Chapter 694: Chapter 393: Artifact Refining_2
The flying sword he named ‘Flowing Light Star Meteor’ shimmered with a strange glow.
The glow on ‘Flowing Light Star Meteor’ came from the Six Trigram Array it emitted, which was composed of talisman runes so tiny they were invisible to the naked eye.
On the small flying sword, 360,000 Six Trigram Arrays were drawn with lines 10 nanometers thick, each array made up of six different talisman runes with various effects.
As he held the newly refined flying sword, he suddenly looked up at the sky, for the sword seemed to have invoked the Heaven and Earth Rules’ rejection, and a thundercloud appeared in the sky.
The emergence of the thundercloud naturally attracted the attention of many cultivators of the Shushan Sect.
But when they discovered that the thundercloud was over Sword Holding Peak, they lost interest.
If this thundercloud had appeared elsewhere, it might be that some cultivator was preparing to face the Heavenly Tribulation, but appearing over Sword Holding Peak, it was highly likely one of Li Shiming’s Corpse Refinings was preparing to transcend its tribulation.
A year ago, Li Shiming had several Corpse Refinings successfully transcend the Heavenly Tribulation in succession, something the sect’s cultivators had not forgotten.
While they assumed as much, Elder Zuo flew to just outside Sword Holding Peak, quietly floating in the air to watch the thundercloud.
Elder Su paid special attention to Li Shiming and, despite guessing it was highly probable that it was Li Shiming’s Corpse Refining facing the tribulation, he still came over.
“I have seen Elder Zuo!” Elder Su bent over to salute and greet Elder Zuo.
“Su, you have taught a good disciple. He has made dazzling achievements in Alchemy, and it seems he is no less extraordinary in Artifact Refining!” Elder Zuo, looking at the thundercloud, shook his head and sighed to Elder Su.
“Ah, is this the Artifact Tribulation?” Elder Su’s face registered shock, as he uttered in disbelief.
No wonder he was surprised—the Artifact Tribulation was extremely rare.
It mostly occurred when refining Fourth-Grade Magical Treasures.
And to refine Fourth-Grade Magical Treasures, one had to be a Nascent Soul Ancestor, because the materials for Fourth-grade Refining required Nascent Fire to melt.
Not to mention, wielding a Fourth-Grade Magical Treasure was impossible without a Nascent Soul.
Li Shiming was merely at the Golden Core Middle Stage. Elder Su could believe that he was refining an artifact, but not that Li Shiming had crafted a Fourth-Grade Magical Treasure.
After all, no matter how powerful, one at the Golden Core Middle Stage could not melt the materials for Fourth-grade Artifact Refining.
Even if Li Shiming had Fourth-grade Refining Materials, he should not start refining artifacts at the Golden Core Stage. Furthermore, even if he succeeded, he would have to advance to the Nascent Soul Stage before he could use them.
“Indeed, it is the Artifact Tribulation, but it doesn’t seem like it’s for a Fourth-Grade Magical Treasure!” Elder Zuo also appeared puzzled as he shook his head.
Elder Zuo did not know much about the Artifact Tribulation.
His Fourth-Grade Magical Treasure was inherited from the sect.
Although Nascent Soul Ancestors were capable of refining Fourth-Grade Magical Treasures, such materials were too rare, and in general, even if acquired, they would be traded with other Nascent Soul Ancestors for more suitable materials.
As a result, many Nascent Soul Ancestors from large sects never crafted a Fourth-Grade Magical Treasure for themselves in their lifetime, as they would inherit suitable ones from their sects’ legacy.
Elder Zuo’s understanding of the Artifact Tribulation came from witnessing it years ago when he observed another Nascent Soul fellow transcede their refinement successfully.
The Artifact Tribulation here at Li Shiming’s location was notably different from that instance.
The power of this thundercloud was nowhere near that of the previous one; clearly, this was an Artifact Tribulation for a Third-Grade Magical Treasure.
This was even more rare—a Third-Grade Magical Treasure capable of triggering the Artifact Tribulation indicated that it surpassed what the Heaven and Earth Rules allowed.
The Heaven and Earth Rules would send down the Heavenly Tribulation, and if the Third-Grade Magical Treasure transcended it, it could become even more formidable, sanctioned by the Heaven and Earth Rules and rewarded.
With a thunderous “boom”, a bolt of Heavenly Thunder struck directly towards the summit of Sword Holding Peak.
Li Shiming’s “Flowing Light Star Meteor” seemed to have a spirit of its own, actively flying towards the Heavenly Thunder.
The powerful Sword Intent burst forth from the Flowing Light Star Meteor. This was the Thunder Sword Intent that Li Shiming had previously infused into the sword. Unexpectedly, the Flowing Light Star Meteor had preserved it within the sword body to counter the Heavenly Thunder.
Li Shiming anxiously looked towards the Flowing Light Star Meteor. The flying sword was an artifact he had refined and already recognized as his master. Although it was not his life-bound magical treasure, if the Flowing Light Star Meteor were damaged, he would also suffer a certain degree of spiritual harm.
Moreover, the Flowing Light Star Meteor had taken him ten days to refine successfully. Just the expenditure of this effort made him unwilling to see the Flowing Light Star Meteor get damaged.
Heavenly Thunder struck the sword body of the Flowing Light Star Meteor, and the surface of the sword body revealed a dense array of Six Trigram Formations, blocking the bombardment of the Heavenly Thunder.
Three hundred and sixty thousand sturdy runes made the small sword body unimaginably strong.
Even faced with the Heavenly Thunder, it protected the sword body from any harm.
On the contrary, the Storage Spirit Runes took the opportunity to absorb a considerable amount of Heavenly Thunder’s power, storing it within the sword body.
The Heavenly Tribulation came swiftly and disappeared just as quickly. After a single strike, the thunderclouds dispersed.
Li Shiming gestured with his hand, and the Flowing Light Star Meteor flew back into his grasp.
Having undergone the Heavenly Tribulation, the Flowing Light Star Meteor seemed to have undergone some changes, its sword body carrying an even more fierce Sword Intent, imbued with the essence of Heavenly Thunder.
This new Sword Intent that fused with the Heavenly Thunder and Thunder Sword Intent was incredibly compatible with him because it was derived from his own Sword Intent.
He extended his finger, lightly touching the sword body. A thread of Heavenly Thunder Sword Intent followed his finger and entered his body.
His body shuddered slightly, but his face revealed a look of surprise and joy.
Although he had not yet grasped the Heavenly Thunder Sword Intent, he felt a direction. All he needed to do was to continuously comprehend the Heavenly Thunder Sword Intent within the Flowing Light Star Meteor, and his Thunder Sword Intent would gradually transform towards the Heavenly Thunder Sword Intent.
All along, his Sword Intent had a significant gap compared to his clone Li Yuanba’s Supreme Yang Sword Intent.
Especially in terms of the power of Sword Intent, Li Yuanba’s Supreme Yang Sword Intent was several times more brilliant than Li Shiming’s Thunder Sword Intent, even without the enhancement from the Xingyi Sword.
But as long as Li Shiming comprehended and mastered the Heavenly Thunder Sword Intent, he could catch up to his clone Li Yuanba in the aspect of Sword Intent.
Heavenly Thunder, the manifestation of the Heaven and Earth Rules’ might, descends with different forces according to the different life forms it targets.
The Heavenly Thunder that Li Shiming comprehended was at the Golden Core Level. Although its power was not very great, Heavenly Thunder is the bane of all life, and any cultivator must make thorough preparations before daring to overcome the Heavenly Tribulation.
Especially the power of Heavenly Thunder Sword Intent, which would continue to increase as his Sword Intent strengthened.
Li Shiming was preparing to continue comprehending the Heavenly Thunder Sword Intent within the Flowing Light Star Meteor when he noticed Elder Zuo and Elder Su outside the formation of Sword Holding Peak.
He did not know what had happened that had alarmed Elder Zuo, and he quickly flew out of the formation.
“You need not perform any formalities, just show me the magical treasure you just refined!” Elder Zuo waved his hand to stop Li Shiming’s formalities. His curiosity was piqued, eager to see what kind of third-grade magical treasure could trigger an Artifact Tribulation.
If it had been any other cultivator making such a request, Li Shiming would certainly not have agreed.
But facing Elder Zuo, he had no power to object. Besides, a distinguished Nascent Soul Ancestor would not likely wrong him of a third-grade magical treasure.
What made Li Shiming the least concerned was that he had not planned to refine just one Flowing Light Star Meteor, but ten. Even if Elder Zuo did not return it to him, he still had nine more.
Elder Zuo took the Flowing Light Star Meteor, and with his Nascent Soul Stage capabilities, he could clearly see the Six Trigram Formation on it, as well as the tiny supplementary runes composing the formation.
“Although Artifact Refining can produce powerful magical treasures to enhance one’s combat strength, you must not invest too much time in it. This flying sword magical treasure must have taken you a long time to refine, hasn’t it?” Elder Zuo asked, shaking his head.
He knew that Li Shiming had received the inheritance of the “Divine Eye” from Qianye Temple. Seeing the dense supplementary runes on the Flowing Light Star Meteor, he assumed that it was an Artifact Refining project that had taken Li Shiming several years to complete.
He worried that this focus might have been shifted during his time in the mortal world, which could affect Li Shiming’s cultivation journey.