Seeking Immortality in a Bizarre World-Chapter 427 - 422: Entering the Secret Realm Battlefield Again? Refining Palace!_1
"You are all meritorious servants of the Lingbao Sect, and the Sect will reward you."
Tian Lingzi, the Chief of Lingbao Sect, had appeared at some unknown time, meeting Jia Ren and his group just as they returned from the Heiyuan Secret Realm.
He gazed at everyone, his eyes brimming with smiles.
This was some rare good news since the war against the Shimo Sect had begun.
The Lingbao Sect had long enjoyed peace and did not encourage its disciples to engage in battle; most were not adept at combat.
Although there was the Tongtian Tower for practice to enhance combat capabilities, the problem was... the puppets’ techniques were limited and couldn’t compare to real Cultivators.
Why were only True Disciples sent among the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators?
Inner Sect Disciples couldn’t even pass the Tongtian Tower, let alone survive the battle in a Secret Realm.
The Lingbao Sect had three advantages. First, its disciples far outnumbered those of the Shimo Sect.
The Shimo Sect practiced survival of the fittest—a brutal policy—meaning their number of disciples paled in comparison to the Lingbao Sect’s.
Second were its Spiritual Treasures and the Spiritual Treasure Formation, which were the Lingbao Sect’s means of asserting dominance.
Unfortunately, the Shimo Sect possessed counters like the Filthy Spirit Demonic Water.
The Shimo Sect’s Demon Cultivators were fewer than those of the Lingbao Sect, and their individual combat abilities were not on the same level.
Out of the seven major Secret Realm Battlefields, apart from the Heiyuan Secret Realm, three other large Secret Realm Battlefields had already seen victors emerge.
Two losses and one win—it was a sorry track record.
Fortunately, it had now become two wins and two losses, maintaining a shaky balance.
"The Sect will tailor-make a Spiritual Treasure for each of you."
The rewards from the Lingbao Sect were generous, with a custom-made Spiritual Treasure being incredibly precious.
Excitement showed on the faces of the seventy-two Lingbao Sect Cultivators who had survived.
The rewards from the Secret Realm Battlefield were indeed substantial!
Unlike the Spiritual Treasures obtained from slaying Demon Cultivators, most of which were not very useful, their quality and power far inferior to those crafted by the Lingbao Sect.
The two were not on the same level.
Everyone was invigorated, unable to hide the excitement on their faces.
After Tian Lingzi reported the good news, he then took his leave.
His voice boomed, spreading throughout the Sect and stirring the hearts of countless people.
Not all Lingbao Sect disciples would participate; only those from the Heterodox Peak were conscripted to join the Secret Realm Battlefields.
The other four lineages had no forced participation; it was strictly voluntary.
With this incentive, many disciples would volunteer to join the three Secret Realm Battlefields that had yet to conclude.
"You all have a maximum of three years to rest and recuperate. There is still one Nascent Soul Stage battlefield among the three major Secret Realms that requires your intervention."
Dong Yingtian, the Heterodox Peak Master, appeared silently. He wore a golden robe, his white hair tied at the back of his head, with sword-like eyebrows reaching his temples, giving off an extremely harsh impression.
His voice was like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone, chilling them to the core.
They had to participate in a Secret Realm Battlefield again?
Were they to be treated like beasts of burden?
The Heterodox Peak was different from the other four peaks, as it fulfilled the duty of protecting the Sect.
The other four peaks could avoid battle unless the Sect’s survival was at stake.
But when the Heterodox Peak faced a Sect war, an event that might occur once in ten thousand years, they could only accept their misfortune.
Many felt despondent. They had thought that with the end of the Heiyuan Secret Battlefield, they could finally rest easy, not realizing it was just the beginning...
Enter a new Secret Realm Battlefield?
Perhaps it was even worse than dragging out time in the Heiyuan Secret Realm...
The outcome of the Secret Realm Battlefields was tied to the rise and fall of the Sect. What came next would be a meat grinder, the fighting far more brutal than in the Heiyuan Secret Realm.
Heterodox Peak Master Dong Yingtian announced the decision and, paying no heed to everyone’s reactions, drifted away.
With heavy hearts, the crowd dispersed in a hurry, cherishing the hard-earned free time they had.
Xia Zonglong, you’ve caused so much trouble!
It’s easy for you now that you’re dead!
The war between the two sects had started because Xia Zonglong broke into the Giant Forest Secret Realm. Now, although the instigator was dead, those left living had to bear the suffering.
Indeed, a calamity’s consequences can last a thousand years!
Jia Ren pondered how to avoid the battle. Closed-door Cultivation? Unless it’s for a breakthrough in Realm, and after reporting to and confirming with the Sect, they would never grant permission. There’s only one path left—cultivation skills. Formation, Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and Talisman Crafting—reaching the Fifth Rank in any one of these skills grants the right to abstain from Sect warfare. The Lingbao Sect wouldn’t send ’logistical’ personnel to battle. The other three cultivation skills are valued slightly less in the Lingbao Sect, far less than Artifact Refining. The only thing I can do is become a Spirit Treasure Refiner certified by the Sect within three years.
"Elder Brother Zhuo, this is goodbye," Jia Ren said with a bow, then turned and left.
Zhuo Chengdao’s Cultivation Level had reached Nascent Soul Peak, and he was busy preparing for his Advancement to the Divine Ascension Period.
If he managed to advance to the Divinity Transformation Stage, he would next have to enter the Mahayana Secret Battlefield.
This was the worst-case scenario, but Zhuo Chengdao was undeterred.
In his own words, a sword that isn’t honed will always be just a display piece.
Now is the time to show my true strength!
Jia Ren didn’t even consider resting at Xiao Mang Mountain and headed straight for the South District.
The Refining Palace was located in the South District and was the most conspicuous building.
Adjacent to it were other halls for disciplines like Alchemy, Talisman Crafting, and Formation, but their scale was significantly smaller, reflecting the Lingbao Sect’s core focus.
He did not stop along the way, heading straight for the Refining Palace.
Many Cultivators had similar thoughts, but they were not aiming to become Artifact Refiners; instead, they were in a hurry to craft their own Spiritual Treasures.
Three years might feel long to mortals, but it was far too short for Cultivators; not enough time to craft a Spiritual Treasure that suited them.
Entering a new Secret Realm Battlefield, a handy Spiritual Treasure could determine one’s life or death.
The Refining Palace’s exterior was not large, but its interior was another world entirely.
Inside the hall, white-robed disciples bustled in and out, hurriedly transporting materials.
As the war machine turned, Artifact Refiners also had to refine artifacts under immense pressure.
The Sect Master merely had to speak, and the refiners in the Refining Palace worked their hands to the bone.
"If any Senior Brothers wish to refine a Spiritual Treasure, please come here to register the Spiritual Treasure you intend to refine."
"If you would like a finished Spiritual Treasure, you can choose from the existing completed ones."
"The Refining Palace also has a purification pool capable of refining a Demon Sect’s Spiritual Treasure; however, this will cost a considerable amount of Sect contribution."
A white-robed disciple approached with a smiling face.
The Cultivators who had arrived with Jia Ren followed the disciple, but Jia Ren remained stationary.
"Senior Brother, are you not Refining Treasures?"
Another white-robed disciple, seeing that Jia Ren hadn’t followed the others, quickly approached and paid his respects.
"I wish to become a Spirit Treasure Refiner. May I know the procedures involved?"
A Spirit Treasure Refiner?
The white-robed disciple was taken aback, then glanced up at Jia Ren’s Purple Taoist Robe.
In the Lingbao Sect, the color of Taoist Robes determined status and position; different peaks also had corresponding patterns on their robes to distinguish which lineage a disciple was from.
Of course, this was something only True Disciples of the five lineages possessed.
Different peaks had different corresponding patterns; the Heterodox Peak was represented by a Sword, signifying the Sect’s blade.
Having spent over a hundred years in the Refining Palace, the white-robed disciple recognized all the senior brothers capable of advancing to Spirit Treasure Refiner.
This Outer Path Peak True Disciple was not among them.
Those with strong Artifact Refining abilities would choose a master from the Lingbao Lineage, not the Heterodox Lineage.
This person seemed odd, no matter how one looked at him.
"Senior Brother, please give me your Identity Token. Only a Precious-rank Artifact Refiner can advance to Spirit-level Refiner."
The white-robed disciple found it strange but complied with the request anyway.
The Token was handed over, connecting to the Refining Palace’s systems in an unknown manner.
Before long, the white-robed disciple’s expression became odd. "Ahem, Senior Brother, you haven’t studied in the Artifact Outer Palace? There is no corresponding information in our records."
"Senior Brother, you will have to start from scratch, first becoming a Legal-rank Artifact Refiner."
The Artifact Refiners of the Lingbao Sect, from lowest to highest, were ranked as Legal-rank, Precious-rank, Spirit-level, and Sky-reaching Level, corresponding to the four grades of treasures.
Each rank also had four tiers: ordinary, fine, master, and Grandmaster.
These tiers merely represented the refiner’s proficiency at the corresponding treasure grade and did not affect promotion through the ranks.
As long as you could refine a Spiritual Treasure, you were a Spirit-level Refiner.
The proficiency in Refining Treasures of a Spirit-level Refiner determined their status in the Refining Palace.
To become a Spirit-level Refiner, one needed to ascend this four-step ladder one step at a time.
"Can’t I directly refine a Spiritual Treasure and be assessed as a Spirit-level Refiner?"
Refining Magic Artifacts and Magical Treasures will waste a lot of my time, not to mention the even more time-consuming refinement of Spiritual Treasures. With only three years at my disposal, how can I afford to waste any?
The white-robed disciple thought, You haven’t even learned to walk, and you want to fly directly? Isn’t that a bit too ambitious?
"Ahem, Senior Brother, this is the first time I’ve encountered such a request. I will immediately consult Supervisor Wang," the white-robed disciple said as he took out a Magic Artifact to contact the person in charge of the outer hall.
Jia Ren waited quietly to the side. A white-robed figure hurried past, then quickly returned, stopping in front of Jia Ren.
"You’ve finally shown yourself?!"
Wei Chi Gong’s eyes seemed to spit fire; if looks could kill, he would have undoubtedly slashed the man before him a thousand times over.
"You’ve really fallen on hard times!" Jia Ren remarked, glancing at Wei Chi Gong. He hadn’t seen him in a long time and noticed the fellow looked even worse off, reduced to running errands.
Wei Chi Gong’s eyes blazed; he was furious.
He himself had declined to performing menial tasks, while this former Grey Robed Miscellaneous Duties disciple had transformed into a True Disciple of the Sect. The gap between them was ever widening.
This is all Jia Ren’s fault!
Ever since Jia Ren had suddenly become an Inner Sect Disciple, Wei Chi Gong had completely lost contact with him.
With no one to refine materials for him, how could Wei Chi Gong’s actual refining skill ever process Spiritual Materials?
The quality of his work was a complete mess, and he wasted valuable Spiritual Materials.
Once his true skill level was exposed, Wei Chi Gong was swiftly eliminated and expelled from the Refining Palace.
Only now, with the Lingbao Sect at war with the Shimo Sect and desperately needing manpower, had he been brought back for menial work to reduce the pressure on the Refining Palace.
The higher-ups in the Refining Palace also wanted to know the identity of the person with such exceptional refining skill.
Unfortunately, Wei Chi Gong hated Jia Ren to the bone. Not wanting Jia Ren to receive favor from the powerful and rise meteorically, he had not revealed the truth.
This was why Jia Ren had remained undisturbed and had not gained the favor of Elder Lianxu from the Lingbao Lineage.
"What are you doing here? The Refining Palace does not welcome you!" Wei Chi Gong glared at Jia Ren with extreme hostility, still intending to drive him away.
"You’re not even an Outer Hall Artifact Refiner. What right do you have to order me around?"
This sentence was like rubbing salt in Wei Chi Gong’s wounds, enraging him to the point where his eyes turned red.
Jia Ren ignored him, looking deeper into the Refining Palace.
A purple-robed Cultivator with a full beard had appeared at some point. He was staring at Jia Ren and Wei Chi Gong, seemingly pondering something.
"You wish to become a Spirit-level Refiner?" the purple-robed Cultivator asked Jia Ren.
Being a Spirit-level Refiner in the Refining Palace held a certain magical allure, and the menial workers and Artifact Refiners alike turned their gazes toward them.
Wei Chi Gong’s eyes were bloodshot, consumed by jealousy.
"This is against the rules," the purple-robed Cultivator stated.
His gaze swept over Wei Chi Gong, and as if recalling the Grandmaster of Spiritual Material refinement, his tone shifted. "However, during this special period of Sect warfare, extraordinary measures can be taken. I’ll make an exception for you this one time."
Wei Chi Gong didn’t realize that by speaking to Jia Ren, he had inadvertently done him a huge favor.
