Chapter 340 - 338: Cooperative Treasure Refining

Chapter 340: Chapter 338: Cooperative Treasure Refining

In terms of grade, the Acquired Thunder God Pearl could only be considered a Low-Grade Magical Treasure, and the Spiritual Materials used to refine it weren’t particularly rare.

The Sect’s Artifact Refining Hall could easily gather all the materials needed for this Treasure Refining.

The reason it could become such an exceptionally special Tribulation Crossing Treasure lay entirely in the mystery of the Flower Bird Talisman.

’They say that after the Near Ancient era, the Flower Bird Talisman lost the immense power contained within its original script, reverting to a set of ordinary characters. In the Cultivation Realm, most people study its historical value rather than using combinations of its symbols to move mountains, fill seas, and shatter the void like they did in Ancient Times.’

In Bai Zichen’s hand was a piece of silk brocade, on which were imprinted the two runes from the Thunder Bead in Chen Wei’s Dantian Qi Sea.

The difficulty in refining this Tribulation Crossing Magical Treasure was all in how to integrate these two runes into the Thunder Bead and make them function.

Simply forging the Thunder Bead was something any Tier Three Refiner could accomplish.

Because of Chen Wei’s innate Thunderfall Body, the Acquired Thunder God Pearl was designed with such cultivators in mind, so there was no barrier for her to refine it.

For other Cultivators, however, it wasn’t so simple.

’To be able to utilize the Flower Bird Talisman to this extent... at the very least, none of the Nascent Soul Sects I’ve seen can do it. The Naihe Sect truly lives up to its origins in the mysterious Bitter Cold and Desolate Land... I fear only a powerful sect with a direct lineage from Ancient Times could possess so many exquisite inheritances.’

The *Complete Translation of the Flower Bird Talisman* made it clear that the Holy Lotus Sect’s understanding of the script was still limited to deciphering and recording it. They were a long way from being able to directly utilize the Flower Bird Talisman by integrating it into Magical Treasures or Talismans.

There seemed to be no such rumors about the other Nascent Soul Sects.

Considering their unique method of teaching via the Inheritance Stele, which contained countless Cultivation Techniques, Divine Powers, and Hundred Skills of Cultivation from low to high tiers, the Naihe Sect had clearly set itself apart from ordinary Nascent Soul Sects.

However, this mysterious sect had not been active in the Cultivation Realm for a long time, and outsiders had no way to make contact.

The Sea of Suffering alone barred ninety-nine percent of the world’s Cultivators.

The Magical Treasure Embryo for the Acquired Thunder God Pearl took only two days to refine. The Thunder Bead spun in his palm, leaving only the most difficult step: inscribing the Flower Bird Talisman.

The strokes looked ancient and simple, yet he failed repeatedly. His last attempt directly blew up the Thunder Bead.

Bai Zichen stared at the Flower Bird Talisman for a long while, feeling he had fully grasped the meaning of every stroke, but his second attempt at refining yielded the same result.

It wasn’t that the runes were too weak to leave a mark on the Thunder Bead.

Rather, the power drawn by the Flower Bird Talisman was too great, directly destroying the form of the Magical Treasure Embryo.

’Forget it. Everyone has their specialty. I’d better find a helper.’

Bai Zichen gave up on the idea of tinkering with it further. It could take him years to master the Flower Bird Talisman, and the time investment was too great.

Within the Qingfeng Sect, the person who understood the Flower Bird Talisman best, aside from Master Ge Cang, was naturally Su Li of the Talisman Hall.

As a master of the Talisman Dao, Su Li displayed even greater talent than his master, Luoo Qiuzhen, and had brought the Divine Technique of the Void Talisman to new heights.

The greatest use of this Divine Technique was its ability to bypass the need for lost Spiritual Materials when creating certain special Talismans, allowing one to draw the Talisman out of thin air.

For example, the extremely rare Ban Breaking Talisman. The reason its success rate was so low was that drawing this Talisman originally required Talismanic Ink made from the bloodline of a Demon Beast with a Spatial Attribute.

When Vermilion was mixed with the blood of ordinary Demon Beasts, the success rate for drawing Ban Breaking Talismans naturally couldn’t be high.

But by applying the Void Talisman skill to this process, the Runes he wrote in the air could actually carry a trace of a spatial Demon Beast’s bloodline characteristics. This gave him a ten percent chance of successfully drawing a Tier Two Ban Breaking Talisman.

Don’t look down on this seemingly low success rate; for a special Talisman like the Ban Breaking Talisman, it was already unbelievably high.

After Bai Zichen placed the *Complete Translation of the Flower Bird Talisman* in the Transmission Hall, the one who showed the most interest and gained the most from it was Su Li.

The Talisman Dao itself developed from the foundation of the Flower Bird Talisman. Any High-Tier Talisman Master who wished to continue advancing their studies had to achieve a profound understanding of the Flower Bird Talisman.

This was also why Talisman Masters of Tier Four and above all came from Nascent Soul Major Sects, with almost none hailing from the ranks of Loose Cultivators or Minor Sects.

Because at that level, their backgrounds no longer supported their continued advancement.

Information about the Flower Bird Talisman, and even other innately powerful Talismanic Texts, was not something ordinary Cultivators could access.

After studying the *Complete Translation of the Flower Bird Talisman*, Su Li’s Talisman Dao Realm had once again made great strides, and he was already a Tier Three Mid-Grade Talisman Master.

"Greetings, Junior Martial Uncle Bai."

Summoned by Ancestor Bai, Su Li arrived at Celestial Thunder Cliff at the earliest opportunity, despite being the Talisman Hall Master.

The two had been neighbors at Feiyue Lake for many years and had interacted frequently. Bai Zichen had even saved his life once.

"I want to add these two Flower Bird Talisman runes to this Thunder Bead. See if you can do it..."

Bai Zichen gave Su Li the refining method for the Acquired Thunder God Pearl and the diagrams of the Flower Bird Talisman runes. If even he couldn’t do it, Bai Zichen would have to either wait for Master Ge Cang to return and handle it personally, or continue studying the Flower Bird Talisman himself until he eventually succeeded.

"The meaning is to control, restrain, and guide the Celestial Punishment Thunder... Junior Martial Uncle Bai, you want me to complete the final step for this Magical Treasure?"

Su Li narrowed his eyes. He had gone to the Five Mountains Temple in the same batch as Chen Wei, so he had a deep impression of the Acquired Thunder God Pearl.

"That’s right. Can you do it?"

Seeing Su Li’s professional understanding of the Flower Bird Talisman, Bai Zichen felt a flicker of hope.

"Drawing the Flower Bird Talisman runes is no problem, but this disciple has never been involved in Artifact Refining. I’m afraid I might delay your Treasure Refining, Junior Martial Uncle..."

Su Li had become a Tier Three Mid-Grade Talisman Master with only a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivation. He had even succeeded in drawing Tier Three Top-Grade Talismans on several occasions, which showed his talent in the Talisman Dao.

If his own cultivation wasn’t holding him back, he truly had a chance to become the first Cultivator in the Qingfeng Sect to challenge the Tier Four Hundred Arts Realm.

"No matter. Just treat it as if you’re drawing a Talisman. If the Thunder Bead is destroyed, it will have nothing to do with you. I can just refine another one."

Bai Zichen immediately refined a new Thunder Bead and handed it to Su Li.

CRACK!

Su Li focused his mind and spirit, preparing for a long time before finally putting his brush to the surface of the Thunder Bead.

He had barely made two strokes when fine cracks started spreading out from the top of the Acquired Thunder God Pearl, turning it into a complete orb covered in a web of fractures.

"This treasure... seems a bit different..."

Su Li froze on the spot, an awkward expression on his face. It felt wrong to keep holding it, but it also felt wrong to put it down.

"It’s alright. Although it’s a Magical Treasure, the Thunder Bead is very fragile before it’s fully formed. The rhythm of applying the Flower Bird Talisman runes must be controlled perfectly."

And so, with Bai Zichen refining Thunder Beads and Su Li drawing the Flower Bird Talisman runes, half a month passed.

Fortunately, the Artifact Refining Hall had sent a plentiful supply of Spiritual Materials; otherwise, they would have run out of materials to even refine the Thunder Beads.

Finally, with the sixth Thunder Bead, a flash of inspiration struck Su Li. The Flower Bird Talisman runes flowed from his fingertips, smooth and perfect, completed in one go, and seamlessly merged with the Thunder Bead.

At just the right moment, Bai Zichen drove the final few restrictions into the Thunder Bead. The Spirit Light pulsed in layers, then suddenly dimmed.

A heart-pounding aura burst forth. The two Flower Bird Talisman runes on the Thunder Bead flickered for a moment before stabilizing its form.

The Tribulation Crossing Magical Treasure, the Acquired Thunder God Pearl, was finally forged!

Bai Zichen looked at the Thunder Bead in his hand with satisfaction. The value of this Magical Treasure couldn’t be judged simply by its grade.

Just for its ability to reduce the power of the Celestial Thunder Tribulation, if word got out, all the Perfect Core Formation True Men in the Cultivation Realm would go crazy trying to get it.

After all, things like the Nascent Soul Pill and Tribulation Crossing Secret Treasures were not possessions that even every Saint Child and Saintess of a Nascent Soul Major Sect could obtain.

However, Bai Zichen was still some time away from Shattering his Core and Transforming into a Nascent Soul. The immediate use for the Acquired Thunder God Pearl was mainly to coordinate with the refining of the Thunder Sound Sword.

"What have you been up to lately? Have you made any preparations to attempt Core Formation?"

’From the refining of the Acquired Thunder God Pearl, I can see that while Sect Disciples may not be my equal in cultivation, a person’s energy is ultimately limited. It’s impossible to be an expert in all the Hundred Skills of Cultivation.’

’Someone like Su Li, who has an astonishing long suit in a specific area, is also useful to me.’

"I’ve been trying to break through to Foundation Establishment Perfection recently, and I’m torn. Should I go all-in on the Talisman Dao and try to create a Tier Three Top-Grade Talisman that contains Great Dao True Intent, hoping it will drive my cultivation forward and maybe even generate a Pill Discussion?"

Su Li was a full twelve-year cycle older than Bai Zichen. Even with Life-Extending Elixirs, he was already at the tail end of his prime age for attempting Core Formation.

If he couldn’t reach Foundation Establishment Perfection within ten years, his chances of forming a Core would only grow slimmer the longer he waited.

"Or should I just cultivate honestly, meditate and refine the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, and advance step by step..."

"You’re the one who knows yourself best. I can only tell you that at your current cultivation speed, it will take another twenty years to reach Foundation Establishment Perfection... Whether you want to gamble on a breakthrough in the Talisman Dao is your decision."

Bai Zichen scanned him with the Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror, generating a Human Meridian Map, and for the first time, used the Action and Rest Pill Discussion on another person.

It was still quite accurate for Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Of course, a margin of error of two or three years was normal.

"I understand. Thank you for your guidance, Junior Martial Uncle."

Su Li’s expression shifted several times before settling into one of firm resolve. He had clearly made his decision.

...

On a volcano perpetually shrouded in smoke and flickering with flames, it was dead silent, save for the occasional falling rock or eruption of fire.

Not only were there no Demon Beasts of any kind, but even rabbits and birds were nowhere to be seen. The air was filled with a suppressive aura.

From the moment Master Ge Cang set foot on the volcano, a sense of unease grew in his heart, as if some unknown, terrifying danger lay ahead.

He pushed his senses to their absolute limit. If he truly encountered an irresistible danger, he would immediately activate Thunder Escape to flee.

’Seeing no living creatures on Black Mountain usually means one of two things... Either it’s a completely barren wasteland where the Spiritual Qi is so depleted that even Low-Tier Demon Beasts won’t stay. But here, only halfway up the mountain, the Spiritual Qi is so rich it’s almost tangible, nearly approaching the level of Tier Four Spiritual Energy.’

Master Ge Cang took a deep breath and continued his ascent. Searing flames and spattering lava brushed past him.

’Then there’s only one other possibility. There’s a true king among Demon Beasts within this volcano. Its aura is so intimidating that other Demon Beasts don’t even dare to approach.’

Thinking that there was a high probability of a Cyan Simurgh at the volcano’s peak, Master Ge Cang held his breath and focused, continuing deeper into the mountain.

This phenomenon also indicated one thing: the Cyan Simurgh was likely still in a deep slumber.

Otherwise, it would have been able to control its aura, and the volcano wouldn’t be so empty that Master Ge Cang could walk around as if on level ground, without a single Demon Beast underling in sight.