With this, Lord Whiskers took off and the girls, along with Jia Yan, headed to Emo Cave under the urging of Shen Ling for training. The Latter advised that she had a good feeling about the Cave for most of them.

****

After some time, Long Di and lord Whiskers were a fair distance away from Emo Valley.

Long Di had to admit that Lord Whisker’s speed was not something he could match up to.

After getting off, there were rocks, rocks, and more rocks. So this was as good a place as any.

He made sure that Lord Whiskers took him somewhere a bit desolate so that he wouldn’t affect any important areas.

‘The demon region really has a lot of desolate looking places. I wonder what the other races’ places are like?’ After thinking of this he turned to Lord Whiskers beside him.

“So I heard from Yaomu Shou and the others about what you are and what you went through and I need you to understand something,” Long Di said to Lord Whiskers a bit seriously.

“I know you’ve been rejected by the heavenly daos. However, I’m using lightning tribulation as a means to fight and cultivate. Since you’re gonna be with me, I want you to temper yourself with this as well, so that you can be better prepared to oppose the heavens. What do you think?” Long Di asked.

“Rawr… meow…”

Long Di nodded, “Fine, you can think about it for a bit while I cultivate my somatic essence,” said Long Di upon hearing that Lord Whiskers wanted to think about it.

After all, tribulation lightning had an extremely dangerous effect upon them. Even when Long Di had used his tribulation lightning upon him, it escaped his control and tried to wipe out Lord Whiskers.

Luckily, he had brought out a very controlled amount of Heavenly Levyance tribulation lightning. This small amount wasn’t enough to kill Lord Whiskers, but was just enough to destroy the state he was beginning to enter. But even then, both Lord Whiskers and even Long Di could feel the hatred the tribulation lightning held towards it even though it was Long Di’s tribulation lightning that he himself cultivated.

However, he could feel that given another chance, he would be able to stop the tribulation lightning from going out of control.

Nevertheless, this was useless to think about since Lord Whiskers didn’t even want to go through it.

With this being the case, Long Di went through his storage ring to look for the portable forge.

Boom!

Just like before the forge fell to the ground with a thunderous crash that nearly caused Long Di to fall over in spite of himself.

Lord Whiskers was already lying down at the same time but the quake caused it to experience an uncomfortable jerking of its body. It then shot Long Di a dirty look in response. This human was always doing some crazy bull crap.

Collecting himself, Long Di sized up the portable forge, impressed with its intimidating air. In any case, after some time, he was mentally prepared for another session of cultivating the dao of masochism.

Taking out a few spirit stones, he placed them in grooves outside the forge causing inside to come alive with scorching flames.

Looking closely at the grooves Long Di could see that the different rows were for the different levels in the Foundation Forge Body Tempering Art.

‘Makes sense,’ Long Di thought. ‘I know that the advanced levels of this art will require more heat and something tells me more spirit stones.’

He made sure that he placed spirit stones in the first three levels or rows. Feeling how the heat increased, he nodded to himself and the masochist god before opening the door to the forge.

Whoosh!

Tongues of the flame escaped and scorched the ground.

“Reargh!”

Lord Whiskers jumped away in the face of the heat and hissed at Long Di in anger!

Was this human trying to kill it!? Sure it didn’t like water but that didn’t mean fire and it was all like the enemy of my enemy is my friend!

“Yeah, sorry about that.” The lack of inflexion in Long Di’s voice didn’t allow Lord Whiskers to feel Long Di’s sincerity. Of course, the chances of him having any sincerity is still up in the air.

Whoosh!

A heavy aura erupted from Long Di’s body as he circulated the Foundation Forge Body Tempering Art.

The somatic essence within his body rushed through his meridians like a roaring river!

Taking his clothes off and ignoring Lord Whiskers’s wary gaze, Long Di entered the Forge with the rusty forging hammer in hand.

“Hhmm…” Long Di readied himself and gripped the forging hammer tightly.

‘Breaking Mundane Forging Heaven! First Temper!’

Bam!

The hammer flew in a profound arc and struck Long Di in the chest!

The flames bellowed and assaulted the spot that Long Di hit. In truth, Long Di’s bone had already been tempered to the Jade level courtesy of Uncle Tian Lu.

This was supposed to be a level that Long Di could reach only by cultivating the first nine tempers, but Uncle Tian Lu wanted to give him a decent head-start to help him along his path to minimise any deviation from the right path.

‘Second Temper!’

The hammer flew through the flames before slamming on Long Di’s back!

Bam!

The flames responded in kind by assaulting the points of impact!

‘Third Temper!’

Bang!

‘Fourth Temper!’

Smash!

‘Fifth Temper!’

Boom!

‘Sixth Temper!’

Whoosh!

The hammer didn’t hit this time as the fifth temper was the highest temper that Long Di had ever gotten to.

Roar!

The wind kicked up from the hammer’s near-miss aggravated the tumultuous waves of flames!

They roared and assaulted Long Di’s body with reckless abandon but his face registered no pain from the flames even though the pain surely existed!

However, he didn’t lose his focus. Even though the hammer missed, he used the momentum to start the nine tempers over again!

‘First temper!’

Starting over again, his body suffered under the forging wrought by this technique!

Bang! Bam! Boom! Bong! Ba-Dum!

Several rounds of explosions resounded from within the forge. Each round consisted of five continuous blasts followed by a furious rush of wind.

This carried on for a few hours until…

‘Sixth Temper!’

Boom!

‘Success!’ Long Di rejoiced in his mind as he finally figured out the sixth temper! Feeling invigorated by his success, he decided to carry on!

Rumble!

The somatic essence within his body was furiously travelling along the beaten path laid out by his meridians. His skin was fire red, courtesy of the flames and their relentless abuse!

Within all this, there was a light of excitement in his dull eyes. He was growing stronger by the minute, he could feel it!

Even though Long Di’s body was already at the jade level, which needed nine full tempers to consummate it, every temper brought with it benefits that could do no wrong!

Ba-Ba-Bang! Bo-Dum!

Continuous clangings could be heard as Long Di used the energy fuelled by the discovery to uncover the seventh temper!

Every three tempers was a new stage and as such, the difficulty from three to four, or from four to six to seven was incredibly immense!

Yet Long Di charged towards this door and was banging on it unwaveringly!

Suddenly, he closed his eyes to focus on this feeling wholeheartedly.

The pain? He now banished it to the far end of his mind.

The light of the flames? He now became blind to it.

The roar of their fury? They all became so distant, yet more familiar, all the same.

Long Di didn’t know why, but it was as if he was lost in a world all his own. The sound of the hammer’s clangour was dull here, and the flames were dark.

He entered a state of clarity, yet fog encompassed him all the same.

Bam, bam, bam…

The dull thuds possessed a rhythm that banged upon the door to the seventh temper much more effectively than his furious beatings ever could.

He could still feel the motions of his swings and just barely grasp the profound tempo within them.

There were nine tempers within the first stage. Three stages of three composed its entirety.

Three of three composed its entirety. This phrase was familiar… is familiar.

The dao gives birth to One. One gives birth to Two. Two gives birth to Three. Three gives birth to All things.

Shing!

Enlightenment dawned and Long Di’s eyes opened in a flash!

‘I understand now!’

Ooongh…

‘No! Not yet!’

The flames began to die down and Long Di needed to continue as he wanted to use this momentum of his to traverse the chasm that separated the six from the seventh and beyond!

“Lord Whiskers!”

Long Di roared from the forge and Lord Whiskers could feel the former’s urgency. The Shidashi Mao rushed near the forge and listened to Long Di’s instructions in confusion.

It scratched its head in bewilderment, but Long Di’s enlightenment was quickly fleeting and he didn’t know when he would come across a feeling like this again!

He drove his spiritual force and took out the spirit stones remotely from his storage rings on the outside.

Lord Whiskers looked at the spirit stones, then the forge… then at the spirit stones again, then the forge.

Its eyes repeated this action a few times and Long Di could only hope that Lord Whiskers didn't screw him over!

Sigh…

Lord Whiskers sighed in response and took up the spirit stones. It bore the heat waves that continuously radiated from the forge and quickly approached it; it stuck them in the grooves in the same order that Long Di did.

Roar!

The flames found new life injected into them by Lord Whiskers’s whim and Long Di didn’t waste it!

‘Now!’

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The first set of three tempers was completed!

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The second set of three tempers was completed!

Vrrrm!

The hammer trembled as Long Di recited the phrase in his mind. Two gave birth to three.

He no longer viewed the first two sets of tempers as six tempers, but as two tempers instead.

With two giving birth to three, the third set, which held the seventh temper, was laid bare before him!

Boom!

The seventh temper landed!

‘Not yet!’

Long Di was still unresigned, the ‘Third’ temper was not completed in his mind!

The hammer flew through the air, leaving behind afterimages!

It was a dance of beauty and power. Its profundity had reached new heights for him!

‘Forge ahead and reach me!’

These Tempers, amidst the roar in his mind and of the flames; through fiery tribulations, they landed!

‘Eighth Temper! Ninth Temper!’

Bam! Bam!