Seeking Immortality in a Bizarre World-Chapter 510 - 505 Heaven-Refining Treasure Technique, Birthless Killing Sword_1
The time taken to refine Spiritual Treasures can be long or short, and this time, the rules were most advantageous for meticulous crafting—the higher the quality of the Spiritual Treasures forged, the better. By comparison, refining a Spiritual Treasure early was not the best choice.
Waiting for the other Artifact Refiners could mean another ten or eight years, and Jia Ren’s time was too valuable for that. He did not linger; he headed straight back to his residence, had his Second Nascent Soul take over the task of receiving intelligence, and started to cultivate Law of Heaven and Earth among several other Divine Skills. The refining of the Peerless Gold Composite and Massive Mountain Puppet could also be scheduled. If refined sooner, they could, like the Thornback Tortoise Puppet, be sent into the Demon-Sealing Spirit Tower to strengthen and enhance their quality. Once a puppet was enhanced to the Sixth Rank peak, it would be on par with Cultivators at the peak of the Lianxu Stage. Together with the Massive Mountain Puppet, it could be considered an indestructible force.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, ten years had passed. There was still no breakthrough with the new Peerless Gold Composite, but the Massive Mountain Puppet had already been refined. True to its name, the Massive Mountain Puppet stood ten Zhang tall, and once it manifested into its mountainous form, it would reach a thousand Zhang high—a true war behemoth.
At this moment, the Second Nascent Soul delivered a message: "The Artifact Refining trial has ended; we can wait for the results now."
By the time Jia Ren arrived, all twelve Spirit-level Refiners had finished their work. Most of them looked worse for wear, unsure if they had failed in refining or were just dissatisfied with the Spiritual Treasures they had produced.
"Congratulations to Senior Brother Cao on refining a Supreme Spirit Treasure and becoming the leader in Artifact Refining! You truly deserve it," one said.
"Once you become a Spirit-level Grandmaster, as long as you pass the Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure assessment, Senior Brother, you will be the leading Heaven-reaching Refiner among the younger generation."
One person looked toward the long-bearded Cultivator and hurriedly started to flatter him. The gap in strength between them was not significant, and there might still have been a competitive spirit. However, now that this person had refined a Supreme Spirit Treasure, a gap in their Refining Levels had clearly formed, making them incomparable.
"As long as you Junior Brothers work hard, refining a Supreme Spirit Treasure is within reach. I am undeserving of being first."
Even though Cao Shenggui said so, he couldn’t suppress the joy in his eyes or his ’dancing’ eyebrows. To ensure victory over strong rivals like Jia Ren and Zuo Shouxin, who had refined Premium Spiritual Treasures, he chose to refine the easiest Supreme Spirit Treasure and even used a secret technique. Perhaps it was luck, but this Artifact Refining attempt was divinely aided, and the Supreme Spirit Treasure was successfully refined.
With the Supreme Spirit Treasure in hand, first place is secured!
Once he thoroughly digested the insights gained from this Artifact Refining experience and focused exclusively on this Spiritual Treasure for the next hundred years, the rewards for future first-place rankings in the Refining Sequence would all be his.
With this resource gap, how could the others compete with him?
Elder Qing and Elder Liu looked at Cao Shenggui from a distance, their faces displaying a strange expression, with a hint of pity in their eyes. With an anomaly like Jia Ren, it was impossible for him to snatch first place.
"Ahem, silence!" Elder Qing announced. "I will now announce the results of this Artifact Refining sequence."
"Thirteenth: Bi Quan."
...
"Third: Zuo Shouxin."
Zuo Shouxin let out a slight sigh, unsurprised by this outcome. He had performed well this time but still couldn’t surpass the Spiritual Treasure refined by Jia Ren. Compared with Jia Ren’s previous ’achievements’, he was wholeheartedly convinced of his defeat.
"Second: Cao Shenggui."
???
The smile on Cao Shenggui’s face froze as he looked at Elder Qing with disbelief. "Hall Master, could you have made a mistake? I refined a Supreme Spirit Treasure..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Cao Shenggui realized he had overlooked a serious issue. His gaze turned incredulously towards Jia Ren.
"Did you also refine a Supreme Spirit Treasure?!" His voice was hoarse, revealing a sense of powerlessness.
If he hadn’t refined a Supreme Spirit Treasure, how else could I have been surpassed?
I was improving, but so was Jia Ren.
"Hall Master, I don’t mean to doubt your appraisal skills, but... may I see the Spiritual Treasure that Jia Ren refined?"
Though his words suggested no doubt, his actions questioned the fairness. First and second place might be separated by only one position, but in terms of resources, the difference could be several times greater. Heavenly Spirit Materials were scarce and would naturally be provided first to the best Artifact Refiners, with resources leaning toward the strongest, ensuring the strong get stronger. Without a clear understanding, he couldn’t accept it.
Elder Qing replied, his expression unreadable, "The Lingbao Sect is fair and just. Your appraisal abilities are not poor, so you can judge whether the result is fair." With a wave of his hand, eleven boxes were arranged according to rank, each bearing the name of the corresponding Artifact Refiner.
Nobody paid attention to the other boxes, and Cao Shenggui’s Supreme Spirit Treasure was no exception. All eyes were on Cao Shenggui as he eagerly reached into his box and retrieved the Spiritual Treasure. Spirit-level Refiners’ ability to appraise Spirit Treasures was not inadequate. The fusion of materials and integration of Spirit Patterns on the Royal Void Robe were seamless and masterful, a true work of art. In contrast, Cao Shenggui’s Supreme Spirit Treasure seemed like a forcibly patched-together item; even a layman could recognize the disparity at first glance.
"I lost!" He gently placed the Spiritual Treasure back down, an Artifact Refiner’s respect for such creations.
"I am not as good as you..."
Even the work I was most satisfied with couldn’t compare to Jia Ren’s; my pride has crumbled to dust.
Cao Shenggui seemed to have aged several years as he swayed out of the Refining Palace, striding far away. Anyone could see that this defeat had dealt him a heavy blow.
"Congratulations, Junior Brother Jia, your Artifact Refining level is as superb as ever."
"With a Supreme Spirit Treasure of this caliber, Junior Brother, you weren’t hiding your skills before, were you?"
"How could Junior Brother Jia be compared to ordinary Artifact Refiners? Who else could produce a Premium Spiritual Treasure so soon after becoming a Spirit-level Refiner? Junior Brother Jia’s talent is truly exceptional..."
"Junior Brother Jia, you always miss the Artifact Refining exchanges. In the exchanges among fellow disciples, you can’t keep your secrets!"
No matter what they thought of Jia Ren before, the moment they saw the Royal Void Robe, all put on enthusiastic smiles. Some wanted to establish a good relationship with him and get his guidance, as exchange was beneficial for both sides. Others were displeased internally yet maintained enthusiastic smiles.
Jia Ren quickly said, "This time I was fortunate to refine a Supreme Spirit Treasure. I need to enter seclusion to study it further. Once my cultivation and research are complete, I will certainly discuss the Way with my fellow Senior Brothers."
After finishing their discussions, each claimed their corresponding resources. The Second Spirit Treasure Sect was unexpectedly generous, allowing for an advance on one hundred years of rewards. In comparison, the treatment for the Lingbao Sect’s competition for the fire kindling was much less favorable. Although one could receive an advance for one event’s reward, it was only for three years. It couldn’t compare to the Artifact Refiners at all.
"This is your reward for a hundred years. Moreover, if you wish to obtain further Lingbao Sect Contributions and resources, you can only refine artifacts for the sect."
He received three thousand Top-quality Spirit Stones, ten portions of Supreme-grade Spiritual Material, and one portion of Heavenly Spirit Material. In addition, his Identity Token instantly showed an increase of one hundred million Lingbao Sect Contributions.
I wasn’t sure what the Origin Spirit Pool was, but as a reward from the Lingbao Sect, it certainly wouldn’t be inferior.
Jia Ren’s Realm had already reached the peak of the Divinity Transformation Stage. Before breaking through to the next Realm, his Cultivation Level could not advance further, so he was not in a hurry to use the one year’s access to the Origin Spirit Pool.
The last item was to choose a Heaven-Connecting Refinement Art.
Elder Qing said, "Follow me. Choose the Heaven-Connecting Refinement Art you wish to learn."
Under the envious gaze of many Lingbao Sect Cultivators and Elder Liu, Jia Ren followed Elder Qing deeper into the Refining Palace.
"The Heaven-Connecting Refinement Arts are different from other Artifact Refining Techniques; each corresponds to a different Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure."
"You can only choose the refining method of one Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure."
A Jade Slip flew over, recording all the Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure-crafting methods mastered by the Lingbao Sect. Jia Ren glanced over and saw that the number of Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure crafting methods was remarkably over a hundred.
So many?!
The Lingbao Sect guards information on Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures so closely. I’d assumed there wouldn’t be many, but only today do I realize how absurdly wrong I was.
"Although there are many Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure crafting methods recorded, if you want to refine one, not only do you need the refining technique, but the Heavenly Spirit Material is also crucial."
"Many Heavenly Spirit Materials in the Mysterious Realm have become extinct, so if you wish to refine their corresponding Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures, there’s no hope."
Jia Ren’s face stiffened slightly, afraid of choosing a refining method for a Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure that couldn’t actually be refined. He quickly said with a laugh, "Hall Master, could you please give some guidance?"
"Of course."
A stream of light descended, highlighting fifty-six kinds of Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure crafting methods, their glows varying in intensity.
"The deeper the glow they emanate, the more times the sect has recorded the successful refining of that particular Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure."
"An absence of light signifies that the sect hasn’t collected all the necessary Heavenly Spirit Materials, making it difficult to refine those corresponding Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures."
Jia Ren looked towards the brightest point of light; its name was the Treasure Genesis Furnace. Following that were the Ten Directions Annihilation Banner, Soul-binding Chain, Ocean Overturning Seal, Soul-Shaking Bell, Birthless Killing Sword, Night Moon Wheel... These were the most frequently refined Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures. Frequent refinement doesn’t mean the greatest power; this wasn’t a list of the strongest Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures. To learn how to refine a Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure, one had to make a choice from among them.
I already have the Soul-Shaking Bell, so naturally, I wouldn’t choose it.
The effects of the Soul-binding Chain are somewhat redundant for me, so there’s no need to learn it.
The Ocean Overturning Seal, Ten Directions Annihilation Banner, Birthless Killing Sword, and Night Moon Wheel were all good.
The remaining Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures weren’t bad, but the number of times they had been crafted was very few. This meant... the Lingbao Sect had only managed to gather the materials for these a few times. The number of successful craftings was extremely low, offering no guarantee that the Lingbao Sect even had the necessary Spiritual Material reserves. Compared to them, those with a relatively higher number of craftings were more to my liking. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about collecting Spiritual Materials.
Jia Ren possessed many Spiritual Treasures, but they were primarily defensive; his offensive capabilities were lacking. The puppets he planned to craft subsequently were also defensive, which would inevitably leave his offensive power insufficient. This was more than enough against Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators, but against High-Order Cultivators or Magical Beasts of the Lianxu Stage, it would be inadequate. However, there was still time to compensate for this shortcoming.
Jia Ren’s gaze swept over the Ten Directions Annihilation Banner and the Birthless Killing Sword. Ultimately, he chose the Birthless Killing Sword. This kind of Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure was unparalleled in its lethality and could complement the killing intent path of his Second Nascent Soul, making it far more suitable for him than the Ten Directions Annihilation Banner.
"The refining method for the Birthless Killing Sword."
"Are you sure you want to choose the refining method for the Birthless Killing Sword?" Elder Qing asked. "The Heavenly Spirit Material the sect bestows upon you will also be for this specific sword. By then, it will be too late if you wish to change your mind."
Jia Ren’s choice would not be easily changed. He nodded resolutely and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Hall Master. I will choose the Heaven-Refining Treasure Technique for the Birthless Killing Sword."
