Seeking Immortality in a Bizarre World-Chapter 429 - 424 Qingling Sword! Spirit-level Refiner!_1
"Hmph, that brat’s performance was actually quite decent! He finally acts a bit like a disciple of mine, Ancestor Ji Kong!"
Ancestor Ji Kong, upon seeing Zhuo Chengdao, learned of Jia Ren’s performance in the Heiyuan Secret Realm.
Zhuo Chengdao relayed the events with considerable embellishment.
"Without Junior Brother Jia, it would have been impossible to successfully conquer the Heiyuan Secret Realm. Who knows what variables might have arisen?"
Jia Ren, who was keen on avoiding battle, was a thorn in Ancestor Ji Kong’s side.
An adopted son should be like Ma Tianbao!
Whenever he bragged to old friends about his adopted son Ma Tianbao, someone would bring up Jia Ren.
Ancestor Ji Kong felt like there was a fishbone stuck in his throat, dampening his enthusiasm for boasting about his adopted son.
He couldn’t just kick Jia Ren off the list of disciples, could he? After all, Jia Ren was the ’bonus’ disciple that came with the ’purchased’ adopted son.
Thankfully, his painstaking efforts were not in vain; the least promising of his disciples had finally made something of himself.
With his disciple achieving great merit by slaying many Demon Cultivators, Ancestor Ji Kong was immensely gratified.
"This guy hasn’t come to greet me since returning, nor does he reply to my messages. He must harbor dissatisfaction towards me."
"You, go fetch him for me!"
With a cold face, his fifth senior brother, Mu Liqing, headed straight for Xiao Mang Mountain.
"He hasn’t returned?"
Mu Liqing, upon meeting the gaunt, horse-faced Cultivator dealing with bodies, received his answer.
Where had the man gone?
Jia Ren had been back at the Sect for some time. If he wasn’t in Xiao Mang Mountain, could he be constructing his Cave?
After successive visits to the Internal Affairs Pavilion and Heterodox Peak, Mu Liqing found no one.
This angered Mu Liqing greatly.
His ’bargain’ Junior Brother couldn’t have run away from the Sect to avoid a second battle, could he?
Based on what he had learned from his master, it was quite possible for Junior Brother Jia to do such a thing...
Having no other choice, Mu Liqing had to seek help from familiar Law Enforcement Elders to lock onto Jia Ren’s Identity Token and find his whereabouts.
The man was in the Refining Palace.
Could he be there for the custom creation of a Spiritual Treasure?
A Spiritual Treasure was of utmost importance. It wouldn’t be long before they would re-enter the Secret Realm Battlefield, and an extra Spiritual Treasure could increase the odds of victory.
To fulfill his master’s task, Mu Liqing first needed to find the person.
"No one? Jia Ren hasn’t registered here?"
"Where has he gone?!"
Mu Liqing could only seek information from familiar Refining Palace cultivators.
Persistence pays off, and he finally received news of Jia Ren.
He was undergoing the assessment to become a Spirit Treasure Refiner. Wang Jian had made an exception for him, and many were privy to this information.
Mu Liqing wore a strange expression.
This Junior Brother was truly resourceful, going to great lengths to avoid battle.
Mu Liqing could only leave in silence and report back to his master.
Ancestor Ji Kong, upon receiving the news, stood like a petrified statue, his face betraying no emotion.
Ancestor Ji Kong had planned to seek out Mo Laogui to brag about his disciple and adopted son; this time, the other party would surely have no comeback.
But he hadn’t expected...
"This rebellious disciple! I will expel him from the Sect one day!"
Jia Ren was unaware of Ancestor Ji Kong’s mood, investing all his thoughts into Artifact Refining.
The Spiritual Treasure he was refining was the simplest—the Qingling Sword.
Its Spirit Treasure Inscription was the simplest and the easiest to refine.
Had he chosen a more complex Spiritual Treasure, refining it within three years would have been difficult, even if the essence refining and artifact refining stages saved a considerable amount of time.
He didn’t want to re-enter the war-torn Secret Realm. Whether he could succeed or not, this was his all-or-nothing gambit!
「Half a year later」
The Spiritual Materials and auxiliary materials in the Refining Furnace had fused together, transforming into a light cyan Spirit Gold Water.
With Jia Ren’s manipulation, the fused Spirit Gold Water transformed into threads as fine as hair, weaving into strands of spiritual silk.
"Spirit Patterned Sword Spirit Silk!"
Jia Ren concentrated fully, embedding each strand of spiritual silk he condensed with the Sword Spirit Silk Spirit Pattern.
The spiritual silk, engraved with the Sword Spirit Silk Spirit Pattern, gradually wound together, forming the shape of a cyan longsword.
These threads were far too fine, only slightly thicker than a strand of hair from the scalp; countless such threads were slowly woven together to form a sword.
"The spiritual silk refined this way was far more meticulous than what a normal cultivator could produce. The Sword Spirit Silk could thus contain more Spirit Patterns, and its power would be greater."
"The only downside was that his inscription of the Sword Spirit Silk Inscription was not yet proficient enough. The Spirit Pattern lacked finesse, suggesting it was his first attempt."
The two observers didn’t regard Jia Ren as an examinee but as a peer. Each observation session brought them substantial insights.
Their eyes had learned it, but their bodies couldn’t follow suit.
The Lingbao Sect had few refiners with such control, and neither of the two observers was among them.
As the Sword Spirit Silk Inscription merged with the body of the sword, the core was finally complete.
Next was the secondary forging to perfect the finer details, which involved adding the six types of Magical Treasure Inscriptions.
Sword Heart, Ruyi, Hua Sha, Ride the Wind, Razor Sharp, and Break Gang—six Magical Treasure Inscriptions.
Once all seven Inscriptions were combined and nurtured a sword spirit, the Spiritual Treasure would be born.
The sword embryo, through meticulous hammering and forging, became a single, unified whole.
Next were the remaining six Inscriptions. Compared to the Spirit Treasure Inscription, these Magical Treasure Inscriptions were considerably easier to apply.
In a short time, all six Magical Treasure Inscriptions were inscribed.
With that, the sword embryo was truly formed.
"Spirit Invocation Water!"
Jia Ren took out the prepared Jade Vase, and a bottle of Spirit Invocation Water was poured into the embryo of the Spirit Sword.
"Attract!"
A spell was cast into it, guiding the Qingling Sword to absorb the Spirit Invocation Water, drawing all of it into the sword embryo without leaving a single drop.
Refining Spiritual Treasures differs from refining Magical Treasures. A treasure must possess Spiritual Nature to be considered a Spiritual Treasure.
Otherwise, at best, it could only be deemed a Pseudo Spirit Treasure.
There are three most widely used methods for refining Spiritual Treasures. One is the Spirit Activation Method, which mainly uses Spiritual Materials as the base and pairs them with Spirit Invocation Water to stimulate the Spiritual Nature of the Spiritual Treasure.
The Artifact Refining process must not damage the Spiritual Nature of the Spiritual Materials as they blend into one entity. When the treasure emerges from the furnace, it will be born with Spiritual Nature.
This was the best method for a Spiritual Treasure to gain Spiritual Nature and the most widely used refining technique in the Lingbao Sect.
Besides this, there are the Demon Spirit Method and the Soul Refining Method.
The Demon Spirit Method has two approaches. One is for a Magical Treasure to ascend to a Spiritual Treasure, with a Demon Soul replacing the Spiritual Nature of the Spiritual Treasure. The second involves adding a Demon Soul during the treasure refining process. In comparison, the Demon Spirit Method has much lower requirements for Spiritual Materials than the Spirit Activation Method.
The last was the Soul Refining Method, also known as the Living Soul Method. This was the technique used by Demonic Sects to refine Spiritual Treasures. They used human souls in place of Demon Souls or innate Spiritual Nature, giving birth to Spiritual Treasures unique to the Demonic Sects.
Such Spiritual Treasures are also known as Demon Treasures.
Spiritual Treasures birthed by the Spirit Activation Method initially had the weakest Spiritual Nature but possessed extremely high growth potential. The Lingbao Sect used the Communication Treasure Art to enhance the Spiritual Nature of these Spiritual Treasures, ensuring their future potential far surpassed those made by the other two methods.
Jia Ren used the most orthodox method, which is the Spirit Activation Method.
"It must give birth to a weapon spirit!"
Nearly three years had passed. Drawing out the silk-like filaments for the sword and inscribing the Sword Spirit Silk Inscription had taken the most time.
Jia Ren maintained his fire manipulation and refinement proficiency at the peak of the Grandmaster Level, achieving the fastest possible speed for Refining Treasures.
He hoped for success!
From beginning to end, the Artifact Refining process encountered not even the slightest error and could be considered a model of Artifact Refining.
He did his utmost while ensuring his skills were up to par.
If the Qingling Sword failed to birth a Spiritual Nature...
Jia Ren had another method: to change the process to incorporate a Demon Soul, letting the Demon Soul take over.
Lowering the Spiritual Treasure’s potential was not something he was considering.
He aimed to pass the Spirit Treasure Refiner assessment, not to worry about the Spiritual Treasure’s future upper limit.
Time ticked away second by second, and there was no sign of the Qingling Sword acquiring any Spiritual Nature.
Jia Ren didn’t have much time left. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
"Wang Jian, can I use a Demon Soul?"
Wang Jian and the Vice Hall Master of the Refining Hall, upon hearing this, quickly waved their hands. "Is this your first time refining a Spiritual Treasure? Your talent is astounding."
"Your experience in refining Spiritual Treasures is still too superficial."
"This Spiritual Treasure is only a step away from success. The finer the quality of the refined Spiritual Treasure, the longer it takes for its Spiritual Nature to be born, and the stronger that Spiritual Nature will be."
At the critical moment of a Spiritual Treasure birthing its spirit, switching to a Demon Soul could indeed complete it, but it would waste a top-quality Spiritual Treasure embryo.
Jia Ren estimated the time; it was nearing three years.
He wasn’t sure he could wait for the moment the Spiritual Treasure would be born.
"Ahem, can I become a Spirit Treasure Refiner ahead of time?"
Jia Ren did not wish to be close to success, only to be forcibly recruited into the Secret Realm Battlefield.
In that case, would he not have labored in vain?
Wang Jian and the Vice Hall Master of the Refining Hall laughed, saying helplessly, "Don’t worry. With your excellent talent for Artifact Refining, how could we possibly let you risk your life in the Secret Realm Battlefield?"
"I won’t stand by and watch a prized child of the Lingbao Sect go to his death."
"Your battlefield is not to fight enemies to the death; it is to delve into the art of Artifact Refining, striving to become a Heaven-reaching Refiner as soon as possible."
"It’s a pity that you’ve already taken a master..."
The Vice Hall Master of the Refining Hall’s eyes were full of regret, cursing his luck for not discovering this gem sooner.
His master was a High-Level Cultivator of the Lingbao Sect. He couldn’t very well fight with a peer over a disciple, could he?
Jia Ren had extraordinary talent for Artifact Refining, but not so much that the Vice Hall Master would disregard all decorum and try to poach a disciple from someone else.
Cultivators of the same sect couldn’t afford to lose such face.
Even if Jia Ren failed to refine a Spiritual Treasure, his skill in refining top-tier materials alone was sufficient for handling materials for Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures. This ensured his entry into the Hall of Artifice of the Lingbao Sect would be no problem.
Such a talent could not be sent to the Secret Realm Battlefield to fight with Demon Cultivators.
The Vice Hall Master of the Refining Hall raised his hand, and a Talisman shot out, vanishing.
"From now on, you are a Spirit-level Refiner of the Refining Hall, exempt from being recruited by Heterodox Peak to participate in battle."
"Congratulations on becoming a member of the Hall of Artifice."
"Present your Identity Token."
Jia Ren took out his Identity Token and handed it to the Vice Hall Master of the Refining Hall.
He cast a spell into it, and the Identity Token glowed with an unusual light, then returned to normal.
From this day on, Jia Ren had the qualification to be exempt from being drafted by Heterodox Peak and didn’t have to risk his life against Demon Cultivators in the Secret Realm Battlefield.
This was an incredible stroke of luck.
Finally... he was safe!
HUM!
The Qingling Sword burst out with dazzling and spectacular light. The sword hummed softly, lifted into the air on its own, its tip pointing at each of the three people in turn, and then flew straight towards Jia Ren.
"The Spiritual Treasure is formed!"
"It’s brimming with Spiritual Nature! The quality of this Spiritual Treasure, refined on a first attempt, is remarkably high—truly a fine piece!"
"To refine such a superior Spiritual Treasure on your very first success as a Spirit-level Refiner—you truly are an exceptional talent!"
"The future of the Refining Hall rests on you!"
Jia Ren nodded, keeping his joy in check.
"The rise and fall of the Lingbao Sect are intertwined with every disciple. As an Artifact Refiner of the Lingbao Sect, you must accept the Sect’s missions to forge Spiritual Treasures for your fellow disciples. Are you willing?"
Although it was still recruitment for a mission, the difficulty was not on the same level.
One meant risking life and limb, while the other involved safely Refining Treasures in the rear.
Not only could he improve his skill and Proficiency Level in refining Spiritual Treasures and related arts, but he could also find opportunities to slack off.
Compared to deployment in the Secret Realm Battlefield, this was overwhelmingly appealing!
