The Modern Martial Immortal

Chapter 269: Nurturing the Spirit

Inside the main control space of the Void Disk.

"How is it?" Yaoguang looked toward Li Hanqiu, who was currently operating the Dao Artifact.

"Excellent." Li Hanqiu smiled. "It requires almost no effort to control, and when I operate the Dao Artifact, my psychic mind aligns with it to an extremely high degree. Even my understanding of the void's power has become clearer. It has also helped me better stabilize my Primordial Void state."

After saying this, he could not help but exclaim, "No wonder even Void-Piercing Realm experts try every means to obtain a Dao Artifact."

"As long as it helps," Yaoguang said this and glanced at him.

He could clearly sense how difficult it was for Li Hanqiu to control the "Primordial Void" within his body. That was a state where the slightest lapse could lead to complete loss of control, causing the Primordial Void to collapse and resulting in instant death.

"Right, where is your Gathering-Separation Ring?"

"It’s here." Li Hanqiu directly took out the Gathering-Separation Ring, which had been resealed by an array art.

At the same time, he said with some emotion, "Originally, I had planned to use this treasure to unite all the Golden Core cultivators I could and eventually complete the unification of the Great Cangwu World. But now..."

"Even if we unified Cangwu, it would have no meaning. The situation on the North Sea Star has already developed to this point. Even if we truly unified Cangwu, it would inevitably become the territory of Heavenly Venerable Jiang. I estimate that the Cangwu Alliance Council is already discussing the feasibility of renaming the Great Cangwu World as the Heavenly Venerable World," Yaoguang said calmly.

Li Hanqiu nodded. "That’s true."

No matter how much effort they put into unifying the Cangwu World, it would only end up as a gift for Heavenly Venerable Jiang.

After all, the strong ruled everything on the North Sea Star. And compared to the Six Great Immortal Sects of Cangwu, those from the North Sea Star were the true powerhouses.

Yaoguang took the Gathering-Separation Ring.

The grade of this spirit treasure was slightly lacking. However, the materials used were not bad.

Of course, that depended on what it was compared to. Compared to the Chaotic Heaven Ruler and the Void-Splitting Disk, it was still inferior.

He planned to use this spirit treasure as a test to see whether he could further upgrade it.

If he could elevate it into a World-Stabilizing Ring capable of anchoring the Primordial Void state, Li Hanqiu’s condition would improve greatly.

"Alright, go handle your matters. Leave the operation of the Void Disk to me. Don’t worry. For the next three to five years, I can guarantee that my Primordial Void will not encounter any problems. In fact, by using this Dao Artifact to deepen my understanding of void power, after three to five years, it may be possible for me to stabilize it for another three to five years," Li Hanqiu said with a smile.

Yaoguang nodded.

The North Sea Star was not close to the Great Cangwu World. Otherwise, there would not have been over thirty thousand years without any records of the North Sea Star in Cangwu.

Even setting aside cultivators traveling through space on their own, even using the Void Disk to distort space for traversal, it would still take between three and five months to reach the North Sea Star.

Of course, this was partly due to Li Hanqiu’s limited proficiency as a Void-Piercing Realm cultivator.

But even with the Void Disk, other Void-Piercing Realm cultivators with more stable Primordial Void states might not be much faster.

And Yaoguang naturally could not afford to waste that time.

Especially after a single transaction worth forty billion spirit stones, the isolated workshop he now occupied was filled to the brim with spirit treasures and refinement materials.

Even his Merchant experience had overflowed, forcefully pushing that branch into its second transformation. A level equivalent to Foundation Building.

This change made him eager to use up that accumulated experience as soon as possible.

"Power." Inside the workshop, Yaoguang focused his attention on the Immortal Dao (Void-Piercing Realm) branch.

But after a moment, he shifted his focus to the Refiner branch.

Li Hanqiu had spoken lightly, but even he likely had no real confidence in stabilizing his Primordial Void for five years. He had only said that to prevent Yaoguang from worrying too much.

Therefore, Yaoguang had to find a way as soon as possible to resolve the instability of Li Hanqiu’s Primordial Void.

With that thought, the Refiner branch, already equivalent to a level 13 refiner, began to grow rapidly. Streams of information flooded his mind.

First-generation Dao Artifacts, second-generation Dao Artifacts, third-generation Dao Artifacts...

High-grade first-generation Dao Artifacts, high-grade second-generation Dao Artifacts, high-grade third-generation Dao Artifacts...

Top-tier first-generation Dao Artifacts...

All kinds of knowledge and countless crafting methods and techniques appeared in rapid succession.

However, although many Dao Artifact refinement methods were perfectly presented in his mind, Yaoguang knew clearly that he could not actually forge them.

Let alone high-grade Dao Artifacts, he could not even forge low-grade ones.

Wan Liugui had been right. Without reaching the Void-Piercing Realm, it was impossible to produce a qualified Dao Artifact.

His Void Disk had only come into existence through the divine ability Dao Entry.

After consuming a vast amount of experience, Yaoguang suddenly stopped.

"My direction is wrong." He glanced at the Refiner branch, which was now approaching level 15, his expression turning serious. "My goal is not to refine a higher-grade Dao Artifact, but to solve Perfected Master Li’s unstable Primordial Void. In fact, I already had a rough solution in mind, which was to use the Dao Entry to upgrade the Gathering-Separation Ring into a World-Stabilizing Ring. Yet instead, I chose to stubbornly grind along the path of artifact refinement..."

What would it matter even if he reached level 16 as a refiner? Without reaching the Void-Piercing Realm and touching the profound mysteries of the Great Dao, he still would not be able to refine a Dao Artifact.

Of course, he could gamble on the divine ability that would emerge when advancing from level 15 to level 16, but if he did that, the experience gained from forty billion spirit stones would likely be completely exhausted.

Neither his Immortal Dao branch nor his Array Caster branch would be able to improve further.

My high-dimensional cognition is based on myself. As my strength increases, I gain more keywords, allowing me to search and comprehend more related information...

He looked at the ancient tree. Without breaking through to the Void-Piercing Realm, it seemed impossible to generate new keywords. This meant no new branches could grow.

In that case... The World-Stabilizing Ring isn’t something particularly high-level. Could it be that the information I’ve already obtained contains it, but the sheer volume of data caused me to overlook it? Yaoguang paused to think. He no longer paid attention to raising his Refiner tier, instead focusing his mind on searching for a method to upgrade the Gathering-Separation Ring into a World-Stabilizing Ring.

There were many methods, but most of them were beyond his ability.

I’ve raised my level too high. A lot of this information is unusable for me right now, yet it still occupies mental space... Yaoguang focused and patiently sifted through the vast sea of knowledge.

That search lasted an entire day. The overwhelming amount of information made his head throb.

I need a different approach. He thought carefully.

If measured by the standard of level 15 in the Refiner branch, then his Array Caster branch was at level 10, and his most important path, the Immortal Dao (Void-Piercing Realm) branch was also at level 10.

His Daemon Hunter branch was at level 3, while his Merchant branch had risen to level 4 due to the earlier overflow of experience.

It’s a bit messy. A level 10 array art can’t possibly withstand a Void-Piercing Realm expert, and items forged by a level 10 refiner would also be beneath their notice... He rubbed his brow.

If it were a Void-Piercing Realm battle immortal, the levels might roughly align. But a true Void-Piercing Realm expert stood two levels higher than a battle immortal of the same realm.

In other words, a level 10 Void-Piercing Realm expert corresponded roughly to a level 12 refiner and a level 11 array caster.

This also aligned with the fact that level 11 Void-Refining Realm experts often used Dao Artifacts that required level 13 refiners to produce.

Following this logic, if he wanted to solve the instability of a Void-Piercing Realm battle immortal’s Primordial Void, he should focus on artifact refinement information within the level 12 to level 13 range.

With a clear direction in mind, he began searching within that range. And this time, he found a path.

Artifact spirit?! A form of life that can cultivate on its own, allowing a spirit treasure to evolve into a Dao Artifact, or even an immortal artifact?! Yaoguang delved deeper, and gradually, the path became clear.

A spirit treasure deserved its name precisely because it possessed the foundation for giving birth to spirituality. Once that spirituality was formed, it could modify and enhance itself, breaking through to higher levels.

Give a spirit treasure spirituality, let it become like a living being, then use refinement materials to upgrade, modify, and nurture it. Once it reaches a certain stage, it undergoes transformation...

After spending another day fully digesting the information, the confusion in Yaoguang’s mind completely cleared.

So this is the correct way to use the Dao Entry? By combining the Dao Entry with the Treasure Refinement Technique and Spirit Nurturing Technique mentioned here, it’s like raising a pet, letting the spirit treasure grow on its own instead of relying on a refiner to painstakingly forge it?

Having understood the principle, Yaoguang let out a small breath of relief.

The higher the grade of a spirit treasure, the harder it was to create.

Take the Gathering-Separation Ring as an example. Even with his previous level of refinement skill, it had taken nearly ten years to forge.

For top-tier spirit treasures, decades of work were normal. As for Dao Artifacts, they often required centuries to forge.

But if a spirit treasure could grow on its own, the efficiency of refinement would increase exponentially.

With that thought, he quickly retrieved a spirit treasure sword named Wandering Dragon and began experimenting.

Under the influence of the Dao Entry, the sword was quickly imbued with spirituality and gained "life."

However, the moment it gained life, it developed a rebellious will, claiming it would never be enslaved, and attempted to break free of control.

Yaoguang ignored it and instead used the Treasure Refinement Technique to modify it.

With his own refining proficiency, he quickly analyzed its flaws and determined what materials were needed to upgrade it.

Fortunately, he had just plundered the entire Cangwu World, so he had no shortage of materials.

He infused those materials with his will using the Spirit Nurturing Technique, then refined them into the sword through the Treasure Refinement Technique...

The results were astonishing.

The Wandering Dragon Sword, which had initially resisted, seemed to recognize how beneficial those materials were to its evolution. It began cooperating with Yaoguang’s refinement process, merging with the materials on its own.

The originally cumbersome refining process was drastically simplified.

Moreover, because the materials had been processed through the Spirit Nurturing Technique, the sword silently absorbed his aura and began to grow closer to him.

"As expected, it works," Yaoguang muttered.

After nurturing the Wandering Dragon Sword for a while, Yaoguang shifted his gaze to the Gathering-Separation Ring.

As he activated the Dao Entry, the latent consciousness within the spirit treasure gradually awakened.

And then, the same rebellious temperament appeared again. It immediately formed the thought that the world was vast, and it wanted to go see it, and tried to leave.

Yaoguang restrained it, analyzed it, and quickly selected the necessary materials for a World-Stabilizing Ring. He nurtured them with the Spirit Nurturing Technique before letting the Gathering-Separation Ring absorb them.

In just three months, with the investment of tens of billions worth of materials, the Gathering-Separation Ring had grown to the level of a near top-tier spirit treasure.

It was only "near" because it had been fed too much, leaving it feeling like it had an indigestion. But that was not a problem.

"Next... is the most critical step..."

Yaoguang glanced at the various materials used in modifying the Gathering-Separation Ring, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

What a waste of resources. He felt like he had become just like the refiners of the Cangwu World, simply piling up materials.

However, he was still different from those refiners who deserved to be shot a hundred times. Because bullets couldn’t kill him.

He glanced at the Dao Entry ability, took a deep breath, and said, "The critical moment has arrived."

As radiant light flowed through his hands, he prepared to activate the latent potential of the Gathering-Separation Ring and push it toward transformation into a Dao Artifact.

A moment later, he seemed to think of something, took out three spirit treasures, and activated his Dao Entry ability three times!

Then, just as expected... It failed three times in a row before a different feeling hit him.

"Hm? It's almost there!"

The instant Yaoguang sensed that faint flash of inspiration, he no longer hesitated and immediately directed the Dao Entry at the Gathering-Separation Ring.

"It has to succeed!" Yaoguang exclaimed.

With a hum, a surge of Dao resonance no weaker than when the Void-Splitting Disk had transformed erupted forth. Ripples spread outward as countless void laws, which were all inclined toward stability, manifested within Yaoguang’s perception.

During this process, the Gathering-Separation Ring itself underwent a violent transformation.

Its azure halo gradually darkened, and the surrounding space was greatly affected, nearly forcing the Void Disk out of its traversal state.

However, the massive amount of materials he had invested had not been in vain.

As the Dao resonance fully dissipated, a Dao Artifact, one that had only just stepped into the Dao Artifact domain, with an extremely singular function, appeared before Yaoguang.

"It’s done!" Yaoguang exclaimed.

Even though this was already the second Dao Artifact Yaoguang had created through the Dao Entry, his emotions still surged uncontrollably.

With this Dao Artifact, Li Hanqiu no longer had to fear the collapse of his Primordial Void.

Furthermore, as long as he did not push the power of the Primordial Void to its absolute limit, even in a life-or-death battle against other Void-Piercing Realm battle immortals, he could drag his opponent down to death.

This was already close to the standard of a true Void-Piercing Realm expert.

Just as Yaoguang was examining the properties of this hard-won and rather risky Dao Artifact, Li Hanqiu’s psychic consciousness entered his perception.

Faintly, it carried a trace of excitement.

"We’re about to arrive at the North Sea Star."