Seeking Immortality in a Bizarre World-Chapter 523 - 518: Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasure Refining Method, Zhenjie Xuanstone_1
"It took thirty-six years to refine a Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure, but with full effort, the time could be reduced to about twenty years."
The Birthless Killing Sword is not complicated among Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures, yet its refining time also requires more than thirty years.
More complex Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures take over a hundred years to refine.
Jia Ren was led by Elder Qing to the deepest part of the Refining Palace, to a green jade bead.
"The Refining Techniques for Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures are all here. Heaven-reaching Refiners can study them at will without restriction."
"Furthermore, there is one more... the Refining Technique for Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasures."
"It was left by the Founder of our sect; sadly, aside from those with a Heavenly Treasure Body, no one can refine it."
Elder Qing led Jia Ren into the deepest part of the Refining Palace, where a green jade bead was placed on a stone platform.
The green jade bead was surrounded by prohibitive spells; without the correct methods, one would inevitably be expelled.
Forcefully break the formation?
That would only cause the prohibitive spells to destroy the inheritance bead containing the Heaven-Connecting Refinement Art.
Elder Qing cast a series of spells, and Jia Ren’s movements were unobstructed; he smoothly approached the green jade bead.
His consciousness sank into it, sensing the hidden Artifact Refining inheritance within.
He had already encountered the Refining Techniques for Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures and learned the Refining Technique for the Birthless Killing Sword.
This time was different from the last; he could freely browse all the Refining Techniques for Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures.
Previously, he would have recorded all the Refining Techniques for Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures and not let any benefit slip through his fingers.
Jia Ren did not linger on the Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure Refining Techniques; his gaze immediately fell on the core depths of the Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasure Refining Technique.
Xuantian Exquisite Pagoda!
This is the name of the Refining Technique for the Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasure, and also the name of the Lingbao Sect’s signature Spiritual Treasure.
Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasures are born from innate Spiritual Objects, requiring a long incubation period and being rare in quantity.
Not many Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasures are born in the Mysterious Realm. Some have entered the Immortal Realm with the ascension of Cultivators—there are only a few in the entire Mysterious Realm.
The Xuantian Exquisite Pagoda of the Lingbao Sect is the only Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasure refined through acquired means, holding extraordinary significance.
Jia Ren skimmed over the Refining Technique for the Xuantian Exquisite Pagoda and couldn’t help but frown.
The main refining material is Xuantian Yang Jade, a material not recorded among the Heavenly Spirit Materials. Could it be a Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Material, the kind that can birth a Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasure?
Xuantian Yang Jade as the core, with several supporting materials being Heavenly Spirit Materials. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚
Apart from these, there is one other material, called Heavenly Treasure Primordial Blood.
Heavenly Treasure Primordial Blood is a unique treasure blood only possessed by those with a Heavenly Treasure Body. It is a type of origin blood that congeals only when one reaches the Mahayana Realm.
Before then, even if you killed a Cultivator with a Heavenly Treasure Body and used their body as a sacrifice for the artifact, it would not work.
A Heavenly Treasure Body can only produce one portion of Heavenly Treasure Primordial Blood, and it cannot be regenerated.
This means that a Heavenly Treasure Body can only be used to refine one Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasure.
"All Heaven-reaching Refiners harbor the idea of refining a Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasure, taking it as the goal of a lifetime’s effort."
"Unfortunately... to this day, no one has succeeded."
"Study what the Founder left behind; I hope it can bring you some insights."
Jia Ren did not respond, still observing the Refining Technique of the Xuantian Exquisite Pagoda.
The Founding Ancestor of the Lingbao Sect indeed had a superior Refining Level, creating a clear gap compared to Heaven-reaching Refiners.
It could be said that their Refining Levels were not on the same tier at all.
With his own extraordinary Refining Level far exceeding the norm, Jia Ren naturally discerned the differences.
For ordinary Artifact Refiners, reaching the Grandmaster Level is the limit; beyond this, they can no longer advance.
The Founding Ancestor was a rare exception. This was one of the few examples Jia Ren had seen of someone breaking such limits.
His Refining Level had at least reached the standard of a Great Grandmaster.
Only with such exceptional Refining Talent supporting him could he take a step further in the art of Artifact Refining and create an unprecedented Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasure.
Even the Founding Ancestor had to rely on his own Heavenly Treasure Primordial Blood.
It is only natural that others cannot replicate it.
Jia Ren’s Refining Talent was not inferior to that of the Lingbao Sect’s Founding Ancestor, perhaps even far superior. The only task left was to find a substitute for the Heavenly Treasure Primordial Blood.
Without this item, all else is but empty talk.
Many Heaven-reaching Refiners spend their whole lives without success. For Jia Ren to find a solution would not be something achievable in a short period.
There is one more crucial point in Artifact Refining: finding the Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Materials that can give birth to a Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasure.
Without materials of this caliber, even with Heavenly Spirit Materials, the treasure refined can only be a Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure, not a Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasure.
This matter must be approached step by step, through increased research and contemplation, to consolidate his understanding and skill with Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures.
Jia Ren memorized the Refining Technique for the Xuantian Exquisite Pagoda before looking away and turning to other Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures.
Elder Qing was not surprised by this action.
When he himself first became a Heaven-reaching Refiner, his actions were just like Jia Ren’s.
Thinking back, upon his promotion to Heaven-reaching Refiner, his heart was filled with grand aspirations. He vowed to refine a Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasure and stand alongside the Founder.
To this day, he has not found a replacement for Heavenly Treasure Primordial Blood, and the dreams of his youth have long since turned to dust.
Can he succeed? Elder Qing wondered, remaining skeptical.
Over the countless years of the Lingbao Sect, numerous geniuses have been born, yet they all failed...
The Founding Ancestor was truly among the most exceptionally talented.
In the path of Artifact Refining, many Heaven-reaching Refiners have come to regard Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures as the limit for an Artifact Refiner.
Unless one possesses a Heavenly Treasure Body, it is impossible to recreate the legend.
This is why the emergence of an individual with the Heavenly Treasure Body within the Lingbao Sect caused such fervent excitement among the higher-ups, with Grand Ancestor Tai Yuan even setting aside his pride in the scramble for a disciple.
Jia Ren read quickly, committing to memory the Refining Technique for each Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure.
Perhaps because the Xuantian Exquisite Pagoda set such a high precedent, the Refining Techniques for other Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures seemed much simpler by comparison.
They enriched his knowledge and understanding of Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures, which was beneficial for perfecting the ascension of treasures like the Demon-Sealing Spirit Tower and the Heaven and Earth Mountain and Sea Pearl to Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure status.
「One hour later.」
Jia Ren closed his eyes. He recalled the Refining Techniques he had recorded in his mind, comparing them and confirming there were no errors or omissions before finally lifting his gaze.
"Jia Ren, work hard," Elder Qing encouraged him with a radiant smile. "I hope... you can fulfill the long-standing wish of countless people in the Lingbao Sect and create the Refining Technique for a second Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasure."
"Elder Qing, you expect too much. Finding an alternative to Heavenly Treasure Primordial Blood is easier said than done," Jia Ren replied. Yet, for some reason, he thought of the Golden Dragon.
Could the heart blood of a True Dragon that has reached the Eighth-order serve as a substitute?
This is a viable idea.
Whether it would work or not, it has to be tried.
Still, this method has its limitations. Other than himself, it could not be widely disseminated.
Divine Beasts are scarce; it would be hard to find even one in the Mysterious Realm, let alone collect its heart blood for refining treasures.
If a Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasure were successfully refined with this method, it would also drive the Lingbao Sect to despair.
After all, some of the terrifying True Spirit Divine Beasts... the entire Lingbao Sect, even with its full strength, could not deal with them.
Hunting such beings? Isn’t that just asking for the sect’s destruction to come even faster?
Having obtained the Refining Techniques for the Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures and the Mysterious Heavenly Spiritual Treasure he longed for, Jia Ren did not linger and hurried back to his Cave Heaven.
Now, with the identity of a Heaven-reaching Refiner for protection, he can avoid others coveting the Spirit Devouring Treasure Art.
He must devise the Demon-Sealing Spirit Tower Heaven-reaching method as soon as possible, so that he can exchange for the Heavenly Spirit Material he wants during the next ’Sequence’ reward settlement.
The Heavenly Spirit Materials for the Birthless Killing Sword will have to wait.
If he misses this opportunity, he will have to wait a hundred years.
This would undoubtedly severely delay the advancement of his Cultivation Level.
If this plan fails, he will have to resort to Plan B: obtain the Extinction Demon Jade to refine the Birthless Killing Sword.
Then, relying on the Birthless Killing Sword and the Absolute Gold Puppet, he would venture deep into the Source Treasure Cave Heaven to search for Heavenly Spirit Materials.
Compared to the first plan, the risks are much greater.
Jia Ren returned to his Cave Heaven. He began searching through the known Heavenly Spirit Materials while also looking for reference Heavenly Treasure Patterns that could be used.
Among the Heavenly Spirit Materials, he found the refining method for the Zhenjie Seal. The Heavenly Spirit Material known as Zhenjie Xuanstone was the perfect match for the Demon-Sealing Spirit Tower, making it the undisputed choice for the tower’s ascension.
Despite knowing that the Zhenjie Xuanstone, and thus the Zhenjie Seal refined from it, was in an "unrefined" or "unavailable" state, he still went to the Refining Palace, hoping for a stroke of luck.
After Jia Ren became the Vice Hall Master of the Refining Palace, his status was incomparable to before, and the attitude of the Refining Palace’s repository keeper was amiable.
"What materials would the Vice Hall Master like to obtain?"
"The Hall Master can take Spiritual Materials; he is entitled to select them free of charge once every three years. However, Heavenly Spirit Materials are not included. If the Vice Hall Master wishes to take those, he must come with the Hall Master."
Heavenly Spirit Materials were not as abundant as regular Spiritual Materials. Each one was precious, and even Heaven-reaching Refiners could not use them carelessly.
"I would like to know if there is any Zhenjie Xuanstone in the Heavenly Spirit Material Repository?" Jia Ren wasted no time, getting straight to the point.
The Second Spirit Treasure Sect should have priority in exchanging for this type of Heavenly Spirit Material.
The repository keeper, who had a vivid memory of the quantities and names of Heavenly Spirit Materials, replied with a smile, "Reporting to the Vice Hall Master, that kind of Heavenly Spirit Material has long been extinct."
"Even the Main Sect does not possess any Zhenjie Xuanstone."
This statement thoroughly dashed Jia Ren’s hopes, his heart sinking to the depths.
The other available alternatives were far from satisfactory.
The Heaven and Earth Mountain and Sea Pearl faced the same problem. Most of the spatial-type Heavenly Spirit Materials were extinct, rarely seen in the Mysterious Realm.
Even if there were Heavenly Spirit Materials within the Source Treasure Cave Heaven, it would still be difficult to find Zhenjie Xuanstone.
The Second Spirit Treasure Sect is too small; secrets like this cannot be kept.
Not long after Jia Ren had returned to his Cave Heaven, Elder Qing paid him a visit. He was evidently aware of Jia Ren’s inquiry about the Zhenjie Xuanstone.
"You should give up on it!"
"You won’t find Zhenjie Xuanstone anywhere. Only four pieces have ever been discovered in the entire Mysterious Realm, and each has its designated use." As Elder Qing spoke, he seemed to recall something further.
Four pieces? So the Zhenjie Xuanstone hasn’t gone extinct? Doesn’t that mean there’s still hope for me to obtain one?!
Just as a sliver of hope began to rise in Jia Ren’s heart, he listened intently, not wanting to miss any crucial information.
The next moment, Elder Qing’s following words were like a bucket of cold water poured over his head.
"Have you heard of the Four Great Sealing Grounds that seal the Bizarre Demons?"
Jia Ren was naturally familiar with them; after all, he himself came from one of the Sealed Lands.
"The Zhenjie Xuanstone is one of the core elements maintaining the Four Great Sealing Grounds. Just forget about getting your hands on it!"
"Unless the Four Great Sealing Grounds are broken, you won’t have any chance of obtaining Zhenjie Xuanstone."
