Cultivation Online

Chapter 2509: Affinity

“Do you want to know what you’re missing?” Shiva suddenly spoke.

“Hm?” Yuan turned to look at her with raised eyebrows. “I thought you didn’t know much—if anything—about blacksmithing.”

“I don’t recall ever saying I know nothing about it,” Shiva calmly replied. “While it’s true that I’ve never personally forged a treasure before, I still understand the fundamentals, especially since I know someone who enjoys doing it and never stops yapping about it.”

“What am I missing?” Yuan then asked. “Besides the obvious—a technique.”

Shiva entered the chamber and said, “You may know how to use Eternal Essence, but your understanding is limited to the very basics. In fact, when it comes to utilizing Eternal Essence, you’re no different from a newborn Eternal.”

“Eternal Essence is the purest form of all existence. It is the true origin of everything. Whether it originates from water, fire, or anything else, once it becomes Eternal Essence, it all returns to the same source.”

“I don’t understand,” Yuan said as he shook his head.

Without saying another word, Shiva raised both of her arms and revealed her open palms to him.

In the next moment, Eternal Essence gathered around both of her hands.

“What is the difference between the two?” she then asked.

Yuan examined the Eternal Essence on her palms for a moment before responding, “Nothing…? Or is this some sort of trick question?”

Without offering any explanation, Shiva suddenly clapped her hands, combining the Eternal Essence.

“Any difference?” she asked again.

“Nope.”

Shiva separated her hands and closed her left hand.

A second later, she reopened it, and the Eternal Essence surrounding that hand had completely changed.

It now emitted an icy, chilling aura that instantly covered parts of the chamber in frost, despite the room having been unbearably hot just moments earlier.

She clapped her hands again, fusing the cold Eternal Essence with the ordinary one, creating a block of ice from thin air.

“If you combine fire with an even stronger fire, it will still remain fire,” Shiva said.

“Unlike forging mortal treasures, when it comes to crafting Eternal-quality treasures, the materials themselves are not the most important aspect.”

She then looked directly at Yuan and continued, “Your Eternal Essence is.”

A flicker of realization suddenly flashed across Yuan’s face, as though he had just experienced a moment of enlightenment.

However, even though he knew the problem, there was still one major issue.

“I understand what I’ve been missing now… but how did you do what you just did?” Yuan asked a moment later.

He summoned some Eternal Essence of his own and attempted to imitate Shiva’s cold Eternal Essence, but no matter what he tried, he failed to replicate it.

“This isn’t something you can simply replicate,” Shiva said while shaking her head.

“Every being—including Eternals—has their own specialty. It’s similar to how humans are all born with different talents. Some possess a natural affinity with yin, while others are more suited for yang. In the same way, you need to discover what your Eternal Essence is best suited for and materialize it.”

“How do I know what affinity I have?” Yuan asked with raised eyebrows.

“Through experience and experimentation,” Shiva replied calmly. “This isn’t something you can uncover in just a day or two.”

She then continued, “Typically, it takes an Eternal several hundred billion years before they discover their true affinity.”

“That still doesn’t explain anything…” Yuan sighed. “I don’t even know where I’m supposed to begin.”

Shiva then said, “Quite frankly, I don’t even know whether a mortal like you is capable of wielding Eternal Essence the same way we Eternals do.”

She paused for a moment before continuing, “For us, it simply becomes a natural part of our existence after enough time passes.”

“So what? Does it just come to you naturally? Like how we learn to breath naturally?”

“Pretty much.”

Yuan rubbed his eyes and sighed, wondering if he needed to delay upgrading Number One Under Heaven until he figured this thing out.

“Also, I know humans typically only have a few, like water, fire, earth, and wind. However, when it comes to Eternal Essence, there are many more types of affinity, like blood or shadow. Mine just happens to be something as simple as ice.”

“Is it really impossible to create an Eternal-grade treasure without this affinity nonsense?” Yuan then asked.

“Well, if you have a material that has already been properly refined, it’s possible. For example, I can refine that Void Fragment for you with my Eternal Essence.”

Yuan immediately shook his head and said, “If I were upgrading another treasure, I wouldn’t mind doing it that way. However, Number One Under Heaven is special, and my pride will not allow it.”

“I guess you’re out of luck then,” Shiva shrugged.

“…”

Yuan pondered for a moment before speaking, “Fortunately, there’s still some time before the banquet. I’ll try to find my affinity before then. If not, I’ll just postpone this until later.”

“What banquet?” Shiva asked. “And when is it?”

“Just a little something I had planned before coming here. I still have a little over a month. If I cannot find my affinity in three—two weeks, I’ll give up trying to upgrade my treasure for now.”

“Two weeks?” Shiva sneered coldly. “If you can truly discover your affinity in such a short amount of time, I’ll start calling you Father.”

“You’ll call me Father…?” A competitive smile immediately appeared on Yuan’s face after hearing those words.

There was no way he would pass up an opportunity to make an Eternal address him in such a manner.

Without wasting any more time, he sat down and started fiddling with his Eternal Essence, trying all sorts of things to discover his affinity.

Meanwhile, after working nonstop, the Demon Sealing Clan had finally finished constructing the venue for the upcoming banquet—a massive platform supporting a grand courtyard with a direct line of sight toward the Demonic Realm nearby.

And even though there was still more than a month remaining before the banquet was set to begin, guests had already started arriving with gifts in hand.

Join Privilege for 50 Advance Chapters!