Chapter 248: Lifebound Magical Artifact

Zhao Zuo saw he had let out about a bowl’s worth of blood. He immediately circulated his Mana and Qi Blood to heal the wound on his wrist. At the same time, he swallowed the Golden Wound Medicine and Healing Elixir he had prepared. Without even a moment’s rest, he took out the Qilin Seal and submerged it in the blood.

Originally, the best choice would have been to perform the Refinement on the Sky-Breaking Saber and make it his Lifebound Magical Treasure. But the saber was still a few experience points away from being fully repaired, and Zhao Zuo wasn’t going to wait. ‘Worst case… I’ll just refine the Sky-Breaking Saber into my Lifebound Magical Treasure later. After all, I have plenty of the three main materials.’

In truth, a Cultivator’s blood more or less possesses the Cultivator’s own Spirit. The so-called “rebirth from a drop of blood” refers to the Spirit within the blood reviving and developing to a perfect state.

Without the use of Divine Thought, blood becomes the most suitable medium for connecting with a Magical Artifact. Zhao Zuo gripped the edge of the bronze cauldron and began to inject his Mana into it, activating the previously still blood.

Wisps of faint red Mana caused the blood inside the bronze cauldron to surge like a fountain or an ocean wave. The currents of blood battered the surface of the Qilin Seal.

Then they would quickly disperse. With each impact, the jade-green color of the seal took on a hint more crimson, as if the blood was invading the Qilin Seal’s interior, or as if the two were merging.

The Qilin Seal began to take on a trace of Zhao Zuo’s aura. As time passed, the blood inside the bronze cauldron ignited with orange flames, emitting a terrifying heat.

Bathed in the firelight, the Qilin Seal seemed to glow, as if it were actively absorbing the Spiritual Power within the blood. The Spirit within the blood was also being absorbed.

It was Zhao Zuo’s Spirit and will.

After several days of Refinement, the Qilin Seal no longer rejected Zhao Zuo’s aura. The process had reached a rather critical step.

Zhao Zuo took out the porcelain vial containing the Soul Cleansing Water. He dripped three drops of the heavy, mercury-like, pale blue liquid onto the surface of the Qilin Seal.

Almost instantly, the three drops were absorbed by the Qilin Seal. Immediately after, the seal’s spirituality increased dramatically. The Qilin statue on top even gave Zhao Zuo the illusion that it had come to life. The Qilin let out a deep, powerful roar that made Zhao Zuo’s heart grow more peaceful and serene, free of turbulence.

The fusion and symbiosis of one’s Divine Thought and the Spirit of a Magical Artifact—this was the essence of a Lifebound Magical Artifact.

Zhao Zuo seized this opportunity, took out a Bright Soul Pill, and swallowed it. A cool Energy flooded into his brain. Immediately, his Lake of Souls began to churn and rise as formless energy started to crash about chaotically.

He tried to control his Soul Energy and guide it toward his arm. But as soon as this energy left his brain, it was like a fish out of water, a bird that had lost its wings, or a beast that had lost its limbs. Its movement became extremely slow.

This was the most difficult step of Refining a Lifebound Magical Treasure during the Qi Cultivation Stage. It required one to mobilize their Divine Thought ahead of time, guiding it out of the brain, down the arm, and into the fingertips to resonate with the Qilin Seal’s Spirit on another level.

The initial blood Refinement had only served to make their connection more intimate; it wasn’t the actual Refinement of the Lifebound Magical Artifact. This final step played the most critical role. If he failed, all his previous efforts would be for naught. At the very least, those three drops of Soul Cleansing Water would definitely have been wasted.

The blood he had let out over this period wouldn’t be a total waste, though.

Zhao Zuo took a deep breath, focusing all his attention on his own Soul. He had already placed his finger on the surface of the Qilin Seal. Now, all he needed was for his Divine Thought to reach his fingertip. If he could do that, he would pass this trial, and the Lifebound Magical Artifact would be considered successfully refined!

‘Move, move, move!’

He screamed silently in his heart. As if sensing his urgency, the Divine Thought that had reached his neck really began to inch forward again. Its speed was agonizingly slow, like a snail, or the wriggling of a green caterpillar.

In short, it was too slow. At this rate, there was no way he could complete the final step before the Bright Soul Pill wore off.

‘Failure.’

Zhao Zuo already foresaw the result. Because his focus had wavered, the speed of his Divine Thought slowed down even more. Fortunately, it hadn’t started to retreat. He quickly gathered his thoughts again, concentrating everything on maneuvering his Divine Thought.

The two Spirits meet; will and Spirit merge into one.

Zhao Zuo continuously pushed his mind to its limits, trying to accelerate the movement of that tentacle-like thread of Divine Thought, but its progress was just too slow.

He also knew… ‘if this continues, I’m most likely going to fail.’

Ten minutes later, the Divine Thought had only reached his shoulder.

Half an hour later, it reached his elbow.

It seemed like success was just around the corner, but Zhao Zuo knew full well that he was reaching his limit. The effects of the Bright Soul Pill would only last for about an hour, and in the time he had left, it was simply not enough to move that thread-like Divine Thought from his elbow to his fingertip.

This was a long journey—the unification of his Soul and the Magical Artifact’s Spirit.

There were no shortcuts, no faster paths. The Golden Fire Refining World Scripture specifically noted that if one were to press the Magical Artifact to their forehead and try to merge with it using Divine Thought, it would surely fail. The elbow wouldn’t work either. The only way to succeed was with the fingertip.

Zhao Zuo couldn’t figure out the profound mystery behind this rule, but he was keenly aware that he was on the verge of failure.

‘If nothing changes… I will definitely fail.’

His focus began to drift, and the speed of his Divine Thought was affected. This time, however, he didn’t try to refocus like before. Zhao Zuo knew with perfect clarity that he had to find a new factor.

‘Or perhaps, there must be an overlooked detail in this Secret Technique.’

‘The detail that decides success or failure.’

‘There must be another way!’

‘There must be! There has to be!’

It was simple logic. With his current Soul strength, if even he couldn’t complete this step, then he dared to say that absolutely no one among the disciples of his generation in the Moyun Sect could refine a Lifebound Magical Artifact during the Qi Cultivation Stage.

‘Spirit, Spirit, Spirit… the key is the fusion of the Magical Artifact’s Spirit and my own Soul.’

‘Spirit… the Magical Artifact’s Spirit.’

‘Qilin Seal, help me!!’

Zhao Zuo’s eyes flew open, a hint of excitement in them. He immediately began pouring Mana into the Qilin Seal to activate the Spirit hidden within. An invisible energy started moving up from his fingertip, its speed roughly the same as his own Divine Thought’s.

With both working in tandem, the distance between them began to shrink, bit by bit.

This was the purpose of the initial blood Refinement. When a Magical Artifact’s Spirit develops a sense of closeness to someone, you only need to activate it… and it will instinctively move toward the Soul it feels close to.

This was the final key to how the Golden Fire Refining World Scripture allowed one to refine a Lifebound Magical Artifact ahead of schedule.

A powerful Soul, a Magical Artifact full of spirituality, plus the assistance of the Bright Soul Pill and Soul Cleansing Water—at this moment, Zhao Zuo understood all the secrets of this Secret Technique. From now on, there would be no more obstacles.

Success was within his grasp, and Zhao Zuo grew even more excited.

Finally, just as the effects of the Bright Soul Pill were about to run out, the two Spirits met in the palm of his hand. Immediately after, as if being pulled by some force, Zhao Zuo’s Divine Thought suddenly accelerated, crossing the remaining distance as if it were strapped to a rocket.

WHOOSH.

In an instant, or perhaps longer, Zhao Zuo’s sliver of Divine Thought was sucked into the Qilin Seal. He experienced a completely different perspective. Everything around him was gray and hazy… as if covered by a layer of dust, or perhaps a black cloth that blocked out all surrounding light.

The only source of light before Zhao Zuo’s eyes was a miniature Qilin. It was only about a dozen centimeters in size, yet it was incredibly lifelike. Every scale and every whisker displayed a unique style. This was definitely not craftsmanship that could be achieved by human hands; it was a real Qilin.

He could confirm that there was no difference in appearance between this Qilin and the one on the Qilin Seal. They were one and the same. And now, Zhao Zuo could feel the Qilin’s emotions.

It was… joy.

The Qilin Seal had transformed into a Lifebound Magical Treasure!