"My internal archaeological index tells me that this is an image preserved from history, a key turning point in the era's succession."

"Once, the Eternal Empire had exhausted all its strength to erect the Heavenly Origin Tower at the very heart of the present world, scheming to control all the Superiors with Tian Yuan, to reign over the world forever, commanding everything.

Yet the Heavenly Origin Pillar hadn't even been completed before it collapsed, causing the old order to fall apart completely—the division of Tian Yuan led to the birth of the Federation and the Empire over ninety years later.

Stars fell from the sky, and fierce flames surged from the earth.

Blood rained for three years.

Plague ravaged and disasters struck for twenty-one years until the end of the Eternal Dynasty. The aftereffects have not dissipated to this day, and natural disasters still ravage the land."

This was the last cry of the Empire before its destruction, taking with it two-thirds of the life on earth.

After the Primordial Era and the Chaotic Era, what was thought to be the endless and infinite era of brilliance came to an end. And at that time, the prologue to the Era of Catastrophe had not yet begun.

An era of complete disorder persisted for ninety-three years, until the Twelve Superiors returned to their rightful places, and the positions of Tian Yuan were re-established. Two saints—the first Heavenly Governor and Earth Emperor—once again erected the foundations of order.

Yet the heavens and the earth could not return to stability, instead, within the opposition and balance of power between the Federation and the Empire, they faced a long and seemingly endless friction and deadlock.

The world was like it was frozen in time, never crumbling apart, yet in the coldness of hatred and enmity, it was in constant disarray, with the flickering of wars.

Four hundred years later,

An unexpected disaster struck without warning, leaving only one survivor when the calamity swept across the land, and ten years later, by a stroke of luck, that lucky individual became the Chosen One and finally stepped into this place.

Thus, time and history were interwoven with countless struggles, pain, turmoil, and death into a single entity. Among thousands of threads, one just like destiny itself, continued in Ji Jue.

And so, across the span of time, he finally witnessed the shadow left behind by the saints on the other side.

This was the intricate tapestry woven by the Superiors, where time served as the medium and the affairs of the human world as the threads, dyed and crafted by their hands.

They inhabited different intervals, separated by long stretches of time, yet subtly connected. However, to the world, the saints could already be considered as magnificent patterns, while Ji Jue was merely one pixel among the countless colors.

In a sudden moment of reverie, Ji Jue gazed out the window at the scenery and the Saint's Shadow that seemed so close at hand, once again feeling his insignificance.

Just like a drop in the ocean.

"When the Heavenly Origin Tower collapsed, did anything else happen?" Ji Jue asked.

"You might as well ask what didn't happen. Everything that should have happened, did, and even those that shouldn't have, damn well did. The fall of the Eternal Empire was too sudden, and the records left today mostly contradict each other or are entirely at odds. But one thing is undeniable... Mercury wasn't here at that time."

The Ghost Work Ball reminded him, "As a major internal threat to the Empire—a member of Mo—Mercury had already become a Saint at that time, with a status not inferior to the leader 'Giant'.

And at that time, the members of Mo had all emerged and went to the Heavenly Origin Tower, and afterward, countless pieces of evidence pointed to them. They might have been the culprits behind the collapse of the Heavenly Pillar. Mercury definitely played a significant role in it, and it's even possible that the fall of the Heavenly Origin Tower was caused by her."

For a moment, Ji Jue, stunned, turned to look back at the phantom.

The phantom remained.

It just gazed, as if the culprit was staring at the sins and suffering wrought by their own hands.

For an instant, the phantom seemed to finally look back, across the vast stretch of time, toward him, looking at the young man who had stumbled into their abandoned workshop after who knows how many years.

But after a moment of shock, when Ji Jue steadied his gaze to look closely, he found that the phantom had silently disappeared.

Gone without a trace.

His hair stood on end, and he felt a chill throughout his body.

Was it really haunted?

But Xiao An showed no reaction, still squatting on the ground, curiously poking at the abandoned and broken instruments. Noticing Ji Jue's gaze, he looked back, full of confusion.

"It's time to go, kid." The blue light from the Ghost Work Ball receded, as if in resignation, "I've checked it eight or nine times. There's no Non-attack here, not even a hair of a matrix.

Right, I was mistaken. It was a wasted trip."

"Go?"

Ji Jue hesitated instinctively. After all, not finding loot was no different from not entering at all, plus he'd been scared for nothing—he had to get something out of this to break even.

But when he looked around, he realized it wasn't that the Ball was useless, but that there really wasn't a drop of value left here.

After all, during the workshop relocation, the important stuff would never be left behind; after so many years, the insignificant odds and ends had completely deteriorated, leaving only the Melting Furnace, which was fixed in place and couldn't be moved, and was as good as junk. Not to mention, without the relevant spiritual circuits and equipment , even entertaining the idea of reusing it was a pipe dream.

Wait, Melting Furnace?

Ji Jue's feet suddenly stopped, his eyes glued to the rust-covered Melting Furnace, unable to look away.

His eyes sparkled brightly!

How could he have forgotten such a treasure?!

He swallowed dryly and suddenly ran to the window, looking down below. In just a few minutes, the battle between the Guardians and Returning Knights below was intense and critical...

He suddenly turned around, "Ball, can we start this furnace?"

"???"

The Ghost Work Ball's light showed countless question marks, "Mate, that thing has been dead for how many years, it's completely worthless. If you try to start it up rashly, it'd be a miracle if it didn't explode.

Do you really want a Saint's special edition that badly?"

"Yes!" Ji Jue resolutely nodded, "Anyway, don't ask, and don't worry about it—just tell me whether you can do it or not!"

[...]

The Ghost Work Ball briefly fell silent for an instant, it actually wanted to reject such a crazy command, but the underlying instructions and permissions left by Professor Ye ultimately made it choose obedience: [If you want to court death, I can't stop you, but I don't guarantee the consequences.]

"As long as it doesn't blow me up, it's fine."

Ji Jue grinned, rubbing his hands together with anticipation, looking at the quiet Melting Furnace ahead, his eyes sparkling: The kid's still young, now that we're already here... How could I not get a feel for the furnace?

Will it explode?

Ji Jue was actually afraid that it wouldn't explode!

Even after more than four hundred years, even if it was in disrepair, as long as it could be activated, it meant there was still a possibility to awaken its capabilities!

Such a big Experience Bag—if he didn't die, he would've made enough!

"Activate it!"

At the critical moment, Ji Jue didn't hold back at all, pouring all his spiritual energy into the Ghost Work Ball. The Ghost Work Ball rose in his hand, and in an instant, it fragmented into pieces, and the nearly infinite recursive structure within suddenly unfolded, expanding rapidly, and in a blink, the complex circuits were already laid out on the walls, floor, and ceiling!

The runes, like clusters of stars, encircled the emblem of the Superior and unfurled, disappearing into the void, yet again connecting everything. One layer after another was interfaced into the external junctions of the Melting Furnace, forcibly integrating it into its own system.

Underlying instructions overwritten, specifications transformed, backbone adjusted…

The dazzling operations were completed in an instant.

——The mobile workshop, fully deployed!

And right at that moment, a harsh grinding noise suddenly rose from outside the temporary workshop erected by the Ghost Work Ball—the Boundary Splitting Workshop's own Secret Ritual had been activated, it locked on, and in the blink of an eye, it sensed the anomaly here… The fight between the workshop and the Heavenly Artisan started once again!

[Invisibility engineering terminated, offense-defense mode loading complete, parasitic engineering starting]

The voice of the Ghost Work Ball lost its emotion and fluctuations; it even lacked the energy to load a simulated personality: [Time Sand reserve consumption starting, estimated maintenance time, 1 minute 14 seconds.]

"Thanks, Ball Bro, I'll make sure your spiritual energy is refilled!"

No longer minding the pleasantries, Ji Jue's hands were already pressing on the Melting Furnace before him, issuing commands.

——[Awaken]!!!

The first command issued, as if facing the void, received no response. The second command issued, a faint light faintly emerged amidst the deathly silence. The third command issued, and within that faint resonance, like the flicker of a candle in the wind, a vast echo surged forth, engulfing Ji Jue's soul and consciousness!

It was like uncovering the lid of a dry well and restarting the motor, but what gushed out was a surge mightier than a waterfall's torrent.

Spiritual energy was being consumed at an alarming rate, yet it couldn't be stopped, his hands were stuck to a black hole, simply unable to let go. On his wristwatch, the numbers of the spiritual energy reserve were plummeting rapidly, and with a snap of the fingers, it was completely emptied.

The Melting Furnace seemed to still not be satisfied, but ultimately it didn't open its maw again.

With just a light taste, it voluntarily stopped.

Ji Jue collapsed to the ground, his face pale and drenched in cold sweat, feeling waves of dizziness. By his side, the quick-witted Xiao An had already pulled out the Emergency Supplement injection gun from his backpack, aimed it at the root of his neck, and pulled the trigger to prevent him from completely passing out due to the excessive depletion of spiritual energy.

He had never used his powers to awaken such a colossal creation before.

It wasn't because of its astonishing size, nor because it was structurally complex, but rather because of its many internal traces and imprints, the immense legacy left by the past Saints.

So much so that just by endowing it with consciousness, Ji Jue was completely drained.

Yet now, the Melting Furnace trembled slightly, rust flaking off, and at the heart of the now opened furnace, a sliver of light flickered on and off, like the illusory light of a soul—pondering, reminiscing, understanding, and realizing.

[Has it really been more than four hundred years?]

An ancient voice emerged within his consciousness, carrying a metallic echo, weary and regretful: [Thank you for your help, stranger, what can I do for you?

Unfortunately, I'm not of much use anymore.]

Ji Jue, sitting on the ground, straightened up and said seriously, "I am a humble learner and earnestly seek your guidance."

The Melting Furnace fell silent, as if contemplating.

[I see now, if it's just that—]

In that instant, Ji Jue didn't have time to respond.

Flames within the furnace suddenly exploded, and an overwhelming cascade of light rushed towards him!

And then…

It wrapped around the small bull-mastiff.

"Bii? Bii?"

The motorcycle crouched beside him, sneaking a peek and hankering for gossip, looked up blankly, not even getting a chance to struggle.

And then, just like that…

It was dragged in!

The Melting Furnace closed, the Flame Light surged, and only the last scream of terror echoed in the air.

"Bii——!!!"

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