It wasn't that
But Jiang Chen had decided to do it himself. In his previous life, he hadn't been unfamiliar with forging. In this life, he'd simply had fewer opportunities to practice. Give him a little hands-on experience, and even if he couldn't become a top-tier master, he'd at least be first-rate.
Of course, the matter of forging the formation flags had to be done personally. Handing it off to someone else wasn't something he was comfortable with.
Fortunately, he'd obtained plenty of Purple-Black Gold from Elder Liancheng, so he had enough material to afford some waste.
Seven days later, all six times six—thirty-six formation flags—had been successfully forged by Jiang Chen.
In truth, Jiang Chen had forged over fifty, but he'd been unsatisfied with the early ones and discarded them. The remaining ones were all fine quality.
With the formation flags complete, Jiang Chen didn't linger and prepared to leave the Forging Hall.
Fatty Lü tried repeatedly to convince him to stay. "Jiang Chen, it's rare for you to visit the Forging Hall. Let me play host and treat you to a drink!"
Jiang Chen truly didn't have time for drinking.
"Hall Master Lü, if you don't think me rude, please come visit my cave dwelling next time. These days I'm pressed for time. Before long, there's the Phantom Wave Mountain Alchemy Competition, and I need to prepare extensively."
Fatty Lü nodded and sighed. "In that case, I won't insist. Come by whenever you have time. The Forging Hall is your second home."
Fatty Lü was quite the lively fellow—adept at socializing. After interacting a few times, he and Jiang Chen were already like brothers. It was no wonder Fatty Lü valued Jiang Chen so highly.
The truth was, the geniuses in the Supreme Zone, even when they occasionally visited the Forging Hall, weren't particularly enthusiastic about it. After all, the Forging Hall wasn't the Martial Hall or the Medicinal Hall. In the eyes of geniuses, it was a dead end—destined to have no overlap with their ambitions.
So even though Fatty Lü held the prestigious title of Forging Hall Head, very few top-tier geniuses were willing to genuinely befriend him.
Jiang Chen was the first.
To put it bluntly, Fatty Lü's position as Forging Hall Head might not even rank alongside the top five elders of the Martial Hall or the Medicinal Hall.
"Hall Master Lü, once you've gathered the materials for the Six-Patterned Black Dragon Pill, come find me at my cave dwelling anytime." Jiang Chen wasn't the sort to burn bridges after crossing them.
"Absolutely, absolutely." Fatty Lü was overjoyed. He'd wanted to ask Elder
After all, Elder Yun Nie was a Supreme Elder—one of the three pillars of the Crimson Sky Palace.
Back at his cave dwelling, the agreement with the Little Golden Cicada happened to be due.
Jiang Chen kept his word. He summoned the Little Golden Cicada and guided it into the Wood Spirit Spring.
When the Little Golden Cicada saw the Wood Spirit Spring, it fully believed Jiang Chen's words. Joyfully, it entered the spring for its baptism.
The Little Golden Cicada was different from other spirit beasts—it belonged to a species that fed on wind and dew. The Wood Spirit Spring wasn't just for baptism; it could also be consumed.
Consuming the spirit spring was even more beneficial for its bloodline transformation.
Of course, other spirit beasts could consume it too, but the effect was nowhere near as great as it was for the Little Golden Cicada.
The Little Golden Cicada's baptism was destined to be a lengthy process, and Jiang Chen didn't need to watch over it constantly.
During the day, he set up formations. At night, he cultivated.
About a month later, the Little Golden Cicada finally completed its bloodline evolution. In appearance, it had undergone a dramatic transformation.
The cicada, once the size of a fist, was now as large as a watermelon. With its wings spread, it spanned over a meter across.
"Your servant greets its master."
According to their prior agreement, once the Little Golden Cicada completed its bloodline evolution, it had to submit to Jiang Chen and acknowledge him as its master.
"Little Golden Cicada, you don't need to call me 'master.' My name is Jiang Chen. You can call me Chen Shao, just like the others."
"Then I'll call you Brother Chen." Having spent time with Jiang Chen, the Little Golden Cicada had come to understand his character—this human master was no fearsome villain. Knowing he'd found such a master, the Little Golden Cicada understood it was its good fortune.
The Golden Cicada clan, though their bloodline was noble, had limited offensive power. To survive in the cruel Myriad Heavens Planes, they ultimately had to attach themselves to other races.
And among those, the human race was one the Golden Cicadas most commonly allied with.
By pledging loyalty to Jiang Chen, the Little Golden Cicada had essentially found a powerful backer—no more living in constant fear.
"Ha ha, call me whatever you like."
Jiang Chen was in excellent spirits and asked further, "Your bloodline evolution is complete—have you awakened your inherited memories?"
At this, the Little Golden Cicada's face was filled with amazement. "Brother Chen, you really called it! Our Golden Cicada clan truly is immune to all poisons and invulnerable to all lightning."
As for the Golden Cicada Wings and the Golden Cicada Suspended Death ability, the Little Golden Cicada had known about those for a long time.
From Jiang Chen's perspective, the Golden Cicada clan was something he naturally understood from his past life's memories. But in the Little Golden Cicada's eyes, it was nothing short of miraculous.