters, he had to take it one step at a time. If he tried to control the flow, he would surely be pulled apart.
Reaching out, he left an authorization mark on Qiu'er's hand that allowed her to enter and exit the Spectral Demiplane at will. Huo Yuhao opened the gate and sent Qiu'er back to the forest, while he himself returned to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well with that piece of Spirit-Forged metal.
He now had a theory waiting to be verified.