Super Gene Ⅱ: Evolution

"Congratulations, your wish has finally been fulfilled," Lin Shen said with a smile.

"I should be thanking you for your Reincarnation Ashes, you really are my lucky star. Without you, I'm afraid I would never have been able to forge this Ten Directions Ghost God Slaying Blade in my lifetime," Dao laughed heartily, stretching out his hand to toss the Reincarnation Ashes back to Lin Shen, "Here you go, I owe you a favor. Just name your request."

"Forge me a blade—not the Ten Directions Ghost God Slaying Blade, but one crafted from your own insights," Lin Shen said.

"Sure, that's no problem at all," Dao replied cheerfully, agreeing immediately.

However, Dao soon faced a difficulty, "But I've used up all the Blood Patterned Gold Essence, not even a bit of scrap is left. Now that the Micro Immortal Realm has lost its effect, it's not going to be easy to mine Blood Patterned Gold Essence from those vast mountains and rivers. Moreover, I've nearly exhausted the Blood Patterned Gold Essence seams after all these years.

Even if I could find some more, it certainly wouldn't be enough to forge another blade comparable to the Ten Directions Ghost God Slaying Blade."

"I don't need such a powerful blade. If you really gave me one like that, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be able to lift it now," Lin Shen thought of something and ran into the cave.

Back in Dao's blade-forging cave, Lin Shen opened the furnace gate to find that not a single drop of metal could flow out.

"I don't need much, just enough to forge a spear will do. If not, even a dagger would suffice…" Lin Shen picked up the Iron Hook Staff beside him and started poking inside the furnace, hoping to scoop out some more metal.

Lin Shen had witnessed the forging of the Ten Directions Ghost God Slaying Blade and knew how much material had melted into it. The weight of that blade was not something he could handle; lifting it was a question in itself.

He just wanted a regular Blood Patterned Gold Essence blade, nothing too strong; usable was good enough, and at least something he could lift.

After rummaging for a while, Lin Shen managed to scrape out only a small amount of metal, which was not even enough to forge a spoon, let alone a blade.

"Stop wasting your efforts; the materials inside have been completely drained…" Dao came over and said, "Don't worry, let me figure out a way to mine some more Blood Patterned Gold Essence, and then I'll forge you a blade."

Lin Shen rummaged a few more times; just as he thought it was hopeless, he seemed to have hit something. It wasn't metal; it felt solid yet somewhat soft.

Full of curiosity, Lin Shen quickly pulled the thing out.

It fell into the stone trough, and Lin Shen saw that it was a lump of material that had been heated red-hot but had not fully melted.

This material was different from the Blood Patterned Gold Essence. In its red-hot state, specks of gold could be seen within it, as if it contained countless grains of gold sand.

"Dao, is this Blood Patterned Gold Essence?" Lin Shen asked uncertainly, looking back at Dao.

"Well, sort of. This is the residue that couldn't completely melt after smelting Blood Patterned Gold Essence; you can call it impurities within the Blood Patterned Gold Essence.

The residue itself is rather hard, even harder than the Blood Patterned Gold Essence, but it contains too many impurities and is unstable with poor ductility, making it almost impossible to forge into a blade, so it's unsuitable for sword casting," Dao explained.

"Unstable doesn't matter; as long as it's hard enough, that's fine with me. Use this to forge me a blade," Lin Shen said. He didn't really need a very strong blade; hardness was a good enough feature.

"No, I can't use this scrap to forge a blade for you. It has to be high-quality Blood Patterned Gold Essence," Dao refused outright.

"Let's talk about that later. First help me forge a blade for now. I will start using that one," Lin Shen said with a smile.

"Alright then." Dao placed the lump of Blood Patterned Gold Essence scrap on the workbench and, as he worked, asked Lin Shen, "What kind of blade do you want?"

"Actually, I don't know how to use a blade. Can you forge spears or lances? Help me forge one of those," Lin Shen pondered and replied.

"Spears, lances, and such weapons are not suitable for using Blood Patterned Gold Essence because it's too hard and lacks flexibility. Those kinds of weapons require some elasticity, not sheer hardness," Dao shook his head as he spoke.

"Then go ahead and forge as you see fit, but don't make me a Ten Directions Ghost God Slaying Blade. Just use your understanding of swords to make me a blade," Lin Shen said casually.

"Alright." Hearing Lin Shen say this, Dao said no more and began swinging the hammer to forge a blade for Lin Shen.

He had just completed the Ten Directions Ghost God Slaying Blade, fulfilling a long-held wish, and he felt clear-headed and exhilarated, with no more concerns in his heart.

Forging casually as if it were second nature, he quickly hammered out the rough shape of a blade.

It wasn't as fierce as the Ten Directions Ghost God Slaying Blade; it looked extremely delicate, resembling a Ring-Headed Knife about five feet long.

The hilt was one foot long, and the blade four feet. The blade was straight and not very wide, in fact, it could be considered quite narrow—a type of sword with a thick side and a sloped side, with the tip forming an angle.

The top of the handle featured a ring, similar to a ring on a finger, which is the namesake of the Ring-Headed Knife.

Dao even used the leftover materials to forge a scabbard of the same material for Lin Shen, quenching them together at the end.

Upon seeing the finished product, even Dao was momentarily stunned.

The sword and scabbard were snow-white and crystalline, flickering with specks of gold light within as if reflecting a river of stars.

This sword and scabbard were exceedingly ornate, not seeming like weapons meant for battle but rather like ceremonial artifacts used for rituals.

The blade hadn't been sharpened on its own, so Dao took it to the grindstone, intending to manually sharpen it, but after a few swipes, he uttered a sound of surprised doubt, "This sword... I'm afraid it can't be sharpened..."

"What's wrong?" Lin Shen asked in puzzlement, walking over to take a look. He saw that a layer had been ground off the stone, yet the blade in Dao's hand appeared utterly undamaged.

Dao tried using several different grindstones to sharpen the blade, but no matter how much he ground, only the stones were damaged; the blade itself wouldn't be worn down.

Dao said with a wry smile, "This sword is a failure; the remnants of Blood Patterned Gold Essence are too hard. It can only be used to grind other things, nothing can grind it."

As he spoke, he tried to break the sword, intending to melt it down and start over.

Lin Shen wanted to stop him but was too late. However, when Dao exerted force, the sword blade didn't budge an inch, showing no signs of breaking.

Not believing the situation, Dao exerted force again. This time the blade did react, slowly bending a bit.

But by the look on Dao's face, he had only managed to slightly bend the blade, seemingly having used all his strength, and still couldn't break it.

As soon as Dao let go, the slightly bent blade immediately sprang back, still perfectly straight.

"This blade... is so hard..." Dao said, looking at the sword with a hint of amazement, his face filled with confusion as if the blade wasn't crafted by his own hands.