Chapter 665 - 372: Forging a Tier 8 Divine Artifact

Su Ze and the Pope followed the directions on the electronic map, heading straight for the foundry machine.

The foundry machine was massive, covering several hundred square meters. It looked incredibly complex, but it was actually simple to use—completely foolproof.

According to the Pope, this foundry machine was considered cutting-edge technology across the entire universe. A single machine was incredibly valuable and could be used to custom-craft any wondrous item of Tier 8 or below.

Therefore, the usage fee was also extremely high. Crafting a single Tier-8 Divine Artifact required payment equivalent to the value of a Tier-7 Divine Artifact.

Of course, if you were to hire a specialized master smith, the price would be even higher unless you had some kind of connection.

The machine was, naturally, guarded. As soon as the attendant saw Su Ze, an alien who looked like Bend Bo’Erba walked over. Su Ze couldn’t tell which race he belonged to.

Bend Bo’Erba asked in a flat, indifferent tone, "What are you crafting?"

"A Tier-8 Divine Artifact."

"What type? Do you have all the materials?"

"A hidden weapon. The materials are all here."

They also sold materials and Evolution Crystals here, but the prices were higher than outside.

Bend Bo’Erba nodded and pointed to the foundry machine’s control panel. "Place the base material in the left compartment and the Evolutionary Material in the right one. If you have any supplementary materials, put them in the compartment below. The machine will analyze everything you’ve provided and present viable crafting blueprints. You can choose from them shortly."

Su Ze nodded and did as instructed.

Although the foundry machine was huge, its control panel was just a small, two-meter-wide console.

He pulled open the left compartment and discovered it was a storage device with a built-in Spatial Attribute. It looked like a small drawer, but its internal capacity was astonishing, ensuring that even enormous materials could fit inside.

His Shadow Jade was only the size of a fist, so placing it in the compartment was like adding a single drop of water to a lake.

Supplementary materials were optional, generally used to balance the reaction between the Evolutionary Material and the base material. However, the Shadow Jade and the Pan Race’s Moon God Evolution Crystal were already highly compatible, so none were needed.

Finally, Su Ze took out the Evolution Crystal, placed it in the right-hand compartment, quickly shut it, and started the machine.

Once the Evolution Crystal was inside the foundry machine, Su Ze’s worries vanished. There was no way that treacherous merchant from the Bag Race could snatch it from the machine.

The foundry machine whirred to life and began analyzing the materials inside.

After a few minutes, a light glowed on the foundry machine’s control panel.

Su Ze extended his Spiritual Power toward the light, instantly establishing a connection with the foundry machine. Three-dimensional images and information appeared in his mind.

A voice transmitted into his mind:

"Detected Materials: Tier-8 Shadow Jade, Moon God-level Evolution Crystal."

"Available Divine Artifact Blueprints: Stealth-type Functional Artifact, Hidden Weapon-type Offensive Artifact, Shadow Element Energy Weapon, Single-Use Consumable Artifact. Please make a selection."

’I don’t need a stealth item,’ Su Ze thought. ’As for weapons, I have my Weapon Seed. Upgrading it to Tier 7 will be good enough for now. A single-use consumable would be incredibly powerful, but I can’t afford to waste it.’

’I’m not so extravagant as to use a Tier-8 Divine Artifact as a one-time-use item.’

Su Ze made his choice: "Hidden weapon type."

The image in his mind’s eye changed, presenting several styles of hidden weapons for him to choose from.

The images showed the finished products: Tier-8 hidden weapons forged from Shadow Jade. Each one was jet-black, the kind you would easily overlook if you weren’t paying attention.

There were black arrows, sharp throwing knives, darts, flying chakrams, and flying needles...

Su Ze looked over the options, and his gaze finally locked onto the "flying needles"!

He chose the flying needles for two reasons. First, the "Shadow Stab" skill from the Evolution Crystal was a better match for them. Second, he could get a large quantity of them.

Choosing the throwing knives or darts would only yield a single weapon, but choosing the flying needles would produce several hundred.

Of course, these hundreds of individual needles formed a single set, which counted as one Tier-8 Divine Artifact.

Any hidden weapon forged from Shadow Jade possessed the ability to block Spiritual Power probes and turn invisible.

’And my "Strongest Strike" skill has the Impact Cannon’s matter and energy absorption effect,’ he thought. ’I can mix all sorts of energy and other random materials into it.’

’I’ll be able to hide hundreds of flying needles inside the "Strongest Strike." When I fire it, the blast will carry the needles with it and turn the enemy into a pincushion.’

’Even without the skill, the needles will be powerful on their own. Hundreds of them, invisible, silent, and undetectable by Spiritual Power—they’re the perfect weapon for an ambush.’

’My fighting style has always been direct, head-on confrontation. But now that I think about it, fighting dirty seems pretty good too. It’ll be a chance to try a different combat style.’

’This is it!’

Having confirmed his choice, Su Ze’s Spiritual Power automatically disconnected from the foundry machine.

A price automatically appeared on the foundry machine’s panel—the "crafting fee" Su Ze needed to pay.

Bend Bo’Erba glanced at the panel and asked, "How will you be paying?"

Su Ze took out the Storm Horn, intending to use the Tier-7 Divine Artifact to cover the cost.

In the end, Bend Bo’Erba accepted the Storm Horn at its trade-in value and even gave Su Ze some money back.

Su Ze stared at the currency in his hand, made of some unknown material. He knew it was the currency issued by the Spirit Race, one of the Dominator Races.

In this universe, only the currencies issued by the five great Dominator Races were universally accepted. The currencies of other races, even top-tier Strong Races, were only valid in specific regions.

After the payment was made, Bend Bo’Erba performed a series of operations on the foundry machine. It immediately whirred to life and began the crafting process.