Chapter 277: Chapter 275: Spring and Autumn Cicada Refines the Longevity Sword
’Another Top-Grade Magical Artifact. Why do I feel like my talent for Artifact Refining is even worse than for the Array Dao?’
Bai Zichen cast aside the newly formed bronze hammer, tossing it away in disgust.
As a Mid-Stage Core Formation cultivator, deigning to refine Low-Grade Spiritual Artifacts had one advantage: he never had to worry about running out of True Essence.
When it came to mere Low-Grade Spiritual Artifacts, his True Essence would never be depleted, even if he refined them until the Earth Fire was exhausted.
Therefore, Bai Zichen’s refining speed was extremely fast. He worked without rest; after all, with his powerful Divine Sense, the complexity of a Low-Grade Spiritual Artifact posed no real challenge.
Two hundred sets of materials were completely used up in just over a month.
However, the final results were unsatisfactory. Aside from the more than thirty complete failures, he only managed to produce about fifty finished products.
The rest were downgraded into Top-Grade Magical Artifacts due to improper application of techniques.
If it were any other Artifact Refiner, they would have gone bankrupt long ago. No sect would possibly continue to nurture them.
Only a magnate like Ancestor Bai, who wasn’t trying to make a profit but merely hone his own artifact refining craft, wouldn’t care.
He gathered all the refined Low-Grade Spiritual Artifacts and Top-Grade Magical Artifacts into a Storage Bag, tossed it out of his courtyard, and it landed steadily on a Jade Plate.
A Steward Disciple, who had already been given instructions, would come to retrieve it, hand it over to the Artifact Refining Hall, and then bring back a new batch of Artifact Refining Materials.
’If I were a bit more shameless, I could call myself a Tier Two Low-Grade Refiner... Anyway, I’m not chasing a return on investment. Starting tomorrow, I’ll start trying to refine Mid-Grade Spiritual Artifacts. If the success rate is low, I’ll just overwhelm it with quantity.’
Bai Zichen changed his refining goal, preparing to start refining Mid-Grade Spiritual Artifact-tier bronze mirrors next.
A normal Artifact Refiner would definitely polish their skills until they were extremely proficient and only seek a breakthrough after gaining sufficient confidence in refining Spiritual Artifacts of their current realm.
But his starting point was different. Trying to refine Spiritual Artifacts beyond his current mastery was actually very beneficial for advancing his Artifact Refining Realm.
It allowed him to master some exquisite Artifact Refining Techniques and methods for processing higher-tier Spiritual Materials in advance.
Once he succeeded and gained experience, he could quickly break through to the next realm.
The only price to pay was constant failure in the early stages, turning large amounts of precious Spiritual Materials into piles of scrap.
By throwing cost to the wind and leveraging his Mid-Stage Core Formation cultivation to brute-force his way up the Artifact Refining Realm, he finally succeeded in refining his first Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact in less than a year.
’It’s a shame I don’t have enough Spiritual Materials, or I could start refining a Tier Two Flying Sword...’
Before the year’s end, Bai Zichen reviewed the Bai Clan Members’ results. Perhaps because it had been too short a time, not a single stalk of Sacred Sound Bamboo had appeared among the tens of thousands of Spiritual Bamboo plants.
As for the other Tier Two Flying Sword, the Celestial Xin Sword, its main material, White Iron Elite, needed to be tempered with Pill Fire for three years to be ready.
Given his current success rate in Sword Refinement, he would need to prepare ten or twenty sets of Sword Refining Materials to even see a glimmer of hope for success.
Where would he find the time to slowly temper that much White Iron Elite?
However, while organizing the Tier Three Sword Refining Materials he had, he came across a material he had carefully stored away—
He kept anything he considered relatively important in the Top-Grade Storage Bag he had gotten from the Youlong Sect cultivator.
One half was evergreen and verdant, the other was decayed and brittle.
It was precisely the relic of a Tier Two Spring and Autumn Cicada, one of the Five Great Strange Insects.
Even though it had only been a Tier Two Top Grade Spirit Insect when alive, in Bai Zichen’s mind, its importance far surpassed that of a Tier Three Demon Beast.
A special ice cellar had been built in the grand hall, paved with Thousand-Year-Old Ice Jade and protected by an Array. It stored over a thousand pounds of flesh from the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc Demon King.
Every so often, he would cut off ten pounds, thaw it, and feed it to Genggeng.
With the Black Mountain Range at his back, the flesh of a Tier Three Demon Beast was not a rare commodity for him.
But a strange insect like the Spring and Autumn Cicada was hard to find, even for an astronomical price.
’If I can only refine it into a Spiritual Artifact, I might as well keep it. Having a specimen of an Insect Beast on the level of the Five Great Strange Insects is far more valuable than a single Spiritual Artifact.’
Bai Zichen gently stroked the Spring and Autumn Cicada’s body. One half was as elastic as jelly, as if it weren’t yet dead.
The other half was like a piece of withered wood; he feared that if he used a bit too much force, it would crumble into dust.
He wouldn’t be tempted, even if he could use this Spring and Autumn Cicada body to refine an extremely powerful Spiritual Artifact.
After all, his achievement in the Pill Discussion was, to a certain extent, inspired by the Spring and Autumn Cicada.
Keeping it had sentimental value, and it was a rare specimen.
’The main issue is that the Spring and Autumn Cicada appears so rarely that the Cultivation Realm has had few opportunities to study how to utilize it...’
When Bai Zichen’s finger touched its wing, it suddenly vibrated, and the Power of Time inexplicably appeared in the air.
The verdant half of the insect’s body grew more vibrant, yet it was continuously shrinking.
The decayed half exuded an aura of desolation. Gray dust constantly fell from its body, as if it had been dead for millions of years.
’It’s not shrinking, it’s regressing to its larval state... The other half is being eroded by the years into powder, unable to even maintain its basic form!’
He didn’t know what had triggered the remnant Power of Time within the Spring and Autumn Cicada that had been dead for so many years, but Bai Zichen suddenly felt an object in his Dantian express extreme desire.
The Supreme Qingwei Sword Box shot out. The Sword Box opened, and a ball of Thunder Radiance leaped up, meeting the Spring and Autumn Cicada Relic directly.
The cicada’s body, which had been undergoing a bizarre transformation, collided with the Thunder Radiance and merged with it in perfect harmony.
Within a few breaths, both the evergreen half and the part that had been decaying into dust had completely vanished.
Only specks of dust were left, slowly drifting down through the air.
’Did it just eat the Spring and Autumn Cicada?’
Bai Zichen could clearly feel that the abruptly-appeared Power of Time had vanished completely—not dissipated, but swallowed by the Thunder Radiance.
He beckoned the Thunder Radiance over with his hand. The message from the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword Embryo—that it had eaten its fill and was stuffed—left him stunned.
Immediately after, he discovered that the state of his Qing Emperor Longevity Sword had undergone a massive change.
’The Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword Embryo devoured the residual Power of Time in the Spring and Autumn Cicada Relic. Though faint to the point of being almost non-existent, it was a gift from the heavens... It acted directly on the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword, shortening its Hidden Sword period by a full 60-Year Cycle!’
As long as Bai Zichen held the Thunder Radiance, he could sense the progress of the Hidden Sword period. Only twenty-nine years remained.
The Spring and Autumn Cicada was truly worthy of being one of the Five Great Strange Insects—an insect born from the river of time, a being that could touch the Power of Time as a mere Tier Two Spirit Insect.
A single relic had shortened the Hidden Sword period of the supreme divine power, the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword, by more than half.
’If I could kill several Spring and Autumn Cicadas and keep them on me, wouldn’t I have a chance to fulfill the dream of generations of the Fish Dragon Sect’s Nascent Soul True Monarchs and continuously unleash the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword!’
Bai Zichen immediately considered this possibility, but he quickly shook his head and gave up on the idea.
The one he had encountered was possibly the only one in all of Liang Country. He hadn’t heard any news of a Spring and Autumn Cicada for many years.
However, if he ever encountered someone selling a Spring and Autumn Cicada Relic left over from long ago in the future, he would do everything in his power to acquire it, no matter how high the price.
’Of course, the fundamental solution is to truly master the Time Path...’
According to the speculations of the Fish Dragon Sect’s Nascent Soul True Monarchs who had obtained the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword, the true use of this great divine power probably didn’t require the hundred-year Hidden Sword step.
Everyday sword strikes would contain the Power of Time, only then could it be called a true Sword of Time, aging its victims with every slash.
But that kind of realm placed too high a demand on the cultivator; even a Divinity Transformation Great Power couldn’t possibly achieve it.
The Qing Emperor Longevity Sword’s Hidden Sword period being shortened to less than thirty years greatly excited Bai Zichen.
If Blood God True Man was a little slower, he might actually have enough time to master this sword and ask a Nascent Soul True Monarch to appraise it.
The Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword Embryo, completely satiated, returned to the Sword Box and flew back into his Dantian Qi Sea as a streak of profound light.
’The Supreme Qingwei Sword Box really is immensely beneficial for nurturing Flying Swords. The Moon Xuan Sword’s Origin Power was damaged last time, but it has almost fully recovered in the time it has spent in the Sword Box... and the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword Embryo is also about to truly awaken. It will no longer be just a Sword Embryo, but a real Flying Sword!’
It was impossible to determine what tier the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword Embryo originally was, but when he held it just now, he could already feel its Sword Body reforming.
The significance of this sword’s awakening was profound. It wasn’t as simple as his Lifebound Flying Sword’s power greatly increasing; it opened up the possibility of it returning to its peak.
As long as Bai Zichen’s cultivation continued to improve, the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword Embryo would one day be able to recapture the glory of the Ancient Purple Star Thunder Shocking Sword, ascending to become a Tier Four Flying Sword, or even a Tier Five Flying Sword!
His progress in Artifact Refining Skill had to be temporarily halted due to a lack of Sword Refining Materials.
After all, he only wanted to be a Sword Refiner to satisfy his own Flying Sword needs.
He had no ambition of becoming an Artifact Refining Grandmaster, which would require mastering a wide variety of Artifact Refining Techniques.
Bai Zichen walked to the bank of Qingxi, grabbed a handful of Spirit Rice, and fed the cheerfully swimming little fish, sitting quietly for half a day.
He walked back to his thatched cottage, sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, and closed his eyes to calm his mind. The light of the five crystals on the surface of his body blazed, illuminating several yards around him and forming a halo of misty light.
...
"Nephew Lii, I can understand your desire to be accepted as Ancestor Bai’s disciple, but the Ancestor remains in the grand hall and never comes out. You don’t even have a chance to meet him. You’d be better off waiting until you reach Foundation Establishment; at least you’ll have more opportunities to request an audience then."
Huo Feiyan earnestly tried to persuade the young man before her not to be so stubborn.
The main reason was that this heroic-looking youth with thick brows and large eyes was indeed exceptionally talented; otherwise, she wouldn’t have bothered saying so much to a mere Qi Refining Disciple.
"I naturally understand that, but I can’t help but feel restless if I don’t come and try every few months. Who knows, perhaps the Ancestor will emerge from seclusion in a good mood and be willing to grant me an audience."
Lii Guizhen was that disciple with the Thunder Element Abnormal Spiritual Root who had traveled thousands of miles from another province, drawn by Master Bai’s great reputation.
In just a few years, he had successfully become a True Disciple. He had even been willing to give up a Tier Three Spirit Land just to cultivate on Celestial Thunder Cliff, all for the sake of being closer to Ancestor Bai.
Every two or three months, he would try to go to the grand hall at the top of the cliff to request an audience.
He also deliberately befriended the Bai Clan Members, hoping for a chance to be introduced to Ancestor Bai.
Although Ancestor Bai only had one Inner Chamber Disciple so far, perhaps after meeting him and seeing his sincerity and excellent aptitude, he would make an exception.
"Next time I see Senior Brother Lu, I’ll ask for you, but don’t get your hopes up."
If it were possible, Huo Feiyan herself wanted to become Ancestor Bai’s disciple.
Asking on Lii Guizhen’s behalf was, in fact, the same as asking for herself, so she could find out whether Ancestor Bai had any intention of taking on more disciples.
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