Chapter 86

Once again, Zhou Xian returned to his workbench, resuming his work. He placed the dagger he held vertically on the workbench. With one hand gripping the dagger, the other hand drew a small rune beneath it. After he let go, the dagger stood straight there. The others tacitly remained silent, watching quietly.

"Left Azure Dragon, right White Tiger, above Vermilion Bird, below Black Tortoise..." Zhou Xian muttered as he took out four gems. He placed the sea-blue gem on the right and the white moonstone on the left. Above was a flawless ruby, and a yellow gem was placed below. Then, Zhou Xian bit his finger again, gathering his strength. This time, he did not use the Dragon Flame power. The existence of Dragon Flame power would disrupt the balance. This time, Zhou Xian used the Four Directions Guardian Formation, using the four gems to set up the formation, which could provide defense in critical moments. Moreover, these four gems had another function within the weapon.

"Hmm..." Beidou seemed to want to speak.

"Cough, Teacher Beidou, do you have any more advice?" The small change just now made Zhou Xian look at Beidou with new respect. Although he wanted to ask how she obtained such information, now was not the time. However, Zhou Xian had decided that he would find out Beidou's secret tonight.

"I'll take a look. I won't say much about the Heavenly Flame Vermilion Bird, the Netherworld White Tiger, and the Earthly Disaster Black Tortoise. Although they are not mainstream, they are still useful. But the Azure Dragon position... Eh, a blue gem? Why use a sea-blue gem? Isn't a sea-blue gem water-based?"

Beidou curiously picked up the gem. "Shouldn't a green gem be used here? The Azure Dragon is wood, right? The Azure Dragon of the Wood doesn't need to be mentioned, and the Azure Dragon of the Mist Formation is also reasonable, but water-based... What a peculiar thing."

"Uh, in the Four Directions Guardian Temple, the Azure Dragon is water-based." Zhou Xian's words made Beidou pause.

"The Four Directions Guardian Temple? Hmm, it sounds familiar. Wait—there's no Qilin position?"

"In the Four Directions Guardian Formation... there really isn't one." In the real world, there is a central Qilin, but in the world of "Dragon Tomb," only the Taoist's divine beast can bear this title. However, this is quite different from the Four Divine Beasts. Beidou then had an epiphany: "I see, changing wood to water to maximize the formation's effectiveness without the Qilin position. That's impressive!"

Why did it suddenly feel like the previously scatterbrained girl had become an expert?

"Zhou Xian, if you read more ancient books, you'll know that there were actually five divine beasts in ancient times. This is recorded in both the Xuanwu Kingdom and the Zhuque Kingdom. If you're willing to search in Zhongzhou, you might find the secret traces of the Qilin." Beidou imparted a small piece of obscure knowledge: "Well, without the central divine beast, this arrangement is actually the best. Changing wood to water... this person is truly a genius. Perhaps it's... never mind, it's meaningless to talk about it now. Let me see yours."

Zhou Xian stopped talking and began to focus on the drawing. His strength began to concentrate on the table. The Four Directions Guardian Formation was much more complex than the Big Dipper Formation. Although he didn't need to use Dragon Flame power, this was the most difficult part in the room at this time. Zhou Xian concentrated on the drawing. If he were to be distracted even a little, the formation would be ruined, and he would have to start over. It took Zhou Xian twenty minutes to complete the formation. At this point, he even felt his fingers lose sensation.

"Phew..." After casting a healing spell on himself, his fingers felt much better. Zhou Xian focused and began to integrate the Four Directions Guardian Formation into the sword handle. Unlike the Big Dipper Formation, when this formation began to shrink, the Black Tortoise, the yellow gem, moved first. The Black Tortoise power within Zhou Xian's body resonated with the yellow gem. Without the Four Divine Beasts' power within Zhou Xian's body, the formation could not be integrated. The yellow gem gradually moved to the sword handle, and a shadow of the Black Tortoise appeared on the handle, emitting a long roar before disappearing. The others saw this miraculous scene but remained silent, not wanting to disturb Zhou Xian.

Next, the Vermilion Bird, the red gem, began to move. Unlike the green gem, the red gem floated in the air, as if lifted by an unknown force. This change was astonishing. The Vermilion Bird power within Zhou Xian's body began to surge. Like the Black Tortoise, the Vermilion Bird emitted a long cry after reaching its position, merging into the sword handle. Then, the White Tiger, the moonstone, on the left, also floated in the air, triggering the White Tiger power within Zhou Xian's body. The White Tiger moved to the left side of the sword, and a shadow of the White Tiger appeared, emitting a powerful roar. Unlike the Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise, which could only be seen in segments after merging, the moonstone was embedded on the left side of the dagger. Finally, the Azure Dragon, the sea-blue gem, on the right, also floated and moved toward the dagger. After a dragon's roar, the gem was embedded on the right side, corresponding to the White Tiger on the left. After the four gems were embedded, the Four Directions Guardian Formation's mark began to move, finally wrapping around the sword handle. It looked like a beautiful pattern. The exquisite dagger gradually took shape, leaving a stunningly beautiful dagger.

"Finally done." Zhou Xian sighed in relief. He picked up the dagger and input his Dao power again. A strange shield of light appeared in front of Zhou Xian. On the shield were the shadows of the Four Divine Beasts.

"Is this a shield?" Su Xiaoyue walked over and tapped the shield, which felt quite solid, similar to glass.

"More or less. This shield can appear within a meter of me, and its size can vary, but it can only withstand a certain amount of damage." Zhou Xian had already tested this in the game.

"How much damage can it withstand?" Lai Yiming also walked over.

"If using all stored Dao power, about twenty Soul Dao Charms. In the real world, it can probably defend against sixty to seventy bullets... but it depends on the gun." In the game, this was a useless feature. In the real world, it was quite useful.

"Amazing!" Tao Shan exclaimed, and it was indeed a divine artifact in the real world.

"However, its functions are not limited to this. What you see is just the Black Tortoise power. It can also act as an energy converter." Zhou Xian then closed the formation and began to input Dao power again.

"Roar!" The dagger suddenly emitted a dragon's roar, startling those nearby. The sword in Zhou Xian's hand began to condense, transforming into an ice sword. Zhou Xian placed the sword in a water tank, and within seconds, the water in the tank had completely frozen!

"This is the power of the Azure Dragon." Then, Zhou Xian withdrew his Dao power, and the ice on the sword quickly fell off and disappeared into the air. Next, Zhou Xian focused on the red gem. After inputting Dao power, a burst of flames rose, and the dagger became a giant sword filled with flames! The sword was extremely hot, and just looking at it made one's eyes hurt.

Zhou Xian chose the water tank as a test subject again. He directly inserted the sword into the frozen water tank. The ice in the tank immediately made a crackling sound, and steam rose from the tank.

"Crack!"

Due to the sudden temperature change, cracks appeared at the edges of the tank.

"Uh..."

Realizing something was wrong, Zhou Xian immediately stopped inputting Dao power.

"Cough, let's see the White Tiger power next."

No one spoke; they all focused on the sword in Zhou Xian's hand. As Dao power was input, white light surged, forming a short sword about sixty centimeters long.

"Why is the White Tiger power shorter than the original weapon?" Xu Tianyun asked, coming closer.

"This short sword itself doesn't have much power; it's just a relatively sharp weapon. However, it's not useless. Let me show you." Zhou Xian had everyone step back, then he picked up the short sword and swung it at the ground, creating a visible, real sword blade. The blade struck the ground with a metallic sound and then disappeared into the air. However, the ground was left with a dent...

"Amazing!"

"This is almost supernatural!"

"What's the name of this sword?" Li Chuyu suddenly asked.

"Hmm..."

Despite the sword's many functions, in the game, it was just a piece of junk. Zhou Xian hadn't thought of a name for it.

"Let's just call it a small dagger."

Everyone was speechless.

"Zhou Xian, can't you come up with a better name? If you can't, just step aside!" Su Xiaoyue was quite upset by the name "small dagger."

"What should we call it?" Zhou Xian suspected he had no talent for naming things.

"Of course, a cooler name! How about Sword Soul Device: Flowing Stream?"

Xu Tianyun immediately thought of a name.

"Although I don't understand, it sounds powerful."

Zhou Xian politely declined Xu Tianyun's suggestion. The man who could name his weapon "True Four Divine Beasts Sword" was just a middle school dropout... well, Xu Tianyun had now graduated from middle school and entered high school.

"…How about Meteor Sword? It's cool and stylish?" Unlike his appearance, Lai Yiming's name suggestion was quite normal.

But what does this have to do with meteors?

"Since it combines two formations, from a technical standpoint, this weapon is quite powerful," Beidou extended her hand to Zhou Xian, who was a bit puzzled but instinctively handed the weapon to her.

"Tianguan, Tianxuan, Tianji... these seven stars form the blade, and the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise form the handle... Celestial Phenomenon... how about Celestial Phenomenon Sword?"

"Sure, let's go with that."

"…Sure, let's use that name." Even if Zhou Xian thought about it, he couldn't come up with a better name. This name wasn't bad. Zhou Xian picked up the sword and opened its attribute panel.

Name: Celestial Phenomenon Dagger / Celestial Phenomenon Sword, Attack: 1~1

Can change properties

Beidou: Attack 30~45, blade changes with Dao power input

Azure Dragon (Water): Attack 21~35, cools the surroundings

White Tiger: Attack 32~32, creates a blade that can fly up to ten meters

Vermilion Bird: Attack 43~52, blade made of flames, cannot be blocked

Black Tortoise: Creates a shield that absorbs 200 points of damage, requires Dao power to recharge, can only recharge five minutes after using Black Tortoise power (forced recharge may cause damage).

"Unfortunately, I can't yet create a weapon that will help me advance."

Now, he just needed a sheath to hold the weapon.

Zhou Xian looked up at the others.

But after a while, he realized Zhang Taihuo wasn't there.

"Where's Old Zhang?" he asked.

"Old Zhang didn't seem to come at first." Xu Tianyun had stopped others at the door and hadn't seen Zhang Taihuo.

"—I'm here."

Zhang Taihuo walked in from the door.

However, the figure behind him caught everyone's attention.

"Huh?!"

A familiar figure?

"Isn't this... those puppets?"

"More or less, but I modified them a bit. The mechanism is easy to understand, but the power source and information processing center are strange. I modified these two parts, and this is the result."

Zhang Taihuo had modified the puppets? And they could move?

"Is there a cable?" Su Xiaoyue noticed a "tail" behind the puppet. "Otherwise, how do you think it moves? By the way, what were you doing just now? What was that sudden noise? I remember this place is completely soundproof." Zhang Taihuo asked. Zhou Xian explained the situation to Zhang Taihuo and demonstrated the Celestial Phenomenon Sword. "This is indeed interesting. It's something that should only exist in the game. I didn't expect it to be usable in the real world... By the way, Zhou Xian, do you want to test it against this puppet?"

"This puppet?" Zhou Xian wasn't underestimating the puppet; it had been defeated by him countless times...

"The puppet itself is not weak, even stronger than humans. The previous users didn't know how to control them, but mine is different. It's controlled by my maid, Luli." He gestured behind him, where his maid Luli stood in a strange, tight-fitting outfit, wearing a virtual reality headset.

"Interesting, how do we test it?" Zhou Xian smiled.