Artifact Refining

"What do you say?" Yaoguang offered his suggestion, then looked at Dao Lord Penglai, awaiting her response. Dao Integration was, for any Void Shattering cultivator, nothing short of seeking life in death. Especially along the path of the Void, where one faced not only the risk of Dao assimilation during integration, but also unprecedented, perilous mortal tribulations. Of course, he could consider choosing the Grand Dao of Time for his Dao Integration. Yet... Time Dao arts were exceptionally rare. What if, down the road, there were no more Dao arts of the Grand Dao of Time to deepen his comprehension? When that day came, he could hardly throw caution to the wind simply to avoid a mortal tribulation, gambling on the infinitesimally low odds of the Grand Dao of Time. When not even he had absolute certainty of ascending to Dao Integration, choosing the path with the highest probability of success was plainly the soundest course. Looking across all the Grand Daos, the Grand Dao of the Void—trodden by countless predecessors—offered by far the greatest reference value. That being the case, he was forced to reckon with the issue of mortal tribulations. If, at that crucial juncture, a figure like Dao Lord Penglai protected his path and kept the mortal tribulations at bay, his ascension would truly be assured. Dao Lord Penglai looked at him, the corners of her eyes curving into a smile. "Everything you say rests on the foundation of your successful Dao Integration. But what if you fail? Immortal artifacts, immortal formations—none of it will exist." "So, it comes down to whether the Dao Lord possesses such courage," Yaoguang replied with a smile of his own. "Before I attempt Dao Integration, I require no support from you. Through my own means, I will seize the position of sect master of the Heavenly Dao Sect and use that mantle to amass resources, cultivate Dao arts, and enrich my foundation for the breakthrough. If I fail, there is nothing more to say. But if I succeed, every problem and worry you face will unravel like split bamboo, and you will gain an ally at the level of a Dao Lord." "Yaoguang, you are quite eloquent," Dao Lord Penglai remarked. "I am merely laying out the future possibilities before you in advance," Yaoguang said. Dao Lord Penglai gave no further reply, turning her gaze instead to the embryonic blade of the Wuji Sword. In the next breath, she suddenly made a move. Raising an airy hand, she pointed toward the unfinished Dao artifact. In an instant, Yaoguang felt as though phantom reflections of an entire world flickered before his eyes. Dao charm beyond anything seen before rippled from her fingertips—so potent that even the faintest stray wisp seemed equivalent to refining an entire Void Dao Pill. Were it channeled into a spirit treasure, it would instantly grant that treasure the qualifications to transform into a Dao artifact. And amid those visible ripples of Dao charm washing outward like surging waves, a stream of the Grand Dao of the Void's power was drawn forth and poured directly into the Wuji Sword. *Buzz, buzz!* In a flash, the Dao charm within the nascent Wuji Sword swelled wildly, bursting straight into the ranks of Dao artifacts, its momentum carrying it onward toward a high-grade Dao artifact without slowing. "This is..." Yaoguang's eyes widened. This manner of artifact refining... Brute force working miracles! She was directly calling forth the manifestation of the Grand Dao and drowning the sword in a sea of Dao charm, forcibly "flooding" the embryonic Wuji Sword into a Dao artifact! "It really is a high-grade Dao artifact? What's more... it seems that in the future, it could push even further beyond the high-grade level and transform into a pinnacle Dao artifact?" Sensing the changes in the Wuji Sword, Dao Lord Penglai scrutinized the weapon in surprise. "No need to wait for the future!" Yaoguang stepped forward immediately, swiftly guiding the surging Dao charm across the Wuji Sword's blade and bringing it into a higher tier of resonance with the Grand Dao of the Void. In mere moments, the artifact completed its transition from an ordinary Dao artifact to a high-grade one, and kept right on transforming toward a pinnacle Dao artifact. "You mean you can refine this artifact into a pinnacle Dao artifact right now?" "Yes," Yaoguang nodded. "As long as there is enough Dao charm!" "Dao charm, is it?" Seeing this, Dao Lord Penglai flicked her finger once more. The Grand Dao of the Void trembled as her Great Dao of Origin continued to stir it. The instant the two Grand Daos collided, boundless Dao charm poured forth in an endless cascade, saturating the entirety of Hundred Refinings Peak. "Like this?" "Yes! Exactly like this!" With a sweep of Yaoguang's hand, countless long-prepared Dao artifact materials surged into the air. He then employed the Spirit Nourishing Technique to gather the drifting Dao charm and fuse it into the Wuji Sword before him. As the various materials, wrapped in thick Dao charm, blended into the Wuji Sword, the blade underwent continuous transformation. The Dao momentum radiating from it grew fiercer and more magnificent by the second. "You're applying the Dao charm inefficiently—ninety-nine percent is being wasted! Let me guide how your Dao charm is infused!" With that, Yaoguang directly triggered his "God King" talent, instantly bringing his divine sense into resonance with Dao Lord Penglai's. "This ability of yours... is rather ingenious." Watching the steadily evolving Wuji Sword, Dao Lord Penglai made no move to stop his divine sense from guiding hers. She did not know artifact refining. All her time and energy had been devoted to cultivation. Forget artifact refining—when it came to alchemy or formations, she was a complete novice. For the Dao artifacts she bestowed on younger generations in the Penglai Immortal Sect, she simply flooded them with Dao charm. Pump enough Dao charm into them, and before long any spirit treasure or magic treasure would undergo a qualitative leap and become a Dao artifact. Experiencing a refinement relying on proper technical skill like Yaoguang's was a first for her, to the point where she was somewhat curious: How did an Artifact Saint refine artifacts? Under this cooperative state, the Wuji Sword grew at breakneck speed. One day, three days, ten days, half a month... In merely a month. As the Dao charm radiating from the Wuji Sword reached an unprecedented pinnacle, all that charm abruptly coalesced from ethereal to corporeal. What seemed like a true Grand Dao of the Void was condensed from the boundless Dao charm and plunged into the sword. At this moment, the Wuji Sword was no longer merely a sword; it had become an outward manifestation of the Grand Dao of the Void. The blade itself was merely the vessel for this Dao. "A pinnacle Dao artifact," Dao Lord Penglai murmured in mild awe. A single month! In just one month, she had watched this Dao artifact evolve from inception through a three-stage leap: from an ordinary Dao artifact to a high-grade one, and finally to a pinnacle Dao artifact. Throughout the entire process, she had done nothing beyond binding the Grand Dao of the Void to keep it manifest and continuously pouring Dao charm into the sword. The refining process itself had been entirely handled by Yaoguang alone. Under such conditions, relying on his own capabilities while still in the Void Shattering realm, he had truly forged a pinnacle Dao artifact that many Dao Lords could not even hope to possess. This was truly... Incredible. "It's done," Yaoguang said in delight. The Wuji Sword! Relying on his personal means and skills alone, bringing this weapon fully to the caliber of a pinnacle Dao artifact would have taken decades at the very least. Yet with Dao Lord Penglai's assistance, it had taken only one month! In just a single month, this artifact, once an embryonic blank, had completed a triple leap to become a pinnacle Dao artifact! To him, this was an absolute windfall. "To craft a pinnacle Dao artifact while still at Void Shattering... when you said you could forge semi-immortal and immortal artifacts once you become a Dao Lord, I believe you now!" Just then, Dao Lord Penglai's divine sense vibrated with thought. Only now did Yaoguang realize they were still in resonance. He smiled and said, "My thanks to you, Dao Lord, for your assistance. Without your help, who knows how long it would have taken to fully forge this Dao artifact." "You laid an exceptional foundation yourself. I merely accelerated the process a bit," Dao Lord Penglai said, looking at the sword in his hand with a hint of envy in her eyes. Catching that look, Yaoguang's mind stirred. "You must have thought about crafting a pinnacle Dao artifact suited to yourself as well, haven't you?" "Yes. But it hasn't been long since I attained the Dao Lord realm, and I know nothing of artifact refining. To this day, I make do with a set of ordinary Dao artifacts," Dao Lord Penglai answered. A Dao Lord wielding ordinary Dao artifacts... It was like a Void Piercing cultivator wielding ordinary spirit treasures. Virtually negligible in value. Even high-grade Dao artifacts were little better in the hands of a Dao Lord. Only pinnacle Dao artifacts could grant a Dao Lord a ten-to-twenty-percent boost in power. Do not scoff at a mere ten or twenty percent. For a Dao Lord—who had already reached the pinnacle that cultivators across the cosmic starry sky could attain—even a marginal increase in strength could grant an edge when fighting peers of the same realm to the death, let alone ten or twenty percent. "Do you have the appropriate materials? If you have them and trust me, I can give it a try and craft a pinnacle Dao artifact for you. Of course, it may take some time, and I'll need your help with the subsequent steps," Yaoguang said. "You?" Dao Lord Penglai gave Yaoguang a glance. "I cultivate the Great Dao of Origin." Yaoguang smiled. With a slight motion of his hand, the Dao charm of the Sovereign Human Emperor began to circulate. "You mastered this Dao art?" Dao Lord Penglai was slightly surprised. In the next second, the surprise on her face transformed into shock. "Wait, no! It's not just mastered... this level of attainment... your Sovereign Human Emperor has reached major accomplishment?!" "Yes," Yaoguang nodded. "With comprehension of a Dao art at major accomplishment, refining a pinnacle Dao artifact is not impossible; it will simply require more time and energy. Of course, if my comprehension deepens in the future and reaches perfection, the efficiency of refining this artifact will undoubtedly be far higher." "Major accomplishment..." Dao Lord Penglai did not reply immediately, staring at Yaoguang in a slight daze. "It has been less than forty years since I gave you the Sovereign Human Emperor... and you took forty years to bring a non-Void Dao art to major accomplishment?" "I possess an exceptional gift for cultivating Dao arts. Otherwise, I wouldn't have reached Void Shattering in such a short time," Yaoguang said. He reckoned... His cultivation speed in Dao arts had outstripped even Dao Lord Penglai's; otherwise, she wouldn't have lost her composure for the first time. "So fast..." Dao Lord Penglai murmured. Then she suddenly chuckled. "I think I can finally understand what the cultivators of my generation felt when they watched me master one Dao art after another." Yaoguang smiled as well. "So, would you like to give it a try?" "Alright!" Dao Lord Penglai directly brought out a spatial treasure. "These are the materials I've gathered. I give them all to you. Take a look and see if anything is missing. If something is lacking, I'll go search for it." Yaoguang swept his divine sense over it to take inventory. Yet in the next breath, his thoughts momentarily seized under the impact of Dao charm so dense it felt as if he were staring directly into the Great Dao of Origin itself. "This..." Yaoguang drew in a sharp breath. If the various materials in this spatial treasure were converted into Pure Yang Great Pills... Their value would easily surpass a hundred billion!