Chapter 98

"Isn't it necessary to use spirit flames for refining spirit artifacts?"

Zhuang Wudao, utterly perplexed, inquired, "Ordinary flames are probably insufficient. I heard that for spirit artifacts above the fourth level of magical prohibitions, ordinary flames cannot be used. Otherwise, the impurities in the flames would affect the formation of the magical prohibitions. Is it really fine to refine artifacts like this?"

At this moment, Zhuang Wudao's body was being controlled by the sword spirit Yun'er. In this guest room, which was less than fifteen feet wide, three hundred essence stones had been densely arranged, making the room filled with spiritual energy.

One purpose was to gather spiritual energy, and the other was to create an illusion to isolate the inside from the outside, completely shielding the spiritual senses of outsiders.

After all, this was not a righteous method. The fewer people who knew about the blood altar's refinement, the better.

The materials used for refining the altar at this moment were just an ordinary tripod furnace, some high-quality coal essence, and a carving knife and hammer.

Because both refining artifacts and refining pills require spirit flames, the best refining rooms and pill-refining rooms in the city were extremely hard to come by. Could he really succeed with just these tools in front of him?

After Yun'er had everything set up, she calmly explained to Zhuang Wudao, "If we talk about spirit flames, which spirit flame in this vicinity can match the Stone Ming True Flame of the sword master? Even the star flame that the sword master summoned using the Tianxuan Zhaoshi True Scripture is stronger than those inferior spirit flames."

Even after cultivating the first level of the Concealed Sword Technique, the Light Cloud Sword had recovered a lot. However, the time the sword spirit could control Zhuang Wudao's body was still limited, only about half an hour. If Zhuang Wudao's cultivation improved, the time would be even shorter.

After the refinement began, Yun'er could only give a quick demonstration and then withdrew her consciousness back into the Light Cloud Sword.

The first step was to place various materials into the tripod furnace and use coal essence to start a fire to melt them. The second step was to purify them using the Stone Ming True Flame, removing the useless impurities. This was closely related to the strength of the cultivator's spiritual sense; the stronger the spiritual sense, the more impurities could be detected. The third step was to shape the materials. Yun'er had already prepared various molds made of jade, and the different metal solutions could be poured into them one by one.

These steps did not require Yun'er's intervention; Zhuang Wudao could handle them himself. The truly difficult part was inscribing the spirit patterns on the rough blanks.

The altar that Yun'er was refining was not what Zhuang Wudao had imagined—a simple altar like those found in folk legends. Instead, it was composed of nearly a hundred parts, extremely intricate.

Especially the spirit array patterns, which were complex and vast. In a space the size of a fingernail, hundreds of large and small spirit patterns needed to be inscribed. The requirements for the engraving were extremely strict.

Zhuang Wudao's wrists were stiff, and his hands were usually clumsy, but under the control of the sword spirit, they moved with ease, as if they had no joints. When engraving, he only needed to attach two threads of sword qi to the carving knife, making it even more useful than high-level spirit weapons.

For half an hour each day, in just seven days, he completed the engraving of the spirit patterns on nearly a hundred parts.

When all the parts were combined, it formed an object similar to a 'shell.' When the 'shell' was closed, it could be used as a shield. It was not just a disguise but a genuine low-level spirit artifact refined to the ninth level of magical prohibitions. The attached spirit technique was one recorded in the Tianxuan Zhaoshi True Scripture, which Zhuang Wudao had once been interested in—the 'Magnetic Essence Shield.'

When the shell was opened, it presented a different scene. Both 'shell flaps' were engraved with mysterious and eerie spirit patterns, filled with an evil aura that made one's body shiver and scalp tingle.

In the center of the thicker 'shell flap,' there was a lifelike statue. Below the statue, several characters similar to ancient golden tripod inscriptions were engraved.

If the evil aura were ignored, the entire spirit artifact was like a work of art, exquisitely beautiful.

Yun'er, however, was not very satisfied: "For now, it can only be like this. The method of refining by assembling parts often falls short compared to refining a whole piece. However, there is an advantage. If the sword master can find better spirit materials in the future, only some parts need to be replaced to easily enhance the level and quality of the spirit artifact."

Zhuang Wudao's attention, however, was on those golden tripod inscriptions. After carefully examining them, he vaguely recognized the characters 'Abi Pingdeng Wang' (King of Abi Equality).

"Abi Pingdeng? What does it mean?"

"This is the name of a deity, the ruler of the Netherworld Hell, and the deity to whom this altar is dedicated. King Abi Pingdeng governs the bottom of the Netherworld Sea, under the southwestern fertile stones, where the Great Hell of Abi is built. His domain is vast, extending for eight hundred yojanas."

"Netherworld Hell? What is a yojana?"

He knew about the Netherworld, as the Buddhist and Daoist sects strongly promoted the cycle of rebirth and the retribution of the Netherworld, but he had never heard of the Netherworld Hell. The eight hundred yojanas sounded like some unit of length.

"The Netherworld Hell is what you commonly refer to as the Netherworld. A yojana is the distance an ancient divine ox can run in one day. Each yojana is 108,000 miles. King Abi Pingdeng is a powerful ruler in the Netherworld Hell, controlling one-fifth of the Netherworld Sea, a formidable ruler—"

Zhuang Wudao gasped, dumbfounded. 108,000 miles, eight hundred yojanas, how vast must the Netherworld Hell be?

"In the time of my previous sword masters, the Daoist and Buddhist sects were actively courting the rulers of the Netherworld Hell. King Abi Pingdeng is one of the ten rulers who have allied with the Daoist sect, possessing great powers and able to project his avatar into countless worlds. He believes in the path of fairness and equality, calling himself the King of Equality. He is one of the most suitable blood altar deities for the sword master to ally with. This ruler is extremely stingy, and the gains from blood sacrifices are often minimal, but as long as the altar and the offerings are correct, it is the safest."

Zhuang Wudao was still puzzled: "What do these deities need human flesh and souls for? After a cultivator performs a blood sacrifice, they gain many benefits, but what do these deities gain?"

Yun'er was silent for a moment before asking, "Does the sword master know why cultivators can achieve immortality and have the power to move mountains and seas?"

"Cultivators cultivate by taking the essence of heaven and earth for themselves, thus extending their lives. By understanding the mysteries of heaven and earth, they can control the creation of the universe."

"Exactly. Humans are the most intelligent of all beings and can be seen as another form of the essence of heaven and earth. The flesh and souls of humans and demons are also the essence of heaven and earth. Therefore, the best offerings for blood sacrifices are unborn infants, followed by cultivators below the Foundation Establishment realm. This is because infants, before birth, often have innate spirits within them. After birth, they are tainted by the postnatal essence and mostly become impure mortal bodies. Cultivators, in their initial cultivation, go through the process of returning to the innate state from the postnatal state."

Yun'er summarized, "Therefore, accepting blood sacrifices is also a form of cultivation for these deities."

Zhuang Wudao was speechless. He had often heard that some demonic cultivators would take the fetuses from pregnant women to sacrifice to their deities, and now he knew why.

He felt a chill run down his spine, hoping he would never fall to such madness.

However, while the altar was complete, finding the offerings was difficult. Five late-stage Qi Condensation cultivators or ten late-stage first-level demons, the latter being easier but still beyond his current capabilities.

Unless he had another three to five million taels of gold to directly purchase the captured demons.

Money was a problem he couldn't solve immediately. The Dustless Sect often organized low-level disciples to hunt demons in the southeastern countries, both to train the disciples and to suppress the demon forces. He could only wait for that opportunity.

Zhuang Wudao couldn't help but sigh. Many cultivators believed that among the four essentials of cultivation—wealth, companions, methods, and location—wealth was the most important, and there was some truth to it.

"Actually, it's not necessarily required to use human or demon flesh and souls as offerings. Some rare treasures of heaven and earth can also be used, and they are even more favored by the deities—"

Yun'er's voice in Zhuang Wudao's mind suddenly stopped. A series of 'thuds' came from outside the door, and Beiting Wan'er's voice followed.

"Zhuang Wudao, come out! We had an agreement ten days ago. Are you planning to renege on it?"

Zhuang Wudao sighed, hid the 'Magnetic Essence Shield' under the bed, and quickly collected the hundreds of essence stones in the room before opening the door.

Beiting Wan'er, wearing a lively red shirt, stood at the door, her face like a lotus, her almond eyes wide open, curiously peering inside.

"What are you up to? Why did you seclude yourself for so long, and not allow anyone to peek?"

She then saw the extinguished tripod furnace and the pile of essence stones, and was taken aback.

"Are you refining an artifact? Why did you use so many essence stones? If you need a refining room, we have several in the Beiting family. Why waste so much?"

Essence stones were precious, and even a wealthy family like the Beiting family would not use them so wastefully.

Beiting Wan'er's gaze then fell on the bed, where a small lump was visible under the blanket, making her even more curious.

"What did you refine? Show me. Is it the thing on your bed?"

Zhuang Wudao rubbed his forehead, feeling helpless, and casually threw the newly refined 'Magnetic Essence Shield' to Beiting Wan'er. The two flaps of the shield could only be opened with a special technique, and it looked no different from an ordinary spirit artifact, so he wasn't worried about her discovering its true nature.

He thought to himself that he should get a storage bag or a spatial bracelet, as it would be more convenient for storing things. The 'Magnetic Essence Shield' was five feet long and wide, and without a storage artifact, it would be difficult to carry.

Beiting Wan'er only played with the 'Magnetic Essence Shield' for a moment before losing interest.

"Besides the intricate spirit patterns, it's practically useless! You spent over 7,000 gold tickets collecting materials just to refine this?"

Seemingly indifferent to Zhuang Wudao's wastefulness, Beiting Wan'er's eyes were already filled with battle intent.

"The ten-day agreement has arrived, and my master is here. Are you afraid to fight, Zhuang Wudao?"

Zhuang Wudao was taken aback. After the incident with Shen Lin, he had thought that the battle with Beiting Wan'er would be called off.

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