A thousand feet below the ground.
Beneath the Refining Cave.
The scorching lava surged, emitting an orange-red glow, illuminating a forbidden space, surrounded by glittering brilliance, obviously guarded by a powerful array.
Even amongst the elders of the Xuanji Hundred Refining Sect, only a few knew of the existence of this place beneath the Refining Cave.
At this moment, several figures transformed into streaks of light and descended onto the highest point of a jade platform suspended above the magma.
The leader among them was an elder dressed in a dark red magic robe, with wild hair and beard, and eyes as fierce as those of lions and tigers, emanating an imposing aura.
This man was the Great Elder of the Xuanji Hundred Refining Sect—Yang Baixuan, once a world-renowned Artifact Refining Master, who had later stepped into the Refining Realm and gradually faded into silence.
Now, as five hundred hurried years had passed, he was the most profound practitioner within the Xuanji Hundred Refining Sect, with a Leakless Golden Core that had remarkably undergone seven transformations, purifying his mana seven times, gradually resulting in a qualitative change, reaching an inconceivable level.
Even a thousand Golden Core Practitioners, in his eyes, were mere ants, easily extinguished with a flick of his hand.
However, having reached this stage, Yang Baixuan knew he had hit his limit. With his talent, not to mention surpassing the unreachable Primordial Spirit, not even achieving the last two revolutions of the Golden Core in his lifetime seemed possible.
Yet, Golden Core practitioners in this realm had long seen through such matters. Being able to enjoy a thousand years was already a life not lived in vain.
The only thing that worried him was the matter of the sect’s inheritance.
Even if the sect had practitioners with nine revolutions in the Refining Realm, they could only flourish temporarily. Only Ancient Spiritual Treasures could ensure the sect’s inheritance for tens, even hundreds of thousands of years, thriving and prospering.
Therefore, Yang Baixuan unhesitatingly took over the great scheme of his predecessors and single-handedly pushed it to the current stage.
"Old Monster Baixuan! We five sects have handed over our ultimate treasures to you. Are you confident about this final step?"
A hoarse, piercing voice rang out, coming from behind Yang Baixuan, a cultivator clad in a green magic robe, skinny as a skeleton.
He seemed as though he might die of old age at any moment, but the ghostly fire burning in his eyes revealed a terrifying aura.
If Liang Xiao were here, he would have recognized him at a glance as one of the elder ancestors of the Corpse Yin Secret Sect.
Another high-revolution practitioner in the Refining Realm—Ancestor Wan Hun!
Even Liang Xiao had only seen him from a distance at a sect celebration.
At this time, besides Ancestor Wan Hun, Old Immortal Xing Luo of Da Luo Sect, Divine Talisman Venerable of Tongtian Divine Talisman Sect, Hua Qi Old Monster of Qi Origin Sect, and the ancient ancestor Zhuge Wufeng of Zhuge Qimen, were all gathered together.
The five Returning Elixir Old Monsters watched the depths of the magma with eyes filled with excitement, worry, and anticipation.
There, within the churning magma, the outline of a magnificent palace faintly emerged.
Nine strands of Ancient Earth Lung Poison Fire transformed into dragons, swirling around the area as if nine dragons were vying for a pearl, occasionally spewing out a stream of earth core flame that had condensed over countless tens of thousands of years, surging into that radiant palace.
This palace, ninety-nine zhang in length and width, and nine zhang and nine chi high, with floors paved in gold and jade, had intricate architecture that included bell towers, pagodas, animal pens, courtyards, ponds, Sword Pavilion, Yangxin Hall, Chengqian Palace, and Ten Thousand Treasures Tower, among others. It encompassed everything under the sun, leaving nothing unimaginable.
Atop the bell tower hung a huge bell, which vaguely resembled the demon artifact previously in Yi Tianchou’s possession.
The entire palace glowed faintly with Bao Guang, enough to make any Artifact Refining Master gasp in astonishment.
For every inch of its tiles, every brick on its floors, even the doors, and the copper nails on the gates were all actually individual magical treasures!
And the more conspicuous buildings, like the signboards, ancient bell, and iron rings, were actually all at the level of Great Perfection!
At that moment, the entire palace was continuously absorbing the Ancient Earth Lung Poison Fire, and faintly, all the magical treasures seemed to be melting into one entity.
"Confidence? Humph... Ever since the upheaval of the heavenly changes, countless Artifact Refining Grandmasters have used up all their life’s efforts without a single one succeeding in refining a Spiritual Treasure. How could I be confident?"
Yang Baixuan snorted coldly in response, "Moreover... the nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine magical treasures we provided are a jumbled mess in quality. It’s fortunate that we used Demon Secret Techniques to sacrifice one hundred and eight Great Perfection demon artifacts as the core for suppression; otherwise, even this ’Wanxiang Palace’ Spiritual Treasure, I fear, couldn’t even manifest its prototype!"
Ancestor Wan Hun almost wailed in anguish, "This is the accumulation of countless years from our six orthodox sects... If we fail, should we fail..."
"Wan Hun, we Cultivators should possess a measure of composure that doesn’t waver even if the sky should fall. Has your Dao Heart been eaten by dogs?"
Old Immortal Xing Luo said slowly, "The plan from Xuanji Hundred Refining Sect was told to our ancestors by their eighteenth-generation patriarch... We voluntarily participated in this scheme. Since we’ve already paid such a price, what other path can we take but to remedy and make amends..."
"Xing Luo speaks truth..." Hua Qi Old Monster and Divine Talisman Venerable nodded in agreement, then looked towards Zhuge Wufeng, "Zhuge, you are an expert in Zhuge Qimen and arrays, what do you make of this place?"
Zhuge Qimen was renowned for Ancient Array Path, and Zhuge Wufeng was none other than the Array Formation Grandmaster of his time. With half-black, half-white hair and dressed in a scholar’s robe and fan, he had the demeanor of a well-read scholar: "I have long admired the Dao Rhythm Array of the Xuanji Hundred Refining Sect, and today finally beholding it, it is truly extraordinary! You see..."
He pointed to the sky, "This place gathers wind and accumulates energy, located under the Refining Cave, benefiting from the half-natural array patterns at hand... It can collect the aura, Dao marks, and even the spiritual light from the Artifact Refiners above, and gather them at the array’s focal point, aiding those below in their refining."
"In this way, whether the Artifact Refiners above succeed or fail, they essentially provide the supreme nourishment for the refining below, which can lower the enigmatic probability of failure inherent in the art of refining..."
"From the fact that every time Xuanji Hundred Refining Sect holds a Refining Device Conference, the sect subsequently produces several quality Great Perfection magical treasures, one can glimpse a hint of the profound level reaches of the sect’s patriarch in array formation mastery, practically embodying Fatian Xiangdi, pushing the natural elements to their limits for one’s benefit. Such a method of exploiting the slightest thing for one’s gain is truly admirable, admirable indeed!"
Yang Baixuan bowed slightly, "This is but the legacy left by our predecessors... Moreover, since the grand plan was set, this Dao Rhythm has been integrated into ’Wanxiang Palace.’ Otherwise, it would be difficult to refine it to its current form... Furthermore, this last step is crucial; if it weren’t, my Xuanji Hundred Refining Sect would not have made a special occasion of opening a Refining Sword Conference. Such matters are too burdensome even for our own sect if repeated too often."
’Not only that... those one hundred and eight Great Perfection demon artifacts have likely been tampered with to intentionally target the Artifact Refining Masters, drawing upon their souls, cultivation levels, and even refining Dao Rhythm... resonating perfectly with the Dao Rhythm of this place...’
Ancestor Wan Hun’s eyes flashed with a deep light as he thought to himself, ultimately keeping his suspicions to himself.
Yang Baixuan continued, "Once the Refining Sword Conference begins, and the final waves of Dao Rhythm are infused into ’Wanxiang Palace,’ we can proceed to the last step... According to our sect’s secret records, the key difference between a Spiritual Treasure and a magical treasure lies in the True Spirit of the magical treasure! Therefore, this final ’Ensoulment’ phase is also the most prone to failure. Since the heavenly changes, many sects have tried to refine Spiritual Treasures and stumbled at this step; there are many such examples. Thus, after much deliberation, and in conjunction with our realm’s cultivation experience, we have decided the final step is not ’Ensoulment,’ but rather ’Spirit Usurpation!’ Blood sacrifice a Returning Elixir Ancestor, inject the True Spirit of a Cultivator into the semi-finished Spiritual Treasure, replacing the True Spirit of the Spiritual Treasure!"