Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 1301: Chapter 994: Severance

In the dead of night, all was silent, and no one was around.

An eighteen-year-old boy holding a weapon looked at the elder of his family, his eyes aglow. Was this the destruction of humanity or the collapse of morality?

All that can be said is, this scenario just doesn’t feel right...

Of course, it wasn’t because Huai Shi had become so deranged as to want to use Uncle Fang as a test for his blade. Rather, it was that reforging Seishui required Uncle Fang’s assistance.

Although the repairs of the Casting Furnace filled the broken parts and adjusted the rod to a suitable length, in essence, Seishui hadn’t changed; it was still just a shape with nothing inside.

Neither the Unity of Spirituality in Alchemy Essence School nor the naturally accomplished products valued in the Technique of Casting could meet the requirements.

You can’t just snap off the screen of a laptop and call it a tablet.

The missing elements were countless.

Seishui was the same.

Once, after plummeting from being the Cloud Monarch to the King Xiang, it had encountered breaking but ultimately returned to its original Seishui form under Ying Fangzhou’s final blessing from the malevolent Resentment Water.

After going through so much, the fact that it could still function proved its excellent performance and the depth of obsession it carried. The stigmata maintained a stable form, and only required slight alchemical repairs to resume the appearance of King Xiang.

But just like Ying Fangzhou himself, it had become steadfast to the point beyond obstinacy.

Modifying it was extremely difficult; common methods simply wouldn’t work.

There’s less hassle in buying a tablet than converting a laptop into one, let alone incorporating alchemical use relating to the Divine Nature.

To advance it further, for a complete metamorphosis and rebirth, Uncle Fang’s help was indispensable.

In fact, not only Uncle Fang, but the entire Stone Marrow Pavilion had been relocated... Within the Creator’s framework, in God Mode, it wasn’t that difficult.

The truly difficult part lay ahead.

Huai Shi planned to use the framework of Sky Que to restructure Seishui. It was an attempt at advancing to become the Cloud Monarch for himself, and establishing the foundation of Sky Que relied on the Stone Marrow Pavilion itself.

More accurately, it relied on the ’Spirit Coffin’ itself.

During the advancement to Soloist, Huai Shi had exhausted the power of the Spirit Coffin through a ritual, but the Spirit Coffin itself still existed, deeply integrated with the Stone Marrow Pavilion, inseparable.

What Huai Shi needed to do was to separate the two completely!

Using such a precious material as the Spirit Coffin as a foundation could increase the success rate of establishing Sky Que by at least thirty percent, while perfectly accommodating King Xiang’s stigmata, avoiding conflicts with subsequent reconstruction.

Tong Ji had written every step in great detail, including the related theories. However, aside from parts involving the Technique of Casting and a small section on Alchemy, Huai Shi couldn’t understand the rest at all.

It even involved the Scholars’ domain, then progressed into the fantastical Quantum Field...

To put it simply, it was like putting the unruly King Xiang in a box as a cat, placing him in a superposition state of existence and non-existence, and after a series of operations, it would finally be successful.

There was no need to worry about accidents; the ’cat’ was your ’cat,’ the house was your house, the Spirit Coffin was your pavilion, and Uncle Fang was your uncle, your father, your mother, and your grandfather—all but playing every role in the family, how could he not cooperate?

As long as you followed the instructions, there wouldn’t be any hidden dangers, plus there were double preventative measures in place.

Even if things accidentally went wrong and everything collapsed, at most, it was just a matter of replacing a house; nothing would happen to Uncle Fang. After repeatedly confirming this point, Huai Shi agreed to proceed with the plan.

Yet, when the time came, he still felt uneasy.

Moreover, using the Spirit Coffin to lay the foundation for Sky Que felt like spending a family elder’s savings to buy himself a sports car...

”I feel like it’s not the right time today.”

He hesitated for a long time and asked, ”How about we try tomorrow?”

”No, I think there’s no problem.”

Uncle Fang replied with a smile, ”Thinking that an old man like me can still help out the young master outside the kitchen, I’m already feeling reinvigorated.”

With that, he moved his body a bit, striking a robust pose, indicating to Huai Shi not to worry.

He spontaneously walked into the layers of the mystic ritual and sat on that chair.

”Shall we begin?”

He said.

Huai Shi sighed silently.

Though he felt cowardly and indecisive, hesitating at the critical moment was embarrassing, it was better than losing his only family due to a mishap.

After once again confirming Uncle Fang’s condition, he looked down and reviewed the detailed process in hand, ensuring he knew how to address potential errors in each detail and each part. Then he took a deep breath.

He looked down at the elder on the iron chair before him, opened his five fingers, and covered Uncle Fang from a distance.

The color of gold and iron appeared from his right arm, forming once again into the furnace within the soul.

”——Extraction, begin!”

In that instant, a low vibration erupted.

That was the tremor from the massive Casting Furnace embedded underground, enveloping the area, consuming vast amounts of electricity and source substance. Flames rose from the heart of the furnace, rapidly expanding, burning vigorously, illuminating everything.

Complex mystic rituals on the alloy floor lit up under the infusion of source substance, surrounding the old man layer by layer, and soon beneath the fading and transparent floor, the massive structure hidden below was revealed.

In the darkness, the silent Stone Marrow Pavilion roared with noise, countless bricks and tiles fell, with dust rising.

It was as if an earthquake had arrived.

But the power didn’t come from the earth’s shake. It erupted from the core, and the matrix of the Spirit Coffin was once again awakened, glowing beneath the cover of iron and stone.

The whole Stone Marrow Pavilion was filled with a circuit-like complex matrix, similar to human veins. In times past, the miracles incorporated into the massive structure were reawakened, then, under Huai Shi’s operation, gradually, were peeled away...

This was the most difficult part.

Like peeling the white membrane off an orange without damaging its fragile flesh and skin.

To achieve this, the ’orange’ itself needed to actively cooperate.

Crack!

A small twitch in Huai Shi’s little finger caused a blood streak to spontaneously appear on Uncle Fang’s face. In the Stone Marrow Pavilion below, a window shattered in response.

To ensure the smooth progress of the extraction process, Uncle Fang and the Stone Marrow Pavilion were once again united as one, as if returning to the time before achieving independence.

He had turned himself into a part of the Stone Marrow Pavilion.

He was originally the soul born within the Stone Marrow Pavilion, and now controlling the Stone Marrow Pavilion was like controlling his own body, without causing any conflict.

However, the cost was that if Huai Shi messed up, then he would also suffer some backlash before the connection was severed.

Even though he was sure he wouldn’t mess up, Huai Shi didn’t dare to take such a risk.

Seeing his actions pause for a moment, the old man remained expressionless, lifted his gaze, and wiped the blood off his face.

”Young Master, please continue.”

He said, ”It’s just a minor injury, not even as bad as a kitchen knife.”

”...Alright.”

Huai Shi remained silent for a long time, nodding.

Then continued.

Every moment, drawing vast amounts of electricity and source substance, fueling the furnace’s burn, the extraction from the Casting Furnace proceeded slowly, bit by bit, carefully, without leaving any side effects, separating the Spirit Coffin from the Stone Marrow Pavilion.

It was like undergoing a major surgery on the whole body.

Apprehensive.

But looking back at Uncle Fang on the seat, he was unusually calm, even so composed that halfway through he took out his phone and started writing an article for his public account.

”Daily Kitchen, Enjoy Health.”

Since its launch, it has received rave reviews from housewives, with an average click-through rate per article exceeding 100,000. One dish a day, delicious, easy to make, and not expensive.

It’s just a pity that he never endorses products, leaving many sponsors to return disappointed.

”What does the Young Master want to eat tonight?”

The old man asked casually, ”Considering Ms. Tong Ji has exceeded her calorie intake a bit these past two days, how about a coconut chicken stew? A nice batch of seafood has just arrived, let me select some fresh later...”

”At a time like this, let’s not talk about seafood, alright?”

Huai Shi smiled bitterly, tilting his head to wipe the sweat off his face with his shoulder, ”Can we talk about something serious?”

”Then when will the Young Master bring a girlfriend home?”

”...”

After a long silence, Huai Shi tried hard to control the tremble of his hands and stammered, ”Let’s just continue talking about seafood, I’d like to eat grouper.”

”I think Miss Fu Yi is quite nice.”

Uncle Fang continued on his own, ”Although Ms. Ai Qing is excellent, one feels she may not be very good at taking care of others. Miss Lily is great, but her parents are a bit of a mess, making one feel there might be a lot of friction between the families in the future. Of course, if the Young Master is more interested in Miss Luo Xian...”

”Aren’t we talking about seafood?”

”Seafood was the previous topic.” The old man smiled, ”I just wanted to discuss some important life matters with the Young Master.”

”Stop it, the Utopia hasn’t been built yet, how can I think of home! Don’t corrupt my aspirations, my life is already dedicated to the glorious Heavenly Kingdom Genealogy. Women will only slow down my sword drawing...”

”What about Ms. Tong Ji?”

A long silence, behind the observation window above, crows peeked in.

”...”

Huai Shi’s eye twitched violently, ”Uncle Fang, you’re provoking me again, please spare me!”

”It’s truly difficult.”

Uncle Fang sighed worriedly.

Huai Shi felt his blood pressure maxing out.

Almost forgetting how to breathe, mechanically numbed, he completed each part until severing the final connection.

When he came back to his senses, he saw the light floating above the Stone Marrow Pavilion, connecting ends, weaving countless beautiful and complex patterns.

Almost constantly dynamic.

What was brewing from within turned out to be the radiance of the soul.

That was the true form of the Stone Marrow Pavilion.

—The Spirit Coffin!

”Now!”

Huai Shi waved his hand, the Casting Furnace roared once more, operating at full power, completing the final extraction!

Steel descended from the sky, enveloping the Spirit Light, then quickly contracted, turning into a small point, sealing this shapeless miracle, pulling it into the furnace core’s Alchemy Fire.

Once detached from the material, the miracle rapidly dissipates, returning to the world.

Like evaporating water merging into the wind.

Recasting must be swiftly completed.

Huai Shi reversed his hand, pulling up the iron mace embedded in the ground, and threw it into the furnace crown.

The pale Alchemy Fire engulfed everything in an instant.

Casting begins!