【Magic Gourd: A prototype of a superior-grade magic weapon, with limitless potential.】
【Originally a heretical magical artifact crafted by the Nascent Soul cultivator, the Plague Elder, it was later cleansed of its restrictions and reforged into a prototype magical artifact.】
【This magical artifact contains Chaos Divine Iron, capable of encompassing all things and containing power of any attribute.】
This magical artifact is crafted with multiple attribute restrictions, encompassing all five elements and forming a self-contained cycle; its wonders are beyond description.
...
Looking at the purple supernatural light emerging from the gourd and the messages on the notes.
A satisfied smile appeared on Lu Qing's face.
This was his first formal attempt at weapon crafting.
Although he had already used his supernatural abilities to simulate and comprehend it many times before.
But it's still something to be happy about that it was successful on the first try with almost no mistakes.
"From now on, you'll be called the Five Elements Gourd."
After naming the magic weapon in his hand, Lu Qing threw the gourd away, which hovered in front of him, and sprayed a mouthful of his life essence onto it.
After the magical artifact's restrictions are completed, the next and most important step is to bind it to its owner.
Moreover, the process of a natal magic weapon recognizing its master is far more complex than that of an ordinary magic weapon.
One must use one's life essence and spiritual power to continuously refine the magic weapon over a long period of time in order to make it one with one's mind and spirit, becoming an integral part of oneself, as at one's fingertips.
When you reach the next level, you will use your own essence and spirit to cultivate a certain spirituality, enlighten the spirit of the artifact, and elevate it to become a spiritual artifact.
The reason why the Plague Elder was able to so easily abandon his physical body and seize control of the artifact spirit was because...
This is because the spirit of the Plague Gourd is of the same origin as him.
Otherwise, how could a person transform into a magical artifact and still maintain their true spirit? It's not that simple.
"The young master's cultivation technique is actually the 【Five Elements Body Refining Technique】, and he has even reached the level where his body radiates a precious light."
Yan was astonished to see Lu Qing's vital energy, which contained all five elements, and the radiant light that appeared on his body as he circulated his energy.
After Lu Qing refined the Fire Cauldron, he sealed off the restrictions.
This resulted in "Yan" knowing very little about Lu Qing, and not even knowing the cultivation method he practiced.
Previously, when Lu Qing helped it refine the Plague Old Ghost to death, he activated the power of the cave's magic array, without using his own spiritual energy.
So it wasn't until now that "Yan" realized that Lu Qing was actually cultivating the 【Five Elements Body Refining Technique】, which was almost ignored in the ancient era of cultivation.
"You actually cultivate this technique? What were you thinking, young master? Could it be that this was the only cultivation technique among the inheritances of the Li Huo Sect that you obtained?"
Or is it that he's unaware of the drawbacks of this technique?
Yan seemed a little confused.
The Five Elements Body Refining Technique is not considered a particularly profound cultivation method.
The cultivation speed is not only slow, but the upper limit is also not high.
Even the cultivator who created this technique only reached the peak of the Golden Core realm in the end.
It was truly unexpected that Lu Qing would cultivate this technique.
However, Yan knew that now was not the time to ask questions, so he simply watched Lu Qing refine the magic weapon quietly.
As Lu Qing spat out mouthful after mouthful of his natal essence, the Five Elements Gourd was completely imprinted with his own mark, and refined into a natal magic weapon.
Once the brand was applied, the Five Elements Gourd immediately transformed into a stream of light, merging into his body and finally settling in his dantian.
He absorbed all the five elements of spiritual energy in Lu Qing's dantian, circulated it within him, and then exhaled it.
Then it swallowed it again and spat it out.
As the Five Elements Gourd continuously absorbed and released spiritual energy, Lu Qing discovered that with each cycle, the spiritual energy in his dantian would become slightly more refined and condensed.
He was somewhat surprised.
You should know that the 【Five Elements Body Refining Technique】 he cultivates requires him to constantly temper his physical body with his own spiritual power.
As physical strength increases, the requirements for the purity of spiritual energy also become higher.
Now that the Five Elements Gourd can purify his spiritual power, it's as if it's helping him cultivate at all times.
This could greatly accelerate his cultivation speed once again.
"Indeed, choosing to refine the Five Elements Gourd as my natal magic weapon was the right decision."
It has already achieved such miraculous effects after only the initial refinement of this treasure.
After continuous refinement, the magic weapon will be fully formed and upgraded to a spiritual weapon.
The benefits to me would be unimaginable!
Lu Qing has only refined one layer of restrictions on the Five Elements Gourd.
This restriction contains all five elements; it is a Five Elements Formation.
He crafted it by combining the inheritance of the Divine Talisman Sect with the weapon-refining techniques of the Li Huo Sect.
Originally, with only one layer of restriction, it should have been able to refine at most a magic weapon of the magic weapon level, and even that would be the most basic kind.
Unfortunately, the Five Elements Gourd's foundation was simply too good.
The Plague Elder poured all his life's savings into refining his natal magic weapon.
It also unintentionally incorporated a piece of the legendary Chaos Divine Iron.
This means that even without any restrictions, the Five Elements Gourd, based solely on its material properties, is enough to rank it among the top-grade treasures.
As long as Lu Qing continues to refine it and imbue it with restrictions, one day it will transform back into a spiritual weapon.
At that time, as the owner of the spiritual artifact, or even his natal magic weapon, he will surely reap great benefits.
"Congratulations, young master, you have successfully refined your own natal magic weapon."
After Lu Qing absorbed the Five Elements Gourd into his body, Yan congratulated him.
At the same time, he was also marveling at how lucky Lu Qing was.
He's only at the Qi Refining stage, yet he not only possesses two spiritual artifacts, but he has also successfully refined a natal magic weapon with the potential to be upgraded to a spiritual artifact.
Such good fortune would be almost unparalleled even in the ancient era of cultivation.
Anyway, since it was created, for tens of thousands of years, I've never heard of anything so outrageous.
"It's only the first layer of restriction that's been refined. There's still a long road ahead," Lu Qing said, shaking his head.
However, with his current cultivation level, refining even one layer of restrictions is already his limit.
To continue refining, one must wait until their cultivation level breaks through again.
"With your talent, young master, it shouldn't be too long before you reach the level of being able to refine the second layer of restrictions," Yan flattered.
"However, young master, there is something I don't understand. May I ask you about it?"
"What would you like to ask, senior?"
Lu Qing was naturally aware of Yan's change in attitude, but he didn't point it out and just casually remarked.
"The cultivation method I observed just now seems to be the 【Five Elements Body Refining Technique】."
"I wonder why you chose this cultivation method, young master. Don't you know its flaws?"
"What flaw are you referring to, senior?"
"【Five Elements Body Refining Technique】 cultivates all five elements, and the time it takes to cultivate even a fraction of spiritual power is more than five times that of other cultivation methods."
Therefore, its cultivation speed is notoriously slow.
Furthermore, the upper limit of this cultivation technique is not high; the cultivator who created it only cultivated it to the Golden Core Perfection stage.
When one's lifespan is exhausted, one dies and one's spiritual path is extinguished.
"Don't you know these things, young master?"
"Yan" said in a somewhat inexplicable tone.
"Senior is referring to these shortcomings?" Lu Qing smiled. "Of course I know, but for me, these are not problems. The 【Five Elements Body Refining Technique】 is very suitable for me. It is a cultivation method that I carefully selected before choosing to practice. Senior does not need to worry."
However, it was not explained why the 【Five Elements Body Refining Technique】 was suitable for him.
"I see. I was just asking unnecessary questions."
Upon hearing this, Yan knew that Lu Qing did not want to discuss the matter further.
Although I was curious, I didn't press the matter further.
Moreover, he now understands Lu Qing's personality to some extent.
Although the boy was young, he was shrewd and ruthless, and would never do anything to harm himself.
Since he dared to practice this technique, he must have something to rely on.
"By the way, Senior Yan, I've heard you mention the Five Signs of Decay of Heaven and Man. I wonder what exactly this calamity is? Could you explain it to me in detail?"
At this moment, Lu Qing also spoke up and asked.
Yan felt a chill run down his spine.
Lu Qing had asked it this question before, but at the time it used it to negotiate with Lu Qing.
Now, when Lu Qing asked again, "Yan" dared not mention the matter again.
Instead, he solemnly said, "The Five Decays of Heaven and Man is actually a great calamity caused by the exhaustion of spiritual energy rules and changes in the rules of heaven and earth at the end of the last era of cultivation."
"This great calamity is mainly aimed at cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage, and will have little impact on lower-level cultivators."
The main reason was that the rules of heaven and earth were constantly evolving, and gradually the world could no longer accommodate powerful cultivators.
This is especially true for powerful cultivators at the Golden Core stage and above.
Even if they do nothing, their cultivation and spiritual power will continue to decline under the influence of the rules of heaven and earth.
It should be understood that all powerful cultivators acquire their cultivation levels through long years of arduous practice.
Even one's own lifespan is maintained through cultivation, which ensures that the true spirit remains imperishable and that one can live a long and prosperous life.
Once a powerful cultivator's spiritual cultivation declines to a certain extent, they will exhibit signs of physical and spiritual decay.
At that time, not only will all one's cultivation vanish into nothingness, but even one's true spirit will be difficult to maintain and will collapse.
This is what is known as the Five Signs of Decay of Heaven and Man.
At the end of the era of cultivation, all powerful cultivators must face a cataclysmic calamity!
Lu Qing then understood why "Yan" was so surprised when he learned that the true spirit of the Plague Old Ghost was still alive.
It turns out that this so-called tribulation of the five signs of decay in a celestial being is something that all powerful cultivators must face.
"Then someone like you, a spirit of a magical artifact, wouldn't need to face the tribulation of the five signs of decay in a celestial being?"
"That's right. We artifact spirits, although we also have true spirits, are the spirits of magical treasures and have no physical body, so we will not decay."
Therefore, the five signs of decay of the heavens and humans will not affect us.
However, if spiritual energy is depleted and we do not receive nourishment from it for a long time, our true spirit will still become weak and fall into a deep sleep.
The reason that plague-infested old demon attempted to possess another's body and become the spirit of his natal magic weapon was precisely this.
"Is there really no way to resist this tribulation of the five signs of decay in the celestial realm? Surely not all the powerful beings of the ancient cultivation era just sat there waiting to die?" Lu Qing asked.
"How could we possibly sit idly by and wait to die!"
Yan gave a cold laugh.
"Cultivators cherish their lives the most, especially those powerful old monsters who have been cultivating for a long time; they are even more afraid of dying!"
At the beginning of the era of cultivation, when the rules of heaven and earth were beginning to change and spiritual energy began to decline.
Those old monsters had already foreseen this great calamity and began making their plans long ago.
"Later, friction arose among many cultivation sects, leading to fierce battles for resources, which was instigated by them behind the scenes."
The goal is to integrate the resources of the entire cultivation world to implement their plan to avoid the Five Signs of Decay of Heaven and Man.
"What plan?" Lu Qing asked.
"I'm not sure about that either; there were many rumors at the time."
Some say that those old monsters wanted to create a secret realm to avoid the influence of the laws of heaven and earth, and then wait for the revival of the next era of cultivation.
Some say they want to gather the resources of the entire cultivation world to create an unprecedented magical artifact, break through the boundary, and leave this world.
Some even say that they collected all the spiritual herbs in the cultivation world, refined a batch of top-grade pills, and raised their cultivation to the limit, transcending tribulations and ascending to immortality.
In short, there are many conflicting opinions, and it's impossible to know whether they are true or false.
Anyway, before the true arrival of the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, my Fire Sect had already fought with the enemy sect and was ultimately destroyed.
"To open up a secret realm and escape calamity?" Lu Qing's heart stirred, and he said, "Senior, there are several secret places in the world today. It is said that they have been passed down for a long time and have a history of tens of thousands of years. I wonder if they are the secret realms you mentioned."
Then, Lu Qing told Yan what he knew about the four secret places.
"Suspended Mountain, Cloud and Water Secret Realm, Qingyang Temple, Cold Water Palace?"
Yan looked puzzled when he heard these names.
"These four sects, although they could be considered top-tier forces in the ancient era of cultivation, should not have been able to create a secret realm capable of escaping the Five Decays of Heaven and Man based on their own resources."
Could it be that something major happened in the cultivation world after I went into slumber?
"Does the senior mean that, with the foundation of the Suspended Mountain alone, it's impossible to create a secret realm that can be passed down for tens of thousands of years?"
"That's not it. In the ancient era of cultivation, there were many secret realms that depended on this world's space for existence and extinction."
If a powerful force is willing to sacrifice a powerful magical artifact, it can be integrated into the secret realm to suppress the space.
This would allow the secret realm to exist indefinitely and not be closed.
Back then, almost all the top cultivation sects possessed one or two secret realms as a fallback plan.
But as I said, the secret realm is born from this world's space and is also affected by the laws of heaven and earth of this world.
Even if one hides in a secret realm, one cannot escape the calamity of the five signs of decay.
Unless it comes at an unimaginable cost, completely isolating the secret realm and shielding it from the influence of the laws of nature.
Only then is there a slight chance of avoiding the five signs of decay in the celestial realm.
However, such a price is far beyond what any single sect or faction can bear.
So even if the four secret places you mentioned really have been passed down for tens of thousands of years and are forces inherited from the ancient era of cultivation, they are still valid.
The disciples inside have probably changed countless times; there's absolutely no way an ancient monster could have survived.
"What if they, like the Plague Old Ghost, also managed to survive by possessing the spirit of a weapon?" Lu Qing asked.
"In that case, it is possible, but spiritual artifacts are rare, and if it is not a natal magic weapon, there is a great risk in possession."
Even if one manages to possess another's body and become a spirit, it's just a self-imposed prison; not everyone can make that decision.
Therefore, even if such old monsters survive, there certainly won't be many.
There are at most two or three.
Upon hearing this, Lu Qing felt somewhat relieved.
Yan keenly noticed this change in Lu Qing.
He couldn't help but ask curiously, "What, young master, do you have a grudge against these secret places?"
